When Lisa next opened her eyes, the sunlight bled red along the ground. What the hell was she thinking? She'd slept the entire day away. Her body had needed the rest, it was that simple. Battered and bruised, dragged through the hills by an assassin, when had her life gotten so crazy? She turned her head slowly and peered over her shoulder. She knew exactly when it had gotten so crazy.
Jackson's eyes were still closed and his breath was slow and steady. He was physically far worse-off than she. Leese raised herself up slightly on her elbow. Jackson's arm was still draped casually along her waist. She looked around the straw next to their make-shift bed. Maybe there was something she could use against him. Or better yet... not more than three feet to the left of her head lay a small piece of wire. She didn't know what it was part-of and she couldn't say she cared. All she knew was the slender piece of metal could be her salvation.
Gingerly, she lay back. She had to think this through. The wire was too far away to just reach up and grab it. At the least, she would need to stretch in such a way that her straw mate was bound to wake. Perhaps, if she rolled flat onto her back, she could get more reach. No, that wouldn't do it. She needed to be closer, like where Jackson now rested. She glanced down at the arm draped over her.
He had kept his word. He hadn't tried to hurt her in any way. Now that she was calmer about the whole situation, she realized, it was unlikely that the assassin would have done something that vile... not that murder wasn't vile, but, damn, it was confusing. He was confusing. How could a murderer have a code of conduct? And how twisted was that, anyway?
It shouldn't matter to her. Her morals had always been clear-cut, black and white. There was good and there was evil. While people might give excuses for why they committed evil acts, it didn't change the facts. Besides, Jackson certainly didn't make any apologies for what he was nor did he really try and justify himself. Why couldn't she just accept what he said at face value?
She knew what the killer next to her would say, but then again, he was a sexist prick. Or at least, he played at being one. He'd done it on the plane in order to intimidate her and he was doing it now in order to keep her off her game but was that really what he thought? Somehow, it didn't quite fit. Oh, she didn't doubt the arrogance of the man but she was also sensing something deeper. No matter what he said, there was something more beneath the mask. Hopefully, it wasn't something worse. In a job like Jackson's it was likely that you would have to play many parts so which one was the real Jackson Rippner?
She sighed lightly, might as well get this over and done. Moving as slowly as possible, she pressed herself gently against the sleeping man. Oh god, she couldn't believe she was doing this but it was a matter of survival. Keep your eyes on the prize.
Lisa closed her eyes tightly when he shifted slightly in his exhausted slumber. Please, don't wake up. If it had been bad before, caught with her hand in his pocket, this was worse. She could feel every line of his muscle, every chiseled plane... and bulge. They melded together like two pieces of a puzzle.
Lisa tilted her head back to try and get a look. Jackson still had his eyes closed and his breath was slow and deep. So far, so good... if you counted his warm breath, tickling at the back of her neck to be good. Jackson had made it clear what he would do should she try to escape again. That almost stalled her actions but who knew when she might get another chance.
Warily, she stretched her arm up. He shifted again, his face now nuzzling into her shoulder. How much worse could this get? She counted to ten and looked over her shoulder. Jackson's eyes were still closed but his breath wasn't nearly as deep. She needed to hurry. She extended her arm outwards, literally grasping at straw. The long piece of wire was almost in her reach. There! She curled her fingers tightly around her salvation. A long exhalation of breath escaped her lips. So close, now.
Lisa glanced down to the arm encircling her waist. She could do this. Right, like she knew anything about how to pick a lock, let alone the lock on a pair of handcuffs. How hard could it be? Spies on TV did it all the time. She turned to take a quick peek but Jackson had his head down, pressed in tight against her shoulder. Grasping the steel bracelet around her wrist, she rotated it to the side and slipped the thin wire into the keyhole. There should be a release mechanism along the edge? But wait, it didn't work like that did it? She needed two pieces of wire, one, to hold back the thingie and the other wire to turn the other thingie. She might not know what they were called but she had paid attention to all those spy shows.
Lisa pulled the wire out and pressed it against the ground, bending into it a U shape. Now she had her two wires but how would she be able to position them both with only one hand? Trying not to jerk her cuffed hand, she maneuvered the wire back into the keyhole but no matter how she wiggled it she didn't have enough dexterity to release the lock. She couldn't twist her wrist too much or her conjoined twin would feel it. What the hell was she going to do now?
"You really need two hands to pick a lock properly," a soft voice mumbled into her shoulder.
Lisa let out a squeal but before she could move an inch the arm around her tightened into a vise. Her arms were now pinned. She couldn't even kick him any place vital in this position. She was screwed with a capital S. She tried to roll to the side to free her other arm but Jackson just forced her over onto her stomach and straddled her, his weight pressing her into the straw.
"Get off me!"
"I don't think so," he responded smoothly.
She shrieked again and rocked side to side attempting to knock him off but he just rode her like a rodeo cowboy. "Get off! Let me up!"
Jackson pulled back on their mutually cuffed wrists, twisting her arm painfully behind her.
"You're hurting me! Stop!"
He leaned over Lisa's back and whispered in her ear. "Have you noticed that the only one really hurting you... is you? Calm down."
Lisa stopped struggling and snorted. "What are you? Part cat?"
"Pretty much or maybe you're just not quite as deft as you like to think," Jackson smirked. He reached around for her other arm and Lisa tucked it in, under her chest. "Do you really think that will stop me? I can feel around if you like."
As he started to reach under her and she squealed, "Keep your hands to yourself! Don't you dare!"
"Last chance. Give me what's in your hand or I'll take it... and enjoy myself while I do." Jackson leaned back. Using his knees, he pressed into her upper arms.
"Owwww. Please." The tears filled her eyes unbidden. It hurt damn it. "Fine!" she shouted and pulled her arm free. "Take the damn thing and choke on it." She offered up the fine wire.
Jackson looked at the bent metal and smiled lightly. "Very resourceful. It's what I would have done. Good job."
"What? Are you complimenting me?" she tried to twist around to get a look at him. He forced her head back around. "Hey!"
"Stay still. Not that I don't trust you, but I don't." Jackson began working the keyhole on his side of the cuffs. "There's a latch pin inside the mechanism. You use one end to press it back and then you use the other to turn the pins. It takes practice but once you get the hang of it," the cuff popped open with a snick. "You can open them every time."
"Peachy. Now... please, get the hell off of me." The straw was starting to make her nose itch. That's all she needed, snot running down her face.
"I think we need to have a little chat first."
Lisa started to struggle again, "Whatever you want to say to me, you can say it when I'm upright, damn it!"
"Such language. You really need to treat me better, Leese. Being, that I literally hold your life in my hands," he stated smugly.
Lisa grew still, "Is this the part where you threaten to A) kill me, B) kill me painfully C) kill me again?" She knew it was reckless in the extreme but she had to know one way or the other. Injuries aside, Jackson was right. There was very little good reason to keep her around and every reason to get rid of her. He killed people for a living, he wasn't shy with violence. So why was she really still alive? "What is it you really want from me, Jackson?"