Silence fell for a minute, everyone exchanged looks.
Then Shane leaned his elbows on the table and dragged a hand across his jaw.
"The teams of three they've got out there watching us, that's nine guys sitting in the woods right now. We take them out first, silent like, cut off the Governor's eyes before he even knows his scouts are dead."
"And what about that courier?" Rick asked, looking over at Daryl. "You said a runner comes by every couple days to take info back to Woodbury?"
"Yeah," Daryl grunted, shifting in his chair. "Comes on a dirt bike along the old logging trail. Single guy, easy to drop if you set up an ambush near the creek."
"If we hit the scouts and let the runner walk into a trap, the Governor won't get his report," Morgan chimed in, crossing his arms over his chest. "That gives us a window, a day or two, where they're sitting in Woodbury wondering why nobody's calling in."
"Or they simply know something's off and buckle down, entering a state of emergency, making the whole thing a lot more difficult, if not impossible," I said, pouring cold water on their enthusiasm.
Looking around at their wilted expressions, I sighed and said, "We can't wait for them to bring that .50 cal right to our front gate. Even with all the reinforcements we made to the gates and the surrounding lookout towers, a caliber that high would still do significant damage to it."
I paused for a bit, taking in their reactions before I continued.
"But we can't hit them straight and hope for the best. We have to do it smart. Even if we wanna hit their scouts and the courier, we need to remove their scavenging teams and the other teams that were out looking for Michonne first. That would significantly reduce their threat while also lighten up the load on us."
"Zephyr's right," Rick nodded. "We need to reduce their fighting forces, going after the ones that are out and about. We could fashion it as a fight went wrong or another group ambushed them."
"Might work the first time, Sheriff, but it sure as hell ain't gonna work a second time," Merle scoffed from the side. "That Governor fella doesn't seem like the stupid kind."
"Which is why we need to be fast about this," I said. "We need to blitz them so fast they ain't gonna know what hit them."
Glenn looked around at the rest of us, chewing on his lip. "What about the civilians? The seventy people just trying to survive in there? We can't just go in shooting up the Main Street."
"We're not here to slaughter old people and kids, Glenn," I said firmly, looking him dead in the eye.
"We're here to chop the head off the snake. The Governor and his dozen elite are the main target. The regular militia as well, if they don't know what's good for them. Once they're out of the dirt, the rest of Woodbury won't have a reason to throw their lives away for a dead man."
"Zephyr's right," Hershel said, his deep voice carrying over the table.
"As much as I hate that we are forced to do this, we're left with no other choice. We will offer the civilians a choice once the tyrant and his goons are gone, but to do that, we have to strike hard enough that his inner circle doesn't get the chance to use those people as human shields or disposable fodder."
"So here's what we're gonna do," I said, reaching for a piece of paper and a pencil sitting on the side of the table. "Step one is a two-pronged strike."
I pointed the tip of the pencil at the top of the page.
"We split off into two teams. The first team takes care of the scouts, capture that courier, and sets up an ambush for their scavenging crew while they're out on the road. Clean, quiet, with suppressed gunfire if we can help it, so Woodbury stays completely in the dark."
I moved the pencil down the middle and drew a second line.
"Team Two heads out into the wider search perimeter and ambushes those two groups still hunting for Michonne. We wipe them out before they can fall back to Woodbury or call for backup. That strips away their scouts, their scavengers, and most of their elites in one fell swoop."
Shane grinned, a dark look in his eyes as he leaned against the table. "That leaves the Governor with a hollow shell inside those walls. He won't have enough men left to defend a single block, let alone holding off a real breach."
"Exactly," I said, moving the pencil to the bottom section. "That brings us to step two…"
I drew a sharp line down the bottom of the paper.
"Once their outer forces are dead, we move on to Woodbury. First thing we do is figure out a way to take out these snipers in the watchtowers and roofs, depending on how the situation looks in Woodbury when we get there. Once the lookouts are down, we infiltrate the town fast, detain the Governor and the rest of his loyalists, and expose them to the citizens."
Rick looked at the paper, then looked back at me. "It's risky sneaking right into his backyard, but taking out his hit squads first gives us total control of the field."
The rest of the group exchanged looks and nodded.
"Alright," I said, "That settled then," I said, tossing the pencil down onto the table. "Now, before we turn in for the night, let's decide the teams."
I turned to Rick. "Rick, you and Shane are heading one of the teams, you get Morales, Glenn, and T-Dog, alright?"
Rick nodded while Shane grunted in agreement.
"I will take Daryl, Merle, Morgan, and Michonne."
Morgan and Michonne nodded in agreement as well.
"Now, since that's been decided, now go get your gear ready, check your suppressors, and get some rest. We move out first thing tomorrow."
(To be continued...)