A/N – Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Kinda had a little writers block… Enjoy this chapter, and have fun :D Wow, its been like, a week. Sorry all:(
Disclaimer: I dun own Lost. I wish I did.
TotallyLost – Lol, wow. Thanks ;D
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Kailey Curry – Yeah, I am planning to finish it, sorry it took so long to update :P
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9.9 Plan
"Dude…" Hurley stared at the file, quite unable to believe what he saw. It was close to noon, the sun shining brightly in the endless sky above. Hurley's shirt was wet, and it stuck fast to his body.
"Nice mug shot," Charlie commented, shifting a photo over slightly so he could see it better. There was a picture of Jack, with longer hair and no tattoo, holding a plastic beer cup in his teeth, his hand dug in his pocket, looking for something, his arm around a pretty girl with blonde hair.
"Dude…" Hurley took it along with some other papers and sat down on a seat, spreading them out on his lap, getting a better look. The various pages were held together by a paperclip, a shot of various survivors clipped to each one.
"Look, here's one of you," Charlie said, sitting down on the ground, placing the file down. He flipped through the papers attached to a picture of Hurley, with a work shirt on, a visor with a chicken covering his head. "You broke your arm when you were 10?" Charlie asked, flipping through medical files.
"Yeah, why?"
They had everything there. Where Hurley lived, medical records, records of employment, SIN number, and bank records. Charlie stopped when he saw the total. "You are worth a sodden 156 million!"
Hurley looked up from Jack's file worriedly when he heard Charlie. He'd told him before, but what would he think?
"That's bloody brilliant!" Charlie offered Hurley a high five. Hurley grinned, taking it. His happiness was short lived.
"Are those my bank statements?" he asked, moving over to Charlie, reading over his shoulder. Account 45571244862. His account. "How did you get this?" he asked Charlie suspiciously.
"Don't look at me, it was in the file... "
"But then… How did they get it?"
Charlie and Hurley looked at each other, then back at the folder. What was going on?
Hurley sat back on the ground, next to Charlie, and looked through the files he'd taken slowly at first, but started going faster and faster. He took the ones from Charlie, looking at every single picture and name. He came to the end, where a single sheet of blue paper was stapled to the back of the folder.
It was the planes manifest, a record of all the people on the flight. Next to some names, there were red X's. "Dude, have you noticed something strange?"
Charlie looked up from reading the file from the folder on himself.
"Other then this folder containing about 40 peoples whole bloody lives? I'd think that that was strange enough on its own."
"No, I mean, really strange."
"What?" Charlie asked, getting impatient. Everything on the island was strange.
"The people who died in the crash, they're not in the folder. There's nothing on them." Hurley looked at Charlie, who had a blank expression. "The only files in there are the people who survived. How did they know those people would die? Why was this plane here before us? How did it crash? How many people were on it, and where did they go?"
He showed Charlie the blue sheet.
"I don't know," Charlie said, studying it. "I don't know, but we have to tell someone."
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"Ocamm's Razor; the simplest way is always the better way. At least, it is in this situation."
"Your crazy."
"Why? We have everything we need, and even stuff we don't need. We'll get Jack back, and at the same time, take care of the Others. What more could you ask for?"
"Okay, I'm sorry, you're not crazy, you're INSANE."
"Why. Why won't it work? One good reason why." Danoso demanded.
"You're gonna get hurt. Jackass'll kill us if you get hurt, not that I'm scared of him, but I'll kill myself if you get hurt. There's your good reason." Sawyer retorted.
"Boone!" Danoso looked pleadingly at Boone. Please let one person be on her side.
"I don't know," he said, looking down and thinking. "It is a good plan, but Sawyer's right, it has the potential to really hurt someone." He looked at Danoso. "I don't want you getting hurt."
"Ohmygod. Kate!" Two against one.
"I agree with Sawyer. I don't want you to get hurt," she sigh, knowing that the odds were, in fact, against Danoso.
"You guys," Danoso whined, looking around their little circle. Boone sat across from her, his face swollen, but otherwise fine, legs crossed, leaning against a log that Sawyer stationed himself on top. Kate sat to her side, a burned out fire in the middle. "I won't get hurt. And even if I do, it won't be your fault." She looked at their doubting faces. "If we want to save Jack, this is the only way to do it. This isn't about me. This is about Jack. People have started asked where he's gone. They need Jack more then they need me. It is risky, and it's worth it. I need your support; I can't do it without you. And I promise I'll be careful."
"Please?" she added softly. She held her breath.
Boone closed his eyes and shook his head. "Fine…" he mumbled. Danoso exhaled. She'd won one over.
"Can't believe I'm saying this… but alright... I hope you know what you're getting yourself into T," he added. Danoso nodded.
Kate was outnumbered. "You have to promise to be careful."
"I will. I do. Pinky swear?" Danoso asked, balling her fist and sticking out her pinky.
"I must be crazy, but okay." She was going to get hurt, Kate could feel it. But there was nothing she could do.
"Thanks you guys." They all looked at the burned out fire thoughtfully.
"We've got a lot of work too do if we want to pull this off by midnight," Boone said, getting up, scratching his face tenderly.
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Danoso sat in the darkness, listening for any noise that would alert her of Boonies presence. She shivered. Any second now, Boonie would come through the path in the forest, just like every single night. She felt Boone put his arm around her waist, and she scooted closer to his warm body. Sawyer took off his sweater and put it around Danoso's shoulders. He paused a second, then shifted away, embarrassed.
"Cold?" Boone whispered, concerned.
"I'll be fine," Danoso whispered quietly, feeling safe knowing that she could always rely on Boone, Sawyer and Kate. That one of them would always have her back. And that she wasn't doing this alone.
"We're gonna go."
Danoso nodded at Kate, sure that it was getting close to time. Kate and Sawyer hoisted their bags carefully, careful not to jar the objects inside. They faded away as silently and subtlety as possible, only the slight shifting of leaves a betrayer of their movements.
"Do you think this is going to work?" Boone whispered into her ear.
Danoso nodded, and then realized that he probably wasn't able to see her. "I'm sure it will," she said a little louder then she meant to. The leaves rustled, and the distinguished sound of feet against twigs sounded through the forest. Boone let go of her, and placed his finger to his mouth, in a shushing gesture.
He pointed to the other side of the tree, and Danoso got up, silently as she could, and moved. She looked at Boone, seeing only the faint outline of him, and mimicked his position. Hands tight around a rope, ready to pull, legs bent.
The sound of whistling penetrated Danoso's ears, and she began to feel nervous. What if it didn't work? What if she got everyone killed? Boone coughed quietly and she squinted up at him. He held up five fingers, and then returned his gaze to the path just in front of them. Danoso tightened her grip on the rope. She looked intently at Boone's fingers, silently counting to herself, calming herself down.
One of Boone's fingers went down, only four remaining.
What if she pulled the rope, and nothing happened? What if she pulled the rope, and Boonie came after them? There was no way Boone and her could win a fight against a man like Boonie.
Another of Boone's fingers dropped, now three remaining.
What if she made a mess of things? What if it wasn't Boonie? What if she didn't calculate right, or she pulled the rope too soon?
She caught the slight movement of another finger dropping. Two left.
What about Sawyer and Kate? Would they be fine on their own? What if they got caught, what would happen then? And what if one of them tripped? Danoso tried to grab hold of her nerves, the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She felt her body begin to shake.
Boone leaned back a bit, putting down another finger. One left. Now or never.
The steps got closer, the whistling more pronounced. It was Boonie for sure. The tension slipped away from her body, all her nerves gone. She didn't even feel it, and the adrenaline was coursing through her veins. Her mind cleared. The crunching got closer and closer, and all Danoso focus on was Boone. It was do or die.
"NOW!" Boone yelled. He and Danoso yanked the rope simultaneously. For a split second, Boonie froze.
"Whose out 'ere?" he called. Danoso and Boone pulled harder on the ropes. Something crashed hard, near them.
Nothing happened.
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"Guess its just you an' me Freckles," Sawyer stated quietly.
"Guess so," Kate answered aloof.
"What's happening up in that big ole' pimple on your neck?" he asked, sensing Kate's distance.
"Do you think she'll be okay? They'll be okay?"
Sawyer sigh. And so it begins. "I'm betting she'll be fine. She's got Boone with her, and she's a smart gal. She knows what she's doing."
"Doesn't this whole thing seem a little… sketchy to you?"
"You mean, more or less sketchy this whole, surviving a unsurvivable plane crash, living on a island, giant monsters, creepy others thing is? Look," Sawyer said, noticing a hint of distress on Kate's face in the moonlight. "Keep your mind off it. They'll be fine, they will not die. You hear me? They won't die. Just do your part, and make sure you don't get killed either… This should be good," he added. They both stopped, looking down below them. The perfect location. They removed the packs slowly from their backs, and set them down on the grass. They sat down themselves, getting comfortable. Kate placed herself so she could see over the cliff, overseeing the Other's lodgings.
"So…" Sawyer half-whispered, although no one other them themselves would be able to hear him. "Tell me a story," he requested. Kate rolled her eyes.
"After you," she said.
"Lady's first," Sawyer reminded, very gentlemanly.
"And here I thought chivalry was dead."
"Well, it was, but see, I revitalized it, and so now its back. So, its your turn."
Kate shook her head. This was going to be a long night.
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Danoso looked over at Boone. Nothing was happening.
"Nothing's happening!" she shout-whispered.
"Whose that I 'ear there?" Boonie called out suspiciously. Boone held up his finger again, and Danoso clamped her mouth shut. Stupid mouth. Always talking without her brains permission. Both her and Boone slowly stepped forward, not sure what was going on.
Boonie took a step forward as well, and screamed. Danoso froze in the darkness, not able to see what was going on, but hearing every sickening sound. Boonie fell down the hole that her and Boone had created before, and landed with a crunch. The drop was a good 10 feet down, and he landed on his knees. He scream, the pain shooting up from his kneecaps, and through his body, and down to his toes.
"Boone…" Danoso said shakily. She turned on the small penlight in her pocket, deathly scared. She shined it at Boone, who nodded. Tossing it to Boone, she stayed behind as Boone shined it into the deep hole.
"Help! Get me outta here! Help!"
Danoso grimaced and turned away, breathing hard. Maybe she couldn't do this. She heard Boone shuffling around, scraping, and a loud thump. Danoso stifled a sob, trying to calm down. She could just imagine Boone dragging the large sheet of metal over the top of the hole, weighing it down with a heavy rock. Trapping Boonie down there forever. She involuntarily hiccupped. She could still hear Boonie yelling faintly, pleading for help, confused. As much misery as he had caused her, she couldn't help but feel bad.
Boone came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder, turning her around. Danoso buried her head in his shirt, and he rubbed her back soothingly.
"It had to be done," he whispered, "don't cry."
"I'm not crying," Danoso returned, shaking. Try as she could, she couldn't cry for the man in the hole. It wasn't the fact that she was leaving Boonie to die; it was that she was leaving a human being to die. She pressed deeper into Boone's arms, comforted by his warmth, the security he provided.
Boone's head rested on hers, and his arms were wrapped tight around her. He could feel her body shaking under his arms. "You going to be okay?" he whispered finally.
Danoso nodded, and took a deep breath. Boonie had stopped shouting; apparently accepting whatever fate was to befall him.
"Just try not to think about it." Boone gave Danoso a final hug and moved off, putting on his disguise. He slapped on a eye patch, tied a handkerchief around his face, up to his nose, and pulled on a oversized sweater. "How do I look?" he asked.
"Fine," Danoso said, suppressing a giggle. Boone looked slightly comic, but never the less, much like Boonie.
"Are you going to come with me?" he asked.
"Yeah, but I'm not going to go in with you. You're going to have to find Jack by yourself, and convince everyone that you're Boonie, by yourself." The deeper they got into her plan, the harder it was to believe that this was going to work.
"I'll be able to do it, don't worry," he said, walking the direction Boonie had be going.
"Um… Boone, he has an accent," Danoso remembered suddenly.
"I kno' he has a accent, who do ya think I am?" Boone asked, mimicking Boonies accent fluidly. "I've been practicing," Boone explained with a wink. Danoso smiled. This might work after all.
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The trick is not to look obvious, Boone reminded himself, as he knocked firmly on the large, solid metal door. Danoso was hiding in the bushes 20 yards away, watching him, hoping just like he was, that he'd pass off as Boonie. The door opened up slowly, and a chubby short man with a mullet opened it.
"What'd you be wanting this late?" he asked, leaning against the frame of the door, not opening it fully.
"It matter what I want? Dun you kno' who I am?" Boone glared at the man, hoping he would buy it. The man glared back, and then squinted his eyes. Boone started to slightly sweat, hoping the guy didn't know Boonie personally.
"Are you that Boonie boy? The one whose got the doc in the Fade?" the short man coughed out, pounding his chest with his fist.
"The Fade, yeh. That's where he's at." Boone continued to glare, abruptly aware of his arms, wondering if they appeared natural.
"Wait just a minute there sonny, how'd you know he's in there? Just went in not four hours ago."
Boone grabbed his shirt, slamming him against the wall. "Dun ya dare call me sonny ever again chubs, or I'll tear yur head off. Ran into a friend of mine, told me where Jack is. Now, let me in." Boone released his shirt, the mans face pale white.
"How'd you know his name?" he asked, frightened. He'd heard Boonie had a temper, but Beng told him not to let anyone see the doc unless they had authorization from him.
"I kno his name, 'cause I kno his name. Got a problem?" Boone took what he hoped was a threatening step.
"Okay, okay," the man said. "Just be quick, or Beng'll have my throat." He moved aside, allowing Boone to pass. He looked around quickly, and then closed the door, locking it.
Boone looked in awe around the corridor, its smooth rock walls, and the lights that were strung at regular intervals along the roof. The corridor seemed to go on forever, with other passages peeling off on either side.
"Whater you waiting for?" the short man asked grumpily.
"Sorry. Thought ya'd take me to 'em." The man snorted and Boone turned around and started walking down the hall. He closed his eyes. There was no way he was going to find Jack in this maze. He kept walking, passing a couple of led offs. He stopped, looking left and then right. Deciding that the left one looked darker, damper, and scarier, he turned into it.
"Hey!" Boone backpedaled, afraid he'd blown his cover.
"Where'd you think you was going?" the chubby man yelled angry. Boone looked at his face, and watched his chubby double chin jiggle as he talked, Boone only hearing noises, not words. He snapped out of it, just to hear, "the Fade's that way you stupid pritze!" The guy pointed the right passage Boone had dismissed. He stopped suddenly, as if realizing he'd just called the legendary Boonie a pritze.
"Now get going!" he squeaked, shuffling back to his spot on a chair by the door. Boone shot a dirty look his way, and then proceeded down the hallway, thankful when he saw only one door at the end.
The door was wooden, the wood used to make it rotting slowly way because of wet, cold conditions. Boone felt himself slightly shivering, as he got closer to it. It had a small window at his heads height, a piece of wood blocking it so that no one could see in… or out, Boone thought. He grasp the old fashioned handle nervously, hoping it would be unlocked. He pulled it down, and the rust made a slight squeak. It clicked when it got to the bottom, and Boone took a breath.
Please let Jack be in here, he thought. He pulled it towards himself, and it swung open. He stepped inside, instantly breathing in the odors of the room.
"Hello?" he called out timidly. It was too dark to see anything but two big outlines of boxes so soon after coming out of a brightly lit hallway.
"I'm not taking anything, so give up already."
There was one other person in there with Boone. He shut the door behind him, locking it automatically.
His eyes adjusted more to the light, and he saw an outline of a body lying inside one of the cells. "Jack, that you?" he asked.
The body sat up, an arm on knee. "Who is that?"
"It's um… is that you Jack?"
"Yeah, it's Jack." Boone breathed a sigh of relief. Jack got up slowly, breathing carefully. He walked over as far as he could and looked closely at Boone's figure. "Who are you?"
"I'm the one who's going to get you out of here," Boone said happily. His eyes were as adjusted as they could get, a thick orange mist still surrounding everything. Boone walked around the outside of the cell, looking for the entrance.
"Boone?" Jack asked, following Boone from the inside. Boone stopped when he got to the entrance. It was a couple simple bolts, unreachable from the inside.
"Yeah?" Boone asked, grinning. He unbolted the door, and opened it. Jack walked out, his grin visible even through the orange mist.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you… though I do wonder how you got in here in the first place," Jack said, giving Boone a one handed hug. "Watch out for my side," he cautioned.
"You've got a hell of a kid Jack."
"Who…" Jack remembered being out in the rain, hearing Danoso's voice. "Danoso?" he asked.
"Yeah, she's a smart one." Boone started looking around for rope, or anything he could use.
"How is she?" Jack inquired, his face softening. "How is everyone?"
"They'll be better once you're back with them."
"I can't leave though."
Boone stopped what he was doing and looked at Jack. "Why?"
"When they come in here, and find me gone, they're going to come after everyone else. Everyone on the beach, the caves. I wouldn't be surprised if they killed us all, or worse. And how are we supposed to get out of here? I appreciate you coming to spring me, but I can't leave."
"Ahh, see, that's what we're counting on." Jack stared a Boone like he was a madman. "That kid of yours, she's got it all planned out. We'll be really screwed if they didn't come after us."
Jack tried to read Boones face, tell if he was serious. "You're kidding me, right?"
"Nope. Just, don't ask, cause it's complicated." Boone found a length of rope coiled up on the ground. He picked it up, surprised that it wasn't soaked.
"And how are we going to get out of here." Jack asked skeptically.
"Like this," Boone said, holding up the rope. Jack shook his head. He knew what was coming.
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Glen heard the opening of the door far off down the hallway. That Boonie guy was finally done. He snickered to himself, wondering what Boonie had done to the poor doc. He saw Boonie come out of the hallway, and turned around to open the door for him. The sooner he was out, the better. He turned around, and he noticed that Boonie had someone with him. It was the doc.
"Hey!" Boonie looked up at him with a emotionless face, the handkerchief and the eye patch covering most of his facial features.
"He's not supposed to come out until he takes the stuff. Whater you doing?" Boonie kept walking towards him, and the forgotten open door. Glen relaxed a little when he saw the docs hands tied.
"Wait a minute…" realization dawned on Glen. "You're not…"
"Ding ding ding," Boone said, releasing Jack and hitting Glen in the face as hard as he could. Glen fell to the floor, out cold, while Boone shook his hand out.
"Here," Jack said, turning around. Boone quickly untied him, and instead tied up Glen's hands, while Jack tied his feet. Boone wrapped a piece of cloth around his mouth, hopping they would have time to escape. No such luck.
A loud, boisterous alarm began ringing, announcing the island of their presence.
"Sorry buddy," he muttered to Glen, and then ran outside, following Jack.
"I didn't do it!" Danoso jumped up as soon as the alarm started ringing, talking to no one unparticular.
"Danoso?'
She turned around excitedly.
"Jack!" she shouted, running to him. "Thank God you're okay," she said, hugging him tightly.
"Watch the ribs," he warned her, pain shooting through his side. She backed off slightly, still holding on.
"I missed you," she said smiling.
"I missed you too, but-"
"Um, we kind of got to go…" Boone stood awkwardly to the side, eyeing movements from inside the door.
"Right, gotta go. Got it." Danoso let go of Jack.
"Where are we going?" Jack asked, trying his best to keep up with Boone and Danoso as they took off.
"You are going to the beach. Me and Boone on the other hand, have…"
"- Other obligations to fill." Boone ended.
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"Claire!" Charlie called out. He had to tell someone about the folder. It was eating him up inside. "Claire! Guess what we found!"
"Dude, are you sure?" Hurley asked, lagging behind.
"We can trust her. Just until Jack gets back," Charlie reassured, walking up to Claire, the folder in hand.
"What is it Charlie?" Claire asked delicately. She took a deep breath in.
"You okay?" Charlie asked, noticing her breathing was a bit out of whack.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be fine. What were you going to tell me?" Claire stood up, as if to prove her point.
"Dude…" Hurley muttered, looking down at Claire's pants. Charlie looked over at him, then noticed him staring.
"Hurley," Charlie said, hitting him in the side. "Don't be rude."
"No, dude, I mean, look." Hurley pointed at Claire's pants. They were wet, a puddle of water where Claire had been sitting.
"Claire…um…" Charlie muttered, sure that Claire was too old to wet herself.
"What…" Claire looked down. "Oh, my, God. No, no, no."
"Wait, no. Not oh my God. That's normal. Isn't it? Hurley, that's normal right?" Hurley just stared. "Claire? That's normal, right? Nothing to worry about, we won't tell, right Hurley?"
Hurley nodded stupidly, still staring.
"Charlie, I didn't wet myself… it's," she looked up at Charlie, scared. "It's my baby."
TBC…
-LOST-
Cohen101
