Chapter 3 - Change of Plans

Eight weeks. Lisa Reisert had been the focus of his life for eight, long, hell ass weeks.

Jackson sat in his Lexus, hidden in shadow as he watched her curl up on the sofa with a big bowl of burnt popcorn, Max laying safely by her side. He couldn't see what movie she was watching and from the look on her face, neither could she. She looked sullen and tired. Distant. Her hand was propping her head up against the arm of the couch and her eyes fell to the floor as she gently scratched Max behind the ears.

Jackson lit a cigerette and took a long drag. The menthol burned his throat, but he didn't care. He exhaled slowly, letting the smoke billow from his lips until his head was emersed inside one foggy cloud. He looked back at Lisa and glared.

Oh, how he hated her...

Ever since his run-in with Lisa, he'd been feeding his brain with anything he could not to have a reason to like her, and after only three weeks, it seemed to have worked. The more he thought about how close he'd come to sabotaging the mission, the more he hated her for making him careless. His infatuation had slowly turned to resentment and it was getting easier and easier to convince himself of his newfound hatred for her.

He actually found that there were a great many things he disliked about Lisa Reisert.

For starters, she wasn't a very honest person, always making up excuses to get away from people, be it co-workers, family or friends. She was clumsy. She was a horrible cook. Her face was always buried in a self-help book, and if it wasn't in there, she was in some other whacko stress management course. She always had to please people. She couldn't hold her liquor. Her hair was just way too bouncy. He hated her. He really did. He hated her kindness and he hated her strength, hated the way she didn't lash out at the world when it had so obviously wronged her.

He hated her with every fiber of his being, but the thing he hated most about her, was that she could never be his...

Jackson smoked his cigerette all the way down to the filter as Lisa began falling asleep with her head atop Max. Suddenly the shrill sound of the telephone broke the silence. Jackson quickly threw the cigerette out the car window and reached for the listening device that he had tapped into Lisa's phoneline. He watched her glance up in alarm and, yawning, stood up and reached for the telephone. She propped the phone on her shoulder as Jackson flipped the switch to his headset.

"Hull-lo?" Lisa's sleepy voice crackled over the speaker.

"Lisa, sweetheart?"

"Mom?" she asked, rubbing her eyes awake. "What's wrong?"

Lisa's mother sounded distraught and muffled.

"I don't know how else to say it, so I'm just gonna...I'll just say it...Lise, grandma died."

There was a pause on the line and Jackson glanced up at the window to see Lisa's reaction, but her back was blocking his view. He listened closely as she cleared her throat and responded in a halted voice. "Um...when?"

"Earlier this evening," her mom managed in between small gasps, "..her heart just stopped."

It was quiet again. "Oh...so...I mean what about you, are you okay?" There she goes again, Jackson thought with an eyeroll, putting everyone else first...

"I'm okay," her mother replied in a withdrawn voice before letting out a heavy sigh. "You're grandmother was an old woman. We all knew it was gonna happen...it's just that," she paused, choking back a sob, "...Well, you're coming to the funeral, right?"

"...Of course."

"Good...I'll let you know when the service is...I just, I don't think I can get through this without you here, Lise."

Jackson saw Lisa's tightened face come into view as she sat down on the edge of the couch. "I know, mom. I love you. I'll see you soon..." Lisa slowly let the phone fall from her ear and gently placed it back on it's carrier. She sat there for a few moments, staring blankly ahead as Max lifted his head up to look at her. She stayed just like that for awhile, her mind contemplating the things she'd have to do to get ready to leave: the plane ticket, the packing, getting time off from work...grieving seemed to sit on the far edge of her brain, as if there was too much to be done in preparation for the funeral to have any time to grieve. It was thoughts like these that sickened her, made her feel void of any human emotion at all.

Jackson watched Lisa's jaw clench as her soft brown eyes slowly turned to glass, the tears beginning to fall calmly down her cheeks as the news of her grandmother's death really began to weigh on her. Then the impactseemed to becometoo much for her, her face falling to her hands and her back heaving heavy sobs as Max could only offer a whimper and a comforting head to place on her lap.

Tearing his eyes away from the sight, Jackson stood still for a few seconds, his hands gripping the steering wheel as he stared ahead into the dark and empty street. Then, he reluctantly reached for his cell and speed dialed headquarters, listening for the familiar voice of his boss and mentor, Sonny Falcone.

The thick italian accent was a dead giveaway. "What's up?"

"It's me," he said quickly, trying not to sneak glances at the distraught Lisa. "Listen, there's a little bump in the road, but I don't think it's anything major."

"Give it to me straight."

"The girl's grandmother died. Mother lives in Texas, she'll be attending the funeral. I give it a couple days, but knowing this one, she's gonna head out a little early and stay as late as her family needs her."

He could almost hear Sonny stroking his chin in thought before he heard the reply, "Aight, come to headquarters now. Ya gonna need to tail this one son, fly out to Texas and keep track of this broad. We'll discuss the details when you get here. Things just may work out to our advantage..."

Hanging up the phone, Jackson stared back at Lisa's crouched figure still sobbing on the couch. The resentment flowed through his veins as he watched her. He hated her alright, of this he was sure. But as Jackson put his car into drive, he knew he wouldn't have been able to stand watching her cry for too much longer. His tires squealed against the pavement as he headed for Sonny's headquarters, ready to put forth the next phase of their plan.

So I'm super pissed because I had about half of the next chapter written out and it all got deleted, so it's gonna take me a little bit to rewrite it again...gah. Damn, stupid, virusy computer of mine...bah. Anyway, thanks for the reviews!