Not Tonight

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

Chapter Two

That was a strange dream… what did I eat for dinner last night? I should really complain if it can give bad dreams like that…

The alarm went off and he quickly shut it off. He went into the bathroom, hopped into the shower, trying to shake loose the nightmare. Lisa Reisert ending up dead because of a failure he had was not likely. She would play along and be released once the Keefes were history.

Probably only to end up with a bullet in her head in a week or two…

Jackson slipped on his suit and undershirt. He did not pause until he was buttoning the shirt he had carefully laid out the night before. It was a pale green—the same color shirt he had been wearing in his dream.

You're paranoid, Rippner. Stop it.

He was fine until his daily surveillance began once more. It was the day of Grandma Henrietta's funeral and a distraught Lisa was standing beside the grave. She was fine and everything seemed normal until she tripped in a hole and he felt a flash of déjà vu. She did that in my dream…or was it a dream? Did I live all this once before?

Lisa recovered and went on her way and he went for a drive. Along the way, someone rear-ended his rental car and sent him flying into the windshield. He had forgotten to fasten his seatbelt in the shock following Lisa's fall. Now blood was dripping into his eyes.

Groaning in pain, he carefully sat back down in his seat; his chest and ribs sore from slamming into the steering wheel. His breaths came in loud gasps.

Well, that certainly didn't happen in the dream.

A loud rap on the driver's side window caught his attention. He turned and jumped slightly when he saw Lisa's face in the window. He pressed the electric window button and it rolled down. Her face was full of concern and she still seemed nervous.

"Are you okay?" She was out of breath too. "I saw the entire thing. I can't believe that man hit you and ran away!"

"What man?"

"The one in a suit in a dark Lexus with tinted windows. He had his window rolled down and I caught a good glimpse of him. I got the license plate too." She thrust a scrap of paper at him.

"Miss…"

"Reisert, Lisa Reisert. How can you be so calm?"

"I'm fine."

"You were just in an accident. I saw you hit the windshield. I thought you were dead!"

Jackson wanted to roll his eyes, but then he noticed her disheveled appearance. Mud splattered her legs, her stockings were ripped, and her blouse had been ripped free from her skirt. Her curly auburn hair was wild and her bright green eyes wide in shock.

Could she really care about me? Or is it all just an act?

"Miss Reisert, I'm okay, really. I just think I'll be a bit sore in the morning…" If I last that long…

"You should really get checked out by a doctor and talk to the police. Maybe they can hunt him down and you can reclaim the money the damages will cost you."

"I might have to do that. Thank you so much for all your help," he said with a smile as he started to roll-up his window.

"Wait—what's your name?"

Oh no…

"Jackson. Pleased to meet you. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?"

"I think so. Thank you for all your help and concern."

"Oh, it's no problem."

He shot her a smile and finished rolling up the window before restarting his car. Thankfully, the engine rumbled to life and he carefully snapped the seatbelt in place before driving off.

No more mistakes like that…

The rest of Jackson's day was mostly normal until he got in the check-in line behind Lisa. The irate passenger was back again and this time, he went over the line.

"Please, sir—" Lisa was trying to say.

"I wasn't talking to you, bitch," snapped the irate passenger and Jackson quickly grabbed his arm.

"Apologize to her, right now," he hissed icily, his blue eyes staring the other man down. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to respect a lady?"

"I don't—"

Jackson squeezed tighter, nearly breaking the man's arm.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out bitterly.

"Be sincere."

The irate passenger sighed. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to call you names… I'm just having a really bad day."

Aren't we all…?

Lisa just stood there with a look of utter shock and surprise upon her face.

"See, she doesn't care—" the irate passenger tried to say and Jackson slugged him in the face.

People in line gasped in shock and Lisa grabbed Jackson's arm. "What did you—It's you again. Jackson, right?"

"So we meet again, Miss Reisert. This is my good deed of the day, just so you know."

"You just hit someone in the face!"

"So? He deserved it."

She scoffed and the check-in line attendant called her. She pulled her bag towards the counter and Jackson gave himself a mental kick.

You just gave a great impression of an asshole, Rippner. Terrific—now she hates you.

The rest of the flight went worse than his dream had gone. Lisa fought him the entire way and beat the crap out of him in her father's house. Now he was lying in a hospital bed with several holes in him and feeling just a little bit like a piece of Swiss cheese.

Now how the hell does that happen? Since when do nightmares become true?

"Why hello Rippner. I've gone ahead and corrected your little mistake. Miss Reisert won't be screwing up anyone's plans anymore. It's a shame that she had to die…she was very pretty, wasn't she?" sneered a suited man as he plopped a stack of photographs into Jackson's hands.

Not again, not again…I must be dreaming.

The photographs recounting Lisa Reisert's final hours made Jackson sick to his stomach. As the bile crept up his throat, a smile crossed his employer's face.

"Remember Rippner, every decision has a consequence."

Not Lisa, please not Lisa. She can't be dead…

A sharp pain in his neck was all he felt before subcoming once more to the darkness.

Author's Notes:

I can't believe how incredibly long it took me to finish writing this chapter and update. I'm so sorry for all the delays. Life has been rather busy and my back injury flared up, so my tolerance for computers isn't very good. I figured an abbreviated version of the flight still worked in this chapter. Pretty much the only time I'll write scenes out is when something changes. Otherwise, chapters would come at an even slower pace and be really boring. Thanks for reading/reviewing!