The Woodbury survivors watched as the unbelievably beautiful woman calmly patted the handsome man on the shoulder.
Then they watched the man swiftly bind the Governor's hands behind his back with plastic restraints, roughly strip him of every weapon, and drag their leader away like a dead dog.
They were completely dumbfounded.
The difference between the two sides was overwhelming.
Meanwhile, Martinez had barely drawn his knife after fleeing into the woods when Mike pressed the barrel of his gun against the back of his head.
"Don't move. Drop it," Mike said flatly.
Martinez froze. In the end, he released the knife. It fell to the ground, and Mike kicked it aside before quickly subduing and restraining him as well.
Operation Decapitation was over. From the moment the helicopter appeared to the capture of Woodbury's commander and second-in-command, no more than half an hour had passed.
Calista approached the Governor, whom Carver had dragged into the middle of the road like a dead dog.
Carver raised his chin. "Kill him after we question him?"
Calista rolled her neck, then gave the Governor, who looked even more terrified after hearing that, a sweet smile.
"We'll keep him alive for a public trial. We believe in winning people over with reason."
The dictator who had once ruled Woodbury from on high was now covered in blood and mud, looking utterly wretched.
Calista turned away from him and addressed the Woodbury fighters around them. Some were hiding, some were kneeling, and others stood frozen in confusion.
"People of Woodbury, listen carefully! Your Governor and commander have been captured. Resistance is pointless. Drop your weapons and remain where you are!"
After witnessing the Black Hawk's terrifying power and their leader's miserable fate, the remaining Woodbury fighters had already lost all will to resist.
Weapons clattered to the ground. More people raised their hands and dropped to their knees, their faces ashen.
Meanwhile, Maggie, Glenn, Andrea, Tyreese, Sasha, and the others had witnessed the entire astonishing scene from their position on the high ridge.
They had watched Calista's squad descend from the sky, overwhelm the enemy with firepower, and carry out the captures with perfect precision.
The entire operation had unfolded seamlessly. It was worlds apart from the desperate, one-sided bloodshed they had suffered during the previous attack.
"Oh my God..." Andrea's hands trembled slightly around the binoculars. She had expected a brutal battle over the prison walls and had even prepared herself for the worst.
Instead, the battle had ended far from the prison in a way none of them could have imagined. The enemy had been crushed by a force operating on an entirely different level.
Glenn's mouth hung open for a long time.
Maggie clutched his arm, barely able to contain her excitement.
An enemy that powerful had just been... dealt with?
Tyreese and Sasha, the prison's two newcomers, were equally exhilarated, their eyes shining with amazement.
Andrea lowered the binoculars, took a deep breath, and looked at the others.
"Are we... still going down there?"
Maggie nodded. "Let's secure the battlefield and collect all the weapons."
Beside the Black Hawk, Calista looked over the prisoners Maggie and the others had gathered under guard, then at the barely conscious Governor, and pressed the button on her radio.
"Hershel, tell the prison to prepare to receive prisoners. Maggie and the others are guarding them here by the high ridge. Send more people as well. We need to bring back the prisoners and every vehicle that still runs."
She glanced at the wounded men groaning nearby. Those still lying on the ground were mostly critically injured. Anyone with minor wounds had already managed to get up.
"By the way, do you want the ones with gunshot wounds?"
Hershel fell silent.
He glanced at Dale, who was standing watch nearby and was not paying attention to the conversation, then lowered his voice.
"We don't have enough medicine at the prison. I can't take them."
Calista blinked. She had not expected Hershel to be so clear-headed.
Had it been Dale...
She looked up at the sky. If she left the prisoners with Maggie and the others, she still had enough time to visit Woodbury and act as judge.
...
That afternoon, the Black Hawk approached from the distance and landed steadily in Woodbury's central square. Frightened residents gathered after hearing the commotion.
Most of the town's able-bodied adults had left with nearly all its weapons. Only defenseless civilians remained, and they had no way to mount any meaningful resistance.
The cabin door opened, and Calista jumped out first, her pale golden hair gleaming brightly in the sunlight.
Carver and Mike followed close behind her, one on either side. Carver held the Governor, whose hands were bound and whose right eye was covered by a blood-soaked bandage, while Mike escorted the ashen-faced Martinez.
Turner, Bossie, and the others filed out after them, spreading into formation with their weapons ready.
The square fell deathly silent.
The residents stared in disbelief as the Governor they had revered was dragged from the helicopter like a beaten stray dog.
The Governor's secretary, Rowan, gasped and instinctively stepped forward. The moment she saw the cold, watchful expressions on Carver's and Mike's faces, however, she stopped dead.
Calista climbed onto the small wooden platform in the center of the square. She surveyed the crowd, then cleared her throat.
"Residents of Woodbury, my name is Calista. I come from Rock Fortress.
"Today, we have brought you two people. Your former leader, the Governor, and his second-in-command, Martinez."
She stepped aside, drawing everyone's attention back to the battered Governor.
"I know that many of you see him as the man who gave you safety, order, and even hope.
"But today, I'm going to show you the lies and crimes all of it was built upon."
A murmur ran through the crowd.
Rowan's first reaction was anger and disbelief.
"You're lying!" she shouted sharply. "Philip is a good man!"
Wow. Philip. How affectionate.
Calista raised her eyes and gave her a cold, dismissive glance.
So this was the female secretary who was sleeping with the Governor, only to be murdered by him later during one of his indiscriminate massacres.
Calista did not move, but the sharpness of her gaze frightened Rowan into silence. Once she stopped talking, Calista looked away.
"First, the prison," Calista continued, raising her voice so the entire town could hear. "He told you that the people there were vicious raiders who attacked your convoy and murdered your friends and neighbors. Is that right?"
She pointed at Martinez.
"Let the Governor's own second-in-command tell you what really happened."
Every eye in the crowd turned toward Martinez.
His face was deathly pale. Under Calista's icy stare and the intimidating presence of Carver and the others, he closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, he seemed to summon every last bit of strength before speaking hoarsely to the crowd.
"It... it was the Governor who ordered us to attack the prison and blow open their wall. He said it was for revenge, but also to... intimidate them. There was never any ambush by a convoy of raiders. We attacked first.
"Tim died during that assault. And Eisenberg... The Governor ordered the doctor not to treat Eisenberg. He let him bleed to death just to... just to make all of you angry."
The crowd erupted.
The righteous revenge they had believed in had been nothing but a lie. They had been the aggressors all along.
The Governor suddenly began struggling. His remaining eye was bloodshot as he roared, "Martinez is lying! They forced him to say that! They're trying to divide us! Don't believe these damn outsiders!"
Calista ignored his shouting.
"Second, the people who supposedly 'left' or 'went missing.'"
Her gaze sharpened.
"Did everyone who questioned him, or simply displeased him, really leave voluntarily to search for somewhere better?"
Calista glanced at Carver.
He understood immediately. Together with Mike, he began escorting the Governor and Martinez toward one of Woodbury's warehouses.
Their drone reconnaissance had already revealed that something was wrong with that building.
And Calista was almost certain what they would find inside.
Driven by fear and curiosity, some of the braver residents followed at a distance.
Calista stepped down from the wooden platform and motioned for everyone else to come with her.
It was time for them to see their esteemed Governor for what he truly was.