Stuff: Right, well I was originally going to make this into a totally different plot but the Aussie heat got to me and I made this into a Kate story. I'm not the biggest fan of Kate but I made an except. Also, read my story carefully. There are 2 names in it that are linked to theatre work. You may not notice it in this story but I'll tell you what it is later. Ok, so enjoy my story and please review.
Sigh, I also don't own Lost...yadda yadda yadda.

"Vladimir Stanislavsky," A man with an English-styled suit on and rounded glasses silently slid a tanned manila folder to his Iraqi employee and continued as the man read through the folder, "is one of five members from a unique group that was currently under the employ of Erton Bestavko until his death at the Asiatic Arctic. Probably for the best anyway; he was working with Charles." The spiky haired man looked over at the man across the table and added with a knowing tone. "You know what you have to do."

As if knowing his cue to leave, the Iraqi stood up from his metal chair and across the medical room, exiting silently through the double doors with the folder clutched firmly in his right hand. The pale American smiled softly to himself and relax his shoulders, sliding into a lightly slumber that quickly took hold of his conscious and dragged him in a deep trance.

Rare as it may be these days, the man dreamed a thousand dreams but were all taken over by a black cloud of swirling despair. "They're coming, and they are coming for you…Benjamin." Ben frowned as he processed the gravelly yet soft voice that echoed through his mind and realized it was directed at him. "You know what to do." Flashes of various images flickered beneath Ben's eyelids as he slept. Pictures of the Dharma logo's, of the Oceanic plane, of each plane survivor that he had met, of needles and of gasmasks flashed through his mind in one swift blur until he was forced awake by the corrupted dream.

"Guh…" Ben clutched his head as he felt a slight headache coming forth and groaned. For now, he would wait for Sayid to come back to him with a successful report on his findings of this group, but until that happened, work was to be done on a different matter.

For the years he had spent outside the Island since he regrettably but honorably moved the Island, Ben had been experimenting ways of getting back to the Island without the help of the Oceanic 6 but to no prevail. The 6 had left the Island without full permission from Jacob and the only way Ben was able to get back to the Island was to persuade the survivors to go on a plane at the same time and hope that it crashed; which, he predicted, would happen. So far, his only ally was Sayid, but after this short assassination, Ben was sure that if he sent Sayid on another mission to get Hugo Reyes out of the hospital and to him, he would have 2 of the 6 survivors on his side.

With a sigh, Ben slowly slid his glasses down his nose and closed them, stuffing the rims in its case and placing it lightly on the table. "Ms Austen…" Ben closed his eyes again, not to sleep, but to visualize the woman that had been by Jack's side the whole time on the Island and only looked at him in disgust or shock. "Let's see if you want to go back to the Island." Smiling to himself, Ben picked up his fedora, propped it atop his soft spikes and exited the main doors to his rented veterinary room. It was time to say hello to an old friend.

Kate Austen wasn't a woman of a lot of words since her time on the Island. She didn't mind not saying much and continued to smile everyday even though her life was slowly crumbling around her and her constant dreams of Claire kept her awake through the nights. She didn't want to admit it, but she was gradually beginning to miss the Island she had called home for 108 days.

As Kate played with Aaron, she couldn't help but think that maybe Jack was right and that she should go back. But remembering that he had turned into an addict and had somehow angered most of his friends from the crash, she immediately dismissed the thought and stood up to go outside for a bit of fresh air. The breeze was cool as it wavered through her hair and brushed her skin as a welcome. It was nostalgic to her. It also brought tears to her eyes. She had left the one place on Earth that she could truly call home and if she decided to go back, then she would be admitting defeat to Jack.

Three knocks at the door was all Kate needed to surface back to reality from her many thoughts and wipe her tears from her face. Before she opened the door, Kate made sure her hair was proper and that the house wasn't too messy. As soon as everything was in check, she opened the door with a smile. A light frown then creased her brow as a teenage boy smiled at her. "Hey, Ms Austen."

The young man had tattoos imprinted on one of his arms and had his hair styled into several serious looking points mounted atop his head. "Hey Tom. What would you like?"

Tom, the boy, looked behind him to see if anyone was watching and replied in a low tone, "Moriarty said he's coming." Kate's smiled disappeared from her face and was replaced with a look of confusion. She didn't know a Moriarty, nor did she ever want to meet one judging from the tone her neighbour had spoken in about him. Without another word, the teen nodded once and left her porch, leaving Kate to stand there with curiosity billowing through her.

A restless night followed that night and Kate thrashed around in her bed as nightmares of Edward Mars, Jack and Sawyer crossed her conscious and jolted her awake at 6am. She wiped the sleep from the corner of her eyes and slipped out of bed wearing only her singlet and short boxers and into the kitchen for an early breakfast. Capt'n Crunch was the only cereal that was openly available on the counter and the only thing worth reaching for at this time of morning. As the cereal boxes contents leaked into the awaiting bowl, a small knock at the made her spill the flakes across the counter. "Damn it."

As quick as possible, Kate pulled her back into a pony tail and grabbed her robe from the couch, shooting her arms through their respected sleeves and raced over to the door to answer. Instantly Kate regretted opening the door. Standing in the middle of her porch wearing an expensive look suit, complete with a decorated vest purple vest, was Benjamin Linus. She tried to close the door but his strong hand pushed it slowly backwards as he entered. "W-what are you doing here?" Kate stuttered

"I just want to talk." As always, Ben's voice was layered with a calm and collective tone that could send shivers up anyone's spine. "May I come in?" The question was rhetorical in itself for he was basically standing in the middle of the frame and ready to come in.

Kate dropped her shoulders in defeat and stood back to allow her unwanted guest inside and into the living room, not even offering coffee or a morning snack. "What would you like, Ben?" Kate tried to be as polite as possible, remembering the time at the helicopter when Keamy had captured both him and her and allowed her and Sayid to leave the Island once Richard saved them, but it came to no avail because Ben was a master at deception and saw right through her politeness.

"Please, Kate, I just want to talk." A small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth as he spoke. "And you know why."

Kate frowned. She hated cryptic messages almost as much as her nightmares. "It's about the Island isn't it?"

"That's right, and the only way I can gather your trust is to show you that I'm not the cruelest man you've known; I'm far from it actually." Ben smiled sincerely and pulled a folder out of his briefcase and hand it across to Kate. As she read it, Ben gave commentary. "This is Charles Widmore. I know you have met his daughter, Penelope, when you were rescued so you're not a complete stranger to the Widmore family. Anyway, he wants to find the Island; my Island and I need you're help on stopping him."

Kate looked up from her reading to glare at Ben. "He's never tortured me, Ben, so maybe I should be on his side instead on yours."

"I've never tortured you, either."

Kate blinked as she remembered her time on the Island. Not once had Ben laid a finger on her and had only ordered Sawyer to be harmed so she would follow his instructions. The only kind of torment he had given her was minor mental puzzles that made her angry inside. Ben continued. "Widmore, if he finds the Island, will kill all your friends without hesitation and purge the rest of my people so he can create a new world that could destroy the Island."

Kate didn't care much for the Island but she did care about Sawyer and Claire and all the others that stayed on the Island as she was rescued. A lump formed in her throat and she became very conscious of herself. A soft brush on her upper legs warned her that her robe had slipped off her and she now was revealing her toned right leg to Ben. In a flash she pulled her robe back up, not knowing that Ben had caught a secret glimpse of her flesh.

His heart was still Juliet's and Ben's accidental peek at Kate's leg only boiled up his feelings for the blonde woman even more. Something about the opposite sex stimulated untouched feelings that made him think. "If I do help you, what do I even do? It's not like I can just go up to Widmore and tell him to stop what he's doing. Plus, I have Aaron to take care of and I'm not bringing him into this." Kate's voice was thickened with warning that should have made any normal person quiver away, but Ben wasn't like other people and stood his ground.

"Don't worry about Aaron or Widmore. All you have to is catch this plane." As he stood up, Ben retrieved a small yet thick envelope from his coats pocket and handed it slowly over to Kate, whom was still sitting down with the folder open on her lap. "Make sure you do catch this plane, Kate."

Kate looked up as her name was called and hesitantly accepted the envelope; unintentionally lightly brush Ben's fingers with her own, thinking nothing of it. Inside her though, she was going cold. She wasn't sure why though, but she quickly concluded that it happened because the packet contained her new future. "What do I do now that you've been here?"

Ben flashed a quick smile over at Kate's confused expression. He enjoyed meddling with peoples minds and Kate was the easiest one that gave him the cool satisfaction of winning. "I was never here." And with that, he left.

Right, well, did you notice my subtle character names. If you like theatre then you may have noticed Vladimir Stanislavsky. The first name, Vladimir, is from my favourite Theatre of the Absurd play Waiting for Godot. It's a very good play. Literally a story about nothing. The second name is Stanislavsky who created the Stanislavsky method that many of our Lost actors use to become One with their character.
Just though you Ficodians would like a history lesson. Also, I'm feeling very tired at the moment and was just think about my homework. Anyway, Later Taters.

REVIEW...please.