A/N: But wait… there's more!

What happened next may have appeared to an outsider to be a female-driven, emotional response to seeing the woman he was beginning to care about killed in front of his eyes. But Jackson's male-driven, fact based mind quickly justified this because it was also the only logical response. Even as he reached for the gun, his mind was calculating the risk of failing to act and finding his odds of survival shifting. Alexis was clearly deranged. She had no consideration for human life, including his own. When she was done playing with him, she would end his life just as quickly as she had those of Lisa and the other passengers.

His hand wrapped around the cold steel at the waistband of one of the Russian henchmen. He would only have one shot, one attempt before they took him out, but Jackson knew that was all he needed. Somewhere a switch had flipped and everything became clear. He had a choice. He could continue to serve as a loyal pawn, ever in danger of being sold out by his own employer, or he could break free of them for good. Even if his freedom only lasted for the split second between killing Alexis and being killed by her goons, it would be worth it.

He moved quickly. In two seconds he had the gun pressed to Alexis' head. In another two seconds every other gun was pointed directly at him, but he hardly noticed. All he saw were Alexis' wide eyes. Her surprise was obvious, and it only served to fuel Jackson's hatred even more. She genuinely expected him to roll over and take this too, just like he did when she left him for dead in Morocco. In fact, the corner of her mouth was slightly curved upward, almost like she was proud of him for finally standing up to her. It disgusted him and in the back of his mind he heard Lisa's voice echoing with finality. "It would never happen again."

"Jackie," her voice was a little breathless but still held the haughty tone he knew, "what are you doing?"

"Of all people," he heard himself speak and it sounded far away over the rushing adrenaline in his body, "I don't have to explain myself to you," he said. Then he pulled the trigger.

The gun metal clicked, but no bullet left the chamber. Alexis gasped, and Jackson stared at the gun. He pulled the trigger again, and again, and again but still no bullet tore through the psychopath facing him. The cartridge was empty.

The Russians reacted and stepped closer, guns still aimed and ready to shoot but Alexis waved them down. "No guns boys," she said as she wrenched the gun in Jackson's hands away from her head, "I want him alive. Take him back to the base."

The last thing Jackson saw was her shaking hand swinging the gun toward his head, butt end first.

When Jackson woke up he was shirtless, hanging by his wrists from chains in the large warehouse. The sunlight was just barely streaking through the dusty windows, casting hazy beams of light broken up by shadows. His head was throbbing, and his vision was blurry. Just as he began to make sense of the shapes around him he felt fingers trail down his back.

"I want to thank you Jack," came her voice from behind him. He did his best to jerk away from her touch but she was too close. "I didn't know I was still capable of feeling fear. It's been so long, I couldn't remember what it felt like."

She slowly edged into his eye line and as much as she was trying to hide it, Jackson could see the truth in her words. That edge of honesty only served to sour the pit in his stomach as she continued. "Fight or flight - that's what they say happens when you feel real fear. Fight or flight." She was now directly in front of him and her wide eyes betrayed her choice. He couldn't control an instinctive flinch when she laughed sharply, shaking her head. "Jackie, when have I ever run from a fight?"

The sun had started to rise, changing the desert landscape from a dull gray to a reddish orange. It would have been beautiful if not for the still smoking remains of the tractor trailer, throwing up plumes of black against the brightening sky. Lisa stood motionless with one hand on the dirty factory window, looking out at the wreckage. She was unsure how much time had passed since she watched the explosion. Her mind was racing through the events of the last hour, trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

Lisa flung the backdoors open to the surprised faces of her fellow hostages. The guard was still gasping on the ground with his hands at his throat. A passenger looked from her to the guard, then back to her before jumping down and silencing the guard with a kick to the face. Then he slowly approached her and grasped her arm. His hesitant touch served to snap Lisa back to the moment.

"We don't have much time," her words rolled out of her mouth before she could think, "we have to get out of here. Check him for keys to the truck." By now the other hostages had started panicking again and their voices were rising. Lisa's inner manager assumed control immediately. "Stop talking! Everyone needs to find a seat. We are going to get out of here but we can't until everyone is quiet and sitting down."

The sound of a vehicle crossing the grates at the factory gate made Lisa jump. She gave the smoking wreck one last sad look before continuing her search of the factory for a working phone line.

They all looked at her like she was crazy when she told them she was staying behind. She told them she needed to find a phone to stop an assassination, but their traumatized minds could only process one crisis at a time. In the end, she bolted the truck doors closed and wished the driver luck before heading back into the warehouse.

Lisa forced herself not to think of the little blonde girl who cut in line for the bathroom or the old woman she met at the airport. She could grieve for them later. Right now she needed to save the Keefe's – and Jackson. The thought drifted through her mind as her fingers dug through papers in one of the old desks. It was a ridiculous thought. Jackson was more than capable of rescuing himself. In fact, wasn't she still counting on him rescuing her? After all, she was still in the enemy's secret hideout trying to thwart a government coup. She was completely out of her depth.

She closed the desk drawer feeling frustrated. Judging by the paperwork and technology she was finding on the ground floor, no one had used these offices since the seventies. Lisa began to think the only office with a phone would be the one Alexis set up on the mezzanine. "Peachy," she grumbled to herself, but a glance out the window showed her the sun was halfway over the horizon and she was running out of time.

When Jackson finally went still under their fists, Alexis called off the goons and stood over him. "Had enough Jackie?" she sneered, clearly enjoying herself.

Jackson didn't respond but his shallow breaths seemed to catch in his chest at the sound of her voice.

She shook her head. Her voice was soft and disappointed as she mockingly swept his hair out of his eyes. "Jackie? Are you still with us?"

There was a long moment when he didn't respond and Alexis nearly motioned for help getting him down from the chains. Then she saw the corner of his lip curl up into a morbid attempt at a grin. Slowly, and with great effort, he used his arms to pull himself upright, although his head was still dipped low on his chest.

This was not the reaction Alexis was expecting. "And what, may I ask, is so funny?"

Now Jackson was really grinning, his teeth stained red by his blood. With a painful laugh he said, "You've lost control of the narrative. I never thought I'd see the day."

That stung, he could tell. She stepped up close, "I beg your pardon?"

"You've lost it. It's the one thing that matters in this game and you lost," his voice was taking on a rambling tone but his sharp-edged words were hitting their mark. "Of the two of us," he looked up now and made eye contact, "which of us got their job done today?"

Her face went slack, then deadly white.

He continued. "My job is done. Keefe will be dead in the next 10 minutes; no muss, no fuss, just a little well planned blackmail. What have you done today? You hijacked a plane, killed hundreds of people, including the person who was actually carrying the chip and could have lead you to it, and spent the last 30 minutes putting the screws to your ex."

"I- I-You…"

"You failed, Alexis."

"I- I'll finish the job!" She screamed, although her voice trembled. He laughed at her and she looked more disgusted with herself than she did with him. Shaking with rage, she pulled back her arm and punched him, connecting hard with his nose.

Jackson's laugh was cut off as he began hacking, choking on the blood running from his gushing nose. Alexis stepped back, pressing her fists to her eyes as she tried to process what Jackson had done to her. He played her. Somewhere in between punches, he had thought out a plan to destroy her. He knew exactly which buttons to push to distract her from her goal, and she let him push them. Fuming, she spun around and grabbed the closest thing she could reach, which happened to be a heavy metal pipe.

As she started to circle him, hefting the pipe from one hand to the other, Jackson started talking again. "What was it Diamond Dog always used to say?" He knew this was the end but he wanted to do some lasting damage before she killed him. "He used to say women didn't make good managers because they let their emotions affect their logic. But you were supposed to be the exception Alexis. He told me you were an alpha wolf in lamb's clothing and that's what made you so damn good. You forget; he trained us both. Where's your male-driven, fact-based logic now, Alexis? I don't think that's what got you here."

Jackson was lagging. He was exhausted and having trouble focusing his eyes through the pain. As Alexis circled him, he tried to pull himself up as best as he could to face his death with some dignity. His eyes drifted upward and that's when he saw her. Lisa stood on the mezzanine balcony, clutching the railing with one hand and covering her mouth with the other, staring at him with tears in her eyes and very much alive.