They pulled their ship over to a rock where a rope was dangling from the top of a large cliff. They wasted no time to pull out a few supplies and wrap a harness with three holsters attached to it to Eko before pushing the ship away. Sawyer and Ben slipped Claire through one of the holsters and wrapped her bound hands around his neck. Then they each slipped themselves through a holster and held on to Eko as he begun climbing.
"We're safe," Ben breathed. "Only Eko is strong enough. Our friend will have to sail for hours till he finds a harbor."
Eko kept climbing, the ground was getting further and further away. He didn't stop for air for one minute. Claire and Sawyer looked down to see the other boat also pulled onto the rock and a man clad in black clothes and a black mask jumped off and immediately climbed the rope, at a fast pace.
"Son of a bitch!" Sawyer muttered.
"What now?" Ben snapped impatiently.
"He's climbin'! He's gainin' on us!"
"Inconceivable! FASTER!"
"I AM going faster," Eko shot back.
"You were supposed to have the strength of an ox!" Ben snarled through gritted teeth. "And he gains."
"I'm gaining three people. He only has to gain himself."
"I'm not going to accept excuses, I'll just have to get someone else."
"Will ya all shut up!" Sawyer snapped.
Ben shot a look at Sawyer, then at the man catching up to them, then back at Eko. "You're job's at stake. You know that."
After a while, they finally made it to the top. Ben quickly pulled himself out before pulling Claire out then heading to the rock the rope was tied to. Sawyer got himself out and helped Eko up as Ben started cutting the rope. It finally snapped and fell off the cliff. Ben breathed a breath of relief, believing that the man in black fell with the rope.
His thoughts were interrupted by a deep whistle made by Sawyer. He looked to see him and Eko looking over the edge of the cliff.
"He has good arms," Eko observed.
Ben didn't want to believe it. He rushed over and to his disbelief, sure enough, the man in black was holding onto the rocks for dear life.
"HE DIDN'T FALL! INCONCEIVABLE!"
"Ya know, I'm getting really sick of hearing you say that," Sawyer grumbled. "Son of a bitch, now he's climbing the rocks! How desperate is this guy?"
"Obviously," Ben seethed, "whoever he is, he must've seen the princess. We'll have to kill him. Eko, carry her. Sawyer, stay here. Meet us at the DHARMA frontier when he's dead. If he falls, okay. If not, the sword."
"Fine. But I think I'll take him left-handed."
"We're in a hurry here!"
"Hey, only way I'll be satisfied. Use my right, too soon. Not much fun."
Ben groaned before dragging Claire off. "Have it your way."
Eko placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Be careful. Masked men cannot be trusted."
He then walked off and joined Ben and the three of them were gone. Sawyer paced around a bit before deciding to check on the man in black.
"Howdy! Slow goin'?"
The man in black looked up at him. "Listen, sorry if I sound rude. I know this may look bloody simple, but it's not. Please don't bother me!"
Sawyer just shrugged. "Sorry, partner."
"Thank you."
Sawyer just paced around again. Finally he got too bored and looked over the edge of the cliff again.
"Could ya hurry up, please?"
The man in black groaned before looking back up at him. "Look, if you're in a rush, could you lower a rope or a tree branch or something useful?"
"Hmmmmmmm. I've got some rope. But you see, I'm here to kill ya, so I don't think you'd accept my help."
The man in black smiled at him. "Well, that puts a damper on our relationship."
Sawyer smiled back. "But I'll tell ya what. I won't kill you until after ya make it up."
"That's very nice of you. But I'm afraid you're gonna have to wait."
"Well I don't like to wait, so what if I give ya my word as a Southerner?"
"Nope. I'm not really fond of Southerners."
Sawyer sighed in exasperation. "Any way ya trust me?"
"None that I can think of?"
Sawyer took a deep breath then spoke softly. "I swear, by the soul of my mother Mary Ford, you'll reach the top alive."
A brief moment of silence then…
"Throw me the rope."
Sawyer went over and got what was left of the rope and threw it over to the man in black, who grabbed it, and Sawyer hauled him up.
"Thank you," the man in black said as he got on his feet
He quickly took his sword out, but Sawyer held his hands up.
"Wait! Take a breather first."
The man in blacklooked at him strangely then sheathed his sword. "Thanks again."
They both sat down, not taking their eyes off each other. After a moment of silence.
"So," the Sawyer said. "Got a name?"
"I go by many names," the man in blackreplied. "How many names do you use?"
Sawyer sighed before replying. "Two. But I usually go by Sawyer."
"'Sawyer'? Where'd you get that name?"
Sawyer was quiet for a moment before bringing up another asking. "Ever been to Jasper, Alabama?"
The man in black shook his head. "Nope. Why?"
Sawyer was quiet again before answering. "Sawyer was HIS name. A confidence man. His best gig was sleepin' with a woman, then pretend he was late for a meeting and pretend to accidentally knock over a suitcase full of money. That would make her want to get her rich husband to invest his money in a large, but fake, business deal.
"One of his victims was my mom. When my dad found out that he was conned, he immediately killed my mom. Then he killed himself."
"How old were you?" the man in blackasked.
"Eight. And since then, I dedicated my life to swordplay and fencing. So when I find him, I will say to him 'Sawyer, I am James Ford. You killed my parents. Prepare to die.'"
Another moment's silence.
"You've learned nothing but how to fight?" the man in black asked.
"These days, I learn to survive and how to search. Can't find him. Twenty years, and I'm starting to give up. I onlywork for Ben to pay the bills. Revenge aint a payin' job."
The man in black nodded. "Well, I hope you find him someday."
"Thanks. So, are ya ready?"
They both got up and drew their swords.
"Yes, indeed. And I'm very grateful for your company."
Sawyer smiled. "You're a nice guy. Sorry I have to kill ya."
The man in black smiled back. "You're a nice guy. Sorry I have to die."
Sawyer narrowed his eyes and his friendly look vanished. "Begin."