A/N: This is a story for a fandom where hardly any stories are ever posted any more, for a film that came out ten years ago... but this plot has been bugging me for a few months now so I'm getting it out there.
A few things: I'm setting the "present" story line in the actual present (2016) instead of ten years ago, so they have smart phones and certain political events are alluded to.
This will start off a bit fluffy, but as Lisa and Jackson get to know each other, things will inevitably get darker... and sexier too.
The Hardest of Hearts
Part I: Surveillance
1.
Copenhagen.
The not too distant future.
Lisa dodged into the nearest alley, her heels clacking too loudly against the errant cobblestones underfoot as she tried to put distance between herself and the main thoroughfare. Her eyes traveled quickly, nervously across the gingerbread-house buildings on either side of the quiet Copenhagen street, trying to gauge if they could be harboring men trying to kill her. They looked quiet. They looked safe. She stopped to lean against a heavy turquoise door built into a rocky wall and focused on catching her breath.
Shouting down the street pricked at her senses, and Lisa quickly dug into her winter coat to retrieve the heavy revolver she'd been given hours earlier. She looked down at the gun in her palm, and let out a frustrated groan at her predicament when her phone began to vibrate quietly in her pocket.
"Shit, shit, shit," Lisa chanted as she dug in her pocket, holding the heavy gun awkwardly at a distance as though it were rubbish she wished to be rid of.
A Danish number flashed on the screen and Lisa, following the directions she had been given, answered with a swift yet shakey, "Ja?"
"Leese, try not to sound so terrified," Jackson drawled on the other end.
Lisa's teeth clenched in frustration and she looked down at the gun in her hand, wishing he was standing in front of her now so she could at least hit him hard in the face with the heavy piece. "You asshole," she hissed. "I cannot believe I'm in this situation!"
She heard him sigh loudly on the other end. "I'll make it up to you," he promised, and the ever-present arrogance softened slightly. "How does Bali sound?"
The shouting men were drawing closer.
"Fuck Bali!" Lisa shrieked, fighting to keep her wits together as she cast an eye up and down her alley to see if she was about to be ambushed. "And fuck you too!"
The shouting drew closer still and Lisa shut her eyes tightly, sending up a silent prayer that she would not have to use the gun. She tried the handle on the turquoise door behind her but it refused to budge, and she swore she would kill Jackson if he got her arrested.
A slim, black Audi pulled up next to her, screeching to a stop as the window rolled down and Jackson hung his head out to look at Lisa expectantly.
"Well?" He lowered his sunglasses to look at her over the rim. "Are you getting in?"
Miami
Lisa stepped out of Miami International Airport and into the morning sun with a bounce in her step. It might have been the two Screwdrivers she'd indulged in on the flight, or quite possibly the three hours of easy flirting with a handsome stranger over those Screwdrivers.
"So common," she'd joked, unable to stop herself from from sharing Jackson's infectious smirk as he accepted two small plastic cups of orange juice and miniature bottles of Smirnoff Vodka from the air hostess. "I would have guessed you were more of a whiskey-no-ice kinda guy," she joked.
He looked at her with faux wariness, "Are you sure you're not stalking me?"
Lisa grinned, "Stop teasing me," she complained good naturedly, enjoying his teasing very much.
Jackson gave both their drinks a stir with a little plastic cocktail stick. "I do enjoy a nice scotch," he conceded. "Though... I went through a phase in college where I only drank Mimosas." He handed her the shorthand cocktail.
"Mimosas? That's very manly," Lisa teased him back. "Where did you go to school?"
He hesitated - just for a moment but she didn't miss it - and self-doubt began to rise inside her until he turned to flash another boyish grin. "Yale. Go Bulldogs," he added wryly, pumping his fist in the air and Lisa giggled again, feeling silly.
Lisa didn't normally giggle. She didn't normally look up from under her eyelashes feeling shy. Most of all she normally never spoke to strange men - handsome and charming or otherwise. But after the very promising one time only drink with Jackson at the airport bar in Dallas she couldn't deny the rush of excitement at finding him sitting in the seat next to hers on the flight.
She could have ignored him, feigned sleep maybe, but he was so nice about distracting her ("Was Henrietta your mom's mom or your dad's mom?") that she'd found herself drawn into conversation, and not too eager to cut him off.
After disembarking the plane, Jackson had fallen into step beside her, and walked with her to the taxi rank. It felt like a courteous, even gentlemanly display while they continued discussing Miami's hectic weather - nothing but small talk really, but Lisa was glad for it.
A taxi pulled up to the curb and Lisa looked tentatively at Jackson, "You take this one," she offered, always eager to please.
Jackson waved her off, "I have a car here," he explained. "It's all yours."
Lisa felt herself blush like a school girl at realizing he'd been waiting with her just for the sake of being with her. "Oh, alright," she agreed, as the cab driver shuffled around the car to take her bag. "Well... how long are you in town for?" She steeled her courage and smiled up at him, relieved to see delighted surprise flash across his face.
"A week or so I think," he said, his pale blue gaze capturing Lisa's. He searched her face with an intensity that nearly overwhelmed her. It struck Lisa as slightly out of character for the friendly stranger she'd spent the red-eye flight with and she shivered, not with fear but something that felt entirely inappropriate for 6AM at the airport taxi que.
"Oh," she managed to breathe, forcing herself to brave. "Maybe... if you're not too busy...?"
He lifted an eyebrow with amused curiosity while a kind smile tugged at his lips.
Lisa dug into her purse and plucked one of her Lux Atlantic business cards from the folds of her wallet. She handed the card over, nervous but unable to stop smiling stupidly. "My cell's on the back," she explained somewhat clunkily. "If you get bored."
Jackson gently lifted the business card from her fingers as if it were something precious. His eyes drifted across the gold and blue lettering before returning to her face.
"I'm certain I will be," he said, catching her gaze again.
Smoldering. Lisa would have described his eyes as smoldering in that moment and she forced an awkward laugh to lighten the tension growing in her chest.
The moment was broken by the cab driver waving at Lisa to get her attention. "Madam, I cannot leave the taxi here, please get in," he complained in heavily accented English, irritated by her stalling.
"Sorry!" Lisa apologized sheepishly, again pleasantly surprised when Jackson opened the cab door and gestured for her to climb in.
"Thanks," she smiled, feeling stupidly giddy, and slipped into the back of the cab.
"Maybe I'll see you soon," Jackson offered by way of a goodbye.
"Madam!" The cab driver exclaimed, then added something angry in a language Lisa didn't recognize. But Jackson seemed to. Once again she didn't miss the change in his face: eyes darkening and jaw clenching at the perceived rudeness of the driver.
A nervous chuckle caught in Lisa's throat. "Bye," she choked, giving Jackson a wave and pulling her feet into the cab.
His face transformed into the kind, easy smile again. "See you soon, Leese," he promised, and pushed the cab door closed for her.
Lisa let her head fall back against worn leather seat and released a disbelieving chuckle. That had been entirely unexpected. She took a moment to feel guilty for meeting a guy when she should have been grieving for her grandmother. Knowing Henrietta, the old lady would have been pleased by the nervous but excited energy now coursing through Lisa - Always Move Forward, she reminded herself.
The taxi driver continued to mutter under his breath in a foreign language - Arabic maybe - and normally Lisa would have gone out of her way to appease him despite being the one who should have been on the receiving end of good customer service. But presently she just wanted to stare out at Miami's still-empty streets, allowing herself to wonder if Jackson would call and also, if she would answer.
A/N: Let me know what you think :)