Chapter 3, introduces another new OC, Lana, an Lithuanian survivor with a very dark, and very deadly past, that will plunge the whole camp and every survivor into a life or death struggle, in which friendships are broken, and new enemies are created. I do not intend Lana to be popular, just very nasty and very manipulative. In the forthcoming chapters, will not disappoint you. All comments and suggestions are very welcome.
Fire and Ice
Chapter 3
Lana
"If you don't move I'll leave your worthless ass behind." The stern Latina woman snaps at them. Since their "Rescue" all three of the raft's survivors have a reason to dread her temper. Especially Sawyer, who now has a busted nose to add to his collection of bumps and scrapes from her. Jin, and another tail end survivor Libby help him get up. Michael watches with Bernard, Rose's husband, both step aside as Ana-Lucia stomps past muttering.
"How far are we from the camp Michael?" She snaps as she walks past.
"A day or so, if we travel throughout the night."
Other tail end survivors look at Michael with dread. Two of their own went out looking for food last night, and hadn't been heard from since. Ecko, another survivor of a previous plane crash leads them. They have been moving for a week now, the others have always been close by, watching, waiting, striking when a weakness appears. Even in the large group of the eight they are in, the others sense their weakness. Sawyer's wounds are slowing them down, he needs help and fast, as the septicaemia could kill him in this climate.
"I don't think pissing on it will help!" Libby replaces another bandage over the shoulder wound. She gives him a friendly look, Sawyer grimaces in pain. "It's bad isn't it?" Libby's frown cum smile does not comfort him.
"Where's Jack when you need him?" He moans.
"You take Claire, I'll take Lana!" Jack says as he and Sayid sprint across the sand. Claire ever feisty is confronting Lana over something. A crowd is gathering.
"I think you have my bag." Lana shouts in accented English. "With my belongings."
"If you'd asked instead of taking, I'd have let you look!" Claire fires back. Though Lana stands a good foot above Claire, Claire is not intimidated, and squares up to Lana. Lana glares down.
Lana's face is getting redder by the moment. Things are heating up.
A cold winter wind blows across the wasteland outside Moscow. Lana stands by a silver Mercedes, her striking blonde hair buried beneath a hooded fur lined jacket. A black BMW pulls up a hundred meters from her. Four men, all very smartly dressed in long winter overcoats get out. Three stay behind, and one walks towards Lana.
Lana coolly walks towards the middle-aged man. His name is Yuri, an enforcer for one the major business men in Moscow, one with political connections. The other three men are sub-ordinates, all armed.
Yuri stops in front of Lana. This will be a short meeting, no pleasantries.
"Lana, my boss has some business that he would like you to take care of." Yuri hands over a brown envelope. Lana opens the envelope; there are documents and a photograph.
"Sergei Ivannovich is his name. A week ago he stole some very personal belongings from my boss. He would like them returned, and a suitable message delivered to Sergei."
Lana thinly smiles, it is not warm. It is cold and professional.
"May I ask what it is I have to return?"
Yuri pauses. "Eighteen uncut diamonds with a net value of forty two million dollars." Lana glances up at Yuri. "Which when returned, you will receive a payment of Four million dollars."
Lana breathes deeply. "Where is he?"
Yuri grins. "Somewhere a lot warmer than this, Lana, Sydney Australia!"
Lana nods. "I will do it, I require one hundred thousand dollars transferred to my account first, my usual fee, and a list of local contacts."
Yuri laughs. "He told me that you would request that!"
"Lana you don't take other people's belongings." Sayid whispers softly, frog marching Lana away. Jack is standing in front of Claire, with Charlie holding her back. "If you tell me what it is that you are looking for perhaps we can look for it!"
Sayid kindly says, maintaining eye contact with her. Lana glances away, and sighs deeply. "It is a small blue backpack, it has the n, n nike logo on it. There is a small brown box in it, with letters and postcards from my family." She desperately spits out, it is an act, but it works.
Sayid turns round, the crowd has dispersed, and the excitement is over for the day. "I will ask people to look for it!"
Lana sighs. "I had it last when we moved from the beach to here!" She coughs, and starts to cry. "They are very precious to me!"
Sayid rests a hand on her shoulders. "I lost some precious items once, but they were returned to me. They will be found again I promise."
"Perhaps if you became friends with her." Shannon glances up from the book she is reading, it is the worst suggestion she has heard. Vincent looks over, and resumes his afternoon dog nap. Sayid however is not one for quitting. Both watch Lana, sitting alone at the edge of the camp. "She would not feel so alone here!"
Shannon groans. "Okay." Sayid gets up. "Lana" He shouts, to Shannon's horror, and Lana's surprise.
"I've seen him." The Australian bar manager grins. "Husband?" He says with grim irony. He is a Russian Mafia contact.
A goal is scored in the football match on the big screen.
Lana with her blonde hair dyed black smiles. "Brother. He immigrated here a few months ago."
"That figures." The Manager has an eye on the barmaid slipping a customer's tip into her jean pocket. She carries on as normal.
"He's staying at the apartment block a few streets away, I'll write it down for you." The bar manager writes down an address on an slip of paper, and hands it to her. Lana smiles. "Thank you." She slips a thousand dollars across the counter's surface. "Sergei's a poor tipper anyway."
Lana nods. "Excuse me!" He says.
"Annie get that customer's tip out of your pocket put it in the jar." The Manager bellows. "Get your jacket. You're fucking fired."
Annie walks across the floor, customers watch her. She scowls and slams the five dollars onto the counter. Lana watches her, smirking. Annie turns her back and walks away.
Lana finishes her vodka and coke. "You just can't get the staff these days."
Lana walks along the street, she stops and spies the apartments. Tomorrow night. She feels a hand go into her jacket pocket, grab her wallet and run. Lana turns round and gives chase after the figure.
"Hello." Lana nervously sits down next to Shannon. Shannon smiles, the best friendly smile that she can muster. Vincent on the other hand sits down in front of Lana, and allows himself to be clapped. Lana claps him with gusto.
"He never usually does that with strangers." Shannon exclaims.
"It must be nice, did the little boy leave him here for you to look after him."
"More like he looks after me." Lana laughs. "On our farm in Lithuania, we have lots of dogs!"
"Is that close to Russia?" Shannon remembers what Sayid told her. Lana gently smiles. "Yes it is. I was going home to visit my parents."
"Are you working in Australia?" Another thing Sayid has told her. Lana nods. "Yes I am Shannon, I'm a nanny to two little girls!"
"That must be fun." Shannon smiles. Lana looks out at the sea. "It is, they live in a big house across the bay from Sydney!"
Sayid, you are a genius. Sayid smiles to himself. He watches Shannon and Lana talk away. She seems like a very gentle soul.
Lana chases the figure into a park. Both sprint down a lamp lighted pathway. The figure stumbles on the grass, and Lana pounces on her, drawing the small pistol that she has in an ankle holster. She pulls the hood down, and grabs their hair, and turns them round. She recognises her. It's Annie the barmaid.
Annie gasps as Lana places a knee on her throat, and presses the pistol into her temple.
"I have killed people for more you little bitch." Annie struggles, as Lana goes into her jacket pocket, and retrieves her wallet, along with Annie's last wage. Lana coldly smiles, more than money has been taken from Annie's pocket. Some ID cards. Lana scans them as Annie struggles. "Well Katherine Austin, and Katherine Ryan. I know who you are, you do not know who I am." Lana puts Kate's fake ID's into her pocket. "You never will."
She squeezes the trigger. Kate closes her eyes. The pistol doesn't fire. Lana laughs, and gets up. Kate chokes for breath. Lana watches her. "Maybe I should have pulled the trigger Katharine."
Kate stares up at her. "The next time I will kill you." Lana hisses.
"Anne and Maggie were the girls names." Lana smiles, lying is easy to her. Shannon listens keenly. "Both had long blonde hair in pigtails. Their Daddy was a government minister, their mother was a lawyer."
Shannon smiles. In the distance she spies Connor and Jack talking. Lana glances in the distance. "He is nice."
"Jack?" Shannon grins.
"No" Lana blushes and looks away bashfully. "The other one!"
"Connor."
"Yeah." Shannon blushes. "He is very cute." Both woman giggle. "I wouldn't sharing a sleeping bag with either of them." Shannon laughs at Lana's suggestion. Here we were total strangers fifteen minutes ago, now we're talking about which guys we'd like in the sack.
"My step brother was talking about Connor, you know before…"
Lana nods in understanding. "He thought there was bits of history with you know who?"
"Kate." Lana says. "I hear the two of them sometimes talking. They are not an item!"
"You sure?"
"Yes." Lana whispers. "Very sure." Lana winks suggestively. Shannon leans in closer. "You think so."
Sergei lies face down dead in his apartment's living room. Blood is starting to pool from his bullet wound in his head.
Lana smiles as she looks in the box. She is pleased. Eighteen diamonds. She puts the box in her shoulder bag, along with the silenced Sig-sauer. Calmly she walks out, dialling her mobile.
The phone connects to a message box in Moscow. "Sergei has put the deposit down." Lana speaks, then hangs up.
Shannon keenly watches Lana strolling over to where Connor is reading. This is what passes for entertainment in this crap-hole. This should be worth watching.
"Hi." Connor looks up. Lana smiles. "Hi." Connor replies curiously. "What are you reading?"
That's the most suckiest chat up line ever. Shannon nervously thinks. She looks over to Shannon for support.
None comes.
"It's some novel greek guys fighting in ancient Greece."
An uninvited Lana sits down next to him. Connor looks round, and spies Shannon watching them, this is a bloody set up.
"I'll get Jack to have a look at that scrape." Kate smiles to Eve, as they arrive back at the beach. Both have come back from a foraging mission, fruit to beef up the supplies from the bunker. It's been a good day. Eve has a good knack of climbing trees. Eve rubs her bleeding elbow.
"My grand parents don't let me climb trees."
"Why don't they?"
"Girls don't climb trees!" Eve mocks their voices.
"Yeah we're not sup…"
Kate stops abruptly. She sees Connor, with Lana, and Lana is laughing and joking.
Leave it!
She sighs deeply, and walks on. Eve quickly catches up.
One of the other survivors, Matt doubles over in agony. He has not been feeling well for a couple of days now. He feels like a there is a fire in his stomach. Steve and Jess watch concerned.
He is sick, and onto the white sands spills a mix of red and blackish liquid.
Jess screams.
Connor stops talking with Lana, and runs over. Kate stops staring daggers at Lana, and runs over. Jack stops talking with Hurley, and both run over. Sayid looks up, and runs over. Lana watches in horror.
"That's fine Miss Tolstev, you're booked on Oceanic Flight 815 to Los Angeles." Lana raises her sun glasses and smiles, at the check in receptionist. There is a queue forming behind her. A desperate looking Jack is checking his watch. Lana thinks to herself.
I'm home and dry.
Matt is coughing up more blood. Jess stands over him in horror, and starts to scream.
To be continued…
