Quid Pro Quo

"Quid Pro Quo" is the fourteenth episode of season two of The Last Ones and the thirtieth episode overall. It was published for the first time on November 20th 2017.
==Plot==
A group from Midway go out on a supply-run to the warehouse discovered by Elaine the day previously, but they are troubled to be joined by a rival group, who appear to have ulterior motives of their own.
==Synopsis==
A group of survivors led by a woman called Jacquelyn make their way to Victoria. They request refuge to Tariq, who goes to tell Alexis about the new arrivals just as Blaine is filling her in on the warehouse full of food he has found. As they head to meet the group, Blaine suggests to Alexis that if they want in, they should have to do something for them first. Jacquelyn begs for her group to be allowed in and says it is growing colder by the day, the group has lost its number by half, and they won't last much longer as they're already malnourished. When they discover about the food warehouse and Blaine suggests they need to go and collect for them in able to be given citizenship, Jacquelyn tells him it's done. 
Meanwhile, a group consisting of Peter, Shiro, Aimi, Jai, Angie, Javier, Charlotte, Shiloh, and Drew meet with Henry for a talk before they head to the warehouse to retrieve the food. Shiloh claims they have discussed it enough and they need to get going. Henry says he wishes he was going with them, but Peter jokes he should let his minions do the work for him. Calvin jokes with Angie about all the food he wants them to bring back. Shiloh asks Charlotte if they can talk, but she says now isn't the right time. They arrive at the warehouse at the same time as Jacquelyn's group. Both groups stare at each other. 
When things get tense between Jeffery and Javier and Shiloh, Peter says there is no need for the hostility as the groups are strangers and have never wronged each other before so threats are pointless, which Jacquelyn echoes. Peter suggests they work together and split everything fifty-fifty. Jacquelyn agrees and suggests they get started. 
In Victoria, Alexis worries they have made a mistake trusting the group, but Blaine says they were in awe of the town and would do anything to get in. When Alexis worries they will take the food and run, Blaine reminds her they're weak as they haven't eaten properly in a long time. He says if they did try anything, he would pay them a visit and he wouldn't even need to break a sweat if he had to deal with them. 
It's decided the groups will split in half and work together to kill the undead outside the warehouse. They get started. Aimi is grabbed from behind, but Javier saves her. Charlotte also saves Peter and is irked when he doesn't thank her. After the work is done, Peter says they should split into packs to sort the food and each pack should have members from each group to ensure everything is fairly being split. Jacquelyn agrees but suggests they clear the bodies of the undead first so they will be able to transport the food out quickly. 
In Midway, Henry tells Calvin he is worried. Calvin tries to assure him and says they're a tough group and they'll be back soon. Henry asks when does anything as good as the food warehouse come without a cost. Calvin suggests that today it might. 
Jeffery jokes to Keith that Jacquelyn isn't the smartest for putting him in a group with Shiro who he calls a prick. Shiro jokes Jacquelyn might be hoping he kills him. Drew tells them to stop and says the quicker they get things done, the quicker they can get away from each other. Jeffery says not even he's brave enough to talk back to a guy with a sword. 
Peter asks Javier if he will be all right to hang behind with several of Jacquelyn's group to stay on watch at the side gate of the warehouse. He says it's fine. Javier asks Angie if she wants to stay with him, but she says she wants to go with Peter as she's not sure she trusts Jacquelyn. After they leave, Diane jokes to Javier that rejection happens to the best of people. Javier tells her to fuck off and walks away. Diane tells Larry that Javier's rough around the edges, which is just how she likes her men. 
Aimi tells Jai about the conversation she had with Donna the day previously and how she was angered when she suggests that Aimi might like Peter. Jai tells her even if it was true, there's nothing to be annoyed about as it's not a crime to like somebody. She says she barely got any sleep the night before as she was lying and thinking about what Donna said and she realised she didn't like Peter at all, but that she thought she did because he reminds her of Ollie. Jai says there are similarities. Aimi says she feels like she's failed Ollie after everything he did for her as she puts him to the back of her mind and tries to forget about him so she can get on with the day-to-day business of surviving. Jai assures her she's the same person she was when Ollie was around and she should acknowledge how much she has helped Shiro open up and become part of the group. He says she's also made an impact on him and he knows Georgie and Angie have come to see her a sister. He touches Aimi when he says he watched Ollie grow from a boy into a man and so he can say with confidence that she makes him proud every single day. Owen irritably asks if they're just gonna chat all day. 
Shiloh and Charlotte watch with amusement as married couple Dominic and Heidi bicker. Charlotte says maybe it's a good thing nothing happened between them as the might have ended up like them. Charlotte apologises if she hurt Shiloh's feelings by saying she wants to keep things casual but he says she has nothing to apologise for as he was wrong to act as if she led him on. He says he know what it was between him and she didn't ask him to fall in love. This shocks Charlotte. He assures her he's not trying to guilt-trip her or get sympathy. He just wants her to know. 
Peter asks Jacquelyn if she has a community. She doesn't tell them about Victoria and lies and says they might try and reinforce the fences outside the warehouse and stay there. She asks if Peter has a safe-base. He says yes but refuses to talk anymore about. Micah, Jacquelyn's son, says there's no need for him to be rude to her. He says his mother used to work for humanitarian aid. Peter reveals he was a firefighter, but says that didn't stop him from killing a man after his son died. Angie suggests they get to work. 
Jacquelyn apologises to Angie for Micah, but Angie says he's only defending his mother. Jacquelyn says Micah is a sweet boy and always has been, even when he was five and he was the same then even though he was troubled. She says she's glad the world hasn't changed him. Angie says it changes everyone. Jacquelyn says she used to think there was a diplomatic solution to every problem but sometimes violence is the only viable way. Jacquelyn says she has seen terrible things, but seeing her dead husband come back to life on his deathbed and bite into her great-grandmother's neck is something else. Jacquelyn asks if there's anything between her and Peter. Angie says it's complicated. Jacquelyn wonders if Javier is the complication. Angie says they've been through a lot and it wouldn't be the best thing for either of them right now. Jacquelyn asks about what Angie needs and her feelings. Angie says she has her little brother and he's all she needs. 
Javier takes out several undead as Diane and Lou watch. Diane tells Javier there's other ways to blow off steam and she suggests they have sex, but Javier refuses. Diane says he knows where she is if he changes his mind. 
Micah says to Peter that being a firefighter must have been tough. Micah reveals he was in his fourth year of training to be a doctor when everything happened. He asks if Peter regrets killing the man he mentioned. Peter says he might have been a person but he worked for the psychopath who killed his son. He says it will be a learning curve and if he ever has to kill again, he will think about it and make sure it's the right thing to do. Micah says his learning curve was doing nothing when a zombie killed his father, who then went on to turn and kill his great-grandmother. He says he won't make that mistake again and he will do anything to keep his mother safe, and that's how he will live his life from now on. Micah suggests Peter to do the same. 
Zombies approach the area where Shiro, Drew, Jeffery, and Keith are stacking crates. Shiro and Drew take them out as the others watch without bothering to help. When Jeffery notices a moment between Shiro and Drew when they check on each other, he calls them faggots. Shiro is enraged and the two square off against one another. When Jeffery uses the slur again, a fight breaks out, and Keith joins in to beat up Shiro. Drew fiercely tells them to stop, but when they refuse, he puts a sword through Keith's chest, killing him. Shiro then knocks out Jeffery. A concerned Drew kisses Shiro, who is taken aback. Drew says he is sorry, but Shrio says he's not and kisses Drew. After, they wonder on what to do about the dead Keith and an unconscious Jeffery. When they hear more undead approaching, they decide to say they were killed by them. 
Diane follows Javier as he heads off to pee. She says she gets he's hung up on Angie but she believes people should allow themselves to have harmless fun when they got opportunity. Javier insists he's not interested, but he doesn't stop her from performing oral sex on him. 
Jai admits to Aimi he thinks of Ollie himself and worries how he would feel if he could see Jai now as he's a different person. Aimi disagrees, but Jai assures her he is, and that he blames himself for the people he's lost. Aimi tells Jai he did nothing to contribute to those deaths in any way. Jai says he has a new mentality now and admits he wanted to kill Jacquelyn and her group initially. Aimi says wanting to do something and actually doing it are two different things, but Jai says the only reason he didn't was because he believed Peter could handle the situation. Jai says Ollie would be scared of him, because he scares himself. 
When Dominic and Heidi continue to bicker, Shiloh jokes he may actually miss them. Charlotte tries to talk to him, but he says they don't need to talk as he knows she feels. He says he thinks the others are done. 
In Victoria, Blaine heads off to pick up Jacquelyn and her group. Alexis says she doesn't want him to go alone. He insists he's fine, but she tells Tariq and Jasmin to go with him. 
Peter's and Jacquelyn's groups meet in the courtyard with all the crates stacked. When Shiro and Drew turn up without Jeffery and Keith, Jacquelyn demands an explanation. They say the dead killed them and they can go and look themselves if they don't believe them. Micah is dubious and goes to check. Jacquelyn tells Peter this changes things. Peter insists Shiro and Drew are not liars and he says when Micah comes back and confirms their story, they can take their half and get going, but Jacquelyn says that's not going to be possible. She and her group then raise their guns. Jacquelyn says she had already made a deal with another group and she tells a furious Angie while she still believes violence is the most viable option, she may have a point about there sometimes being other ways. She asks them to leave so no violence takes place. Angie refuses. Jeffery runs into the scene and shouts Shiro and Drew got him bit. Jai uses the distraction to shoot and wound Jacquelyn, who falls to the floor. The group take cover as Jacquelyn's people open fire. 
Javier and Diane overhear the commotion on their way back to the courtyard. He is stunned when Diane raises her gun at him and says "no hard feelings." She is shot through the head with an arrow by Charlotte before she can pull the trigger. Charlotte tells Javier they need him and they rush to the others. 
Jeffery sneaks up behind Shiro and shoots him in the leg. He falls to the floor as Jeffery runs forward to finish him off, but Shiro is quicker and shoots and kills him. Peter warns the others that zombies are entering. Shiloh and Javier kill Larry and Lou respectively. Heidi sneaks up on Aimi and puts her in a headlock, but Aimi twists herself around and kicks Heidi into a zombie, which devours her face, much to Dominic's horror. Angie threatens him with her bat and tells him to get on his knees otherwise he's dead. Aimi then sneaks up on Owen as he and Peter shoot at each other, but Tristan puts a gun to her head. Jai kills him. Dominic trips Angie and kicks her, but Shiloh stops him by shooting him in the shoulder. Angie is enraged and says she tried to spare him. He angrily says she killed Heidi, as she had just finished her off to put her out of her misery. Angie then kills him with his bat. With Owen being the last man standing, he puts his hand up and surrenders, but Jai shoots and kills him anyway, which worries Aimi. 
Peter tells a severely wounded Jacquelyn that things didn't have be this way. She says she didn't think his group were capable of this. As she begins to beg for them to spare Micah, she passes away from her injuries. Peter then leaves to find him. Drew checks on an injured Shiro and says he will get Jai to look at his leg. Shiro jokes he might be better off waiting util they get back as Jai seems to have serious blood-lust. Angie asks Javier where he was. He said he got lost. Shiloh checks on Charlotte just as Micah appears, grabs her, and holds her at gunpoint. They tell him to back down, but he refuses. Angie says the last thing Jacquelyn did was ask for them to spare him and they will do so if he stops, but he makes it clear he doesn't want to live now. He says if he can make them feel even an ounce of how he's feeling, killing her will be worth it. When Charlotte attempts to talk to Shiloh, he cuts her off and says she doesn't get to say her goodbyes, as he didn't with his mother. Peter shoots Micah in the head, killing him. 
An anxious Shiloh asks Charlotte if she's all right. She says she loves him too. They embrace. Shiro jokes that they won, but Aimi says there are no winners. Aimi says she didn't think this is who they were, but Peter tells her that they are a group who look out for each other and if anyone tries to harm one of their own, they take them out, and that's how it's gotta be. Aimi agrees but says she doesn't have to like it. Jai tells Shiro the bullet passed straight through and he's going to be all right. Shiro asks Jai if he's all right as he's just killed several people, but Jai says he's fine. Charlotte tells Peter he didn't have to kill Micah and save her. He reveals Micah said to him earlier that he should do whatever it takes to protect the people he cares about, so that's what he did. Charlotte is touched by this. Peter then says they should load up the crates and leave. 
At nightfall, Blaine, Jasmin, and Tariq turn up to the empty warehouse and the bodies outside. Tariq suggests they follow the tire tracks on the road to see who was responsible. Blaine does so and spots the residents of Midway moving their crates up to their town. Angie jokingly tells Calvin they ate all the cookies on their way home. Henry asks Peter how it went. He says they got the food but it came a cost. 
Later in Victoria, Blaine fills Alexis and Jenson in on what happened. Alexis says she knew they hadn't seen the last of that group. Jenson says they can't know for sure what happened, but Blaine calls him deluded. Jenson says he won't apologise for being rational and not jumping to conclusions. Alexis disagrees with him, and says they have no choice but to retaliate. 
==Deaths==
*Keith
*Diane
*Jeffery
*Larry
*Lou
*Heidi
*Tristan
*Dominic
*Owen
*Jacquelyn
*Micah
*Numerous counts of zombies.
==Trivia==
*First (and last) appearance of all of Jacquelyn's group: Jacquelyn, Micah, Jeffery, Keith, Dominic, Heidi, Diane, Lou, Larry, Owen, and Tristan. 
*Last appearance of the Food Warehouse.
*The title of this episode refers to the deal between Alexis and Jacquelyn's group. 
*Two romantic relationships begin in this episode: Charlotte and Shiloh and Shiro and Drew. The latter is the first gay relationship in the series.
*This episode marks the first time a new group of survivors have been introduced and died in the same episode. 
*Quid Pro Quo is tied with the episode Dead Man's Trigger for the second highest number of death's in an episode, with eleven each. The second season finale End of This Place tops them with fifteen.