Part 402: Final Conflict

Ortega stayed at the edge of the building. He let the ocean breeze blow in from the peer. His over coat flapped in the cold window. The Jaeger Unit was relishing in his memories. He remember being born in a little villa just south of Madrid. He remembered being brought to America by his father; a GI stationed in Spain. He remembered volunteering for the program. He remember going through such pain and he remembered . . . .being born again.

The tied up woman behind him struggled under her bonds. She couldn’t see anything because of the burlap bag over her head. She wondered what was going to happen to her; she was scared for her life. She tried to run but she couldn’t get far away. She felt the heavy footfalls of a set of combat boots as Ortega approached her. The dangerous man knelt downward and placed his hand on the back of her neck. “It’s not much longer now,” he whispered, “ She’ll be coming. And tonight, it ends . . .one way or another.”

The captured woman mumbled under her bagged head. Ortega whispered closely in her closed ear. “I know how you’d very much like to say your last words now but I don’t think you’ll be able to talk your way out of this.” He whispered.

The woman jerked and screamed through her gag. Ortega stood up and couldn’t help but laugh. When he turned around, his thoughts were then interrupted by a scream; a scream of rage. He looked up and saw Jenny baring down on him. He figured she would climb up the ladder to get to the roof of this building; he didn’t know she’d be smart enough to go to the other building and leap over. Ortega managed to block her blow with his sword. Jenny twirled around in one fluid motion and slammed her nunchucks into the side of his face.

Ortega stepped back a few steps and then laughed; leaning over and spit out a bit of blood. Jenny held her nunchucks in his direction, breathing through gritted teeth. “Not bad, baby,” he smiled back at her.

“I’m gonna kill you,” Jenny whispered.

“I don’t think so. But if anybody deserves the chance it would be you . . . Orphan.”

Jenny’s brain shot fire through her eyes. The vile man who had taken her mother away from him three days ago, had the gall to call her an “orphan”. Jenny then charged him and swirled her nunchucks around at him. This time, Ortega was fast enough to dodge them. He jolted from left to right and Jenny couldn’t hit him. Then in one fluid motion, the Jaeger Unit twirled around and slammed his foot into her stomach. Jenny flew back about six feet, landed on the ground and slid toward an adjacent wall.

She grunted but stood up from the pain. Ortega smiled at her, happy she wasn’t giving up. Jenny walked a few feet, coughed up blood and kept walking. Then she paused when she saw that Ortega had a prisoner. The bound and covered woman was still struggling. Jenny looked to the maniac and slowly walked toward the woman. Ortega didn’t stop her; in fact, he motioned for her to help herself. Jenny quickly jogged toward the woman and pulled off the bag over her head. The police detective was shocked that it was Penelope Widmore. “As you can see, she never made it to the Bahamas.” He grinned.

“She’s got nothing to do with this, Ortega!” Jenny screamed back.

“On the contrary, she has everything to do with it,” the Spaniard coughed, “I loved her. She could have ran away with me but she always did what Daddy wanted it. I could have been her eternal love; never getting old. But no . . she discarded me like trash.”

Ortega then ran toward them both. Jenny shoved her out of the way and threw the nunchucks directly at him. They bounced off his nose; causing blood to shoot through both nostrils. He made a swing for Jenny but she quickly kneeled down; dodging it. She then brought her fist upward, striking him in the jaw. Ortega then grabbed her arm and flung her away like a rag doll. Jenny slid on the ground again, sliding toward the edge but managed to stop her flow. “STOP . . .hitting me . . in the face!” Ortega demanded.

The Jaeger Unit then kicked her nunchucks away, making them fly off the edge of the building. Jenny stared in horror as she saw them bounce off a dumpster and land on the ground. She turned and looked at Ortega who was bending over and opening some sort of stream lined foot locker. He then picked up two samurai swords. Jenny held her chest as she stood up, looking at him. Ortega calmly walked over and stood a good ten feet from her. He then flung one of the swords at her, and she caught it by the hilt with ease. She stared at the weapon, feeling how magnificent it felt. “Oh, come now, Jenny,” Ortega grinned through blood soaked teeth, ‘This is how you prefer it, don’t you? As it was meant to be . . . .warrior to warrior.”

Jenny held up her sword in attack position. Ortega twirled his sword and got ready to attack her. Penelope was screaming through her gag for Jenny to run, that she had no chance of beating him. The police officer wasn’t planning on beating him. If she managed to deliver a killing blow and it cost her her life, she was willing to accept that. Jenny screamed as she ran toward him. Ortega jolted and their swords began a dance of metal and sparks.

Jenny blocked him blow for blow and Ortega kept swiping at her; attempting to cut her head off. The blonde twirled in the air, striking his leg. The Spaniard screamed as blood squirted from one his arteries. He then leaped up on one leg and brought the sword down upon her. Jenny managed to block it but the blow gave too much weight; slamming her sword into her collarbone. Jenny back rolled out of there, feeling the bruise began to swell up.

The blonde backed up to a pipe sticking out of the building. By the time she looked up, Ortega was baring down on her. She ducked as he sliced at her, taking out the pipe behind her. She managed to slice upward, cutting the fleshy part under his right arm. He screamed in pain and lunged for her. She tried to side step him but he managed to cut her at the base of her neck. She back flipped and got away from him. As Jenny landed, she quickly dabbed the blood on her lower neck. Had she not rolled with the blow, he might have cut her throat. Ortega paused to tie a loose piece of cloth around the bloody wound on his leg. “You’re good, baby,” he laughed, “The best I’ve faced in a long time. I guess my sin was Sloth. I should have expected someone like you to come into my life eventually.”

“Sloth?” Jenny stood up, “You can have that sin . . . .I think I will take WRATH!!!”

Jenny ran toward him and tried to slice his head down the middle but Ortega blocked it. Their swords went through the similar dance they gave each other a few minutes again. The Jaeger Unit then jolted back and blocked forward, allowing him to cut Jenny on the arm. The blonde screamed as she felt the pain surge into her brain, making her collapse and drop her sword. Ortega paced around her a wild animal. Jenny stared up at him in pure hatred. “You’ve done remarkable things. There is no shame in this,” he held up his sword, “But you were fighting a battle . . you had already lost.”

Ortega then jolted as bullets ripped into him. Jenny ducked from the spray of blood. The Jaeger Unit didn’t fall; just stumbled slightly. He then turned around and looked at the person who had interrupted his battle. “JACK!” Jenny screamed, remembering the bandaged Jaeger Unit.

The Jack of All Shades held his gun toward Ortega. The masked man cocked back the weapon and was prepared to pull the trigger again. “You should never had gone near her.” Jack warned him.

“You should have stayed dead.” Ortega hissed with a laugh.

Jack then opened fire but Ortega dodged them. He then flung up his sword, deflecting bullet after bullet. Jack of All Shades then pulled out his own gun and opened fire. Ortega got closer with each step. Then the masked man blinked as he felt the long blade pierce his stomach. Jenny gasped at the sight. Ortega grinned as he held the sword in his fellow Jaeger Unit, as blood started to form up in his bandages around his mouth. “Smile for me now, brother,” Ortega whispered.

Jack then grunted as the Spaniard started to pull the blade out of his stomach. Then much to Ortega’s surprise, Jack then grabbed the blade while it was still in him. Ortega tried to pull it but Jack wouldn’t let go. The bandaged man then pulled out his spare gun and planted a bullet right into Ortega’s chest. He jolted from the blow and fell back, holding his wound. Jack started to stumble forward, as massive amounts of blood started to leak from his wound. “JACK!!” Jenny called to him.

“Jenny . . .” Jack coughed as he collapsed onto his knees, “ I got . . .I got his sword. . .you can beat him . . .”

The blonde was upset that Jack was dying; because he reminded her a lot of Raven. She quickly took the moments he gave her to grab the other sword and rush toward Ortega. He was coughing and trying to get air but it was difficult now that he had a punctured lung. He then screamed as Jenny swiped him across the back. She then flipped the sword and plunged it down; trying to stab him. Ortega was still faster than her; grabbing the blade with his hands. She tried to throw her weight into it, seeing the blood flow from his palms. The Spaniard used her weight shift to his advantage; bringing back abruptly, forcing her to fall forward. Ortega took the moment to slam his elbow into her nose, making blood gush out in a spray on her face as she fell back.

Jenny was dazed. She knew he would be finishing her off and she couldn’t force her brain to get her legs moving. The blonde police officer then coughed and gagged as Ortega grabbed her by the throat. She continued to gag as he held her up, making her feet dangle in the air. Ortega held the blade in his hand and turned it around, preparing to stab her. “I’ll never forget you, Jenny.” He whispered.

Jenny almost felt like crying. She was sad that she was about to die, worrying how her sister will react to losing their mother and her in the same week. However, Jenny also felt relieved that she would be seeing her mother soon; eager to tell her all the things she wanted to tell her. Jenny then strained her eyes as she saw a blue light behind Ortega. She knew she was being strangled and it probably cause her to see things.

However, she realized she wasn’t seeing things when a masked man came out of the blue haze, ran toward Ortega, grabbed him by the arm that he was holding Jenny and then slammed his own forearm into it; breaking it at the elbow. The Spaniard screamed as he let go of Jenny and backed up with is arm, bent inward about 60 degrees the wrong way. Jenny got to her hands and knees, looking up. Ortega thrust the sword in the direction of where the masked man was but he only disappeared in a blue flash. Jenny knew of only one such individual who could do that and her heart began to race. Had Raven come back to her?

Ortega then screamed as the blue flash erupted behind him and grabbed him by the back of the neck. Then the stronger man picked him up by the waist and hoisted him high into the air. “WHO ARE YOU?” Ortega demanded.

Ortega never got his answer. It came in the form of him being brought down abruptly on the man’s leg, breaking his back. The stranger dumped him onto the ground and he began to gasp for air. His heart slowly stopped beating and his eyes fell shut. Jenny looked up toward her savior as he finally approached her. His face was covered in bandages but when his eyes flashed blue, she immediately knew who it was. She reached up and touched his chest, then touched his arms. “Raven?” she gasped, “Is it really you?”

“Yes, Jenny, it’s really me.” He whispered.

She felt her heart sink. Like before, he came into her life when she needed him. “It . .it . .took you five years to rescue me?” she asked, as tears rolled down her face.

“It took you five years to need it.” He smiled under her mask.

Jenny then collapsed into his arms and cried into his chest. Raven held onto her, letting her frustration, her anger and her sadness come out in one burst. The masked warrior was glad he found her when he had too. Jenny cried a little more and then came to her senses. She then turned around and saw Jack of All Shades coughing and bleeding. “Raven, that man’s name is Jack. He’s a Jaeger Unit, like you.” Jenny said, getting up.

“I figured as much,” Raven followed her.

“Jack?” Jenny grunted, kneeling down toward him, “You hang in there. Somebody heard your gunshots. The police are on their way and we’ll call an ambulance.”

“I . ..I don’t think I am . .going to make it, Jenny.” He trembled.

“No, don’t give up, Jack. You Jaeger Unit’s can take-“

Jenny paused when she looked at his wound. The blood colorization was all wrong. It was a soft brown color. Raven dipped his fingers into and rubbed it, looking at the goop. It was a familiar texture because he had already experienced it once in his life. “The poison capsule,” Raven whispered, “That other man ruptured it.”

“Then . . .it’s finished . .” Jack whispered.

“NO!” Jenny said, cradling him in his arms, “Jack . .you . .you got to hold on . . .we’ll find an antidote or . .”

She stopped when she felt Raven gently touch her arm. His sympathedic eyes told her that there was no antidote. Jack looked at Raven with wide eyes. “Your . . .name, Sir?” he asked.

Raven looked at him and whispered his name. “You . ..you are from the Island too, aren’t you?” he coughed.

Raven shook his head in agreement. “Raven . . .do the others . . .do the other Jaeger Units still suffer?” Jack asked.

“No. The kill code was typed into the Watchman mainframe.” Raven then held his hand, “Our brothers and sisters are no longer in pain.”

Jenny could tell that Jack was smiling. The knowledge Raven gave him made him feel like he could die a happy man. The masked vigilante then slowly reached into overcoat pocket and pulled out an object. He held up his trembling hand. “Jenny . . .” he coughed, “Take this . .key . .”

“What is it?” she said, taking it.

“It contains . . .a diary . . .of one of the Dharma Scientists . . . .bus station . . . south of the battery . . . .tell them . .tell the . . .world . . .”

“Jack?” the police officer asked in desperation.

However it was too late. The poison had flooded his system and stopped his heart. Jenny felt so sorry for him, all he wanted was justice for his people. He tried his best to help her but it cost him his life. He hoped that he had found peace.

Jenny let his head rest on the ground and stood up. Raven stared down at her and for the first time in three days, she smiled. She was looking forward to having Raven in her life. Watching movies with him, buying him ice cream and showing him the wonders of the world and how they changed in the last 50 years. But their reunion would have been on hold for a little while longer. The sirens in the background meant someone finally heart the gunfire from Jack’s pistols and called the police. Jenny quickly took Raven’s hand. “Raven, how did you find me?” she asked him.

“I went to your house but you weren’t there. I managed to turn on the answering machine and after looking at my map, I figured the rest.” He confessed.

“Good. In that case, head back to my house and wait for me there.”

“I’m not leaving you.” He answered bluntly.

Jenny smiled at him, loving him every minute he was now with her. “You won’t leave me, Raven. But I don’t think you want to be here for the cops, “ she kissed him on his bandage cheek, “Please . . go.”

Raven understood. He wasn’t sure how the cops would react to his presence either. He calmly turned to leave, then stopped. He looked back at Jenny and then shifted his arm around into his overcoat and calmly handed her the nunchucks back. “You dropped these.” He smiled.

Jenny took them and smiled back. Raven then ran off the edge of the building and quickly faded in a shunting of blue light. Jenny took a deep breath and walked over to Penelope Widmore. The amber haired CEO was wild eyed during the whole ordeal. Jenny slowly removed her gag and helped her up. “You gonna keep your mouth shut about this?” she asked.

“Who would believe me?” she whispered.

“Good answer,” the cop agreed.

Within second, several uniform cops entered the roof top area. Jenny calmly reached behind her, removed her badge and held it up. It had been a long night and she was glad it was over.

She only worried what type of paperwork it would entail.

Part 401: A Daughter's Love

January 26th, 2009

The funeral was beautiful as funerals go.

Jenny stayed with Sarah the whole time. Her older sister couldn’t stop crying. The younger blonde couldn’t stop crying either but all that happened was tears running down her face. Jack was kind enough to stay with them and despite what their other relatives said, Jenny insisted that a few other people sit with them. Kristy had flown in from London to be with her good friend. Claire and Aaron sat next to her as a well, plus Charlie sat behind them with Seth, Tanya, Shanna, Mia, John, little Shelley and Locke. All of her other friends from the crash showed up as well. She wasn’t sure if anybody was missing.

As the preacher began to give the sermon, Jenny could hear the background that someone was entering the church. The young blonde slowly looked back and managed to curl up a smile. Sawyer slowly walked in and sat in the last row. He still wore his jeans and his leather jacket but he did bother to put on a good shirt and tie. Jenny and him locked eyes for a minute and she smiled. She was happy the redneck thought enough of her to attend her mother’s funeral.



Later in the day, after the funeral was over, Jenny and Sarah were at the funeral home attending to various formalities. Jack stayed with them in case they needed them. Jilly wasn’t sure if she should stick around because of the fact that Jack and Sarah had a history but the former Mrs. Shepard insisted it was okay. Sarah even told the deaf woman that she admired her for what she had done to help battered women and plus, she knew for a fact that her mother admired her as well. The deaf woman embraced Sarah, never feeling more honored in her life.

Jenny sat down in one of the many couches, looking at all the plants. Various friends and other family members had sent many flowers and potted plants to pay honor to her mother. The young police officer then looked up as John, and Mia wanted up to her. Locke was standing behind them, holding the sleepy Shelley in his arms. Mia immediately embraced the young woman. Jenny kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for coming,” she whispered.

“We’re always here for one another.” Mia promised her.

“If you need anything, Jenny, you just call us, okay?” John assured her.

“Thanks, John,” Jenny sighed, “Could you two . . .do me a favor? Take one of these potted plants, please.”

“You sure?” the Lakota girl asked.

“Yeah, I don’t know what to do with all of them and I know what a green thumb you have, Mia.” Jenny laughed slightly trying to make a joke.

The young woman understood. She looked around and helped herself to a lovely fern. Mia took off the card and gave it to Jenny; kissing her on the cheek. The family then began to leave, allowing Locke to wave goodbye to Jenny. The young blonde smiled, happy that they were able to form their own family. The police officer sat back down and took a deep breath. She needed some air.

She began to leave the viewing room and as she did, she walked past the breakroom of the funeral home. Jack was still with Sarah and Jilly was bringing them coffee. The young blonde was happy that her adoptive “older brother” was looking out for her sister. She would need help through this trying time. Jenny wiped a soft tear from her eye, wondering if Sarah blamed her for this. In the end, it didn’t matter because she slightly blamed herself. She tried to tell herself that Ortega was a psycho and psycho’s are unpredictable. But she couldn’t help but feel responsible. The plan was for him to attack her, not her mother.

Jenny stepped outside into the cold air. Much to her surprise, Sawyer was out there. The redneck was propped up against the wall, smoking a cigarette. He looked at Jenny, then calmly offered her one. Jenny thought about taking it for a second but changed her mind. “I ain’t that far gone yet, Sawyer.” She whispered.

“Good. It’s a bad habit,” he admitted, puffing away.

“I want . . .to thank you for coming.”

“You’re my friend, Jenny,” he said, moving away from the wall, “ What kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t be here for you?”

“Is that why you are still here? Making sure I was okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, dapping his cigarette ashes into the wind.

“Thank you,” she said, moving forward and hugging him.

Sawyer held onto her for a few seconds and then gently parted from her. He finished off his cigarette and then tossed it to the ground; snuffing it with his boot. “I hope you find the bastard who did this, Jenny,” he calmly said.

Jenny sighed. “I will.” She replied, “I am not going to rest until I make him pay for what he’s done.”

“I know. Because you’re like me. You want vengeance for your mother and to make sure no other Mothers die at this guy’s hand.”

Jenny wiped her tears and shook her head in agreement. “I guess we’re more alike than we though, eh, redneck?” she half grinned.

“You bet, slugger,” he playfully pushed her jaw with his fist, “You take care, now.”

“You too, Sawyer.” She said, watching him leave toward his vehicle.

Jenny calmly tucked her arms against one another. She proceeded back inside now that she had gotten her fresh air and her talk with Sawyer made her feel better. She wanted Ortega dead for what he had done.

But catching him would be another matter.



Jenny had finally gotten home and felt drained. She calmly put some of the flowers away and a few of the potted plants. She got out of her dress and put some pants on with a t-shirt. She went down to the kitchen and looked under the sink. In the back from all the tubberware was a bottle of vodka. Jenny never thought she’d use her Christmas give from Sawyer but tonight she felt like she needed it.

She calmly sat down on her couch and proceeded to drink from her glass. The liquor burned down her throat but she ignored the pain. Squishface jumped up on the couch and came over, sitting down his head in her lap. The little pug could tell that something was wrong and wanted to comfort his owner. Jenny loved the little dog and gently petted him. “I’m gonna miss her, Squishie,” she whispered, “ I hope . . .I hope I made her proud of me. I wish . . .oh, God, I wish she didn’t have to die this way.”

Squishface sighed and licked her hand. Jenny held him close as she sipped on the Vodka. The phone gently started to ring across the room. The young officer didn’t feel like answering it so she just waited for the answering machine to take it. After four more rings, it finally picked up. After the beep, a voice came on as expected. However, it wasn’t the voice Jenny expected it to hear. “You buried your mom, warrior?” Ortega whispered.

Jenny leaned up abruptly, dropping her glass of vodka. She stared at the answering machine as the psycho continued to talk. “I gave you the three days to mourn your loss and bury your mother,” Ortega whispered, “Now you are ready . . .ready to defeat the evil . . .ME! I’ll be at the top of the Nike Warehouse at Pier 4. I’ll be there waiting for you. Let’s finish it, Jenny.”

Ortega hung up the phone and by the time the sound of the ring was over, Jenny was already getting her sneakers on. She quickly tied her hair back and grabbed her jacket. Squishface wined but didn’t get off the couch; wondering what Jenny was doing. The young officer then walked over and picked him up; hugging him. Just in case she didn’t make it back, she wanted to hold her dog one last time.

Jenny then grabbed her car keys and headed out the door. She then paused at the nunchucks on the wall. She quickly dismounted them and opened the door.

It was time for Justice.

Part 400: The Aspects of a Hero

January 23rd, 2009


Jenny sat in her chair and twirled around and around. She remember visiting Jack in his hospital office and like any kid, she would spin the chair round and round like a merry-go-around. She wondered why she never loss the need to spin the chair. Perhaps it helped her think. She had to try and figure out Ortega’s next move. His picture was in the papers, not to mention America’s Most Wanted. Most of the stuff was made up but it was the price to pay; as they all knew, America wasn’t ready to believe in super-men. Jenny sighed and leaned forward onto her desk, stopping her spinning. She looked over to Kellye’s empty desk. Her partner would be back at work tomorrow after she is officially released from the hospital. Jenny really did miss her friend. The phone then gently rang and she answered it. “Homicide, Baker,” she whispered.

“Hello, Jenny,” an arrogant voice giggled, “How is the case coming?”

Jenny slowly raised up, not recognizing the voice. “Who is this?” she asked.

“I’m the one. I’m the man you are looking for.”

Jenny slowly looked around. Her other members to her task force were investigating other crimes at the moment. “Ortega?” she whispered.

“You know what the ironic part is? I honestly don’t know if that is my real name.”

“What the hell do you want?” Jenny demanded.

“I just wanted to call and tell you how much I admire you.” He said, sincerely, “ I’ve been researching your life, especially on the life of the Island. I got every People magazine that you were in, especially the one where people thought you and Haley Joel Osmount were having a seriously relationship.”

“Hollywood Gossip doesn’t interest me,” Jenny grunted.

“But it has too, Little Bit. You are a celebrity. You are a cop now and everything. The little girl who lived. Survived ten days out at open season with nothing but a bottle of diet coke. I hear the Coke company gave you free Diet Coke for a year, is that true?”

“What the hell do you want, Ortega?” she snapped.

“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, MANNERS,” he said, offended, “I am just trying to get to know you, Jenny. You honored me. You colored your hair like hers. You wanted me to notice you and notice you I did. You are like me. A warrior.”

“I’m nothing like you, you piece of trash! And when I find you-“

“We’ll have an epic battle, I know. In fact, I can’t wait for it. You are a hero, Jenny. You have all the aspects of a hero. You are noble, you are loyal to your friends, and you have an overwhelming desire to do what is right.”

“Glad you noticed. Now, why don’t you tell me where you are and I’ll arrest you for your trouble.”

“In due time, Jenny. In due time,” Ortega replied with a sigh, “We’ll have our High Noon soon enough. But like I was saying, you are a hero and you deserve to be worshipped by every young girl in California. I am going to help you become a hero, Jenny.”

“I DON’T WANT YOUR DAMN HELP!!” Jenny screamed.

“I knew you’d say that. So I took the liberty of making your experienced the one thing missing out of your heroic profile.”

“What?”

“Loss.” Ortega said in all seriousness.

Jenny froze when the psychopath whispered such a word. She took a deep breath and tried to speak. “What . . .wha . .what are you talking about?” she asked.

“Martin doesn’t count,” Ortega continued, “You barely knew him. I read your interview with Newsweek and you said how much his death affected you. I don’t think it was because he was a good friend; I think it was because his was the only death closest to you on that Island. In order for you to be a true hero, Jenny, you must experience deep personal loss and rise above it to defeat the true Evil . . .which, will be me, of course.”

“Ortega, listen to me! What Loss? What have you done?” Jenny demanded.

“I’ll see you soon, Jenny. In the meantime . . .you might want to go visit your mom.”

“My mom?” Jenny gasped.

Ortega then hung up the phone. The blonde stared at the receiver, not believing what she heard. He was killer and since killing was easy, how hard was lying? He didn’t go near her mother; he was lying. He was bluffing; trying to make her upset. If her mother was dead, Jenny would know. Jenny would know. Jenny would . . . .know.

The young blonde then grabbed her keys and ran out of her office. She quickly jolted past a bunch of cops that were standing near their desks. She dove out the door and ran to her truck. By the time she was starting it up, Ana-Lucia saw her from the sidewalk as she was coming in. She tried to flag her down but Jenny ignored her. She drove her truck out of the parking lot and into the street as quickly as she could.

By the time, she picked up her cellphone; it was already ringing. She quickly answered it. “Hello?” she asked in a panicked voice.

“Jenny, where the hell are you going?” Ana-Lucia asked.

“My mom’s house. I think . . .Oh, God, Ana . . .I think Ortega has hurt my mom!”

“WHAT?” the Latina gasped.

“Please, send any black and whites to her house, please. I am on my way but I got to hang up, cause I need to call her, Ana!”

“Jenny-“

Jenny didn’t hear Ana-Lucia’s last words as she quickly hung up the phone and hit the speed dial for her mother’s house. The ringing echoed in her ear but no answer. Jenny waited and waited but her mother didn’t pick up. Her eyes began to swell up with tears of fear and panic. “No, no, no, please, no,” she whimpered.



Within several minutes, she finally arrived at her mothers neighborhood. She had to activate the blue siren in her truck to get their faster. Specks of water dripped on her wind shield as it was starting to rain. She poured the accelerator down her mother’s suburbs and finally reached her mother’s house. Jenny hit the brakes and quickly exited the vehicle; leaving it running. The blonde ran toward the front door of her mother’s house. “MOOOOMMMMMM!!!!” Jenny screamed

The cop burst into the house and fell forward. She quickly looked around at the living room covered in darkness. No sign of her parent. She then got up to run and check on her room. Jenny then paused at the entrance to the doorway to the kitchen. Over the sink, she would see her mother’s arm.

Hanging a good six feet above the ground.

“NOOOOO!!!” Jenny screamed as she ran out the back door and to the back porch.

Her mother was there at the gutter of the room; hung by an extension cord to the chimney. Judging by the blueness of her cheeks, she had been dead for some time. Jenny grunted and cried as she grabbed a nearby lawn chair. She jumped onto it, and quickly pulled out a serrated pocket knife and began to cut her mother down. She worked the extension cord fast as she could but deep her heart, she knew her mother was dead.

When she finally cut her loose, she fell down with her under her weight. Jenny then grabbed her mother and rocked her back and forth. The rain began to pour down even heavier. Jenny couldn’t hear the sirens in the back ground coming to assist her. Nor could she hear the thunder of the angry sky above her.

All she could hear was her own screaming.

Part 399 A: Brian's Letter Part 3

I remember the night you graduated from High School and you wanted to go into the military. I was so proud of you that night. Mom took this picture while we were out having dinner. She said as she looked at this picture, she thought she saw Dad’s face in mine. I suppose I get it honest. You know? The protecting instinct that Pop had, mom said he passed it onto me. I suppose she was right.

There was a part of me that hoped you and I would be in the same regiment. Not only did I want to fight by your side, I wanted to show you off. Make all those other “hardcore” soldier jealous that you were tougher than them. I know you could beat anybody, Kellye. I didn’t call you the War Dove for no reason.

Part 399 B : Brian's Letter Part 3

I remember Dad taking this picture that day at the park. It was cold. Mom had got you the cute hat. I think it had something to do with that Prince song; Rasberry Beret. Mom was just a fan of the 80’s. And I must admit you looked cute. Oh, man, Kellye, what happened to these kids? Were we ever that young? Things were much simpler then. All we had to worry about was getting you your Precious Ponies and me my baseball cards. And heading to the Bogart to catch a dollar movie of Godzilla. I miss those days, Kellye.

All I got left to say is, if I am dead while you read this letter, then you move on. You move on, War Dove. Keep me close to your heart and don’t dwell on my death; just remember the good times we’ve had. Keep an eye on Jesse. I know he’ll be a good person but he’s gonna need some help along the way.

I love you, Kellye. I’ll see you when I see you but don’t be in any hurry, you hear?

Love always
Brian


Kellye held the letter close to her chest and took a deep breath. Any other time, she might have been wailing in tears. At the moment, she was just simply letting the tears fall. Her shoulders felt light; as if a great weight had been lifted from her. She had mourned the death of her brother longer than she realized. But he told her in his own words; let him go.

Kellye stood up and looked out in the sky. The smog had covered most of the night sky as it always did. However, the distance a single star shined brightly. The young brunette smiled as she wiped her tears, watching the start flicker. She didn’t know if it was a trick of her eyes but she didn’t care. In her heart, she knew it was a sign that Brian was watching over her and probably always will. She gently held up the photos of him and her; kissing them. She walked back over to her bed, placed the photos by her side and pulled the covers over her.

And for the first time in a long time, she had a restful nights sleep.

Part 398 : Brian's Letter Part 2

I suppose it was the heat I never got use to.

Walking day in and day out in the sweltering heat of the Middle East was something only the locals could get use to. I suppose that is why God gave them brown skin. If that sounds racist, it wasn’t my intent.

It was a day like any other. We had to patrol the local city, looking for insurgents. I don’t know what is wrong with these people, War Dove. They’d been fighting for over hundreds of years and nobody is going to change that. So we do our best to keep the peace and make sure no one dies on a regular basis. I had grabbed my gear and proceeded up toward the men. They were getting their gear set to roll as well, taking water and ammo. A few of them didn’t want to wear the metal plates in their vests because of the added weight. However, luckily as Sergeant, I had no problem ordering them to put them on. Hatcher immediately came up to me with a worried look. I didn’t think nothing of it because it wasn’t the first time we’d gone out on patrol with that type of look. “Don’t worry, Hatch,” I told him with a smirk, “I’ll get you back to your Betty Jean in one piece.”

“No, Sarn, take a look,” he turned his head, “Cyke is with us.”

“Cyke?” I looked up, confused, “But I thought he was sick?”

“He is but he here he is.”

I looked to where Hatcher was pointing. Cyke, one of my best friends, was standing with the men; fully loaded with his gear. However, his nose was bright red and his eye lids were gray. I walked up toward him and patted him on the back. “Cyke, what the hell are you doing here?” I asked him.

“Tripp has some kind of leave and I had to fill his slot,” he sniffed, “I’m good to go, Sarn.”

“No, you are not. You got a full blown cold and you shouldn’t be in the field.”

“Thanks, Schroeder . . . but you know it ain’t up to me.”

I winced my face slightly and I realized what he was talking about. “Did Lt. Crawford order you to join the patrol?” I asked.

Cyke just shook his head in agreement. I patted him on the arm and immediately walked off to talk to the Lieutenant. Lt. Crawford had joined our company about three months ago. He was a spit polish military man, fresh out of officer’s school. I would have assumed he would have went to West Point but no one told me that he did. I knocked on the door to his office and he looked up at me. He didn’t have the decency to acknowledge me; he just motioned me in. I stepped up and stood at attention. “Is there something I can help you with, Sergeant?” he asked me.

“Sir, permission to take Private Nash off the patrol.” I asked him.

“Denied.” Crawford immediately replied.

“Sir, with all due respect, he’s sick. He needs bed rest.”

“Fresh air will do him good. Besides, it’s just a head cold. He’ll live through it. Dismissed.”

“Sir, I just-“

“DISMISSED, Sergeant!” Crawford barked at me.

I saluted him and promptly left the room. I didn’t want to admit that I hated that man but I was coming close. It’s a cliché but it’s mostly true, War Dove. Lieutenants don’t know squat about combat; how could they? They start out in military school to learn combat tactics but like Pop always said; experience is the best teacher. Lt. Crawford had only been out with us twice and I don’t think he liked Cyke either times. Cyke made us all laugh but Crawford was wound so tight; he found no joy in anything. I was going to make sure this turned out to be a routine patrol. It had to be because I refuse to lose any of my boys.


We arrived at the edge of the city to begin our patrol. The men filed out of the back of the truck and got in formation in routine order. Lt. Crawford stepped out of the truck from the passenger side. “Sergeant Schroeder?” he called me.

“Yes, sir?” I inquired.

“Private Nash will take point.” He said coldly.

The scumbag brought him out here with a cold and then has the gall to place him on point? Cyke wiped his nose on his sleeve and then assumed the point. I stared down at Crawford who immediately went to the back of the formation. I decided to join Cyke at the front. Hatcher looked at me like I was half crazy but he knew I was doing it to watch Cyke’s back; so he didn’t say anything.

We began our patrol and a few of the local citizens went about their daily affairs. One young boy saluted us as we walked by. I appreciate the ones who like the fact that we are here to keep the peace, Kellye. It makes us realize that we’re here for a good reason. The sun was beating down and I constantly checked on Cyke. He looked like he was going to pass out at a moment’s notice. His head cold already made him slow and dehydrated. If it got any worse, I was going to order him back to the truck and I would take the punishment that Crawford would dish out.

But I never got the chance.

I heard someone scream out INSURGENTS and someone started to open fire. A bullet grazed off my helmet, and I jolted to the floor. I screamed for Cyke to take cover but his cold made him too slow to react. By the time I looked up to see him diving for cover, a rocket propelled grenade struck him full bore into his body. War Dove . . .my friend . .my blood brother Cyke was standing in front of me . .and then within seconds, he was gone. Disappeared in a moment of an explosion. I wanted to run to him. I wanted to hold him and promise him I would take him home, like we always talked about. But I couldn’t do that.

Because Cyke was all over me . . .and I couldn’t stop screaming.

“CRAWFORD!!!” I screamed as Cyke’s blood ran off my face, “YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! AAAAHHHHHH!!!”

Hatcher and Bowens ran to me to pick me up and get me back to the rear of the formation. I was still distraught. One of my friends was just blown up in front of me. Hatcher was upset too. However, it didn’t hit him till later because his main concern was getting me out of the line of fire. He and I would spend the next three days mourning Cyke. We didn’t even have a body to place in his coffin to ship home. I was told later that his mother and father, plus his three little sisters filled up the coffin with aspects of him. His favorite ball cap, CDs of his favorite music and his favorite Superman comic books. I wish I could have been there because my contribution would have been the Joker card from our poker deck. He was the Joker; he always made us laugh.

On the fourth day, we went back out onto patrol, War Dove. And that’s where the bad stuff really started to happen. What you are about to hear, only Hatcher knows. If he is still alive by the time you are reading this letter, then you can feel free to discuss it with him. If not, you can lay it to rest, like this letter.

When we went out on the patrol, we were coursing through the corner of the southeastern part of town. There were no citizens, which is always a bad feeling. And then within twenty minutes, we were attacked by insurgents. Hatcher and I ran to an alleyway for cover. Our men were penned down but we continued to fire regardless. I grabbed my mic and screamed for Crawford to tell us what do. I got no response. I peered out of the alley way and much to my surprise, he was running. He was RUNNING, Kellye. Not only was he a bastard, he was a coward to boot. I don’t know what caused me to do it; in fact, I don’t remember even thinking about doing it.

But I raised my rifle and I shot him in the back.

He felt down in a haze and was dead by the time he hit the ground. Hatcher looked at me and I looked at him. He didn’t offer any sign in his face that I had done a bad thing. He just looked at me and smirked, saying, “Your orders, sir?”

He was technically right. With the Lieutenant down, I was left in charge. I ordered bazooka rounds toward the sniper position and ordered the men to fall back under cover fire. Thanks to my efforts, no man died that day. No man but Lt. Crawford. As you well know, Kellye, our guns had been adapted to fire 7.2 MM rounds; same as HK 47’s. That way, if we run out of ammo, we can reload using the enemies weapons. Once we got Crawford back, they’ll pull the bullet out but they won’t be able to tell it came from one of our rifles.

I was numb the first few days. Hatcher told me that no else saw me shoot Crawford and even if they did, no one came forward. Besides, he was running away. Hatcher reminded me that I would have in essence, been shooting a deserter. I wasn’t sure if such a thing was done any more but I didn’t care. Cyke was gone and deep in my heart I knew shooting Crawford couldn’t bring him back. However, there is one thing I do know, War Dove. Crawford’s arrogance will no longer get any good men killed.

I’ll make peace with God in my own way, Kellye. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. And if you take anything away from this story, you take away this one thing.

Don’t ever let your friends get killed for someone’s stupidity. Loyalty to your friends and the Corp will take you a long way. Never forget that.

to be continued . . . .

Part 397: Brian's Letter Part 1

Kellye finally woke up from her drug induced stupor. She could feel the IV in her veins. She calmly raised her right wrist and saw that it was bandaged in a cast. She already could tell she was in a hospital and even thought she must have blacked out, obviously her fellow police officers came and got her. She looked around and smiled when she saw the friendly faces of her mother, her brother and Jenny. May stood up and walked over to her. “Hey, baby,” she smiled, “How are you feeling?”

“Like I just fought a 2 ton bull,” she groaned.

“You might as well have done that,” Jenny said, gently touching her shoulder, “I’m sorry about Day.”

“He moved . . .he moved so fast, Jenny,” Kellye sniffed, “I couldn’t stop him. He just . . .killed . . Edwin.”

“I’m sorry, Kell. But do not blame yourself. Day never should have went into that place without backup and the captain knows that.”

“Jenny, you have to be careful. This Ortega guy . . .he’s become fixated on you . .I don’t know what he’ll do.”

“You rest now, I have to go get the captain cause he’s going to want a full statement.” Jenny said, embracing her friend.

Jenny calmly left the room allow Kellye to spend some time with her family. Jesse walked over and kissed her on the forehead. “You all right, Jesse?” she asked.

“You never change,” he smirked, “You got your wrist broke and you are still worrying about me.”

“I’m so happy you are okay, Kellye,” her mom stifled a tear.

“I’ll be okay, Mom. I just . . .need time.”

The captain then came in followed by the squad of women she was walking with. The captain had the information that Jenny had obtained from Penelope Widmore and showed her the photo of Stephan Ortega. Kellye shook her head confirming that was indeed the man. The captain then left the room, to put out an immediately APB on his face and was even considering using the local news. Ana-Lucia reassured Kellye that no one blamed her for Detective Day’s death. They would check up on her later. Kellye smiled at the friendship she received from Jenny and Ana-Lucia, and plus with Maxine and Meg who she knew would be good friends for her further in life.

But like she said, she needed time.



Later that night, Kellye sat alone in a chair in her room. She tried not to think about it but all she could see was Day’s eyes as his blood went cold in the warehouse. The brunette covered her face with her hands and silently wept. She thought she would have left dead bodies and dying friends back in the Gulf and the Island. Being a soldier was what she did best but even good people can break. She knew death might come with the job; it’s any risk. But she never knew she would once again, be faced with an enemy she could not defeat.

The door then opened and she gasped, leaning up. Much to her surprise, it was her younger brother Jesse. He looked at her and gave no indication why he was there. Kellye quickly wiped her eyes but it was too late; he could already tell she had been crying. “Jesse, what are you doing back up here?” she asked, “I thought you and mom were going home.”

“We are, I just . . .wanted to come to check on you one last time before the night.” He said, staring at the floor.

“I’ll be fine, Jesse.” She smiled, “I was just . . just . . .”

“Crying.” He finished for her.

Kellye looked at him and saw nothing but sympathy in his gaze. She then walked over and embraced him. She silently wept on his shoulder as he held onto her. Even though she was his big sister, he was about four inches taller than her. Brian use to always joke that since he was the tallest, he would have been the best choice for big brother anyway. Jesse kissed her on the cheek and held her close. “You don’t have to be strong in front of me.” He whispered, “I already know you are the toughest chick in Los Angeles.”

“Jenny is tougher,” she laughed, through her tears.

“She may be tougher physically but you are stronger emotionally. I know losing Brian was a blow to all of us but we’ve had to get through it. Don’t blame yourself for what happened to your friend. You did your best and that’s all you can hope to do.”

“But what happens next time?” she parted from him, “What happens if I can’t save the next person I am with?”

“You will be stronger next time,” Jesse gently put something in her hands, “Goodnight . . .War Dove.”

Kellye felt her heart skip a beat; making herself feel proud that Jesse called her by Brian’s nickname. A nickname that Jesse once thought was corny. The young man smiled and walked out of the room. Kellye looked at the door and then stared at the item he placed in her hands.

It was Brian’s letter.

She slowly walked back over to the chair and sat down. On the side of the envelope it read; For Kellye; Open only When You Need To. The young woman smiled at the thoughtfulness of her younger brother. He clearly believed she needed to read Brian’s last words. She calmly ripped open the letter. Inside was a few pages of hand written words and a smaller envelope. She looked at the first page and started to read it.

Dear Kellye,

Hey, War Dove, it's your brother. I should've already told you why I gave you this, but in case I didn't...I don't have a good feeling about this next mission. And just in case there's a good reason for that feeling, I wrote you this.

You are the nicest, kindest, most caring and loving person I know. And funny as hell, to boot. I knew I could talk to you about anything without you judging me or telling it to everyone else. It might sound cheesy but you were my best friend. I love you so much! Don't ever forget that.

Do you know why I call you 'War Dove'? You're the beauty in the bad times. You...you were my solice, Kellye. Somehow I felt as if nothing could get to me when we were together...as a team.

I often wondered what would have happened had Pop not been killed in a war. If he managed to get his leg blown off or something, then sent home to mama. Military is in our blood, Kellye. I had no delusions that you wouldn’t follow us in our footsteps. I was proud of you when you graduated from boot-camp and made infrantry. I was even more proud when I heard you made specialist so soon. But not everything is black and white, Kellye. Watch your friend’s backs and your own; they’ll see you through.

Remember Cyke? He was this snot nosed private who I kept under my wing with me and Hatcher. He was our best friend during boot camp; he made me laugh. I watched out for him and so did Hatcher. He was called Cyke because it was short for Cyclops; for that stupid mole on the center of his forehead. If there was one thing Cyke was good for, it was the ability to make anybody laugh. Except Lt. Crawford.

Remember when Cyke died? There was a story behind that, that I never told anyone. You are the only one who I could trust with this information. So the story I am about to tell you is pretty vivid.

But hey, War Dove . . .that’s war.”


to be continued . . . .

Part 396: Body Count

January 22nd, 2009

Kellye was the one who received the call. Jenny had just arrived and she had to follow them out the door of the precinct. She barely had time to finish her coffee, and sadly, her oatmeal would have to wait for her. The other officers got in their vehicles, while Jenny and Kelly proceeded back to hers. “We’re getting closer to him, Jen,” the brunette replied.

“What do you mean?” she said, throwing the coffee away.

“We’re off to the Hanso Foundation.” Kellye replied, getting into the passengers side of the truck.

“We finally got a warrant to search the building?”

“No, but more than likely, Judge Cine may give us one after this. A body was found in the area outside the entrance to the Hanso building.”

“Widmore?” Jenny asked, shocked.

Kellye pushed the hair out of her eyes. “Not yet,” she sighed.


The detectives arrived at the Hanso Foundation parking lot. Multitudes of police and reporters were nearby, trying to get photos while the men and women in blue kept them back. Jenny got out and a group of reporters rushed her. She and Kellye fought through the crowd and got past the section of Crime Scene yellow tape. The amber haired detective looked up and was amazed at what she was seeing. It was an amber haired woman and she was hanging but it wasn’t from any catwalk or ledge but the bronze statue of Alvar Hanso in the small water fountain outside the front entrance. Kellye looked at the woman and noticed the same markings and extension cord she had seen at so many previous. She then pointed to the one thing that made this victim unique. “Badge.” She pointed.

Jenny saw what her good friend was pointing at. On the hip of the victim was a scanning badge with her face and the Hanso log on it. “She worked here.” Jenny whispered.

“I’d say it’s safe to say he’s made his final statement,” Ana-Lucia mentioned, “Killing one of her employees and leaving the body at her front door? Can’t make a more bolder statement without killing her.”

“All right, get the body down,” Day told the forensic men.

“Shouldn’t we have Ms. Widmore in protective custody?” asked Meg.

“Already asked,” the black detective mentioned, “She refused.”

“She’s got a death wish,” Maxine mumbled, as she started to photograph the body.

“No,” Jenny rubbed her cheek, “She’s protecting her company.”

Kellye was filling out the notes in her pad when she heard her friend make the quiet statement. She leaned in closer to her. “You think she finally believes it’s Ortega?” she whispered.

“Right, and guess what happens when we stop the bastard? The forensic photo of that Dharma logo on the back of his neck gets on the front page news. And her company is ruined when they figure the connection between this murderer and those people that Jack killed.”

“We’re still not sure if we can stop him, Jenny.” Ana-Lucia mentioned.

Jenny shook her head, agreeing with the statement. Meg, Max and Day were examining the body. All the wounds seem to be consistent with all the previous victims. They gently removed the cord from around her neck. Max began to exam the rib cage and shook her head in agreement; meaning that they were broken. Day then looked in the woman’s side pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He opened it up and looked at it. “What’s that?” Meg asked.

Day didn’t answer her immediately. He calmly picked up a small manila envelope and placed it inside. “It’s nothing.” He whispered, “Just a receipt for some shoes or something.”

“Might be able to tell her where he grabbed her,” Maxine pointed out.

“I’ll look into it.” Day said, tucking it inside his jacket pocket.

Ana-Lucia then noticed movement behind her. She calmly turned around and saw a large stretched limo. It was nearby the crowd of reporters but no one had noticed it yet. Then the passenger side door opened and a large, blonde man stepped out. He proceeded to walk across the enter breath of the entrance court. The cops stopped him shortly and he didn’t offer any resistance. “Detectives?” he called to them.

The females and the black police officer turned toward the large man as he got their attention. “Detective Jenny Baker?” he asked.

“Yes, “ the amber haired girl replied.

“Ms. Widmore would like a word with you.” He motioned back to the limousine.

Jenny looked at the limo and then looked to Ana-Lucia. The Latina was hesitant at first but realized, it may be their only chance to get in touch with Widmore and convince her to be placed in protective custody. The senior officer shook her head in approval. Jenny then followed the bodyguard through the grounds toward the limousine. The blonde man opened the door and allowed Jenny to step in. The young detective looked at the CEO, as she was draped in typical business ware. “I would say good morning but when someone dies, it’s hardly good, is it?” Widmore whispered.

“Did you know the victim?” Jenny asked.

“No, just someone from accounting. However, I still feel responsible. He . . .killed her because of me, didn’t he?”

“We believe so,” Jenny said in all seriousness, “We believe this to be his final solution, Ms. Widmore. His next target will be you.”

“How close are you to catching him?”

“We are no closer now than when we were two weeks ago.” Jenny said in all honesty.

Widmore closed her eyes and sighed. She then leaned forward and pulled out a manila envelope from the seat carrier in front of her. She calmly handed it to the officer sitting next to her. “Everything I could find on Stephen Ortega.” She whispered, “I had no idea he was a Jaeger Unit.”

Jenny opened the envelope and looked at the files. She had pictures of Stephan Ortega, who was a Spaniard, not an Italian. He was a former soldier but there were no dates in the file. There were no indications that he was a Jaeger Unit. “Where is the proof that he was experimented on?” Jenny asked.

“Please, Officer Baker,” Widmore sniffed, “As much as I want to stay alive, I don’t have the desire to see my company in the gutter because of the insane experiments by it’s founders. You have any idea what would happen if such knowledge went public?”

“But that proves you are aware of those files. They exist. You’ve seen them!”

“Yes, and when this affair is over with, no one else will see them either. I can’t afford to lose everything.”

“Then answer me this. Every Jaeger Unit was equipped with a poisonous capsule, right? In case they went rogue or couldn’t be controlled?”

“Yes, that is what the files said.”

“Does Ortega have one?”

“They all had them implanted.” Widmore sniffed, finding it difficult to talk about such things.

“How do we activate Ortega’s?”

“You don’t,” the older woman looked at her, “My father had the remote trigger switch. However, what he did with it, he took that knowledge to his grave.”

Jenny sighed and held the envelope aloft in her hands. She looked at the CEO. “If you had come to us with this information, we might have been able to get a fix on him,” the detective said, “Now, he might just be able to get to you.”

“No, he won’t. I am leaving the city. You feel free to inform me when you have stopped him.”

“I don’t know if we can. If your father had informed you of the trigger switch, then we might have had a chance.”

“Yes, well, my father thought he could fight ever single fight for me. Including the fight for love. I was young with Stephan and I am glad he broke that off. However, he also took my Desmond away from me as well. I won’t let his last foolish act take away my company as well.”

“Good luck, Ms. Widmore. I hope wherever you go, you’ll be comfortable.”

“The Bahamas are nice this time of year,” she smiled, “I’ll send you a post card.”

Jenny shook her hand and then exited the limo. She proceeded to walk back toward grouping of officers. She was thinking about everything Widmore had told her. If they had any chance of catching Ortega, then they would have to study his habits and find a way to get close to him. Jenny then stopped dead in her tracks when she remembered something Widmore had told her. “Desmond?” she said to herself.

She turned and saw the limousine pulling out into the highway; on route toward the airport more than likely. Jenny remembered the stories that Jack told her about the Dharma station called Broadway and the stranger known as Desmond; who was forced to keep the numbers punched into the computer to spit out medicine for his ailing son. Desmond, Widmore, and Dharma; was it all a coincidence? Jenny never met Desmond, so she didn’t even know what he looked like. She figured she would get back to it, as she knew at the moment she had more important things to do.

“Did she say anything useful?” Ana-Lucia asked.

“She finally confirmed it for us.” Jenny handed her the information, “The scumbag’s name is Stephan Ortega. He is listed as a former bodyguard of her father.”

“Excellent. We even got his picture,” the Latina said, proudly, “I’m going to get wanted posters of this guy up all over town so fast, it’ll make the captain’s head spin.”

“So I take it Ms. Widmore left?” Maxine asked.

“Yes, she was going to go to the Bahamas. Figures it will keep her safe from this guy and she’s probably . . .right .. . “ Jenny paused in her talking when she saw that her partner was missing, “Hey, Where’s Kellye?”

“She went with Day to check out the receipt that was in the victim’s pocket,” Ana-Lucia patted her on the shoulder, “Let’s get this scene cleared up and back to the station.”



Detective Day continued driving toward the location he was aware of. Kellye continued to review her notes; not paying attention to where they were driving. She figured she would cover a lot of ground in the meantime. If figuring out the location of where the woman bought her shoes, they might be able to back track and figure out a way to determine where the killer might have stalked her from. The car came to a stop and Kellye raised her head. However, she was curious why they were in a slum district and no where near a mall or anything. “Edwin, . .uh . . .where are we?” she asked.

The black detective pulled out his pistol and made sure it was armed. “We’re investigating a possible location for the killer,” he told her.

“WHAT?” Kellye gasped, pulling out her gun, “How did you . .how did you get that information?”

Day then pulled out the manila envelope and dropped it in the brunette’s lap. She pulled it out and looked at the contents. She was a little upset when she saw it wasn’t a receipt like Day had said. However, it was a small piece of paper and it said, “Jenny~ 143 East Cone Road,”. Kellye looked at him in disgust. “I’m not letting your partner commit suicide, you understand?” he scolded her.

“You should have told us this wasn’t a receipt, Edwin,” Kellye said, arming her pistol, “We should call for backup.”

“We can call for backup after we’ve investigated the place. This scum bag doesn’t attack in day light.”

“You should still have told us,” Kellye said, exiting the vehicle.

“File a complaint with the watch commander when we get back, “ He replied, kicking in the door.

Kellye followed him and checked the corners. The warehouse was dripping from previous cracks in the ceiling. Various trash and other remnants of vagrants adorned the area. Day looked around each side of the building. Behind the pillars were nothing but muddy puddles of water and rats scurrying from the light. Kellye continued on and then saw something stuck onto a pillar with a blade. The young detective walked toward it and saw that it was a People magazine. However, it wasn’t just any old issue; it was about them. The survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. She pulled it down and looked at. The picture on the lower right hand cover showed her and Jack hugging. There was a red marker circle around them. “Oh, man,” Kellye whispered.

“What you got?” Day asked.

Kellye walked up to him and showed him the People magazine. He looked at the cover and shook his head. “It would seem his attraction has fallen on Jenny,” the black detective whispered, “ Her way to trying to get his attention worked but for the wrong result.”

“You don’t know that. This could have been a trap.” Kellye mentioned.

“I already told you, that bastard doesn’t attack in daylig-“

Edwin as interrupted by a massive blade poking out of his chest. Kellye screamed the sight of it; as the blood splashing into her face. She quickly backed off, trying to get it out of her eyes. She heard Detective Day grunting from the wound and she knew Ortega was there. By the time, she managed to get some blurry vision; her friend had fallen to his knees. She held the gun in the position where Ortega was but by the time she held her gun up; he was already baring down with a drop kick. Kellye screamed as she heard her wrist break on impact.

She felt down and tried to get the other gun out of her ankle holster. By the time she pulled it up, Ortega had already grabbed it out of her hand. In one fluid motion, he flipped the gun around and pointed it at her forehead. Kellye slowly looked up at him. He looked like he was only above the age of 35. His hair was slick back; pure jet black. He had a mixture of a grin but he really looked annoyed more than anything. “Where is Jenny?” he asked.

“No where, you crazy bastard.” Kellye replied.

“The note was for Jenny. I invited her here. Why do you people have to screw these things up?”

“Whatever you are thinking of, you won’t get away with it.”

Kellye then grunted as he grabbed her by the throat and then pulled her upward. She grabbed his wrist and tried to breathe as he pulled her close to him. Ortega grinned like a maniac as he stared at her. “Whose gonna stop me, little girl?” he grinned, “You? If anybody can stop me, they’d have tried by now. Not you. Not the Jack of All Shades, either.”

Kellye opened her eyes and looked at him. The fact that he mentioned the vigilante meant they did know each other, and that cemented the theory that they were Jaeger Units. “Here is what you are going to do, girl,” he whispered in her ear, “You are going to tell Jenny I will be seeing her soon. Tell her I will make her be the hero she is destined to be.”

“What?” she grunted, “ What does that mean-“

Kellye was then hurled across the way and slammed into one of the wooden pillars; cracking it slightly. Ortega wiped his blade on a nearby bum’s blanket; and then proceeded to walk out of the warehouse. Kellye tried to keep from crying but it wasn’t easy. Her right hand wrist was broken and she was in a fare deal of pain. The fact that she was looking at the dead body of her ranking officer ten feet form her wasn’t helping. She grunted as she began to drag herself up toward Day. The wound in his chest was gushing blood but she fought not to look at it. She grunted as she took his radio from his belt and clicked it on. “Schroeder to dispatch, Schroeder to dispatch,” she said, over the radio.

“Copy that, verify for badge number.”

“26354, actual.” Kellye grunted from the pain.

“Go ahead, 26354.”

“Officer down, repeat, officer down.” She winced, “ One officer is DOA, the other officer is wounded.”

“What is your location?” the dispatch immediately asked.

“143 East Cone Road.” She said, wincing from the pain in her broken wrist, “Hurry . . .please.”

Kellye slid down next to the body of her superior officer. She was no longer within herself; she felt like she was back on the Island. She was knee deep in blood and sand against the Liberation. The scar on her upper forehead burned from the bullet wound she received. She had one brush of death and now she had a second. Kellye was never really able to deal with death; not since the loss of her brother.

The young officer finally started to cry in the abandoned warehouse, as she heard sirens in the distance.

Part 395: A Hero Among The People

January 21st, 2009

Raven kneeled down as he checked his map. The town he had entered in was called Yreka. The stranger smiled as he finally had passed into California. He had been walking for some months but he was happy he was getting closer to Los Angeles. He wasn’t sure how he’d find Jenny but hopefully, fate would point him in the right direction. He calmly tucked the map back into his overcoat and proceeded walking down the Highway 5 through California.

Cars would pass by and few would stop. Raven didn’t blame them; who would want to pick up a man in an overcoat with bandages over his face? Raven was only concerned with finding Jenny or even Jack or Ecko for that matter. If he could find one of them, then they would lead him toward the others. He wondered what life will be like with Jenny. He hoped she would let him catch up on history. He had only learned a few things in his short time arriving back in America. Apparently gas prices were incredibly high. Movies cost more to eat at them, then to see them. Technology had come a long way, from portable TVs, something called DVDs and something called IPODs. He was certain that Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and The Platters were no longer playing; let alone alive but he was looking forward to any album or music they might have made since 1955 when he left for the Island.

Raven finally entered the outskirts of the small city. It had various large buildings, pubs and restaurants. The cars would zoom by and as Raven walked along the side walks, people would give him bad looks. He honestly didn’t care; this city was nothing more than a passing glance. He barely gets tired anymore so he planned on walking all night and by morning, he’ll be out of the city. A Latino youth drove by him and made a vulgar remark. Again, Raven ignored them.

The masked man tucked his hands in his overcoat and proceeded toward an inner alley. He figured he’ll stay between the buildings, that way he wouldn’t draw much attention. Raven tucked by a corner and when he did, he looked around. There were several homeless bums adorning the alleyways. A black man with an old shotty overcoat was throwing up in a trashcan. A baglady was collecting aluminum cans wherever she found them. Raven walked through the grouping of homeless and none of them paid him any mind. As far as they were concerned, he was one of them.

Raven turned another corner and when he did, he accidentally bumped into another bum. The old bearded man grunted in anger, then dropped his bagged whiskey. The old man then gasped as by the time the bottle reached the ground, Raven had already caught it. The masked man calmly handed him back the bottle in the paper bag. “Here you go, old timer.” He smiled under his mask.

“Holy dog crap!” the old bum laughed, “Those are some reflexes, buddy.”

“Yeah, they die hard.”

“Well, here.” The bum laughed, unscrewing the bottle, “Since you saved the Jack Daniels, you can have a swig.”

“Much appreciated.” Raven said, taking a gulp.

“Say, you hungry, buddy?” the old man asked.

“I could eat, yeah.”

“Come with me. They should be serving some food at the halfway house at Belfont street.”

Raven smiled at the prospect of his new friend. It reminded him of his friend he made in Washington state, who didn’t judge him based on his looks. He wondered what the old man’s story was; how he became homeless? Then a funny thought occurred to the Jaeger Unit. He was calling the bum “old timer” but the truth was, they were probably the same age.

After twenty minutes, they arrived at the halfway house. It looked like a typical two story family home; probably converted to be a housing resident for homeless. The old man walked in and opened the door; while Raven followed. Inside was a few homeless people, not to mention a few teenagers. One blonde teenager was massaging a kid with green spiked hair on the back. Spike was doubled over, groaning. Raven wasn’t sure what was wrong with him but his old friend was quick to tell him when he noticing what he was staring at. “Junkies.” He told him.

“Junkies?” Raven asked, confused.

“Drug users.”

“Drugs? What kind of drugs?”

“Whatever kind they can get their hands on. Crack, mostly.”

“I’ve . . .never heard of such a drug.”

“You’ve never heard of crack?” the old man cackled, “Where you been the last few years, buddy? A desert Island?”

“Tropical actually,” Raven smirked.

The old man laughed harder, thinking Raven was continuing the joke instead of telling him the truth. The two friends got in the line behind the homeless, near the big counter where the middle aged people were serving food. Raven took a plate and held it out. The brunette woman placed a slice of turkey, covered in gravy and then a helping of mashed potatoes. “The Marriot down the street is kind enough to donate their leftovers.” She smiled.

“Good to see there is still some kindness in the world.” Raven smiled.

“Sir, I am sorry but . . .why are you bandaged like that?”

“I was burned.” He said, telling the ruse.

“Oh, I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” she said, putting in some more food, “Have some more potatoes.”

“Thank you, “ he replied, as he accepted some lemonade from a black man in the serving line.

Raven joined his friend at a nearby table with other homeless. The old man began to slop up the gravy with his biscuit and began to eat the turkey. Raven enjoyed the potatoes, not remembering when he had any. As he sipped on his lemonade, the homeless black woman in front of him was staring at him. “Why you all mummy-like?” she asked.

“Sweet Jesus, Gloria,” the old man barked, “The poor boy was burned!”

“It’s all right, my friend,” Raven patted his arm, “I’m used to it.”

“Just asking,” the woman mumbled.

“So, where you from, buddy?” the old man asked.

“Washington.” Raven answered, best he could.

“Nice trees up there. What are you doing in this town?”

“Oh, I am just passing through. I am on my way to see . . .my little sister. She is going to give me a place to live.”

“Oh, that’s nice. Ain’t nothing like family.” Gloria smiled, as she ate her turkey.

Raven smiled as he sipped on his lemonade. “Yes, “ he agreed, “Nothing like.”

The group then gasped as a young girl burst into the house. She was crying and holding onto her arm; with minor amounts of blood coming out. The other teenagers near her ran toward her and helped her. The brunette who was serving food ran to see what she could do to help. “Lisa, what happened?” the middle aged woman demanded.

“Juno . . . he . . .he’s got Becky!” she cried, “He’s got a knife . . .he wants . . .OH, MY GOD, HE’S GONNA KILL HER!!!”

The old man then stood up and by the time, he was about to ask them what was going on; Raven was already out the door. The brunette was amazed at the speed he had as she was going to the door. Raven jumped down the stairs and turned on his super hearing. He could hear the cries of a girl up the street. He was already running toward the alley way by the time the other bums walked out to see what he was doing.


In the alley way, next to an abandoned plaza where the walls were mostly made of plate glass; Becky crawled for her life. The large man approaching her was Juno; a black man who controlled the flow of narcotics in the majority of the town. Becky was a former dealer for him but like many dealers; she began to sample the product. After she watched her boyfriend die from substance abuse, she saw the light and got clean. However, Juno wasn’t so keen on letting her be clean. “Where you think you are crawling to, girl?” Juno laughed.

“Ain’t . . .ain’t . .gonna deal no more.” She whispered, as she coughed up blood.

“OH, you gonna deal, Becky. You think your life belongs to you but it don’t. It belongs to me.”

“Get . .get away from me.” She said, backing up to a dumpster.

“You think that slut Lisa is gonna get help?” he laughed, “ There ain’t no cops brave enough to be in this neighborhood. Now, how much more am I gonna have to rough you up-“

Juno was interrupted by Becky slamming her show into his mouth. He grunted as he stumbled back, coughing up blood. Becky used the moment to get up and run past him. By the time she did, she stopped at the ominous figure in front of her. He stood there, staring at the large black man behind her. “Becky, get behind me.” He ordered.

The teenager didn’t hesitate. She needed a protector and right now, it could have been the Easter Bunny for all she cared. Anybody to keep Juno away from her. The large drug dealer held the blood dripping from his mask as he stared at the new player. “Who the hell are you, man?” he asked.

“Me? I’m Raven,” the Jaeger Unit replied, “Why don’t you make it easier for everybody, Juno and leave Becky alone?”

“You her pimp or something?” he said, brandishing his blade.

“Pimp? Hmm. You know . . .I’ve been out of circulation for a while but I remember that word. I am sure it’s still an insult.”

“Oh, let me tell you something, Mummy,” he said, swinging his blade around, “I am going to do more than insult ya.”

Juno then ran screaming toward Raven and all the masked man could do was smirk. Becky then ran toward the street, thinking her new savior would follow but he simply stood his ground. The large man then finally arrived and attempted to stab Raven in the neck. The masked man then shoved the other man with his palm like a normal man would push a back. However, Juno went flying through one of the nearby plate glass windows of the empty plaza.

The black man writhed in pain, as the destruction of the glass window caused his head to open up. Raven stepped into the destroyed window and across the glass as he walked up to Juno. He then grabbed the drug dealer and picked him up. “What’s it going to be, Juno?” Raven asked him, “ You gonna leave Becky alone or not?”

Juno replied by spitting blood in the Jaeger Unit’s eye. “SCREW YOU!!!” Juno screamed.

“WRONG ANSWER!!!” Raven replied as he threw him out another plate glass window.

The black man collided onto the ground, holding the blood from his ripped open forehead. Raven stepped over and walked on the glass, then grabbed him by the collar; hoisting him up. “Wait a minute!” Juno demanded, “We can work this out!”

“STILL WRONG ANSWER!!!” Raven then threw him through another plate glass window.

The black man grunted as his face was severely cut up. Raven then picked him up and held it aloft. “What’s it going to be, Juno?” he asked.

“Okay, okay, man,” he coughed up blood,” Just . . .don’t hurt me anymore.”

“Good man, “Raven said, escorting him back into the alley where Becky stared in shock, “Now, you are a drug supplier and Becky was your drug dealer, is that not correct?”

“Yes!” he replied, trying to stop the bleeding on his head.

“Well, now . . .like any good employer, she deserves severance pay.” Raven hissed.

“Severance . . .OH, NO, way, man!”

Juno was then hoisted off the ground as Raven held him aloft by the back of his shirt. The black man stared down at the menacing Jaeger Unit. To add a good mixture of fear, Raven calmly flashed his eye blue, making Juno squeal like a pig. “Your wallet . . NOW.” The cyborg ordered.

Juno quickly pulled out his wallet from his pants and gave it to Raven. The moment he set him down, he took off running to the opposite end of the alley and disappeared over the wooden fence blockage. Raven took the money out of the wallet and dropped it toward the ground. He proceeded to count out the money and by the time he walked up to Becky, she was still staring at him in shock. “Hmm. Just shy of 3 thousand dollars,” he whispered, “I never knew drug dealers were in such demand.”

Raven counted off a thousand and gave it to Becky. “If you don’t mind, I am going to take the other 2 thousand over to the halfway house and divide it up with the homeless.” He told her.

“Uh . . sure.” She said.

“I don’t think Juno will be bothering you again,” he smiled, patting her on the arm, “Continue the stay off the drugs and improve your life, okay?”

Raven walked past her as he began to walk back down the street to the halfway house. The young teenager felt her jaw locking up from the gapping mouth staring she was doing. She finally coughed and was able to speak. “Who are you???” she demanded.

Raven paused and looked back her. Even through his bandages, she could tell he was smiling. “Just a traveler,” he smiled, as he continued on.

Part 394: The Confrontation

January 19th, 2009

Near the outskirts of the Los Angeles down, was the uptown area, closer to Beverly Hills. One of the apartments were where the rich people lived. Everybody knew it and nobody disputed it. They would simply drive by and gawk at their wealth. Everybody knew it was the place were models, celebrities and millionaires lived.

Few people knew it as a place for scientists.

Karen DeGroot was not that old of a woman but there were days when she felt old. A life time devoted to genetic science can ware down the body; not to mention the brain. After she retired, she spent her life continuing her research and allowing other corporations and various science foundations. She would do seminars and attend lunches. She would do speeches and various charity works. However, she felt it couldn’t make up for the crimes she did long ago.

Karen walked into her kitchen and fixed her glass of vodka. She did it to help her sleep; something her late husband taught her. She then proceeded back into the living room and picked up her book to read. She sipped on her vodka and started to read the passengers. She always found Shakespeare intriguing and the tragedies he wrote. “I always remember you reading Shakespeare to us.” A voice whispered in the darkness of the room.

Karen slowly looked up. The ominous figure rested in the shadows in the corner of her living room. The old woman sighed and looked at him with sad eyes. “It’s you,” she whispered, “The one they call . . .Jack.”

“The play you would read to us,” he said slowly approaching her, “I was always found of Hamlet. Revenge is a worthy subject.”

“The moment the others were getting killed, I knew it had to be one of you.” The old woman whispered, “ I didn’t know . .. this was what they wanted to use my research for.”

“But you didn’t stop it. Reading to us while we were suffering . . .was that out of some form of guilt?” Jack said, kneeling before her.

“I should have stopped it . . .I was weak back then . ..my husband . ..my husband said it would be for the greater good.” She said, shedding a tear, “What . .became of you?”

“I was a bodyguard. Till I failed my charge and was burned alive. But the enhancements you gave me . . .allowed me NOT to die. Now I am a freak, skulking in darkness.”

“You are not a freak,” Karen cried, “You are a human being.”

Jack lowered his head and sighed. He then leaned up and gently touched her knee. “Do you remember that soft summer day on the Island?” he whispered, “We were in holding cell # 3. Radiation exposure. I was in there, as where three of my fellow volunteers.”

“I don’t . . .tell me more, please,” she wept.

“There was a woman . . .I don’t remember her name . . .but she began to wail from the pain. You and the scientists watched how we were able to fight off the radiation but she couldn’t. Her screams were deafening. The moment the scientists turned away, I attacked her. I grabbed her by the neck and I broke it.”

“I remember,” she continued to cry.

“I turned around and saw that you had been watching the whole time while the other scientists walked away,” Jack said, looking at her with sad eyes, “I never received a reprimand for killing one of their experiments. I could only assume you never told them.”

“I didn’t,” she confirmed it.

“Thank you, Karen. However . ..that still doesn’t excuse you. For my friends, Justice must be served.”

“So . . .you are going to kill me?”

Jack then calmly reached over to her end table and picked up her glass; half filled with vodka. He slowly held it aloft in front of her. “I killed you eight minutes ago, Karen,” he whispered.

Karen just realized he had poisoned her. However, she was curious why her heart wasn’t racing or her muscles shaking. “Will there be any pain?” she asked.

“No,” Jack promised, “No pain.”

“Thank you,” she smiled through her tears.

“You deserve to die, Karen . . .but you do not deserve to die alone.”

Karen reached up and embraced the Jaeger Unit. Jack held her close, massaging her back. The old woman then leaned back and all of a sudden felt sleepy. The Jack of All Shades held her hand with both of his, promising not to leave her side. Her eyes slowly began to droop. She knew it wasn’t much longer. “Jack,” she whispered.

“Yes, Karen?” he said, holding her hand.

“Up in my study . . .is a burgundy journal. It’s my diary . . .during the Dharma Initiative. Take it and . . .expose them.”

“Thank you, Karen.”

“Never too late . . .for a good deed, eh?”

“Never, Karen.” Jack petted her hand.

The old woman then calmly dropped her head. Jack held her hand until she loosened her grip. The stranger then calmly stood up and walked over to a nearby couch; picking up a blanket. He calmly covered her up, and positioned her hair to the side. Jack then began to walk up the stairs toward her study. He looked around and then saw on an end table next to a large couch was a small burgundy journal with the Dharma Logo on top of it. He picked it up and placed it in his overcoat. Jack was happy Karen wanted to make amends for what she had done. Now, he had but one more life to take.



Stephen Ortega sat down in the middle of his apartment. He was sitting in the nude; he found it more refreshing than clothing. It harkened back to his days at the Island, where the majority of the time he walked around with only a hospital gown. He missed those days; as he missed the people. But the one he missed above all was Penelope Widmore. He was sorry that he didn’t get the chance to kill her father. It was his fault for breaking them up.

Stephen then sipped on his wine as he heard a noise from behind. The balcony doors were sliding open. The killer smirked as he knew of only one person who would enter through the balcony doors. “Hello, brother,” he smirked, as he sipped on his wine.

“I wasn’t aware we were related,” Jack of All Shades whispered.

“Didn’t being through all the suffering on the Island make us related,” the man stood up, “ Are we not the same?”

“You and I are nothing alike.”

“On the contrary, Jack . . .we’re both killers,” Stephan said, pouring himself some more wine, “ We take the time to kill . .its in our nature.”

“These women you are killing. You are killing the wrong people.” Jack hissed.

“I am killing these women to prove a point. Here is the to the Dharma Initiative.” He toasted the air.

Jack took a step closer to him and then paused when he stepped on news paper. He then looked down and much to his surprise, he saw multitudes of newspaper and magazines clippings; all of Jenny Baker. “I didn’t know she had been to the Island,” he said, walking around his house guest, “I never knew how beautiful she was too.”

“Jenny has done you no wrong. You need to stay away from her.” Jack warned.

“Oh, the contrary . . .if she is from the Island, she deserves my special treatment. I want to meet her, I want to know all about her.”

Jack glared at him; clearing seeing he wasn’t listening. Stephan slowly walked over a nearby wall, as he saw a spider climbing up the wallpaper. He calmly reached up and snatched the spider into his hands. He held it close and curled up his fingers; making a fleshy jail for the arachnid. “What do you think this spider dreams about?” Stephan whispered.

“What do I know of spider’s dreams?” Jack replied back.

“I figured quite a lot from the way you were dressed,” the killer walked around the living room, “This creature spends the majority of it’s day thinking about who it’s going to kill. Of course, every creature it kills, it also tries to eat. It is it’s purpose. My purpose is not so different from the spider. My purpose is to end life. To this spider, humans are angry Gods that could end it’s life at will.”

“And you are God to these women you have killed?” the masked man asked.

“I control their fate. I am the master of this species. Their lives are meaningless to me. Once she sees that, then she’ll understand how much in control I am.”

“You can not continue with this.” Jack ordered.

Stephan slowly glared at the man in front of him. “Don’t tell me what I can’t do.” He grunted.

Jack then immediately rushed him and grabbed him across the shoulders; shoving him back against the wall. The impact burst into the drywall, creating a small crater. Stephan then head butted the masked man, sending him back. By the time Jack tried to regain his senses, the killer round house kicked him. The bandaged Jaeger Unit stumbled on the floor and then flipped over, charging him again. He grabbed Ortega once again, shoving them both out of the balcony glass doors. The two men struggled against each other. Jack tried to strangle Ortega and the black haired killer fought back. The glass had cut him in several places but he didn’t budge.

He then kneed Jack in the groin, and then shoved him back. As Jack recovered, Ortega twirled and slammed his foot into the masked man’s chest; sending him flying. Jack burst against the door, flying into the hallway. The occupants of the apartment poked out their heads amid the chaos. The killer walked out and grabbed the unconscious Jack by the foot, dragging him down the hallway. Everybody gawked at what they were seeing. Stephan then shoved his fingers into the elevator door and proceeded to shove it open. When it was opened all the way, he then flung Jack of All Shades down the shaft. The masked man plummeted into the darkness. Stephan waited till he heard the thud and began to walk back toward his apartment. He would have to gather his things and disappear before the police arrive. He calmly looked at his open palm as he walked down the hallway.

“I think that damn spider bit me,” he whispered to himself.

Part 393: Bait and Switch

January 18th, 2009

Jenny calmly looked out the window of the booth. Outside near the street, the activity of Los Angeles was always threatening to overflow. Cars were bumper to bumper and the passengers were screaming at each other. Across the streets, hookers who had stayed up all night were still out there; looking for someone to buy them off. Jenny could go arrest them but she didn’t feel like it. She had more important things on her mind.

The door bell above the entrance to the diner rang out and Kellye stepped into the place. She looked around and Jenny waved to her to make sure she could see her. The brunette calmly walked over and sat at the booth. “Morning, Jenny,” her friend smiled.

“Morning, Kell,” the blonde said, sipping her coffee, “Sleep well?”

“About as well as be expected.” The young detective took a brief pause as he waitress asked what she would like, “Coffee please, two cream, two sugars.”

“Maybe you should be brave enough to one day request three sugars.” Jenny smirked.

“I am not that wild, thank you very much,” Kellye laughed, fueling the joke.

The waitress then brought over the coffee with the mentioned condiments. The brunette then began to make the type of coffee she liked and looked at her partner. “So, why are we here?” she said, stirring her coffee.

“Not yet,” Jenny said, munching on her Danish, “We’re waiting for Ana-Lucia to arrive.”

“Huh?” Kellye said, pausing in the drinking of her coffee, “ I thought you just wanted to talk to me?”

“Yeah and afterwards, I changed my mind and called Ana to meet us here.”

“What’s going on, Jenny?”

“It’s . . .uh . . . . The Island has come back to haunt us.” The blonde whispered.

Before her partner could ask another question, the doorbell to the diner ran out again and their superior officer Ana-Lucia walked into the diner. She looked around and spotted her friends. She proceeded to walk over and then motioned for Kellye to scoot over. As she did, she then rested her head on her fellow detective’s shoulder. “You awake, Ana?” Kellye laughed.

“I ain’t so sure.” She said, leaning up and rubbing her eyes.

The waitress came over and asked what she would like. “Large Vanilla coke and one of those blueberry Danishes you guys are famous for.” The Latina moaned.

As the waitress left, Ana yawned and continued to rub her left eye. “I still had another hour sleep coming too me, Jenny, “ she mentioned, “So this better be good.”

“Well . . it’s not good, its bad. However, you two are the only ones I could discuss this with.” The blonde mentioned.

“Jenny, I am starting to get worried. You said this has to do with the Island?” Kellye replied.

“Island . .what . .what are you talking about?” Ana-Lucia said, with a mouthful of blueberry Danish.

Jenny sipped on her coffee and sighed. “Jack of All Shades is a Jaeger Unit.” She said, bluntly.

Ana-Lucia stopped eating and Kellye stopped drinking. They finally caught up with themselves, and the Latina swallowed her food, while the brunette swallowed her coffee. Ana-Lucia sipped on her coke while her fellow officer dabbed the coffee from her lips with a napkin. “I thought we were through discussing this bullcrap, Jenny,” her ranking officer told her.

“Ana, I now know for a fact that he is a Jaeger Unit.” The blond insisted.

“How do you know?” Kellye asked.

“He . . .told me.”

Kellye then stumbled as she almost dropped her coffee. Ana-Lucia stared at Jenny with a slight mix of confusion and contempt. “How . . . could he have told you?” the ranking officer said.

“He broke into my house last night. He said the only reason he wanted to talk to me was because he looked up my name on the Internet and I was one of the survivors of Flight 815. He wanted to know if I had saw Watchman and he spoke of things that only someone from that Island could have known.”

“Oh, my God,” Kellye whispered, hoping she had put the strangeness of the Island behind her.

“He knows the killer we are after too,” Jenny admitted, “He doesn’t know his name but he does know he is a Jaeger Unit. In fact, he said he was trying to stop him.”

“Why?” Ana-Lucia demanded.

“Ana . . Jack isn’t like this guy. These old people he is killing were apart of the Dharma Initiative. This is no different from killing . . .NAZIS.”

“That is not for you to decide!” Ana-Lucia pointed her finger across the table, “If this guy was in your house, you should have called for backup immediately.”

“Backup? What kind of backup are we talking about? The SWAT team?” Kellye piped in, “If this guy was a Jaeger Unit, there wouldn’t have been any way for them to stop him. Ana, you saw Raven!”

“He was stronger and faster, I’ll admit that. But nothing is unbeatable,” the Latina pointed back to Jenny, “YOU of all people should know that.”

Jenny sighed and looked at the table. She knew full well what Ana-Lucia was talking about; her battle with the albino freak called Texas. That fight gave her bruises that she still had scares to this day. Ana-Lucia then moaned and rubbed her eyes. “Okay, Jenny, here is what you are going to do,” she whispered, “When we get back to the station, you are going to tell Ford and Stark everything you learned from Jack of All Shades. You will leave out the part of him being a Jaeger Unit because they wouldn’t believe you anyway.”

“What do we do with Ortega, if that is his name?” Jenny said.

“If he is killing these women because of Penelope Widmore, then we still don’t have the proof to offer her protection and I don’t think she is going to be forthcoming about the Dharma Initiative.”

“I have an idea about how to catch him, Ana,” the blonde police officer whispered, “You said yourself, nothing is unbeatable.”

“If this guy is a Jaeger Unit, Jenny, then you won’t have the time to beat him; you’ll only have time to kill him. So, this plan better take that into consideration.”

“It does,” the officer then pulled out a shopping back to her right side, “Kellye, could you come into the bathroom with me? I’ll need your help.”

“Uh . .sure,” she said, motioning for Ana-Lucia to let her out of the booth.

The ranking officer watched the two young women proceed into the back of the diner toward the women’s bathroom. She hoped this plan would not put undo risk on their lives. She had come to think of Kellye and Jenny more like little sisters than fellow detectives. She only hoped they would all survive catching this insane killer.



Detective Day pulled up to the crime scene. The police had cornered off most of the area. It was outside a restaurant which made it more strange. The woman was in her early twenties by the looks of it and she was adorned with the amber hair color. The extension cord had changed it’s color. All the previous times, it was orange; now it was dark blue. Maxine took a picture of the women and then signaled the cops to get her down. “Blue extension cord around her neck,” she pointed out.

“I noticed that too,” Day mentioned.

“Changing of the MO is never a good thing,” Meg mentioned.

“Yes, that means he’s either getting sloppy or he’s escalating. Perhaps growing impatient that his killing is serving no purpose.”

“You buy Ana-Lucia’s theory, Edwin?” Max said, putting her camera away, “ That this killer is doing it to garner Ms. Widmore’s attention?”

“If he is, it’s a sick way of doing it,” the black detective tucked in his coat, “ Maybe he is doing it to prove that he could kill her anytime she wanted.”

“If only she would give us the information we need, we could get legal presidence to protect her,” Meg said, examining the body.

“And scare off her market shares?” Day smirked, “Something tells me she had her priorities straight.”

To the side of the restaurant, Ana-Lucia finally arrived. She closed her door and walked past the street cops; holding up her homicide badge. The Latina looked to her friends as they welcomed her to the crime scene. “What do we got?” she asked.

“It’s our killer, Ana,” Maxine pointed out, “Fractured ribs, strangled through extension cord and last but not least, amber hair. She was killed up on the roof and flopped out in front of his seafood dive.”

“I’ve eaten here,” the Latina moaned, “ This place fell to crap the moment they stopped serving hush puppies.”

“Where is Kellye and Jenny?” Day asked.

“They are on their way.”

“Ana . . .Is it true that Jenny was paid a visit by the Jack of All Shades?” the black detective asked.

Ana-Lucia slowly looked up at him, slightly annoyed. “Let me guess,” she whispered, “Ford couldn’t keep his mouth shut in the men’s room.”

“He was considering bringing Jenny up on charges of harboring a fugitive . . .Stark convinced him it wouldn’t stick . .and yes, he was busy screaming about this in the restroom.”

“Did he hurt her?” Meg piped in; concerned about her friend.

“No, he just wanted to talk. I’ll fill you guys in on the rest of it later and I can promise you . . .you won’t believe a single word of it.”

“Nonetheless, I am eager to hear what happened.”

Almost as if on cue, Jenny’s truck arrived at the crime scene. Kellye was the first to get out of the vehicle. She began to walk up the sidewalk to join others. They then looked to Jenny and the first thing that Detective Day noticed about her was her hair was wet.

The second thing he noticed was her hair was an amber colored.

“Huh?” the black man gasped.

Maxine and Meg immediately noticed it too. Meg nearly dropped her evidence at the sight of it. “Jenny . .your hair . .” she pointed out.

“You like it?” Jenny showed it off, “It’s called Autumn Sunset.”

“That’s not funny, Jenny,” Maxine grunted, “You known damn well we have a killer out there that is picking off women with amber colored hair.”

“Yes, I know, Max, now please pretend to be happy about my hair.” Jenny continued to walk over to her.

“Why should I pretend, when you are offering yourself up as bait?”

“Killers like to come back to the scene of the crime, Max,” the young officer whispered, “There is a chance he may be watching us. If I can make the bastard come after me and not some innocent civilian, then I’m willing to take the risk”

Max froze and understood her words. She then smiled and patted her on the shoulder. The group continued to go about their business as they worked the scene. High above at the other end of street was the Fargo Office building. In one of the empty offices was the killer they had been searching for. He was holding binoculars as he looked out at the scene. He had noticed the cops before but he didn’t notice the one will amber hair. He stared at her and calmly licked his lips. “How kind of you.” He whispered.