Chapter Four

Lisa grasped the armrest of her seat nervously. This was the last thing she wanted to do this. If there had been some magical way to just get to London without flying, she would have gladly taken it. She had been able to avoid anything to do with airplanes for two and a half months. It had been nowhere in her interest to fly again. Not after what had happened.

She silently leaned her chair back. All she needed right now was sleep...if she was lucky, maybe she could sleep for the entire flight...

Lisa ran through the hallway, which was seemingly unending. Panicking, she tried the all the doors on both sides running down, but none of them would open. Before she knew what was happening, she had reached the end. There, standing before her, was the largest door she had ever seen.

Without thinking, she opened the door. Unlike the other doors, this one would open easily, and although it was seemingly heavy, she found it to be lighter than anything she had felt before. She took a step inside. It was pitch black, except for a bright light at the end. She looked behind her.

Before she knew what was happening, Lisa felt herself being shoved back into the hallway. Her back erupted in pain as she hit it against a doorknob. Tears trickling down her cheeks, she turned to see who had shoved her. A strong hand wrapped itself around her neck...

"You can't run from me forever, Leese," she heard Jackson's voice echo through the hall as she tried to breathe...

"Miss? Miss? Are you alright?" Lisa heard a voice say sternly.

Lisa opened her eyes. Standing before her was a flight attendant, looking worried.

"You must have been having some nightmare there," the woman said. "You sounded like you were being murdered." The woman smiled. "Want some water?" she asked.

Lisa nodded. She gratefully accepted the bottle. "How far are we from London?" she asked.

"Only about an hour," the woman winked at her. "You get some rest."

"Okay," Lisa said, taking a drink as the woman walked down the isle. So much for the sleeping idea, she thought bitterly. That dream had been way too realistic. She could remember it clearer than any dream she had had before.

She sighed and leaned back. Might as well stay awake for the rest of the flight, she thought, looking out the window.

---

Jackson was shocked awake when he heard screaming in the cabin ahead of the one he was in. After a while, the screams died down. Jackson smiled. That's going to be Lisa when I'm through with her, he thought. He didn't care if it sounded cruel. She deserved it for what she did to him.

He didn't want to kill her. No, that would be too easy. He wanted to make her as miserable as she had made him. He wanted her to suffer. He had never felt so much hatred toward a person. With what he was feeling, he doubted he had ever felt hatred at all. He had certainly felt pity about his victims, but he had never hated them with the evident passion of his employers. Now he did. But no killing this time.

No, he thought, there will be a death, but not Lisa's. He looked at the picture of the man he was supposed to kill. The man didn't look like he would be dangerous, but Phillips had insisted he had an ironclad reason for killing him. He had refused to tell Jackson what it was, but Jackson knew it wasn't about revenge. He had realized in the short time he had been around Phillips that he wasn't that kind of man. He was the kind of man to get rid of a witness, however.

Jackson leaned back in his seat and smiled. His plan was going to work out perfectly...

---

Lisa flopped her bag down on the bed, looking around. It was a nice hotel. Very nice, actually. She sat down, feeling immensely tired. So much for the ten-hour nap. It was four in the afternoon, and she was too exhausted to even sightsee. She certainly had enough money. When she had gotten into the room, there was a credit card sitting on the desk. Attached to it was a note: Here's money. Feel free to use it all you want. C.

Lisa had been thrilled. Her secret passion for years had been shopping. If only she wasn't so tired...she yawned and lay down on the bed. She could get about an hour of sleep. It would do her good.

No sooner had she fallen into the deep cushions of the bed when there was a knock on the door. Groaning, she pushed herself out of bed. Can't ever get sleep, can I? She thought as she shuffled over to the door.

"Yes?" she said after opening it.

In the doorway, a man with dirty blond hair and blue eyes and a huge smile was standing with a large box. "Got this delivery," he said, sounding amused. He was obviously British. His accent gave him away. "I have to say, hotel guests don't usually get these kinds of packages."

"Um, thanks," Lisa said, slightly embarrassed. That's a great first thing to happen when you get to London, she thought bitterly, get embarrassed by a huge package in front of a cute English guy.

"Pretty light, though," he continued. "Pretty thing like you shouldn't have that much of a problem, I think."

"Yes, thank you," she said, slightly irritated. She didn't really like sexist comments. She was about to shut the door when the man stuck his foot in the door. Annoyed, Lisa opened it.

"Yes?" she asked impatiently.

The man's smile grew wider. "You gotta sign," he said, holding out a clipboard.

"Wha-? Oh!" she said, feeling foolish. She signed it quickly. "Um, bye," she said, and shut the door. For God's sake, she thought angrily, can't I get my act together around guys? She hadn't liked how sexist he seemed, but maybe she was being overly critical. At least she had a little more energy now.

She looked at the box. The delivery guy was right. It was really light. She tried to open it, but the top was sealed tightly. She got up and ran over to her bag, where she got the keys to unlock her suitcase. Silently she ran the key through the space between the two flaps, breaking the tape. She opened it, but all there was were little packing peanuts. She shuffled through them, trying to find anything, but there was nothing. Irritated, she got up and threw the box over into a corner. What was the matter with people?

She went over to the bed and threw herself on it. She was still tired, and although getting angry with the deliveryman had energized her a little bit, she had pretty much wasted it all throwing the box across the room. She snuggled into the covers and fell asleep almost immediately.

Lisa tried her hardest to break free of Jackson's grasp, but she couldn't. Finally, he let go and walked back into the room, his footsteps echoing menacingly. Sobbing, Lisa got up and leaned against the door. In desperation, she tried to open it. Surprisingly, it opened easily. She looked inside. Standing in the doorway was the deliveryman with the large box.

"You gotta sign," he said, smiling.

---

Okay, since the last sentence was in italics, and my notes are always in italics, you might wanna know that this is, in fact, another note, and not part of the story. That was a bit of a long chapter. Well, longer than my chapters usually are, at least. Sorry I didn't update sooner, my computer was being stupid. Anyway, dreams about Jackson, huh? They do have significance in the story, and so does the empty box and, as fate may have it, the man who delivered it. That's it, I'm not saying any more. You'll have to wait for the next chapter, which, sadly, I won't be able to post for a while. Toodles for now!