Chapter 131
Kate tried to hide her terror as Hanso's men spread out around them in a circle, even as they closed into their own little circle with Kate inside of it; Sawyer, Sara and the two boars kept her hemmed in, protected, as Hanso and Locke stepped closer.
Sawyer was thrumming beneath her nervous fingers and it gave her strength; as her fear lessened she felt his power grow and she could feel the sparks pulsing just beneath his skin. "What do you want?"
Hanso scoffed at Sawyer. "You know what we want, don't you?" he smiled and quoted, softly, " 'Why should Titania cross her Oberon? I do but beg a little changeling boy, to be my henchman.'" He winked at Kate, whose heart had frozen; they wanted Joshua? How did they even know? "Shakespeare."
She felt Sawyer tense and begin sparking as Sara said, " 'Set your heart at rest; the fairy land buys not the child from me.'"
Hanso nodded, smiling at Sara. "Yes. An English teacher would know Shakespeare."
Terror gripped Kate in icy clutches and she was suddenly glad to have the two of them holding her up because her knees were watery with fear like she had never known; she realized that her hand was clutched around her stomach fiercely, gripping with such force that she had dug furrows in her skin. Her other hand was on Sawyer's back, and she could feel indefineable rage welling up as he hissed, "You're not going to lay a finger on her, or him, so just go on home to your little chemistry set and save yourself some serious trouble. Savvy?"
One of the men leveled his gun on Sawyer but before he could get his finger on the trigger a blue bolt of fire struck him squarely in the chest, knocking him back several feet and leaving him crumpled on the ground with a smoking hole in his breast, and it almost got ugly as the grove was filled with the rattle of cocking guns before Hanso shouted, "Stop!" and his men froze, uncocking their guns and lowering them, giving Sawyer malicious stares which he returned wholeheartedly. "We don't want violence, Sawyer. We don't even want the baby. Yet."
Kate was glad to notice that he was even more pissed off; she could see the blue fire under his skin, making him glow strangely in the moonlight, and she knew he didn't want violence either, not reall; if bullets and bolts started flying it was far more likely that she would get hit or hurt, and while he could heal her, he'd rather not even take the chance. Something flickered by in the jungle, she thought, but the trees were quiet and still and she turned her attention back to Sawyer as he said, "Yet? Man, have you got some balls. Get the hell out of here before I give you the same adios as I gave your little monkey, there." He gestured to the still-smoking corpse and a few warning sparks shot from his hands.
Locke spoke up. "We can help you, Sawyer. Jack is coming for you, to kill Kate because he thinks it will give him power, make him stronger. We'll help you get rid of him, if you'll just help us out down the road."
Sawyer snorted scornfully. "Gimme a break, boys. You gotta be better than that to con a con man. What a sorry ploy. First of all, I ain't worried about Jack. Second of all, even if I was worried about that jackass, I sure as hell wouldn't come to either one of you for help. So, thanks for the warning and the offer to take my kid, but I'll have to pass on both."
There was a little rustle in the bushes and everyone turned as Jack and Ana came out, hands raised until everyone saw it was them, then they stopped, staring at the scene before them, Sawyer, Kate, Sara and two boars in a tight circle surrounded by eleven men and one smoking corpse, and Hanso and Locke standing a few feet away, staring as they walked up.
Hanso seemed happy to see them, and he said, "You should have taken my offer, Sawyer. Well, now the fun can begin. Jack, are you ready?"
He was staring at Kate, at her terrified eyes and her hand clutched to her belly, tiny spots of blood seeping through her shirt where she had scratched herself and he nodded his head, slowly, pulling his gun. But he didn't raise it; it dangled by his side as he turned his eyes to Ana, meeting her gaze sadly. "I'm sorry, Ana."
Patience was usually a virtue, but Hanso could feel the end was close, victory was near; losing the child would be forgotten in the joy of winning, and so he pushed Jack, calling, "Jack! Quit stalling!"
Ana shook her head, giving it one more try and ignoring Hanso as she said, "Don't do it, Jack. I am begging you, it's not worth it." She leaned up to his ear, whispering desperately, "Please, Jack, we can find another way. I love you."
Hanso's impatience was growing, and part of it was worry about how much longer Sawyer could be contained; if he sensed a split, a hole in their defenses he would take it and it would be a close battle. "Jack!"
He spun around and snarled, "Shut up, Al!" Turning back to Ana he touched her, sending chills of desire and love up her spine as he said, "That's not worth it, Ana?" He smiled a little and said, "I think you're lying."
A hand fell on his shoulder as Hanso grabbed him, snarling, "Do it now, Jack, or you'll never see her again. I'll kill her myself, if I have to." One of his men started towards Ana, but before anyone could move she had her gun out, firing, and Hanso fell dead, his head gone in a fine spray of blood and bone.
Chaos erupted in the grove as the animals charged, the chimp dropped from the trees onto the shoulders of one of the scruffy men, screeching and tearing at his face; the polar bear charged from the trees and Kate realized in a split second that that was what she had seen flitting through the jungle earlier, and she kind of smiled as it barrelled into one of the henchmen, sinking it's teeth and claws into his flesh and ripping with delight; the boars charged into the fray, tearing at random legs and knees with their tusks; and flocks of birds descended into the glade, flapping and pecking and clawing at faces and eyes. The men got off a few random shots but they were quickly buried, screaming, under a pile of feathers and fur and Jack took advantage of the confusion to grab Ana, frozen in shock as her gun dangled limply in her hands, and jerk her back into the jungle, out of immediate danger as they watched in horror at the unfolding scene.
As the boars charged two of the men in their way, Sara grabbed Kate and dragged her out of the middle of the fray, pulling her into the jungle where she turned to see Sawyer shooting blue bolts at random men; the horse came trotting up behind them, whickering insistently and nudging her but she refused. "No, I can't leave him."
One of the men freed himself from the flapping, squawking, screaming melee and ran in their direction, terror etched into his eyes but they quickly went blank as the horse's two back hooves met his scruffy jaw with a sickening crunch, and Kate almost threw up as his face accordioned and burst, and he dropped, headless, at her feet. She gagged, stepping around the body to climb up on the horse's back, staring desperately at Sawyer, willing him to come, to let the animals finish it. Sara clambered up behind her, grabbing her around the waist and the horse started to carry them back to the safety of the chapel but Kate stopped, him, leaning over and whispering in his ear; he flicked them back and stopped, turning so Kate could watch, just for another second and she panicked, because Sawyer was gone, the fight was dying down and most of the animals had melted back into the jungle, leaving the grove strewn with mangled bodies of man and beast alike.
She started to slide off of the horse and run to the grove, to find him, she was suddenly sure, with a stony, cold certainty that he was dead, that he had been killed by a stray bullet or a hidden knife, or something, the fact that she didn't see his body wasn't a comfort as her feet hit the ground, running, until a strong, warm hand closed over her arm, pulling her back. "Where do you think you're going? And why aren't you back at the chapel?"
Relief washed over her with such force she felt her legs give and she collapsed against him, burying her face in his shirt. "I was going to find you. I was sure you were dead."
He held her, stroking her hair as he said, "Who me? Bullets bounce off me." She rolled her eyes, he could feel it, even if he couldn't see it, and the thought that he knew her that well made him laugh and he pulled back, kissing her lightly. "Get up there and let's go. I don't know where the A-hole Team went but I don't wanna wait for them to find us."
She snorted at his new nickname as her fear and horror waned with his touch and his warmth coursing through her. "I like that. But B.A. just shot Hannibal in the face. Never saw that on the show, huh?"
-----
Jack watched as the fight ended, finally, Hanso and all of his men dead, Sawyer and Kate gone, and he hadn't seen Locke since Ana pulled the trigger; he turned to her and she was staring at the grove in dismay, her gun still dangling limply in her hands. She seemed to be in shock, and Jack turned her to face him, his hands on her shoulders. "Ana?"
Her eyes slid up to his, glazed with shock, and she smiled a little crazily at him. "What?"
His hand reached out for the gun and she handed it to him without hesitation, her smile faltering as she gazed back out into the grove. She looked so sad, and lost, as her eyes rested on Hanso's body, glowing eerily in the starlight and Jack pulled her face back to his, forcing her to meet his eyes. "It's okay, Ana. What's done is done, you can't change it. But why? Why did you do it?"
"He was going to destroy us both, Jack. What you were going to do would have damned us both." Her voice was low and anxious and her eyes were welling with soft tears; Jack sighed and hugged her close, stroking her hair and shoulders.
"Ana, Ana, you knew this was coming." He kissed the top of her head, resting his lips there for a second, then he said, "It's okay. We can make the best of it." Pulling her back, he smiled, kissing her softly. "Maybe you did us a favor, Ana-Lucia."
"Or maybe she did me a favor." They both jumped as Locke came out of the trees, gun drawn and pointed at Jack; Ana reached for hers and realized with chagrin that she had given it to Jack, who had it tucked it his waistband, where there was no way she could get it. "You see, you'll be dead."
Jack flared angrily as Locke came closer, still holding the pistol over Jack's heart. "Why kill us, John? Wouldn't we be more use to you alive?"
Locke considered the question for a second, then shook his head. "Nope. You know, honestly, Jack, apart from being a doctor you've been pretty useless here. The one task you're given, to kill Kate, and you can't do it, except for the time you're told expressly NOT to do it. You're so wrapped up in her," he waved his free hand at Ana, "that you don't have a clue as to what is going on here. Yet you want the power." He laughed harshly, holding the gun steadily as his finger tightened on the trigger and he turned to Ana. "You think he's doing this for you? Please, Ana, I though you were smart, I thought you could read people. He wants the power, the glory, and you're just the justification he gives himself. He wants to do it."
Jack hissed at him through clenched teeth. "Shut up, John." He could feel Ana's accusing eyes on him, and he turned to her. "Ana, I swear, it's all for you. I love you."
She knew there was truth in John's words, Jack really did want the power, he always had and she'd always known it, but he did love her and she knew that too. There was no choice really, she would always side with Jack, she loved him; and as she watched Locke's finger tighten on the trigger, about to fire a bullet into Jack, all of the frustration and anger and pain in her exploded into wrath and she burst from her body into a dark, terrible angel, a glowing red shadow and Locke and Jack both fell back, startled as she rolled and thundered angrily at them. "Power? You have no concept of what power is."
She turned her dark gaze on Locke, and he stared at her in amazement and awe; to her surprise he knelt down in front of her and bowed his head. She didn't know what to do so she said, "Stand up, John."
Jack was on the ground, staring at her with fear, hurt, and anger as she dwindled back down into her body, and he scrabbled to his feet, backing away as she smiled sadly; Locke had risen and was standing behind her, his hand fiddling with something in his pocket. Chest heaving, Jack glared at her with revulsion, unwilling to believe what he had just seen, it wasn't possible, and he hissed, "What the hell was that Ana? What are you?"
Locke spoke up, before Ana could. "She's an angel, Jack." Ana turned to him, a little surprised, but she nodded as he came to her, pulling a small leather pouch from his pocket, the one he had taken from the Shark hatch. "I've always been a man of faith, Ana," he said, pressing the bag into her hand. "Forgive me." He smiled at her quickly, then vanished into the trees.
Ana turned to Jack, who was backing away from her; she said, "Jack, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you..."
He had turned his back on her and was walking into the jungle without a word.
