Bad Things Happen
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!
Chapter Five
Jackson Rippner almost fell over in shock when the elevator doors slid open and Lisa Reisert stepped inside. Her head was down, her shoulders slumped and her curly hair hid her face from him. It had just been over a day since he had last seen her and he suddenly realized how much he had missed her stubbornness and feisty streak. Her back was turned to him as a pale finger reached out to press the already lit button for the first floor.
What was she doing in the same building that he kept an office in?
But that question did not annoy nearly as much as her ignoring him did.
"Hello, Leese," he rasped, ticked that she had yet to notice him.
A startled gasp flew from her lips and she spun around to face him, a gun in her grip. Jackson did not flinch, even as she steadied the gun at his head.
"You—what are you doing here?" Lisa's voice quivered slightly.
"Gonna shoot me, Lisa?" Jackson teased, taking a confidant step towards her.
"I-I-" Lisa never got a chance to answer because Jackson knocked the gun out of her hand and placed a knife to her throat, before he pulled the emergency stop button—halting their descent to the first floor and freedom.
"So, how have you been? Miss me yet?" Jackson sneered.
"Just kicking your ass," was Lisa's curt reply. She was determined not to let him get the best of her.
"Aw, and here I just wanted to have a nice little chat. I'm really hurt, Leese."
"Maybe if I had shot you in heart, then you would have had some actual feelings for me to hurt, besides your pride," snarled Lisa.
"Temper, temper, Leese. Haven't you learned anything from our little flight?"
"Apparently not."
"What a shame—now—" Jackson found himself cut off as the elevator resumed its decent.
"I though you stopped the elevator, Jack," hissed Lisa, annoyed and sick of playing these games with Jackson.
Amused, Jackson replied, "I did."
Lisa did not find the situation amusing. "Why does it feel like we're speeding up?"
Suddenly it clicked. They had been found. This was another assassination attempt. But on which one of them? Had his employers found out that he was staying there, or had Lisa been tracked?
"That's because we are, Leese," he told her, knocking a panel out of the top of the elevator car. "It's an assassination."
"What?" she was stupefied—entranced by the implausibility of his statement.
"Would I ever lie to you?"
"No," she admitted bitterly. He had never lied to her. He had no reason to.
"Do you want to get out of here alive?" he offered, the knife disappearing into his pocket.
"Yes."
"Do you trust me, Leese?" he question, her chin held in his hand, forcing her to look at him.
"Yes…"
"Good. Now I'm going to give you a boost."
Before Lisa could reply, Jackson was lifting her up towards the opening and she climbed through it. Jackson pulled himself up after her despite his weakened state.
"Grab the ladder" he ordered, pointed to a metal ladder alongside them.
Lisa reached out and grabbed a rung, burning her hand at the same time from the friction. She clung to the ladder and quickly ascended. She heard Jackson grunt below her and knew that he too had jumped and was now following her. Below them, the elevator reached the bottom. It stopped with a thud and angry voices filled the air. Suddenly, the elevator was zooming back up the shaft, ready to scrap Lisa and Jackson off the side.
"You're going to have to jump!" Jackson warned as he jumped onto the roof of the moving car. "I'll catch you."
Lisa took a deep breath and let go. Sure enough, he caught her, just before pulling her down through the hole and inside the car. They collapsed onto the floor, panting and gasping for air.
"That was too close, Jackson Rippner!" yelled Lisa as her breathing returned to normal.
"Hey, I didn't plan it," he rasped as the elevator continued to rise. "Now, we have to be ready for them."
"Who? Ready for who?"
Jackson rolled his blue eyes. "Assassins, hit man—does it really matter, Leese?"
He picked up her discarded gun and handed it over to her. "You can shoot me if you want, but you'll need my help to get out of here alive."
"What the hell is going on?" she demanded. She wanted answers before she went any deeper into this mess.
"My employers are after me—you too. I screwed up and you helped. We're loose ends that need tying up."
"How do you know all this?"
"They've already tried to assassinate me before this," he grimaced. "This is the second time around for me."
"What do we do?" she wanted to know. She had no idea why she was trusting him with her life. He had nearly killed her the previous day.
"We beat them to the punch. We hide on the sides, armed of course, and wait for them to enter. Then we take them out."
"We? I think not…" snorted Lisa.
"You got us into this mess. If you had only been a good little girl and made the phone call, then neither of us would be here in this mess right now."
"This doesn't change anything," Lisa insisted as she flattened herself against the panel to the left of the elevator doors.
"I wouldn't want it any other way," he smirked.
The elevator came to an abrupt stop.
"This is it," Jackson said, his knife glittering in his hand.
The doors slid open and Lisa's heart stopped for a moment. This was it. Now she would find out if Jackson lied or was at the very least paranoid.
Author's Notes:
Now we finally get into the meat of the story! I skipped two minor scenes because they aren't important. Lisa went to her lawyer, but the lawyer doesn't know of anything that he can do to stop Jackson now that he's gone. Jackson woke up and decided that he needed to switch locations. That's how they managed to meet in the elevator. They were both getting ready to leave. Enjoy! New chapter coming soon!