Who's Elsa?
Why did she have a gun..?
It is obvious she was trained in shooting, she didnt just shoot Sayid's arm by accident. If she's a professional or hired by her "boss", why wasn't she aware of Sayid's motive?

Else's boss was aware that Ben was after him, and so was Elsa informed about this situation at some point. I'm thinking she probably knew all along from the first moment Sayyid approached for the seat. Elsa showed a keen interest in who exactly Sayyid works for, since the day they met in the cafe. Though not uncommon for a first conversation, she asked about Sayyid's job, among other things, if I remember correctly. Both must have thought that he/she has the advantage over the other but probably Elsa had a better hand since she not only covered herself well, but also convinced Sayyid that she knew nothing except for her love for Sayyid.

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"Bear...? Is that you?"-- Hurley S03E4

Elsa is definitely not who she presents herself to be. I agree with everything flaneuse just said!

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I think Elsa was totally aware of Sayid's motive and the whole ingenue oops-did-I-just-accidentally-say-I-love-you? *bats eyelashes* bit was just a smokescreen so he wouldn't think she was a threat. So that he would think he could use her to get to the Economist, when actually she was manipulating him to get information from him before she killed him to keep him from killing the "Economist." She says something like "It was no accident that you sat with me in the cafe that day!", but the whole while she was setting a trap for him. Do you feel me? She was even more dangerous than Sayid!

I bet right after he got shot Sayid was thinking "Damn, Shannon was really whiny and emotional but at least she never shot me!"

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"Helen, do you remember that authentic Australian walkabout I told you about?"

I totally told a friend of mine that Elsa reminded me of Shannon!!!! Thanks for the confirmation PotPie!

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He only would of thought that if he had broke up with Shannon. Because that is a regretful thought. There is nothing about him and Shannon that should have regret. So I doubt he would think that.

From Lostpedia:
Elsa, Sayid's target, has several similarities with another woman in his life, Shannon:
She is also tall, fair, with light blond hair.
She ends up shot in the abdomen, just like Shannon.

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I think that's a big part of Sayid's story. He seems to care deeply for the women in his life but they all end up getting killed. He's like this tragic character who is motivated by loves that never survive.

Elsa also seemed really helpless and inexperienced like Shannon, at least right up until the very last second, that is.

Another big similarity I think is that Sayid feels responsible for both deaths. Obviously he killed Elsa, but if he had only believed Shannon when she told him that she saw Walt in the jungle and if he had gone looking for Vincent (and Walt) when she first asked him for help, Shannon probably wouldn't have crossed paths with AnaLucia when she did and she might still be whining and complaining to this very day. (Actually, I grew to really like her )

At this point, Sayid probably wants to reconnect with Nadia more than ever. NEEDS to reconnect with her more than ever. Nadia is the only person in his life that Sayid can look back on and feel that he helped more than hurted. The ONLY one; that's a big deal! The only person who is physical evidence that deep down he is more than just a hired killer/torturer. After all the killing he's doing for Ben (a man he despises) he's gonna need that validation otherwise he's heading for a serious breakdown. (A la Jack in the flash forward? maybe) I think. Even after all the horrible things he's done, we never see Sayid looking fragile or vulnerable until the last minutes of as The Economist. I guess that's a good omen for his soul, but a bad omen for his future pychological health.

I really like Sayid's story and--looking back on it--I wish that he and Eko had known eachother better. They had a lot in common: both were forced into a life of violence by forces outside themselves and had to live with the psychological consequences. Both men, once they had given in to the forces pushing them towards violence, couldn't go back to their life before, partly because other people wouldn't let them (the Americans force Sayid to betray his friend, 'member?), partly because they were both fundamentally CHANGED by the experience.

Damn, if only the Losties weren't so damaged and guarded, Eko and Sayid might have really helped heal eachother. Oh well, waddayagonnado?

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"Helen, do you remember that authentic Australian walkabout I told you about?"

The Elsa-Sayid thing was very Mr and Mrs Smith. Her boss had probably learned of other people (involved with the island somehow, whichever group it is) being assassinated and had Elsa as a sort of bait, letting her know who to be on the look out for (one of the oceanic 6 etc) to set up and get information from.