A/N: The next instalment. This is a little bit shorter, but I think it makes up for it in content. As per usual, I don't own the characters, I just like to play with them.
This is dedicated to my first three reviewers - HotChilliGriffin, hobbitsontheisland, and Imzadi.
September 26, 2012
Somewhere on the outskirts of Los Angeles
Three days after they asked him to hack into the DI's system, Sayid asked Kate and Charlie to meet him, so that he could pass on the information and introduce them to his contact in the rebel organisation. They chose a meeting place in a rundown area on the outskirts of the city – not the safest area, but there were fewer DI guards and cameras around.
Sayid was waiting in what was, at least technically, a park. He had been there only a few minutes when a young girl (no more than sixteen years old) casually walked up to his bench and sat down on the other end. She surrepitiously looked around, then edged closer to him.
"Sayid?" She whispered. "I got your message. What's up?"
"A colleague from the record store came to me with a favour. His girlfriend is missing, as is a young man, also a friend. My colleague and the young man's girlfriend believe they were taken by the enemy, they asked for my help. I told them I would arrange for them to speak with our mutual acquaintance. Is this acceptable?"
The girl nodded. "I think it'll be OK. Who are the people who went missing?"
"The girl is Claire Alicia Littleton, eighteen years old. The young man in James Ford, known as Sawyer, nineteen years old."
She took out a small notebook and scribbled down the names. "So, who am I meeting?"
"My colleague, Charlie. And his friend, Kate." He glanced up. "Ah, they're here."
When Kate and Charlie reached the bench, Sayid and the young girl stood up.
Kate
looked anxious. "So… did you get anything?"
"Yes. I'll
tell you everything shortly. You remember I told you about a group of
people who might be sympathetic to your cause?"
"Yeah."
"This is Alex. She can take you to those people."
Kate looked at the younger girl sceptically. "How old is she? Shouldn't there be an adult doing this?"
"Actually, I'm sixteen, and there are younger kids than me involved. And it doesn't matter how old I am, I'm the only person who can help you. Sayid's good at what he does, but he doesn't know where our headquarters are. He doesn't know who our leader is. So you show me a bit of respect, or you're on your own." Alex glared at her.
"Er… okay, I'm sorry. You're right. I didn't realise."
"Apology accepted. Now, do you two want to do this or not?"
"Yeah,
of course we do."
"Really? Are you absolutely serious about
this? Because if either of you has even the slightest doubt in your
mind about doing this, then you should go home now."
Kate and Charlie looked at each other, and Kate turned back to Alex. "Yeah. We're sure."
Unexpectedly, Alex grinned. "Great. None of you have anywhere to be, right?"
They all shook their heads. "Okay then. Let's roll."
September 26, 2012
Tunnels leading to the Rebel Headquarters
Alex led the other three along a very complicated route through the city, which ended in the cellar of an abandoned apartment building, where there was a trapdoor. She opened the trapdoor, then stopped and turned back to her companions.
"Okay, this is it. This door leads into a tunnel network, and on the other side of the tunnels is our HQ. Now, the tunnels are pretty confusing, and it's dark down there… so that no-one gets lost, I'm going to rope us together. I'll go in front, you just need to keep moving and watch out for sharp turns."
Alex swiftly took a long rope from her shoulderbag, and tied one end around her waist. She then looped the rope around the waists of Kate, Charlie and Sayid, leaving a couple of feet between each of them. That done, she set off.
For Kate and the guys, it seemed to last hours – their path twisted and turned through a maze of tunnels. Eventually, however, they spotted a red light in the distance. Alex informed them that the light signalled the entrance to the rebel headquarters, but she didn't untie the rope until they were right in front of the door. She pressed the intercom button, and when a voice asked for the password, she said "Jnana" and the door swung open. On the other side there was another tunnel, but this one was wider and well-lit. There was a small guard-post next to the door, currently manned by an African-American man wearing a tshirt, a pair of old army combat trousers and battered trainers, with a pistol in a holster at his side. He looked puzzled.
"Alex? Who are these three? Does he know you've brought them?"
"It's all right, Michael. They're on our side. Sayid here left a message for me and when I asked the boss, he told me to bring them here."
"Oh, okay then. He's in his study."
"Great."
Alex turned to the other three. "Come on. He's waiting." They followed her through the underground complex. As they hurried after her, Kate saw quite a lot of people – there was a good-sized kitchen, a big common area. She could also see various doors leading off to other parts of the base. They were led through one of those doors, and into a small anteroom, where there was only a desk and chair, and a door. The chair was occupied by a young man reading a book. Kate noted that he had a rifle leaning against the desk. The young man looked up. "Alex?"
"Is he in, Aldo? He asked me to bring these people to see him."
"Yeah, he's in. Go ahead." Alex knocked on the door, and was answered by a voice calling "Come in." She opened the door slowly.
"I brought them in. Sayid, and the two new people."
"Excellent." Kate, Charlie and Sayid saw that the "study" was a small room, which held a desk, a computer, two chairs in front of the desk, and several bookcases. Seated at the desk was a handsome, dark-haired man, who looked like he was in his mid-thirties. Unlike everyone they'd seen so far, he was wearing a smart shirt."Ah, hello. Come in, please. I'm Richard."
"Kate."
"Charlie."
"Please,
sit down. Alex tells me you need help."
"That's right."
"Well, tell me your story and we'll see what we can do."
Over the next hour or so, Kate and Charlie told their story. Richard listened carefully, nodding and occasionally writing something down. When they finished, Sayid told them what he had found – that there was a record of Sawyer and Claire being taken into a DI facility. He also had the address of the building, blueprints, and other information that would help them get into the facility. He had also found Sawyer and Claire on a list, which seemed to be a list of those people currently being held in the experimental facility. Richard took the printout of the list – the other names were a Desmond Hume and a Walt Dawson. He frowned.
"Sayid… do you know anything more about these other people?"
"Hume and Dawson? No. Only their names. There were files on them, but the security on those files is beyond anything I've ever come across. Do you know them?"
"Not personally… but one member of our organisation is Michael Dawson… and his son, Walt, went missing three years ago. He'd be thirteen now. It could be the same person."
"I could try to access those files again. I have a new program I want to try out. Only experimental, but it might work."
"That may be a good idea. As it is, if we enter that facility to get your friends out, we can hardly leave two other people trapped there."
"So… you'll help us?" Kate was fiddling with a strand of her hair.
"I think we have the same aims. Yes, I'll help you get into that facility."
"Thank you."
He shook his head. "Don't thank me until you have your friends back. Anyway, we're only trying to do what is right." He sighed softly. "Now, how would you like to see the rest of our base?"
"Er… OK."
"Come on. I'll introduce you to everyone." He got up and led the way out. Kate and Charlie were the last to leave, and Kate whispered. "He seems OK… you think we can trust him?"
"Yeah…"
Alex had come back to get them. "Are you two coming?"
"Oops, sorry." They hurried after the others.
The base turned out to be smaller than they had first thought – there was a central common area, with an adjoining kitchen and storeroom for food. There was Richard's study, and a large room with several computers and other rather technical-looking equipment. Finally they were shown the sleeping quarters – two rooms, each with a dozen or so sets of bunkbeds, with doors leading off to washrooms. When the tour was finished, they went back to the central area. Richard returned to his study, while the visitors stayed to talk with the other rebels.
Alex found her boyfriend Karl – also sixteen – and they disappeared together. Sayid was standing near the entrance talking to Michael, and Charlie had somehow found a young rebel who owned a guitar, so he was entertaining a small crowd in a corner.
Kate, meanwhile, wandered into the kitchen, where she found a middle-aged woman in the middle of preparing a meal. The woman looked up when she heard Kate come in.
"Oh, you must be one of the folks Alex brought back. I'm Rose."
"Uh… hi. I'm Kate."
"Nice to
meet you. So what did you want to speak to Richard about?"
"Two
of my friends were kidnapped. I want to get them back."
"Ah, I see."
"Will he be able to do it?"
"It's not really my place to say…"
"Please?"
"…he'll
do his best. Richard's a good man. He's got history, true, but
who doesn't?" Rose saw that Kate looked worried. "Don't
worry, sweetheart. He'll do all he can."
"You have a lot of
faith in him."
"I've been around him for a long time. I've
got to know him."
"Rose…"
"Yes?"
"What
do you do here?"
"Now, that's a bit complicated. Sit down,
I'll tell you."
Kate noticed the table and chairs in the centre of the room, and sat down. Rose continued:
"Well, some days I come down here and cook for this lot. They're good at what they do, but most of 'em can barely boil an egg. I don't live down here, see. I live up there, with my husband, Bernard. He's a dentist. Anyway, our house is in one of those areas where the DI's not all that powerful, and it's a big house, so we loan out the spare rooms to this lot. Sometimes, when they've been up to something, we let them hide out with us. Alex lives with us, you know."
"Alex?
Really?"
"Sure."
"What do
you know about her? She seems so young to be involved in this."
"Ah,
Alex might look young, but she's wise beyond her years, that one.
Still runs around with that Karl, but she's a bright girl."
"Richard
seems to trust her."
"He does. She's his
second-in-command."
"What about her family? Wouldn't they
object to her being in danger all the time like that?"
"Well,
Alex doesn't exactly have a family in the conventional sense."
When Rose saw the puzzled look on Kate's face, she continued. "Her
mother disappeared fifteen years ago. Alex was only a baby, but her
father was still around back then. As far as I know, everything was
fine until Alex turned eleven."
"What
happened then?"
"I'm not exactly sure. She doesn't like to
talk about it. I do know that her father works for the DI. When she
was eleven, she accidentally found something in his study that she
wasn't supposed to know about. He was involved in something bad,
something really bad, and although she was only a child she knew what
she'd found. She ran away from home, and spent more than a few
nights on the street."
"Oh…
what happened?"
Rose smiled. "Richard. He was younger then,
and he hadn't started all of this yet. Back then he was more
focused on finding homeless kids and looking after them. He would
bring them to me, and I would make sure they had a good meal and a
safe place to sleep. He found Alex sleeping in a DI 'phone box, of
all places. The next day, she told him why she'd run away, and it
was the story she told him that day that persuaded him to concentrate
on taking down the DI."
"You don't know what she said?"
"No. She would only tell him. Anyway, since then those two have been like family to each other. She'd lost hers, and I don't think Richard's ever had one of his own. Something just clicked between them. Don't tell him I said this, because he'll deny it, but I think he's more of a father to her than her actual father ever was. It was him who insisted she live with me and Bernard."
"Didn't
her father come looking for her?"
"Darlin', so many kids go
missing or run away in this city… even if he did, he'd never find
her. Not if she doesn't want him to. She's happier here anyway.
These folks are her family."
"Oh. It's just… I ran away from home. I was fourteen. No-one came looking for me. Not even my mom. No-one even cared about me 'til I met Sawyer – my boyfriend. One of the people I'm trying to find."
"Well there you go, then. You know what it's like, wanting to have just one person who cares. You found a boyfriend, Alex found a father-figure."
"Yeah.
You're right." Kate thought about something for a moment. "Do
you know Alex's real father's name?"
"Now that I do know.
His name's Linus. Dr. Benjamin Linus. He's some kinda scientist,
a psychologist or something. You know him?"
"No. Never heard
of him. I just thought he might be involved in my friends being
kidnapped."
"Anything's
possible."
"Rose… could I help you cook?"
"Why, 'course you can. I'm always glad to have someone to help. You can get started peeling those vegetables." Rose handed her a vegetable peeler, a bowl for the peelings, and a basket of carrots and potatoes.
Kate spent a happy couple of hours in the kitchen with Rose – talking about everything and nothing. Later, she, Charlie and Sayid were invited to join the meal – an invitation they accepted. By the time Alex led the three of them back to the outside world, Kate was feeling more hopeful about her self-appointed mission.
September 26, 2012
Rebel HQ – evening.
When the three visitors had left, and those of the rebels who lived with Rose and her husband had departed for the night, another visitor knocked on the door at the main entrance. Michael – still on guard duty for another six hours – pressed the intercom button.
"Password?"
"Hatha"
Michael checked the password against the list – different people had different passwords, it helped to stop people trying to infiltrate the base. The password "Hatha" was assigned to a young Korean man, Jin-Soo Kwon. Michael relaxed and opened the door.
"Jin! Good to see you, man. Where've you been?"
"I've
been training for a mission. It did not leave much time for social
visits. Is he here?"
"Yeah, he's in his study. Go on
through."
Jin headed straight for Richard's study. This time, the desk in the anteroom was unoccupied, and the Korean knocked on the door.
"Door's open."
He pushed
the door open. "Sir. I've come for my briefing."
"Ah, Jin.
Excellent. Your training is complete?"
"It is."
"And your cover story?"
"It is perfect."
"Tell
me."
Jin began to recite. "I am employed by a private security
firm, Candle Security. The company is favoured by powerful members of
Dharma. I have been assigned as the replacement bodyguard for the
daughter of Mr Paik, one of the directors of Dharma, following the
unfortunate unavailability of her previous bodyguard."
Richard
raised an eyebrow. "Unavailability? What did you do?"
"I
told him that mobsters in his home town were threatening his family.
He went quickly, of his own free will and without stopping to pack."
Richard laughed. "Good. Your assignment to the Paik girl is secure?"
"It is. Are you sure she is who we should be targeting?"
"I've
done my homework. She's his only child, her mother is dead. She
seems to be harmless, but
she knows something. I've had a hacker looking at her 'net
activity. She's been accessing a few too many revolutionary sites
to be just an average socialite. If we can get her on our side, she
could be invaluable to our cause."
"I see."
"When
are you due to start your assignment?"
"Tomorrow."
"Good.
Be careful – don't act too soon. Get to know her a little first,
and find a way to introduce the subject gradually."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. You can go now, Jin. Get some sleep.
A/N: So... how was that? I changed a few things - Walt's last name, for example, and I made Ben Alex's biological father.
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