Bad Things Happen

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Red Eye!

Chapter Six

Into the elevator slipped two men with silenced handguns. The hit men passed Lisa and Jackson. Jackson jerked his head towards the one near Lisa, trying to indicate that she was to attack him on his signal.

'No', she mouthed and shook her head.

Jackson rolled his blue eyes. They did not have time for this! 'Your loss,' he mouthed back.

He struck out, jabbing the shinning blade in his hand into the nearest hit man's back. The other hit man spun around and took aim at Jackson, just barely missing his dark head as the manager ducked. Lisa was unnoticed still and knew that it was now or never. She closed her eyes after she aimed and squeezed off three shots, and all three found their mark. The other hit man slumped to the floor; dead as a doornail and Jackson was suddenly at her side.

"Let's go, Leese, before more of them show up," he hissed and when she did not respond, he forcibly dragged her from the elevator and into the hallway.

Lisa was limp with shock, and hanging onto Jackson. He grimaced with each step because his leg was starting to twinge again and Lisa was not helping matters. He was far from being in the best shape to handle this particular situation.

"Walk, Leese," he ordered as they reached the stairs. There was no way he could help her down the steep concrete blocks fast enough and without sending them both tumbling.

"I can't…" she mumbled, shaking her head.

Jackson was sick of her excuses. "You will walk down those steps, Lisa. Are you listening to me?"

"Yes…no," her green eyes were dazed and Jackson sighed loudly, a strange raspy sound coming from him.

"You leave me no choice then," he said coldly before backhanding her across the face. Lisa fell down a few steps, her cheek stinging and turning bright red. Jackson sauntered down the few steps to where she lay, like a broken rag doll. It was almost as if yesterday were repeating itself.

Her hand was on her cheek and she was glaring at him. "Bastard," she hissed through clenched teeth. Jackson grabbed her wrist and sharply yanked her up.

"Need me to do it again, or are you going to walk on your own? Perhaps you'd like it more if I threw you down the stairs?"

Lisa did not dignify him with a response. She stood up on shaky legs and started to descend the stairs at a rapid pace, leaving Jackson behind. He stumbled along after her, partially afraid that she would try to run and partially worried for her safety. She was still dazed, but one did not need their mind on to flee for their life.

"Down there!" a voice echoed from the top of the stairs, causing both Jackson and Lisa to freeze.

"Fuck!" Jackson cursed, his blue eyes narrowing in on the hit men above them. "Double-time, Leese!"

Lisa ran; skipping steps and slipping down others. Jackson followed her, every so often pushing her along, urging her faster. Shots rang out behind the former manager and his victim, and the bullets ricocheted on the metal rails and the concrete surroundings.

They reached the bottom and Lisa shoved the door open, Jackson's raspy breathing upon her neck. "Run!" he ordered, shoving her forward. "Run, Leese!"

Lisa sprinted into the sunshine, Jackson on her heels. Where was she to run? To her car? To his? Did he even have a car or a plan?

She was so distressed that she almost did not realize that she was in a parking lot. She had feared parking lots since the incident two years ago that left her with the scar. Since the rape, which had surprised even Jackson. He had not the slightest clue as to what had happened to her and it had led to his undoing.

"Beemer, Lisa!" Jackson's raspy voice ordered as he gave her a shove.

Lisa involuntarily shivered as she searched out the silver car that had been parked in front of her father's house the previous day, the car that Jackson's associate had been sitting in, awaiting his master's orders. She was not about to get into that car with Jackson. She would rather take her chances in the parking lot with the hit men.

She turned, trying to run away, far away. Anywhere but that parking lot with the silver BMW and Jackson Rippner…

His strong hand grabbed her arm and he yanked her down, pulling her to close the ground. She fought his grip, trying to break loose.

"Let go! Let go, Jack! Let me go!" she shrieked, clawing at his grasp and trying vainly to free herself.

"Stop struggling!" he hissed, covering her mouth with his left hand and wrapped his right hand around her throat.

Parking lot… parking lot… daylight… She needed to run, run away! She had to get away! Never again!

Jackson's face softened when he realized that Lisa was trembling beneath his hands and that her green eyes were flickering in fear. He had scared her… reminded her of the past. Something horrible…of course…the rape. He sneered and yanked her up, releasing her throat and mouth but keeping a firm grip on her arm.

"Still afraid of parking lots, Leese?"

Lisa wanted to wipe that know-it-all smirk off his face, yet she never got the chance. She was shoved inside the silver car and Jackson slammed the door behind her. She grabbed the handle yanking at it, but it was locked. Jackson had locked her in.

He quickly dove into the driver's seat as a bullet hit the door. Lisa jumped.

"It's bulletproof," he reassured her, as he started up the car.

"Why, Jackson? Why do you suddenly care?"

"Excuse me?" he questioned, sounding confused as he turned his blue eyes on his victim sitting in the front seat.

"Why didn't you let them kill me?"

"I'm not finished with you yet, Lisa. You're mine," Jackson smiled, placing a hand on her cheek, which was still bright red from his backhanded smack.

Lisa smacked his hand away. "I hate you. I'll never be yours."

"The line between love and hate is rather thin, Leese. You'd be surprised."

Lisa refused to look at him or reply. He sighed and put the car in reverse. "Seatbelt," he snapped.

Lisa ignored him. He grabbed a fistful of her curly hair and yanked, causing her to cry out in pain. He pulled her face towards his and stared her down. "Do as I say, Lisa. Now."

He roughly shoved her back towards her seat. Lisa hissed as her head cracked into the window. She glared at him but complied with his earlier request by buckling the seatbelt.

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it, Lisa?"

Jackson backed the car quickly and spun it around. A hit man stood in front of the Beemer's path, his gun out and aimed at Jackson's head. Jackson shifted gears and the engine roared before he pressed the gas, driving straight towards the man. He hit him with a sickening crunch and Lisa yelped when the seatbelt cut into her bruised flesh. Jackson ignored her and kept driving, determined to get them out of there.

Jackson Rippner was a businessman, and he was down to business now. And this time his business was all about staying alive and Lisa Reisert was just an added bonus—and burden.

Author's Notes:

Jackson's kind of showing off his nasty side now. He wants to protect her, but he's still Jackson and he's still messed up in the head. Lisa's confused by her feelings and her actions are disorganized as are her thoughts. Enjoy! Chapters should be coming every day now that I'm finished with Sometimes….