Part 464: The Calm Before The Storm

5:51 pm

Mia slowly opened her eyes. The halogen lights of the ceiling above shined down upon her. Her pain was only mild in her system; thanks to Tony and some small amounts of morphine. The Lakota woman then leaned over and was happy to see the smiling, redhead sitting by her side. Shanna laughed at seeing Mia able to open her eyes and move her head. “Hey, you,” Mia smiled, in a whisper.

“Hey,” Shanna replied, kissing her forehead, “I’m so happy you are all right.”

“It’ll take more than a few bullets to put Mia down,” Seth smiled.

Mia laughed a little bit at hearing Seth’s voice. She leaned up her hand and took his own. The singer kissed her knuckles, patting her hand. The Lakota girl was so happy to see her adoptive brother and sister by her side. Not only did she enjoy seeing them regardless, but the fact that they were here meant they survived the Liberation attack. As Mia thought of the Liberators, it made her remember what she had lost. “Shelley . . .my daughter was taken . .” Mia tried to lean up.

“Mia, lay back down,” Shanna said, touching her shoulder.

“We know about Shelley,” Seth whispered in an ominous tone.

The Lakota girl looked to her good friend. “Brendon?” she asked.

The lead singer just shook his head. Since she knew the Liberators got Shelley, that meant they got Brendon too. If the young boy was taken, then it also meant that Aaron and Bridgett were probably taken as well. “Just like on the Island . . .they are after the children.” Mia concluded.

“Yeah, that’s what we were thinking as well.” Seth replied.

“The main group is in the living room, forming a plan on what we need to do.” Shanna told her.

Mia then grunted as she leaned up. “Mia, what are you-“ Seth stammered.

“Help me up.” She said, getting over to the side.

“Mia, I don’t think you should be moving.”

“Get these tubes out of me.” She said, pulling them out of her hands, “I need to hear what they are going to do.”




Kate rubbed her eyes, then accepted the glass of water given to her by Sawyer. The group was gathered around the living room in various chairs, leaning against walls and some were even sitting on the floor. The former fugitive had just got finished telling her story about how they attacked her this morning. She naturally assumed that these soldier-like men were Federal Officers who had finally found her and were coming to arrest her. When they took Jack instead, she realized it could have only been something else. She didn’t believe it was the Liberation until she started to talk to her friends.

Kate had woke up in the ER of the hospital across the street. They were checking on her when they had called in the cops. They interviewed her and she labeled it a standard abduction. Then she checked her cell phone and heard the SIT message in her voice box. That is when she snuck out of the hospital to come here. Sneaking from the police had been a normal part of her life a few years ago. She had not lost the knack. “I’m glad you made it out of there, Freckles.” Sawyer told her.

“Thanks, Sawyer,” she said, smiling at him.

“So . . .It’s safe to assume they have Jack,” Tony whispered, rubbing his stubble, “Then they have Eddie, Jilly, the children and probably Jenny.”

“And if they have Jenny, then they must have Raven.” Kellye mentioned.

“Dude, wait a second,” Hurley held up his hands, “I thought Raven was like the Terminator or something. Didn’t he get built to last?”

“You hit the nail on the head, Hurley,” John whispered, “Watchman built Raven and the Dharma group built Watchman. If there would be anybody who would know how to turn him off or whatever, it would be him.”

“Then . .dudes, what are we going to do?”

“It’s obvious,” Mandy grunted, “We got in and we get our children back.”

“Shouldn’t we like call the cops or something?” Joscelyn replied back.

“We don’t have time.” Hal said, holding Libby’s hand, “In order for us to get there and be able to search the entire building, we’ll need a warrant. Not to mention there is a probably with the Liberators. They are not afraid of the police nor of being discovered.”

“He’s probably telling the truth,” Locke pointed at the cop, “When Mandy and I were at my building; they shot at me with automatic rifles and those guns did not have silencers.”

“They shot our house up,” Libby pinched the bridge of her nose, “ If they were willing to do that, then they are not afraid of the police.”

“No, in order for us to pull this off, we need to go in there ourselves,” Hal continued, “ Not to mention, it’s our responsibly and this will save anybody else from getting killed.”

“And if we get arrested?” Joscelyn said, gripping onto her husband’s arm.

“Something tells me, Jo-Jo,” Sawyer whispered, “getting arrested is going to be the least of our worries.”

“I HAVE IT!” Karleigh said, holding up a piece of paper from the nearby printer.

The group looked over at the key boardist who was told to get any information on the Dharma location at the Hanso Foundation. The girl walked over and handed out the black and white pieces of printout. Tony looked at the page with Marita, John and McKay looking over his shoulder. “What is this?” he asked, looking at the aerial shot of the Los Angeles downtown.

“It’s a Google Satellite photo of the Hanso Building,” Karleigh pointed at the large grey shape, “ That’s it right there.”

“McKay, what does this look like to you across the street?” the one-eyed doctor pointed at the building structure.

The Australian took a closer look at the piece of paper. “Looks like a large parking deck.” He pointed at.

“Then that is where we’ll have our fall back point.” Tony said, smiling slightly.

“You slipping back into your Special Force’s shoes there, Cochise?” Sawyer asked.

“In a manner of speaking. Huddle up.” The doctor beckoned his friends.

The group hesitated for a moment as they saw Tony get down on one knee in the middle of the room. Then they slowly gathered around each other. Joscelyn braced herself on Hurley’s back, as did Dutch. Marita kneeled next to her husband, while John watched over her shoulder. Taylor held onto McKay with Sayid, Shannon and Mandy looking over Alexander and Andra’s shoulder. “See this massive court yard?” Tony pointed to this friends, “This doesn’t provide any cover we need. But the parking deck will. We move into two teams. One group’s purpose will be to fight off the Liberators and by the second group some time.”

“What is the second group going to do?” Marita asked.

“Hostage retrieval.” The one-eyed doctor smiled, “It will be the second group’s job to get Jack, Jenny, Jilly, Eddie and the children.”

“Then I’m on that team.” Mia said.

“MIA?” John leaned up, from the crowd.

The group looked over to the Lakota woman, who was leaning on Shanna and Seth. She had the majority of her wounds bandaged, with only small amounts of blood coming between the seems. John walked over toward his wife, holding her by the arms. “Mia, you need to rest.” The archer told her.

“They took my daughter, John and I’m going to help get her back.” The Lakota hissed.

“Mia, honey, you can barely stand,” Locke said, approaching her.

“TONY!” the young woman screamed, “Is there anything you can give me to keep me on my feet?”

The one-eyed doctor looked at the young man and then her husband, who he considered his best friend. He took a deep sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah,” he replied with honesty, “I could give you some epinephrine. It’s artificial adrenaline.”

“No way, Tony!” the gym teacher grunted, “I’m not going to risk my wife any further than-“

“JOHN!” Mia screamed in his face.

The archer held onto his wife as she wept silently. She leaned her head onto her chest, nearly using him as a support. “I have to get her back,” she wept, “I have to do this.”

The archer held onto her, looking at the ceiling. He never doubted his wife’s strength, nor her convictions for a single instant. However, she was already shot and loss some blood. Tony managed to replace it but it still didn’t change the fact that she was in need of rest. Mia gripped onto John’s shoulder at the shoulder and looked up at him. “John, you will be needed to keep the men off of us,” she whispered, “You can’t do that and rescue our daughter at the same time.”

“Nor can I worry about you.” He retorted.

“You know I’ll keep her safe, John.” Seth admitted.

“We both will.” Shanna stepped up.

John felt like he had no choice. If he insisted she stay behind, then she’s resent him. Even though their lives are at stake, he still have enough faith that she would come through this. She even promised him that she’d live long enough to see this through. What that meant, he didn’t know. He held out his hands toward Mia’s best friend, then they promptly took them. “Promise me, you won’t let anything happen to her.” He whispered.

“We promise.” Seth said for them both.

Mia then put her arms around John, and kissed him. The archer kissed her back, holding her close. He then held onto her, like he was going to lose her. She could tell that as well, which is why she replied his embrace with a tighter one of their own. “I know you’re scared.” Tony told his friend.

John and Mia then looked at him. The one-eyed doctor then brought his wife closer and held onto her. He turned his gaze to his other friends. “We’re all scared.” He replied.

The group all listened in.

“But this isn’t the first time these bastards have attacked us,” The doctor sighed, “And I don’t see any difference in the real world than it was on that beach so many years ago. We fought them then and we won. We already paid for that will our most dearest friends. There may be a chance that some of us won’t walk away from this either. But we have to take that chance. For the sake of our children . . .for our friends and our future devoid of the Liberation.”

Tony then held out his hand in the direction of his friends. “This isn’t a decision that you can make spur of the moment. I’m going in there to make sure Eddie gets out safely and to make sure that psycho woman doesn’t come after me again. If you don’t want to risk it, there is no shame. We’ll do this without you and we’ll still love you. If you want to come, I welcome you.”

Alexander then placed his hand on top of Tony’s. “I’ll make them pay for taking Bridgett.” He hissed.

Mandy then placed her hand on the pile, along with Taylor and McKay. John and Mia walked over, joining them. Sayid, Shannon, Andra, then Seth, Tanya and Shanna joined in. Locke then placed his hand on the pile, along with Ecko and Natasha. Kate then placed her hand on top of Natasha’s and Sawyer placed is hand on top of her. “Don’t worry there, Freckles.” Sawyer winked, “I’ll get ya Doc back for you.”

“Thanks,” she smiled.

Dutch and Karleigh then placed their hands into the pile. Hurley then placed his hand on the other’s and then looked at his wife. Joscelyn then looked at her husband and then over to her friends Karleigh and Kellye. The young woman took a deep breath and then placed her hand on the pile. “Oh, my geezy.” She whispered.

“Hey!” Chance stumbled into the room.

Arizona then looked at her husband, joining the group in the living room. The gunslinger placed his hand on the pile of hands connecting everybody together. “They shot at my wife and my best friend,” the Texan hissed, “There is no way you are starting this rumble without me.”

“Likewise,” Hal said, placing his hand on the pile.

Libby then came over, touching her fiance’s hand. Arizona then did the same thing, not leaving without her husband. Tony smiled at all of them. “Thank you,” he grinned brightly, “I’m honored to know each and every one of you. I know Jack would feel the same way. I know you’ve listened to my speeches and his as well. I know if he were here, he’d give one in my place. But since he isn’t, Kate?”

The brunette looked at him.

“Please say Jack’s famous phrase that kept us together on the Island.”

Kate smiled, with tears streaming down her face. “Live together, die alone.” She whispered.

“Let’s get it done.” The doctor said as he parted from his friends.


Outside Tony, John and McKay began to remove all the junk from various vehicles. They were taking out all the excess laundry, containers, baby toys, regular toys and anything else they didn’t need to make their run against Hanso. John checked on his bow. He made sure the string was tightened to the point where it might cut skin if it’s gripped to hard. John then leaned up when he heard a rustling in the gravel before him. Hal leaned against the vehicle, clearly armed with his shoulder holster. “You sure you don’t want a gun?” he asked him.

“No thanks, Hal,” John smirked, “Always been more comfortable with my bow anyway.”

“I figured you’d say that.” The cop said, then handing him a small dark green box.

“What’s this?” the archer replied, taking the box.

“Remember that story I told you about? The bank robber who used a bow and arrow with trick arrows.”

John opened the case. He saw six arrow-heads. Three were white, marked Phospherous. The other were marked red and black, marked Explosive. “You . . .you took these out of the police evidence room?” the archer gasped.

“I figured we’d be able to put some of the scumbag’s weapons to sue for a good cause.”

“Hal . . .you might lose your badge for this.” The archer said, sympathecially

“Like Sawyer said, getting arrested is going to be the least of our worries, “ the cop laughed a little bit before heading back into the house, “ I’ll go make sure everybody who wants a gun has one.”

John watched his friend leave his sight. Tony walked over and leaned against the vehicle. McKay joined them after making sure his SUV was cleared out. The three friends shared a comfortable silence in the twilight of the falling sun. McKay smiled at his friends. “We’ve covered some ground haven’t we?” he said, saying the exact same phrase he gave them before they headed off the Island.

“Yeah, we have,” Tony replied, “I just want to make sure . . .everybody we care about comes along for the ride.”

“Amen.” The Australian agreed.

“Amen, “ John also said.

“The only thing I’m worried about is when the Liberation underestimated us on the Island,” the one-eyed doctor whispered, “I don’t think they’ll be dumb enough to do that a second time.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” McKay replied with a sigh, “I have a feeling they are prepared. They’ll see this coming.”

“No,” Raven whispered.

The three friends gasped at their mysterious companion as he seemed to have appeared out of the blue. His eyes were glowing a soft topaz color as he gazed at the men.

“There is no way in Hell they will see this coming.” The masked man replied.