Still Jackson
Lisa watched Jackson sprint towards the cable car at an impossible speed.
"Come on, come on, come on, come on!" She held her breath. The doors began to close, but not fast enough. Jackson slammed into them and managed to wedge his forearm between them. The doors hesitated. Other commuters made small clucking noises as they realised the car would have to wait. Slowly the doors began to open again.
Lisa watched in horror as Jackson stepped onto the car. She threw up her hands as he came towards her, his face a mask of fury, breath rasping as he tried to stop losing it out of his throat.
Her father must have left out the back of his house by now and Keefe, perhaps she had reached the hotel in time. In any case there was nothing more Jackson could make her do about it. Why shouldn't she make his harassment public.
Jackson raised his hands to try to restrain her, "no, no, no, no, no, leave me alone!" She flapped her hands out of his grasp before he succeeded in capturing them and pinning them to the cable car wall. In an instant he was upon her and she could hear his voice rasping in her ear.
"Why don't you think Lisa? I've got all your ID. And your fathers as well. I've got the evidence of your psychotic need to hurt me right here on my throat. Such a terrible thing for a family when uncle Joe Reisert tries to take his dear mentally unstable niece Lisa out for a little trip to Miami before she has to go into the asylum".
Oh God no. Lisa watched the other passengers on the car glance uncomfortably towards them. Most were beyond caring, but one or two of the men were clearly disturbed by the sight of her delicate frame jammed against the wall by Jackson's body.
One man patted his wife's arm, and shifted a small child off his knee to rise and observe the scene.
"You're still not thinking Leese. Don't you realise the consequences of giving in to your emotions. Do you really think that anyone who knows your little theory is going to be left alive?"
Lisa watched the concern on the man's face, and saw his wife urging him not to get involved. Inexplicably, his small daughter began to cry.
Lisa closed her eyes in disbelief. How could he do this to her? She opened her eyes again, and tried to relax her face, subtley shaking her head at the man's enquiring gaze.
"Alright, just, get off me . . ." she whispered. Jackson pulled back slightly, his cold eyes appraising her face. Satisfied that Lisa was back under control, she watched his expression and mannerisms change to reflect the handsome whimsical charmer she had met before the flight, smirking at the disapproving glances as he ushered her towards a couple of seats, insisting she take the one by the window.
In her peripheral vision she saw the man and his wife roll their eyes at one another, assuming a lovers tiff. Unable to stop herself, Lisa sobbed quietly against the window. Jackson threw one arm over her shoulder, and the other patted her knee, feigning affection and concern. Lisa felt a shudder go through her body as she realised she was back in his trap.
-0-0-0-
Jackson kept one hand firmly on her upper arm and the other snaked around her waist while they waited to step off the car. Lisa stiffened as she remembered Jackson's phone tucked in her waist band, inches away from his hand, then regretted it immediately as she felt Jackson look at her.
"Take it easy Lisa. It'll be better for you if you do"
"You mean after I'm dead?"
"I never told you I'd kill you Lisa, and remember . . ."
"Don't tell me, you never lie . . ."
As they got off the car Jackson swept her through the terminal at a rate of knots, and she tried desperately to gather her thoughts and think of a way out. Scanning the crowd, she looked for airport security, but they all seemed to have deserted this area of the airport, looking for them closer to the gate.
Stopping suddenly, she doubled over, as much to catch her breath as to hide the phone bulging under her waistband. Jackson swore quietly and faced her squarely, hands on hips.
"What's the problem Leese?"
"You have to stop rushing me"
She caught his menacing glare as he stood over her, the charming stranger act now cast away, then saw him glance ahead to the travelator nearby, and the distant baggage carousel at the end. A line of wheelchairs for hire were stationed in a line at the end of the travelator.
With his arm once again around her waist he half walked, half hauled her onto the travelator. She tried to push him away from her but he clamped himself around her, rasping in her ear, "Let's not cause another scene Lisa, haven't you caused enough suffering in one day".
She glared at him in anger, unable to stomach the injustice and sheer audacity of his words. Jackson tried to keep hauling her forward but she yanked herself away from him, clinging to the handrail beside her.
Cursing to himself again, Jackson resumed his hold around her waist. Lisa watched him reappoint a benign expression on his public face and in that instant she realised. I never lie. He was lying all the time! His entire demeanour was a lie.
Her mind passed back over the events on the flight and beforehand, his masquerade as the charming rescuer at check-in, the way he had reeled her in and then deliberately shrugged her off at the bar. All engineered to make her like and want him, knowing that he was the one that needed her. Why had he done that? To make her feel ashamed of her own feelings, like she deserved and should accept his subsequent assault.
Jackson was a liar, and yet, Lisa knew in her gut that his threats were genuine. It was the combination of truth and lies that had proven so effective.
He had calculated it all, knowing that his ability to procure results hinged on creating the perception of no way out. But she had defied him, she had broken out of his carefully constructed web with its interwoven threads of lies and half truths. How could she allow herself to get caught up in it again?
Lisa felt Jackson shift his stance, restless at their lack of forward movement, and wondered at the way he was holding onto her so tightly, with none of his usual relaxed coercion. She realised, he was scared, and his ability to conceal it had slipped. They were seconds away from the end of the travelator, the end of the line, her father had escaped, Keefe might be alive, she had won, she had beaten him.
Unable to resist, Lisa looked up at Jackson, as if seeing him properly for the first time. He looked a mess, one hand fluttering at the odd scarf wrapped around his wounded neck, his hair no longer neat and swept back. Sensing it, Jackson caught her gaze, looking at her squarely, his perceptive eyes studying her features.
Almost without meaning to, Lisa whispered, "You are an incredible liar".
Jackson paused a moment before answering, his eyes never leaving her face. Lisa felt mesmerised for a moment, fascinated as the shades of Jackson fell away and she heard his real voice, the voice of a monster.
"Everyone lies Lisa, and some lie better than others"
"My father?"
"We wouldn't have killed him, if you'd done as you were asked" She gasped.
"He still doesn't know anything"
"Ahhh, who's lying now little Lisa?" She swallowed.
"And me?"
"I'll be honest Leese, you were the mark, and marks are rarely left alive".
"You intend to kill me then?" His eyes roamed her face, contemplating.
"I don't know" She frowned in confusion as his next words broke the surreality of their exchange.
"I might have other plans for you".
Lisa opened her mouth to utter a god-awful scream, but barely a squeak escaped before his lips came down on hers, and his hand grabbed the back of her head to stop her turning away.
The travelator ended, and as they stumbled off it, Jackson pulled back his head and knocked her out.
Scooping her up as she fell, Jackson carried her quickly over to the row of wheelchairs for hire, propping her up and checking her appearance. To the surrounding world, they were just another crazy couple, on their way home.
Jackson pulled his phone out from under Lisa's waistband, and stopped to check his call log , his face hardening as he registered the calls to her father and to the Lux.
Taking Lisa's credit card out of his jacket pocket, Jackson smirked at the attendant, who looked askance at Lisa slumped in the chair. "Is she alright?" he asked.
"Once she gets home and gets tucked up in bed she'll be fine", Jackson rasped.
"You don't sound too good yourself sir".
"Influenza, that's what you get for traversing the country"
The attendant smiled, "Well I hope you two are feeling better soon".