Chapter Four

Lisa stared at Jackson in shock. No, she thought, this isn't how it works. I was supposed to find him. This isn't the way things were supposed to happen.

"You...you..." she tried to get the words out, but she couldn't. This isn't how it was supposed to work.

Suddenly Jackson smiled. "Hello, Leese," he said.

That got Lisa to snap back into the real world. Without warning, she threw herself at him. Taken by surprise, Jackson fell over. She closed her hands around his neck.

"Where the hell are they?" she asked sharply.

Jackson looked stunned. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, straining to get the words out.

"My husband? My daughter? Where are they?" she yelled. She wasn't as much worried that he was the one who had taken them, as she was worried he wasn't the one who had taken them. He has to be the one who took them, she thought. That way there's an explanation for everything...

"Please," she pleaded, loosening her grip slightly, but only slightly, "please promise me they're not hurt."

Jackson was looking dazed. "I can't promise you anything," he said, "because I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

With a sob, Lisa let go of him. What do I do now? She thought.

"I have to find them...I have to find them..." she murmured, over and over. Jackson looked at her, and in the large feeling of hatred he had for her, guilt and pity were mingled in. Don't go feeling sympathetic, Jack, he told himself, it's your biggest weakness. Despite the voice that was telling him over and over to just get out of there before she went mental again, he heard himself saying, "What happened?"

Lisa looked up sharply, her eyes filled with anger. "What are you doing here, anyway?" she said, between her tears.

Jackson was about to answer, but stopped himself. What was he doing here? Why was he at Lisa's hotel, of all the places in Miami? Was it coincidence? It had to be. It was still strange, after one year in the hospital and four years in prison, the first person he meets on the street is Lisa Reisert.

"I...this is the hotel where I'm supposed to be staying," he said.

Lisa shook her head. "They said on the news that you were going back to your house."

"I don't own a house."

He looked down at his feet. Lisa looked at him, wondering why they had suddenly been forced together. She needed to find her family, but something wasn't right. Somehow, Jackson was connected to all of this. Why did the news say he was going to a house he never had, yet really be going to the hotel that she now worked at? She knew she had to ask for his help, yet there was only one thing she could think about: Jackson threatening her, pointing a gun at her head. She brushed the thoughts away. She needed his help, no matter what cost.

"Alright," she said. She had printed out the email she had received from this "J." She handed the copy to Jackson. As he read it, his eyebrows went up, and he had a look crossed between concern and confusion on his face.

"Well, clearly the only way to find this man is to meet him in the alley as planned," Jackson said, looking thoughtful, "but you don't respond well to threats. I think I'm right in guessing that you have every intention not to show up in the alley at midnight?"

She nodded. "But only if I can find this J in time." She stared at him. "Any possibilities who this might be?"

Jackson shook his head. Then he glanced sharply at the message. "Unless..."

Lisa stared at him. "What?"

He looked up at her. "The person who wrote this might have wanted you to believe that it was me who sent it. That's why he signed it 'J.' And there's only one person who could want to do that." For the first time since Lisa had met him, Jackson looked genuinely scared.

"Who?" she asked.

Jackson took a breath. "His name's Dixon Bentley. He's the leader of the terrorist group that's been all over the news." He shuddered. "The one I just busted. Almost." He looked down again. "I didn't tell the cops everything. But Bentley doesn't know that. He'll do whatever he can to get his revenge."

Lisa looked at him in disbelief. "But what does that have to do with me?" she asked.

Jackson shrugged. "I guess he suspected that the only way to get to me was through you. He knew that, if he kidnapped your family, you would go straight to me."

Lisa's eyes narrowed. "Where is he? Where does he live? You were in contact with him, you have to know something."

"The only thing I know," Jackson said, ""Is two things: One, he's in hiding, and two, he's not planning on coming out any time soon."

"Then how is he able to control a terrorist group if he's in hiding?"

"He has dozens of criminals, crooked cops, and would-be terrorists at his disposal. They'll do almost anything for him. Including kidnapping innocent civilians." He nodded knowingly at Lisa.

Lisa leaned against the wall of the hotel. She sat up suddenly.

"What?" Jackson asked.

She swayed slightly. "It's nothing," she said weakly. "Just feeling a little sick."

She stumbled, and Jackson caught her arm. Suddenly, all she could think about was the red eye flight. Why did she trust him with this? She pulled her arm away, glaring at him.

"How do I know I can trust you?" she said suspiciously.

Jackson shrugged. "You can't," he said, "all I can tell you is that I want him dead as much as you do."

A look flashed through his eyes, and Lisa recognized it immediately. It was the look he had when she had told him about the scar just below her neck. It was a look that showed that there was more to a situation than she thought. And, most of all, that she could either trust him completely, or distrust him completely.

"Come on," she said, heading towards her car, "my house."

It seems like Jackson is showing a more compassionate side in this chapter. Don't expect it to last too long. Sorry this chapter was a little bit scattered. Next chapter will focus on Jackson's grudge against Bentley, and will be up as soon as possible.