Author's Note- Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I love all your guy's reviews and can't wait to get more. Hope you enjoy! D

And again, I do not own Jackson or Lisa.

We'll Talk Again

2. Delay

Jackson pulled into the driveway of his large home. It took nearly an hour to finally get home, and it had been a long, quiet drive for him. Lisa had given into sleep only twenty minutes into their travel. She slumped against the window, which was probably not comfortable, but her hands cupping her head, served as a little bit of a cushion.

He scrutinized her body, feeling shame when he took in the many wounds and bruises from his violent attacks on her. If she had just done what he had said in the beginning - on the plane - she might not be here all beaten and bloodied. She had sealed her fate when she stabbed him in the trachea with a pen. Jackson would have to kill her. Kill her because she had not listened to him, but had instead tried to outsmart him at every turn. Fighting his every move.

Resting a steady hand on her face he traced with the tips of his fingers the finger marks that he had roughly left behind on Lisa's flesh. He had damaged her perfect flesh.

Awakened by the touch of his hand, Lisa sat up in her seat. She did not know where she was, and wished she had never let herself fall asleep with him so close to her. Jackson watched as she fought to see through the blindfold.

"Jackson...?" Lisa asked in a whisper. She wasn't even sure it was him next to her.

"Calm down, Leese. We're here." Once out of the car he helped Lisa out and guided her into the house.

"Where are we? Please take the blindfold off, let me see..." She was cut off by Jackson.

"I will in a second, just be patient." He snapped, a cruel smirk on his face, and even though Lisa could not see it, she heard it in his voice. She could feel his piercing gaze on her.

Jackson shuffled through his pockets in his jacket and brought out a ring of keys. Still with grip on Lisa's arm, he unlocked and opened the door. After tossing Lisa onto the couch and placing his stuff down on the counter, he bent down next to Lisa and began loosening the blindfold. Startled, she pulled back a little, but let him uncover her eyes.

"Welcome to my home..." Jackson sneered, discarding the black piece of cloth. It was still dark outside, but a sliver of light was rising over the mountains. Lisa's body hurt from earlier.

"What are you going to do to me?" The situation was seeping in, and Lisa realized this was it for her. She had reached the end of her wasted days. These were her last few hours to be on earth. If she even had a few hours.

"I don't know that yet...I guess we will just have to wait and see what I decide." Jackson sat across from the soft, black couch in a matching arm chair. He watched Lisa's every move, waiting for her to somehow bring down the chandelier on him or something. When it came to Lisa, nothing surprised him. The thought only made him smile wider than before.

Why wont you just kill me already! Lisa franticly thought, looking around her in search for anything suspicious. Seeing nothing, she suddenly shot up from the couch and ran for the front door. She couldn't think clearly and the soft sounds of his footsteps drove her into even more of a panic attack.

Jackson chased after her until Lisa knocked a large potted plant in his way, sending him to the ground. Not daring to look behind she kept running.

Jackson's house was a maze of room's and hallway's. She couldn't remember what way he had dragged her in. She had tried so hard to memorize her footsteps on their way in since she couldn't see through the blindfold, but it proved to be a complete waste of effort.

Pieces of pottery surrounded him, along with dirt and plants. Springing up from the floor, he laughed slightly, knowing all she could do was hide. His house was sealed shut, the only way out was the front door, which was only opened by Jackson's key. Sure there were all the windows in the house. But they all only opened up halfway, making it too small for someone to fit through. The windows that were larger, did not open at all. Most of the rooms in the house were locked. In Jackson's line of work, you could never be too careful.

Running, searching for a way out, Lisa saw the door. Slamming her body up against it she tried to open it. It wouldn't budge.

Only a little ways away she could hear Jackson's even breathing. Darting across the hall to the other end, she went looking for another way out. She came to an end, all the doors were locked. The hall went no further, and her heart stopped for a moment. Her limbs trembled with fear.

"Leese..." Jackson called out mockingly. Letting his voice echo through the halls. He couldn't see her but knew where she had run to. The hallway had turned into a dead end, and he could hear her heavy breathing.

Jackson had not yet reached the the turn, when he was surprised to hear his victim stop breathing. Cautiously peering around the corner, he saw nothing. There were a couple of cabinets in the hallway, along with a couple of sitting chairs and a bookcase.

Walking slowly down the hall, he listened intently for Lisa to slip up. For her to make the tiniest noise to reveal her hiding spot. Checking behind the sitting chairs in the hallway, he made sure she wasn't under, behind, or to the side of them. He moved onto the cabinet, cracking the door opened quietly, making it to were Lisa would not know where or what he was doing. After he cleared the cabinets, he stopped in front of the bookcase. He let a smile creep up his face. He was a little shocked she had managed to squeeze behind the bookcase. Wow, knew she was skinny, but never thought she could be that small...He tried hard not to chuckle.

There it was, her slip up. A corner of her shirt poked out from behind the bookcase. He grabbed the bookcase by the side and pushed it onto the floor, revealing a horrified Lisa screaming at the top of her lungs.

Lisa backed into the wall as Jackson slammed his body up against hers, his hands grabbing her by the throat. Gasping for air Lisa tried hard to push him away, but he squeezed harder.

"Stop trying to run from me, Leese, I will always find you!" He rasped. "I only have to hurt you in the end."

Each attempt to bring air into her lungs sent pain through her sore body. She could hear him shouting at her, but didn't care to listen. This was it, he would take her life now, stealing the air she so desperately wanted.

"Please...stop." Lisa managed to get out. Jackson smiled, cocking his head to the side. He flexed his jaw as he bit down on his teeth.

"I'm going to kill you anyway, so what's the difference whether I kill you now...or later? Hmm?" He spoke harshly. It wasn't really stated as a question, he knew she could not answer. Lisa began to let her body fall, but Jackson's grip on her throat kept her from meeting the floor. She could feel her heart slow and started to tear up. Air suddenly rushed in and she could breathe again. Lisa fell to the floor, laying on top of the already fallen bookcase. Trying to catch her breathe, she glowered up at Jackson.

"Don't look at me that way, Leese. You knew that something like that was headed your way." He held up his phone which was vibrating. "Besides, if my phone hadn't started to ring, you wouldn't be looking at me at all." He said wickedly. Pulling his phone quickly up to his ear after examining the screen, he crouched down by Lisa, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Rippner." Jackson stated into the phone. Annoyed by him putting a hand on her after what he had done, she scooted away from him just enough so his hand was no longer touching her.

"Jack, if you are willing to do one more job, and be able to trust us on not sending you into a trap... "A man said from the other line. "...then we will let you live if the job is done correctly this time."

"Aw, Rupert. So nice to talk to you again." Jackson replied with a scowl. The last time he had seen Rupert Sykes - his long forgotten partner - he was holding a gun to his head.

"You always were funny, Jack. But I didn't call to hear you joke. I need you to set up another assassination on the Lux Atlantic. Using Lisa Reisert, and this time, not letting her escape."

Lisa still gasped on the floor. She hated him! Wanted him to die and be out of her life forever. Her life had been ruined because of him. Everywhere she went, people glared at her, told stories about her. On the news they showed pictures of her and Jackson next to each other, with a header reading something like "Are they in on it together?" or "Are they lovers." It made her sick to her stomach just thinking about it. Lovers?! Me be in love with him? As much as she hated him, no matter what he did to her, there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that wanted her to like him. She had liked him before, that was before he told her on the plane what he did for a living and threatened her dad. When he was kind to her, and treated her like she was worth everything.

"Another assassination on the Lux Atlantic, huh? Well, how do you expect me to trust you?" Jackson was not happy with Rupert's smug attitude.

Lisa looked up at him, hearing the name of her hotel she worked for. He was starring at her, unblinking.

"You're just gonna have to trust my word. Now, tomorrow morning, bring Lisa to Joe Reisert's house. I will be waiting for you to show. Don't keep me waiting." Rupert hung up the phone.

He let out a long, irritated sigh as he hung up the phone, placing it back on his hip. Snatching Lisa by the waist, he dragged her to her feet. All he wanted to do was to kill her, but from her fighting, and then the call. It seemed almost an impossible task so far.

"I guess I won't be killing you just yet. Apparently, I still need you." There was annoyance in his voice. And his grip on her was strong and painful. The glare he gave her was intense, even in the dark she could see the anger in them.

"What? I don't u-understand." She stuttered.

"Tomorrow we will both find out exactly what our role in this assassination is. For now, I guess you will be staying in the guest room." They walked up the stairs into a small room with only a bed in it, and a door leading to a bathroom.

"You expect me to stay in here, and sleep? No, I don't think so..." She protested but was stopped by Jackson's hand covering her mouth.

"I don't care whether you sleep or not...I just need you in a room that I know you wont be able to get out of until I come for you." He was tired of delays, and he was done with fighting Lisa. Releasing her he moved to the door, turning to her one last time. "Don't do anything that you will regret. I am only across the hall and can get in here in a heartbeat."

"Why are you doing this to me?!" She wailed, then ran at Jackson, hitting him on the chest, smashing her fist into his nose. She wished she could have taken it all back right after.

Snatching her wrists, he flung her onto the bed, sitting on top of her. Making it to where she could not move. He had taken enough of her crap, and he pressed his fingers on a pressure point in her neck, forcing her into unconscious.

"Sleep tight, Leese." Getting up off of her, he pulled a blanket up around her shoulders. He walked out, locking her door behind him. In his room, he could see blood trickle down from his nose. Damn...definitely can pack a punch.

After he tended to his nose, Jackson fell down on his bed. Thinking about what might happen tomorrow. Was it a trap, or was it really a way out of this mess he had drug himself into?