Author's note: Sorry for the delay in updating … first I had writer's block, and now someone I know has fallen sick … so I'm a little distracted.

Anyway, in this chapter we arrive at the 'Land of the Free' …

Chapter 2: Land of Nightmares

Tom turned fitfully in his sleep, sweat pouring down his face. He was dreaming – again – of Huck's death; seeing it in short bursts, crying out against it.

Rain … sheet after sheet poured from the sky, running down roofs and cascading onto the sidewalk; drenching the two American agents as they stood huddled, waiting for their quarry …

The Phantom; laughing as he gazed at the two agents, helpless and unarmed in front of him ...

"Who's it to be?" …

"Noooo!" Huck's yell … reverberating around the room … charging towards the Phantom …

A gunshot …

Sawyer woke with a start, breathing heavily. He pushed the hair out of his eyes, realising what had woken him up – "Who left the damn blinds open?" he muttered as he moved to close them. He pulled on his waistcoat, ran a hand through his hair, and moved towards the door even as one of Nemo's crewmen knocked.

"Excuse me," the man called, "but breakfast is ready."

Tom opened the door. "Thanks; I'm going there now."

The rest of the League – as usual – had been waiting for Sawyer for a few minutes when he arrived, mumbling an apology.

"Now that Mr Sawyer has decided to join us," Jekyll said, with a slight hint of irony, "we should get down to business."

Sawyer looked up, surprised. "Business?"

"Aye," Skinner said, through his breakfast. "It's not all sightseeing; being in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen!"

"Shut up, Skinner," Sawyer said, in no mood for the invisible man's antics. "What business is this?"

It was Nemo that replied to him. "Earlier this morning, I received a telegram from the American Secret Service asking for our aid. They request –"

"Whoa," Sawyer said, holding up a hand. "The American Secret Service?" Since when do they call for help? he wondered.

"Yes. It seems that there has been an attack in New York city, which has resulted in many civilian casualties."

"What kind of attack?" Skinner asked. He too – Tom noted – had not been briefed about this before coming to the dining room, but Mina and Jekyll looked like they knew exactly what was going on. Sawyer set this fact aside for later consideration – but why does half the League find out before the other half? he wondered silently. He dragged his mind back to the problem at hand.

Jekyll shook his head. "That's the problem – they don't know who – or what – the attackers were. But whoever they are, they killed 48 people." He dropped a newspaper clipping on the table and pushed it towards Sawyer. "This photo was in a newspaper this morning."

Sawyer felt nauseated. The photo showed the bodies of some of the victims; they had been brutally stabbed and their bodies slashed repeatedly with a knife so that their faces and hands were a bloody mess. He pushed the photo away. Pushing his nausea down, he asked, "When did this happen?"

"Two days ago. The Nautilus has set a new course; I hope that we will reach New York within a week."

"A week!" Sawyer exclaimed, and the League turned to face him. "But … there are people dying; we have to stop this! There could be more attacks before we get there."

"I am aware of that, Mr Sawyer, but I cannot push the Nautilus any harder than she is already being pushed." The Indian captain got to his feet. "You must be patient. I understand that this is a hard time for you, but –"

Tom's resolve – I will not loose my temper at them; I won't let them see my anger­ – snapped. "What would you know about it?" he yelled. "Nothing! You have no idea what kind of time this is for me!" He stormed out of the room.

Skinner let out a short laugh. "Well that was sudden."

"Be quiet, Skinner," Mina said firmly. She got up to follow Sawyer, but Jekyll stopped her.

"Mina – let him be," Jekyll said. "He needs time – this has been harder on him than any of us realised."

Mina fumed inwardly – what does he know about Sawyer? – but held her outward face calm. It would not do for her too to loose control. "I will check on him later," she said quietly. "The meeting is closed."

Sawyer would have preferred to have gone to the conning tower, but the Nautilus being about half a mile under the surface of the ocean made this a difficult proposition; so he settled for his cabin. He locked the door with a sigh, and sat on the bed. Damn, Sawyer, what is wrong with you? he wondered. He knew the answer – guilt. Guilt for causing all those deaths, for bringing so much heartbreak …

A knock on the door disturbed him. "Sawyer?" called Skinner. "You in there?"

Sawyer ignored him. He didn't feel like talking.

"Sawyer?" Skinner called again. "I know you're in there, mate." He waited, but Sawyer didn't reply. Skinner sighed. "Fine. Look, when you want to talk …"

Sawyer heard footsteps as Skinner walked away; waiting a few seconds before giving vent to his anger and slamming his fist down on the table. Why do they all assume I want to talk? he wondered angrily. I don't want to talk about this …

His anger subsided slowly as he remembered that the League were his friends … they only want to help, said the reasonable part of his mind.

But they can't, he thought. They can't help me … because I don't want them to.

Sawyer remained in his cabin for most of the voyage, except when the Nautilus surfaced and he went to the conning tower to practise his shooting. He was getting scarily good at it, Skinner reflected one day as he watched Sawyer. "You know," Skinner said, walking towards Tom, "you're really very good." Tom whirled around in alarm, before realising that it was just Skinner. He shook his head, turning back to the horizon, calling, "Salau!" A buoy landed a few hundred yards away in the water; Sawyer took careful aim and fired. Skinner blinked; when he looked back where the buoy had been there was nothing. "Like I said …" he laughed. "What do you want, Skinner?" Sawyer asked, reloading. Skinner's face fell. Why does the boy have to be so damn impatient? "Can't two friends have a casual conversation?" he asked nervously. Sawyer slammed the butt of the gun onto the deck. "Skinner, I know they sent you to check up on me. I'm not stupid. Look, I'm fine. I don't want to talk about anything, get it? There's nothing wrong with me." Skinner stepped backwards. "All right, Sawyer," he said, raising his hands as a gesture of surrender. "You win." He backed away towards the hatch. "I'll leave you alone …" he said, stating the obvious in case Sawyer changed his mind. "Fine," Sawyer said abruptly. "Salau!" Skinner turned, shaking his head, and left the conning tower. Only a day later they caught their first glimpse of the "Land of the Free" … A/N: Comments/Reviews please!! :-)