Two peaceful days had passed since Ben had returned back to the barracks. He hadn't ventured outside, as his father had kept him busy, playing games like chess or watching various programs on the television. It had been rare fun-filled days that Ben had only imagined in his wildest day-dreams. He finally felt as if he had a father. A REAL father.

Many things had changed since he had returned, and it wasn't just Roger.

Ben had learned that all of the children and their mothers had been sent to the states for an evacuation, and though Roger wasn't clear on the details, he had told Ben that there had been some sort of explosion down at one of the construction sites. Apparently, some of the workers at the Dharma Initiative had been in on it- Jim Lafluer for one… Ben considered this news. It had come as a surprise to him that the head of security would turn out to be a spy.

Ben remembered clearly the first time he had met Jim Lafluer…

Curious of the new arrivals that had been said to be pirates (according to his school-mates that he over-heard talking) who had crashed on the island. Rumored that Mr. Goodspeed was only allowing to stay because they had been able to fight off ten hostiles at one time. Of course, Ben wasn't so sure the other children were being very truthful or if they even had accurate information on the subject.

Yet, one thing was for sure: With all the excited talk of the new additions amongst his fellow students had made Ben ever more eager to find out more about them.

Ben hid behind a tree and watched as the tall, blond man (Ben had heard was the captain of the ship, Jim Lafluer.) emerged from his assigned yellow house, carrying a folder in his hands. Jim paused, slowing down his trek to the security station as he searched for a paper inside the folder.

Ben took the opportunity; he sprinted from his hiding spot, and caught up to walk beside the stranger. Jim Lafluer ignored him (or didn't notice him) at first. But Ben had learned early that persistence always paid off, and he just continued striding along with the man, until he could no longer be ignored.

Jim stopped, finally aware of Ben, he turned and looked down at him with a frown.

"What do you want?" Jim said. There wasn't an angry tone to his voice… Ben decided that it was more of a tone sounding like it was poised for a pet dog who had put it's paws on their owner's lap.

Ben looked up at him unblinkingly, studying the man trying to intimidate him-- his father had once said that he did that to his 'damn boss' one time and he had gotten the pay raise he had requested-- Ben hadn't forgotten this. After a moment, Ben gave him a small, amused smile, wondering if Jim Lafluer had caught on to his game. "Nothing." Ben replied at last.

Jim stared at him for a moment, then smirked. "What are you following me around for, then?"

"I wasn't following you." Ben said. Jim put his hands on his hips skeptically.

"Oh yeah? What do you call what you were doing?" Jim asked.

"I was walking beside you. If I wanted to follow you, I would have to walk behind you." Ben stated blatantly.

Jim laughed despite himself. "You are one weird kid." He started to walk again, but stopped as Ben began to walk with him.

"What do you want, anyway?" Jim asked.

"Nothing." Ben repeated. "I already told you."

Jim rolled his eyes, "Well, you wouldn't be following me around if it were for 'nothing', Teddy."

"My name's not Teddy, it's Benjamin Linus."

Ben could have sworn that Jim Lafluer had faltered when he had told him his name- though he didn't see a connection before, Ben concluded that perhaps he had been a hostile after all. He supposed that Richard could have told the other hostiles about him and he had known his name because of it. Though, Jim Lafluer hadn't acted very friendly since their first meeting and almost seemed as if he avoided him- maybe that was because Charles Widmore didn't want him.

Ben continued to ponder this, as the clock struck eight thirty.

That's when the pounding on the door began. Ben was sitting on the couch, quite comfortable. Roger had nodded off beside him, not getting a very restful sleep the last few nights. When the knocking started, his father snorted awake, looking around wildly for the source of the racket that had suddenly awakened him. It seemed very ominous for whatever reason, and Ben was dreading what would happen once that door was opened.

The knocking began again.

Ben remained where he was, shrinking in the blanket he was wrapped up in.

Roger pushed himself up, cursing under his breath, storming away from the couch. "Who is it?!" Roger shouted at the door.

"Stuart. Open up this door!" The brash voice on the other side replied. Roger hesitated only for a moment before he pulled open the door roughly. Roger towered over the short, balding man who stood on the doorstep. He glowered at him angrily for waking him up. Though most would shrink under that angry glare, Stuart Radzinsky wasn't a man to be intimidated- as he, himself, could have easily been compared to a mad, irrational, raging bull at the best of times.

"Where is he?" Radzinsky demanded. Ben could see his stout figure beyond his father. It was clear to Ben that he wasn't in a very good mood, and that he might be in a less agreeable mood than his own father. Ben's eyes moved up and they met Radzinsky's.

"There you are!" Radzinsky exclaimed wildly.

Roger was pushed aside by two Dharma Initiative workers that accompanied Stuart, who both came in and seized Ben, one by each arm, pulling him up. "Dad?!" Ben wailed in fright.

Stuart came pushing his way inside, his eyes gleaming madly. "All right, let's go." He said, motioning to the workers. Ben grimaced as they unknowingly jerked him in a way that affected his injured side, pulling him toward the exit.

"Now wait just a minute, what the hell is going on here?" Roger shouted, blocking the doorway.

"What are you doing with my kid?"

Radzinsky moved to the front, looking Roger in the eye… his hands twisting into tight fists by his side.

"Five years." He began in a dangerous tone, "I spent five years of my life designing a station intending to harness the natural electromagnetic energy and progress Science, and it's all down the drain because of this kid!" Radzinsky flung a finger at Ben, who was still dangling in the clutches of his captors.

"This….kid, has done irreparable damages to this company- not only by committing arson- but by releasing a dangerous hostile who had managed to gather important intel on our top-secret building plans- ALL of which, have now been destroyed- injuring and even killing Dharma Initiative workers; Not to mention, it has lost us millions of dollars on research and equipment, lost us commission and respect from the people funding this company!" Radzinsky spit out furiously.

"Do you understand what that means?!" Radzinsky shouted at Ben's father who stood gaping at him, speechlessly. "Since nobody else is going to do a damn thing, I took it upon myself to ensure that something like this never happens again! I had this form signed officially, which means I can take Ben into custody and try to find a solution to his behavioral problems that you apparently were unable to handle yourself. This kid has already had a citation once before for running off, and now this?"

Before he understood fully what was going on, Ben was being tugged and pulled out of the house, he was silent, though fearful. Roger was still arguing with Radzinsky, as Ben was taken away- he could hear their shouting all the way across the yard.

It was clear that this was beyond anyone's control except for Radzinsky and Ben decided to go quietly and without struggle, hoping that the men wouldn't treat him roughly.

The Barracks was uncharacteristically empty and void of the usual workers and residents as he was led through the maze of houses and to the dock. Ben looked cautiously at the motor boat that was docked. "Get in." The man Ben knew only by sight, muttered on his left. As he clamored in, it rocked unsteadily from his weight. Ben nervously made his way to the center of the boat, as far from the edge as he could get. Ben didn't know how to swim very well and feared being too close to the water.

Ben watched as the two Dharma workers got into the precariously rocking boat and began to whisper to each other, glancing sideways at him. Ben wished they wouldn't, it was making him very nervous- more than he was already. He still had no idea where they were taking him, and couldn't find the courage to ask, even when they started off. He was pretty sure that wherever it was, he was sure that it wasn't going to be good.

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A/N: Ugh, this was an incredibly difficult chapter to write. I don't know why, it just was. I hope you all didn't find it too abrupt. As it's kind of a transitional chapter that I tried to make somewhat interesting, so I could get on to my next plot-line. So stay tuned! Thank you very much again for commenting!