Chapter 52
The trees were speaking to him as they walked, their leaves whispering warnings into the night air; Sawyer could hear them and he steeled himself for what was coming. The battle was about to begin.

He tried to focus his energy on this first skirmish in the war they were going to wage; this would be the opening shot by the enemy to take stock of them and he wasn't sure they were ready. Frank Sawyer still kept them apart, he still owned a part of him and that breach between he and Kate was an opening the enemy could make use of.

They would use Kate against him anyway and he was trying to prepare himself for that; when it came to her he lost all ability to be rational, especially if she was in danger. If one of Them made a move for her he would snap and Eko had cautioned him -again- against showing any of his abilities; he had to refrain from turning anyone into charcoal.

Kate walked next to him with her arms wrapped around his waist; she could sense that something was wrong, he was tense and his skin snapped softly against hers when they touched. "What is it, Sparky?"

His arms tightened around her as Vincent growled throatily, his hackles rising. "They are coming."

As he said it the sky went black and everything was muffled and silent; the bearded man stepped out of the trees as a dozen torches flared up in the jungle. "And we're here!" He paused and looked around at all of them. "Well, it certainly is good to see you all again. Did you miss me? You folks don't like to stay put, do ya?"

They were all frozen together; Jack pulled Ana to him instictively, Sawyer pushed Kate behind him and Vincent stood beside her, growling viciously. Jack spoke first. "What do you want?"

The man laughed harshly. "We told you before, Doctor, we want the carpenter." He looked at Sawyer and jerked his head at Jack. "I thought doctors were supposed to be smart?" Sawyer smiled grimly; it was funny.

Everyone looked confused except Eko; his eyes snapped to the man and he said, "The carpenter?"

His eyes flicked to Sawyer, who was glaring at the man with hatred, his smile gone; the man noticed Eko's gaze and nodded. "Yeah. See, this here is our Island and we don't take kindly to people comin' here to take it away from us."

Sawyer snapped, "Nobody wants this damn island, Bluebeard. You can have it; just get the hell out of here and leave us alone." Kate placed her hand softly on his back for reassurance and also as a warning; he backed down slightly.

Bluebeard flicked his eyes to Eko, who was looking a little worried; shaking his head in wonder he said, "He doesn't know yet?" He chuckled nastily and looked back at Sawyer. "Somebody wants this Island, con man. We do." He grinned at Kate and her stomach turned to ice; she let Sawyer move in front of her, blocking his view.

Kate needed him; that thought filled him with power and he was suddenly very calm and serene, peaceful. She gave him the power he needed to withstand anything; the battle was beginning and he was ready. "Don't you dare look at her."

Kate felt the change in him; he filled with some inner light and she could feel the heat radiating from him; it comforted her and she felt calm, too, as she leaned just slightly into Sawyer's back, letting him feel her presence.

Snickering nastily, Bluebeard said, "You ever hear of John Owen?" He paused, his eyes glinting in the torchlight; Eko nodded and he smiled. "Yeah, I figured you would. He was a Theologian during the English Civil War and he sided with Cromwell against the Crown; in return for his faith he was rewarded with several high posts in the Church. During that time he wrote a lot of essays on the nature of faith and religion, especially focusing on atonement and temptation. In fact, he said 'Temptation is like a knife that may either cut the meat or the throat of a man; it may be his food or his poison, his excercise or his destruction.'" He paused and stared intently at Sawyer. "Ain't that how it always is? Everything has two sides." He turned away, grinning at Eko. "You know Mark Twain, I believe? He had something to say about temptation too. He said, 'I deal with temptation by yielding to it.' I like that a lot better. It's so much...easier. On everyone." As he said that he looked back to Sawyer, who was standing serenely; Kate could feel him trembling, though, and she pressed a little closer to him. Bluebeard's smile disappeared and he said, "Well, lets get down to it, shall we?" He held his hands up in the air and a small black cloud swirled itself into a ball above his fingers; he pulled it down and held it out to Sawyer. "Take this."

Sawyer didn't want to; he glanced at Eko who smiled and nodded. This was a test to see if James was ready; if he did not pass this test they were all in trouble. Sawyer reached out and took the ball from Bluebeard's hands being careful not to touch him. He held the ball in his hands and looked into it.

The whirling smoke parted and it flashed. Sawyer gazed into it, stunned and saddened by what he saw. The man smiled. "You hunger for that, don't you? You always have."

Kate tried to look around him into the smoke, but Eko pulled her back, shaking his head. "Katherine, this is his battle to win. Just be there for him." She looked rebellious, but then she nodded and put her hand back on him, softly, lending him her strength.

Sawyer was still staring into the ball; it was him, he was a little boy, standing with his mom and dad and they were happy, smiling and laughing and together. A family. The man laughed. "Yeah, I figured that one would get to you. You can have that, you know. Come to us and you can have that again."

He wanted to; he wanted his family back, the chance to go back and do it all over. But he didn't need to anymore, he had a reason for keeping his life where it was right now; reliving his past wasn't necessary. He smiled at the image once more then shook his head. "No. I don't need it anymore."

Bluebeard smiled. He was gonna be tougher to crack than he thought. "Okay, then try this one." Sawyer gazed back into the cloud and it rolled and flashed and a new vision swam into focus; it was him, holding a gun on Frank Sawyer as he read him the letter. Then he pulled the trigger. "That is what you've wanted all along, isn't it?"

Sawyer could feel the weight lifting from his chest as he said, "Yes."

Kate didn't like his tone, she clutched her fingers into his back, digging them into his skin. "Don't, James," she whispered and his stomach flipped at his name. He stopped and relaxed a little. It wasn't real. It wasn't real.

The man frowned. "You can still do it, con man, ease that burden you've carried for so long. The Island will give it to you, if you ask. If you come to us."

He gazed at the vision for a few more seconds. He wanted it; to be James he needed it. Only Kate's hand on him stopped him from going. Sighing, he shook his head. "No. I don't need it anymore." His voice wasn't as sure as his words and Bluebeard smiled.

"You've been prepared well, con man. But I saved the big guns for last." He nodded at the ball and Sawyer looked into it, reluctantly. He was afraid he already knew what was coming.

Bluebeard's voice became soft and cajoling. "It's hard to resist, isn't it? You can have it if you come to us. It can be real, you can make it real. You will have that power if you join us."

He wanted to cry; he wanted to have it. He was so tempted, to give in and let Them take him if he could have the reality of what he was seeing.

Eko watched him in fear; the vision was a powerful one and it was for this reason that he hadn't wanted James to see it beforehand. It had time to work on his mind, to think on just how much he wanted it to be true and now that the time had come for him to deny it Eko was not sure he could do it.

Kate was scared; he wasn't doing anything, just staring into the ball, its flashes reflecting on his face as he gazed at it, enraptured. The world lay before him; the possibilities of a life he never dared to hope for spun in the swirling cloud. He wanted it. He needed it.

He was wavering; the man could see it. He smiled triumphantly as Sawyer raised his shining eyes from the ball. "No," he said hoarsely, and as he let go of the swirling smoky globe it dissipated into nothing and disappeared. "No, I don't need it." He could barely choke out the words because they were a lie; but the real Kate was here with him, now, and he wouldn't sacrifice her or himself for something that was only a possibility in swirling smoke.

The man gritted his teeth in frustration. "We're gonna get you, con man, one way or another. Next time we won't be so nice." He leered at Kate. "And I'll be seeing you again, sweetheart." He flicked his eyes over her and she grabbed Sawyer's arm to keep him from leaping.

The man melted into the jungle angrily, and the torches disappeared as the stars returned; life returned to the night and everyone just stared at each other for a few minutes. Eko smiled finally and went to Sawyer, clapping him on the shoulder. "Very good, James. You did wonderfully. I think you are ready, but for one more thing I must show you." He glanced around the jungle warily, then at Jack and Ana, who seemed to be recovering from their shock; Jack was pulling away from Ana and coming over to them. "Now is not the time, you understand? Be patient, James."

Jack stopped inches from Sawyer and said angrily, "What was all that about? They threatened to take Ana if we didn't bring him the carpenter. Why did he call you that?"

Sawyer froze and Eko said, "Because that is what James did in the real world. He was in construction, yes, James?"

Sawyer smiled a little ruefully. It wasn't completely a lie, he had run some construction cons. "Yeah. I was in construction." Kate ducked her head and grinned; she could just imagine what he meant by that.

Ana came up too, she avoided looking at Kate. "What was that thing in your hands? What did you see?"

Sawyer didn't know how to answer and Eko came to his rescue again. "Now is not the time to discuss this. We need to push on to the hatch, where the jungle does not have so many eyes and ears."

Jack looked like he was going to argue but he glanced at Ana and then Kate; they both looked a little worried and scared. He sighed. "Fine. Let's go." He held out his hands for Eko, bowing with mock politeness; he wanted to know what was going on and it was pissing him off that he couldn't get a straight answer.

Eko smiled and started into the trees, Sawyer and Kate followed behind him, with Vincent padding softly behind them; he wanted to get away from the other two; he suspected that was why He wasn't talking to him anymore and he missed their conversations. He woofed softly to himself in the dark and Kate felt Sawyer grin above her. "I know, Fido," he said, his voice low so Jack and Ana couldn't hear. "I don't like 'em either."

Kate smiled and pressed her face into Sawyer's shirt, her arms wrapped around him. "I'm proud of you, James," she whispered. "I knew you could do it."

He squeezed her and brushed his lips across her forehead, his heart flipping as she said his name. "Don't call me that Kate, please. I ain't him, not yet, and it won't mean as much until I am." He bent his head to hers and kissed her softly, gently as thay walked; he pulled away and said, "I will be soon. And then that is the only name I ever want you to call me."

Kate's heart sang; she swallowed it and said, "Well I can't make that promise, Tex, 'cause you just seem to inspire other ones."

He laughed and sighed happily. "As long as you don't call me Jack."

She chuckled with him and their laughter melted together in harmony as it floated through the jungle canopy and up to the stars.

-----

Locke was kicked back in the chair next to the bank of televisions; he had files spread across his chest and they rose and fell with his breath as he dozed with his feet propped up on the desk.

The shrieking alarm went off again and Locke jerked awake spilling files everywhere as he jumped from the chair; he ran to the lone TV and watched as a view of the ocean flickered on. In the distance there was a small ship, like a fishing boat; he could just make out the nets hanging from the rigging. The automated voice cranked up saying, "Incoming detected. Scanning." John waited tensely; it felt like forever; finally the voice said, "Target acquired. Activating tesseration sequence." The computer below the TV flashed on with the familiar countdown, but as Locke's eyes flicked back to the TV he saw a long column of black smoke rolling across the water, and as the coundown reached zero it exploded, expanded across the ocean with lighning flashes and rolling smoke; it held in place for a second, extended so far across that Locke could see the fishing boat through it. Then, flashing and sparking it collapsed upon itself and zipped back across the water and before the television could flicker off Locke noticed that the boat was gone.

The voice echoed through the room, "Tesseration complete. Target acquired."

Locke stared at the blank screen. What the hell?