Daniel stares at the ceiling in stunned silence. The back of his head is throbbing, now, from hitting the floor, and the air has been forcibly knocked from his lungs and replaced by an uncomfortably heavy pressure on his chest. It doesn't hurt, exactly; at least, not yet.

He starts to lift his head but quickly drops it again with a groan, squeezing his eyes shut and placing a hand over his thudding heart. He's almost surprised to find his ribcage hasn't been caved in completely, that the bullet didn't punch right through the vest, through fabric and skin and muscle and bone, that there isn't any blood soaking his clothes.

He opens his eyes to see Sayid standing over him, gun in hand, and adrenaline forces him to scramble away, as much as he can when every movement hurts like an ice pick to his chest. "Sayid," he gasps out, pressing his back to the wall, "What are you–"

"Keep quiet and don't move," Sayid orders in a low, deadly calm voice, and Dan falls into a terrified silence. "Do you know why I'm here?"

He blinks, his eyes locked onto the end of the gun. The attached suppressor isn't there for intimidation; no, this is a weapon meant solely for killing.

"Do you know why I am here?" Sayid repeats, more forcefully, stepping closer and kicking aside the bag Daniel had dropped.

"N-no, no, I'm sorry, I don't, I'm–" He shakes his head. "I– I don't understand–"

"For a long time now, I've been tracking down the men who work for Charles Widmore," Sayid says, and Dan's blood turns to ice. "These are bad men. Dangerous men. And so I've been finding them, and killing them. All of them." A pause. "That's why I've come to Los Angeles, to find the next man on my list."

Daniel's pulse pounds in his ears and he shrinks back, holding out a hand. "Wait–"

"When your name came up, I thought it must be a mistake. After all, the last time I saw you, it was after you had nearly drowned trying to save a stranger's life." Sayid kneels beside him. "I would like to believe that you're a good person, Daniel Faraday. That you have a good reason for whatever you've done. And that's why I'm giving you a chance to convince me."

"But you just–" Daniel's breath catches in his throat; he coughs, once, and nearly faints outright. "You shot me," he wheezes, clutching his chest.

"But you're wearing a vest," Sayid states, and he reaches forward to tug at the black fabric peeking out from beneath Dan's collar. "And so I haven't killed you."

The unspoken yet hangs in the air between them, and Daniel shifts his weight with a wince. "How... How am I s'posed to convince–"

"You can start by telling me how long you've been on Widmore's payroll."

He shakes his head. "It– It's not like that, I'm not–" Sayid shoots him a glare that silences him; he'll just stick to the basics, then. "It was a couple years ago, uh... October. 2005."

Sayid's eyes flash. "When in October?"

"I don't..." He blinks back tears, panting a bit. "Um, the end, I think. What–" Then he realizes what he's being asked and shakes his head, horrified. "Sayid, you don't think I was involved with– with what happened to..."

"Nadia," Sayid breathes. "Her name was Nadia." There's a dangerous edge in his voice as he leans closer. "Were you?"

"No," he replies, so forcefully that it hurts. "I swear to you, I had nothing to do with that. I wouldn't."

After a long, long silence, broken only by Dan's shallow, shaky breathing, Sayid slowly nods. "So, what did you do for Widmore?"

Daniel swallows against the lump in his throat. "He...recruited me, to find his daughter. Penelope."

"Find her?"

"After we left the island, he didn't know where she was, and..." He shifts his weight and winces again. "I guess, he thought she was in danger, somehow, so he made me track her down."

"Why you?"

"Because..." He exhales. "He knew that Penny would be wherever Desmond was."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Yeah. Me neither," he says with something between a laugh and a groan. "Uh, Desmond is... I have a sort of... A connection, to him."

"What do you mean, 'connection'?"

"It's– Well, it's a bit...complicated, to explain, but..." Dan clears his throat with a grimace. "Details aside, Widmore knew about it, and knew that I would be able to find him."

"And it never occurred to you that this pretense of protecting his daughter might be a lie?" Sayid says with a frown. "That perhaps he was tying up loose ends, and that Desmond was the real target he was interested in?"

"No, it– It did occur to me, but I..." He swallows, and nods, squeezing his eyes shut. "It did, yeah."

"And did you find them?"

"Yes."

Sayid looks dismayed. "Why?"

"He didn't... Widmore didn't give me a choice," Dan gasps, barely above a whisper.

"What did he offer you?"

"Nothing, he–" He bites back a curse as Sayid's hand twists in his collar, pulling him closer.

"Did he threaten you, then? Tell you that this was the only way to save your life?"

"N-no, it's not–"

"Then what is it?" He jabs the end of the gun into Dan's neck. "What was it that made you decide to help this man, that you knew to be dangerous?"

Daniel chokes on a sob. "Sayid, please–"

"What was it?"

"He threatened someone else," he says in a rush, his voice breaking. "Someone that I– That isn't even involved in any of this, and if I don't do what he says, he'll..." He shakes his head. "God, I don't even know what he'll do, but it won't be good, and that's why I– I have to cooperate, because if I don't, if I run, if I try to do anything..."

Sayid stares at him in silence.

He's no longer speaking in past tense, he realizes suddenly. "He'll find me again," he explains quietly. "Sooner or later."

"Why, Daniel?" The pressure on the gun eases, just a bit, but it doesn't move. "What more does he want from you?"

"I've...been..." He shuts his eyes tight. "I've been trying to find the island."

Sayid releases his hold on Dan's collar, letting him slump back against the wall.

He takes a deep, painful breath and continues, "To– to figure out where it is now, based on...a lot of really complicated theories, about what exactly happened when it moved." He wraps an arm around his chest. "Because I'm, you know, I'm a physicist, this is... It's what I do," he adds with a helpless shrug.

"And Widmore?"

"And Widmore..." He swallows, hard, and looks down. "He's trying to find the island, too, so..."

"So he'll have you find it for him."

"That's...what I'm afraid of, yeah," he whispers.

Sayid exhales heavily. "This person that he threatened. What's her name?"

Dan winces. "Theresa."

"Where is she?"

"W-why does it matter?"

"The sooner you answer my questions, the sooner this will be over."

A shiver rolls up his spine as he contemplates the meaning of the word over. "Oxford. She… Her sister takes care of her, they live in Oxford."

Sayid is silent for a few seconds. "And you can't take them somewhere else, keep them safe from Widmore?"

"No, I can't."

"Why can't you?"

"Because I can't keep anyone safe! That's why I–" A fresh stab of pain in his chest forces Daniel to suck in a sharp breath and start over. "That's why I have to find the island before he does, because everyone that we left behind, they're still..." His voice shakes. "They're all in danger, as long as they're still there. As long as he's still looking."

"And what if your finding the island is exactly what he wants?" Sayid says. "You could be playing right into his hands."

"Not if he doesn't know where I am."

At that, he stands up to his full height. "Then he can't be allowed to find you," he states. "You need to disappear." His voice would be gentle, almost, if it weren't for the gun in his hand.

Daniel watches him with wide eyes, feeling small and helpless and far too terrified to be ashamed of the way he cowers against the wall.

And then, inexplicably, Sayid pockets the gun and walks away. He lifts the phone off the nightstand and places it on the floor, and he says, softly, "Wherever you were hiding, go back there."

Dan blinks. "You're not…gonna kill me?"

Sayid shakes his head, and relief floods Daniel's chest around the pain. "I'm going to disappear, too." He nods to the phone. "Wait five minutes before you call for help."

"Okay," he gasps, nodding vigorously. "Yeah. Okay." He lets his head fall back against the wall as Sayid heads for the door.

He opens it, then pauses. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Thanks," Daniel says, and he means it.

With a final nod, Sayid shuts the door behind him.