Lisa couldn't shake the feeling someone was following her. Ever since she left the Lux Atlantic, she felt the prickly sensation at the back of her neck someone was watching her and tailing her every move. Lisa at first shook it off as paranoia but could no longer ignore the persistent feeling.

On the way home, she wanted to stop at the grocery store. She saw a tan Honda there that she had noticed driving behind her that very morning on her way to work. She had noticed the car because it had been following her the, what seemed to her, entire way.

Still, she ignored it and shrugged it off as mere coincidence. She went inside and picked up the things she wanted and when she came out, the tan car was gone. She let out a long breath and laughed a little at herself.

When she got back to her apartment, she unloaded her groceries and checked her messages. She heard a little click out in the hallway and, completely terrified, tiptoed to see what it was. Lisa dropped the glass in her hand when she saw her door was wide open. She knew for a fact she had shut it when she came in.

A floorboard creaked behind her. Quickly she flung around her arm. Her fist made contact with a face and there was a loud crunching sound.

"Fuck!" the man yelled out.

Lisa quickly grabbed a knife and held it over the man. "Now what, you asshole! I'm picking up my phone to call the cops right now."

"Lisa, you fucking idiot!"

"Jack?" Lisa asked, backing away a bit.

Jackson sat up and wiped the blood off his nose. "Impressive. I think you broke it."

"Oh, my God," Lisa said, trying to help him up.

Jackson knocked away her hand and got up. "At least you weren't holding a gun or anything."

Lisa slapped him.

"Ow, what the-"

"Jackson, what the hell! How dare you just come in here? You couldn't knock? You couldn't call and say you were coming? What's wrong with you? Why didn't you try the back door; you know where the spare is for God's sakes! And wha-"

Jackson placed his hand over her mouth.

"Chill out, Leese. I rushed out of where I was staying today. I didn't bring anything with me- including my cell. And I couldn't hang outside for too long; they're probably watching."

Jackson calmly walked over to her front door and closed and locked it. He turned around and smiled at her, as though he was amused by a private joke in his head. He made his way over to her freezer and pulled out some ice.

"Jackson… you left? You mean… What's going on?"

Jackson sighed a bit and plopped down on her sofa. He played a little with the ice in his hands.

"They know. Somehow they know. I haven't figured out how yet, but they know. They're on to me. They've been following me around. I'm sure that Monica got a whiff of it now, too."

"How long have you known?" Lisa asked, suddenly feeling weak in the knees.

She sat down next to him, desperate to know information but frightened to know anything else at the same time.

Jackson sighed and poked his nose a bit.

"I don't think it's broken, thankfully."

Lisa glared at him and eventually he met her eyes.

"Okay, Lisa. I've been staying in an apartment with this guy, Louis. We drive around a lot together, doing whatever Monica asks. We both picked up on the fact that we were being followed but Louis… Louis was convinced it was the feds or something. He was totally paranoid, now taking extra precautions. But it didn't matter; we couldn't shake off whoever it was. From the very beginning, I had this feeling it was one of Monica's people. I was convinced, as a matter of fact, but I was reluctant to admit it."

Jackson paused for a minute. He got up and went over to her liquor cabinet. He poured himself a glass of scotch and gulped it down. He poured himself another and sat back down again next to Lisa.

"My refusal to trust my gut got Louis killed. We were sitting in a parking lot of some bar, watching this guy that owed Monica money. We were just supposed to sit there; Monica wanted us to scare him. The pussy didn't leave the bar the whole day."

Lisa had grown antsy.

"Get to the point, Jackson," she hissed.

Jackson looked her over for a minute before answering. "Anyway, it was about 3AM and the bar was shutting down. The idiot would have to come out now. So we were all prepared to trail after him for a while when the same car we'd been seeing pulled into the lot. Leese, the feds would not have known we were there. Some random prick would not have known we were there. Someone had to have told them. Someone who knew our whereabouts. This wasn't a routine mission; this was a random location. Get my meaning?"

Lisa shook her head rapidly.

"Somebody sent them there."

"Precisely," he said, taking another big gulp from his glass. "Anyway, Louis began panicking. He's always been kind of a hothead. He was sitting in the passenger seat, staring at the car that now was parked a couple of rows behind of us. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He jumped out the car with his gun aimed at them. In five seconds, he was dead on the ground. They started shooting at me and I just bolted out of there."

Lisa stared at him in disbelief. She gulped down hard.

"But you have no idea that this is related to me. What gave you that impression? It could've been anybody, Jack."

Jackson shook his head sadly. "I caught a glimpse of one of the guys in the car."

Lisa felt her heart stop.

"Who was it?" she whispered, already knowing the answer.

Jackson ran his hand through his hair and shook his head.

"I think you can figure it out. The same prick I should've killed months ago. The same asshole that we've been searching for. The guy in the car that killed Louis was none other that Ryan Daly."

Lisa shivered at the mention of his name.

"I'm gonna kill him. And when I'm done, I'm going for Ernie and Monica. I'm done with this bullshit. It's never going to be over 'til they're dead. I'm staying here for the time being, but we're going to have to be extra careful now. Don't be stupid, Lisa, or I'll make you sorry. You don't tell anybody about this. Anybody. Not your friends, not your precious daddy. You don't go anywhere or do anything without my permission. It's dangerous for you to be outside of this apartment, period. So until we find ourselves a safe place, you're not leaving until I say so. Don't make me repeat myself."

Jackson stroked her face for a second.

"And Lisa, don't make me sorry I'm saving your neck."

Lisa cringed back, terrified by his sudden change in behavior. Lisa had forgotten temporarily he was a cold murderer. It had been a long time she had been this afraid by him. Lisa could only find relief in the fact that at least, this time, she was on his side.


Louis' lifeless body was plopped in the ground in some deserted field. Two shapes began throwing earth and rocks on top of him. The two men whispered as they worked, careful to not make too much noise. No one usually came by, but in this job one had to take extra precautions.

"That fucking piece of crap Jackson got away. I can't believe you, Steve. You are the worst shot in history. Ernie's gonna hear about this. You're gonna be out of a job real soon."

Steve cursed in Russian under his breath.

"And stop speaking in Russian. I will shoot you myself."

"Daly, you forget I'm married to Ernesto's niece? Don't mess with me either. It was honest mistake- forget," Steve angrily whispered back in broken English. "It was the responsibility of you to kill the Rippner person. Don't you look at me."

Ryan shook his head, pissed off but aware that what Steve said was true. It had been his responsibility and his alone to kill Jackson. He couldn't believe he let him get away.

But it wasn't over, yet. Ryan knew that for sure.

Ryan smugly started to grin, happy to know that there were other plans in the works that, judging from the time on his watch, had already begun…