Lisa was glad that Cynthia and Mike had decided on a bar that was classier and quieter than most.

She didn't really want to be out. She wanted to stay in and watch a movie. Hell, she was already getting a craving for scrambled eggs. But she was doing this for Cynthia. After all, she was "People-Pleaser 24/7".

Ugh.

She'd ordered something called a "Firefly", which the bartender had recommended after she'd told him she needed to find a substitute for her previous drink of choice: the Sea Breeze. So far it hadn't proved to be a suitable replacement. Neither had the "Melon Breeze" or the "Salty Dog" before that.

Lisa Reisert was slightly intoxicated.

"I'm not normally such a lightweight…"

Ha. That was downright laughable. With her tiny form and affinity for stronger drinks? She had always been a lightweight.

She and Cynthia were sitting off at a side table, alone for the moment. Mike had made a run for the bathroom after trying Cynthia's especially nasty banana liquor based drink. Lisa laughed as Cynthia looked over with horror.

"I didn't think it was that bad!"

It actually wasn't so terrible, being out and about. Of course, the drinks helped. Mike had bought a round, and she'd paid for the other two. Mike was still paying for Cynthia's. She glanced over and arched a brow.

"So, now that he's run off, I have to know: what are you two doing?"

Cynthia tried to look innocent and failed, for what might have been the first time in her life. "What?"

"Cynthia!"

The younger girl shrugged. "I don't know. I like him, but it might get complicated."

Lisa nodded, not pressing any further. Hell, she knew all about complicated.

Cynthia seemed to guess where her thoughts were headed, and glanced around to see if Mike was on his way back. When she didn't see him anywhere nearby, she looked back to her friend. "Lisa… I don't want to pry, but did you want to talk?"

Lisa sighed, resting an elbow on the table and putting her hand to her forehead. It was so much easier to talk about things with the aid of alcohol… "Yeah, I did."

To her credit, Cynthia stayed silent, watching Lisa expectantly.

"I told you what happened when – well, that day. But…" She could feel herself going red. "But I never really told you how I felt. How he made me feel…"

Cynthia nodded. "Well, I could guess, Leese. I bet you were terrified."

Lisa held Cynthia's gaze a moment, as if considering exactly how to word her next statement without sounding crazy. "Yeah. I was. But before… Before I knew who – what – he was, I actually… liked him. A lot." She finished with a deep sigh. So there it was. There was her bomb. And Cynthia was actually looking at her as if she was expecting more.

"And…?"

"Cynthia, I was imagining asking him out. How could I have had those thoughts and then be so stupid as to – "

"Lisa. How could you have known?" Cynthia took Lisa's hand, her brows knit together in a concerned frown. "I saw pictures of him. On TV. After he'd… When they lost him. Any red-blooded woman would have done the same. He was handsome. And you told me how charming he was…" Cynthia sighed. "As far as I can tell, you met two Jacksons. At least you were attracted to the one you met first." She gave Lisa a little half-smile and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry about it."

Lisa looked away. Could she tell Cynthia that she still had those thoughts about him, even now?

Was it even possible to be attracted to someone she hated as much as she hated Jackson Rippner?

That question hung heavily above her head for the rest of the night.

----------

Last call was steadily approaching when Lisa and Cynthia decided to call it a night.

Lisa was very much looking forward to the prospect of going home and crawling into bed. She didn't have to work tomorrow, so the idea of sleeping in after a night of three very potent drinks was incredibly appealing.

Cynthia's apartment was closer to the bar, so Mike dropped her off first. Lisa nearly told him to stay and let her drive herself home, since he and Cynthia seemed to be having the most difficult time saying goodnight. Lisa did not feel like dealing with that tonight. But Mike finally managed to get out his goodbye, and they drove off in silence.

Lisa was glad for the quiet. It actually gave her time to – wait a second. "Mike… You needed to make a right back there to get to my apartment."

He stayed silent. Lisa tried again. "Back on Melbourne Avenue. We should have gone…" She trailed off when he only clenched his jaw in response. "Mike… What are you doing?" Her pulse began to race. What was going on? Where was he taking her? Suddenly those questions didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact that she had to get away.

Lisa lunged across the small space of the car and grabbed the steering wheel. Oh please, let there be a cop around to see the swerving. Let us crash. Not this. Not again.

"LISA!" Mike wrestled with her for control of the vehicle, but it wasn't enough, They swerved hard to the left, he overcorrected and they swerved back to the right, slamming hard into a telephone pole.

Chaos. The airbags had deployed. Lisa sucked in a breath through her teeth at the pain in her right arm. It was red and raw – must have been burned by the chemicals. There was glass everywhere from the shattered windshield. Groggily, she undid the seatbelt that now felt too tight across her chest. Her cheek stung, and she reached up a hand to make sure there were no shards lodged in her skin. There was blood on her fingers when she pulled her hand away, but no glass. Then all thoughts of pain disappeared, and the only thought in her mind was that she needed to escape, now.

She fought to open the passenger side door. Mike was groaning, coming around, though there was an open cut on his forehead that looked like it might require a few stitches. She turned away and threw open the car door with a groan, stumbling out and staggering forward as fast as her feet could take her. Thank God she'd chosen to wear flats tonight. She turned to risk a glance back over her shoulder. Mike had gotten his door open and had come around the back of the car, watching her, but not following. Feeling better about her chances, Lisa turned forward again – and slammed into the broad, rigid form of a man.

"Please help! There's a man, and he – "

The man she'd collided with ignored her. Instead, he grabbed her upper arms and spun her around so that her back was pressed tightly against his chest. He snarled to Mike: "This the one?"

Mike staggered forward, nodding, wiping his bloody nose on his sleeve. "Yes."

Lisa was terrified. What was going on? How had this happened? She watched Mike with pleading eyes, but he never met her gaze. "Michael…"

"Where's my money?" Mike ignored her. He wasn't addressing the man who was being so rough with her. He was looking just beyond them.

Another man had stepped from the shadows, eyeing Lisa coldly, even as he spoke to Mike. "Here."

It was like something out of a bad movie. Lisa watched, horrified, as the younger man – whom she'd believed was her friend, who Cynthia had had such a crush on – traded her life for a small black briefcase.

She felt more than heard the man holding her chuckle, then turn to face the man who'd brought the money. He was tall, with gray, peppered hair, and he was watching her with a look Lisa didn't like at all. He smirked darkly, then met the eyes of the man who held her, nodding. "That's her. Let's go."

They were taking her in the direction of a nondescript, windowless van. Lisa opened her mouth to scream, only to have the rough man clamp his bear-like hand over her mouth. "Wouldn't do that, Love. Don't know who might hear…" He snickered again, then nodded to another man who'd climbed out of the back of the van, carrying a length of rope.

Lisa didn't let herself cry out when they tied her hands. She didn't let herself cry. Not now. They would not see her weak. She would get out of this. She'd escaped Jackson. She could escape these men too.

But this wasn't like the situation with Jackson on the plane. She imagined these men would have no problem killing her at any moment. Theirs was a different kind of evil. Jackson had held her captive with cunning threats and psychological warfare. He'd resorted to force only when he'd discovered the message in the bathroom. But these men… Brute force seemed to be all they knew.

Mike watched with horror as one of the men grabbed Lisa by the arm and wrenched her around, dragging her into the back of the van. "You said she wouldn't get hurt!"

The older man – the one who'd brought the money - raised an eyebrow. "And if she's good, she won't hurt for too much longer." He smirked and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. The air surrounding him seemed to be thick with danger. "If you know what's good for you, you'll turn right around and skitter on home."

Lisa couldn't see from her position inside the van, but she could hear running footsteps, and then the older man turned to one of the other thugs: "Deal with it. Take him back to the wreck. Make sure there are no foul-ups"

"Yes sir."

"Plant these. Make sure it looks like a DUI. Trauma to the head and neck…"

"Yes sir."

"And get my money back."

More footsteps, and then the sound of a muffled cry from Mike. Then, silence. Lisa's breath caught, shaking, as she tried to listen for her captors. From what she could tell, there were five of them. A driver, the man who'd been sent after Mike, the rough man, the older man, and a fifth, who didn't really seem to be anything more than an extra set of hands.

Finally, the older man approached the back of the van. He watched her for a moment, then pulled a lighter from his pocket, lit up, and took a long drag on the cigarette.

"Such a pretty thing. No wonder he fucked it up."

"You have to wonder if he fucked with more than just the mission…" This from the man who'd dragged her into the van. There was dark chuckling from the others, and Lisa's breath caught in her throat. Oh God, no…

The older man took another drag on his cigarette and reached forward to brush her hair out of her face so he could see her features better. "No, boys, that's not his style." Footsteps outside. The other man must have returned… Lisa stared back defiantly at the older man. She was not going to make this easy for them. He watched her for a minute, an almost amused look on his face. Then he pulled his hand back and looked beyond her to the rough man. "Let's go."

The two other thugs exited the van, but the rough man paused, kneeling down next to her. Who were these men? Had Jackson sent them to get her? Was Cynthia all right? What else did they have planned…? Lisa trembled at the thought of being at the mercy of these monsters. Her arms and wrists hurt from being tied so tightly behind her back. She was already reeling from being tossed around like a rag doll, and was in no position to prevent what happened next.

The rough man struck her hard, across the face, and the edges of her vision wavered, but didn't go black.

"Jackson…?" Her voice came out tiny and shaky – was it even she who was speaking?

He laughed cruelly and cupped a hand under her chin, forcing her to look up at him in a gesture that mocked gentility.

"Rippner?" He laughed again, and her blood went cold. "Love, if Rippner knew what we were up to, you can bet your skinny little ass he wouldn't be on his way here." He watched her for a moment, thoughtfully, as if he was sizing her up. "Or maybe he would…"

He hit her again, and this time, everything went black.

----------

When she came to, she found that she was no longer tied up in the back of a windowless van.

Instead, she found herself stretched out on an old, worn sofa, staring into a pair of cold blue eyes she'd hoped never to see again.

"So glad you could join us, Leese."

----------

Author's Notes:
I'm sorry for the long wait, guys. I hope it was worth it. This chapter was really hard for me to get out for some reason. I'm still not all that happy with it. I'm having more fun working on the other fic, so it seems to be sucking up most of my time. That, and reading all the other amazing Red Eye fics here. Seriously. I'm almost ashamed to keep going with mine because everybody else's are so good. But you all have been such lovely reviewers – thank you for all your kind words and encouragement. :)