Yes, so I haven't updated in awhile. But here it is! Yay-ness! Random thought: Isn't it great sometimes to write and have irrevocable control of the situation? Take for example Jackson: I very well could, for my own personal amusement, screw up every single nitch of a plan he ever thinks off and laugh as he throws a huge tantrum at life:

(After months of planning...) Jackson: Ahaha! Lisa is all mine!

(Lisa disappears, followed by giggle of omnious writer.)

Jackson: ...DAMN YOU!

Sorry, had to get it out. (Disclaimer: I don't own Red Eye obviously, but I'm sure we all have happened to own Cillian Murphy in our fantasies at one point or another, eh?)

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"Leese, don't you think this is all a bit sudden? Are you sure everything is alright?" Joe asked, his eyes crinkled anxiously as he examined his daughter on the opposite side of the kitchen table, her pallid hands sliding back and forth against the neck of a champagne glass filled to the brink.

"Yes dad, I'm alright. It just hit me: I haven't taken a vacation in over two years! I just figured it was about time. I need at least two weeks off to..."

"It's a bit too sudden Leese," Joe interrupted, his eyes narrowing as Lisa took a long swig from the deep burgundy liquid, obviously not pleased. It was one thing for his daughter to act so impulsively, another for her to be on her fourth glass of Merlot. "Are you sure no one got upset with your abrupt request?"

Lisa licked her lips and smiled wearily, not wanting her father to look in it anymore than he already was. "Dad, they still have the whole Keefe incident in mind. It's true, they were a bit... puzzled by how unexpected my request for time off was, but no one seemed to have too much of a problem. There are a few people open to take over my position for a while."

Joe nodded slowly, stabbing his fork into a bowl of spinach ravioli, his eyes easing slightly from the seeming calmness of her voice. "So New York, huh? I thought you'd choose something a bit more quieter, like maybe the local beach or a visit to Dallas to be with your mother."

Lisa was usually immune from the guilt that accompanied her occasional series of white lies, but she felt the remorse trickling like tortuous water droplets every time she looked at her father's deeply concerned face. If he really knew what was going on, how would he react? She could only imagine...

"Well I decided to do some shopping, you know? Take a walk in Central Park, buy Cynthia and Kathy some present, catch up on a book- chic stuff you wouldn't be interested in." Her voice was a bit too peppy that time, she noted.

He tilted his head as he mused her sugary words, but the crease in his forehead only deepened. "You sure you want to go all alone? I know you're an adult, but I want you to be careful. New York is a big city Leese, and there are a lot of bastards out there who might want to..."

"I'll be fine," Lisa interjected with a little more venom than she intended, for she knew well how that sentence was going to end. "I just want time off to freshen up a bit. I'll promise I will keep you updated whenever I can."

Joe finally surrendered under Lisa's eerily determined eyes. "Alright."

After washing the dishes and engaging in more awkward conversation, Lisa sat stiffly on the sofa, eyes intent on the television, the aftermath of the ingested wine slowly numbing away the relentless anxiety that had plagued her the previous, Lunesta-free night. She had decided it best to nestle herself around the ones she loved dearest, because in all honesty, their presence was the only thing that kept her sane at this point, especially her father. Small things, like the smell of his pine wood cupboards, the taste of coffee after a long night of talking, their inside joke at his overuse of Ragu at every opportune time... small trinkets of memories that she would freeze-dry and store when her days became critical. Figurative happy pills she'd pop in for later.

"We are here!" Kathy, Cynthia, and Michael chimed at the same time, emerging from the front door, bright smiles intact.

Joe looked at them with narrowed eyes and snorted. "You guys are a bit late- we already ate. The foods still in the kitchen with some plastic wrap to keep it warm though."

Cynthia laughed nervously. "Yeah, sorry about that. Traffic was nasty today."

Kathy hovered over Lisa with a smug grin in place. "So Leese, it's about time you had a vacation. You really deserve to take a breather, what with all those hours of over time! And I can see you already made a toast.." She eyed the half-empty bottle of chilled Merlot that was on the coffee table knowingly.

Lisa smiled, feeling acutely rejuvenated as the glimmer in her friend's eyes seemed to be contagious. "You know it. Don't worry, wine coolers are in the fridge. Help yourself."

The rest of the evening was filled with the usual comical banter, fruitless channel surfing, and card games in Joe's newly attained redwood poker table. It was fuzzy, warm- like a hazy dream with the musical laughters of her friends echoing out reality. Still, she found the occasional fear seep in now and then, most of them fought off with a futile smile.

New York seemed to be the only thing that made sense in her alibi. It was a large perimeter to cover, and if anyone came looking for her, the intricacy and size of the city would serve as an advantage to buy more time. Time was essential in all of this, and the more she had free, the better.

But for now, all she needed to do was enjoy these few precious hours.

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"So you have the safe house cleaned out and ready?" Jackson asked, twirling the steering wheel with deft fingers as he made a sharp turn, the lights and glamor of downtown Miami reflecting off the tinted windows of his obsidian Audi.

"Yes I do. Just make sure you make it to Fulton County Airport in Atlanta no later than six o'clock AM, where the plane will be leaving for you guys. By the way, she retrieved the files earlier this morning at 11:43 and had her superiors chunk out a vacation."

"Good. Then all is according to plan."

"Well," Garrett paused briefly, enough for Jackson to feel a flare of anger furrow his brow. "Boss says that your old company contacted Lisa shortly after you dropped her off at Coral Square. Unfortunately, we have no idea what happened or what was said, but he says we are on high alert. She's under heavy surveillance, and chances are you are too."

Jackson's face remained immobile, although inside he was seething, his hands aching to rip off the leather that binded his prim steering wheel. Nostrils slightly flared, Jackson allowed his foot to pound the gas pedal, his engine wailing in response.

"So what does Boss want me to do?" Jackson growled.

"Stay low for awhile. We are sending a few guys to monitor your surroundings, follow you around and sniff up anything suspicious. Same goes for Lisa. The Boss says that he wants to keep the original plan intact: we still meet her at the Mynt Lounge, same time, etc. The only difference is that we have a few backup men ready to neutralize anyone suspicious- including Lisa, if she had made any type of pact with your old company that we are not aware of."

Jackson narrowed his eyes at Garrett's ending statement. Would she have? He really wasn't sure; lately things have been going to shit for him, so if it were true, it wouldn't surprise him in the very least. Lisa had always been a creative woman, and the thought of toppling her former tormentor using his previous employer was surely an appealing alternative. Whatever the case, he did not trust her. He never would after that pen made it's way to his throat.

"In that case, let me be the first to know. If she really made an alliance with them, then I'll be the one to neutralize her. Is there a way we can snatch the files now, or would that only put my old company in full offense?"

"No, not without making an unnecessary racket. We have to stay low. So, if Miss Reisert really did make a deal with..." Garrett trailed off suggestively.

"Like I said, I'll neutralize her. Take her out." Jackson's voice was more raw than usual, a raspy edge giving way to Garrett's doubt.

"You sure Jackson?" He inquired, his curiosity grating on Jackson's irritated nerves.

"What makes you ask that?"

"I don't know. What if she didn't?"

If she didn't... Jackson's mind lingered on that phrase, digesting it slowly with cautionary inspection. Although the chances to Jackson weren't likely due to his immense distrust and lack of faith in her, if she really did manage to comply with his plans, even at the absurdity and danger it provoked... it would, he cringed knowing this, probably raise a tally mark for Leese in Jackson's book.

"Jackson?" Garrett called, thinking he had hung up from the prolonged silence.

"If she didn't, then she's a smart girl," Jackson replied flatly. "I'm not too sure on the chances of that, but we will have to see, won't we?"

"Yeah, we'll see. Where are you headed to?"

"I need to get out of that closet-sized safe house and have a drink."

"Well, don't be wanting to take home any women you run into; your old company probably has a few ready to..."

Jackson rolled his eyes, interrupting him immediately before the upcoming lecture could start. "I know I know, I'll keep that in mind, mother."

Garrett ignored his sarcastic tone, chortling. "Damn Jackson, is there any women we can trust in this world?"

"Not the way we live, I suppose," Jackson said indifferently. "Keep me updated Garrett."

Hanging up in silent glee, he flung the phone onto the vacant passenger seat, then impulsively made a sharp right turn, leading him to a street he wasn't familiar with. The conversation with Garrett had made him lost his desire for a drink and, inevitably, the urge to encounter an available one-night stand.

Wait, when was the last time I've had a one-night stand?

Frustrated, the only thing that seemed to ail his musings was driving itself. Watching the world go by all around you, yet be inside a space that seemed to be entirely yours... Jackson calmed at the though, turning up the volume, the sound of Debussy flooding the car.

Lisa had a very, very crucial decision to make now. If she were to ally with Jackson, Jackson would keep her alive. If she went against him, he could kill her. And although he himself had volunteered to be the grim reaper of that occasion, most of him truly pleaded for Lisa to comply with his protection. He wasn't necessarily vengeful, no... but he wasn't completely indifferent either. Obviously he wouldn't mind seeing her squirm around frightened to saturate his gratification, but in the end he didn't want to banish her to his way of life; she didn't have it in her, so he thought. Granted, she had done nothing but ruin his life, make his career an absolute disaster, not to mention give him some physical ailments, perhaps permanently changed his viewpoints on womankind, thus leading to his complete lack of sexual life...

... I'm over-analyzing this.

With a hefty sigh, Jackson went on fourth gear and sped onward, his engine mingling with the sound of other ongoing cars as he entered the freeway, fading into the humid Miami night.

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JUST FOR NICOLINAN:

Jackson: You were soooo right- I should have finished off Paul in the bathroom stalls.

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I did it! Whooo! Please comment: Make me happy. Poor Jackson; he ain't getting no lovin...

Jackson: SHUTUP!

... haaaah. Anyway, I decided that this will be a LJ fic for sure, gradual but I finally made up my mind. Before they can go anywhere though we need some climatic tension... the distrust, the uncertainty (New grounds for Jackson), Lisa's belief that Jackson is nothing more than a phantom of society... it will go on and on.