Jackson heard the man approaching and turned.
"Hey," he greeted. Lisa looked up curiously. "I got an answer from your message. Really quickly, too. Surprising."
"Oh, good," Jackson replied quickly to prevent Lisa from speaking. "What's the verdict?"
"Cindy or wait, no–Cynthia, right? Says she is fine, but the large party is not coming," the man quoted. Lisa cheered inwardly. Yes.
"What?" Jackson cursed loudly and drew heads.
The man shifted awkwardly. "The large party is-"
"Not coming, I understand," Jackson snapped. Lisa glared at him.
"Is the big party still here, or did they disappear as well?" Lisa questioned. Jackson swore several more times.
"Uh...by the air of her message, I think they're still here," he answered uncomfortably. "She said, 'No, he cancelled the reservation.'"
"Oh, okay," Lisa nodded cheerfully. The man gave her a polite nod and headed to use the restroom.
"Happy now, Leese?" Jackson snarled, rubbing his temples. "Now that this operation is officially fucked up?"
"Yes, actually," Lisa smiled contentedly. Jackson drew several deep calming breaths.
"So, when we land, we'll find a hotel until we can get out of Chicag-"
"We?" Lisa snapped her eyes to his. "Oh, no. When 'we' land, I'm getting as far away from you as possible."
"No, see, you're staying with me until Chaim flies over. He had a meeting in the States, so that means it was postponed. He'll be coming to the Lux in the near future, and I don't want to risk lovely Lisa running to the police."
"No..." Lisa felt tears forming and her anger bubbled. "I don't want to be stuck with you!"
"Well, its not my fault that these people disappeared!"
"It is that you're an ass!"
The man stepped back on his way back to his seat.
"Is there a problem?" he spoke directly to Lisa. Jackson shook his head.
"No, she-"
"Let me reword myself," he interrupted. "Miss, do you have a problem?"
Yeah, she wanted to say. Him! But she caught Jackson's icy eyes boring into her head.
"No," she responded quietly, dropping her gaze to her wrung hands. "Just a little...stirred up after what happened."
He smiled sympathetically and leaned to pat her arm. Jackson glared at him. "Don't worry, ma'am," the handsome stranger consoled her kindly. "They'll find them." Lisa fed him a weak smile as he walked away.
"Good girl," Jackson crooned, mocking her. "When we get back to Chicago and the phone issue is straightened out, you'll call Cynthia back and ask when Rosenzweig reconfirmed his reservation for."
"Whatever," Lisa snapped, focusing her eyes on the seat ahead of her as the plane began its descent.
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Cameron "Buck" Williams, internationally known journalist, settled back into his seat and put his laptop away as the plane began to land. He was exhausted. It had been hard work, screwing with those phone wires and even more so convincing the beautiful blonde flight attendant Hattie not to write him up for damaging Pan-Con property. He'd talked her out of it by promising to contact her relatives for her. And Buck Williams always kept his word.
He'd done more socializing tonight than he'd planned to. First with that elderly couple, now with that jerk and the hotel. The redheaded lady had been nice, though, although he strongly suspected something not so great was occurring between her and The Jerk.
When the plane landed the captain announced they'd have to use the emergency chutes to exit the plane. Buck groaned.
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A few moments later, Buck sheepishly jogged past the other passengers to the terminal, rubbing the back of his bloodied head. That's what he got for trying to show off. Served him right.
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Lisa watched the technologically advanced man run past clutching his head and scowled at Jackson as he pulled her tighter to him. He ignored her and she surveyed the damage.
It looked like Martians had bombed from Earth. Planes were down, cars crashed, clothes and bags littering the runway. Even baggage trolleys were tipped over and crashed. Lisa decided that when people had disappeared, their vehicles had been left in motion.
She caught Jackson simultaneously eyeing the wreckage with bewilderment and she cocked her head.
"So the master of mind games himself can be puzzled?" Lisa rolled her eyes. Jackson shrugged with apparent annoyance.
"'Spose so."
They walked the rest of the mile in silence. When they finally got inside the terminal Jackson pulled her even closer in the crowd. She frowned.
"I'll remind you that if you are stupid enough to try and run away from me, there's absolutely no where you can go," he said as they squeezed through hundreds of people.
"What?" Lisa hissed.
"Look outside, Leese, at the gridlock," Jackson gestured at the window. "There's no way you could catch a cab, or, seeing its you, steal an SUV, since no cars are easily getting out of here, and none at more than a snail's pace."
"Fine," she snapped. "So what's your plan, then, Flash Gordon?"
"Unlike you, I have money," he replied smugly, pulling her by her elbow outside to a line of waiting cabs and limos. Hundreds of people were fighting to get one.
Jackson pushed forward to speak to a drive but the driver shook his head. Frustrated, they went back into the terminal.
"What are we doing?" Lisa asked in confusion.
"Jesus Christ, Leese, do you ever quit with the questions?"
"Do you ever quit being a prick?" she snapped back.. He glared irritably at her.
"We're somehow buying our way out of here, and those cabs aren't going to help," he explained. "They're just going to get swamped."
Lisa nodded as an airline captain with a suitcase brushed past them.
"Hey!" Jackson called after him. He turned.
"What?" he said it politely but impatiently, checking his watch.
"You got a way out of here?" Jackson nodded at the suitcase.
"No," he shook his head, then sighed. "Yes, but I"m sorry, its for flight crew only."
"Please, I'll pay whatever," Jackson bargained.
"Pay a cabbie."
"No, listen, I..." Jackson ran a hand through his hair, obviously racking his brain for something that gave them a greater need to get out than all these other desperate people. "The cabs are too dangerous, they're being overcrowded, and uh...they're too dangerous for..." the captain began walking away. Lisa swallowed.
"I'm pregnant," she blurted out. "I need to get home and the cabs are too dangerous."
The captain sighed. "Follow me."
Jackson raised an eyebrow as they ran after him. "Are you really?"
Lisa snorted quietly. "What do you think?" He chuckled, and they followed the captain outside.