Lisa gazed somberly out the car window as Jackson continued to drive further down the freeway which eventually would lead into Dallas. Night had fallen as Lisa shifted position in her seat, using her hand to rub the aching muscles in her back. The continuous hours spent in the car were excruciating and she groaned softly as she shifted her head from side to side opening to gain some release from the pain.
Suddenly she felt his hand on her back deftly massaging between her shoulder blades up to her neck and she instinctively started to pull back. "Wait. No, I'm fine. Please…" He gripped her arm firmly, glancing at her.
"Relax Leese. Trust me. I know what I'm doing." He told her softly.
Yeah. That's what I'm afraid of. But she resigned herself to his efforts as she tried to will her body into settling down however she jerked backwards as she felt sharp pain radiate throughout her neck. "No, stop." She demanded as she tried to move away from his relentless grip but his fingers seem to dig into one spot at the base of her neck causing a wave of agony that she could hardly stand. Gasping in pain, she asked, "What are you doing?"
"Just some acupressure, Leese. Using pressure points to release tension and it will be rather uncomfortable." He said.
"Then I think you should stop." She retorted.
"Well, maybe you should suck it up. Nothing good comes in life comes without a little pain along the way."
"Then perhaps you shouldn't bother." Lisa said, feeling the depths of her aggravation growing with his avid need to control her. "Couldn't we pull over and get something to eat?" As Jackson held out a bag of potato chips to her, she wrinkled her nose. "Something other then junk food?"
"All right, I suppose we could stop for a while. Anything in mind?" He asked. Lisa shook her head.
"I don't care."
Jackson quickly exited the freeway and headed towards and all night restaurant located just off the exit, pulling into the accompanying parking space. Lisa tensed as she tried to gain the courage to put her plan into fruition. I have to do this. She let out an ill repressed shiver as she remembered Jackson as he carefully tended to her injured leg after having saved her life. This was the man she was supposed to betray.
Yes, he saved my life after having endangered it in the first place!
But in a way, he was trying to redeem himself for a history of violence of which had nearly cost him his soul. Despite the fact that Lisa struggled with the growing conflict inside her, a part of her wanted to be that friend to him and to encourage his attempts of reclaiming his vitality in existence. However, the darkness inside him threatened to consume him with its destructive urges and she knew all too well that she would be dragged down the same rocky path. I cannot allow that to happen.
Lisa opened her car door, limping slowly after Jackson into the casual interior of the restaurant as she allowed her eyes to survey her environment. She was gratified to see another exit towards the back of the establishment which led to the exterior parking lot near the restrooms. As they settled into a booth, Lisa pretended to idly look at the menu as she furtively glanced around at the other diners within the restaurant.
To her immense relief, she saw a possible source for her vindication. A police offer and his partner were sitting at a nearby table chatting aimlessly. She started to panic as they slowly stood up and made their way outdoors after paying the bill. Trying to insert a relaxed tone into her voice, she started to stand. "I need to use the restroom."
Jackson immediately looked up at her from the menu. "All right, Leese. Did you want me to order for you?"
"Sure." She said, trying desperately to act normally. "Just order a turkey sandwich. I'll be back in a minute."
He nodded; his gaze held hers and Lisa could no longer stand to meet the intensity of his piercing blue eyes which seemed to delve into her mind. He knows… She started to think as she turned around and headed to the bathroom. Just as she opened the outer door which was positioned next to the back exit, she looked back and shivered as his eyes met hers once again, his stare relentlessly tore through her as he leaned forwards in his chair, his elbows propped up on the table.
I'm not going to get away with this. He'll catch me. She thought in despair until a server suddenly approached the table and Jackson's concentration on her was momentarily broken as he started to engage in conversation with the waitress.
Taking the brief opportunity, Lisa immediately opened the back exit door and proceeded as quickly as she was able to the police officers who were starting to climb into their vehicle. "Wait! Please, I need some help." She called out to them. One of them turned around and came towards her with a look of concern on his attractive face.
"Yes? What can I do for you?" He asked.
"My name is Lisa Reisert and I just managed to escape from a man who was holding me hostage and…"
"Wait, where was this?" The officer asked. "Is he here?"
Lisa paused in thought. I need to give Jackson some chance. It's the least I can do.
"I…I managed to get away from a few miles north of here and I ran all the way here. I didn't know where else to go." She said as she took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Okay, just relax. You're safe now. We'll take you to the police station and contact your family." The officer assured her as he opened the back door of the car and beckoned for her to enter.
Lisa flashed him a look of utter gratitude as she crawled into the vehicle and leaned back against the cushioned seat as they headed out of the parking lot. The road was practically empty with a few homes gracing the side of the otherwise empty highway.
"How did you get away from him?" The officer behind the wheel asked.
"I told him I needed to go to the bathroom." She muttered wryly.
"And he believed you?"
Lisa shrugged. "I guess so."
"You know, it's funny, Miss Reisert. I find that hard to believe." The officer said chuckling.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, if Mr. Rippner indeed was holding you hostage, he would see through such a flimsy excuse. Why don't you tell us the truth and we'll make this as painless as possible."
Lisa felt her stomach clench inside. "How did you know his name? I never told you." She shook her head despairingly as realization dawned on her. "You work for them. His company."
"His former company we should say. We were notified a couple days to be on the look out for the two of you. I never thought you'd make it that easy for us. But, I'll make a deal with you. Tell us what you know right now and I'll kill you quickly."
"Go to hell." She said.
"Whatever you say but we will find out what you know and we can stretch out your agony over a period of several days. Trust me; you'll be insane long before your dead."
Lisa shivered as she tried futilely to open the car door knowing instinctively it was locked. Suddenly, an impact on the right hand side of the car sent Lisa careening over to other end of the vehicle as her body slammed into the door. The vehicle was sent into a tailspin as she weakly grasped onto the door handle, praying that against all odds she would survive.
As quickly as the accident happened, the car seemed to come to a stop as it rammed into a tree at the side of the road. Lisa was dazed but still conscious as she looked the officers up front who were moving slowly, obviously injured from the accident as they struggled to open the doors. The windshield had spider webbed from the impact and the driver's side window had shattered still leaving Lisa trapped behind the partition that separated the police officers from the backseat.
A figure emerged from the darkness and Lisa gasped to see Jackson appear at the window, his face contorted with rage. He's going to kill me. She thought as he raised his arm to reveal a gun with a silencer attached. She watched in horror as the two policemen raised their hands slowly in surrender only to have Jackson smile mockingly at them as he cocked the weapon and pumped multiple bullets into the both of them.
Lisa moaned, feeling disgust surge through her as she crawled against the back door farthest away from Jackson. He glanced coldly at her as he clicked the unlock button on the driver's side door. Instantly, Lisa opened the door closest to her and fell onto the cement ground beneath her. She desperately tried to crawl away from the carnage only to be yanked upwards by her arm. As she met Jackson's callous glare, she managed to speak. "Are you going to kill me now?"
His smirk seemed empty of any mirth. "Believe me, I'm tempted Leese but then that would deprive me so soon the enjoyment of your company. Why would I want that?"
"No, I can't go with you…I can't!" She screamed as she struggled to get him to relinquish the grip he had on her arm.
"I don't believe I offered you the option. You better get used to me Lisa. We'll be spending a lot of time together." He said his grip like iron as he started to drag her back to his car.
"No, you killed them, you…"
"To save your life, Lisa. They were going to kill you which I'm sure you are well aware of."
"They were surrendering…"
"I'm not in the position to leave witnesses. Surely, you know that." He told her harshly.
She fought wildly against him, trying to dig her heels into the ground to keep him from taking her further. Jackson sighed as he gripped her upper arm and in one movement forced her body over his shoulder, his arm wound tightly around her waist as he carried her struggling figure to the car, dumping her in the front seat of the BMW. Opening up the glove compartment in front of her, he removed the handcuffs he had previously used to secure her to the car.
"This is for your own good, Leese." He said as he gripped one of her wrists once again cuffing her to the handle on the car door.
"I lied to them about where you were, Jackson. Do you think that it didn't bother me to do what I did?" She demanded.
"I wish I could trust you as you so claimed to trust me before." He said simply as she glared at him. "But unfortunately, you've proven to be capable of lying more then once so forgive me if I don't take what you say at face value. I suggest you sit there and shut up. Think about the fact that now my company knows our general location and will be on our tail shortly. Our only hope is to make it to Texas before they figure out our destination and get out of the country as soon as possible."
He drove in complete silence as Lisa turned her face away from him unable to stop the flow of tears that went down her face. However, she wasn't crying as much for the desperate plight she had fallen into but for the fact that the conflict within her was tearing her apart. As much as she forced herself to deny any underlying feelings that she contained within that small part of darkness inside her, the more it threatened to rise to the surface and consume her totally.
Where do we go from here?
I just want to thank Royalty09 for her input and suggestions. Also want to thank the reviewers. Even though I know this plot is highly unrealistic, I believe it encompasses questions we at times ask ourselves.