No one had slept, by the time the sun first appeared over the horizen they were in an absolute panic that things had been forgotten, misplaced, didn't have batteries or just might not work after being left alone for so long. Tom was always amazed at how double checking things seemed to only make the situation worse. Then by the time the bag was checked for the seventh time it seemed what was once needed turned into an uneeded luxury and tossed aside. He also found that if you dumped it more than four times you would only have to carry half of what was originally thought to be useful, the wonders of improvision.

He was now currently outside eating a small breakfast of leftover fish from two days ago. Tom had brought Ben fishing as a favour to himself and everyone else after the little leader had spent the previous day pacing the docks like a mad man. Ben eventually agreed to go with Tom after he reasoned that the little leader would be soaked anyway so he may as well enjoy himself. Unlike everyone else, who believed Ben to have some phycological disorder, Tom actually enjoyed Ben's company. Tom was a man who liked to talk and the little leader really didn't seem to mind listening, in fact he actually seemed interested and it was a welcome change from everyones complaints that he had already told them. Unfortunatly Ben didn't seem too interested in his stories that day, or anything that wasn't submairne, time, ship or 'state of emergency' related. He had refused to go anywhere that they wouldn't be able to see the submairne dock and though the little leader had agreed to go fishing he had never agreed to enjoy himself.

"Tom is that even cooked?" He turned to see who had asked the question, it didn't help much to turn and look at the person though. If he didn't distinctly know Richard's voice he would have never guessed it was him. He was wrapped up in a long camaflouge raincoat with the hood pulled so far down you couldn't even make out his nose.'Well i'll be damned, there must be some things even the great negotiater doesn't want to test his luck at'Tom thought while he took in the sight of the camoflauged figure.'Not that I can blame him, Ben's favor isn't something I would want to test and toy with either. Tom thought of Richard as more of a negotiater than anything else the same way he thought of Ben as the island's 'little' leader. The way he saw things great leaders and there advisors are not only remembered by their deeds but also by there defined qualitys and habits.

"In hiding I see" Tom commented. Everyone knew Richard wasn't exactly in Ben's good graces at the moment.

"No I'm just prolonging the inevitable" Richard answered cheerfully.

"Okay, what is it" Tom asked knowing that Richard was bursting to tell him something.

"It's finally coming out after ten years" the negotiater answered smileing

Tom suddenly realized what Richard must be talking about and nearly dropped his seafood breakfast in suprise. He had thought for sure they were eventually just going to give up on it and leave it for someone else to put together. Especially upon hearing that Tim Burton had put together another movie that he had greatly enjoyed despite his dissapointment at loseing hope in ever watching the one he really wanted to see. He didn't know how he was going to take Michael Keaton seriously as Batman though. After seeing him portray Beetlejuice so well it would definatly be a challenge, a challenge he could now look forward too if Richard wasn't just pulling his leg.

"Don't get your hopes up on it coming out anytime too soon though" Richard said dropping the cheery act.

"There's been a writers strike since March seventh and it doesn't look like it's ending anytime soon." He stated sounding more than a little depressed."They butchered Star Trek though, it was made up entirely of clips from other episodes. Right on the finale too and get this, the title was called 'Shades Of Grey' how suiting."

Tom found himself smiling at the joke despite the inflateing dissapointment at the possibility of having to wait even longer for the movie he had wanted to see for so long. It seemed that everything was working against this movie hitting theatres, the script rewrites, the limited budget, Warner Bros hesitation to support the many rewrites and now a writers strike too. Tom looked over and saw that Richard was studying his facial expression, in the same calculateing way that Ben did at times. He didn't know who copied it from who or if they were both just observant to begin with but it would definately be an interesting story to hear some time, if there was one behind it. The negotiater let out a slight sigh and reached into his coat pocket pulling out a red plastic bag.

"I was going to save this for your birthday but that's still a long time, besides I think you might enjoy it more now" Richard said in a bit of a guilty tone as he handed it over.

Tom handed his fish breakfast to Richard who accepted it between his thumb and index finger while holding it at a distance. He probably just didn't like the sticky sauces Tom had soaked it in. Tom pulled back the plastic carefuly as he tried not to touch the contents of the bag with his hands, he didn't want the sauces on whatever was inside just as much as Richard didn't want them on his fingers. Finally the cover emerged from the red bag. Tom would have been happy if it was a comic book but it made his day to discover that it was actually a graphic novel, and one with nothing but good reviews at that.

After thanking Richard at length for the gift he decided to squirrel it away in a safe place so he could read it when he came back. There was no amount of money that could convince him to risk the safety of such a special gift by bringing it along on the voyage through the jungle. Especially a voyage where they would be armed and on the watch for anyone they had never seen before that was very likely dangerous. In all honesty the only reason Tom agreed to go was because he absent mindedly agreed when Ben asked.'Why did I even agree to go anyway?' He asked himself as he opened the door to his house and let Richard follow.'I don't feel nervous now but the instant the Barracks are out of sight I'm really going to wish I had never left. Ben probably only wanted me to be at the meeting because he knew I would support his desicion. His point did make perfect sense though, they might be waiting out there to attack us at the first chance they get. I just wish he wouldn't have asked me to tag along. Chances are I'll get startled at some noise and shoot off my own foot, then Ben will have reason to be pissed.

Tom shuddered at the thought of the icy glare the little leader was sure to give him if something like that did happen. Then almost laughed out loud noticing that his thoughts were more focused on how Ben would react in the event that he shot his own foot off than the obvious agonizing pain he would be feeling. Tom slid the graphic novel in his sock drawer where he was sure it would remain safe and easy to find later then left his room. Rentering the room he saw Richard still standing at the door, obviously expecting to just return to the insane weather outside immediatly.'No way, I might be on the search crew but I'm not standing out there and catching a cold while everyone else scrambles to get ready when I've been ready to go since four'."Have a seat Richard, we can relax for a little while"Tom offered "besides it will give Ben a chance to cool off for a bit so he doesn't behead you on sight, I heard him yelling at Kaleb earlier, and he wonders why he's loseing his hair."

As Richard removed his raincoat chuckling at the comment and taking a seat on the couch Tom, being a good host, went to the kitchen to get a small breakfast for his guest. He quickly decided on giving him a peach, Tom left the kitchen and took a seat beside Richard as he turned on the radio beside him. He didn't recognize the station but didn't really mind, it was just there to tune out the storm anyway. Richard had thanked Tom for the peach before he had even handed it to him and was already bitting into it as he handed Tom his fish back. They both ate silentley for a short period of time, it wasn't an akward silence though just a 'I have my mouth full of food and it's impolite to talk with you mouth full' kind of silence. After a while Tom could feel Richards black eyes watching him and politley turned to acknowledge he was listening.

"Tom, I have a question, if Ben is still in a rotten mood and is just as wrathful as ever then how does he actually look... well, not like a walking corpse?

Tom nearly choked on the last bite of his fish hearing that, he would have assumed it was very obvious why he looked so well. He looked back to Richard and smiled as a perplexed expression spread over the negotiaters features. Now Tom really did laugh and before Richard said anything else he quickly answered his question.

"It's makeup Richard, he wanted to look his best for his first impression on Ethan and Goodwin so he just put on a layer or two of makeup."

Richard looked at Tom as if he had just told him that Ben had been living in an underwater kingdom with Merpeople for a week. It was ingrained into the little leaders image to act strange but was very out of character for him to actually do anything strange, so the honest suprise on Richard's face was very understandable. They both laughed for a little while longer then Tom decided it might be best for them to be outside with the rest of the group. He had turned to shut off the radio when he felt Richard's hand on one of his shoulders.

"Hold that thought for a moment Tom, we just might want to wait this out." Richard said in a very grave voice Tom didn't know him capable of. He couldn't see the matching expression on the negotiaters face however because he was gazeing out the window. Tom stepped up beside Richard and followed his gaze and was both shocked and curious at the same time, last he heard she was across the island in the Pearl. It was Bea and she was almost stomping over to Ben who still had his back turned. Apparently the little leader heard that someone was coming and was not pleased as he turned to face her directly. It suddenly felt like everything had froze in motion everyone outside had stopped what they were doing and most likely weren't even daring to draw breath as they watched on. In fact the only thing that didn't seem to freeze was the radio, which continued playing despite the powerful storm brewing out the front door.

Authors Note: Wow this one took a while you keep thinking one more paragraph, just one more and then it becomes three. I guess storys have a way of doing that though, they take on a life of their own. Anyway to get to the point for all you invisible people who read this story for fun everynow and then, The next chapter is going to be a while. I've decided to finally put another story idea on paper (or more realistically to data) and to do that I need ALL my attention over there. Don't worry though I swear I WILL continue this story no matter how long it may take to put up the next chapter. I would never accept a barely done story as complete. Thanks in advance for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely, Adam