I'm ba-a-a-a-a-ack!
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"There were two blackbirds sitting on a hill
One named Jack, the other named Jill
Fly away, Jack! Fly away, Jill!
Come back, Jack! Come back, Jill!"
-'There Were Two Blackbirds'
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"Do you have some sort of plan for getting out of here?"
"Yes, I do. Now, are you coming or not?" He stared at her coldly, and Lisa knew that he was dead serious about everything he'd just said to her.
She stared at him for a few more seconds, thinking everything over. Finally, she exhaled sharply, and replied. "Fine. I'll help you. What do we do?"
Upon hearing her response, Jackson plowed ahead into his description of the plan, giving off the feeling that there was really no time to lose. To Lisa, it was slightly worrying, but at least it reassured her that he seemed to know what he was doing.
"First thing we have to do is get in the car and start moving. The further we are from this house when they figure out we're missing, the better. Once they know we're gone, they're going to alert everyone they work with in the area, and they will be looking for us, so we really don't want to have to stop anywhere while we're making our escape."
Lisa frowned. "When you mean everyone in the area, how much space are you talking about?"
"Let's just say we don't want to have to stop anywhere within the tri-state area, at least."
"Exactly how many people work for your company?"
"More than you'd care to know about." Jackson walked over to the SUV, opened the door, then fumbled around for something in the glove compartment. When he exited the car, Lisa noticed that he was holding a set of keys. "Can you drive one of these?"
Neglecting to mention that she'd driven one into and over one of his associates, Lisa merely blinked, somewhat bewildered. "You want me to drive?"
Jackson held up his wrists, still bound by handcuffs. "Well, with this fun device on me, it wouldn't be too safe. Besides, it's dark out. Nobody's going to recognize you in the driver seat when it's pitch black."
Lisa, not needing any further encouragement, grabbed the keys from his hand. "Okay."
Jackson climbed into the back of the car, and Lisa made her way to the driver's seat, feeling somewhat empowered. She got to drive, rather than Jackson. In some childish way, this pleased her.
As she turned the key and brought the engine to life, Jackson rooted around for something in the back while giving instructions. "If you keep going straight from the cave entrance, there's a dirt road there that'll lead to the highway."
"Okay." Lisa fixed the rearview mirror and adjusted her seat, noticing that Jackson had pulled out a medium-sized plastic case from under one of the seats. It seemed like one of those first-aid kits that are designed to be kept inside your car, and Lisa mused that Jackson's shoulder and leg must have been hurting more than she'd originally thought.
Lisa turned the key in the ignition and, hearing the engine rev to life, began driving across the leafy terrain. As she drove, she made sure to avoid hitting any trees along the way, though there weren't enough to cause too much of a problem. Using the rearview mirror, Lisa could see the odd house shrinking into the distance as the car made its way through the wooded area.
"Do you think they'll hear the car?" Lisa asked, not bothering to turn to look at Jackson.
"Not likely; we're fairly far away, and they'll write it off as a car on the road that runs by the front of the house."
"You sure?"
"Yes, Leese, I'm sure." He sounded slightly irritated, but Lisa didn't care. She might have been stuck with him, but that didn't mean she had to be nice about. But, then again, neither did he. Well, she knew she could handle whatever verbal jabs he threw out at her.
After a few minutes, Lisa reached the dirt road. She twisted her neck around and asked, "Which way, right or left?"
Jackson, gauze wrapped around his shoulder and ankle, jerked his head towards the right. "That way. It'll lead us straight to the highway."
Lisa nodded. "Where are we going, by the way?"
"I'm not sure yet."
"…I thought you said you had a plan."
"I do. But first, I need to pick up a newspaper."
"What?-!"
Jackson, obviously taking some delight in Lisa's outrage, explained himself as though he were speaking to a five year-old who had just demanded to know why the sky is blue. "The police have already issued a report about you to the media. Chances are, they're trying to guess where you'd most likely run and hide, and the newspapers will let us know where exactly they're looking for you. And, since we don't want to get caught, we need to know where they're looking so we can go somewhere else." He flashed her a mocking smile. "Got that, Leese?"
Lisa merely put on the car's blinker and began making the turn. "Whatever you say, mon capitan."
Jackson gave her a dark look, but said nothing as they turned onto the street and drove away.
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Approximately a half-hour later, Lisa sat and in the parking lot of a rest station near the highway, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel to the tune of a song she didn't remember the words to. It was pitch black out, and the only noises to be heard came from the few cars passing by on the highway.
Lisa glanced out at the rest area and saw no one. The whole place was bare, except for two street lamps dotting the parking lot. The rest station itself had some light coming from inside, but not very much. And it was quiet. Very, very quiet.
Lisa tried her best not to feel on edge. Yes, she was alone, unarmed, in a parking lot in the middle of the night. But she had no reason to feel uneasy. Jackson would be back in a few minutes, and then they would keep driving down the highway. Nothing to be afraid of.
After all, it wasn't like anyone was chasing them or something.
Lisa, trying her best to distract herself, fumbled around under the seat to see if Jackson kept a tire iron there. If she had something on hand that she could use as a weapon, then maybe she'd feel somewhat more secure.
She had a fear of parking lots. She'd been paranoid about them ever since that day two years ago, and the incident onboard the red eye hadn't eased her fears about being attacked. Lisa hated the feeling of vulnerability that came with knowing that she'd been at someone's mercy twice. And here she was again, running for her life with a man who'd tried to kill her, and who she'd tried to kill. Lisa detested the fact that she was so helpless to stop these situations from happening, but there was nothing she could do about it anymore.
Lisa sighed. No tire iron under the seat. Lisa wondered what had happened to her purse when she'd been knocked out. If she'd had it with her, then she could use her father's pistol if anything happened.
Lisa was about to switch on the radio to calm her nerves when she heard a voice coming from near the passenger side window.
"Boo."
To her embarrassment, Lisa jumped when she heard his voice. Without even turning her head, she knew that it was Jackson who was lightly chuckling at her expense. If she'd had a tire iron in her hands, she probably would've slammed it against his skull. Instead, she merely seethed.
"Asshole."
"Touché. Anything happen while I was in there?"
"No. Did you get your damn newspaper?"
"Yup." Jackson held up the Miami Herald. Even with barely any light, Lisa recognized the photo of herself on the front cover, and she started to feel sick to her stomach. Jackson said nothing, but opened the car door and sat down in the passenger seat. Unfolding the newspaper in his hands, he began reading it aloud with an almost mirthful expression.
"Lisa Reisert was last seen at the Lux Atlantic by several hotel employees, blah blah blah. She is to be considered dangerous, etc. Should anyone spot her, they are to inform the police, yadda yadda. Do not attempt to confront her, as she can become violent. The police believe that she is heading towards Dallas, where she has many relatives."
He refolded the newspaper. "The police have no imagination."
Lisa grabbed the paper out of his hands, ignoring the tsk-ing noises Jackson made in reproach. Instead, she scanned over the article about her. The paper had written down everything they could about her: her family history, her work at the hotel, her political affiliations, even mentioning her occasional trips to the bar near the hotel. There were photos of her from her hotel employee ID and from Grandma Henrietta's funeral, and some urgent notices from the police that she must be found before she had a chance to strike again.
Lisa felt like she might be sick.
Jackson, either not noticing or not caring about Lisa's distress, began speaking once she set down the paper. "We should start driving to New York. New York City's the best place to hide right now, and it's far enough away that they won't put other agents on high alert for us there."
Lisa frowned. "How long will it take to drive to there?"
"About two days. It's a long drive, but it'll be worth it. There's five whole boroughs to hide in, and I have connections that'll give us false identities. Then all we have to do is get to JFK Airport and get to a country where they won't be looking for us."
Lisa nodded slowly, letting her mind absorb this. She had to admit, even though he was still as much of an ass as ever, Jackson seemed to know what he was talking about. He had a good idea of what to do, and he had a plan for getting them out of there. Considering the situation, this put Lisa's mind a little more at ease.
Not that she'd ever let him know that.
She put the car in reverse and started backing out of the parking lot. As she steered the car back towards the highway, she glanced to her right, past Jackson to the side-view mirror. As she did so, however, she noticed something odd.
She looked down at Jackson's hands. "What happened to your handcuffs?"
"Used a safety pin I found in the back and I picked it open." He smirked. "Why, are you upset that you don't have me all chained up?"
Lisa shrugged as nonchalantly as she could muster. "No, I just wondered why you didn't look like the end result of a bad S&M session."
Jackson rolled his eyes as they made their way onto the highway.
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The next hour or so was spent in a calm silence. Despite the high rush of emotion that accompanied a run from the law, Lisa didn't want to spend her time chatting with Jackson Rippner. If anything, she spent her time wondering why, out of anyone on the face of the planet, she had to be in a car with a man who had once tried to kill her.
But Fate was cruel, she supposed.
In any event, Jackson didn't exactly seem thrilled to be with her. He continually stared out the passenger-side window, rubbing his wrists and brooding. He didn't seem to notice anything that was going on around him, only snapping out of his daze when Lisa switched on the radio. Past that, he made no attempts at communication, except to occasionally murmur "Turn right" or "Switch lanes".
As they drove, Lisa couldn't help but be plagued with curiosity regarding the men she had seen back at the house. What would they do when they saw that Jackson and Lisa were missing? Had they already discovered their absence?
As these thoughts whirled through her head, Lisa didn't even notice her eyelids beginning to droop. She only snapped out of her daze when she heard a loud honk coming from the car behind her, and she realized that she had almost hit the car in the next lane. The man behind her switched lanes and drove up beside her, shrieking obscenities before speeding away.
Embarrassed, Lisa tried to focus on the road again as her cheeks flushed red. From the seat next to her, she could hear Jackson dryly reply, "Way to go, Leese."
"Shut up," she shot back, still mortified by her near-accident. Tilting his head, Jackson gave her an odd look before stating, "You almost fell asleep, didn't you?"
"No!" she replied quickly, her cheeks still flushed. Still staring at her, Jackson evenly replied, "It's three in the morning. Are you sure you can drive?"
Lisa bit her lip, refusing to respond. Jackson sighed, obviously annoyed with the stubborn woman sitting next to him. "Get off at the next exit. We'll find a motel at the next exit, and we'll get some sleep and figure out what to do in the morning."
Frowning slightly, Lisa asked, "Why can't you just drive?"
Rubbing his eyes, Jackson answered, "You think I'm not tired, too?"
Lisa conceded that he had a point. Looking out at a passing road sign as she willed her eyes to stay open, she stated, "We have about a half-mile until the next exit."
Jackson merely murmured, "Alright then," before going back to staring out the window. Lisa, almost grateful for the excuse to stop driving, mentally reminded herself that she only had a short way to go before she could rest. Until then, she needed to stay alert. There were people that wanted to kill them, and she couldn't afford to not be on guard.
Quietly, she asked, "Do you think they know we're gone yet?"
Without turning to look at her, Jackson replied, "I'd say most definitely. The question is how long did it take them to figure it out."
Feeling slightly more on edge, Lisa continued her questioning. "So they're probably looking for us already?"
Still staring out the window, Jackson evenly answered, "By now, they've probably got as many people as they can muster out looking for us. That means checking out your apartment, the hotel, scanning the highways, whatever it takes."
Poring over this, Lisa muttered, "So this is a big deal to them, huh?"
Sighing, Jackson replied, "Killing the head of Homeland Security isn't a small thing, Leese."
As the car smoothly made its way down the highway, Lisa thought over this, and Jackson seemed to go back to his dazed stare. After a minute or so of silence, Lisa asked, "How much?"
Jackson blinked and looked at her with a confused expression on his face. "What?"
"How much did you get paid to kill Keefe?"
Jackson sighed, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. Lisa, however, was unwilling to budge. "How much?"
He sighed once again and asked, "Leese, do you honestly want to know?"
"Yes," she answered simply. "I want to know how much it costs to kill a person."
Jackson, seemingly irritated, stopped to think for a second. After a moment's meditation, he replied, "There were ten of us working on it. We each got a million dollars to start with, and we were told we'd get another half a million at the end of the job."
Lisa pondered this for a second or two, adding the numbers in her head. "Fifteen million," she said to herself. "That's how much it takes? If someone marched up to you tomorrow with that much money in hand, then you would kill anyone they wanted?"
"Depends," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "A lot of factors go into it. Travel expenses, any security personnel that might be there, location of the execution, expense of any cover-ups that might occur. Keefe was a big-name job, so he was expensive." Smiling wryly, he added, "Someone like you or your father would be a lot closer to, say, fifteen thousand. Hope that doesn't knock you down a peg."
Lisa shook her head, frowning. "You're disgusting."
"You asked. I'm merely stating the simple truth."
Frustrated with him, Lisa tried to focus on the road as she vehemently replied, "How can you be so cavalier about what you do? You murder people, yet you act casual whenever you talk about it."
Jackson, watching her from the corner of his eye, answered calmly, "Not everyone is like you, Lisa."
Shaking her head, Lisa said, "That doesn't make you any less of a monster."
When she turned to look at Jackson, he seemed to be distracted, staring at the side-view mirror and frowning.
"Are you even paying attention?" she asked, annoyed with her silent companion. Without even acknowledging that he'd heard her, Jackson murmured, "That car is following us awfully close."
Lisa glanced at the rearview mirror. Sure enough, a BMW was behind them, following too close for comfort. Uneasily, Lisa replied, "It's the highway. Tailgating's not that unusual."
Jackson glanced out the passenger side window. "So's the car on our right."
Lisa shifted in her seat. "I'm sure that it's nothing." She glanced at the rearview mirror to see that the BMW had fallen back a bit, and was following them at a more normal distance. "Look, he pulled back. It's probably nothi-…"
She was cut off when the BMW accelerated suddenly and lurched into the back of the car, shattering their rear window.
Lisa's neck snapped back to see the shattered glass. "Oh, shit."
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"Hand in mine
Into your icy blues
And then I'd say to you
We could take to the highway…
And I would drive on to the end with you
A liquor store or two
Keeps the gas tank full
And I feel like there's nothing left to do
But prove myself to you
And we'll keep it running…
But this time,
We'll show them…
Like scarecrows
That fuel this flame,
We're burning,
Forever and ever."
-My Chemical Romance's 'Demolition Lovers'
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