Benjamin Linus

Ben was by himself today, quietly enjoying a lunch of chicken-fried steak and a side of rice and peas. After getting through most of his meal and flagging down a waitress for a to-go box, the man adjusted a pair of glasses over his blue eyes, giving him a better view of the newspaper he was opening up to read. He first perused over the headlining articles before flipping through to see the list of citations and arrests, with a few mentioned names quirking a meager grin from Ben. He knew most people in this town to some degree or another, and what reading the daily happenings helped to keep him up to date, especially since he didn't share the same privileges as the CrypticSilvers, and didn't have a cozy relationship with the Atroe City Police force to get his information from.

*People*

Lunch was a fairly busy time at the small cafe, with most of the patrons seeking the shade and coolness of the indoor quarters as the weather got hotter. But there were still customers outside as well, and seated only a few feet from Ben at the nearest table was an older couple, talking quietly over their meal. The gentleman of the pair was tall and gaunt in shape, though with a bit of a beer belly positioned in such a way that it would make him look ridiculous when standing up, and make one wonder whether he would tip over from the weight of it. His crown was bald, with a thin pasting of white hair all the way around in monk-like fashion, and the skin on his head full of liver spots; his eyes hid behind a pair of thick, very ancient looking horn-rimmed glasses. The lady seated across from him - presumably his spouse - was much shorter than he, and had the neat, trim figure of the sort of woman who is determined not to let her age decrease her femininity. Fully bedecked in modest but stylish clothing, which all of her make-up perfectly applied as if she were much younger and trying to attract a man, the only flaw in the woman was her obviously-died hair; rather than surrendering her mane to a dignified silver, she'd died it the most impossible shade of reddish-brown that wouldn't have looked real or even good upon her even if she'd been twenty years younger. They sat chatting and working through their meals quietly enough, and if he listened, Ben would hear the woman occasionally henpecking the man about certain foods that were on his plate that he oughtn't to eat, because the doctor had told him to watch his cholesterol, etc. It wasn't until they were nearly finished that the woman swiveled in her seat and lay her eyes upon the solitary man in his seat, giving him a benevolent, heavily-lipsticked smile. "Mr. Linus," she prompted quietly, just as though she'd been aware of his presence all along, "Won't you join us?"

Benjamin Linus

With a keen eye for detail and razor sharp perception, the couple hadn't gone without notice by Benjamin. This was a pair he wasn't familiar with, neither by face nor by name, and with casual interest, he listened to what snippets of their conversation he could catch. For the most part, there was little of interest, and he was catching no mentioned names, friends or otherwise, from the couple that might help him pin their identity down. He was all for switching his focus back to the paper when the woman caught him off guard by inviting him to her table. What surprise he felt was hid behind a smile and mildly questioning look. "Why of course..." Playing sociable and friendly, Benjamin took his time in getting up, and held a hand out to the woman's in an offer to shake, while trailing off, "...my appologies, you have my name but I don't seem to have yours?" His mind worked frantically - had he merely forgotten who this people where, and had met them before? Or had they heard of him through someone else?

*People*

The old woman's smile was benevolent as she shook his hand with a loose, kind of feeble old-lady grip and motioned him to the only vacant chair at their table. She gave a tinkling little laugh to his mildly-voiced confusion, and her companion shook his head quietly, smiling vaguely but not speaking yet. It was the woman who went on to reply to him. "Never you mind, dear," she chuckled, with the sort of gentle, amused quality that one would usually mark in a grandmother who is speaking to a small child. "There's no reason you should know us... we're just everyday people. It's you whose name is known around these parts, through your business." Now, she could have been speaking of the mines he kept as a front - or to the other, less presentable workings that he used that as a cover for. But she didn't specify, and instead moved right along. "My name's Isabelle Wallace - but everyone calls me Izzy, and be sure you do the same, dear; 'Mrs. Wallace' sounds so formal. Gerry's called me Izzy for thirty-six years, haven't you, Gerry?" The old man nodded, and took a careful sip of his drink - raspberry lemonade, as a perfect complement to the hot weather. "Something to drink? You don't strike me as a steady alcohol consumer, but perhaps a soda or one of the lemonades? I also understand they have a nice selection of fruit juices here."

Benjamin Linus

Heightened suspicion and wariness were coursing through his thoughts, yet mindfully kept restricted from his actions and outward appearance. To express the depth of his confusion was to make himself vulnerable, and when he didn't know who these people where or what - if anything - they were capable of, Ben wanted to maintain an air of confidence. "That's quite the distinction, but I don't consider myself anything other than one of this town's 'everyday' people." He pleasantly and politely discouraged the notion that he was someone prominent in this city, while thinking rapidly about why she'd said that. "I find water the most refreshing on days like this." His smile looked genuine when he responded to this question, and mellowed only a little when he brought up a question himself, "Is there anything I can help you with, Izzy, Gerry?"

Isabelle

"Well then, we're on the same level, aren't we?" The woman answered, agreeing with Ben's description of himself as an 'everyday person' just as though she hadn't suggested he was special only a moment ago. She paused in her conversation to flag down a waiter and order a water for Ben, and was just about to speak when a rather loud crash was heard - the sound of tearing metal made it obvious that there had been a collision of some sort, probably a few blocks down the street, as the noise was startling, but not deafening. It made the waiter look up with a flinch of surprise and slight alarm - but it might be noted that neither of the man's companions even glanced that way. Whether they were hard of hearing as their age might suggest, or simply ignoring the sound, it was impossible to tell. But she calmly waited for the waiter's attention to return to her before she repeated her request for a glass of water, just as though nothing had happened, and when he'd left them again - with a slight over-the-shoulder glance to the direction the great tumult had come from - she went on, "I believe that we share a misfortune, Mr. Linus. There is a certain person in your life as well as mine that we'd both be much better off without. That little accident just took care of one half of the problem - and I wonder whether you would be good enough to help us take care of the other."

Benjamin Linus

In the few moments that he'd gotten acquainted with the pair, the more he became suspicious and distinctly uncomfortable. He was use to having the upper hand, to having all the information he needed before hand. To be caught in the reverse of that was not only frustrating to Mr. Linus, it was also threatening, as he knew he had his enemies. Still, the middle-aged man kept his charm and didn't give up his psuedo-smile until the sound of a crash caught his attention and drew his blue eyes towards the front windows of the store in an effort to locate the source of the collision. What startled him more than that, and finally got a change in his demeanor, was what Isabelle had to say next. The smile abruptly fizzled out now that he knew it was pointless to keep it up, "I'm not one to turn down help when it's offered." Briefly, the smile flashed again, but this time the calculating look in his eyes was not hidden - he had his work face on. "Might I ask who it is we're speaking of?"

Isabelle*Others

"Relax, Benjamin... we're all allies here," Izzy murmured, as the smile he'd held melted away from his features. He hadn't looked alarmed or uncertain by any means, but nevertheless she assured him - without revealing whether she could read the discomfort in him, or whether she simply was making a general comment in the assumption that he might not like the conversation they were having. Either way though, she finally looked toward the direction of the accident, listening to the wealth of honking that signified the traffic that was building up behind the wreck, and the wail of sirens over it all. "You sent a congratulatory gift to a certain young lady of our acquaintance several months ago, in celebration of the birth of her child. We have certain politically-inclined reasons to want her out of the way, and her child's custody countermanded over to us. But she has too many influential allies for us to strike at alone; we have just eliminated one, at least for the next several months, and we were hoping that between your influence and ours, we might eliminate the other major one, and she would be easy to disable at that point. With her signed away in an institution of some sort, her influence here would be ceased, and you more free to operate in the area. Not to mention the impact it would have upon the gang itself - and with sufficient care, you could complete the strike without ever them knowing that it was you, and without risking a counterstrike, because all of the responsibility would fall to Gerry and I."

Benjamin Linus

The moment she mentioned 'young lady' and the gift, Benjamin knew exactly who they were speaking of, and had a quick list of those likely to have been in the wreck they'd all just heard. Johann and Laurence were the first to suspects, and though he was immensely curious about that, he wanted to approach this whole offer cautiously and not take it too fast. Best to first make sure her offer was sincere, and that she wasn't setting him up in anyway. "That's a very interesting and enticing proposal you make, and as I said, I'm not one to turn down such opportunities to benefit myself when they arise. Having the gang in calamity and their information specialist out of the picture would be a great boon." Benjamin took his glass of water and idly gave it a swirl without taking a drink out of it yet. "Pardon me for asking, but what benefits do you get out of this? If you're seeking the child's adoption, you must be relatives?"

Isabelle*Others

"I figured you might be interested," the old woman answered, keeping her voice low without noticeably doing so, as people would be more likely to stare and try to listen if she were whispering. "It would be quite the advantage to you, to have your largest hindrance in this city crippled; you know that even the mayor and the police force depend somewhat upon their computer geek." She smiled pleasantly, as though that were merely a polite comment on how well Mr. Linus looked, and then laughed aloud, an odd, disjointed sort of sound that turned a couple of heads at the curiousness of it, but aroused no suspicions. "Relatives? Oh no, heavens no! We represent the relatives." She shook her head some, and went on, "I'm sure you've noticed, on occasion, that the lady in question has a slight Italian accent? She speaks it fluently, and there is significance to it, but far more than even she realizes herself. And before he lost his voice, the child's older half-brother had a distinct Cockney leaning, as I'm sure you recall, with your famous attention-to-detail. The child of those two families stands to come into a lot of power and affluence in two different countries, if you take my meaning. But only if placed in the right hands."

Benjamin Linus

The story they provided sounded plausible enough to him, and certainly her behavior at keeping things casual-appearing to the other patrons of the diner left an impression that she knew well what she was doing. Keeping up with the front they were putting on to keep others from getting curious of their conversation, Benjamin smiled in response to Isabel's laughter and briefly squinted his eyes to further pull of the look of amusement. "The power the child will inherit must be something, if they're willing to risk an assault on this town's most influential gang." He kept away from using the gang's name, knowing it was sure to catch attention if anyone overheard it. "Before I'm willing to make a deal, I'd like to know what precisely is expected on my end." Ben was still cautious about this, mostly due to them knowing more about him than he did of them.

Isabelle*Others

That coy little smile was back, and it favored Ben in a jesting way. "With two such prominent nations involved, I daresay your guess is not ill-founded," was the sly answer, and accompanied by a fluttery gesture that was meant more for the effect on the spectators than it was for the man himself. It allowed her to appear to the masses as an overly-friendly, perhaps somewhat-scatterbrained older person of the kind that one would listen to for hours on end - mostly because she seemed so kind and harmless that one couldn't bear to try to stop the endless chattering, no matter how patience-taxing it might become. Only Ben and the quiet, bored looking Gerry knew the difference. "Besides, this is only one town, and they are only one gang - they have very little power outside these city limits. Do you really think that they have need to worry about such a frivolous little thing, with the power they possess? Your infamous gang will become completely lost in the swirl of world-encompassing politics." On the business end however, she quieted some, and fixed the younger man with a quiet, keen gaze. "What we need from you is very simple; we know who is close to her and we know their weaknesses, but while we have our own form of power, we cannot go about this mission with the kind of... subtlety... that you are so famous for, Benjamin. In the end, our organization will take full responsibility and draw any attention away from you, but during the operation itself, we need secrecy and silence... a quality which you have ready at your hand, with your affluence and influence. We need you to help us eliminate or at the least temporarily remove from power the other key person in this equation, by any means necessary. He needn't suffer any injury, if you do not wish to risk attention coming to you - bringing up significant enough questions to make her doubt his care and his intentions, and push him away from his trusted place with her for a while, will be plenty sufficient."

Benjamin Linus

The coy smile and jesting edge it carried aroused no uneasiness from the man as it might have done to others. If they had been in more secure surroundings with less eyes to chance their way, he might have taken on a much more serious, unfaltering facade that would give her no leverage on what he was feeling or thinking. In this scenario however, it was necessary to continue to play the part of a friend having a casual chat, and thus he had a light smile to greet her's. "I wouldn't say their reach is restricted solely to this town." Ben adjusted his glasses again, pushing them back a little along his nose and speaking casually, "But perhaps in comparison to who is striking against them, the gang's influence and power are still insignificant." He didn't elaborate on this, or expand on what more he may or may not know, but given his own abilities here and the way he worked, it was a given that he knew more about the CrypticSilver than most. "What you ask is incredibly risky, but not past my abilities. If you play your part in keeping attention off of me, I can do it. Is there a deadline you have set for this.. task?"

Isabelle*Others

"Not solely," Isabelle admitted, dotting her head a little and offering an acquiescent grin, "But mostly, yes. Suffice it to say that our organization is big enough - and theirs small enough - where they pose little to no threat to us." Gerry grunted a little, and took another sip of his drink, which looked to be a kind of fruit juice cocktail of some sort. He'd been wordless this whole time, only nodding to all that she said, when she prompted his opinion, but the matter of a time frame made him look up, not at Ben, but at the old woman seated between them. He remained wordless though, and Izzy didn't acknowledge them either - instead, she spoke to the younger man. "We are not quite so concerned with timing as we are with firm results, Ben. The child is nine months of age now - we can afford to give you until her first birthday, if you are most thorough in your job. We want the young woman isolated... to feel like she has no allies in the protection of her child. That, I believe, will be enough to enhance some already-present neurotic characteristics in her, and make our intent of seeing her securely put away much easier. After all, Mr. Linus... you've a daughter of your own; would you not go to any lengths to keep her safe? We're counting on her relationship with the child not being any different - so focused upon keeping the child with her, I doubt seriously that her precarious grip will hold for long, if her support system falls away from her." Of course, her touch upon Aralyn might have just been for the purpose of comparison - but it also might have been a distinct reminder to the man that they knew more about him than he did about them, and thus could make his life very troublesome and even painful, if he chose to be difficult; it was a subtle warning not to try and back stab them.

Benjamin Linus

'She's either bluffing, or they really are powerful.' Benjamin thought to himself, all behind his mask of indifference. If they were more powerful, which he suspected was the case, then they had more of an ability to help keep the heat off of him, as she'd suggested. Yet on that same note, if they were really powerful... they could present a threat to him and his organization too. For now, he wanted to keep playing it safe, and though he took every step here with caution, he was optimistic about bringing about a good result for himself if he cooperated with these strangers. "Before the child's first birthday, her mother will find herself alone, and without the support that has kept her on the side of sanity so far." He agreed to the terms with that simple reply, even if he wasn't entirely comfortable with the situation yet. That comfort dropped markedly when Isabelle vaguely referenced Arayln, and where once he'd been on the fence about viewing her as a possible ally, she'd immediately become an enemy with those few words. Ben flashed a brief smile that was anything but friendly, "There are no depths I wouldn't go to to ensure her safety." He was cautious not to show the extent of anger that she'd riled in him, and also not to make his almost sweetly spoken reply too forceful - the last thing he wanted to do was to let them know how much it had rattled him, because that would show them his keenest weakness. His reply also had the same meaning as her own - that he wasn't afraid of her implied threat, and that he wasn't going to be bullied into fear.

Isabelle*Others

"Then we understand each other perfectly, Benjamin," the woman answered, softening her grin into a smile of fondness, as if she were completely unaware that the suggested threat to Aralyn might have riled him a little bit. "You will know best how to get to her, I think - you know exactly how she feels about looking after her child." And just that smoothly, she completely ignored the heavy suggestion he'd dropped in relation to the comment on his own daughter, pretending as though she did not believe his implied return threat to be dangerous. She also avoided, in her careful wording, ever acknowledging that she'd implied any danger to Aralyn, keeping her words under the guise of an idle comment, like 'You are so fond of your daughter', which really held no ominous import unless spoken by someone like him. She let out a round of low, tinkling laughter, and stood, offering her hand with impish enjoyment. "So glad to be working with you, Mr. Linus," she gushed, prompting Gerry to stand as if in preparation of leaving. "I have no doubt your ventures will be of great value to all of us."

Benjamin Linus

It did unnerve him a tremendous agree how she so smoothly worked past his underlying threat and warning, and showed absolutely no sign of emotion that she was the least bit afraid or wary. If not for Aralyn's sudden involvement, he might have taken this with a bit of thrill, enjoying the rare event in which someone could match his own mental games strike for strike, but there was no enjoyment for him when his 'daughter' was threatened. It was serious, and it was personal - yet that didn't mean that he wasn't going to carry out the task that they'd asked of him, only that he would be watching them very closely. "The pleasure is all mine." Benjamin stood on cue and met Isabelle's hand in a firm shake, after putting aside his more volatile feelings without ever showing a hint of them. "I'm glad you've taken the time to speak with me today. You can be assured that everything will be handled in a timely fashion."

Isabelle*Others

"Here... you can reach us at this telephone number," the woman prompted, reaching into the small, front zipper pouch of her purse and drawing out a small slip of paper. It wasn't a local number, or connected with any of the nearby towns, but that was all that could be gotten from a glance; if they were to be believed, it was likely a foreign cellular telephone number. "If you need to discuss details, or suddenly find yourself in a jam that you require aid to get out of, give us a ring. Your girl's at the hospital by now, I'd guess - and presuming our man did his job, he'll be there a good while, which will not only set a crimp in her confidence, but will seriously compromise gang communication for some time. You're welcome." She grinned again, but the smile snapped away as she turned to the older man. "Come, Gerry - we've other matters to attend to today." As he rummaged his wallet out of his pocket and lay money on the table to cover everything, almost in the way a servant might, she turned her smile back to Ben. "We have utmost confidence in you. Goodbye, Mr. Linus. I trust this will be a profitable matter for all of us." And without further ado, she took Gerry's arm, and the two of them flounced away, disappearing into a rather ordinary-looking burgundy vehicle, which rolled slowly to the end of the street, and then turned a corner out of sight.