"The timer's just not working. It's not sensing when to stop." Kate stood in her flowered dress, her arms folded across herself, tapping her sandaled foot impatiently. "I want it fixed in time to cook for the meeting."

Sawyer leaned against the door frame, his dimpled cheeks forecasting the sarcasm to come. "Don't worry, freckles, Mohammed's always been handy with pliers."

Sayid stood from where he was kneeling behind the stove. He ran his blackened hands down the front of his pants to remove some of the soot. "In fact, I require only a screwdriver." He glanced behind Sawyer. "What happened to my apprentice?"

Aaron pushed his way past a disgruntled Sawyer and handed Sayid a flathead.

"Ain't there child labor laws in these here parts?" Sawyer exaggerated his accent. "He's only seven."

Kate shot him a peeved glance. "You know Locke thought it would be best if Sayid taught Aaron a few things. Stop with the-"

Her words were interrupted by a loud rumbling that caused the entire house to shake, so that the china in the adjoining dinning room rattled on the hutch. Sawyer rolled his eyes and sighed audibly. "Here we go again." Sayid rose with less resignation and more action.

Soon, the four had exited the house into the street, where a curious Hurley stood gazing into the sky as a small passenger plane careened downward toward the distant shore. From throughout the village, other doors flew open, and soon a small crowd had gathered to witness the display.

Locke approached quietly from behind and spoke authoritatively. "Jack, make sure all of the cameras are up and running. Sawyer, prepare the cages. Sayid, head for the shoreline and infiltrate the survivors."

The men began to fan out. Sayid stopped after half turning. "When do you want the list?"

"Take as long as you need. We only want the best this time."

Sayid nodded and ran down the street.

"That was bloody loud for such a small plane," said Charlie, still looking at the last remnants of smoke in the sky.

Locke shook his head gently from side to side. "It's a shame they're going to fight us. If only they knew it was all going to be for their own good-"

"Yeah, well, they wouldn't believe that now would they?" Charlie asked. "Not anymore than we did."

Locke nodded calmly and sagely. He raised his pale blue eyes in Kate's direction. "You'll still have dinner ready by 6?"

The End

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

If you enjoy my fanfiction, please check out my novels at Amazon. They are available in both paperback and Kindle editions.

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