Jackson moved before she could even squeak. The assassin darted towards the vulnerable man just as he was rising. He brought the butt of the revolver down hard on the back of his head, and he dropped like a stone onto the straw. The assassin staggered slightly and pressed his arm across his chest.

"Oh my god, oh my god, what have you done?!"

Jackson's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "I did what you asked me to do!"

"I didn't ask you to brain some poor old man!" Lisa bent down and started checking the back of his head. "He's bleeding! He could have a concussion or aneurism."

"Are you serious?" Jackson retorted. "You wanted me to find another way. I found another way! What's the problem? Did you think he would just let us take his truck if we asked nicely? Maybe, he'd promise not to tell anyone about us too."

Lisa stood and put her hands on her hips. "Well, we won't know one way or the other, now, will we? You didn't have to hit him like that!"

Jackson's eyes narrowed to slits. He shrugged, "You're right, I didn't. He casually pointed the gun at the prone man.

In that spilt second, Lisa knew that he would fire and she barreled forward knocking the gun to the side and causing Jackson to stumble back into the support beam. The gun went off with a crack. The jarring had obviously exacerbated Jackson's wounds, he was bent at the waist, his hand pressed to his thigh. The opportunity was clear. She could make a run for it. Instead, she took a step forward, putting herself between the downed man and the man about to kill him.

Jackson wheeled on her but didn't raise the gun. She put her hands up pleadingly, "It wasn't an attack. I didn't mean to hurt you. I only wanted to stop you from killing that man." Jackson was good at reading people, having the truth on her side would help her cause. "Are you, all right?"

His expression was again, disturbingly blank. Was he angry? Murderous? Would he kill them both, right there? He straightened himself and brushed down his clothes, his eyes never once leaving her. She was afraid. Anger, she at least understood, but this cold, unflinching attitude was simply inhuman. How could she hope to reach him when he shut down and turned off his humanity?

"Are you going to kill me?"

He leaned back against the beam, his eyes still shuttered and unreadable. "No." He moved to walk around her but she took a step towards him. He looked up, slightly surprised.

"Just no?"

He stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. "What more do you want from me?"

"Well, I..." she started then stopped up short. What did she want from him? Why would she even consider that he would do what she asked and spare... he had done what she asked, he'd spared the man despite the liability. It was more than she thought possible. Lisa looked to the prone man then back to Jackson. "What do you want me to do?"

Jackson raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Come here."

The instant fight or flight response shot up her spine. "Why?"

His eyes turned to ice. "Fine." She approached him, unsure what to expect, now that she was fairly certain he wouldn't kill her without consideration.

"Hold up your hand."

The cuffs, of course. Lisa exhaled a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. Jackson wasn't going to kill an innocent man, at least, not this innocent man. She felt oddly accomplished.

Jackson pulled the bent wire from his pocket and quickly sprung the lock. It was impressive, actually. He handed her back the cuffs.

"What?" she looked at him quizzically.

Jackson motioned. "Put his arms around the beam and cuff him."

"But he's hurt..." the expression on Jackson's face made her snap her mouth shut. She nodded, "Can I at least find something to put water in? It might be awhile before anyone finds him."

"Make it quick. This little act of kindness is going to cost us. We need to get moving." He limped back over to the open slatted area of the wall.

Us? When had they become an us, Lisa wondered.

o=o=o=o=o=o=o

The beat-up old Chevy bounced down the dirt road with a rattle and a groan. Check that, Lisa thought. The groan may have come from the assassin at the wheel. She glanced out of the corner of her eye, hoping he wouldn't notice her scrutiny. Fat chance.

"Whatever you're contemplating. Think again," he intoned.

"I wasn't thinking anything!" she retorted. Well, she might have been thinking how different he looked wearing the leather jacket that he'd taken from the man back in the shed. The color looked good on him. She chastised herself, black as his heart.

He snorted lightly.

"You have a nasty sense of humor, you know that?" she crossed her arms over her chest and stared trenchantly out the window. But she couldn't do it, she couldn't keep quiet. "What now? State-wide killing spree?" Oh god, why had she just said that? What was wrong with her? Jackson had nearly killed a man back at the shed. It was nothing to joke about, even sarcastically. "I'm sorry."

Jackson stared straight ahead but his hands gripped the wheel tighter until his fingers turned white. "That's twice you've apologized to me. Are you planning to make it a habit?"

"I wouldn't count on it, if I were you," she shot back. "But I guess, while I'm at it... I should also say thank you." she turned a bit in her seat so she could watch his face. "You didn't have to let that man go. It would have been safer for you, not to. I don't know why you did that for me but I'm grateful."

Jackson looked over at her, clearly surprised. Then his expression shut down. "You really hold yourself in high esteem, don't you?"

"Oh please, you admitted it! Don't even try..." that small smile was again playing along his lips. "You're messing with me, again. Do you get some kind of rise out of pissing me off? Because the last time you and I went head to head, I beat you down!" her tone wasn't nearly as harsh as it should have been. In fact, anyone who didn't know their history might even think she was teasing him.

"Clearly, I didn't understand that I was dealing with a force of nature. I am now forewarned, Leese." What should have been a threat, plainly, wasn't.

The road up ahead turned into pavement and Lisa leaned forward. "Looks like we've found signs of civilization." She chewed her bottom lip, "Would it do me any good to ask again?"

"What do you think I should do with you?" he queried flippantly.

"Don't, please don't do that. It's cruel," she turned away.

Jackson glanced over to her and then back to the road ahead. "I'll make a deal with you."

Lisa's eyebrows shot up. "And what deal might that be?"

"I've been over this in my head a million times." The truck slowed as Jackson turned onto a wider two lane highway. He seemed to relax in his seat when the ride finally smoothed out. "There's only one option if you want to get out of this alive."

"And what's that?" Lisa's gaze took-in everything around her. She gritted her teeth. Nothing was familiar. She was still just as lost... and still alone with a killer.

"I need to get to my contact, Renaud. He's the only one that can rescind the kill order."

Kill order. This was the kind of life that Jackson led, a life, where the hunter could easily become, the prey. "What does any of that have to do with me?"

Jackson smiled unpleasantly, "You still think you can walk away from this? Even if I'm caught or killed, you're a loose end. Believe me when I say, they don't like loose ends. Your fate is now tied to mine so you might want to consider that before you try to escape again."

While that might be true, who was he kidding? "You expect me to believe that I'm somehow safer with you than with the authorities? Please."

Jackson's voice was low and cold, "If you knew what I knew, you wouldn't be so quick to run into their arms."

"What's the supposed to mean?" Lisa eyed him. What vague insinuation was he trying to make? And to what end? "Why don't you stop playing games with me and tell me what's really going on?"