Author's Note: Thanks again for all of the wonderful reviews! Here's the next chapter. Don't really have much else to say, so I'll just let you read. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chapter Nine: Swinging

Still on the floor, Lisa's body continued to convulse. Her vision had since blurred and gone fuzzy around the edges. Her stomach was still retching, threatening to dispel more of her bodily fluids; if there were any more left in her. She clutched both hands to the sides of her forehead, chin quivering, fresh tears springing from her eyes. The air from the elevator wafted out into the hall, permeated with the smell of blood and what likened to the stench of ground hamburger meat. The smell clung to Lisa's nostrils and in the back of her throat, gagging her. She wanted to throw up again or spit or something; anything to get the taste of that smell out of her mouth. She had never seen anything as horrible as what was crumpled in the corner of that elevator. Nobody deserved to die that way. Neela had been, in a word, butchered.

Jackson stared down at the remains of his protégé for a moment before reaching into the elevator and pushing the button for the top floor. He watched until the doors slid closed and he heard the gentle hum of the car lifting away from them. Then, he turned to Lisa, his face completely blank; expressionless. A little voice in the back of his mind told him that she needed comfort…but, he ignored it; there was no time. He reached down and took hold of her under her arms, lifting her to her feet. "We'll take the stairs." He said.

Lisa stared at him for a moment as though he were some sort of monster. Then, she began shaking her head back and forth, her eyelids pressed closed. "I can't."

"Lisa, we need to keep moving." Jackson said, his voice flat and matter of fact as if what he was saying was the most logical thing in the world. In a sense, it was.

Lisa opened her eyes and looked up at him. They were shining and sad and very haunted. She had seen too much today. "Who did that to her?" Why would someone…do that!" Her words were rushed and ran together. She was on the brink of hysteria. She twisted herself away from his grasp and tried to walk away from him, but her legs felt as though they had turned to jelly and she crumpled once again to the floor, choking on her own sobs.

Jackson knew what the sight of Neela's mutilated body had done to her psyche. He also knew that she didn't understand why he wasn't responding in a similar fashion. In a million years, he would never be able to explain to her the things that he had seen; the things that he had slowly and steadily become indifferent to. To him, this was all just part of the job; a job that he was good at. Great at. The best even. And right now, the professional inside of him was telling him that they didn't have time for her to have a breakdown just yet. But, there was no way she was going to be able to maneuver down the stairs in her current condition. He reached over and pushed the button for the elevators once again, muttering a silent hope that it would be a different one. Thankfully, the one at the far end of the hall opened invitingly to them. He said nothing; just gathered Lisa up into his arms and carried her into the elevator where he set her back down on her feet.

She had become despondent and zoned out; as if she were somewhere else in her head. He didn't blame her. He needed to get her out of here, away from all of this, but he needed her to be active and alert. He needed her to be the Lisa that she had been ten minutes ago; he needed the Lisa from the flight. He snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"Wake up, Leese." He said firmly.

Her brow was furrowed and her eyelids were halfway closed over the front of her glazed green eyes. In the back of her mind, she kept seeing the body of that woman. Neela. Not just some woman; a woman that she had known, however briefly. Beautiful, supermodel-esque Neela…who had seemed so alive; so full of energy. She was also a trained killer. Who would have been able to get to her like that? It didn't seem that it should have even been possible. The smell was still in her nose and mouth, every so often activating her gag reflex. Somewhere far away, she heard Jackson's voice but she couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

Jackson snapped his fingers in front of Lisa's face again. "Lisa, snap out of it!" He said, his voice stern and demanding.

This time, Lisa blinked twice and looked at him. Then, she looked around as though noticing her surroundings for the first time, and upon realizing that she was in an elevator, she freaked out. She screamed and began looking down, searching for Neela's body. If she could have climbed up the walls, she would have.

Jackson reached for her arm, but Lisa turned and slapped his hand away from her. Okay, maybe he preferred despondent. He took a breath, rolled his shoulders, and then with lightening quick speed, he snatched her by the upper arms and slammed her into the far side of the elevator, using the length of his body against hers to hold her there. How many times now had they found themselves in this very position? But somehow, this time was different from all the others. He wrapped his arms around her as she struggled against him; needing to fight; needing any kind of release. Soon enough, however, her body relaxed into his embrace. Her fists twisted into the material of his jacket and she clung to him, weeping onto his shoulder. Too much, too soon, Jackson thought as he placed a gentle kiss on her cheekbone. Lisa was tough girl. She had stood up against him more than once, which was more than he could say about most people. He scared the hell out of men twice his size, but not Lisa. She wasn't afraid to defend herself. But, there was no way she could have ever been mentally prepared for anything as grotesque as a mutilated corpse.

"All right, Leese," Jackson said softly, stepping back from her, but keeping his hands on her upper arms, "I need you to pull it together."

Lisa nodded at him, but in reality, she wasn't altogether certain whether or not she could get herself together. She had just witnessed the rather brutal deaths of three people. In a million years, she had never thought that something like that would happen to her. Of course, she had never expected to be targeted by a professional assassin either. Or be raped. Since when had life ever taken her expectations into consideration? Why would it start now?

"Okay." Jackson said, bringing her out of her thoughts. He brought his hands away from her shoulders and cupped them on either side of her face, his thumbs wiping the tears from her red cheeks for what felt like the millionth time. She was so sick of crying in front of him. He probably thought she was the weakest woman on the planet with how much she cried around him. Lisa looked up into his eyes. It was one of those rare moments when they were nothing but two oceans filled with warmth and tenderness and concern. There was no underlying meaning. No hidden agenda. She had only ever seen his eyes like that one other time and that had lasted for no more than an instant, and he had masked it right away. But, he wasn't trying to hide it from her now. It touched her. She put her hand on his cheek, smiling at the feel of his rough stubble against her palm. She rose to her tiptoes and kissed his lips. Softly. There was no overwhelming intensity or fire like before. No passion. And it ended just as quickly as it had started. The kiss had served its purpose though. It had given them both a bit of comfort; a feeling that Jackson had never really experienced and hadn't been altogether prepared for.

Part of Jackson's mind was screaming a long line of obscenities at him. No! it was saying, the was not good! This was showing weakness. Weakness was not an option! The other part of his mind told that part to shut the hell up. This was Lisa. That was the voice that he opted to listen to.

All of the sudden, the elevator jolted to a stop and the doors opened. Instinct sent the two of them flying apart the same way it had done earlier in the bathroom of Jackson's suite. Lisa retreated back into the corner and Jackson took stance somewhat in front of her with his knees slightly bent, arm at his back ready to draw his weapon. Brenda Patoleski, the good fella from New York's wife, came stumbling into the elevator, her bleached hair mussed and her dress askew. She held a drink in her hand and reeked of gin, as though the liquor itself was emanating from her pores. The good fella himself, Anthony, came in behind her. He was in just slightly better condition than his wife. Brenda hiccupped as the doors slid shut.

"Leslie!" she exclaimed when she noticed Lisa.

Lisa fought hard not to roll her eyes. Everything that she and Jackson had been through in one night, and now she had to deal with these two as well? Life sucked. Still, she forced a tight lipped smile and didn't correct Brenda's mistaken name. At just that moment, Brenda caught an eyeful of Jackson and Lisa watched in disgust as the blonde puffed out her chest a little bit more, trying to draw his attention to the ample mounds of silicone. Anthony's response to Jackson was somewhat different. He eyed him with half suspicion and half drunken arrogance.

"Who is this guy, doll?" he said in his Brooklyn accent, crushing a piece of ice from his drink between his pearly white thousand dollar capped teeth as he spoke.

Lisa crossed her arms over her chest and leaned one shoulder against the wall. "This is Daniel's cousin, Martin." She said without missing a beat. One corner of Jackson's mouth twitched. Always thinking on her feet, his Lisa.

"Oh, how ya doin'?" Anthony said, melting all of the sudden into the buddy buddy politico, offering his hand, "Anthony Patoleski."

For a brief moment, Jackson looked at Anthony's hand like it was something vile that had crawled out from the garbage disposal, but quickly fastened a broad smile on his face and shook it. "Martin Donovan. It's a pleasure."

Lisa felt herself smirk. It hadn't even surprised her that he had known Daniel's cousin's full name. Her face dropped though, when Brenda ever so discreetly sidled up a little closer to Jackson's side. Too close, if you asked Lisa. Her husband was right there! Did the girl have no modesty? Shame? But then, she caught a glimpse of Anthony, who seemed to be perfectly content with staring at her own chest. She self consciously tugged the collar of her father's shirt together with one hand. Anthony mimicked her stance, leaning against the wall opposite her, clanking the ice around in his glass. He licked his lips and quirked his eyebrows at her in a way that made her cringe; a way that was filled with lewd insinuation. He was doing nothing to help Lisa with her discomfort.

Brenda hiccupped again and tilted her head a little to the side, looking up at Jackson with manufactured wide doe eyed innocence. "You have very pretty eyes." She slurred to him, holding her drink with both hands, using her index finger to guide the straw suggestively into her mouth.

"Thank you." Jackson smiled. Mr. Smooth. All charm. Nothing but candy for a woman like Brenda. That was Jackson, though. One moment, he was cold blooded, conniving, and manipulative. The next moment, he was simply dripping with charisma and appeal and still very manipulative. The quintessential specimen of allure and male sexuality all bundled up into one very pretty package and wrapped in an Italian designer suit.

Brenda took the smile for encouragement. "I bet you have women telling you that all the time, though, don't you?"

Jackson ducked his head in mock sheepishness and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. Maybe if he pretended to by shy, she would back off and leave him alone. No such luck. All that his ploy seemed to accomplish was the enhancement of his boyish charm. A grin like a Cheshire cat on her collagen plumped lips, Brenda strategically pressed the outer swell of her breast against the crook of his arm. Out of the corner of his eye, Jackson spotted the way Anthony was eyeing Lisa like she was a filet mignon cooked to perfection. Brenda's delicate, manicured fingers played with the buttons on the front of his shirt. His mind suddenly put all of the pieces together.

Oh, God! He thought. He and Lisa were being tag-teamed by a couple of swingers! He wondered how good partner switching would look in the public opinion polls.

The doors opened as the elevator came to a stop in the lobby. Jackson motioned for Lisa to exit ahead of him, which she did. Quickly. Pretty much at a run in fact. Anthony watched her leave; his eyes on her ass. Jackson fixed him with a pointed stare before following her, prying Brenda's clingy hands off of him as he went.

The doors closed again, cutting them off from the way too open minded pair. Jackson was all for trying new things, but that had just been wrong! He had to jog to catch up to Lisa, who did not slow her pace to wait for him. She was still on edge and fiddling with the collar of her shirt.

"You know," she said once he had reached her side, "I am really starting to develop a hatred for elevators."

"You okay?" Jackson asked, his hand finding the small of her back.

She looked at him sharply, "Well, if I didn't feel like I needed a shower before, I sure as hell need one now." The remark was lighthearted and glib. It was also phony as hell, but Jackson played along.

He flashed her a sideways grin, "With a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a steel wool pad. That's not really what I meant, though."

"I know what you meant." Lisa said, her tone going flat once more. "You gonna tell me everything's gonna be okay?"

"I don't lie."

"Make an exception."

"Everything's gonna be okay." He said without conviction.

Lisa smiled. It was a genuine, albeit sad smile. "Liar."

Without so much as a glance at any of the people now occupying the lobby, they went through the front doors of the hotel. Lisa pulled her arms tighter around herself to ward off the cold. They turned and headed in the direction of the parking ramp. When a pair of headlights hit them, Jackson moved his hand from Lisa's back, taking her by the elbow instead and pulling her a little closer to him. His eyes never left the car as it passed them by, the passengers inside sparing them not even a glance. The elevator would have been the faster, more ideal route to the garage, but if he had had to spend one more minute in that tiny enclosed space with those people, he was fairly certain he would have killed one or both of them. He probably would have enjoyed it, too. Jackson felt Lisa shiver beneath his grasp.

"My God, it is freezing." She said. She took a moment to mentally rejoice in the fact that she had changed into her jeans instead of into the flimsy pajamas that she had brought with her. Thank God for the small victories. It was the small meaningless things like that that kept her sane in situations like this.

Jackson looked at her. They hadn't been outside for more than three minutes and her lips had already turned blue. He cursed himself for not getting her a coat, even though the rational part of his brain reminded him that they hadn't had the time. He went over a checklist of the inventory of his car in his mind. There were a couple of blankets in the trunk. He would get them for her as soon as they were a nice safe distance away from the hotel. They made their way down the parking ramp into the garage. Lisa cast a sideways glance in Jackson's direction and noticed something odd.

"Why can't I see your breath?" she asked.

Jackson grinned. When he spoke, she saw the air passing from between his lips. "Breathing technique. It's a habit in cold weather, but it comes in handy when you need to stay under the radar."

"You're gonna have to teach me that one."

Jackson chuckled deep in his throat, that rough masculine sound that only men seem to possess, fishing in the pocket of his slacks for his car keys as they walked through the garage.

"So," Lisa said, trying to sniffle as discreetly as she could, "where are we going?"

Jackson turned to her again. Blue lips, red nose, face pale and drained of all of its natural color. Her eyes were red and swollen from all the crying that she had done over the course of the night. Admiration swelled in his chest. Lisa was a slender, petite, young woman. Her outward appearance made her seem the epitome of the word delicate. He didn't think he had ever seen her look more vulnerable than she did right at that moment. However, he knew that she had more strength than any woman he had ever met in his life.

"I think it would be best if I got you out of here." He said.

"What about your job?" she asked

"I think it's safe to say that I'm not going to finish this job. That seems to happen a lot when you're around."

"You're not gonna kill Doug Claustine?"

"Chalk it up to a conflict of interests."

Lisa smiled at him; again genuine, but sad. She pulled her elbow out of his hand, then looped her arm through his, bringing them a little closer together. "I'm glad you're not going to kill him."

Jackson twitched an eyebrow at her comment. There was something that he had been wanting to know since this entire mess had started. "Why?"

"Uh, because killing is bad." Lisa said, widening her eyes for effect.

"Don't be cute." Jackson said, completely serious, "I mean it. What made you so concerned about this Claustine guy?"

"He's just a nice man with a really nice wife."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

Jackson sighed and looked downward, pressing his lips together in a thin tight line. His body language told Lisa one thing. He didn't believe her.

"Listen to me," she said and stopped walking, forcing him to stop and look at her.

"Lisa, we need to keep going." Jackson said, tugging at her arm, but she jerked away from him and took a step back.

"Not until you listen." She said.

Jackson did not look happy. He paced back and forth three times his frustration evident on his face. But, finally, he turned to her, planted his feet firmly on the ground, propped his hands up on his hips and locked his eyes on hers.

"I just met the Clautine's tonight." Lisa began. She didn't know why she felt she had to justify herself to him, but she just felt like it was the right thing to do. "Ellen was like the only woman in that room who wasn't looking at me like I was some kind of bimbo. She was very kind to me. She told me that she and Doug have been married for more that twenty years! If anything ever happened to him, it would kill her and…I…I just didn't think that she deserved that kind of pain."

Jackson's face didn't change; didn't move a muscle; not even a twitch. But his eyes did. It was subtle, but it was more than enough for Lisa. He reached over, putting his hand at the back of her head and pulling her toward him. He placed one quick soft kiss on her forehead and then looked down in her eyes.

"Okay," he said, "let's go."

No, not yet, Lisa thought. She didn't want the moment to be over, yet. She moved to hug her arms around his waist and keep him there for just a second longer, but a voice tore through the air and broke their tender moment.

"Lisa!"

Just like that, Jackson had her by the wrist and was running at full speed with her stumbling along behind him. She threw a glance over her shoulder just as Daniel and Jake came sprinting toward them from the elevators.

Jackson pressed the 'unlock' button on his keychain and the taillights on a black BMW beamer winked at them from just under five yards away. How was it possible for so short a distance to seem like a million miles, Lisa wondered to herself as Jackson pulled ever insistently at her arm.

"Get in!" he instructed.

They both dove into the car and Jackson revved the engine to life. Lisa tried not to be amazed at how easily he had started the car considering the speed with which he was moving. His motions were steady and quick with a precision that could only be described as masterful. It doesn't seem like placing a key in the ignition of a car and turning it should be that impressive, but if you could see just how fast Jackson actually did this, you would understand her fascination. It was clearly not his first time leaving somewhere in a hurry. He swerved the car back out of the parking space, then slammed the shifter into drive and pinned the accelerator to the floorboard. The beamer lurched forward, tires squealing.

Jake and Daniel were forced to literally dive to the side out of the way as Jackson came hurtling toward them. He muttered a curse word under his breath as they dodged him, but he didn't swerve for the kill. Too dangerous with Lisa in the car with him. If he missed them and clipped another car, compromising his own vehicle, it would end badly all around. Better to make a clean getaway and rip out Daniel Davis's throat later.

Lisa watched through her door window as they passed her former fiancé and his bodyguard, who were still rolling on the ground where they had landed and then she turned in her seat so that she could look back at them through the rear window. Jake stumbled hastily to his feet and, taking a wide stance, he raised his arms. Lisa could see that he held something in his hands and squinted, trying to make it out more clearly.

"Jackson!" she screamed, ducking her head just as the bullet smashed into the back windshield with a deafening noise.

Jackson didn't even bat an eyelash. He guided the car up the ramp and out of the garage, glancing maybe twice into the rearview mirror. Lisa peeked back up over her seat at the rear window. The bullet had sent a variety of cracks up through the glass, all stemming from one perfectly round white hole at their center. Lisa blew out a breath and slumped forward, leaning her upper body and forehead against the back of her leather seat as the hotel drew farther and farther behind them.

"Windshields are a little tougher than they are in the movies," Jackson said, giving her a look from the corner of his eye, only the slightest hint of amusement, "They don't shatter with one bullet."

Lisa spun forward in her seat and looked over at him, lazily leaning her head back against the headrest. "Damn movies." She said.

"Don't get too relaxed, though, Leese." He said, his eyes darting back and forth between the road and the rearview mirror a few times.

"What?" Lisa asked, sitting upright and glancing behind them once more, "You think they're going to follow us?"

"I have no doubt."

As he drove, Jackson tried to use his time to clear his mind and think about the situation. He needed to examine all of the aspects of this; needed to use logic and deduce every possible action that Daniel could take. It was the way he ran his life, like a chess match. He needed to be thinking twenty steps ahead of his opponent. This was where strategy played a key element in the outcome. He needed to be proactive. Assess, evaluate, and formulate a plan.

"Okay," Lisa said, nodding, trying to wrap her own head around the scenario, "so, where're we going?"

Author's Note: Well, that's all for now. I know that not a lot happened in this chapter, but I kind of felt that they needed a breather, no matter how short. Plus, I really wanted to focus on how they both react to what's going on around them and how they're trying to learn to cope with each other. Anyways, don't forget to review!

Personal Note: By the way, if anyone reading this has access to a copy of Cillian's movie Sunburn, please contact me! Pretty please!