Part 169: Interrogate

The grassy area of the jungle swayed in the breeze. A few bugs zipped by, looking for better food. Mia let the way for Sayid, while Seth and Shanna brought up the rear. The young bookstore worker looked around, wondering why he had never come out this far before. It was a beautiful area. Shanna wiped her sweat, wondering when they would stop. Sayid then looked to the young Lakota girl. “How did you find this plane?” he asked.

“Luck,” Mia replied, not knowing if he would believe the truth.

“All three of you were hunting.”

“Is that a question?” the Lakota girl responded.

“Yes,” the Iraqi said simply.

“The Boar had been getting scarce in the area that Boone and Locke went to. We started to explore mostly.”

“So you just happened upon a Beechcraft in the trees?”

“Yes,” Mia replied.

“Back at the funeral Locke said his leg was injured.”

“Yeah, I think it was a Charlie-horse, a cramp as I recall.”

“I know what a Charlie-horse is, Mia.”

“Tony said back in Iraqi you were an interrogator,” Mia looked at him.

“Is that a question?” he smiled.

“Yep,” she replied.

“You haven’t lost your touch.”

“Why would I interrogate you, Mia?”

“Jack called Locke a liar, in front of every man, woman and child on your beach. Perhaps you don’t trust him. Perhaps you brought me out here cause you think the answers would come easier from me. Perhaps there is a part of you that thinks there isn’t even a plane?”

“I know when I am being lied to, Mia,” Sayid said smoothly, “THERE is a plane.”

“Yes, there is.” Locke said, from the trees.

The group stopped and looked at the bald man. He slowly began walking toward them. He paused in front of Sayid then pointed into the distance. “There is the plane, Sayid.” He said.

The Middle Easterner saw the crashed Beechcraft in the distance. It had flipped over on it’s roof, squashed into the ground. He turned back toward the older man. “Thank you, John,” he smiled.

“Next you want to ask someone questions about me, you ask ME.” He said, briefly looking at Mia.

“I will endeavor to remember that.” He said, offering his hand to the direction of the plane,” Shall we?”



Locke pulled out several boxes, tossing them aside. The statues of the Virgin Mary spilled out and two of them cracked open. Seth then picked up the broken statue, and pulled out it’s contents; small baggies filled with a brown substance. “What is this stuff?” he asked.

“Heroin, “ Locke said, “Cargo’s full of it. Best I can guess, they were smugglers.”

Seth then opened the back slightly and dipped the tip of his finger into the drug. He then placed it onto his finger, tapping it on his tongue. Shanna blinked, wondering what he was doing. Then the young man’s face contorted into a complete sour image and he made a gagging sound, spitting out the substance. “Seth, what are you doing?” the red-head asked.

“SWEET JESUS!,” Seth coughed, spitting, “What the hell is Heroin supposed to taste like? IT’S AWFUL!!”

“Then why did you put it on your tongue, dumb-ass?” Shanna laughed.

“That’s what they do in the movies,” he coughed, spitting again.

The group had a small round of laughter at Seth’s expense. Sayid then turned his attention back to the plane. He reached in and started to check the gear. “The plane was perched in the canopy?” he asked.

“Yeah, right up there,” Mia pointed.

“And Boone climbed up because of your Charlie-horse?” he asked Locke.

“I climbed up too, you know.” The Lakota girl grunted.

Sayid ignored her. He looked back to the older man. “Why did you lie, John?” he asked.

“I made a mistake,” he confessed.

“I'm going to salvage what I can of the radio. If we leave now we should beat the storm back.”

“Why don’t you trust me, Sayid?” Locke asked.

“For one thing, you've been carrying a gun you've told no one about.”

Seth and Shanna froze. They both looked to Locke. Mia paused, waving them off. In all the excitement and tragedy, she had completely forgotten about the gun that her older friend had found. Locke slowly sighed, and pulled out the gun from his back pocket. “We found one of the smugglers about a half a click West of here dressed as a priest - Nigerian currency in his pockets, and this.” Locke said.

He then slowly handed the gun to Sayid. The Iraqi took a breath before taking it from him. “Now you are armed and I am not,” the older man pointed out, “Does that earn me any trust?”

“You gave this to me because I caught you concealing it.” Sayid grinned,” That earns you adaptability.”

“Okay, I'll tell you something you don't know.”

“Please do.”

“The first week after the crash there was a cave in. Jack was trapped. Do you remember that?”

“I don’t.” Seth said, rubbing his mouth.

“It’s because you weren’t here, moron, so be quiet,” Shanna hissed.

“Oh, my god, I can’t feel my tongue.” The young man whispered.

Sayid ignored Seth and focused on Locke. “Go on,” he replied.

“You, Kate and Sawyer went out into the jungle to try and triangulate a signal.”

“Yes,”

“You were hit from behind . . .knocked unconscious? When you woke up your transceiver, your equipment was destroyed . . . .that was me.”

Sayid let a gasp escape his lips. Mia blinked, hearing the whole story. “What signal?” Mia asked, “You knocked Sayid unconscious, sir?”

The Iraqi then grabbed him by the mouth, shoving him back at the plane. Seth and Shanna rushed forward but Locke wave to them, telling them to stay put. “THIS IS ONE TIME YOU BETTER NOT BE TELLING THE TRUTH!!!” Sayid screamed.

“I did what was in everyone's best interest!” Locke protested.

“You ruined my chance to find the source!”

“The source of a distress call that kept saying they're dead, it killed them all, over and over? Is that a place you really want to lead people to?”

“Why wait all this time? Why not tell me then?”

“Because back then you wouldn't have engaged in reasonable debate, and nobody else would have.” Locke told him,” Only a few of you could understand that. Had Mia been here, she would have convinced her people I was right. The rest of you were so focused on getting off the island that you weren't seeing things clearly. It's like what's happening now with the raft.”

Shanna then winced; why bring up the raft? “Did you burn the raft, Mr. Locke?” she asked.

“No, I didn’t, Shanna,” he said.

“One of our friends got beaten by that redneck and our trust was taken away,” the red-head looked angry,” If you didn’t burn it, who did?”

“I don’t know, really,” he sighed.

“What is the Hatch, John?” Sayid interrupted them.

“Hatch?” he asked, confused.

Mia didn’t say anything. She waited for Locke to say something, and follow his lead. “Boone mentioned a hatch before he died.” Sayid informed the rest.

“A hatch?” Locke pointed to the entrances to the plane, “Two Hatches, Sayid. Could be forward or aft. I’m not sure what are you talking about.”

Sayid stared at him for a few second, then finally lowered the gun. Mia grew relaxed; she wondered if he would have really pulled the trigger. Sayid silently placed the gun in his back belt line and then went back into the plane, to salvage more parts. The other decided to wait on him, and then head back before the storm hit.

Regardless, Seth still complained that his tongue was numb.