I know my updates are erratic, but my nomadic life leaves me no choice! Thanks for all the reviews; it really makes my day! XOXO to ALL! Ah, and after reading this chapter, I'd like for some of you readers to answer a particular question at the bottom of this page. So onward!
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To Lisa's surprise, they did not talk on the way back to Coral Square. Glancing at him occasionally, she found that he was deep within his own thoughts, forehead crinkled in evident contemplation, hands gripping the steering wheel a bit too tightly.
Don't give yourself a brain hemorrhage Jack...Lisa thought amusingly to herself.
Finally, they reached the parking lot, which had become eerily desolate and empty. Abandoned cups and balloons littered the concrete.
Jackson turned his head slowly to meet Lisa's gaze, his eyes stony and stoical. "Two days Leese. Eleven. Be there."
"Mm." Lisa held his stare for a moment, trying to find a flicker of deception or deceit. Perhaps a minute had passed by, but for the faintest second, his eyelids dropped, a glaze of exhaustion and frustration consuming his blue orbs. Rubbing his eyes abruptly, a low sigh came deep from his throat.
"So are you getting out or what?" He was going for sarcasm, but his words only indicated his obvious fatigue. Taking no offense, Lisa merely turned to make her way out of his car, and the second she slammed the door shut he was off, tires squealing as he sped down the road.
Show off.
Trudging slowly, Lisa suddenly felt a sharp wind bite at her. Cursing under her breath, she walked hastily towards her car, her eyes scanning the perimeters to see anyone, anything that might arouse her suspicion; it was like after the parking lot incident all over again. The twenty-foot walk to her car seemed like an eternity, and by the time she slammed the door shut and locked it, she felt that her heart was pulsating erratically. She jostled the key in the ignition with clammy hands, and was alarmed to find that the engine refused to start.
Shit!
She tried again, only to hear the disapproving whine of her car again, like the neigh of a horse refusing to be ridden. Lips quivering, she looked around again, jerking her seat belt off and opening the car door, almost stumbling onto the pavement. At first she decided it best to sprint towards the center of Coral Square; surely there must be a bar open at this time of night still!
Then, her cell phone rang.
Fishing it out of her purse, she looked to see that the number was marked "Unavailable."
Danger. Danger. Danger. Danger.
Her fingers, which were prickling in terror, pressed the talk button. "...hello?" She said with a shaky breath.
"Listen." A voice commanded, its lustrous tenor thick with an eccentric European accent.
Her ability to breath seemed to have a malfunction as she tried to gasp for a breath of air, and she swirled around, looking up and down, anxious to see if her perpetrator was watching her on a roof top or behind a corner. On impulse, she fled towards the main shopping venue, her flip flops slapping against the asphalt.
No!
"Stand still. Nothing will happen if you remain calm and do exactly as I say. Now, stop running and stay where you are..."
Lisa stopped immediately and obeyed. Her chest trembled, in need of regulated breaths that would not come. Dropping her clutch purse, she slowly turned around, examining every building in the distance, each roof top, every window that came in view.
The man gave out a humored tsk. "You will not see us Ms. Reisert, but I assure you that we are here. Any wrong moves and you will be corrected."
"Why? Why are you...?!" Her lungs finally accepted air, only to exhale a blubbery wail.
"No time for crying Ms. Reisert, focus," The voice was cold, strangely indifferent, almost robotic. "You will answer every question I ask; do not lie. If you lie, we will kill you. Nod your head if you understand."
Lisa, her knees visibly shaking, jutted her head forwards.
"Good. Now then, Ms. Reisert. Who was the driver of that Audi M5 that had dropped you off?"
Lisa paused, realizing that they probably very well knew who the driver was. Was this a test of her honesty? An interrogation? An impatient click of the tongue on the phone line interrupted her frantic thoughts.
"Let me demonstrate a warning shot for you, Ms. Reisert, if you do not agree to answer us."
A gun shot rang out.
Lisa yelped, waiting to feel searing pain, realizing only later that she hasn't been hit. A warning shot indeed.
"You see? Now I'll repeat: Who was the driver of the Audi M5?"
"J-J... Jackson Rippner."
"And where did he take you?"
"I honestly don't know... it was outside Miami for sure, an isolated beach. I'm not sure..."
"You are not lying?" The man interrupted, his voice still a mere drone.
"How could I? I honestly don't know!" Tears finally dampened the sides of her cheeks.
A pause. She heard voices in the background, speaking low in murmurs in a different language. The man answered back suavely to them in the foreign tongue, then continued.
"Question two: What did he ask from you, Ms. Reisert?"
Lisa felt that reluctant throb in her throat tighten. Still, she didn't seem to have a choice, unless she wanted a bullet lodged in her skull. "...files. Records of all of my clients from the past six months."
"Did you comply?"
"Of course I did. It wasn't like I had a choice. It's kinda like now."
"Did he offer you anything in exchange, Ms. Reisert?"
"Yes, protection. From you."
The man chuckled darkly, making Lisa's stomach roll in dreaded nausea. There wasn't a justified word to describe how much hatred Lisa contained for men overconfident in themselves as they reveled in the inferiority of their targets.
"How about this Ms. Reisert? Instead of trusting Mr. Rippner's so-called "protection", why don't you favor ours?"
Lisa felt herself unravel, unable to take everything civilly without hysteria swallowing her up. She felt that she was being yanked around by a pack of wolves. "You see, that's the problem! I can't trust either of you! Please, I never meant any harm to anyone! Just take what you need from me and leave me alone! Don't you dare hurt my...!"
"Calm down, Ms. Reisert, calm down," The voice was clinical, detached. Even Jackson the hard ass himself had a more human feel in his voice. "This is just a business transaction. Last question now. When did Mr. Rippner expect to receive the files?"
No.
This was it. This question pretty much gave her the ultimate decision: who to trust, Jackson or the dead voice on the phone? Both ends seemed to hold the same ultimate outcome in the end: death in different ways, no matter what they promised or guaranteed. Then, as if he himself had snuck behind her, Jackson's earlier statement resonated into Lisa's mind.
"In the end, it all amounts to this: If you don't go with me, you're dead for sure."
Am I Jackson?
Impulsively, Lisa thought of it in this sense: Which was worse, the threat of getting yanked, or shot?
"He said next week. Tuesday. Four days from now." She prayed he would believe her, prayed her voice or composure didn't give her away.
The silence was incredibly agonizing. Lisa stood as still as a statue, waiting for some red laser beam to appear on her forehead from the lurking sniper around. Everything, even the phone line, remained completely soundless. A long, intense minute passed by.
"...and where were you suppose to meet Mr. Rippner in order to give him the files?"
Again, Jackson's voice, velvet soft, echoed in her head. "You're a resourceful woman; you figure it out."
"He instructed me to leave them on my kitchen counter. He said he would come around eleven, and he wanted me to leave with him. He was taking me somewhere... a safe house somewhere... somewhere along the East Coast."
Please, oh please, believe me!
Another silence, followed by a conversation in a sharp sounding language. Was it German? Russian?
The voice returned. "Alright Ms. Reisert, I appreciate your honesty. This is what you will do if you want to stay alive: Tuesday night, the day you are suppose to meet Rippner, my associates will accompany you outside of your apartment before eleven. Expect nine o'clock. After I retrieve the files, two of my men will wait inside your apartment in order to take out Mr. Rippner."
"Take out? You mean..." Lisa knew what he meant, but something inside of her had to confirm it.
"Kill, Ms. Reisert, we are going to kill him. You have no objections, I assume?"
"No, none." Lisa said, almost too quickly. Suddenly it dawned upon her that Jackson's death would never be an alleviating occasion for her, despite all circumstances. Instead, it would make her feel even more scared for her own life, if that was at all possible. Unlike this voice on the phone, she was strangely familiar with Jackson, and despite his constant hazard to her, she had defeated him. He was human. But this voice... she didn't know what to expect, only that even if she really did follow through with their plans, they would consider her a threat if she wasn't killed. At least Jackson's itinerary included that she stayed alive... well, longer it seemed.
"Then we have a deal?"
"Yes. Absolutely." Her voice was beginning to stabilize.
"I am glad to hear it. A taxi will be here shortly to take you home; so sorry about your car. We just needed to get a hold of you immediately, because one of my men tonight was found... disposed."
"I see." So Jackson wasn't lying; he really did knock down a shark that had been following her.
Oh, but only if he knew what was going on NOW!
"Your car will be in your driveway by the morning, so do not worry. It was pleasant talking to you Ms. Reisert, and I hope you stick to our plan. I will contact you very soon. Good night." The phone line clicked, and along with it, so did Lisa's ability to stand.
Lisa let herself plop onto the concrete dismally, eyes blank as a buffet of thoughts exploded in her head. Her forehead felt like it was on fire.
"What have I done?" She murmured to herself, rubbing her shoulders as she hugged her knees to her chest. Jackson was coming to get her in two days, while his old company would come in four. Without a doubt they will be watching her every move, and what would happen then, when they find her gone, along with all the files? Will they believe her and go looking around the East Coast? Even worse, what if Jackson really was taking her somewhere along the East Coast? Either way, they would come looking for her eventually with murder in their plans, and Lisa could only hope that Jackson would protect her.
If he could really do that, well... maybe he could have one valid reason to be the cocky, arrogant ass he is.
I chose Jackson. I'm either incredibly stupid or desperate. Probably both.
A pair of head lights came into view, and Lisa struggled to get up, her legs staggering, the flip flops causing one foot to slip. After a small battle with her protesting legs, she wobbled forwards as she saw the familiar yellow cab rolled by in the distance, stopping against the light pole.
After getting in, she saw that the driver was a nondescript, middled-aged man with russet skin. He looked at her with worn gray eyes. "Where to, Miss Reisert?"
Lisa's mouth slowly opened in confusion, her paranoia sinking in. "How do you know my name?"
His face turned defensive. "Well, you called just twenty minutes ago, right?"
Lisa blinked. "Yeah. Um, sure."
"Where to, Miss?" He said, now obviously irritated.
"Brickell Bay; it's on..."
"I know, I know Miss, you told me on the phone." He interrupted.
"... right."
This is seriously bad.
Silently, he pressed the gas pedaled and was off, and Lisa pressed her forehead onto the glass in the back seat, feeling her migraine fade away with the cool sensation. For the drive home, at least, she'd try to let her mind take a break from all the plots and terror. Closing her eyes, she found that scenario to be impossible; instead she saw Jackson's intense eyes probing hers.
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Whew! So now she chose Jackson! Here's a question for all my reviewers: Who would YOU have chosen? Jackson's old company, or Jackson himself?