Conan*Raimi

He'd been silently cursing to himself all the way here, building himself up into quite the foul mood to see the amount of manipulation the unscrupulous Ethan and Ben were subjecting Nadeem to, and forcing he, Conan, to participate in. This was particularly infuriating to him because his friend had gone so much out of his way to earn Conan's trust, knowing that the teen had a lot of issues to work through, and for Aralyn's sake, had made the attempt to get to know her brother better. And, looking back on it, he knew Nadeem had gone rather above and beyond the call of duty, so now deceiving him in this fashion had Conan in a rare temper. His facade was calm however, not daring to let it show on his face yet just how much he wanted to strangle Ben right now as he moved toward the door and knocked on it.

Benjamin Linus

The door was shortly opened, whereupon Conan was greeted with the flash of an unsincere smile, though not an altogether maliceful one. "I trust that you found I held up to my end of the bargain?" These were the first words that he gave to the boy, stepping aside to allow him into the house. "It's quite amusing," A haughty, light chuckle played from the man as he moved towards his desk, "That Mr. Tarak holds Ethan in such high reguard for saving him, when he's the one who knocked him out."

Conan*Raimi

Conan didn't offer the man so much as a greeting as he breezed past Ben into the house, making his way into the living room but not sitting down. Raimi was still propped in his place and, sensing something unfamiliar stirring in his elder brother, was silent as stone, not even looking around to take in the neutral, warm browns of the room as he quietly nuzzled his face into Conan's shoulder, in a bid to lift the strange mood his sibling seemed to be in.

But Conan seemed comfortless right now, darting Ben an admirably chilling and cold glance out of his blue eyes as Ben referenced the very topic that had the teen so riled in the first place. After a few moments of evening out his anger, the teen tried a couple words. "W-hat'dyou waaant?" Though they were still far from easy and clear, these were the most recognizable words he'd yet spoken, and they were intoned with a voice that lost no chill for its levelness.

Benjamin Linus

He wasn't quite finished with his mind game, and merely smiled a crookedly little smile to himself while he had his back momentarily turned away from the boy. "It's a good thing you choose to lie to your friend. It was either that, or let him die; I suppose it was a rather easy decision to make, when you put it that way." Benjamin went on, as if not even hearing Conan's question.

Taking his sweet time to straighten up a few knicknacks on his desk, the sharp-eyed man finally devoted his full attention to the red-head, his words a little sharper and more pointed now, "I wanted to congratulate you on a job well done. Murdering someone is quite the task, but you handled it very... professionally." The words sounded far from congradulatory or appeasing, "What I need for you to do now is return home with the Wallocks and lay low for a while until I see that things are working out as I planned them too." The man was taking a seat at his desk now, flipping through a journal. After a moment, he spared a cusual comment to Conan, "And I know you won't doing anything rash or stupid before I get in touch with you next. It'd be a shame if you lost one of the few friends you have here."

Conan*Raimi

Something cold settled deep in Conan's chest at the casual value Ben put to the words that described the thing that the teen most keenly regretted in his life, thus far. Well, perhaps murdering Carl was slightly behind involving Aralyn in his troubles, but he still was very unhappy that he'd been forced to take a life, something which ordinarily went completely against his morals. Which did absolutely nothing to improve his already sour mood. So he brandished a notepad and pen, and scrawled thereon, balancing it awkwardly against the weight of his brother, but not about to put the toddler down. When finished, he tossed the pad in Ben's general direction.

IF YOU WANT MY CONTINUED COMPLIANCE, YOU'LL TELL ME WHAT NADEEM'S IGNORANCE HAS TO DO WITH THIS, AND WHAT EXACTLY YOUR INTENTIONS ARE FOR HIM. YOU KNOW VERY WELL THAT I DISAGREE WITH LYING TO HIM WHEN I HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT IT WILL HAVE NO BENEFIT. I THINK YOU OWE ME SOME ANSWERS, BENJAMIN LINUS.

If only he could understand that Ben was trying to save his hide, the teen might be a little more friendly about the situation, but at the moment, he was finding it difficult to be complacent and continue to do all these deeds that conflicted with his morals.

Benjamin Linus

"Owe you something?" The man turned slowly to Conan, giving a sparse little scoff to accentuate his incredulous tenured voice, "You are the one who dragged Aralyn into this mess, and you think I owe you something?" With swift, timeless proficiency, Benjamin turned the blamed expertly back on Conan. Benjamin shook his head slowly, finally raising a thin brow and straightening his face into a serious and stoic facade, "But since you seem to need further reasoning, I'll enlighten you. First, I'll point out that Mr. Tarak wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't dragged him into that lovely fiasco with the CrypticSilvers." It was an all-out lie, with the duel purpose of laying more blame and guilt on Conan, and at the same time covering up the real reason he was using the unwitting Arab in the plot. He was, so far, a rather perfect bit of leverage to get Conan to comply.

"He is nothing as far as I am concerned, and so long as you continued to play your role, I have no further dealings with the man. And as for why he needs to remain ignorant - the simple fact is that I cannot afford to have just anyone knowing who I am and what I do." Those bright, soul-piercing blue eyes were held unwaveringly at Conan, completely unflinching at the boy's current mood. "Will that be all?"

Conan*Raimi

The words stung Conan a bit, as they were meant to do, but this time, he simply wasn't buying Ben's bluff. So he stood firm against the whip of the older man's words, noting that he felt a strange sort of power as he realized that he now was taller than Ben, and broader of shoulder. But physical wrestling with him, which was how most young men thus blessed solved their problems, was simply not an option for the pacifist Conan. So he turned his theorized knowledge against him as he took up the pad again.

THAT'S TOO SHALLOW A PLAN FOR YOU, BEN. FOR ONE, I DRAGGED HIM IN BECAUSE HE CARES ABOUT ARALYN, AND BECAUSE I KNEW YOU WOULDN'T HELP ME GET RAIMI BACK. AND SECOND, I ONLY ASKED MY QUESTION BECAUSE I WANTED TO CONFIRM A THEORY. YOUR DENIAL HAS CONFIRMED IT. ARALYN LIKES NADEEM. A LOT. AND YOU KNOW IT. YOU KNEW IT ALL ALONG, AND YOU KNOW THAT I KNOW IT. SO YOU'RE TRYING TO USE THAT AS DOUBLE LEVERAGE AGAINST ME. BUT WHAT YOU HAVEN'T ACCOUNTED FOR IS THAT IF SHE EVER CATCHES YOU AT IT, YOU'LL HURT HER WORSE THAN I HAVE IN LETTING HER GET INVOLVED IN MY FAMILY'S AFFAIRS. IF ANYBODY'S DRAGGING HER INTO SOMETHING, IT'S YOU, NOT ME.

That probably wasn't the smartest way to end his accusation, but his temper had gotten the better of him, mostly because he was so fed up with the elaborate schemes that Ben was dreaming up to keep everyone guessing around him. But there was one thing for sure: neither he nor Ben wanted the girl to get hurt. She was far too precious to both of them. That was what had gotten them both into this mess.

Benjamin Linus

The mask of emotional control shifted slightly, bringing forth the flicker of bitter animosity to the man's relentless gaze. It was only the tip of the iceberg as to the feelings that sweltered under his carefully concealed self, but the brief flare up was enough to show that Conan had hit a rather prominent nerve. And knowing full well that he'd just blown an aspect of himself, and more or less confirmed that Conan's theories were true, Ben let this vague fury taint his clipped words, "You're wiser than I initially gave you credit for, Rasputin." He stood up now, looking up in glaring defiance at the younger one that stood above him, "But I know as well as you that you wouldn't dare tell her about this." The control reigned back into his statement, even though his features were frighteningly intense, "Because you will have to admit that you have lied to her just as much as I have, and that you, not me, were the first to get Tarak involved in an event that could very well have seen the both of you at the bottom of the river. I only got involved to clean up the mess you started."

Conan*Raimi

For one brief, shining moment, the situation was reversed, with the ordinarily submissive teen in firm control and treasuring the silent victory that Ben's eyes betrayed to him. So he wouldn't even let Ben's return attack daunt him much as he replied with just as much spirit.

YOU GROW WISE, WHEN YOU'VE LIVED A LIFE LIKE MINE. NOW YOU KNOW WHO EXACTLY YOU'RE DEALING WITH. I WILL NOT BE PACIFIED BY YOUR EXCUSES.

He let the elder man consider this much before he added more.

NO. YOU GOT INVOLVED BECAUSE YOU HAVE YOUR OWN ULTERIOR MOTIVE. YOUR OWN AGENDA. PERHAPS NOT DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THIS PARTICULAR EVENT, BUT AN AGENDA IT IS, NEVERTHELESS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, AND I HONESTLY DON'T CARE, BUT IF YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE THIS BARGAIN WE'VE STRUCK, YOU WILL LEAVE NADEEM OUT OF IT UNLESS HIS ACTION DIRECTLY ENHANCES ARALYN'S SAFETY. BEST THAT NO MORE INNOCENTS GET INVOLVED IN THIS MESS THAT WE'VE CREATED.

Benjamin Linus

It wasn't often that he was spoken to like this, but both Conan and Cassidy had worked under his skin at least one point and gotten him to drop his cleverly built defenses. And both because they had struck that one particular nerve that could shake his resolve and allow his emotions to briefly overrule logic.

"Lets get one thing straight, Conan - it is not 'our' mess. You created it, you alone, and no one else." He was sizing up the boy now, unfaltering and undeterred by the fact that Conan was a good deal stronger than him, "I could just as easily back off and let the CS deal with you, and I would be getting rid of a whole lot of trouble. So if you want my help, which I assure you, you need - you'd best understand that you are in no position to be telling me just what the bargains are in this."

Conan*Raimi

Raimi, this entire time, had sat so quietly on his brother's hip, completely ignored in this argument the two were having. And though he'd been silent the whole time, the building and building of Conan's fury and the continued baiting of Ben was something that affected the toddler a great deal. So Ben's final accusation, which sparked not only anger, but shame in Conan, dissolved his little brother into tears.

And that, in its turn, brought the cold chill to Conan's face, which he let pierce into Ben as he shifted his brother's weight in order to move him to a position where he could wrap both arms around the kid and comfort him. And with this action, the balance shifted again, and the elder man was once again in control. The blue eyes that slashed into their counterparts in Ben's face were heated with anger, for if there was any way to arouse his fury, it was by upsetting Aralyn or Raimi. That Ben had reduced the kid to tears, with or without intention, made Conan's hold on his intelligent attack falter. So as he hummed under his breath into Raimi's ear, trying to calm the toddler, he too sized up Ben, just waiting for the man to finish whatever thought it was that he'd just started.

Benjamin Linus

Whatever effects of Raimi's crying had on Benjamin were never revealed. His emotions had been unveiled enough already, and they weren't about to be brought out again; instead, it was that cold and calculated look that he continued to fix Conan with, while at the same time seeing and confirming just the best ways to rattle and manipulate Conan. The boy's desire to protect those close to him, above all else, played him right into Ben's hands.

"I think you have a family to return home to. Let us hope that I'll be able to say that in the days to come." The hinted threat was laid out just like that, bold and daring.

Conan*Raimi

His heated glare intensified at this second threat, and he didn't need either his fingers or the paper to remind Ben exactly what would happen if anyone that he cared for got hurt in this plot. It probably still rang fresh in the man's mind: I will, I promise, finish the job I started the day I met you. He allowed this gaze to rest on the shorter man for a long time before he abruptly turned on his heel and was out the door, favoring leaving the premises instead of socking Ben a good one, which was what he really wanted to do. The notepad he'd scrawled his words on, he left in the middle of the floor as he headed back for the Wallocks house, leaving the door standing open behind him.