42 Panorama Crest
9 PM Los Angeles Time
There was a time in Miles' life when the amount of strange and ominous news he'd just gotten would have sent him into a moody spiral for days. Now, it just pushed him to the back yard and Kate's pool where he stripped to his underwear and did laps until he couldn't swim anymore. When he pulled himself out of the deep end he saw Evan sitting in a deck chair a few feet away, pointing to a bathrobe and a towel on the chair next to him.
"Gee thanks," Miles' tone was mostly appreciative with a touch of sardonic. He held up the robe. "I think I could swim in this thing if I tried. Sawyer's or Jack's?"
"Hmm?" Evan was staring at the water. "Oh, I don't know, I'm sure." He brought his focus back to Miles. "You were working pretty hard out there, it looked like."
"Positive stress relief," Miles said. "While you were doing what the hell ever you were doing I was getting three shocks to the system in about a minute flat. You won't even believe it. "
"Try me and I'll tell you," Evan said, taking off his suit jacket and loosening his tie. He was still dressed from this morning's trip from Ann Arbor back to L.A. and was wishing there were casual Fridays for Others trainees.
"Let's call Ben at the Lamp Post," Miles started to reach for his phone. "He needs to hear it all, too," but Evan picked the phone up before he could, barely even looking at it as he did, and not noticing the 'you didn't really just do that' look on Miles' face at all.
"Miles, you've known Sawyer for years, I've only known him a few days," Evan said. "Is one of the things you just heard about him? Is it what stressed you out the most?"
"Yeah, actually," Miles said. "Why?"
"Because this is why we're really here," he reached in his pocket, handed Miles Annie's note and watched his face as he read it, gauging his expression, trying to decide how much to say and how soon.
"Well no insult to her," Miles said, "But she hasn't known him any longer than you have. What does one dark glance as someone's walking in a door really mean?"
"Not much," Evan said, "until you add this."
He picked up a plastic bag from the floor, one that had clearly been recently duct taped to something else. He pulled a wad of cash and two long, thin portfolios out of it, handed them to Miles who started counting.
"Cash, bank accounts, CDs. There's like eight million dollars here…" Miles was saying it under his breath, as much to himself as to Evan. Miles guessed he'd already added it up.
"It was taped to a pipe over his room," Evan said. "And I'm guessing it's up-front money and not the whole payday."
"So who's he conning?" Miles asked and Evan flinched, surprised he had to say it.
"What information does Sawyer have that's worth millions?" Evan asked. "He knows what we're up to and how Hurley's preparing. He knows The Searcher cracked the code to finding the island anytime it wants, and is far less protected than the Lamp Post," he saw it sinking in, felt like hell for finishing the sentence. "He's conning us."
Miles sat back, arms folded, said nothing for a minute. Evan thought he'd never seen someone look so surprised, angry and disappointed at the same time.
"Who am I to judge?" Miles finally spit out a few words. "I got in for money, too."
It wasn't a funny moment, not at all, but Evan smiled just a little.
"I'm sure what we're paying you doesn't hurt," he said, "But I don't think I believe that Miles. I think you got back in to help your friends, too. I think that's why you're feeling the way you are right now."
He wanted to give him some time, some privacy, and started to get up and head inside.
"Sit down," Miles said, and it seemed one of the emotions had taken top priority. "We don't have time to waste. Call Ben."
The Lamp Post Station
Los Angeles
"There's something we're missing," Ben said, peering at one of the four computer screens along the wall at the Lamp Post station. Eloise was busy on another of them, pulling in the latest information Penny's tracking station had sent along.
"Why do you think so? We have a boat," She traced over a blip on a map on the computer screen with one fingernail. "It's doing circles in the ocean about a day out from the island. We expect it's both keeping an eye out for directions, and waiting for reinforcements," She looked at Ben, "And those are likely coming on the boat the DI leaders will board with Sawyer and Annie in a couple of days. So what do you feel is missing?"
"This one," Ben pointed to the map, "It's too…simple. Not a lot of tracking equipment, computers, not enough people. It's barely more than a glorified fishing boat. And the D.I. leaders – well, whether they were telling Annie the truth or just shooting smoke at her, I think you and I both have a sense that they're big but not big the way we are. They're pushing all-in on this hand and if they lose it they're done. So they must be planning another way in."
"The Weather Vane?" Eloise asked.
"Maybe," Ben sounded like he'd considered that already, discarded it. "Not so likely with Richard back running things. He says he has it well locked down -no one who's not authorized is getting through it as far as he's concerned."
The phone next to Eloise rang.
"That'll be Evan," she said, put it on speaker.
"I'll get Hurley," Ben reached for a keyboard. "It feels like the answer's so very right in front of us."
Dining Hall
7:30 am Island Time
"Remember when it was a dozen of us around a campfire?" Bernard asked, sipping on his coffee, nodding toward tables full of new arrivals also having breakfast.
He and Rose and the Reyes' were wrapping up their meal, after which he and Hurley's dad would jump in the outriggers with some of the new people and go wait for Frank and the even newer reinforcements. Rose and Carmen were in charge of overseeing the renovations and the outfitting of the barracks, making sure everyone would have somewhere to stay before night fell.
"I know," David Reyes picked up several plates and started toward the sink. "And they're working fast. I couldn't believe it when our phone rang this morning and it was Hurley at the Flame. It's strange when a phone feels like a luxury."
Carmen started to say something but was distracted by three familiar faces walking in at the far entrance. She started waving Kate and Richard over, but Walt had already found them with his eyes, was practically bouncing over with excitement to see them and to have someone to tell his stories to.
"Our wanderers have returned, and in one piece each!" Carmen smiled as Walt sat next to Rose, briefly ducked his head to her shoulder in teenaged-boy-hug fashion. Kate sat next to Bernard across from them, smiling but leaning heavily on the table, looking tired. Richard kept walking toward the kitchen, gave Kate a wave that said wordlessly that he'd bring them all back some food.
"What you're putting yourself through," Rose said quietly to Kate as Walt told the Reyes' his traveler's tales, "I hope it's worth it."
"It is," she said, sat up straighter as if to prove she wasn't beat. "It is."
"Have you thought maybe about talking with Eloise? Get some advice?"
"Eloise?" Kate looked as confused as she was turned off by the idea. "After how I tricked her into thinking Daniel was still alive when we needed rescuing? I'm guessing I'm the last person she'd help."
"She's been through as much in her life as we have," Rose said, "and more. And her son really did write the book on the kind of thing you're dealing with. I think she might surprise you."
"I'll keep it in mind, Rose," Kate said, fiddling with the salt and pepper shakers as Richard called Walt over to help him carry the food back. "I will."
They looked up to see the two of them headed their way, weighed down with plates and Richard pretending to on the verge of dropping one or the other of his just to make Walt laugh- which was working perfectly.
"He's so good with Walt, isn't he?" Carmen asked and Kate nodded, eyes wide.
"He really is, " She said. "Who'd have guessed it, huh? Although he did help raise Alex…."
The rest of them had their breakfast then and Rose and Bernard stayed to catch them up on things while the Reyes' got the day's plans in motion. Bernard told Richard they'd have a total of 30 new sets of hands on deck by sundown, or the next morning.
"Is Frank bringing more after that," Richard asked, "or staying here?"
"You'll have to ask Hurley for sure," Bernard said, "But I think he'll stay now. Hurley's calling all hands, or at least most hands, back to deck. I don't know what he's been discussing with Ben and the rest but I get the sense time's running short."
Richard just looked at him, nodded, and Kate started fiddling with the utensils again.
"Speaking of Hurley," Bernard said, as Hurley poked his head in the door.
"Walt," Hurley called across the room, "Vincent's waiting at your bungalow, think you could take him for a walk?" Hurley chuckled as Vincent blew past him, nearly creating a gust through the door. "Don't go more than 200 steps from the barracks," Hurley yelled after him. "These barracks. This world. Please? Thank you."
He poked his head back inside.
"Richard, would you give Kate and me about twenty minutes, join us at my bungalow then?"
Richard nodded and Kate got up and started to pick up her plates, put them down when Rose waved her toward the door.
"I think we can get those for you dear," she said. "You have bigger things to worry about right now."
It was only a three minute long walk back to Hurley's bungalow, and so Kate waited to ask until they were sitting in metal lawn chairs next to each other on the top step of his porch.
"What?" she asked, a little humorously, but with a touch of a challenge, "What do you want to say that you can't say in front of Richard?"
"A couple of things," Hurley looked off into the distance, "tough one first, okay?" he asked and she nodded as he collected himself and figured out how to begin. "I just talked with Miles, and the California parole people came to your house. They left a warning, but if you don't show up there within two weeks you're in huge trouble. And we both know you can't do that. So your house, your car, your money, they'll all be gone- and you'll be a fugitive again soon."
"Oh," Kate said simply and they sat in silence a moment.
"That's it?" Hurley asked. "Just, 'oh'?"
"Well, I knew it was probably going to happen, Hurley, I got ten years parole on condition I stayed in the state and I had many left to serve. Seems like someone tipped them off, tried to maximize the damage, yes – but they'd have figured it out before I could get back there. It's okay," she sat forward, picked at the nails of one hand with the fingers of the other and stared at the ground. "We'll figure that out later. We've got worse to deal with right now, don't you think?"
"Right," he said and there was silence again. "And that's what brings me to point number two. I'm going to ask you and Richard for full details on what you all found on the other islands, how they might be of use to us, but you do know that I'm pretty much giving you free reign there for your own peace of mind, right?"
Kate looked up sideways at him slightly, nodded just a little.
"And I'll do everything I can to let you keep doing what you feel you need to do. But you apparently need a reminder of what you mean here, too. So just know that pretty soon I might ask you to do something you really don't want to and you're going to have to agree. You don't have any choice because, well, you two are my first candidates."
"Us two?" Kate started to ask and then gasped as she took his point.
"You and your son, you're my first two candidates," Hurley said. "Before Richard, before Ben, before Walt," he locked gazes with her now and she found herself fighting back tears. "You're numbers one and two on my wheel. And I really need you to keep that in mind over the next couple of weeks, okay?"
Kate nodded, tears rolling down her face and pulled her chair over to him, put her head on his shoulder.
"Is that it?" she asked.
"No," Hurley said, "I've got one more piece of news, but it can wait until Richard gets here," He put his arm around her shoulder and didn't object to her unceremoniously wiping her eyes on both her shirt and his. "It'll all be okay, though, it'll be fine."
"Will it?" Kate asked.
"I have no freaking idea, really," Hurley said, which got them both laughing and helped them catch their breath.
"This is our last quiet quarter of an hour together until it all happens, isn't it?" Kate asked.
"Probably so," Hurley said. "Nice day for it though," he pulled her up to look with him at the barracks, the sun hot in the sky and a sweet breeze blowing. "So we might as well enjoy it. Want some coffee?"
"Hurley, I shouldn't," Kate said, "But yeah, I would kill for some coffee."