Chapter 23

THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD. The pressure in his head felt like it would soon explode. He tried to blink open his hazel eyes, but even the dim, yellow light of the room was too bright for him to bear. Jack tried to sit up without opening his eyes, but the blood rushed from his head and his whole body swayed to the left. He steadied himself on the damp, concrete floor, eyes still squeezed shut, heartbeat still pounding in his ears. He rubbed his forehead anxiously, waiting for the beating to end. When it subsided, Jack opened his eyes and found his cell.

It was like a tank, with metal walls and floor. Straight ahead of Jack was a door, and as soon as he saw it, without thinking of the pounding in his head, he pushed himself up and took a step towards the door. Instantly, the blood rushed from Jack's head and he was so light-headed he stumbled backwards, his knees buckled and he fell to the hard floor. The pounding in his head was now a war drum, but he fought the black spots in his vision and he remained conscious.

A chattering, radio static sound came from somewhere in the room. Jack peered around instinctively, and regretted it. Every muscle in his body ached, including his neck. But the chattering continued. Jack finally saw through hazy vision a speaker box next to the door. It was old and tarnished, and the button was faded in the middle. Jack couldn't believe it was working, but where else could the sound be coming from?

"CH-CH-CH-You-," the speaker was garbled but the voice was familiar, but there was a high pitched whine that obscured it.

Jack slowly pushed himself up and pressed the button on the speaker.

"Hello?"

"CH-CH-You can't-CH-CH-CH- You can't save him, Jack- CH-CH-CH-CH."

Jack stumbled backwards again, shocked at what was said. His heartbeat quickened, and he couldn't catch his breath. As he stepped backwards, his feet tangled and he fell on his ass. All the while the speaker continued to chatter white noise. As Jack felt his vision cloud over, he thought he heard a different voice, a woman's voice…. Claire's voice say, "You have to save him, Jack."

****Flashback****

"Jack, you shouldn't be calling me. It violates the restraining order," Jack's ex-wife Sarah said. Again.

"Sarah, it's not about me, or us. I just need to know, did my father say anything to you about going to Australia?" Jack's voice was pleading, but apologetic. He really was trying to give Sarah her space, but with his mother's command, he was going to Australia, but he really needed to know why.

"Jack… I don't know why I even answered… No, he didn't. You seem to have created this delusion that your father and I had a relationship. He called me a few times, because he was worried about you. That's it. Now, I will tell my lawyer about this if you call me again. I will not answer, I will immediately call my lawyer. And the cops." Sarah hung up.

Jack sighed and closed his phone. He looked around his room and resumed packing his bags. His flight to Australia left on Friday and he would return the following Wednesday, with or without his father. Jack packed some old sneakers, thinking he could maybe find time to jog. He went to the bathroom and packed his toiletries, and when he had all his things together he looked at the clock. 8:15. It was still early, so Jack went down to the bar a few blocks from his apartment.

The jukebox was playing an old bluesy song Jack didn't recognize, but the bartender had been there a long time, and Jack greeted him like a friend.

"You want scotch or tequila tonight?"

"What a choice, I'm thinking scotch, make it a double, Gus." Jack smiled and looked around the room. For a Tuesday the bar was surprisingly busy. Three booths were taken of the 6, and there were a few guys playing darts, and a couple flirtatiously playing pool. The atmosphere felt good, but Jack wasn't all there. His smile faded as he sipped his scotch, the burn not soothing the ache in his chest. The chatter and music were all encompassing, but Jack felt far away. He desperately tried to think of nothing, to focus on the conversations happening around him, but all he could hear was the tinkling of ice and his father's voice telling him to trust him.

Jack knew he betrayed his father, but that didn't mean it wasn't the right thing to do. Jack felt certain that he was in the right. His father had operated under the influence, resulting in the death of not one, but two patients. Jack tried his best to save them, but the memories of his failure to save the pregnant woman and her unborn child, compounded with the failure he was in his father's eyes for reporting him, Jack fought the doubts that pecked at his wall of confidence. His dad said to trust him, to sign the paper saying it was all an irreversible accident that couldn't have been prevented. But Jack knew, when the pregnancy was revealed, that he could no longer stand by his father.

Now he has disappeared. And the last thing he said to Jack was, "you couldn't have saved them."

****Flashback Ends****

When Jack woke up to see a woman standing a few feet away from him. She was holding a tray with a sandwich and a water bottle on it. The water called to Jack and his subconscious screamed to do whatever he could for a sip.

"Jack, can you sit against that wall?"

"Where's Kate?"

"She's back at your beach camp, now will you please sit up against the wall?" She spoke with a gentle voice. Jack finally saw the woman. She was beautiful, blonde hair, blue eyes. For a second Jack felt an ache in his chest when he looked at the woman, and he was momentarily confused. But he realized, very quickly, why it hurt to look at her. She reminded him of Sarah. She was still smiling at him, waiting for him to take her orders.

"What about Lauren?" Jack demanded, then added, "And Locke?"

"They're fine. I'd really like to bring you some food and water. You must be thirsty."

"Why should I believe you?" Jack's throat was dry and his voice was hoarse, but he pretended it wasn't obvious.

"Because you have to, Jack. You will know in time what's going on with your friends, but for right now… you need to eat."

It wasn't until that moment that Jack realized how close they were. Jack considered his options. If he attacked this beautiful, nice woman, could he actually take her as a hostage to get out? Jack wasn't confident, considering he could barely stand, but he had to try.

He dove forward and promptly banged his head on a glass wall that separated him from the woman. He saw stars and he lay defeated on the metal floor once more. The woman tried to stifle a smile, but she considered him and determined he wasn't much of a threat for the moment and she left the room. She entered Jack's cell and placed the tray on a table and left. Jack stayed on the floor, unmoving.

When he finally got up, he wasn't concussed, but his pride was certainly bruised. He grabbed the water off the tray and drank deeply, but remembered quickly to take it slowly. He looked at the sandwich, a grilled cheese. He took a small nibble. It was simple, but delicious and it was quickly gone. Jack felt a little refreshed and he began to pace around the cell. For hours, he familiarized himself with every inch of the layout, until he felt his headache come back and he had to rest. He fell asleep quickly, despite only having the floor to lay his head on. He slept soundly for a few hours, only waking once to the sound of a chattering speaker. But when he woke up the next day, he had no memory of it in the night.

The woman came back with another tray and requested the same action as before. Jack decided to comply. He needed to get a better grasp on the situation, and he knew he could only do that if he had his strength. Jack sat with his back against the wall. The woman brought in the food and then returned to the other side of the glass.

"I'm Juliet. Do you know why we've brought you here?"

"To fix someone," Jack took a bite of the sandwich, trying to act nonchalant.

"That's right. Do you want to do that for us, Jack?" she spoke frankly, with genuine care in her voice. She seemed to make you want to reveal your secrets, and Jack wasn't immune.

"The way I see it, I don't really have a choice, now do I?" Jack set his sandwich down after one bite. Walking towards the glass, he started pacing again.

"We all have a choice," she said. "You could choose not to."

"And what happens then?" Looking at Jack, you wouldn't see a respectable doctor and leader, you'd see a feral animal in a cage. His attempt to be nonchalant was out the window, his yearning to know more about his situation entirely took over.

"Well, we cross the bridge when we get to it. Unless, you're saying no right now and then I would have to cut this conversation short and I'd really like to know more about you Jack."

Jack scoffed and shook his head, "Well fire away, I guess."

"What made you want to be a doctor?"

"I used to love Operation as a kid. I thought performing surgery had to be the coolest thing you could do." Jack chuckled to himself.

"You like to play games, Jack?" Juliet asked.

"Love to." Jack no longer smiled.

****Flashback****

An old man joined Jack at the bar. He smiled and nodded at him, before finishing his scotch. Jack considered having one more, but he knew he shouldn't, so he waited for the bartender to be available so he could close his tab. He was buzzed for sure, but he felt good enough to walk home. No need to spend money on a cab. Jack didn't need to worry about money that often, but the plane ticket to Australia had eaten up a good bit of this week's check. Jack was very good about saving, and didn't see the need to dip into his savings for a drink and a cab. He was still waiting as the bartender chatted at the end of the bar with a group of girls. The old man whistled next to Jack.

"Never seen so many lookers here on a Tuesday."

Jack just nodded, not saying anything.

"I say, I need a girl just like that brunette. Skinny, with tits? Think I might just go and take her." The man winked at Jack and put his hands in his jacket pockets. He strode over to the group of girls just as Gus the bartender finally made his way over to Jack. Jack kept his eye on the old man.

"Jack, I need your card man."

Jack held his hand up, as he watched the old man lean against the bar, separating the young woman from her friends. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, as the hand that leaned against the bar, sneakily slipped something into her drink.

"Gus, that man just spiked her drink."

"What? Nah man, that's Bryan. He's a little raunchy, but he wouldn't do that."

"Gus, I saw him do it." Jack was insistent, and not willing to wait. He walked over to the man and grabbed him by the collar. He pushed him against the wall and kneed him in the crotch.

"Do not drink that, miss," Jack said between heavy breaths.

Gus grabbed the glass and looked inside. At the bottom was a small chunk of debris, hastily dissolving into the drink.

Later that evening, Jack gave his statement to the cops.

"Between you and me, doc, this guy is notorious around the station, but he keeps getting out of being convicted. The bartenders keep vouching for him, but dozens of girls have reported him. We think he's responsible for one girl's death. A couple of our guys found her od'd outside a bar a few blocks from here, with the same drugs in her system as this guy we count on you to testify as a witness, doc?"

"Absolutely, when?" Jack didn't think about his answer.

"Not sure, won't be for awhile, but we need someone like you on the stand, not these wishy-washy bartenders who can't get their story straight." The officer gave Jack his card, along with the prosecutor's. Jack went home, all remnants of a buzz long gone. He was wide awake too; the clock read 3:16 AM. The cops had taken a while to get to him, after questioning the girl, Gus, and the girl's friends. Jack sighed, as his flight was in a few hours. He had to try to get some rest.

At 6:00 AM his alarm rang loudly, but he was awake already. He laid in bed for those few hours thinking of the patient and her baby, the girl he saved and the girl he didn't.