Disclaimer: I don't own Red Eye. Sam is mine, but Jackson seems to have borrowed her for a while.

Chapter 4

The phone rang several times before Lisa finally picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi Leese. Enjoying dinner?" Jackson sounded cheerful. "I'm afraid Samantha and I had to leave early. You don't mind, do you?"

"What did you do to her?" Lisa was having trouble keeping her voice under control, and several people around her shot her dirty looks. "She isn't a part of this Jackson. It's about me, remember?"

"Think about it, Leese: if this is all about revenge, wouldn't your sister be perfect in that respect? And if it isn't, then maybe she was my target all along, and you were just a bonus." Lisa heard a car engine starting in the background. "We're going away for a while. I'll be in touch."

"Jackson, wait!" But he had already disconnected. Lisa slumped back in the booth, fighting back tears. Once again, he had managed to make her feel helpless, unable to stop whatever plan he had. She thought she was beyond that, stronger than that, but apparently not.

"Sammy, please be okay."

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Sam couldn't remember why her head hurt so much. Had she drank too much? Hangovers usually didn't hurt this bad. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes, just the thought of it made her wince. She reached for the glass of water on her nightstand before realizing that she wasn't in bed.

"Well, look who's awake." She knew that voice. That was…oh shit. Rippner. "I wasn't expecting you to be conscious for a while yet."

"I recover quickly." Sam couldn't manage to keep the pain out of her voice. "Where are we?"

"Nowhere important."

"Where's Lisa?" Sam suddenly opened her eyes and sat up straight, and regretted it instantly. She slumped foreword as a wave of pain and nausea overwhelmed her.

"You should be a bit more concerned for yourself at the moment." Jackson reached over and gently lifted her chin so she was looking him in the eye. "Your pupils aren't dilated, that's a good sign. Let me take a look at your head."

Slowly, Sam was coming to her senses. She realized they were in a car, in a parking garage. No one was around, and there was no sign of Lisa in the car. Jackson had pulled out a first-aid kit and was cleaning the gash on the back of her head with something that smelled like alcohol and stung.

"Ow!" She hadn't meant to react, but she couldn't help it.

"Come on, this can't be more painful than landing on your ankle earlier." His tone was light, almost joking, and Sam wasn't sure how to respond. "Speaking of which, how is that feeling?"

Sam tried to move her injured ankle and found that she could, though it throbbed a bit afterwards.

"It's not broken, maybe not even sprained."

"Good." Jackson sifted through the contents of the first-aid kit and came up with a couple of pills. "Take these."

"No thanks."

"That wasn't a request."

"I don't need drugs. I'm fine." She was lying, but she didn't want anything that might knock her out again. Jackson looked at her for several long moments before shrugging.

"Suit yourself."

Jackson's phone rang, and he stepped out of the car to take the call. Watching carefully to make sure his back was to her, Sam slipped off her seatbelt and looked around for a weapon. Nothing caught her eye.

Sighing, she reached for the door handle and pulled it as slowly and quietly as she could. Then, just as slowly, she began to open the door. Once it was open wide enough for her to fit through, she took a deep breath and slipped out. To her amazement, Jackson was still oblivious with his back to her. The elevator was only a few yards away, if she could get in there and get the door shut before he noticed…

Moving as quickly as she dared, and favoring her injured ankle, Sam backed toward the elevator. She almost jumped when her back touched the wall, but she stayed quiet and pressed the 'down' button. Almost instantly, the doors slid open with a ping.

"Shit." She whispered as she jumped into the open elevator and Jackson spun around. Frantically pushing the button to close the doors, she watched him stride purposefully toward her, his eyes deathly cold. "Shit shit shit."

He got his hand in the door before they shut, and Sam pressed herself against the back wall as he forced the doors open enough to let himself in. She realized that her eyes were squeezed shut and she forced herself to open them.

Jackson was standing perfectly still. The only sign that he was more than a statue was the slight rise and fall of his chest when he breathed. His gaze bored into her, keeping her pinned in place just as effectively as physical force.

"Say something!" She blurted, realizing belatedly that maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut. He took one step foreword, putting himself about an inch away from her.

"I'm disappointed, Samantha." He looked angry enough to kill someone, but his voice was as calm and level as always. "I thought you were smarter than this."

"Why can't you just go?" She half-asked half-pleaded. "Everyone can just go on with their life. What's wrong with that?"

"Sorry sweetheart," He brushed away a tear from her eyelashes and then traced his thumb down her cheek and gripped her chin between his thumb and finger. "It's not going to happen like that. I need you."

"Why?"

"I have a job. Help me pull it off, and you'll make up for the trouble your sister caused me."

"You'll leave her alone?"

"If you don't mess this up. You have to cooperate, do what I tell you, without asking questions." He made sure she was looking him in the eye. "Can you do that?"

Sam nodded, holding his gaze, then found her voice.

"Sure."

"Peachy," Jackson released her chin and pressed the button for the ground floor. "Because we have a train to catch."

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A/N: I told you I wouldn't take so long this time! Thanks for all the great reviews, you guys keep me going! I'm on winter break, so I should be able to get the next couple of chapters up fairly quickly (but only if you review!)