XV: Trouble Waiting to Happen
While he waits for the group to wake up and gather at the caves, Sayid tries to tune into airplanes. He has managed to acquire a radio from within the hatch, and he squints at it, leaning over it with a screwdriver in one hand. The frequency modulation has to be adjusted. He has already checked the volume and opened up the case so he can see the circuit board. Under the tuning dial, there is a small screw slot and some diodes, little glass beads with wires on either end. It is these that he needs to adjust, and he presses the screwdriver into the slot, twisting carefully.
There is a loud hiss, and he lets it grow louder and louder, changing the frequency into amplitude, changing FM to AM. Now he finds the little wire coils and pries them apart carefully, separating them without letting them touch another part of the radio. Eighty-eight megahertz has just been expanded to a hundred and eight. He has an aircraft radio.
He sets the radio down, satisfied, and stares at it for a moment. Within this radio contains, possibly, their means of acquiring a signal of a passing craft. Within that, he can find out whether anyone is aware of their situation – and what else is on this island. Mohammed brought the word of God, and I bring the word of Oceanic Airlines. There's a nice parallel in there, and he stares at the radio, satisfied. His fingers rest on the dial of the radio, and he starts to turn it carefully, waiting for a broadcast. All he receives is static, but he feels like he's closing in, and –
"Sayid?" Light glints off John Locke's bald head as he ducks into the shade of the cave. "You'd said to meet here. Not at the hatch?"
There's no weight to the question, Sayid can tell. It's innocently posed, or at least intended to sound innocent. Nonetheless, he puts the radio aside, shielding it with his body as he turns to face Locke. A quick shake of his head. "No, not at the hatch," he tells Locke, a benign smile on his face. "There's no need to make this a community meeting, and if we hold it there, it will be. The others are coming?"
"So they've said," Locke replies evenly. "I spoke with Mr. Eko, and he's agreed to speak with the policewoman – "
"Ana-Lucia."
" – yes. And to keep her under control." Locke's head tilts towards Sayid. "I can see you wanting to take along Kate and me, because we have tracking experience, and Mr. Eko, because he's… well," Locke supplies in lieu of a description, "but I'll admit that I'm a bit confused as to why you want to take along Ana-Lucia, Sayid."
"Because I don't want to leave her here and out of anyone's control," Sayid replies simply. "She is likely to go off and do something hasty, if she is not watched. Like you said, she needs to be kept under control. Besides, if the stories they have told all of us are correct, she has killed – " Shannon " – a few of the Others as well." He hopes Locke won't notice the momentary hesitation.
If Locke does, he shows none of it. Instead, he runs a hand over his bald head, glances back towards the path from which he's come, and then looks directly to where Sayid has put the radio. His eyes light then, and he takes a step closer towards the radio with an innocent, "What've you got there?" Poker-faced, the older man's mouth draws tight. "Let's see." His hand extends for the radio, as if he expects to be given it directly.
He is not getting the radio, if at all possible. Sayid squares his shoulders, tries to think of a response that will divert Locke, opens his mouth to say it.
"Hey! Hey, is this where we were supposed to meet or what?" A voice that has become recently familiar snaps through the cave, and both Sayid and Locke pause. Locke pivots around, as the small Latina strides into the cave. "It's too damn dark in here. What the hell is this, a candlelight vigil? Nobody's dead yet. Some search party!"
Sayid flicks the flashlight on, tossing it towards her. It casts a wobbly beam across the wall of the cave as it arcs towards Ana-Lucia, and he notes her quick reflexes as she moves to snag it out of midair, grabbing hold. She's quick. Alert. Perhaps hyper-alert. But maybe she was a good choice, he thinks. He'd been uncertain about her, but he's pleased to see that she has some merit after all. "We're meeting in here because the meeting is not something about which I want everyone to know. Plus, I don't wish to disrupt things."
She snorts, evincing her disgust for that last remark. "Yeah, well, I don't know what's going on, and you two are going to tell me." It is not even remotely a request. She strides further into the cave, shining the flashlight at the both of them, and Sayid keeps an eye on Locke's reaction. This should be interesting.
Locke lets the matter of the radio drop, turning to face the short woman. His eyes drift above her head and Sayid glimpses the African, Ana's all but silent escort, following in her wake. Sidi Mohammed had bodyguards as big as he, Sayid thinks, waiting for the others to file into the cave. His hand reaches out to slip the radio into his pocket, seizing the chance of Locke's momentary distraction.
To Sayid, it's the strangest thing, too: Locke and Eko clasp hands warmly, already having been acquainted, from the looks of it. Their greeting is warm, and Sayid wonders at this, though it's not his place to ask. He motions them to a seat on the floor of the cave and takes one himself, declaring, "We're missing Kate. I suppose none of you have seen her outside?"
There's some brief shuffling, but nobody seems to have an answer. Ana moves to set the flashlight down so that it throws light throughout the cave, and Sayid is momentarily transfixed by the patterns that the light throws onto the wall, the play of shadows along the cave. It takes him a moment to turn his glance back to the group, and when he does, he sees a figure's shadow cast past the lip of the cave to where they are. From its shape, it's feminine. "Kate?"
She looks upset or angry, somehow, but as she closes in on the group, her face clears and she moves to take an impromptu seat as well. "Sorry, Sayid," she says briskly, hardly apologetic, but Sayid accepts that as an answer anyway. He's got more things to worry about than why she was late at the moment, though he makes a mental note to ask her later. For now, though, he has to concentrate, and approach the matter a bit delicately: This will be a headache to coordinate, and he needs their cooperation.
"We are the search party," he begins, his eyes on them, his tone serious. "We are going to figure out what happened and why, and we all have skills to contribute. John and Kate, you two can track. Mr. Eko, you can fight, as you've made quite evident. Ana-Lucia, you're handy with a gun." He thinks, And I'm not letting you behind to run the camp, because who knows what would happen? – but he chooses not to say that. "We have received permission to take some of the weaponry contained in the hatch – "
" 'Hatch'?" Ana's voice sounds confused, and like she doesn't appreciate being confused. He should have known that would happen, and he winces inwardly. "What 'hatch'? What the hell are you go – "
"Ana," a bass voice reverbs towards her off the walls of the cave, Eko speaking up for the first time since he's entered the cave and greeted Locke. "Please. Let Mr. Jarrah speak."
Sayid shoots Eko a grateful glance, offering him a little nod of thanks. Eko nods back, the silent communication over in a moment. "We will take the weapons in the hatch," he begins again, "whatever we need. The only clue we have is this army tag. A dog-tag, is the name I've heard." He slips the army tag from his pocket, passing it around, watching for any reaction. Kate and Locke both have a moment of recognition, which he had assumed would happen from their entry of the numbers on the tag into the hatch computer, but neither of the newcomers so much as bat an eye at the tag. It winds up back in his hand in a few moments, and he closes his fingers on it, continuing, "That is why I need people who can track. If we encounter combat, then we will need people skilled in that as well."
There seems to be general acceptance, and that relieves him. He had been ready to argue the case for doing this, but there instead seems to be an odd gratefulness for something to do, as the sighs of relief and relaxed postures convey. In fact, the only one to take exception to things is Kate, who has sat silently through the rest of it, staring into nothingness. He had figured her silence for a lack of interest, but as she speaks up, he sees that he was mistaken:
"You're running this, then? Jack put you in charge?" Her voice is quiet, strained somehow. She almost sounds offended at what he has said. "Fine, then." Strain turns to snappishness. "So what do I do, then? Sounds like I'm not doing much of anything, from how you describe it."
"You track," Sayid replies simply. "With Locke. The two of you have experience in the wilderness, and I figured that you would be the best to go out there and see what you can see."
"So what do we do, Eko and me?" Ana-Lucia's voice sounds similarly strained as Kate's, although not half as quiet. She leans forward towards Sayid, businesslike all of a sudden. "If the two of them are going to go out and go after him, do we just hang back and shoot people? Let me tell you, that sounds fantastic." Sayid notes the wary glance she gives Kate. He tells himself: I must find that out later. He does not, however, pursue the line of inquiry. Ana-Lucia will scarcely let him get a word in edgewise to do so, it seems. "Besides, you want someone with a gun on the front lines, not some stick of a hick girl." Her voice is rich with derision towards the other young woman.
"That is why the two of you are not going to be doing the same thing, and certainly not together," Sayid replies coolly. There's no sense in letting an argument develop between the two of them. "Meet me at the hatch." He holds up his hand so Ana cannot inquire further as to what the hatch is. Much to his relief, she obeys the silent request for once. "We start out in three hours. Gather what you need. I'll get the weaponry." He rises to his feet, staring down into the beam of the flashlight on the floor.
If they were in the Republican Guard and this was a reconnaissance mission, he would have dismissed them, and he feels useless without orders to give, without a greater structure to their plans. But they can't tell until they start tracking how things will go. They must be prepared for anything. He hopes that he has put together a group of people who can handle themselves. If not, he suspects, he will find out the hard way. But the fighters know what they're in for, and the trackers know the land – so he has arranged a decent sampling, he figures.
He waits, a bit tense, until both young women have left the cave. He expects John Locke to inquire further about the radio, but Locke, too, ducks out. He starts to follow after Locke, but is stopped in his tracks by a wavering light behind him, glinting towards him silently. He pivots, turning to face Eko, brows raised in inquiry. "Yes?"
"Your torch. You left it."
The flashlight is extended towards Sayid, who is momentarily surprised at the familiar word – British colonial remnants, he thinks – but recovers from it fairly quickly. Accepting the flashlight, he smiles wanly towards the Nigerian. "How do you feel about the plan?" he asks as he starts for the mouth of the cave, feeling the sun begin to stream down. "Do you think we're doing the sensible thing, going out there when we have no idea know what or who is out there?"
"No," Eko replies decisively. Sayid stops, turning towards him, cueing him to continue. "But I think," comes the gradual declaration, "that we are doing the right thing." The tall African considers his words for a few more moments before adding, "And we must not doubt. 'Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.' Ecclesiastes."
Although theology holds little weight for him, Sayid knows the quote is right, its sentiments proper. He offers Eko a deliberate nod, hoping his gratitude is adequately expressed. "You speak truth and, for that, you have my respect," he responds solemnly to Eko before emerging into the sunlight and starting down the path to civilization once more.