Day-to-Day

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

Chapter Seventeen

The shrill ringing of a phone halted the torture. Lisa was momentarily relieved, yet she could not help but wonder whom her savior was. It was not her father calling because they were not on speaking terms, so who was it?

"It's Rippner!" announced a thug triumphantly, holding Lisa's cell phone aloft.

Oh no, please no…

"Make the call," hissed the leader, before snatching the phone from the brainless thug as it redialed, calling Jackson. "You couldn't have told me about this, huh?

She had not known that Jackson's number was on her phone. He must have just put it on the phone when she last saw him. If she had known, then she would have called Jackson earlier, before this entire mess had begun.

She could hear his frantic voice from the cell phone's tiny earpiece. "Lisa, get Jack and get out of the house now!"

"Hello Rippner," her torturer and the mastermind behind this scheme said smoothly, despite his rough voice.

"Lisa? Lisa! Where's Lisa? What have you done to her? Lisa!" Jackson's vice grew more desperate and panicky. It pained Lisa to hear him this way.

"Jackson!" she screamed towards the phone. It was all she could do to let him know that she was alive.

Lisa cried out in pain a moment later as she was soundly backhanded. She had known that she would be punished for her actions, but she did not give a damn. She wanted Jackson to come find them and save Jack. She did not care if she lived or died, as long as Jack was safe. Jackson would help them both escape if he could and at the very least, he would keep their daughter safe.

"What have you done to her? Where's Lisa?"

"Oh, I haven't done much yet. She's refusing to led me to you—a foolish act that will cost the baby's its life," sneered the leader.

"If you touch one hair on either of their heads…"Jackson swore; his voice a low growl.

"If you don't cooperate, Rippner, then I'll kill them both. Got it?"

"Not Jack! She's a baby!" Lisa screamed, trying to attack her tormentor. She was furious. "She's an innocent baby, you bastard!"

A length of rope was entwined around her throat, choking her. Lisa's screams abruptly ended and she stopped fighting from lack of air.

"Lisa?" Jackson's voice was ringing in her ears, though the phone was still out of her reach. "What did you do? What did you do to her, jackass!"

"I'm sorry, but Miss Reisert is refusing to play along. Damn, you know how to pick 'em, Rippner," smirked the leader, cruelly twisting the rope, causing Lisa to claw at her own throat.

"What do you want? Tell me what you want!"

Lisa was suddenly released and began gasping for air.

"Forfeit your life in exchange for theirs. Come to the bitch's house and kill yourself in front of them. Then I'll let them go."

"How can I trust your word? How do I know you even have Lisa? You could be faking her screams."

"You have to trust me, Rippner. I'll let you speak to her, if you must."

The phone was shoved into Lisa's shaking hands.

"Jackson?" her voice trembled as she spoke into the cell phone. "Jackson!"

"I'm here, Leese, I'm here. Are you and Jack okay?" his voice was soothing and reassuring. Just speaking to each other seemed to be calming them both down.

"We're alive. I don't think they've hurt Jack."

"Lisa, did they hurt you? Did they touch you?" his concern was echoed clearly in his tone. "Where's Jack?"

"Yes, Jackson, yes they did. I don't know where Jack is. They took her from me," she sobbed into the phone.

"I'll kill them." He was deadly serious and she knew it. These men would die for touching her and Jack. Jackson would take care of them.

"Jackson, please, just focus on Jack," she begged. "Save Jack. She deserves a life. Swear to me that you'll protect her."

"I will. I'll save you too. I love you Lisa," Jackson promised.

"And I love you Jackson. I do…"

The phone was suddenly snatched from her grasp and she broke down in her sorrow. She cried for herself, for Jack, and above all for Jackson. He would never see her again and she knew it. These men would kill her before Jackson made it there. Jack was the only one who stood a chance at life. Jackson would have to save Jack. It was too late to save her.

Somehow, hearing her father's voice forced her into action. With one swift motion, Kyra withdrew the blade from her side, clenching her teeth in pain. She was unwilling to give him the satisfaction of a scream or cry again. She was going to be strong.

"What's wrong my pet?" questioned her captor. "Scared?"

His hand reached towards her chin and she stabbed his hand. He had not seen her remove the knife.

He howled and stared at his ruined hand. Kyra sprang to her feet, trying to ignore the pain. Pain was after all just a state of mind. It did not mean anything.

"You little bitch! You're just like your father!"

"Why, thank you. I'll be sure to tell him," smirked Kyra, ripping the blade from his hand. She twirled it expertly in the air.

"Don't cut yourself."

"You tortured her, didn't you? Made her scream? I think it's time that I return the favor."

He smiled, anxious to see what she was capable of. He obviously did not believe she was a major threat, or else he would have already left. But Kyra took care of his ability to run away. Two swift kicks, one to each knee, broke his kneecaps, causing him to scream in pain and fall at her feet.

She bent down, her body full of adrenaline, and her fingers itching to get to work. She was a killer…she was just like her father.

"I do believe that you cut off all of her fingers, hmm?" Kyra asked, not waiting for a reply before grabbing his injured hand and holding it to the floor.

He whimpered as she meticulously chopped off each finger in sections, enjoying every moment. He deserved pain after what he had done to Lisa and how he had destroyed her life. By killing her mother, he had killed her—he had killed Jack. Innocent little Jack had died that night and now all that was left was cold-blood, out-for-revenge Kyra.

Crimson blood flowed down the slick blade and dripped on the floor. Small pools of red liquid were forming and she was far from finished.

It would be a long time before Jackson might find her in the building, if he ever found her. She did not care. She could take her father down the same way. He deserved to die for hurting her. He abandoned her and Lisa to this murderer. Jackson might as well have slit Lisa's throat himself seeing as all the good he had done her at the end.

"Tell me, how does it feel? To wield this power?" inquired her victim, a sly smile forming across his face. "To play God?"

"I'm not God," Kyra said shaking her head, then grinning. "I'm the bastard daughter of the Devil. Remember?"

She rested her boot upon his throat, crushing the windpipe. "I'm Jackson Rippner's daughter, and you'd to well to remember that."

"You'll make a great assassin one day. You'll overshadow your father and your mother. Your future is bright," the hit man told her.

Her mother? Her mother was not an assassin. She may have killed that man to save Jackson, but Lisa Reisert had never run around knocking people off for money. That was her father's job.

Right?

Author's Notes:

She sure takes after her daddy. Her mind keeps changing. She doesn't want to be a killer because then she'll be like her father, but she also admires Jackson and knows that she's just like him. She's mentally unstable, which accounts for her ever-changing attitude.

The phone call between Lisa and Jackson is in fact the last time that they ever spoke. Now that Kyra's somewhat safe, we'll get back to Lisa's death and she will actually die in the next chapter. I can't believe how long it's taking to get to that point. Enjoy and big thanks to all my reviewers!