A/N: I used an offensive term in this chapter. I thought long and hard about it, even asked my lovely beta if I should use it. In the end we decided that it fits. I apologize if I offended anyone. I meant nothing by it.
-
Chapter 3: The Perfect Plan
-
Rhythmic tap, tap, tapping on the keyboard interrupted by an occasional hum of a printer slowly brought Lisa back to consciousness. She didn't need to open her eyes to recognize the sounds. She could tell them in her sleep.
"Aspirin's next to the bed on the table," Jackson informed her curtly, not even bothering to look up from the computer screen.
Lisa groggily lifted herself from the bed wincing at the pain. Her hand reached out to the back of her head to feel for any kind of injury, and Jackson beat her to it yet again by announcing that there was none; he checked.
She regarded him as she tried to massage the pain away. He was sitting in the chair by the veranda door, laptop open on the table in front of him, printer attached and humming with life. He wore small rectangular glasses and he looked so un-Jackson, for the lack of a better word, that Lisa found herself staring flabbergasted yet again. His eyes never left the screen as he typed on his computer, seeming completely immersed in what he was doing.
"How long was I out?" she asked flinching as the printer screeched, producing another page. She popped the cap from the bottle and took out two – no, three – pills, swallowing them with a glass of water.
"A little over an hour," he mumbled, frowning at the screen.
She nodded, thinking about her situation and how exactly she got herself into this mess. Was it her fault? She only acted in self-defense. Anyone in his right mind would do the same.
A black folder landed neatly in her lap.
Confused, Lisa looked up to find Jackson standing above her, arms folded across his chest, as he watched her with a steady, indifferent look.
"What's that?"
"It's something I've been working on," he explained matter-of-factly. "Go ahead, open it."
Ignoring the little voice in her head that screamed at her not to do it, she lifted the black cover and her eyes widened as they roamed over the contents.
"What-" she gulped, swallowing the lump that lodged itself in her throat, "what is that?" It meant to come out stronger, but it was barely above whisper.
"This, my dear Lisa, is my insurance. Not much, but I only just started working." He shrugged.
With trembling hands she flipped the pages, one after another. Adam's police record, Adam's face on his driver's license, Adam's social security number, Adam's various bank accounts complete with statements, Adam's birth certificate… The pages seemed to never stop.
Jackson moved back to the table and picked up a freshly printed page, handing it to Lisa.
A gasp, and the page fluttered to the floor.
"Don't be so melodramatic, Leese." He picked it back up and dropped it into her lap. "Read it." The command in his voice was strong and icy cold.
Lisa shook her head, unable to form words. She would not cry.
"Read it!"
Startled, she picked up the discarded piece of paper and read. It was a criminal sheet from the FBI database with Adam's name on it. Next to his picture was a long detailed information about his description, and below the list of crimes that he allegedly committed. Lisa closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Read it all."
And she did. The list went on and on. Embezzlement, two counts of extortion, fraud, assault/battery, drug distribution. Lisa stopped after the child pornography. This was not happening. Jackson was messing with her head. Anyone with a basic knowledge of PhotoShop could do that in fifteen minutes.
Jackson observed her with an icy look, face devoid of any emotion. "I know what you're thinking and I assure you that this is very much real… well, as real as I made it anyway." he confirmed her fears by bringing her the laptop and setting it on her lap. Few clicks and he was on the official FBI page where, true to his word, Adam's face graced the 'Ten Most Wanted' list.
Her hand drifted to the screen unconsciously and stopped mid-air, hovering over Adam's picture. Lisa blinked back the tears.
"How-" How did you do it? How could you do it?
Jackson smiled as he closed the laptop and put it away on the table. He turned to her, hands casually in the pockets, and regarded her. Her brave façade was gone, ripped to shreds by a few simple clicks of a mouse. He let himself relish in the thought that he, Jackson-fucking-Rippner, had done it to her, and in less than an hour. God, he was good.
"Well, it's not as simple as you might think, but when one knows what one's doing, it's no biggie really. I'm nowhere near done, mind you. I am just warming up," he added conspicuously.
Her head snapped up to his eyes so quickly that he thought she might get a whiplash.
"You see, this-" he pointed at the folder and the lonely page, "is to ensure that you don't go running to the nearest authority telling on me. It's unfortunate that we met here, like I mentioned before. I tried to make a deal with you, yet you refused, so I had to take necessary measures to ensure my well being for the reminder of the trip. Are you with me so far?" he questioned when he noticed her far away look.
When she nodded mutely, he continued. "Good girl. So, to make sure you don't go telling on good ol' Jack I had to have a leverage on you. Threatening you… well, we both know how that one ended," he smiled remembering. "So naturally, your hero came next. And by the way, Leese, you forgot to mention that your fiancé is an ex cop." He picked up the discarded folder, looking for the information. "Hmm, injured while on duty, permanent disability discharge since October… wow, two thousand two," he feigned shock. "It's OK, I forgive you this little slip up. It happens to the best of us," he said, twinkle in his sinister eyes.
"But let me finish telling you my big plan. I'm sure you're just dying to know what I'm up to." He grinned when she shot him a look filled with pure hatred. "I wrote Adam's criminal record. It's all there in the database. Only I can wipe it clean. Something happens to me, and the second your hero flashes his passport, the cops will be on him like a fatty on a birthday cake. And it's not gonna be a pretty sight, I can assure you. With a record like his, the cops will be tripping over themselves to get to him, and beat his child-molesting ass.
So it's in your best interest to keep me all safe and sound until we step off this ship. I go first, you make sure he leaves last. When I'm in the clear I wipe his record clean and you and your little crime fighter can go your merry way. What do you think Leese? You can be my little personal bodyguard." He almost laughed out loud when he saw her shocked face. "Oh come on, don't be such a party pooper. It'll be fun!"
A loud knock on the door almost made Lisa jump out of her skin.
"Ah, that would be my dinner. Hold on."
Jackson left the bedroom and Lisa too the opportunity to glance at his unattended laptop. Her mind was reeling from the overload of information. There had to be a way out of this! She simply refused to be played by one Jackson Rippner again. Maybe if she could-
"Stealing my laptop won't do you any good. There's nothing on it." Jackson walked back to the bedroom and sat the tray of food on the table.
Lisa felt a momentary heat flood her cheeks. Caught red handed before she even had a chance to act! "I wasn't-"
"I uploaded it all to the website," he ignored her stuttering and popped a piece of seafood into his mouth. "Sorry, but since you made me work I am going to miss my dinner. Calamari?" he offered politely, then shrugged when she shook her head 'no'. "All you'll find on this baby is some pictures and a few movies. Nothing exciting really. Go ahead, have a look." He opened the computer and tilted it towards her, pointing a piece of fried calamari at the screen. "Go on. Don't be shy."
Lisa carefully stepped up to the table, eyeing the man sitting beside her, casually munching on his fried seafood.
Jackson rolled his eyes at her sudden display of insecurity and leaned towards her, clicking on various icons. Some pictures; not too much, a couple of movies; like he said, a folder with music, 'Batman Vengeance' - a game? - Lisa quirked an eyebrow at that one.
"Yeah, I don't know how that got there," he explained sheepishly, quickly closing that folder. "So you see, nothing here," he quickly summarized, concluding the topic of his laptop closed.
"Now, if you don't mind, I have more work to do." He got up, and grabbing her by the elbow, escorted her to the door. "Why don't you go and work on those tan lines or something. And try not to think about it too much. There's nothing that you can do. It's out of your hands this time."
Lisa, again taken aback by his sudden change in attitude, let herself be pushed outside and into the corridor.
"I'll be seeing you." And then the door promptly closed in her face.
-
Lisa ran. She didn't care that she attracted attention. All she cared was getting to Adam and making sure he was OK. When she saw him lounging at the casino bar, seeping on his regular whiskey on the rocks, she almost cried out in relief.
Running to him, she plastered herself into his back, holding on for dear life.
"What the-" Adam looked down at the hands squeezing the life out of him and then behind him to the girl wheezing into his back. "Lisa? What on earth- are you OK?"
She only let him turn around before her arms enveloped his bulky form again.
"Babe. You're starting to scare me. What's going on? " He lifted her chin and looked her straight in the eyes, worry lacing his words. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Lisa wanted to laugh at his choice of words. – Oh Adam, if you only knew! – Instead she nuzzled his hand and sighed deeply when he pulled her closer to him.
"I love you."
"I love you too, babe."
"Tell me again how much I rock your world?" she mumbled into his chest.
Adam laughed deeply in his chest and Lisa's whole body vibrated. "Why don't we get out of here and I'll show you exactly how much you rock my world?" The promise behind his voice made Lisa's knees weak and she momentarily forgot how bad her day was.
As he led her through the door of the casino he glanced down at her bare feet, frowning slightly. "Where in the world are your shoes?"
Lisa chose not to answer that one.
-
-
-
Day three, Lisa mentally counted while sipping her morning coffee on the balcony of their suite.
Three days ago, hand-in-hand with her gorgeous fiancé, she stepped onto one of the most luxurious ship the world had to offer, expecting nothing but pure, unadulterated pleasure. The ship provided everything she could imagine and then some.
She remembered surprising Adam with the trip.
She remembered how surprised she was when she got handed the tickets. An early wedding gift from the management of The Plaza in New York City, where she lived for some time now. She tried to explain that her and Adam were only engaged, with no evident wedding date set; tried to return the lavish gift, but they all flatly refused.
So she had no other choice, but to accept. Adam has been beside himself with joy when he read the brochure. His eyes roamed over the fine details of the trip, the luxuries the ship promised. Twenty-four days of sea journey to Spain, with a two-day stop in the Azores. Then a full week in Barcelona.
Then two days into the trip he had to show up. He, who Lisa thought long dead. It kept her up most of the night. She puzzled over how he actually managed to pull off his own death.
They made me come to identify his body, for god's sake!
Lisa shuddered as the memory came back. It had been one of he most uncomfortable days in her life. Seeing Jackson, pale and unmoving on the coroner's stainless steel table. His lower half modestly covered in white sterile sheet. She stared for a long time. Couldn't quite believe it.
He's been doing great in the hospital, recovering quickly, then one day he was gone. Just like that.
His body was found two days later. Shot in the back. Execution-style.
Then the funeral. She came. She was the only one there. She bid him goodbye, laying Jackson to rest along with her fears.
New Lisa was born on the day they buried Jackson Rippner.
How did he manage to pull it off?
And now he was here. And she was back where she promised herself to never be again: at his mercy. What scared her most about it was that this time she couldn't do absolutely anything about it. It was out of her hands, just like he told her. To keep her where he wanted her, he had to have the control of the situation. And that's exactly what he had now. Complete control.
"What are you doing up so early, babe?" Adam came from behind and wrapped his arms around his fiancée, giving her a morning peck on the top of her head.
Lisa snapped back to reality and leaned back against the man, drawing strength from his presence. "Couldn't sleep." She shrugged sipping on her now-cold coffee. She made a face at the stale taste and set the cup back on the railing.
Large hands started kneading the muscles in her shoulders and she let out a soft sigh, content, and let herself close her eyes for a brief moment. This was good. This was what she needed.
Adam seemed to read her mind. "You look tense. Maybe you should check out that spa place you've been raving about."
Lisa's eyebrow quirked in mild amusement. "First I rock, now I rave? Wow, I'm a regular party animal."
Adam rolled his eyes. "You, my dear, are a regular comedian. But really, you should go and do that thing you girls do there. Pimp yourself good and proper and have a blast."
"Yeah, yeah. Just tell me that you want to go to the casino and leave you the heck alone," she countered, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.
The look on his face was worth it. He sputtered as he tried to backtrack and Lisa just had to laugh. It was too comical not to.
"Don't sweat it, big boy. I was just playing with you."
He glared at her. "Oh, you're evil."
She shrugged mutely, going back to gazing at the vast blue ocean. The idea of a day in spa sounded delicious. Maybe she should check it out. God only knew how badly she needed to relax. And maybe – maybe – she would be able to get Jackson out of her head for a little bit.
-
-
-