I was so encouraged by your reviews that I just had to go and put up the next chapter already! Here's chapter two. Please enjoy! I'm having fun writing this! Make sure to review and let me know what you think. :)
Chapter Two: Terror in the Parking Garage
"So they just let him go? He's out there somewhere and no one knows where he is?"
Lisa sighed and nodded, trying hard not to smile at Cynthia's stunned expression. She had planned not to mention Jackson's escape to Cynthia when she came into work that morning, but Cynthia had already watched the news and seemed more stunned about it than Lisa had.
"I can't believe it!" Cynthia frowned, handing a key to a customer and then turning to Lisa again. "How did he do it?"
"No one's really sure," Lisa said and then took a sip of coffee. "I was told that his escape had something to do with tear gas and smoke."
"But how could anyone get that into the jail? Didn't the cameras catch what happened? He was being led to his death, Lisa! Surely they had high security!"
"It's a mystery," Lisa shrugged and then scrolled down a list on her computer.
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"There isn't much I can do. I just keep praying he won't come get me."
"Why would he do that?" Cynthia asked. "You already destroyed him once."
"That's why," Lisa nodded. "I defeated him. He'll have to come back and prove to me how macho of a man he is by attacking me. He can't let a woman ruin his plans. He'll find me, kill me, and then leave my carcass with triumph."
Cynthia became quiet, but Lisa could see the wheels of thought turning in the woman's mind.
"There isn't much to think about," Lisa said presently, turning away from the computer and preparing to go into her office. "He'll find me and that's final. I just hope I'll be ready when he comes. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to stop him again."
"Excuse me, Miss Reisert?" A voice asked, and Lisa turned to see a beautiful young woman standing on the other side of the counter, a glowing smile on her gorgeous face.
"Yes?" Lisa spoke, stepping back over to the counter.
"I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful service I received here," the woman said, pushing a loose strand of brown hair away from her eyes. "I truly enjoyed my stay."
"Are you checking out today, Miss Carter?" Cynthia asked from the computer.
"Yes, but I wanted to thank Miss Reisert before I left. I saw her standing here with you looking a bit frazzled and thought I'd come over," Miss Carter smiled. "I'll be leaving around 4:00 today, Cynthia. Thank you again, Miss Reisert."
"Who was that?" Lisa asked once Miss Carter left.
"Diane Carter," Cynthia sighed wistfully. "How I would love to look like that! She's been here for four days now, and it's my personal opinion that she's a model. I've only spoken with her a little bit, but she's so nice! Anyhow, back to Jackson. Worrying about him isn't going to do any good. You may even be throwing this whole situation way out of proportion. I mean, if I were him, I would try and get as far away from you and this area as I could."
"But he's not like that," Lisa frowned. "You didn't sit with him on a plane for as long as I did. He was so calm through the whole flight, the whole time he was telling me that I needed to make my phone calls to assist him in assassinating Keefe. He manipulated me like I was a dummy, like he carried out assassinations every day. Only after I stabbed him did he lose all control, and then he was extremely dangerous," she shuddered and shook her head. "He became like an animal, Cynthia, intent only on killing me."
"And because of the animal he was, you shot him like one," Cynthia said firmly. "So there. He won't get you."
"I wish I had your optimism," Lisa sighed, going to her office.
Lisa kept herself busy for the rest of the morning and early afternoon, giving herself no time to think about Jackson. She had always overworked herself to forget about her problems and keep her mind on matters at hand. There was a hotel to run and customers to take care of, and she was not going to frighten anyone or become distracted by events that might not even happen.
Four o'clock came faster than Lisa thought it would, and she gathered her purse and folders from her office and went into the hotel lobby. There she found Cynthia waiting for her, purse thrown casually over her shoulder.
"Hi Lisa. I thought since we go home at the same time I'd wait for you and we could leave together," Cynthia smiled. "I thought you might like a little bit of company."
"Thank you," Lisa smiled, knowing that Cynthia felt she needed an escort. "You're sweet. So tell me about this Andrew person you've been talking to everyone about."
"Well," Cynthia grinned, cheeks pink as they walked out of the hotel. "His name's Andrew Stave, and I met him last week at my dad's office. Andrew is a new employee there. He asked me to go to dinner with him and my father, so I said yes."
"And then what?" Lisa asked as they walked over to the hotel's large parking garage.
"He asked if he could see me again after that, so the next afternoon, he met me at the park for lunch break and we spent the whole time talking. He's a great guy," Cynthia said.
"And why didn't I hear about him until today? I thought you tell me everything?" Lisa asked, folding her arms across her chest in a mock pout.
"You were so busy. Ever since the whole Red Eye thing, you've been working harder than ever before. I don't blame you. I mean, it took me months to calm down after Keefe's suite exploded," Cynthia shrugged. "Of course, I thought that was the end of everything, but since…"
Screaming suddenly pierced the air, and both Cynthia and Lisa jumped.
"What is that?" Cynthia panicked, grabbing Lisa's arm as the screams continued, echoing through the garage.
"I don't know," Lisa answered, quickly evaluating their surroundings.
The parking garage was busy as it always was. Cars were constantly coming in and going out, and several people were standing outside of their vehicles, wondering where the screaming was coming from. There were also several security cameras, installed at Lisa's specific request.
"The cameras will take care of it," Lisa said, her voice choked.
"But what if someone's being assaulted?" Cynthia panicked.
"It's the middle of the day, Cynthia. The police will probably be here any minute. I don't think we should get involved," Lisa said, unkind memories of another parking lot at another time floating through her mind.
"Help! Somebody help me!" A woman's voice screamed, and shivers flowed through Lisa.
"Come on, police!" She pleaded, looking up at one of the security cameras. "What is…"
A sound, loud and frightening, resounded through the parking garage, causing several people, Lisa and Cynthia included, to drop down next to the nearest car and cover their heads.
"That was a shot! Lisa, someone got shot!" Cynthia shouted.
"No, someone probably just shot the security cameras. Didn't you hear the glass shatter?" Lisa scowled, getting to her feet and walking rapidly towards where the sound had come from. "Someone has to do something."
"But I thought you said we shouldn't get involved!" Cynthia shrieked, chasing after her.
"The police aren't here yet, and that screaming is coming from a woman. Listen. A man is shouting at her. Getting robbed is one thing, but getting attacked," Lisa said, determination overcoming her fear, "is entirely another matter."
"But weren't you attacked once?" Cynthia asked.
"Yes, and I can fully remember wishing that someone was there who at least tried to help," Lisa said, pushing aside all restraint and running up a ramp towards the screaming.
She arrived at the top of the ramp and looked to her right to see where all the noise was coming from.
In the corner of that garage level was a black car, windows darkened and engine running. Lying on the ground next to the car was a woman, long brown hair sticking to her forehead and neck as a large man, powerfully built and tall, stood over her, preparing to grab her and throw her into the car.
"Lisa, that's Diane Carter!" Cynthia exclaimed and then threw her hands over her mouth.
"They did shoot the security cameras," Lisa nodded, catching sight of the shattered glass on the floor. "There are two men. The one standing over Diane and the one standing back a bit in the shadows. Looks like he wants in on all the fun too."
"They're going to kidnap her!" Cynthia nearly squealed.
"Not if we can help it," Lisa said and then ran towards the large man. She felt greatly comforted by Cynthia's presence, for terrified as her employee was, she wouldn't leave her manager to fight off the men by herself. Cynthia was also hurriedly dialing a number on her cell phone, most likely the police.
The large man had his back turned towards the women, but as soon as he heard them coming, he turned and beckoned to his companion to take his place near Diane. He then turned to confront the oncoming women.
Lisa let her adrenaline take over for her. She had no clue what to do about the situation, but instinct told her to leap at the man, and so she did. She pounded her small fists into his chest, shouting orders at Cynthia.
"Watch out for weapons! There may be more men hidden somewhere, so be careful!"
The burly man that Lisa was mercilessly attacking didn't give her much of a chance to fight. While she pounded him with her fists, he raised one hand and brought it to bear hard against her skull. Lisa fell and immediately began struggling to her feet. She glanced to her side just in time to see Cynthia getting backhanded and fall unconscious to the dirty floor.
"Cynthia!" she screamed and then jumped to her feet.
She charged Cynthia's attacker, intent on taking both men down by herself. She looked at Diane, who lay dazed next to the car wheel, and shouted at her.
"Get up! I need your help! Don't just stay there! Do something!"
Diane tried to speak, but she was still too stunned. She could only watch helplessly as Lisa attacked both men, swinging her fists and throwing kicks in every direction she could.
"Listen here, Missy," one of the men snarled, grabbing one of Lisa's wrists. "We don't want you to get hurt."
"Miss Reisert!" Diane finally managed to shout. "Go now, and take your friend with you! They are too strong for you! I don't want you to get hurt because of me!"
"Nonsense!" Lisa snapped, dodging one blow and then kicking out at her assailant. "I'm not going to leave you here to get kidnapped!"
She dodged another blow but didn't see another fist moving rapidly towards her head. The only warning she had was a glimpse of her assailant's hand from the corner of her eye. Then, the fist contacted the soft skin of her cheek, and Lisa was sent flying against the side of the car. She slumped down next to Diane, gasping for air.
"You shouldn't fight with the tough guys," one of the men sneered, stepping back to stand next to his comrade.
"I…I cannot…let you do this," Lisa choked, grabbing Diane's arm and struggling to stand up.
"Stop," Diane whimpered, tears in her bruised eyes. "There's nothing you can do. They have a gun, and they aren't afraid to use it."
"I'm not going to give up," Lisa said and then stood up slowly.
She lunged at one of the men, but before she could make another move, she was slammed hard against the car and fell to the ground, her head throbbing in pain.
A car door opened and then slammed shut, and in Lisa's dimming vision, she could see a pair of shoes come to a stop in front of her face. She tried to look up, but her head hurt far too much. A hand reached down and roughly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at the man who was now squatting next to her.
She found herself gazing into the cold blue eyes that had haunted so many of her dreams, and she struggled to get away from the man who had escaped death three different times. A smug smile was on Jackson Rippner's face as he moved his face closer to Lisa's, intimidating her terribly.
"Hello Leese," he rasped. "She warned you to leave."
He then brought his forehead crashing against Lisa's, and everything went black.
