Chapter Five

Lisa walked down the street, hopelessly lost. Lisa felt like she could kick herself. How could she go wandering the streets of London without a map? It was ridiculous. And now she couldn't even find her way home. She looked at every available sign, hoping for a clue to where she should head, but to no avail. Frustrated, she leaned against the wall, feeling very much like smacking her head against it. She had been given this great opportunity, and now she was going to ruin it by getting lost and most likely starving to death.

Lisa looked at her watch. It read seven at night. She looked around, realizing how dark it was getting for the first time. Guess I was too busy bitching about how lost I was, she thought. She headed down the street, feeling uncomfortable. She had always been nervous being alone at night, even when she was younger. Now she would probably end up spending the night out on the street anyway, at least until there was someone around that she could ask for directions.

A couple of guys headed her way. She smiled politely.

"Excuse me," she said, stopping the men. They looked at her, clearly interested. It made her uneasy, but she continued. "I'm lost. Could you help me find out where-?"

"Would you look at that, mate," one of the men said to the other, grinning, "A little American lady lost on the streets? I'll be damned if she's little too." He smiled at Lisa, making her shudder.

"I'm sorry," she said, nervous now, "but I really need to find my hotel."

"And why, I'm wondering, should we tell you that?" the other one said.

Before Lisa could reply, she felt a hand on her back. "I'm sorry, is my cousin bothering you?" came a strange yet familiar voice.

The men looked immediately uneasy. "Er, sorry, mate," one of them said. "She was just asking for directions."

"Ah," said the man behind her, a tone of amusement in his voice. "I think I can take care from here, thank you."

"Uh, sure," the other man said. "C'mon, man, we better go," he whispered urgently to the other man, and together they walked quickly away.

Lisa turned around to see who was behind her. To her horror and embarrassment, she saw it was the man who had delivered the package earlier. He was smiling at her again.

"Do you normally go out by yourself at night?" he asked.

"Uh…" she said. 'Uh?' she thought to herself, disgusted. "Sorry, I just…got lost," she said, glad for the darkness to cover her burning face.

"Well, I can remedy that," the man said, sticking out his hand. "Benigno Curtis," he said, then paused. "Ben, if you like," he added. "I hate my bloody name."

Lisa felt slightly more comfortable. She smiled back. "Lisa Reisert," she said, smiling.

"Oh," Ben said, smiling wider, "you're the cranky girl with the big box. I didn't recognize you in the dark."

Lisa felt suddenly defensive. "And you're the sexist delivery boy," she shot back.

Ben laughed. "I didn't mean to offend you," he said. "You need help getting home?" Lisa nodded. "Well, then, come with me," He started walking, and Lisa followed.

He turned to look at her. "So what brings you to England?" he asked smoothly.

Lisa hesitated. "I'm being hunted by a hit man," she said, grinning.

Ben laughed. "Well, most unfortunate for the hit man," he said. "You look like someone who can put up a fight."

Lisa smiled. "Oh believe me, I can," she said. She made a show of kicking a garbage can. Ben laughed. There was something about his laugh that made her feel so safe.

"I should be feeling nervous then, should I?" Ben said mischievously.

"You should if you try to make a move on me," she said. "Try talking to the last guy who did."

"Why do you say 'try?'"

"Well, if you wanna talk to his grave…"

They walked the rest of the way to the hotel talking and laughing. When they reached her door, Ben said, "I doubt you want to get lost again. Is it possible you're interested in a guide?"

Lisa was taken aback by this. "Well, actually, that would be great," she said.

"That's it, then," he took out a card. "Here's my number," Lisa looked at it. "And how about dinner tomorrow evening?"

Lisa nearly dropped the card. "Unless you have other plans," he added quickly.

"Um…" Lisa thought for a moment. Part of her brain was screaming, Remember what happened last time! But the other, larger half was saying, Why not? He's harmless enough.

After debating a moment, Lisa said, "Why not?"

Ben smiled. "Seven it is," he said. Like a gentlemen, he took her hand and kissed it lightly, then walked away.

Lisa felt the place where his lips had touched her hand tingle. She rubbed it slightly, grinning. She felt like she could never frown again.

---

Jackson watched Lisa walking down the street with the man. He felt a sudden jolt of jealousy, but it was soon replaced with calm annoyance. This would be difficult if Lisa was getting involved with someone.

Suddenly Jackson realized something. He leaned forward in the car, looking not at Lisa, but at the man.

"Oh my God," Jackson breathed, out of not anger, but realization.

He quickly pulled out his cell phone and dialed Phillips's number. He waited impatiently while it rang. Finally, he picked up.

"John Phillips," he said.

"John," Jackson said, smiling cruelly, "there's been a change of plan…"

Wow, that was a fun chapter to write. I was pretty much smiling the entire time I was writing the Ben and Lisa part, because, well, it's kinda contagious. But then I frowned when I had to write Jackson's part, because I know what he's gonna do now. I know you may be thinking it's predictable, but, well, it's not. And it's cruel. Very, very cruel. Okay, gotta go, but update will be soon. Byes now! Devvi