Part 424: The Boys

December 1st, 2009

“But then she says, honey, that’s my popcorn!” Jack said, finishing the joke.

The crowd of men then erupted into a roar of laughter. Tony chuckled as he enjoyed spending time with his good friends. Eddie was by his side, and he was flanked by John on the other side. McKay sat next to Sawyer who sat next to Jack. And rounding out the table was Seth, Charlie and Sayid. Tony wanted to get them all together for last night “boys night out,” before he and Marita went on their plane trip to Canada in the hopes the eye-doctor up there can restore the sight to his one eye. He would have wanted both eyes back but since that wasn’t possible, he was going to accept some sight over no-sight.

Jack sipped on his whiskey as he laughed. It felt good to be among his friends, even it if was Tony that suggested it. The doctor then tapped the redneck by his side. “You’re turn, Sawyer.” He smirked.

Sawyer calmly sipped his beer and burped. “What does . . .a man with two penises say to his tailor when he asks him if he dresses right or left?” he asked.

“What?” McKay chuckled.

“YES.”

John then spit out some of his beer, as he held in his laugher. Seth covered his eyes as he laughed uncontrollably. Sayid just shook his head as he enjoyed his tea. The redneck took another swig of his beer as he pointed toward the Muslim. “Admit it, Mohammed.” He grinned, “That even made you laugh.”

“I am smiling,” Sayid confessed, “This is not laughter.”

“Well, I’ll take what I can get.” Sawyer laughed, “Damn, what a tough crowd.”

“I think that makes it your turn, McKay.” Seth pointed.

“Okay,” he said, chugging his shot glass,” Bob went up to his friend Mike and in a rush, saying, Mike I need your help. How tall do Penguins get? Mike said, well standard penguins get maybe two to three feet tall. Bob said, is that all? Mike said, well there are Emperor Penguins. Bob replied, Emperor Penguins? Mike said, Yeah, they can get as tall as four or even five feet. Bob then clasped his hands over his eyes and gasped, saying, OH MY GOD! Mike then finally asked, Why are you asking me this? What’s wrong? Bob finally whispered . . . . .I think I ran over a Nun.”

Sawyer then burst out laughing louder than he had before. Tony couldn’t help but laugh as well. Eddie held his napkin over his nose fearing that his coke was going to come out of it. Jack then pointed at Sayid who was finally laughing. Tony then took a deep sigh and sipped on his drink. “Thank you, boys,” he smiled, “Thanks for coming out here with me.”

“You’re going to be okay, Tony,” Eddie patted him on the shoulder, “It’s all going to work out.”

“You’re going to enjoy hanging out with us once you can see, Cochise.” Sawyer commented.

“Gentlemen, raise your glasses, “ John said, holding up his drink, “To Tony. Back on the Island when we were separated, he was our leader. He became our friend, then he became our brother. When he joined up with Jack’s crew, he was the one who worked the hardest to make our Tail Spinners accepted. And we all became the better friends for it. To Tony . . a man of steel vision . . May God be with him and let’s hope he gets his true vision back.”

“To Tony.” The friends said in unison.

The blind man smiled as he toasted his fellow survivors. They had gone through so much and came together. It was a great feeling that they could still be friends after all this time. ”When do you and the chica leave anyway?” Sawyer asked.

“Tomorrow night,” he smiled, “ Marita and I are taking a train ride up there. Then we are taking a flight back home.”

“So you will be home for our annual Christmas party?” asked John.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” The blind man smirked.

He then paused when he heard a ruckus behind. A group of men seemed to be getting a little too friendly with a group of women. One of them were arguing with the other women and they seemed to be surrounded by them. “Eddie, what is happening behind me?” he asked.

Eddie turned and looked at the men, who were arguing with the three women. “Looks like a domestic disturbance.” The young man looked.

“Always some jerk can’t keep his problems out of the bar.” John sighed, as he sipped his drink.

“Should we do something?” Eddie asked.

“It’s not our fight, Eddie.” Tony promptly told him.

One of the men then screamed at the woman, then grabbed her purse. When she tried to keep it from him, the force of the pull made him fling it across the bar. It then landed on Tony’s head, making him grunt. The guys jolted as the purse spilled two of their drinks. Tony massaged his head and slowly tilted his face back in the direction of the men. Sawyer smirked over the fact that the blind man said three seconds ago it wasn’t their fight. “Oh, I think it might be our fight now, Short Round.” The redneck giggled at Eddie.

Tony then slowly stood up and picked up the purse. He picked up his cane and looked at the group of men who were all staring at him. “Tony?” John whispered beside him.

“I got this, John.” The blind man patted his friend on the shoulder.

Tony then began to walk toward the men. He took in all his senses around him. The bar had grown quiet in his area; obviously believing a fight was about to ensue. The smells of the alcohol around him; a few scents of musty cigarettes and women’s perfume. Tony then paused when he felt someone stand in front of him. He calmly tapped his cane on the man’s foot to know exactly where he was. “Give me the purse man,” the Hispanic asked.

“Why?” Tony smirked, “Does it match your dress?”

“OOOOOHHHHH!!!” Charlie laughed.

Seth made a hissing sound; signaling his blind man just “burned” the man.

“I said give me the purse, Ese.” The Hispanic moved.

“I got a better idea, Ese,” the blind doctor said, “Why don’t I give this back to the woman and we call it a night? You don’t want to bring misfortune to yourselves.”

The Hispanic laughed at the possibility of a blind man threatening him. Sawyer saw the whole display and then opened up his last beer, then immediately started to chug it. Jack raised an eyebrow over why he was guzzling the beer all of a sudden. The Hispanic then made a move to grab the purse but Tony quickly pulled it away from him. The man was confused about how he did that, considering he was clearly blind. “Whose purse is this?” Tony asked.

There were a few noises that echoed in the bar. A glass sliding across a table; a pool queue hitting a ball; a video game playing in the background and then finally a woman’s voice saying, “It’s Mine.”

Tony then threw the purse into the sound of the voice. Their was a minor gasp from the crowd as it landed perfectly in the woman’s arms. The Hispanic looked at the woman and then back to the blind man. “You sure you’re blind?” he asked.

“You sure you’re not stupid?” Tony retorted.

The thug had had enough. He quickly snapped out a Butterfly knife; slinging the open blade toward Tony’s face. The blind man then grabbed it from him, slung it shut and slapped it back in his hand. “That was a too slow,” he commented, “Do it again.”

The Hispanic paused and then snapped the blade out again; slinging the metal around. In one fluid motion, Tony snatched it from his hand again, slung it shut, slapped it back in his hand and then slapped the man across the face. The thug reeled as the blind man knocked the spit out of him. “That was pathetic.” The doctor commented, “Don’t pull out your toys if you ain’t prepared to use them properly.”

Sawyer coughed as he finished the beer. He wiped his mouth, laughing. “Jesus, Sawyer,” Jack said, “Go easy, man.”

“Can’t, Jack.” He smirked, “I had to finish this beer real quick.”

“Why?”

“I never let beer go to waste in a bar fight.” He said, as he quickly stood up.

Sawyer then hurled the empty beer bottle across the bar and it smashed into the head of the man who was about to hit Tony with a pool stick. The friends then jumped up and ran to help out their comrade. John then jumped; kicking a man across the jaw. McKay pulled Tony out of the way and punched another Hispanic across the face. Sawyer laughed as he tackled two of them, spilling over a table, and throwing bottles plus glasses everywhere.

The whole bar was now into the fight. Sayid then felt a large set of arms grab him from behind. He then tilted up his feet to the table, braced himself and slammed the back of his head against the large man’s nose. Charlie then ducked as someone threw a chair near his face. He then slid across the floor and backed up into the bar. He stood up, grabbed the man nearest him and punched him. “OW!” he said, shaking his hand.

“CHARLIE, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?” Seth screamed as he head butted his opponent.

“I’M HELPING OUT!” he screamed back.

“I know you are helping but you shouldn’t hit them with your playing hand!” the singer pointed out, “We got a gig this weekend!”

“Seth, I’m sorry, I’ll make sure that-LOOK OUT!!”

Seth didn’t see it in time as someone slammed a pool stick over his face. He then fell back into a booth where a bunch of the ladies were sitting. The singer then shook it off and looked up; seeing he was flanked by three women with large breasts. “I was about to apologize for landing in here,” he smiled, “Now I am kinda glad.”

“OH MY GOD!” the blonde woman gasped, “You’re Seth Butler! Can I have your autograph?”

“Sure thing,” he said, getting up, “Let me clear this bar first!”

Seth then ran, jumped on a table and then landed on two men; bringing them down. Jack punched one guy but then felt a bottle smash over his forehead. He then jolted back toward the bar, then someone grabbed his throat; proceeding to strangle him. He coughed and gagged as he tried to fight the person off. Then a tennis shoed foot came out of nowhere and slammed on the side of the guy’s head. Jack then coughed a little more as he realized Eddie had just saved him. The young man then checked on the doctor’s forehead. “Jack, you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” he gagged, “I hear bells ringing.”

Jack then abruptly pulled Eddie out of the way as a large Russian tried to tackle them. The doctor then grabbed a tall bottle of Thunderbird Whiskey and slammed the bottle across the back of the head of the large man. He then slummed down as the doctor and then young man ran to assist their other friends. McKay and Sawyer were jolted left to right; back to back, hitting as many people as they could. John then screamed as he picked up a smaller man over his head and then threw him into the wall behind the bar.

The Hispanic that picked the fight fought with a pool stick and Tony fought with his cane. They clashed like swordsman fighting for honor. The blind man then leaned down and then twirled his cane; slamming his cane on the back of the man’s legs. He cursed in Spanish and fell on his back. By the time he got up, Tony slammed his foot on top of the man’s face; knocking him out.

John then slammed a chair in the back of one man’s head, knocking him out. He took a pause and grabbed his friend. Tony then grabbed his arm too, and tilted around. The blind man then listened for any other fights and he could only hear one; Eddie’s. He heard the young man grunting like someone was choking him. He then heard the large man slammed his younger companion into wall. “EDDIE!!!” Tony screamed.

The young man opened up his eyes and looked to his father figure.

“QUIT PLAYING WITH THAT MAN AND FINISH HIM!”

Eddie then laughed. Tony knew full well that his opponent was no match for his marital arts skills. The young man then grabbed two bottles on a wall rack behind him. He then slammed both of them into the man’s head; shattering on impact. As the man reeled from the blow, Eddie then leaped up and round house kicked him. The thug spun like a top and landed hard on the broken bottled floor. Eddie held his attack pose on the man but he was unconscious. Charlie helped Seth to his feet. Sayid took a deep breath and dropped the remains of his pool stick. Jack leaned on the bar, holding the small wound on his temple. Sawyer and McKay were still in their boxing pose, looking at all the wounded men. Tony and John stood together; amid the broken debris and groaning men. “Are we the last ones standing, John?” Tony asked.

“We are.” He replied proudly.

“Then it’s been a successful night.” The blind man laughed.


Outside in the parking lot, the men were still laughing over their “victory”. Charlie and Sayid were in the back of his flatbed truck; laughing their heads. The bassist was pointing over toward his singer who was signing the t-shirts of the women he bumped into. Jack was leaning on the hood of his car, holding a piece of cloth on his wound. The blood was slowly drying up. Sawyer walked over to him as he was lighting up a cigarette. “How’s the wound, Doc?” he asked.

“It’s clotting up. I’ll be okay.” He smirked.

“You did pretty good in there, Jack. How many bar room brawls you been apart of?”

Jack smiled as he looked toward his redneck friend. “One.” He laughed slightly.

Sawyer then chuckled. “Well, you baptized now, son!” he laughed, messing up his hair, “You officially a Stud now!”

Jack just shook his head and laughed at the absurd and definitely fun event he was apart of tonight. He looked over toward the parking lot seeing the other guys come from the phone booth. Tony had his arms around the necks of Eddie and John, then the archer had his arm around McKay. Those men were called the Three Musketeers for a reason; they were the ones that bonded solidly back on the Island. In the story of the Three Musketeers, they were joined by a younger man named Phillip; a role which Eddie now seemed to fit into. Jack was almost envious of their bond but he didn’t really care; he knew they were ALL going to be friends. “How are the wives?” Jack asked them.

“Slightly upset but they were glad we came out in one piece.” McKay laughed.

“Hey, Tony,” Jack smirked, “Next time you want to have a guys now out; I’m thinking a nice safe restaurant.”

Tony walked over, laughing and playfully punched him in the arm. “You had fun, admit it.” He told him.

“Yes, I did and if you tell Kate, I will deny it.” He laughed, pointing toward Sawyer.

The redneck just shrugged his shoulders; like he couldn’t promise anything. Tony briefly hugged Jack and then began to hug the rest of them. After he was done hugging John, he turned to his friends. “Thank you for this evening, my brothers,” he smiled, “I wasn’t expecting it to be this thrilling but I’ll never forget it.”

“Hey, Cochise,” Sawyer then placed something in his hand, “Here is a way you can always remember it.”

Tony felt of the item in his hand. He laughed when he realized it was the Butterfly knife of the man who picked a fight with him. “Thanks, Sawyer.” He smiled.

“Guys, I better get him home to Marita.” Eddie patted him on the back.

“Good night, guys,” the blind man bid farewell to his friends.

Tony walked over to the vehicle known as Turk and got into the passenger side door. Eddie hoped it and then cranked up the engine; pulling them out of the parking lot. Within moments, they were back to the highway. Tony held the blade in his hands, smiling under his blindman glasses. “I suppose this is the part where I say you shouldn’t get into fights,” the doctor whispered.

“I know that part, Tony,” Eddie laughed, “I guess you could say, you shouldn’t get into fights unless they are for the right reasons.”

“Yes,” he sighed, “The right reasons.”

“I’d get into a bar room brawl with you any day of the week, dad,” the young man smirked.

Tony laughed at this comment. Then he paused for a moment; he just realized Eddie called him Dad. Was it a slip of the tongue or did he mean to do it on purpose? He decided not to ask him; some things were just better kept to one’s self. He gently patted the young man on the arm. “You gonna be okay while Marita and me are gone?” he asked.

“Yes, Tony, I’ll be fine,” he said, rolling his eyes, “Are you going to ask such questions when I am 18?”

“And when you are nineteen, then twenty, then twenty one, then forty one,” the blind man laughed.

“Thanks for caring, Tony.” Eddie smiled at his mentor.

“Always, boy, Always,” he sighed.