LOST: Captives
Chapter 1:
Bargains and Traps
Everything was going as planned…or so Jack Shepard thought. The surgery seemed easy, well, easy to a spinal surgeon, all he had to do was take out a rather large tumor in lodged in the spinal cord. And then Juliet's plan came along, she was a brilliant master of deception, or that was the idea Jack got from her, but he could not deny that her plan was a great one. It was simple, but required a lot of secrecy and a quick movement of a scalpel.
"Make it look like an accident…"the words that she held on the cards flashed through his mind. "…I'll protect you…" they played over and over as the two stepped into the surgery room of the Hydra. There was also another part to this, days before; the same man who he was to operate on gave Jack an offer. "You save my life…and I'll get you off this island…" That conversation played in the back of his head, two choices, two opposing forces, and two chances to get off this island. As much as he wanted to get off this island, however, he also wanted Kate with him. Although Jack was very much in love with his fellow crash survivor, his faith in her was shattered in recent days. "You have to do the surgery or they're gonna kill Sawyer…" she cried to Jack before the operation, he was reluctant to listen, thinking it was another ploy by the mysterious "Others". Jack had no sympathy for them, after Ethan infiltrated the camp and killed one of them. "Poor Steve…"He thought to himself "Or was it Scott?" And then there was Michael.
Michael Dawson did the one and only thing he could do to get his son back, help the "Others. Although he felt no remorse for the murders of Ana-Lucia and Libby, he did say that it was an "accident". Even though Jack thought he was doing the right thing, and his plan was foolproof, there are traps and tricks everywhere. The trap was sprung, and the hunting party had become the hunted, and later, the captured. At the Pala ferry, a small dock far away from the Fuselage, the true leader of the "Others" came to be known. As soon as he saw that man walk off of the tugboat, his disturbing voice crept into Jack's ears like maggots in a corpse. "Hello again…" Jack thought that he had heard the last of "Henry Gale", he was very wrong. Everything went as planned for the "Others", Michael got his son back, the survivors would know to fear them thanks to Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, and they had three new captives to hold.
One thing they did not expect was a blinding light and a deafening noise, it happened for a few seconds, and then stopped like nothing even happened. Even the "Others" were stunned, but they showed no fear or curiosity, as the bearded fellow, who's name was found out to be Tom, said "From the dawn of our species…man has been blessed with curiosity…"He smiled through his ratty beard "..You know the other one about curiosity, don't you Jack?" And now Jack was standing in a surgery room, looking over the sleeping body of Benjamin Linus, the true leader of the "Others". Jack felt a sense of true power, holding his enemy hostage, with his life on the line. Then it started,
"Alright…Let's begin…"Jack said to everyone in the Hydra surgery room.
Juliet watched Jack begin the surgery, the scalpel in his gloved hand cutting into Ben's back like a hot knife through butter, there were three of them in the operating room. Jack, Juliet, and an unnamed other, let's call him Fredrik. Watching the surgery from the observation room above were a few "Others". Tom, the sturdy built unofficial spokesman of the "Others", Danny Pickett, a high ranking member of the "Others" who was hell bent on revenge against all survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, as his wife was killed by one of the them almost two days ago, and Jason, the bald headed "Other" who was a close confidant of Pickett. Those three were there to oversee the surgery, and make sure that nothing unexpected went wrong, well it would. Jack could see into Ben's back, the cartilage and tendons surrounding the boney structure which was the spinal cord, He saw the tumor, a disgusting creature inside Ben's back, it was unusual and grotesque. There was another thing next to the spine…it was a small sac at the bottom right of Ben's back, Jack had an idea. It could buy him time to make some demands, and when those demands are met, it would be his decision to either let Ben die or stitch it up. Jack turned to Juliet and asked her quickly "..Clamp…"Juliet handed him the clamp and he used it to look at the kidney, safely tucked next to the spine, Jack then proceeded back to looking at the spine, saving his move until it was gone. He first had to take out the tumor, it was closely entangled around the square like spinal bone, he proceeded to cut the small, lace like, appendages holding the tumor in place on the spine. The pressure between the tumor and the spinal bone was lessening, and with a cut of the last appendage holding the tumor with the bone, he was able to scoop up the tumor from his stomach. Juliet and Fredrik watched with confusion etching their faces, Ben's blood pressure started to drop drastically. Behind the white surgical mask, Jack showed a small smile.
"What happened…Is he okay?" Juliet said quickly, apparent fear in her voice, she was obviously good at acting, Jack thought. Fredrik's eyes swarmed back and forth, from Ben's back to the box displaying Ben's vital signs, the beeping started to increase every couple of minutes. By then, Danny Pickett and his aide had gone to deal with his other problem, Sawyer, which left the only person in the observation room above the operating room to be Tom. Fredrik stuttered and said to Jack "His blood pressure's dropping drastically…That shouldn't be happening…" Jack nodded and said slowly "You're right…It shouldn't be." This was followed by a swift punch to the face, which knocked the man out cold, his unconscious body falling over into one of the many steel surgical tables, creating a loud crashing noise. Juliet looked stunned and said to Jack, trying to slowly come closer to Jack's position above Ben. "…Jack…" Juliet said, and was answered by a forceful command by Jack "Step away from the table!!" He turned to see the speechless Tom in the observation room, his mouth opened wide. "Can you hear me?" Jack asked the rather large "Other", who replied with a rather nasty sounding "Yea…", Jack nodded and yelled out his command to Tom "Good…I've just made a small incision into Ben's kidney, If I don't stitch it up in the next hour….He'll die…Now get down here and bring the walkie talkie." Jack smiled slightly as Tom succumbed to his demand, walking slowly down into the operating room…Juliet simply stood there, looking down at Ben's unconscious body, laying without movement on the operating table.
Happening at the same time, but outside at the Cages, Pickett had come with Jason to Sawyer's cage. Pickett was obviously enraged and ordered Sawyer to get on his knees…Pickett standing over him, his gun pointed at Sawyer's skull. Kate was forced to watch, Jason standing right behind her with another gun pointed at her back. "Please…I'll do anything you want." Kate cried out, her tears blending with the pouring rain that started to fall. Pickett turned his head towards her slowly and said to her, his voice filled with rage and anger "I want you to watch…" He turned to Sawyer, who said defiantly to Kate "Close your eyes…" Sawyer prepared to shoot him, Kate saying "No…No…" out loud. Pickett said slowly to Sawyer, his anger and revenge pouring out "This is for Colleen, You son of a bitch…" And there was supposed to be a gun shot, but it was interrupted by the familiar voice of Tom seeping through the walkie talkie on Pickett's belt. "Danny, You there? Pick up, Danny! Pick it up!" Danny picked up the walkie and said into it, apparently angry "I'm here…WHAT?" He asked through the walkie. Tom answered, he was now in the operating room, the beeping of the heart monitor increasing steadily, "Are you near the cages!?" Danny looked around and smiled slightly "I guess you can say that…" Tom answered and looked at Jack, whose surgical mask was lowered now, "I need you to give your walkie to Kate." Danny scoffed and answered Tom "Now why the hell would I do that?" Tom looked at Jack defiantly and answered to Danny "Well, because if you don't, the doctor's gonna let Ben die…" Danny looked around and started to grow nervous, he answered loudly to Tom "What's going on? What's that beeping noise?" Tom interrupted him loudly and said "Just give Kate the damn walkie!" Danny Pickett looked around to Jason and gave him a hand signal, saying to the bald "Other" "…Let her go…"Jason holstered his gun and released Kate from his grip against the cage bars, handing her the walkie "Jack? Jack!" She said into it. Jack responded in the operating room, holding Tom's walkie in his gloved hand, "Kate…You have about an hour to get out of there…Run!" She looked confused and answered to him "I…I can't…" Jack yelled to her and said "…Yes you can, Radio me in an hour, If you don't…I'll know something went wrong and He Dies…" He looked at Tom, who watched Ben's heart monitor closely. Kate cried to Jack through the walkie "I can't leave here without you!" Jack yelled into the walkie to her, his heart pounding with every yell to Kate "Yes you can!!", Kate cried out again to him "I can't!" Jack yelled with all his strength to her "Kate, dammit, RUN!!"
Kate nodded slightly and turned her elbow into the face of Jason, who fell to the ground with a loud thud, his gun falling out of his hand. At that same moment, Sawyer rolled under where Pickett's gun was and tackled him to the ground, delivering a well placed punch to the gut that knocked his gun back. That was there chance, Kate and Sawyer both started to run as fast as there feet could carry them away from the cages. They were getting far until gunshots were heard, Pickett and his lackeys were chasing them, and since Kate had given her gun to Sawyer, It was one pistol to about three pistols. They both turned a sharp corner and hid behind a rather large tree, they were both quiet. Kate looked around and saw Jason, the man she escaped from in the cages, looking at her with a evil smile on his face, his other gun raised slowly towards her. Kate heard a small thud noise and Jason fell to the ground, Kate walked forward and saw a young girl with a slingshot in her hand, her dark brown hair tied back behind her back. Kate asked her quietly "Who are you?" the girl shook her head and said to Kate "That's not important right now, but if you help me…I'll get you off this Island…" Sawyer appeared behind Kate and said sarcastically "Well, Ms Sunshine, What if it's a trap and you're gonna try and shoot us with one of those damn shocker things." She shook her head and said "Just call me Alex…You need to come with me…" Kate was about to say something but didn't, she just grabbed Sawyer's arm and dragged him along with her and Alex.
In the Hydra operating room, Tom looked over at Jack while Juliet was busy getting some more gauze packs and said with a grin, "Did Juliet really tell you to kill Ben?" He smiled again. Jack answered with a small nod. Suddenly, a groan was heard, escaping Ben's mouth, it was small at first, but it grew into the word "Juliet". Jack turned to Tom and said angrily "What happened!? The anesthesia was supposed to last for at lease four hours!!" Tom laughed slightly and answered Jack "Hey…I'm no doctor, we haven't used that anesthesia in over ten years!" Jack shook his head as Juliet came over to Ben, The two talked quietly and as soon as Ben drifted back to sleep, Juliet rushed out of the operating room. Tom shrugged her off as Jack stood over Ben's now sleeping body.
Kate and Sawyer followed Alex through the jungle, apparently they had lost Pickett and his men somewhere back. They peaked from behind a large grove of trees and into a small clearing, where they saw a small building. Alex said to them in a whisper "Alright…There's only one guard and when we get in there we need to rescue Karl." Sawyer looked at Alex and asked her quietly "Karl!?" She nodded. Sawyer had remembered the young teenager who was in the cage that Kate was soon to occupy, he was dragged away to an previously unknown location after his failed escape attempt. They all started slowly towards the guard, who was only armed with one of the box like tasers that the "Others" always carry. Sawyer walked towards the man with his gun raised at him, "Don't make a move…"The man dropped his taser and raised his hands. Sawyer smiled slightly and proceeded to beat the living snot out of the man, rendering him unconscious, Sawyer took a set of keys from his belt and said with a grin "Should've stayed still, amigo…"He opened the steel door to the building, the Hydra logo adorning the door. There was a film reel playing on a screen, and Karl was watching, his eyes forcefully held wide open by a machine of some sorts, an IV flowed from a stand on the steel chair to Karl's arm…both of which were held onto the arms of the chair tightly by two steel cuffs. Alex ran over to him and saw the movie that Karl was being forced to watch, "Clear your mind…The World is the enemy…You are wrong, the whole world is wrong…only the mind of Hanso is complete…Since the dawn of our species, man has been blessed with curiosity." Pictures of Swans and Arrows and the small microorganism known as the Hydra were shown on the screen, pictures of unknown things flashing quickly to etch themselves in his mind. Alex rushed to take the automated eye-opener from his eyes and push it away, Sawyer unlocked the bars holding Karl's hands onto the chair. Kate rushing over to take the IV carefully out of Karl's arm, He did not say anything but "Alex…"As he stood up slowly, as they all turned and left the Building, Sawyer shot three bullets into the film projector…which blew and created sparks which lit up the room.
They now ran towards the beach, the walkie talkie in Kate's hand. Sawyer, Karl, and Alex ran behind them, but Pickett and his cronies were waiting silently for them where the boat was. A smile engulfing Pickett's face as he said to them when the came out of the jungle. "It's the end of the line now, everyone…" Sawyer silently dropped his gun onto the sandy beach and said quietly "…Damn…" Pickett smiled again as Sawyer came towards him, he said to the "Other", "What is your problem with me?". Pickett smiled slightly and said "You remember when your group went to the capsule dump?" Sawyer nodded his head, Pickett continued "…And before you got there, you shot a guy that was tailing you?" Sawyer looked at him and said with a smirk "What!? You got a little love connection goin' on…." Pickett stopped him and said angrily "Shut up…Everything you say has to be a smart ass comment doesn't it?" Sawyer shrugged his shoulders and said "Please continue then…" Pickett continued "…He was my brother…And another one of your friends killed my wife…"Sawyer looked at him and said slowly "Well…Not much you can do about it now…" Pickett smiled and nodded his head, saying as he walked towards Sawyer, his gun in his hand " No…I'm gonna make sure you never leave this place again, and your little girlfriend over there too…" Sawyer readied himself for the shot, but was surprised when it was Pickett, not him, who was slumping forward with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. A fully armed Juliet standing where he was, Alex walked up to her and said "I'm going with them…" Juliet shook her head and said "No…Karl can go, but when your dad wakes up and your not there…They'll be hell to pay…" Alex walked over to Karl and kissed him,saying slowly "...Be careful..." Karl was still loopy from the drugs, but was able to say "...I will...". Alex walked over to Juliet, who said to Kate and Sawyer "Get in that boat...And don't come back here..." Kate looked at her and said angrily "Wait!What about Jack!?" Juliet stopped her and said forcefully "Get...In...The...boat..." Kate looked her in the eyes and got into the boat with Sawyer and Karl. They all set off in the small sailboat to their Island, That was slowly appearing in their sights.
"Jack!We're safe...We're near our island..." Kate said through her walkie, To which Jack said haistily "What!? You weren't even on the Island when they held you?" Kate shook her head and said "No...We were on a smaller island, like an Alcatraz sort of place...just off the main Island..." Jack was in shock, he was still in the Operating room, where Ben's surgery was soon to end, with his life in his hands. Only Tom was in the room with Jack, his face etched with a smile at Jack's shock, the tough looking "Other" said to Jack "You didn't really think we lived on that Island,did ya?" He laughed deeply and looked at Jack, who was starting to stitch up Ben's kidney, where he made the small incision. When he was done he took off his surgery gloves and said to Tom "He's going to be sore for awhile, and will most likely need a wheelchair if he wants to get around until his spine readjusts to not having that tumor's pressure on the spinal bone, he will need to take it easy..." Tom nodded his head and weeled Ben out of the OR. Jack wiped his face with a cloth, sweat beads were formed under his surgeon's cap, throwing his surgery gloves into a garbage next to the door out of the room. Awhile later, Jack was taken into the room where Ben was recovering by Ms.Klugh, who was looking calmer and less dirty than before, Ben was laying down on his back, listening to some opera on a pair of headphones and relaxing. Tom was standing next to him, reading a cookbook by Emeril LaGasse, and Alex was sitting quietly next to her "dad", drawing in a notepad apparently from the Pearl station. Jack looked at them and walked over to Ben, who took off his headphones, smiling slightly at Jack and saying "Voi Che Sapete...lovely music..." Jack said to Ben, wearing the white scrub of the Hydra doctors, "Your surgery went well...And I was sucessfully able to take out the tumor, we had a small problem but it was-" Ben smiled slightly and said to Jack, apparently angry, "Jack...I know what happened, You wanted to bargain with my life for your friends...And when they were safe, you choose to stitch me back up...I don't even know why I trusted you.." Jack responded to Ben,his arms crossed, "Well, Ben, You wanted to live, and I was your only chance..." Ben scoffed and said to Jack,before two Others walked twoards him, there tazers in each hands "You really think that after the stunt you pulled that I'm going to let you go?Ha! You're going to where your friends were...and we might just use you to bargain with, just like you wanted to do with me..." Ben waived his hand and put his headphones back on, Jack was shocked and dragged away to the cages.
Jason bursted into the operating room and said to Tom "You know what happened Tom?" Tom nodded and said "Yea...Ford and Kate escaped..." Jason shook his head and whispered to him "Danny's dead..." Tom almost gasped, grabbing Jason on the shoulder with one hand,pulling him out of the room where Ben was. "What the Hell happened,Jason!?"Tom blurted out to Jason in the hallway of the Hydra operating room,waiting for a response "We had them surrounded, Alex-" Tom stopped him and said "If Alex killed Danny...Ben would'nt kill her, she's like a daughter to him..." Jason shook his bald head slowly and said to Tom "It wasn't Alex...But Karl did escape with Ford and Kate..." Tom cursed slightly and turned to Jason, who slowly said "It was Juliet,Tom...She shot him..." Tom's mouth dropped and he said to Jason "HE doesn't like it when things happen like this...She must have wanted revenge for Ethan, she hasn't been the same since he was murdered..." Jason shrugged and said "Well, Danny wasn't the same after Cole was killed...or when Goodwin..." Tom stopped him and said "Don't talk about Goodwin..." Jason nodded and said "Sorry...What do we do?" Tom yelled slightly to him "We can't do anything...We have to let it play out like HE wants...We can't loose anymore of our own...Understand?" Jason nodded and walked out of the Hydra,he said to the unofficial spokesman of the Others "This is getting out of hand,Tom...I don't think any of us expected this..."Tom nodded his head and they pushed the two swinging doors open.
END OF CHAPTER ONE