SEASON 3 EPISODE 13 - The Man From Tallahassee

Written by Drew Goddard & Jeff Pinkner

Directed by Jack Bender                                           Transcripts Courtesy of 

[Flashback of paperwork being checked over by a government employee. The paperwork is an application for disability insurance. The reviewer is talking to Locke who is seated across from her desk. Her name tag says Tamara Fry]

Tamara  Name?

Locke  John Locke

Tamara  Marital status, Mr. Locke?

Locke  Uh, Single.

Tamara  Girlfriend?

Locke  No.

Tamara  Are your parents living?

Locke  I...I was raised in foster care. I never really knew my parents.

Tamara  Have you ever considered seeking out your biological parents?

Locke  Uhhh....I don't see how that's relevant?

Tamara  It's relevant, Mr. Locke, because if the government's going to continue paying your disability insurance I have to figure out whether or not your condition has improved! So, how's your appetite?

Locke  Fine.

Tamara  I see you've stopped submitting your therapy bills for reimbursement.

Locke  It's because I stopped going. Waste of time.

[Tamara considers for a moment then stamps Locke's paperwork with the words "BENEFITS SUSPENDED"]

Tamara  It's just a temporary suspension Mr. Locke. As soon as you resume your sessions you can reapply.

Locke  You think I'm temporarily disabled?

Tamara  Depression can be temporary, yes. And since you seem fit to stop going to therapy I guess you are all better!

Locke  Guess I am...

[Locke stands and walks away from Tamara's desk]

Tamara  Next!

[Cut to Barracks exterior. Locke, Sayid, Kate and Danielle are secretly watching The Others and Jack. Tom and Jack are throwing a football while others walk around]

Tom [In the distance] Over here!

[Jack throws the football to Tom]

Kate [whispering loudly] Why's he doing....

Locke Sh sh sh sh!

[Tom throws the football back to Jack who is jogging toward the group's hiding spot]

Tom [As Jack catches the ball] Good hands!

[Danielle turns and walks away, unnoticed by Sayid, Kate or Locke. Juliet comes toward Jack and Tom, all smiles]

Juliet  Jack!

[Jack turns and throws the football to her. She catches it and tosses it to Tom but continues walking toward Jack]

Kate [Whispering] She's the one who helped me and Sawyer escape.

[Tom throws the football to Jack. Juliet walks up to Jack and holds his arm in her hand]

Jack [In the distance] What's up?

Juliet  I think it's going to be a while...

[Jack and Juliet continue talking. Sayid turns and notices that Danielle is missing and starts to go look for her]

Kate  Hey! What?

Sayid  Danielle...

Kate  John, Rousseau's gone!

[Locke starts walking around the edge of the bushes and trees they are hiding in, trying to get a better view of Jack and Juliet who have walked away toward one of the houses. Kate and Sayid follow him. Locke pulls out a pair of binoculars and watches as Jack shakes hands with Ben who is in a wheelchair. Jack, Ben and Juliet all appear to be on very good terms]

Locke  This is going to be more complicated than we thought.

[Cut to shot of Kate loading ammunition into her rifle. The group have moved further away from the Barracks to keep from being detected]

Sayid  So what exactly are you saying? We simply start shooting people and hope for the best?!

Kate  We came here to rescue Jack and that's what we're going to do!

Sayid  Obviously the circumstances have changed. He may not want to be rescued!

Kate  That is not him! That is not Jack! They must have done something to him. When they captured us, they drugged us.

Sayid  He didn't appear to be drugged Kate.

Kate  They kidnapped him! Held him prisoner! He wouldn't just forget that.

Sayid  I agree. But until we know why...we're putting our lives at risk!

Kate  I'm not leaving him Sayid!

Sayid  You may not have a choice!

Locke [Pointing out the obvious] It's Jack! The first time I saw him he was risking his life pulling people out of burning airplane wreckage. If he's shaking hand's with The Others I'm sure he has a good reason. We just have to go down there and find out what it is.

Sayid  What do you suggest?

Locke  We wait until it's dark. We approach Jack when he's alone. And if he wants out, we get him out.

[Flashback to Locke sitting in his apartment. He is eating while watching the television which is not visible on camera. Two women are speaking]

Television Woman 1  Here's what we know, Crystal. The Bolivian gold deposits were stolen last night around 2 AM.

Television Woman 2  Umm, that means...the Cobra! He's back! [Shots are fired]

Television Woman 1  Get down!

Television Woman 2  Have you been shot?

Television Woman 1 I can't find him!

Television Woman 2 There! Behind Winged Victory! I can see his arms!

Television Woman 1 I can get him!

[A knock at the door disturbs Locke. He goes to the door and opens it. A young man is standing there]

Peter Hello. John Locke?

Locke I'm sorry. No solicitors. [pointing at a sticker on his door that says NO SOLICITING] I have a sign.

Peter Ah...I'm not...I'm not trying to sell you any...listen, my name's Peter Talbot. I, I...I just need a couple of minutes to talk to you.

Locke Talk to me about what?

Peter My mother, actually. I think she might be in some trouble.

Locke You've got the wrong John Locke.

[Locke begins closing the door]

Peter How many kidneys do you have?

[Cut to shot of Locke making a cup of instant coffee in his apartment]

Peter She met him 2 months ago. Love at first site, is what she said. Guy was charming, sweet, funny. His name's Adam Seward. He's a retired computer entrepreneur from Ontario. Anyway, Adam had something...special. My mom just went gaga for him right out of the gate. After 2 months of knowing him, she agrees to marry the guy. And something about him it...something in my gut told me he was after something so I...I had to check him out.

Locke Well, I'm not sure what any of this has to do with me?

Peter Well, what this has to do with you, Mr. Locke, is that you donated one of your kidneys to Adam Seward. Only his name was different back then. He used to be Anthony Cooper.

[Peter hands Locke a picture of Anthony Cooper and Mrs. Talbot. It is definitely the same man who Locke thinks is his father]

Peter  All I could find were his medical records. And I saw that he was the recipient of a kidney transplant from...you...so I figured, hey, someone gave the guy his kidney. How bad could he be? Right?

Locke  Well, it...it was an anonymous donation. I never met him.

Peter  Are you sure?

Locke  Yeah. I'm sorry. I can't help you.

[Cut to Barracks exterior at night. Locke is watching the Barracks through binoculars while Kate and Sayid hide with him. They watch as Juliet escorts Jack to Jacks' new house and says goodnight. Jack goes inside and Juliet leaves]

Locke  [Whispering] Sayid, you guard the front. I'll go around and cover the back. [Speaking to Kate] You head in through the side door.

Kate  I'm going in alone?

Locke  It's better if you're the first one he sees.

[Kate, Sayid and Locke head out toward the house. Kate goes in through the side door. Jack is sitting in the living room playing a piano softly. Kate approaches him from the back. He turns and sees her]

Kate  Hi.

Jack  What are you doing here?

Kate  I came to get you.

Jack  Get out of here! Right now. Go.

Kate  Jack!

Jack  Kate! They're watching me!

[Kate looks up and there is a camera pointed down at them from the ceiling]

Jack  Get out of here!

Kate  I'm not leaving you!

Jack  Yes you are!

[The door slams open and two men enter with guns drawn]

Man  Get down! Get down!

Ryan   Get down! Get her down!

[The first man grabs Kate and forces her to the floor]

Jack  Don't hurt her! Don't hurt her!

Ryan   Step back, Doc. Step. Back.

[Two other men enter the room with Sayid and throw him on the floor]

Ryan   Hold him still!

Kate  Jack! Jack?! Jack!

[Jack stands back and lets the men subdue Kate and Sayid]

Ryan   [speaking to Kate while pointing a gun at her head] Who else is with you?

Kate  Jack?

Jack  Just answer the question, Kate.

Ryan   Ok, one more time. [he cocks the gun] Who else is with you?

Kate  Nobody. Nobody else. It was just us.

[Cut to shot of Ben sleeping in bed. Something awakens him but he doesn't see anything. He raises his electric bed to a more upright position and looks around the dark room]

Ben  Alex?

[Ben leans over and turns on his bedside lamp. Locke walks up from a corner pointing his gun at Ben]

Ben  John!

Locke  Shhhh. [whispering] Keep your voice down.

Ben  [Calmly] All right. It's all right, John. You don't have to point the gun at me. I can tell you where Jack is.

Locke  I'm not looking for Jack. I'm looking for the submarine. The submarine...where is it?

Ben  I'm not sure what you mean, John. What submarine?

Locke  The one you use to travel to and from the island. The one your man Mikhail told me about...right before I killed him.

Alex  [Outside Ben's bedroom door] Dad? Who are you talking to?

Ben  Alex, don't come in here!

[Locke crosses to the door and opens it. Alex is standing there. From the front door of the house comes a loud knocking. Locke looks at the front door, then grabs Alex and forces her into Ben's bedroom]

Alex  What...what...dad...ahh!

[Locke grabs her from behind and covers her mouth with his hand]

Locke  [Speaking to Ben] Tell her to be quiet!

Ben  Alex! Please!

Tom   [From outside the front door] Ben?! You awake?!

[Locke drags Alex into a closet in Ben's bedroom]

Alex  No! Oooh!

Tom   [From outside the front door] I'm coming in!

[Tom and another man walk into the room. Only Tom is visible to Locke as he watches from the closet door]

Ben  What is it?

Tom   It's Austen and Jarrah. They're here. Somehow they found us.

Ben  Where are they now?

Tom   We captured them. We're holding them over at my place. Want me to help you get out there?

Ben  No. Separate them. I want to know how they found us.

Tom   What about Juliet and Shephard? Tomorrow in the morning...

Ben  Let me worry about that. Just go.

Tom   Got it.

Ben  Richard? Wait a minute.

Tom   I'll wait outside.

[Tom leaves and Richard comes closer to Ben's bed. He is in shadows and his features are not visible]

Ben  I want you to bring me the man from Tallahassee.

Richard Alpert  What do you need him for?

Ben  Just do it. Now.

Richard Alpert  Ok.

[Richard leaves. Locke and Alex come out of the closet]

Locke  The man from Tallahassee? What is that...some kind of code?

Ben  No, John, unfortunately we don't have a code for "There's a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter's head". Although...we obviously should.

Locke  Sayid...he had a pack with him. [Pointing at Alex] I want her to retrieve it.

Ben  [Confused] Okay...[more for Alex's benefit] But you should know that my daughter currently hates me. So I'm not sure holding me hostage is your best option.

Alex  Dad! [Speaking to Locke] I'll get your bag.

[Alex walks out the door. Flashback to flower shop where Anthony Cooper, aka Adam Seward, and Mrs. Talbot are picking out flowers for the wedding. Locke walks in the doors unnoticed and makes his way across the store, directly opposite Cooper but not visible to Mrs. Talbot]

Mrs. Talbot  [Speaking to a sales assistant] I'm looking for something really stunning, something that will grab everyone's attention on the table. Honey? What do you think of this one?

[Mrs. Talbot holds up a flower place setting as Cooper walks over]

Anthony   That looks good. What do you think?

Mrs. Talbot  I like it. Maybe just a little larger.

Anthony   Yeah.

[Cooper looks up and sees Locke staring at him from the other side of the store]

Anthony   Larger would be good. Um...I'll go over there and take a look.

[Cooper walks over to Locke. There are out of Mrs. Talbot's sight]

Anthony   Hello, John.

Locke  Gonna be a big to-do, or just the 2 of you and a preacher? I guess you couldn't invite me, huh. That would make for...awkward introductions.

Anthony  How did you even know that I was going to...

Locke  I know...because her son came to me and asked why I gave you a kidney. He's on to you. But he doesn't have any proof, so he came to me, hoping I would vouch for you.

Anthony  What did you say to him?

Locke  You're conning her, aren't you? You're going to marry her for her money, right?

Anthony  What is you want, John?

Locke  I want you to end it. I want you to call off the wedding.

Anthony   Why are you doing this?

Locke  Because! Because it's not fair! You make people think that you're their family. And then you leave their life in ruins. And I'm not going to let you do it again! You're going to call off your engagement and go...or I'm going to tell her the truth. I want to hear you say it! You say you're going to leave!

Anthony  Ok, John. You got it.

[Cut to interior of Ben's house in his bedroom. Locke is sitting in a chair watching Ben who is still lying in bed]

Ben  Would you mind helping me get into my chair? No tricks, I promise. I just want some dignity. You of all people should understand what it means to want some dignity.

[Locke gets up and goes to find the wheelchair]

Ben  Thank you. So, tell me John. How do you expect to pilot our submarine? I mean, it's a complicated piece of machinery. You don't just press "Submerge".

[Locke brings the wheelchair over to the bed]

Locke  I'll figure something out. For all you know I was a Commander in the Navy. Put your arm around my neck. I'll lift under your knees.

Ben  What's in the pack, John? If you met Mikhail that means you were in the communications station. Which means you found the explosives. So you're not planning to pilot the submarine anywhere, are you? You're planning to destroy it. I know you, John Locke.

Locke  You don't know me at all.

Ben  I know you were born in California. I know you were raised in foster care. I know you wasted a big part of your life in Tustin, pushing papers at a company that manufactured industrial boxes. I know you spent the 4 years prior to your arrival on this island in a wheelchair. And I know how you ended up in it. Tell me, John...did it hurt?

Locke  I felt my back break. What do you think?

[Cut to shot of Kate locked up in a large game room. She is sitting on a pool table trying to get the handcuffs in front of her instead of behind her back. Tom opens the door and walks in]

Tom   I didn't think I'd see you again so soon, Kate.

[Tom turns and speaks to someone standing outside the door]

Tom   [pointing to his own head] Be careful in here.

[Jack walks through the door into the room where Kate is being held]

Jack  Thanks.

[Tom leaves them alone and closes the door. Jack straddles a chair and sits down]

Jack  They hurt you?

Kate  No. They hurt you?

Jack  [chuckles] No.

Kate  What is all this?

Jack  This is where they live.

Kate  And the people they took...the kids?

Jack  They're all safe.

Kate  Safe? So you're with them now.

Jack  I'm not with anyone, Kate.

[Kate gets up off the pool table and walks over toward Jack]

Kate  What did they do to you?!

Jack  Nothing.

Kate  Then why are you acting like this?

Jack  There's no way...you...there's no way that I could...

Kate  I came here to help you! So why don't you just tell me why you're...

Jack  I told you not to come back here for me!

Kate  I didn't think you meant it.

[They both wait in silence a few moments. Kate bends down to her knees and then put's her hand on Jack's arm]

Kate  What did they do to you Jack?

Jack  I made a deal with them. They're going to let me go.

Kate  Where?

Jack  Home.

Kate  When?

Jack  First thing in the morning. [Jack leans in and whispers] I can bring back help, it's our best chance.

Kate  You trust these people? They are liars! Why would you believe a word that...

Jack  I trust them because you told me to, Kate. When you asked me to save Sawyer's life.

Kate  Jack. What did they tell you?

[The door opens. Juliet looks in the room]

Juliet  Jack, we need to go.

Jack  I'll be right there.

[Juliet leaves and closes the door]

Jack  I asked that you not come back here for me and I wish...I wish that you hadn't.

[Jack stands to leave. Kate is still kneeling on the floor. He bends down and whispers to her]

Jack  But I will come back here for you.

[Jack turns and walks out the door then a flashback of Locke pulling into a parking lot in a red Volkswagen bug. He gets out of the car with a bag of groceries and is stopped by a man and a woman]

Detective Mason  John Locke?

Locke  Yeah.

Detective Mason  Detective Mason. That's Detective Reed. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?

Locke  No, of course not.

Detective Mason  Do you know a man named Peter Talbot?

Locke  [Hesitating] No, I don't think so.

Detective Reed  Thin, brown hair, 20's?

Detective Mason  If it will be helpful we believe he was here in your apartment 2 days ago.

Locke  Oh, oh, oh, yeah. Yeah, he was a solicitor. I...I...uh...I...I sent him away.

Detective Mason  Mr. Talbot's family is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 million dollars. So I'm curious, what exactly was he selling you door-to-door?

Locke  Well, I...look I told you I don't know him so...

Detective Mason  Then why was your name and address on a piece of paper in his pocket, Mr. Locke?

Locke  Why were...would you be looking through his pockets?

Detective Mason  Because Peter Talbot's dead.

[Scene shifts back to Locke looking at a window from Ben's home]

Ben  It wasn't easy you know...being in that hatch with you all the time...knowing you had no business walking around...knowing I couldn't even ask you about it without telling you who I really was.

Locke  So ask me now. Now that I know who you really are.

Ben  Was it immediate? It started the moment you got here?

Locke  Yeah.

Ben  And you were just walking? The feeling returned right after the crash? That day?

Locke  That's what immediate means Ben. Your wondering why it hasn't happened for you. You're not recovering as fast as you'd like. How long's it been since Jack fixed ya? A week? Now that I think about it, how'd you get sick in the first place?

Ben  Are you afraid it will go away, John? Is that why you want to destroy the submarine? Because you know if you ever leave this island you'll be back in the chair?

Locke  [Ignoring the question] You got anything to eat?

[Scene shifts to a shot of Sayid who is handcuffed to a swing set and being guarded by Ryan. Alex walks up to him looking for his pack]

Ryan  Hey. Go on home kid, you know your not supposed to be here.

Alex  My father sent me to get his pack.

Ryan  Why?

Alex  I don't know Ryan, but he told me to get it.

Ryan  Alright, here you go.

[Ryan hands Alex Sayid's backpack, she picks it up, and starts to walk away]

Sayid  You're Alex aren't you?

Ryan  Hey, can it.

Alex  How do you know my name?

Sayid  Because you look like your mother.

Alex  My mother is dead.

Sayid  I'm sure that's what they told you.

[Ryan gets up and smashes the butt of his rifle into Sayid's side]

Ryan  Get going, Alex. Keep your mouth shut.

[Alex leaves and the scene shifts to Locke pushing Ben's wheelchair into the living room. Ben turns on a light]

Locke  Where do you get electricity?

Ben  We have 2 giant hamsters running on a massive wheel at our secret underground cave...

Locke  Yeah, that's funny.

Ben  There's leftovers in the refrigerator. Help yourself.

[Locke walks into the kitchen, opens the refrigerator, and takes out an aluminum foil covered plate of meat]

Ben  I ate most of the dark meat. Sorry.

[Locke starts eating the meat with his hands]

Locke  Hmm. I never really...appreciated chicken until right now.

Ben  I know you think you need to do this, John, but if you blow up my submarine, I have a big problem with my people.

Locke  Is that supposed to be an incentive not to blow it up?

Ben  I was born on this island. Not many of my people can say that. Most of them were recruited and brought here and as much as they love this place...as much as they would do anything to defend it...they need to know they can leave if they want to. The sub maintains that illusion.

Locke  So you're lying to them.

Ben  [Frustrated] No. There here because they want to be here. Some of them are just not ready to make a full...commitment yet. But you John...you've already made that commitment. And now you have a choice...because if you stop and think, I can show you things. Things I know you want to see very badly. Let me put it so you'll understand. Picture a box. You know something about boxes, don't you John? What if I told you that somewhere on this island there's a very large box...and whatever you imagined...whatever you wanted to be in it...when you opened that box, there it would be. What would you say about that, John?

Locke  I'd say I hope that box is big enough to imagine yourself up a new submarine.

Ben  Why are you so angry, John?

Locke  Because you're cheating. You and your people. Communicate with the outside world whenever you to you...you come and go as you please...you use electricity and running water and guns...you're a hypocrite...a Pharisee. You don't deserve to be on this island. If you had any idea what this place really was...you wouldn't be putting chicken in your refrigerator.

Ben  You've been here 80 days, John. I've been hear my entire life. So how is it you think you know this island better than I do?

Locke  Because you're in the wheelchair and I'm not.

[Locke looks out the window and sees Alex coming back. She opens the door and enters and Ben turns to her]

Ben  Did you have any problems?

[She shakes her head no and Locke takes Sayid's backpack from her]

Locke  Okay. Here's how this is gonna work. She's gonna take me to the sub. Once were there, I let her go.

Ben  John, she's done enough. Let me take you.

Locke  I don't want you to slow me down. Come on. Let's go.

Ben  John, before you go you should know...Jack and I made a deal. In less than an hour he's leaving the island on that submarine and it's a 1 way ticket. The anomaly wiped out our communications. We have no way of contacting the outside world. Which means when that sub leaves, it can never come back. So whether you destroy the submarine or whether let it go, the end result is the same. No one will find this island.

Locke  [To Alex] Let's go. Come on.

[They leave the house and start walking toward the sub]

Alex  You know he's manipulating you, right?

Locke  How's that?

Alex  That's what my father does. He manipulates people. He makes you think it's your idea, but it's his.

Locke  I'll have to keep that in mind.

[They walk through some woods and a submarine is visible next to a dock]

Alex  The submarines down there. At the end of the dock.

Locke  I'm sorry I had to involve you in this.

[Locke trots down to the dock. From the woods Danielle watches the scene and for the first time in 16 years, she sees Alex as she walks away. Alex does not see her. The scene shifts to Locke walking down the peer and climbing down into the submarine. He walks down the sub's hallway and turns on the lights. The scene then shifts to Ben who is putting away the leftovers in the fridge when Jack and Juliet walk into the kitchen]

Jack  Look I know you don't owe me anything, but I need to ask you for one last favor.

Ben  You don't knock?

Jack  I need you to let my friends go...after I'm gone.

Ben  And if I said no would that stop you from leaving?

Jack  [Nodding yes] Of course it would.

Ben  Your friends are only here to rescue you, but you seem to be doing a good job of rescuing yourself so...I suppose there's no reason to keep them here.

Jack  Do I have your word on that?

Ben  You have my word.

[Ben rolls his chair forward and shakes hands with Jack]

Ben  I'll let them go, just as soon as you've left the island.

[Jack walks away and Ben turns to Juliet]

Ben  Well, I guess this is it.

Juliet  Thank you, Ben...for keeping your promise.

[Ben smiles, they turn, and walk out the door and the scene shifts to a soaked Locke who is walking from the peer when he is spotted by Ryan, Tom, Jack, Juliet, and others]

Ryan  Hey! Hold it right there. Get your hands up. Get down. I said get down.

[Locke holds his hands up and drops to his knees while guns are pointed at him]

Jack  What are you doing here, John?

Locke  I'm sorry, Jack.

Jack  Sorry for what?

[The submarine blows up and they are all thrown to the ground but are relatively unharmed. Jack gives Locke a look that could kill and then a flashback to Locke banging on his father's door. Anthony opens the door and Locke is very agitated and barges in]

Locke  What did you do?

Anthony  John?

Locke  Tell me. Tell me you didn't do it.

Anthony  What are you talking about?

[Anthony shuts the door and Locke starts wildly looking around]

Locke  Tell me that you didn't kill that kid?

Anthony  What? You think I had something to do with Peter's death?

Locke  I tell you to end things with his mother and the next thing you know he's dead!

Anthony  John now calm down, please. Think about what you're saying. Why would I kill Peter?

Locke  He was on to you!

Anthony  John, I've been doing this for a long time. I'm not sweating some rich kid...

Locke  Then why are you still here?!

Anthony  What do you mean?

Locke  I tell you to leave. You tell me you're gonna leave town. Why are you still here?!

Anthony  Now listen John. I'll be honest with you. I didn't end it. I was looking for an angle. I wanted to make some money before I skipped out. But then all this happened.

[Anthony pours a drink of MacCutcheon for him and Locke]

Anthony  Peter died and everything just went straight into the tank. She's devastated. She's called off the wedding. There's no profit in it, John. I'm a con man, not a murderer.

Locke  She called off the wedding?

Anthony  She said she couldn't deal with it. She need to be alone.

Locke  So, If I were to call her, right now, that's what she would tell me?

Anthony  Phones right over there, John.

[Locke grabs the phone and turns]

Locke  What's her number...ahhh...

[Anthony tackles Locke around the waist and pushes him backward towards the window. When Locke hits the glass it breaks and Locke falls backwards 8 stories to the ground where he lands on his back, breaking it. The scene then shifts to a badly bruised and despondent looking Locke who is still alive in the hospital bed. Detective's Mason and Reed are in his room]

Detective Mason  Mr. Locke we know this isn't what you want to here, but your father's gone. We know he fled to Mexico shortly after your...encounter, then he disappeared. I'm sorry, but he could be anywhere in the world right now.

[Locke says nothing and the door opens. A therapist enters the room]

William  Alright detectives, that's enough. Mr. Locke has work to do today.

[William opens the blinds]

Detective Mason  We'll let you know if anything develops.

[They leave]

William  John, John, John. We have got ourselves quite a day ahead of us my friend. It's a fine time to get you up out of that bad.

Locke  No. I don't want to.

William  Joh...I don't remember asking.

[William lowers the rail on the bed, pulls the covers off Locke, then leaves the room and comes back with a wheel chair]

William  Now. Most people struggle with this at first, but don't worry...you'll get used to it.

Locke  Uh...no...no...please...I...I can't do this.

William  John, you fell 8 stories and survived, okay. I don't want to here about what you can't do. Now let's go. It's gonna be alright.

Locke  No I don't...no I don't think...

William  ...It's gonna be fine, John...

[William picks Locke up in his arms]

Locke  ...I don't think I...think I can...

[As William carries Locke to the chair, Locke looks at it with at horrified expression. William sets Locke in the chair and puts his feet on the pedals]

William  You're fine. There ya go. There ya go, buddy. Wasn't that bad, was it? I'll be right back, buddy.

[William leaves and Locke sits in the chair and breaks down crying. Then scene shifts to Locke who is handcuffed to an overhead pipe in a dark room. The door opens and Richard Alpert and Ben enter]

Ben  Well, John, you've really gone and done it now.

Locke  You don't have to pretend to be disappointed anymore. We both know you wanted it to happen. That's why you left the C4 in Sayid's bag because you wanted me to make it happen.

Ben  Uncuff him please, Richard.

[Richard steps forward to uncuff Locke]

Richard Alpert  You gonna do anything stupid?

Locke  No sir.

[Richard uncuffs Locke]

Ben  Do you remember earlier, John, when you called me a cheater...when you said I didn't deserve to live on this island? Well get this, there I was shaking hands with Jack and thinking I'd give almost anything to come up with a way to stop him from leaving...because to let him go be a sign of weakness, of failure, of defeat. People would see that. They would know it. And that, John, would be the end of me. But to kill him...that would be cheating...because my people also heard me make a promise and to break my word...that would be the end of me too. And then you came striding out of the jungle, John, to make my dream come true.

Locke  You're not gonna start talking about the magic box again are you?

Ben  No John. I'm gonna show you what came out of it.

[Locke is surprised and Richard helps him to stand. Richard then pushes Ben as they walk down the hall]

Ben  When I asked you earlier if it hurt when you suffered your injury, I think you misunderstood me. Seems fairly obvious that when a person's back smashes into a hard surface after being thrown from a building, that that's gonna sting a little. But I really wasn't asking about the physical pain.

Locke  What you wanna know if it hurt my feelings?

Ben  No John. I wanted to know what it felt like when your own father tried to kill you. He's the reason you destroyed the submarine, isn't he? You're afraid. You're afraid of him and this is the one place he can never find you. This is the one place he can never get to.

Locke  What do you want from me?

Ben  I don't know how it happened, but you seem to have some communion with this island, John, and that makes you very very important. You have no idea what you're talking about of course, but in time you'll have a better understanding of things. So what do I want? I want to help you, John.

Locke  Why?

Ben  Because I'm in a wheel chair and you're not. Are you ready to see?

[Richard takes the keys and opens the door. A hissing sound is heard when it opens and Locke looks inside to see his father, Anthony, looking terrified, beaten, bound, gagged, and sitting in a chair]

Locke  Dad?