Ghost

She moved with a silence that defied all laws, and her slightly slanted red eyes seemed to take in everything quickly and efficiently. She knew that Lark would follow her. She had no doubt about that. But she glanced behind her now and again, just to make certain. What kind of dog do you think I should get? She tossed over her shoulder as she stepped into the store.

Lark Volkov

Lark followed her new friend, leading her horse and tying the bridle to a bike rack. "It's up to you. What kind of dog do you like?" She replied politely as she stepped into the store.

Lark Volkov/Maria Sokolov/Kirill

Kirill, who had been let loose by Lark as they were coming here, just flew back into the store as a man opened the door. The bird landed on Lark's shoulder. "Khorosho mal'chik." The girl said, reaching up with her uninjured arm and stroking the bird's feathers.

Unknown to Lark, Maria had followed the bird here and was waiting a long distance away, out of sight, hoping Ben had followed. She couldn't do this herself.

Benjamin Linus

Ben was tempted to just take off, but didn't want to spur any sort of revenge from the stranger. Besides, he still needed to have her believe he was an innocent, good-hearted person.

Parking the car along the road, he got out and approached Maria. "What now?" Again, he had to keep his words simple so that he didn't confuse the Russian lady. His cool blue eyes fixed on Kate's Kritters, then flashed questioningly to Maria. They way she seemed to be hiding and hesitant told him there was more to this quest than just finding this 'Lark' woman. Ben did his best to read her body language, since he couldn't very well rely on her words.

Lark Volkov/Maria Sokolov

There was a rose gray horse tied outside the building. She couldn't see the strangers, but she could smell them. "Lark! I think I smell the bad girl!" She neighed, scraping the ground with her hoof. Lark turned around to see her frightened mare and stepped outside to calm her down. Before she could say anything to Zola, Maria pulled her gun and aimed it at Lark. "Umiraet!" Maria shouted, firing off one bullet. Lark spun around, just barely dodging. "Maria?! Kak vam zdes'?!" She cried out. "Ia sledil za iastreba!" Maria shouted back.

Anya and Aiara ran outside and rushed at Maria. Anya leapt up for her arm, biting hard enough so that she dropped the gun. Lark saw her chance and pulled her own gun. "Now you die!" She hissed, firing a bullet into Maria's shoulder. Lark herself still had a bullet in her arm, and it caused her quite a bit of pain. She kept her aim on Maria, should she try anything stupid.

Benjamin Linus

As soon as he heard to two yelling in Russian, Benjamin knew this was a bad idea. He thought he caught a 'Die!' in there, but he wasn't that great on decyphering the words. Whatever they were saying, it couldn't be good.

When the dogs rushed out and guns were drawn, Ben took a hasty few steps back, not needing to emulate fear for this. This was an unstable situation, and he had no information on either woman. His mind swam with thoughts, zipping from one idea to the next as he tried to figure out what was best for him to do. Flee from the scene? Would Lark shoot him if he did that? No, he couldn't risk that. He would talk himself into safety... or... what if he could gain a 'member' somehow?

It was a split-second decision, but if it worked, he could fill in the void of Steve's death and add another member to the ranks of his people. Both woman obviously had vices, and he felt confident that Mikhail could find some incriminating information that could be used to manipulate Maria into joining them. Taking out his taiser gun, Ben pointed it at Lark, "Don't do anything stupid, now..."

Lark Volkov/Maria Sokolov

Lark turned her head and looked at Ben, quickly shifting her aim to him. "I think you're the one who's doing something stupid. You let a stalker right to her prey!" She replied, finger on the trigger. She shoot if she had to. There was no stopping her from doing so.

Maria didn't dare to pick up the gun with the dogs circling around her. She kept her eyes on Lark.
"Vy ubili ego!" "You killed him!" She shouted.
Lark glanced at Maria out of the corner of her eyes. "On ubil Mama!" "He killed Mom!" She shouted back.
"On ne zasluzhivaiut!" "He didn't deserve it!" Came Maria's reply.
"TIKHO!" "SILENCE!!" Lark snapped. Maria didn't say anything more after that.

Benjamin Linus

Oh great, he pulled the gun on the wrong person! On a somewhat brighter note, he could at least try to negotiate with her, as it seemed apparent she could speak English much better than the other. Taking his chances, Ben slowly lowered his tranq gun, while holding his other hand palm-up in front of him in a 'surrender' gesture, "Easy now, I don't mean any harm..." He began, trying to control his breathing and remain calm.

"I must have missunderstood the situation. I thought she was looking for a friend, so I volunteered to help..." Now he spoke more rapidly than before, hoping that Maria wouldn't be able to pick up on most of what he was saying. Lark was beginning to sound like the more likely canidate for a member. For one, she could speak English; and secondly, he doubted he could trust a stalker, as Lark accused Maria of being.

Lark Volkov/Maria Sokolov

Lark slowly relaxed and shifted her aim to Maria once more. She stood there for a moment, ready to shoot. Maria was trembling. She figured this would be the day she died. Lark fired one bullet, and Maria, seeing her chance, dodged out of the way and went running. Lark eventually lowered her weapon and looked at Ben. "She'll be back." She said, partly to herself and partly to him. "She always is..." She cringed when she moved her injured arm. "I wonder if she'll die of starvation out there. The girl can't cook to save her life." She added with a light chuckle.

Benjamin Linus

Remaining still, and thanking his lucky stars that he didn't get hurt in this confrentation, Ben searched for what to say next. "Who is she? And, if I may ask... why does she want you dead?" His sharp eyes landed on the dogs for a moment, and he knew not to make any sudden movements that may provoke an attack.

Lark Volkov

Lark sighed, but never took her eyes off Ben. "Her name is Maria Sokolov. Her father killed my mother. I killed her father after that, and now she wants to kill me. She follows me wherever I go. She even followed me all the way from Russia." Her voice was soft and rich with a Russian accent.

Benjamin Linus

An eyebrow was raised when she explained the situation, and a slight smile highlighted his face. Ben hadn't expected to learn her vices so easily. "People around here tend to carry some sort of baggage or another." He explained, referring to the fact that most people here had something dark to hide or deal with. "You must be new here; I'm Benjamin Linus..." With the tranq gun put away, the man stepped forward with an oustretched hand, offering a friendly shake.

Lark Volkov

Lark put the pistol back in her pocket, feeling a bit safer now. "I heard that this place was safer than Khabarovsk. People there usually minded their business. Except for Maria, of course." She said distantly, giving a slight laugh. She cautiously approached Ben and shook his hand. "Yeah. I'm new." She replied. "So...what do people do in Atroe City?"

Benjamin Linus

His face took on a smirking quality for a second, then resolved back into a harmless smile in the blink of an eye, "Things are... complicated here, to put it simply." She was looking for safety, perhaps privacy- he could play on that. "If there is one thing I should warn you about, it is that this town is divided amonst groups. Some are good, most are dangerous." Where he had played the ignorant fool with Maria, Ben let on to his truer nature while he spoke with Lark, though he didn't get too in depth with anything.

"We have quite a few businesses here, but I'll warn you that there is a lot of underground activity that goes on as well. Black markets, pit fighting, gambling... professions along those lines." Ben paused in his explanation, studying Lark with a false look of concern and wonder, "I tell you what, Lark. If you're interested, I am looking for more members for my club. It's a hunting organization mainly; but we're a good group of people. If anything, we can help you get settled in the Valley... maybe, maybe offer some protection from Maria and others of her kind?" Everything was said with upmost friendliness and charm.

Lark Volkov

Lark listened closely as Ben spoke. She needed to know everything about this town if she was to be safe. She herself lived in secret, rarely telling others what goes on in her life. She clipped the chain back onto her gyrfalcon's leg, then answered the man. "Sure. I'll join your club..." She replied in that same distant voice. She often enjoyed hunting, and needed all the protection she could get.

Zola, still spooked from Maria being her, tossed her head and scraped the ground with her hoof. "Davaite Vyiti otsiuda, Lark!" "Let's get out of here, Lark!" She whinnied. The girl stepped back and stroked the horse's face, calming her down. "Khoroshaia loshad'..." Lark said softly to Zola before turning back to Ben. "So who are the other members of your club?"

Benjamin Linus

The smile shifted, looking more pleased now. This was going quite smoothly. But he'd first have to see what Mikhail could dig up on this woman, just in case. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it." He assured, "Let me get a peice of paper; I'll write down my number for you..." Ben headed back to his car now, shifting through the glovebox for a scrap peice of paper.

"Members? Oh, there's quite a few. You'll probably hear of us around town - Atroe Trapping and Hunting Alliance. We do a lot of research too, if you're interested in that." He went on, as he scribbled down his cell number and handed it to Lark, "Whenever you get some free time, feel free to call me. I'll get a meeting set up, then I can introduce you to everyone."

Lark Volkov

Lark took the paper, looked at it, and put it in her pocket. "I've got free time right now." She replied with a smile. She wanted to be safe from her enemy as soon as possible. The dogs approached Ben, wagging their tails. Lark grinned. "The gray one is Anya and the brown one is Aiara. They're half-sisters." She informed.

Benjamin Linus

This wasn't quite what he wanted; but on the other hand... Lark didn't seem to be a stranger to threatening situations. And, if he were truely going to recruit her, she'd have to experience the dark side of what they did... so, he decided, he would take Lark along to his interrogation of Mike and Sasuke. Make them out to be the real enemies.

"Great, I can introduce you to a few friends of mine then." He looked to the dogs now, reaching a hand out for them to sniff. He wasn't a big dog person, but he knew how to act around them. "Would you prefere to follow me on your horse? Or take a ride in the car?"

Lark Volkov

Lark smiled and untied her horse's reins from the bike rack. "I'll ride my horse." She always preferred to go horseback than ride in a car. "Lead the way." She said, jumping up onto Zola's back. The dogs kept wagging their tails as they sniffed Ben's hand. He didn't seem like a threat. Then they turned around and walked back to where Lark and Zola stood.

Benjamin Linus

"I'll drive slow." He replied, still smiling pleasantly. After getting in the car, he headed at a moderate speed down the road, taking care to travel the roads that were less busy, so that Lark would have an easier time with Zola.

He had meant to drive to Mikhail's house, but when the Russian failed to answer his phone when it was called, he got a bad feeling. It shouldn't have taken them this long to pick up Sasuke... preparing for the worst, Ben made a detour to Carver's Bridge just to be sure all was going well.

Lark Volkov

Lark gently kicked Zola's sides and the mare started to trot. The dogs followed alongside.