Jackson meets his superior at the Company's Charleston branch to receive the details for his new assignment in Miami.

Knock knock. Jackson rapped on the mahogany doors only twice. Viv's office was soundproof and there were surveillance cameras everywhere, but even in the Company normal office etiquette was maintained; it was that little bit of normalcy that Jackson relished, the knowledge that inside these walls, underneath this charade of regular office life there was an elite group of people whose every action was capable of toppling governments and eliminating world leaders, but was no more frivolity involved than that of a normal business. A stranger might have thought them a law firm, or perhaps a psychiatry office, not a top-secret assassination company. It was a heady thought.

"Come in."

Jerked out of his reverie, Jackson pushed open the doors and walked into the office. Vivian West stood in front of him, her graying hair turned silver by the afternoon light from the windows. With one hand she was perusing a mission dossier and in one hand she held a cup of tea. She looked up as Jackson strode in. "Have a seat Jackson."

"Thanks, Viv." Jackson slid into one of the plush leather upholstery of a chair by Viv's desk and she moved into her own behind her desk. Cerulean blue eyes, the same color as Jackson's looked at him with bemused interest. "So, the reports indicate that everything went well in Russia?"

"Well, apart from a few minor snags…"

"Five children died Jackson. The Russian security ministry is launching an investigation, and the U.N.'s threatening to get involved. You're not usually this messy."

Jackson shrugged his shoulders. "Wasn't my fault. Ryan planted the explosives too close to a water main. Shrapnel went all over the place. You'd should be asking him about that, not me."

"As a matter of fact, we already have. Ryan's actually being having a few…discussions…shall we say with the corrective department. They're making sure he won't forget the consequences of failure anytime soon. Anyway Jackson we're not blaming you…you were the manager…but next time we want you to monitor the other agents a little more closely."

"I told you, it wasn't my fault."

"And I'm not saying it was. Next time just be a little more alert, and maybe the other agents will be forced to up the quality of their work too." Viv shifted back in her chair and looked at Jackson critically. "You know Jackson, in eight years of working for the Company you've never fouled up once. One hundred missions exactly, all flawless, and that includes the last one too."

Jackson's smile was smug. "Just finishing the job."

"Well, when you finish the next one, you'll be able to retire after that. All the jobs will be finished in a matter of speaking. I suppose you'd like to have a look at the mission dossier?"

Another smug smile. "That would probably help."

Viv stood up from her desk and walked over to the sitting area in the corner office and slid into a black leather chair, Jackson moving to a seat across from her. Viv tossed Jackson the dossier as she began to pour tea from a silver tea service on the coffee table between them.

"Tea?"

"Sure," Jackson murmured, not really paying attention as he opened up the file and began to breeze through it. An assignment involving the Lux Atlantic? He had actually stayed there for a week last year while working on an assignment near the coast. He hadn't had any connection with the hotel, of course, he had been a guest and nothing more. Would he have to blow up the building, perhaps?"

"No explosions this time, Jackie" said Viv suddenly, as if she could read his mind. "I think the Russia job has given the Company enough to worry about concerning explosives for the time being. Sugar, cream-

"You of all people should know I only like-"

"Lemon, I know….but it never hurts to ask." Viv silently pushed a cup of steaming Earl Gray tea across the coffee table to Jackson. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand. No explosions, just a little persuasion this time is the only weapon you'll need. You've got a girl to work with this time"

"A pretty one, too." Jackson flipped through the black and white photos in the file. The surveillance showed a young woman, with fair skin and long wavy hair. It was hard to guess the color, was it russet or red? The woman in the photo had large expressive eyes framed by delicate arching eyebrows and full lips. Her body wasn't bad either, Jackson decided as he looked at the rest of the photos. The form-fitting white cocktail dress that she wore, the uniform of the Lux Atlantic, hugged her body in all the right places, showing off a dainty waist and shapely legs.

"Her name is Lisa Reisert. She's a manager at the Lux Atlantic, she's held the job for nearly three years and she's been a hit with the staff and the customers." Viv looked up from her cup of tea. "You'll be working with her personally, Jackson. We're going to be needing a room change, for a very special guest of the hotels, which you can read about later. Alec's preliminary surveillance lasted only two days, but we've dug a considerable amount on her background. Again, in the file. Bottom line is she's a people-pleaser, amiable, and probably isn't going to give you any trouble. Not that Jack the Ripper would have any trouble with his targets of course"

Jackson grimaced. "You know I don't like it when you do that, Viv. And you know what happens to people that I don't like right?"

Viv made a pouting puppy-face at him, still managing to look endearing, which Jackson found impressive since Viv was pushing retirement. "You wouldn't hurt dear old Auntie Viv, would you?" the playful tone evident in her voice.

"Not you, know…but the other jackasses aren't the ones writing my paychecks, are they?"

"Play nice, Jackson. I won't keep you anymore. You leave tomorrow morning. All the mission info, credit cards and other things are in the dossier. Just look those over before you fly out to Atlanta tomorrow. From there you can pick up your car and drive down to Miami." Viv set her teacup down on the coffee table and stood up, offering Jackson a handshake. He pressed his larger hand into her withered, aged one. Viv had a curious look in her eye, an almost reverent expression in the blue depths of her eyes. "You know, in all of these years we've never had an manager hit one hundred missions as quickly as you have. Who do you expect me to pick on after your retired and living in Maui or something?"

"Well, there's Alec, Stamper, Miranda, just to name a few."

"Maybe. I won't like teasing them as much as I do you though."

"That's the thing, Viv. No one ever does." Jackson gave the older woman a quick hug and strode out of the office. It was time to pack. Time to go to Miami. Time to meet Lisa Reisert.

Wow. Thank you guys so much for the reviews! This is the first serious fan fiction that I've ever tried to do, and I was amazed that people actually read it! I'm gonna try and update soon, I've been really busy with my classes at college right now but thank you guys for the support! In the next chapter we'll see Jackon arrive in Atlanta, pick up his Bimmer, study Lisa's chart and drive down to Miami. Then the fun really begins…at least for Jackson anyway (I mean, who wouldn't want to watch Rachel McAdams 24/7?)