Always Look Forward
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!
Chapter Six
Jackson cursed slightly as he felt the aches and pains running through his body. What had he done? He was covered in dust and his once nice suit was ruined. Or at least his dress shirt and pants were. He had almost forgotten that he had given Lisa his jacket.
His abdomen hurt the most. He felt almost as if he had been hit with a semi. No, that was not what happened… Lisa had hit him with his own car. He could see her face now, begging forgiveness for what she was about to do, as she carefully hit him. She lightly struck him once and then pulled away. She could have easily run him over and killed him. Why didn't she? Why had she not killed him when she had the chance?
He knew that Jack wanted her dead. Jack would use him to kill her.
Jackson loved Lisa more than life itself. Why couldn't Lisa see what she had to do? Why couldn't she realize that she would never be safe around him? If Jack took over again or even came close to it; then her and the twins were doomed. Jack had told him of his plan.
Jack wanted to be a manager again. Jack wanted to kill Lisa and the twins, whom he blamed for the loss of his job. Jack really enjoyed killing people. Jackson never had. After he killed his parents and experienced loss, he never wanted to kill again. But then Jack came along, and he goaded him into killing, trying to convince him that he could have revenge if he killed. He had been young and naïve and he wished that he could take it all back now. He wished that he had never killed anyone or helped to kill them.
His problems had worsened over time. Eventually he just gave up and withdrew, becoming heartless and a killer. He let Jack have free rein to plan, maim, and murder. He stopped fighting it. He had nothing left to lose after he lost his parents.
Then he met Lisa and he approached her as Jackson; the first time in many years that his really personality had come out and into the light. She reminded him what it was like to have feelings. He had wanted to cry when he relinquished control over to Jack on the airplane. Once or twice, the real Jackson showed up, fighting Jack. The rest of the time, when she was scared out of her mind, Jack had been in control.
And then Jack tried to kill her.
He had been helpless. Thankfully, Lisa had stopped him from doing something that he would have regretted. Jack was defeated and beaten into submission. Jackson had control until a few times Jack slipped out, eager to kill and control. Jack loved control.
Jackson refused to give Jack control. Jackson refused to let him hurt Lisa. Yet, Jack still escaped too many times and injured her. Jack took over the day of the car accident and would have been pleased to kill Lisa and the baby. Jack took over many times, and each time Jackson forced him back, worried about what might happen.
But no more. Jack was no longer satisfied with the little control that he had. He wanted it all back. Jack had been the one plotting against the company without Jackson's knowledge. Jack wanted the company to take out Lisa, JR, and Henrietta. With his family gone, Jack expected him to relinquish control again out of grief. That's what Jack wanted.
And Jackson refused to grant it. He would not give Jack control. Jack had already done enough. His children were missing and in grave danger, and now Lisa was scared to death of him.
He had to save his family and defeat Jack.
He just did not know how.
Johnson had a smug look upon his face after he hung up the phone. Lisa Rippner had fallen into his trap with relative ease. She had balked at first, but she gave in, like he knew that she would. A mother's first instinct is to protect her children. He had her children and with her convinced that Jackson was insane; they were all that she had left and she would do anything to save them.
Jackson was not insane. He did have a few mental problems; which all went back to the split personality that he created following the murder of his parents. He created Jack to make himself stronger and to keep himself from harm. Jack turned vicious and became inflicted with antisocial personality disorder, before he became a deranged psychopath and sociopath.
Without his split personality, Jackson was safe and sane. If he managed to find a way to stop Jack, then Jackson was no longer a danger to anyone. But if either of the Rippners knew, then they would stop cooperating and he needed them to cooperate.
Jack had been a good manager and Johnson wanted him back. Letting Jack kill Lisa and her children would put them on his good side. Jack would work for them if they could get Jackson to give up. If Jack killed his family, Jackson would resign control again and he might even create a new personality as well. The only probably was that Jackson would be a suicide risk while he was in control after Jack killed them.
But the company could work around that. They could make Jack stay in control and banish Jackson.
It was a piece of cake, seeing the groundwork that had been laid by Roberts and the unknowing Rippners. The Rippners had fallen into a trap without their knowledge and despite their best attempts to stop it.
Manipulation was the name of the game and Johnson was going to win…
Author's Notes:
Another twist. No one is what they seem. And Jackson is just plain confused, so take what he thinks/says/does with a grain of salt. Happy Holidays, everyone!