Always Look Forward
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!
Chapter Thirteen
Lisa woke up in a strange, unfamiliar room. She was still in the hospital, but other than the off-white and pale, puke green colors that she had grown accustom to, there was not much that was the same. Restraints bound her wrists and ankles to the uncomfortable bed. The room was dimly lit and she could just make out the figure of another person across the room. He was lying on a bed as well, but she could tell no more than that.
"Finally waking up, I see," murmured a voice from the shadows, causing Lisa to turn her head.
"Who's there?" she cried, a note of fear and panic in her voice.
"Are you afraid, Mrs. Rippner? What do you fear?"
"I'm not afraid!" Lisa insisted, though inside she knew that she was lying. She was afraid of many things. Jackson was always her greatest fear. She knew what he was capable of. She also had a deep-seated fear of being raped again. It had been over seven years since that day in the parking lot, but she never forgot it.
"Stop lying to me. I can tell that you are afraid. Tell me, what is that you fear? Are you afraid of dying?"
"No!"
"Are you afraid of me? Afraid of what I might do?" questioned Crane, stepping into the light, allowing her to glimpse him and see the resemblance between himself and Jackson. His looks were part of the reason that Ra's Al Gaul sent him on this particular mission. The League of Shadows had been working with the company to get rid of the pest named Jackson Rippner.
"No…" Lisa said quietly. "I'm not afraid anymore."
The fear gas had worn off. That or she had fought it off.
The Rippners were fun to study for Crane. He had only tested Lisa Rippner with the fear gas so far and her reaction was very different than the reactions of the other 'crazies' that he had studied. She seemed to be able to fight it off. And Jackson Rippner was just an interesting person. Jonathan had rather enjoyed his conversation with Jack earlier. He knew that the company wanted Jack to reign in the body of their former top manager.
His job was to make Jack stay and to either kill or drive Lisa Rippner insane. He also had to destroy Jackson and keep the children out of the way. Ra's did not see a point in harming the children and stated that they should remain untouched for the time being. He wanted to test the fear gas on them and see how they reacted to it. He knew that they had witnessed the fight between their parents and he wondered how that would affect their fears.
A groan came from the other bed. His other 'patient' was awake.
"Leese…" a hoarse, raspy whisper came from the mouth of Jackson Rippner, now awakening in his bed, and finding himself restrained as well.
"Jackson! You bastard!" screamed Lisa, fighting her restraints. She wanted nothing more than to race over to the other side of the room and strangle her husband to death.
The lights flicked on, lighting up the room and giving the Rippners a good look at each other. Dr. Crane stood on the sidelines, eager to see how they would react to each other's presence.
"Lisa? Are you okay?" questioned Jackson, concerned.
"Am I okay?" spat Lisa bitterly. "You stabbed me with a knife!"
"Leese, I'm so sorry about it. I never meant to hurt you…"
Lisa laughed harshly. "I don't believe you anymore. I'm sick of your lies, Jackson. I'm sick of all of your damn lies!"
"You see Lisa? I never lie," Jackson told her.
"I'm not lying. I love you, Leese," Jackson said softly, sounding hurt.
"I want to believe you. I want to trust you. But I can't."
A small part of Lisa had yet to give up on Jackson. That small part of her heart still loved him, despite everything that he had done. She wanted the loving, caring Jackson back.
"Lisa…"
"No, listen to me. I can't trust you anymore. You betrayed me. It's over, Jackson, and you know it." She would not be drawn back into his web of lies and deceit, no matter how much her heart ached for him.
Her words hurt him deeply. He loved her with all of his heart and he did not want to lose her because of Jack. But if you really love someone, you can let go of them, right? No, he knew he would not last long without Lisa and the twins in his life. He gave up everything to be with her.
He would not lose her. He could not afford to.
"Lisa, I can stop Jack. Jack is a part of me that I created. I can stop him," he insisted.
"I wish I could believe you."
"Remember what I told you about my parents? How I killed them?"
"You said that you accidentally blew them up with a bomb," Lisa said with a somber nod. How could she forget that conversation? They had been on a plane and that was the same time that he told her about Roberts. She remembered begin curled up next him…
"That's what I chose to remember. When I got Jack to first disappear after I stabbed you, I remembered what really happened."
"You lied?"
"No, I told you what I thought was true. Jack hid it, allowing me to believe what was easiest."
"What really happened?" Lisa questioned, her voice trembling in fear and anticipation. She could tell by Jackson's face that the truth was painful.
Crane could not believe what was happening. They were starting to come clean with each other and reconcile. How was this possible? The rift between them—how could they begin to heal it? He had experienced first-hand the fear that Jackson had instilled in his wife and Jack had given him great insight about Jackson. He knew everything about them and it never seemed like they would get along again.
And why was Jack still gone? How was Jackson managing to keep his other half banished in the presence of Lisa?
"I began to trust Roberts, because my childhood had not been all that great. I don't remember the details—I blocked them out—and I don't want to know what happened. Roberts managed to convince me that killing them would make things better. It was a test, he told me. To see if I could possibly be a manager. I was young and eager to impress him."
Jackson sighed deeply before continuing. "I went to their house with a knife—a present from Roberts—and they were surprised to see me. All of a sudden anger and hatred flared up inside me and I struck…" his blue eyes were filled with pain and his voice breaking from the stress of the story.
"You killed them like you almost killed me," whispered Lisa, tears welling up in her eyes, and she was in shock. She never would have believed that Jackson was capable of this.
"There was blood everywhere, before I realized what I had done. I briefly remember speaking to them before I lost it. As soon as I noticed that they were dead, I planted the bomb and ran from there. Roberts congratulated me and signed me with the company."
"Did you feel bad about what you did?"
"Yes, after I figured out that Roberts had manipulated me and that I didn't need to kill them. That's when Jack came along and showed me a way out. He got me to think about revenge against Roberts."
Lisa nodded. "And it was all downhill from there."
"Until I met you. Then everything changed. Everything has changed."
Dr. Crane finally spoke up, "You're right, Mr. Rippner, everything has changed. The rules are not the same anymore. The stakes are higher."
Both the Rippners turned to face him. "What the hell are you talking about?" questioned Lisa.
"You," Crane pointed at Jackson. "You broke the rules when you fell in love with her. You fucked things up really well when she ended up pregnant and you dropped out of the game."
"I was going to quit before I met Lisa! The Keefe assassination was to be my last job!" Jackson exclaimed, enraged at these accusations from this man. This man who looked so much like him…
"You got yourself into this mess, Rippner, and I for one am sick and tired of cleaning up your messes."
"Fuck you," Jackson cursed.
Crane smiled as he baited Jackson. "How do you know that your wife hasn't already? She made quite a scene earlier in her room. She was convinced that I was you and tried to shoot me."
Jackson glared at him, but refused to speak. Lisa could catch bits of muttered curses from across the room and Crane was entirely too happy for her liking.
"What is that you want?" hissed Lisa.
"I want you all to start cooperating! Why don't you just admit your fears like a good little girl? And Rippner, why don't you just give up and let Jack have what he wants? You're never going to win."
"I've already won several times and I'm not handing my family over," growled Jackson.
"Too bad, because we could be really great friends. Oh well, I hope you enjoy the show…" sneered Crane, opening his briefcase and aiming it at Lisa.
Jackson's blue eyes went wide as he saw the powder fly out and hit Lisa. She changed in that instant and started screaming.
Lisa Rippner was going insane and Jackson was being forced to watch.
Author's Notes:
A long, confusing chapter. Jackson's still working on getting rid of Jack. But he can't, so our good friend Crane will have to help with that later on. Crane's intentions are starting to show a little bit. And if things go his way, he'll be bringing the Rippners to Gotham City soon. Enjoy!