still alive [ben/open]

[Alex Linus]

She trudged through the ferns and other undergrowth of the jungle, pushing branches out of her face to keep the ends from scratching her in the face. She's broken off form Richard's group, in search of more survivors or just in search of anyone else who had survived on the Island. Which also meant her mother, and Karl. But she doubted they were alive - she'd watched Keamy shoot them right before her eyes. The only reason she was alive was because Richard had been quick to think when he'd found her, barely alive on the front lawns of the Barracks, bleeding out the side of her head - the bullet had only grazed her head. Thankfully.

Pushing more sticks and such out of her face, she came to a small clearing with one of the few little streams that ran through the jungle. Kneeling, she bent down and splashed some of the water on her face - a small relief against the tropical heat of the Island. That was definatley something she'd not missed when she'd been in LA with Richard.

Brushing hair from her face, she stared at her reflection in the rippling water for a moment, until she heard the crack of a branch behind her. Her hand drifted to the gun in he waistband that Richard had given her, just for protection in case Keamy was somehow still on the Island. Or anyone else who might be hoping to harm her. Slowly getting to her feet, Alex pulled out the gun, aiming it in the general direction of where she had heard the branches crack. She clicked the safety off silently, and cocked the gun, her eyes scanning the treeline.

"Whoever you are, come out now." Alex ordered in the best stern voice she could muster. "I have a gun, and will shoot you."

[Benjamin Linus]

It had been moments since the death of Alex. Or had it been days? Weeks? Time bore no constant on the island, and no passing era could speak distinctly to the age of the island. This much Ben knew, as he jogged through the thickets, led to his destination by the pull of a superior being. He sensed movement, before he saw any viable proof. Peering through a gap in the thickness in the trees, he saw Alex. Alone. A twig snapped beneath his foot. A coy smile played his lips as he watched her pull the gun from hiding.

"You won't shoot me Alex. Nor would you have any reason to." Benjamin Linus stepped through the waist high bristles and emerged from the treeline. His hands were raised, but not because he felt the need to surrender, but because it was the way his mind worked - to give the opponent the impression of the advantage. The island was a weird and wonderful place, yet Ben saw no inclination as to Alex's health and memory from mere feet away. "So. My wonderful daughter survived, it seems that the island saw benefit in your well being."

The words whispered through prison bars were perfunctory. Ben calculated the chances of escape should Alex become hostile for whatever reason, and he reasoned that an enormous amount of trust was laced to an old relationship. There was something in her eyes. Something that said it was her. Lowering his arms, Ben beckoned to take the gun, his arm outstretched.

"Give me the gun Alex. You don't need anymore than I do." Ben smiled at his adopted daughter, "The island chose you, just as it chose me."

[Alex Linus]

Alex blinked. Several times. She was hallucinating - she had to be. Her father couldn't be standing there, staring her in the face, saying she wouldn't shoot him. He wasn't that stupid. Of course she would shoot him! He'd nearly gotten her killed! Said he hadn't loved her, and that she was just another one of his little pawns.

"I'm not your daughter." The words were nearly spat as she kept the gun raised, aimed at him. Of course, he'd raised her the past eighteen or so years of her life, but now, she wouldn't accept him as her father. Simply a guardian. Nothing more, because all she seemed to be to him was just something he could use for his own selfish reasons.

She shook her hair, hair whipping against her cheeks. "No." Alex stated when he told her to give him the gun. She wasn't about to arm him with a gun. "I'm not letting go of this gun because more of your little freak friends from the Freighter are probably running around here!"

[Benjamin Linus]

Not his daughter. Not many things hurt Benjamin Linus, and this wasn't one of them. It was expected. Expected that a daughter he raised would question their lineage in a matter of time. Nevertheless, he was disconcerted by her abruptness. "Then who daughter are you?" The question was rhetorical. Alex never knew her father, Ben was all she had.

Ben addressed her concern of the visitors. "Probably. Except, the island doesn't want them here more than you do Alex." Ben cautiously lowered his arm. "Let's cut the games Alex," he looked away from her, and walked a few paces away, "If you wanted to shoot me, i'd have a bullet in my head already."

Benjamin continued to step away from her, his back facing the barrel of the gun. "If you're going to keep that, put the safety on. There are no foes here."

Where he was going, Benjamin had little idea, continually guided by a superior presence. It hardly mattered whether Alex followed, but he was sure she would.

[Alex Linus]

She narrowed her eyes - just what kind of a question was that? She didn't know who her father was, but she knew her mother, and that was something. "Certainly not yours." She spoke after a moment. "Not much of a father if you get your daughter shot. I'm pretty sure Richard cares more about me than you do."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Oh, well, if the Island doesn't want them - I guess they better leave then huh?" She said, sarcasm lacing her tone. She was sick and tired of hearing about how the Island was alive or something. She didn't care - it was an island. Sure, it had freak things on it, but it was just a landmass in the middle of the ocean that happened to move when you turned a wheel below the surface.

But he was right - Alex wasn't going to shoot him, no matter how much she wanted to. She wouldn't have shot him in the head though - the leg probably so he'd have to suffer. He wasn't worth an instant death. She sighed and flicked the safety back on, lowering the gun. It hung limp in her hand again as she watched him, before tucking it into her waistline again.

"Why?" She asked suddenly, following him. "Why did you let something like that happen to me? What happened to all those years where you said you loved me? Were those lies too? Just another game you're playing - get me close to you so you can turn around and use me as another one of your stupid little pawns?"

[Benjamin Linus]

At the mention of Richard, Ben stopped walking, a whisper of eerie residue seeping past his eardrums. "Richard Alpert is a man you'll never understand." Benjamin turned to look at Alex, though his mood had worsened slightly, his face bore no signature of the icy tone. After a few moments, he reasoned that she had minimal knowledge of such things, and moved on - turning his back on her once again. Flushed with a new found passion to find his followers, casting aside her comments of her wellbeing.

"They'll leave, in turn." His pace quickened, and his voice; low. Brushing branches from his eyeline, he continued, "When the island wants them to be gone. They have a purpose." He understood what the island meant to Alex, and it was a very different perspective as to the one he carried. Noting her sarcasm, he passed off her comments.

When Ben heard the satisfying click of the handgun, his shoulders loosened. He knew that she wouldn't shoot him, but not everybody is accustomed to having a nine-millimeter tantalizing life.

"I didn't let it happen to you. It was out of my hands." Ben stopped and looked around at her again, "He changed the rules." Alex's words of past fell idly onto Ben. "I'd never use you as a pawn, Alex, one day you'll understand what you meant-" he cut himself off, correcting his speech pattern, "still mean to me."

"Now, let's move on. We have alot of ground to cover, and ill topics bear no great passtime."

[Alex Linus]

She let out a bark of laughter. "Funny, he's been taking awful good care of me since you left without a trace. Even took me to LA with him, and made sure I got back here safe." She stated. In the past few weeks, Richard had become a second father, considering her anger toward her first. Well, technically Ben wasn't even her first father, but oh well.

"Oh, my bad. I totally forgot that everything here has a purpose." She muttered. "What's mine? Stand idly by? Because thats basically what I was forced to do when those...those....bastards shot Karl and my mother." She stated, folding her arms over her chest after roughly pushing underbrush out of her face so hard that it caused several of the small twigs to snap.

Alex listened to him say it wasn't his fault. Bull. He could have walked right out of that house and spared her life instead of refusing to come out. He would have figured a way out of Keamy's grasp eventually. She didn't say anything, just muttered several words incoherently. He probably still didn't care - just another lie right to her face.

"Where are we going?"

[Richard Alpert]

To say that Richard was a better watcher than an actor was an understatement. Richard did both well, however, at the moment, he was more interested at just watching the scene unfold in front of him that speaking on it. His dark pants and dark shirt blended him in with the trees well, and he silently watched as father and daughter were reunited once more. Shifting slightly to a better stance, Richard glanced between father and daughter. Even through the frustrations He had been tracking Alex for a while now; even though Jacob hadn't mentioned anything about Keamy being back on the Island, with all of the dead people showing up as of late, Richard couldn't help but wonder who else would rise up and try to take a life once more.

At the mention of his name that drifted through the Island air and back to his ears, Richard's eyebrows lifted only slightly. Unless Ben had spoke to Jacob whenever he had arrived on the Island, Richard was sure Ben would want to know what Jacob had said about the survivors. Or at least an update on the manageable chaos that the Island always seemed to have.

Stepping from the spot that he had been standing in for a few minutes as he had watched them, Richard stepped out of the jungle and onto the clearing, looking at both Alex and Ben.

"Benjamin."

The word was said evenly, and he gave a slight nod towards the younger man before he looked at Alex. "You clicked the safety on but un-clicked it when you put it back in your waistband. Put it back on; I'm not exactly in the mood to try to fix you if you blow a hole in your thigh."

[Benjamin Linus]

Only a whisp of surprise emanated from Richard's arrival. Expect the unexpected, always a valuable lesson. "Richard." He acknowledge the presence of his friend with a curt nod. "You sneak as well as you ever did." The corner of Ben's mouth twitched; the most emotion he'd shown in a while. "Forgive Alex's idleness, her leaving of the island seems to have dislodged her somewhat." Ben diverted his attention solely on Richard, leaving Alex to stand about. His voice was low, mirroring that of keeping 'grown-up' information from younger ears - being Alex. "Has he said anything Richard?" There were no formalities between allies, they both knew what needed to be discussed.

Touching Richard above the elbow to indicate motion, he began to walk away from their clearing, back into denser wood. Being so accustomed to the forest, Ben led them on a trail that avoided sinister branches, in no general direction.

If Jacob had spoken, it was normally to either him or Richard. Even still, Ben preferred to be kept in the loop in matters of serious consequence. "What has he planned, Richard?" There was always a plan, whether Richard was to divulge or not, Ben would find out. "Does it require anything of our friend Locke?" No matter what John Locke had believed of Ben, he didn't take to fondly to his appearance in their group before the events of the island.

It had become apparent to Benjamin that Alex was being neglected, but there were things of graver importance. Waiting for Richard to answer the proceeding questions, he shot another to the colloquial demeanor. "Does he wish our presence?"

[Richard Alpert]

"Has he said anything, Richard?"

Richard looked away from the younger man, taking in the path in front of him, though he wasn't really focused on any particular spot in the jungle. "A few minutes after I brought Alex back, he contacted me." Of course, the sudden appearance had been slightly unnerving, because unlike before, Jacob was sure to have less than pleased news. "He wasn't pleased. With me. With you. With the survivors."

The statement could have been taken a number of ways, although if Jacob truly had been angry, so angry that he'd resort to drastic measures, Richard wouldn't be walking with Ben in the jungle. Ben asked what Jacob had plan, and he turned his head slightly to the man, chewing on the inside of his bottom lip in thought before he blinked and spoke. "He says that we're going to have visitors. He didn't elaborate, though with the appearance of the survivors, I'm sure that's part of it." When Ben spoke of John Locke, Richard gave his head a small shake. "He only spoke of him once, and it was just by name. He didn't elaborate, and I didn't ask."

"Does he wish our presence?"

"Do you think I'd be standing here talking to you as casually as I am if he did?" Richard couldn't help the clipped tone that escaped his mouth, but he took himself back a few moments, and shook his head. "I'm sure he'll let us know. For now, we need to take a head count, see who managed to show up here and who managed to be stupid enough to get themselves killed."

Of course, the fact that Jacob had said visitors and not simply 'the survivors' had Richard's mind working. He chose to shift to a more recent topic of conversation. "The mercenaries that came on the Island before, that wasn't an entire squad. There had to have been more on the boat, which means that they could have radio'd back to the main land. Or worse, they could have simply gone back and gathered more. He hadn't mentioned it, but I think it's seriously starting to be time to consider that option." Moving the Island was dangerous, but if the mercenaries were coming back to the Island like Richard wondered, the thought always needed to stay in the back of his mind.

"I believe he spoke John's name expressly for that purpose. John Locke has a delusion of grandeur, perhaps this will make him see his true place." He paused, and then spoke. "By the way, Shephard made it back. Alive, surprisingly."

[Alex Linus]

Alex jumped slightly when Richard emerged to the trees, then rolled her eyes. Of course he had noticed. Reaching behind her with a grumble, she clicked it back on. "There, happy?"

She walked behind them as close as she could get without seeming suspicious. They were talking about something they didn't want her to hear about, but she could make out bits and pieces of it - but the pieces didn't make sense to her. Sighing, she brushed hair from her face, and spoke up from behind them, tired of being ignored.

"Where are we going?" She asked, repeating her earlier question. "And what are you talking about? I don't like being left out - you should know good and well I don't."

[Benjamin Linus]

"It takes alot to make Jacob pleased, Richard, you should know that." His voice was still low, keeping the information from any unclassified ears, which extended to Alex's rank. Jacob's deep affliction with the island was well known among a select few, and his disappointment with the survivors was predicted and expected to surface. "We can assume necessary precautions have been taken for him to summise a strategy." Benjamin never openly spoke Jacob's name, out of fear that another may hear.

"By the way, Shephard made it back. Alive, surprisingly."

"Surprisingly?" Ben was slightly surprised himself at the choice of words, "Richard. Jack Shephard was their leader, despite what others may think." Ben was stepping almost exactly in time with Richard, careful not to overpace and unintentionally gain an advantage. The air cooled as evening approached. "We can be sure he'll be galvanizing the others. He knows us Richard, he'll be on the lookout for skullduggery."

"Where are we going?"

Ben stopped in his tracks as Alex spoke, silently disappointed in her judgmental skill. "Alex." Ben turned to look her full in the face, snapping branches under his feet as he did so. Deep concentration emitted from his deep-set frown lines, giving the impression of sincere lack of gratitude. "This is far more important than you may speculate." It couldn't hurt to tell her the minor details to keep her occupied, one of Ben's numerous diversion strategies. "We are not the only people to return to the island."

Ben returned his focus to Richard, specifically his underlaying talk of moving the island. The belief was shared, moving the island was dangerous, considered as a final retort only; but Benjamin Linus would have been lying if he'd said it hadn't crossed his mind. "If the situation calls for it, Richard, someone must be prepared. And if Locke is destined to fulfill his potential here, then so be it." Benjamin cast a wry look at Alex before continuing, "I will guide him. Make him think he thought up the idea. It's what I do, Richard."

[Richard Alpert]

"It takes a lot to make Jacob pleased, Richard, you should know that."

"I know that better than anyone, Ben." Maybe Richard hadn't expected the survivors to screw up as bad as they had, at least in Jacob's eyes. It had become second nature to please Jacob with any whim or flight of fancy; Richard considered it an art he had perfected long ago. But now...well, Jacob's temperament was volatile at best.

"We can assume necessary precautions have been taken for him to surmise a strategy."

"He's working on something, there's no doubt about that. He just doesn't feel it important to let the rest of us know all the plans, yet." Which didn't bother Richard as much as it sounded; he knew that he'd know in time. When Ben spoke about Jack Shephard, Richard looked over at Ben, an eyebrow raised slightly in almost amusement. "Yeah." he said as if it was the plainest thing. "Of course he's their leader. But he doesn't believe, and you can be the most powerful leader in the world, but if you don't believe, your empire will crumble quicker than you can even blink. He's still torn in believing. And he thinks he knows about you from what Juliet has told him. Whatever she's peppered and salted as truth or lies is beyond me, but he may think he knows you, that's true. However has no idea about me."

Of course, that was the truth. Jack may have thought he had gotten Ben all figured out, and maybe he had, Richard didn't know or even care. But there were things that Ben didn't even know about Richard. Things he kept locked inside his memory, fading memories that every once in a while burst forth into full consciousness. "And speaking of Juliet--"

"Where are we going?"

Alex spoke, cutting Richard off from his sentence, and he looked back at her, slowing in his walking. As Ben explained the situation to her, in not so clear terms, Richard turned and started walking again. "Some things, Alexandra, you're simply better off not knowing." Ben spoke of moving the Island, preparing someone for the task, and Richard nodded in approval. "Let's just hope I've been right all along in my belief of Locke." When Ben spoke of doing what he did, he let the smallest of smirks cross his face as he looked at Ben.

"And if that doesn't work?" He asked almost rhetorically, slightly amused. "Who do you think taught you?"

[Benjamin Linus]

"I know that better than anyone, Ben."

"Perhaps." Ben smirked as he contradicted Richard, "But I'm sure I could find someone who'd disagree." As per the rest of their conversation, no names were given that could give Alex the slightest inclination of understanding. Ben assumed that Richard understood his references to Jack's father, whom he had only had the courtesy of meeting on one occasion - once was quite enough.

"He thinks he knows about you from what Juliet has told him."

Whilst there was nothing offensive in what Richard had said, Ben's voice sounded dry and shallow, "He can't even begin to understand me." To some degree, Ben felt that a shimmer of self-preservation had been neglected, and aimed to rectify the temporary issue as soon as possible. Richard's talk of Jack shook Ben back to his ardent state. "Of course, the same person who knows Jacob better than you, Richard, would disagree with that."

A slight glimmer of sarcasm laced his comment, as though (for however amount of insignificant time) he suddenly had been granted with the upper hand in a conversation that posed no threat. Richard could not assuage his mind, Ben was certain that John Locke was brought to the island for this one and only purpose, no matter if even Jacob could not see it.

Ben noted the abrupt silence of Juliet's topic, also noting the use of her name - which seemed like a no-spoken agreement to exclude. "What about her, Richard?" Ben looked across at Richard, concern emerging through the shroud of certainty, "What is planned for her?" Juliet had always had a soft spot in Ben. Lies, tricks, deceit. All methods Ben had perused into making Juliet feel the same. Separating her from Goodwin, making sure that he'd be alone with her. Nothing had worked. Of course, Richard didn't know of their rocky past, and neither did anybody.

"Who do you think taught you?"

"Very good, Richard." Ben looked ahead again, walking at a steady pace, "But we all learned from somebody. How does that work out for you?"

[Richard Alpert]

"But I'm sure I could find someone who'd disagree."

Christian Shephard. Of course, Richard knew all about Christian. "Of course. Who could forget him." Richard said simply, however, Ben knew that Christian hadn't been around as long as Richard. No one on the Island had been around as long as Richard. Richard had watched Christian, before he had arrived back on the Island, had watched him completely and utterly ruin himself. All because he was away from the Island. "He was quite the fool for a time." Richard stated, unafraid to point out the obviousness, even about Christian. When Ben pointed out again that Christian would disagree with him, a rare amused smile crossed the man's face. "I'm sure he would. Have you realised that there are things about me that I haven't even told you?" he asked quite honestly, looking over at him.

However, when Ben shifted to the topic of Juliet, Richard looked over at Ben, the amused smile slipping slightly, but it still stayed firmly on his lips. Ben never thought Richard had noticed, but even the simple action of speaking Juliet's name could make Ben stop. "Jealous?" Richard asked, almost amused at the younger man's interest in Juliet. He spoke more seriously. "I'd be careful if I were you." Richard told Ben. "Juliet knows alot. More than she should, I'm afraid...and if she's told Shephard..." he felt himself trail off, lifting one shoulder in a slight shrug. "They did seem to get awfully close during his time with us, in both communication and, well...physically. Which opens a new batch of questions as to Shephard's idea of love, what with her keeping him captive and all. Stockholm Syndrome, it may be, but it could easily also be the exact opposite. I'd just be cautious if I were you; emotional attachments never fair well on this Island, and Shephard's capacity for emotional attachments, however misguided they could be, could be a ticking time bomb."

"Very good, Richard. But we all learned from somebody. How does that work out for you?"

The smile still played at the corner of Richard's lips as they walked. "It wouldn't exactly be a lie if I told you it's been so long I don't remember." Some things, Richard had just forgotten over time. The human mind only held so much information, and Richard's was no exception. Of course, he held onto great secrets, and would until the end of time. But sometimes, he found himself slipping, forgetting simple things such as Alex's birthday, or the day of the week, the year even. Time didn't matter much on the Island, usually, but it still helped to know if it was yesterday, or today, or perhaps tomarrow.