Chapter Two
Jackson Rippner blinked at the sudden sunlight. He looked back at where he had come from, glad he was out of the hellhole for good.
"There's a bus waiting for you out there, Rippner," said the guard. "I suggest you get on it before the judge changes his mind."
Jackson smiled mischievously. "Well, what if I wanna walk?" he asked.
"I don't care what the hell you do, just get the hell outta here," the guard said, narrowing his eyes. "I've had just about enough of you here."
Jackson walked to the bus and got on. He watched as the trees zoomed by his window, and he thought, freedom. This is what he had fought so hard for, why he had desperately given all the information he had on Bentley's new gang uptown. It was all he had to do to convince the idiotic judge that his information was helpful. Now he was free, and no one could take that away from him, not even the little bitch Lisa. He knew that her husband had been trying to convince Judge Crawford to refuse an early release. Jackson felt his throat, where Lisa had stabbed him only five years previously. The damage hadn't been necessarily permanent, but his voice was raspy, and it hurt to yell.
The bus halted to a stop at the Caraway Hotel. Jackson was shocked. This was a nice hotel. Very nice, actually. He got up, walked to the front of the bus, and faced the bus driver.
"Are you sure this is where I'm supposed to go?" he asked, perplexed.
The driver looked at him, amused. "Part of the package for the information you gave the court," he said. "Unless there's somewhere else you want to go."
Jackson shook his head. "No, this is fine." He looked up at the massive hotel. This would work fine. As he started to walk towards the door, the driver yelled, "wait!"
"What?" Jackson asked.
"You left your bag." the driver motioned to the back of the bus. There, in the very back seat, was Jackson's bag. He shook his head, amused at himself. So much for freedom when you don't even have your bag. He got the bag, walked out of the bus, and watched it go. Almost lost my money there, he thought. He turned around, only to bump into a woman. "Terribly sor-" he began, but the words died in his throat...
Standing directly in front of him, face streaked with tears, was Lisa Reisert.
No, Lisa's not going to be too happy with Jackson in the next chapter. In fact, she's kind of gonna be mad as hell. I'm working on the next chapter at the moment. I should have this updated soon.