Chapter Four: Realization
The first thing that hit her was the smell. Musty, dusty, like old furniture in an abandoned house. Mildew and wetness also crept into her senses. Then there was the warm feeling of bodies surrounding her. As soon as Jackson revealed her surroundings to her, she instinctively stepped back into him and away from the new, frightening faces. Jackson laid his hands gingerly on her shoulders.
There were at least 10 that she could see. Most of them were men, but she discerned two women among them. All of them were tall, at least as tall as Jackson, and the women were at least her height. All were dressed as crisply as Jackson and Jones were. Every eye was upon her, every one of them boring into her. She had never felt gazes so heavy, so judgmental, heat coming from their stares and burning her flesh.
"Gentlemen," Jackson said, "ladies, this is Lisa Reisert. I believe you remember her?" There were a few nods, and one man in front of her smirked. "You got my call, I assume?" More nods. They were a quiet bunch. "Well, then, you have it set up?" Lisa's heart began to beat faster. What was set up?
"Yes," said one man. It was the smirking man. "To specifications."
"You take her," Jackson muttered. Lisa could feel his rasping breath on her hair. "I'll be with you in a minute." One hand was lifted from her shoulder to indicate his bandaged wound.
The smiling man grabbed Lisa's upper arm with a grip that made her gasp. Jackson's hand flew out and clutched the man's wrist until the grip loosened on Lisa's arm. Lisa let out a shuddering breath. Jackson's voice was dangerously low, icy, as it fluttered though her curls.
"If I find a mark on her, I'll castrate you with a rusty knife," Jackson hissed. The man stared with narrowed eyes at him, then took Lisa's arm in a much softer grip.
"Come on," he growled, not taking his eyes off of Jackson. He then turned and took Lisa off into the sprawling warehouse. She glanced minutely back as she was dragged off, catching a glimpse of his unnaturally blue eyes following her. Jones was beside him, inspecting the wound, but Jackson never looked away. She was wracked with a long chill.
The tall grinning man- who, incidentally, was no longer in the mood for grinning- pulled Lisa along after him. She looked around, trying to get a bearing on her location. All of the long low windows were boarded up. The walls were concrete slabs, smooth and flat, and there was obviously a second floor as the ceiling was rather low for a warehouse. Small rooms stood in blocks off of the main "corridor", and ancient yellow construction equipment lay like dusty bones in a museum. Objects were covered in old tattered tarps, which rustled lightly as if in a breeze. Lights hung above them, shaded minimally and throwing harsh shadows into corners. It threw a dark shadow on the tall man's lower face, his chin sharp and eyes sunk far back into his face. He glanced down at her, scrutinizing her.
"You're a skinny little bitch, aren't you?"
Lisa bit her lip. It was one thing to whip out witty retorts to Jackson, who she had dealt with. She didn't dare push her luck with this man.
They came to a rickety wooden stairway, reinforced with steel beams with thick rivets. It wound up to the second floor, which was just as drab and dusty as the first floor. She had the feeling that, even though Jackson referred to it as his warehouse, he didn't visit often. It wasn't long until they stopped in front of one of the rooms. It looked like this floor had been home to rows of small offices in its time. Rusted brass numbers still hung on the wooden door, whose paneling was beginning to peel.
13.
Ironic, or Jackson's idea of a good laugh?
The man stuck a key into the lock, and it clicked agonizingly, as if with its last breath. Inside, where she had been expecting a small office complete with desk and pencil sharpener, there was a small mattress adorned with new sheets and a fresh pillow. A tiny table had been erected beside the bed, and it held a tray of food along with a glass of water. The man shoved her inside, where she stumbled and fell onto the bed. The light outside of the door allowed only a dark silhouette to be shown, but he was leaning casually on the doorframe.
"I don't care what Rippner says," he started, as if to himself and not the bound girl on the bed. "You might be a skinny bitch, but I like 'em skinny." Lisa's eyes widened in fright. She pulled her knees up to her chest and began to frantically try to undo the knot behind her back. The man stepped into the door, and closed it behind him. There was only a single, hanging exposed bulb in the room. He began to unbutton his blazer.
No, no, no, she thought to herself, crazed thought boiling in her head. She had loosened one of the knots, but fear began to take hold. Her fingers were shaking again. A sudden sag on the other end of the bed caused her to shriek. She planted one foot firmly on the man's chest and shoved him back. He tumbled to the floor. When he got back to full height, his lip was bleeding.
"All right, you wanna do this the heard way, eh?"
He was back on the bed, springs groaning under their combined weight. She lashed out with her foot again, managing to hold him at bay until the first knot was undone. He then pushed himself past her foot and pinned both of her legs down with his knees. She hadn't noticed that tears were running down her face. She screamed again. The man clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Wouldn't want an interruption," he mumbled. She struggled with the second knot. It was tighter than the first, and her fingers and wrists ached. With all her strength, she brought her forehead to meet his, and they crashed with a resounding thunk. She regained the use of her legs and kicked him in the stomach. As he redoubled from the pain, she tried the knot furiously. Why wouldn't it come loose?
A knee was in her stomach, and she was forced flat on her back. The hand was over her mouth, and the other at her throat. She screamed against the flat of his hand, and the muted sound echoed in her ears. She thrashed her legs, but to no avail. Her hands were squashed into the mattress and no amount of wriggling would free them. A dark sob choked through her. The face was close to hers, and she tried to move her head. He jerked it back. A knife was suddenly in his hand, the one that had been holding her throat.
He held a knife to my throat the whole time.
The world went dead around her. Now it was just Lisa, the man, and her fear. The knife danced before her eyes, then settled onto her cheek. Blood trickled from the cut and down her chin like a long scarlet tear.
"I'm gonna let go of your mouth, and if you scream, I cut through your pretty little neck." He took his hand from her mouth.
She screamed.
The knife pressed harder into the flesh of her cheek just as light flooded to room. The darkness around them shattered with a loud report. There was a smoking bullet hole in the wall above her head.
"Oh, Gerard," came an almost singsong voice.
The man shot up and faced the door, allowing Lisa to pull herself out from under him and sit with her back up against the wall.
Another loud gunshot and the man fell backwards onto the bed where Lisa had been. There was a bleeding would in his shoulder. A dark form stood over him, gun pointed down at his chest.
"Keep your hands off."
The last icy word was followed by a final shot. Blood spattered across Lisa's horrified face and the walls surrounding her.
Jackson looked up from the dead man, not with remorse or pity, but of accomplishment. He holstered his gun, then rolled the man off of Lisa's bed. He looked toward Lisa, who had shrunk against the wall, knees to her chest. He slowed, then knelt down on the bed beside her.
"Don't," she managed, a shred of her voice peeking through the tears. He surveyed her face, then reached into his pocket for a small white handkerchief. He placed it over his thumb, and began to wipe the blood from her face. She closed her eyes, letting herself cry. Neither of them said anything, and both of them knew that was best. He finished cleaning her blood- and that of the dead man- from her, then tossed the handkerchief over his shoulder.
"Did he-"
"No," she answered quickly, not looking at him. He stayed for only one more moment, then lifted himself off of the bed. The springs squeaked in protest. He grabbed the man by both of his arms and began dragging him out into the hall. She stared at he exposed knees. She heard Jackson drag the body down the hall until she lost track of his footsteps. Slowly, as if not caring whether she did or not, she tried to untie the last knot. She was surprised how easily it yielded to her. She unthreaded the scarf from her wrists, then took it in her hands and stared at it.
"I can get you a new room," Jackson said from the doorway. She looked up with a slow placidness that concerned both of them. "You probably wouldn't sleep well in here."
"I probably won't sleep," she added.
Silence. She could still feel the man's heaviness pressing against her, and it melded with that day in the parking lot. She held her hands up to her eyes, still holding the scarf, and cried.
When he sat down beside her, she only cried more. When he pulled her into him, she only let more tears fall. One hand smoothed her hair. Her body shook, from fear, from hate, from the sobbing. Her hands were shaking. And slowly, her sobs died. Before the moment was broken, she whispered from her position, head buried in his chest.
"Thank you."
Jackson didn't answer for a long while.
"He asked for it," was all he could come up with. He sat up rather abruptly, straightening his collar and standing in the doorway. "Jones will see about getting everything made up in a different room. Until then, you can use mine."
Lisa looked up sharply. The moment was gone.
"So you can seduce me, too?"
Jackson's lips were pulled thin.
"No," he answered, quite tartly. "If I'd wanted to do that, I'd have done it a long time ago. It's not my thing." He stared obviously at her. "If you don't follow me, I'm going to have to tie you up again Lisa."
She considered running. Where to? Who knows how many of his associates were hiding downstairs? She had only seen one exit, and she didn't have the key. She stood, and followed closely behind him. He held onto her wrist, leisurely, and directed her farther down the hall. The stopped in front of a door that was in much better condition than hers had been. He unlocked it with a different key, and placed her inside.
"I have the only key to this room," he said, brandishing it like a weapon. "No one goes in or out without me saying so. Get comfortable." He closed the door and locked it again from the outside.
Lisa surveyed the room. It was larger, and furnished like an actual bedroom. A real bed, real dresser and side table. There was, however, no telephone or evidence that there had ever been one. She sat herself heavily on the edge of the bed, running her hand along her cheek, trying to find where the knife had cut into her. Her fingertips grazed an unusual texture.
She stood up and looked around for a mirror. She found one on the dresser. She picked it up and surveyed her face. Jackson had placed a large bandage across her cut.
For no good reason, she started to cry again.
AN: Okay, so this is my shortest chapter. Hardly over 2,000 words. That's short. cry But I got everything said that I wanted to say. And I give a huge THANK YOU! to everyone who reviewed. I love everyone! Yaay! But now, for some special announcements:
Ayumi Omoide: Wow... I don't think I've ever been as flattered by a review as I have been by this one. You leave me with nothing to say other than I cherish you as a fan, reviewer and kind person. You, too, are amazing because of all that you have said to me. I don't think I can come up with a response to say exactly how I feel about your review. I'm updating extra fast for you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind words and encouragement. It's people like you that help me go on. THANK YOU!
Roony: Oh, man, I am so glad you're hooked! I mean... Well... Thank you for being hooked! Man, anyway I phrase it, it doesn't sound right. But I love your reviews because you're a bit like an unbiased party, not liking L/J at all. I'm hoping that this plot is simplistic and stuff (oh, what wonderful vocabulary I have) and I hope it's still good enough to keep you reading. Thanks for the review!
Bimefl: Y'know, I hadn't realized that was a reference until you said it! I guess I have more references in here than I thought. Most too subtle for even me to catch. And, while Han Solo was a jerk most of the time, he was handsome. bwahaha. I'm sorry that the warehouse wasn't all interesting and stuff, but I thought he might like to stay inconspicuous. And thanks so much for the compliments! I'll keep writing if you wish it to be soooo!
Maeggy: -whistles nonchalantly- I have no idea what your talking about. Of course that isn't a major plot point. Yep... I mean nope... uhhh... -DASH!- Thanks for your review! It made me giggle.
ellina HOPE: Ah! More refernces that I didn't catch! Wow, you guys are good at this. I should give everyone who guessed an e-cookie anyway. I loved having Jackson make her sleep on his lap. It just felt so... Jackson. I'm glad you liked it too. And I just had to have the Pumpkin King in there. He is mighty. Love right ack at ya! Thankee!
signsfan: Wasn't it, though? -sigh- It was hot, yes indeed. It's harder to write that stuff than it is to read it, I think. You're thinking, "Oh crap, if I do this wrong I'll be killed for sure," but then you manage to pull it off, and everyone says, "That was hot." It brings joy to me heart. Thanks for all your reviews!
SpadesJade: Yess! No more scarf/blindfold mishaps! Unless I made some in this chapter! Crappy Crap McCrapperson! Now I'll have to be in anticipation to see if I did! I hope something of Jackson's intentions is made a liittle clearer in this chapter. But if it's not, the chapter title(s) might help a bit. Thank you for your awesome comments!
Chanel86: She might be shoeless for another reason, but I thought, what the hey, my name is shoeless, why can't she be? The main reaosn I wanted to write this fic is because of the subtle attraction (ALMOST love and A LOT of hate) between the two of them. So strong and so obvious... I just had to do something. I'm glad you like it, and glad it meets expectations. Hope I can keep it up for you!
Asanji: Y'know, I wondered that too. It was so very obvious a choice for me. Maybe it was because she was on a plane and confined space and whatnot. Oh well. Oh, and congrats on being the first review of Ch.3! Huzzah! -throws yet another party- I'm running out of e-food... Here's hoping I can keep the boulder rolling with this...
Aaaand the esoteric reference was... -drumroll- from an animated version of David Copperfield in the early '90's that was my favorite when I was a kid. It's a line from a song when David has to work at his step-dad's factory. And the line? "Welcome to my warehouse!" Oh, and they were all animals by the way. Really freaky when I watch it now... But... Massive thank you's to everyone who reviewed! Love and e-candy to everyone!