"It's done." Jackson held the cell phone in his left hand, gripping the steering wheel with his right.

"Good work," came the voice from the other end. "Parker will be pleased."

"There is one thing…" Jackson glanced at Leroy, who was watching him from the passenger seat. "It's about his daughter."

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The first sensation Kaylie registered was a throbbing ache in the side of her head. She tried to bring a hand up to survey the damage, but found that her left hand wouldn't move without her right one. What the… she thought, and only then did she feel the rough bands binding her wrists together. Her slowly developing thoughts were interrupted by a rough jolt. Where am I? she wondered, cautiously opening her eyes. She was lying across the backseat of a car, wrists and ankles bound together, a piece of duct tape across her mouth. Turning her head slightly to one side, she could see two men in the front seats. Two men… fighting the increasing pain in her head, she focused harder, and Jackson swam into view. She snapped her eyes shut, praying with all her might that she was dreaming. She remembered… her father at the kitchen table, Jackson's friendly conversation in her room, the scene downstairs, that horrible scene downstairs. She tried to push the thought away, but it only became clearer…. that man, Jackson's partner, standing over her father's unmoving body, blood on the floor. Her eyes shot open again and she found Jackson's blue eyes staring at her in the rearview mirror. He grinned.

"Rise and shine."

She mumbled something incoherent and Jackson glanced to the passenger seat, inclining his head towards Kaylie. The man in the passenger seat twisted around and Kaylie shrunk back into the seat in fear. It was him, the man who'd been standing over her father's body… She felt her heartbeat quickening as he reached out towards her. He grabbed the end of the duct tape and pulled it off, then turned back to the front of the car. Kaylie flinched as her hands flew to her lips, stinging from the removal of the tape.

"Now," Jackson spoke, smiling at Kaylie in the mirror. "What was it you wanted to say?"

"Who the hell are you?" Kaylie growled with a ferocity she didn't know she possessed.

"My, my, such aggression," Jackson replied, still smiling. "Here… some aspirin. You must have quite the headache." Kaylie awkwardly took the paper cup thrust at her from the passenger seat and eyed its contents. Well, it looks like aspirin…

Jackson seemed to read her thoughts. "It's just aspirin. Trust me, you need it."

Kaylie glanced from him to the pills and struggled to sit up. Her headache intensified with the sudden movement and, realizing the futility of protest, she emptied the cup into her mouth. The man in the passenger seat handed her an open bottle of water; she gripped it tightly between bound hands, struggling not to spill it all over herself. After having swallowed, she spoke again.

"It was you that hit me, then."

"Yeah, sorry about that." He shrugged. "Had I anticipated the need to knock anyone suddenly unconscious, I would have come better prepared."

"Bastard," she spat.

"Language, language…" Jackson was still smiling at her. "Does your family know you talk like that?"

My family…my father… "Where is he?" she demanded. "Where's my dad?!"

"All in good time," came the reply, which did not satisfy Kaylie in the least.

"I said, where the hell is he?!"

"If you don't calm down," he returned, his tone sharp. "I'll tape your mouth shut again."

Kaylie's eyes narrowed, but she sank back in her seat. She knew better than to push her luck.

"I said, where is he?" she tried again, trying to keep her voice calm despite the waves of fear and anger washing over her.

"Much better." Jackson smirked. "And I'm not going to tell you that just yet."

Kaylie gritted her teeth, becoming increasingly aware of the differences between this Jackson and the friendly man in her room.

"Who are you?"

"I told you already, I'm Jackson. And this…" Jackson gestured to the man in the passenger seat, "…is Leroy."

"Pleasure," Leroy turned to Kaylie and gave a slight nod.

"And I'm guessing you're not with the insurance company?" Kaylie raised her eyebrows and stared defiantly into the rearview mirror.

Both men smiled at that.

"She's a smart one," Leroy commented with a chuckle.

"No, sweetheart, we are not with the insurance company," Jackson continued. "But we did have business with your father, business which has since concluded."

"Then why am I here?" she retorted.

"Well, that's simple." Through the mirror, his eyes locked with hers. "Because you saw."

Because I saw… the scene in her house flashed through Kaylie's mind, her father, immobile on the kitchen floor. She glanced around, as if hoping he might have been next to her all along, but she was alone in the backseat. Is he still lying on the kitchen floor? Is he ok? Kaylie shifted, trying to keep her emotions in check. Why won't he just tell me what happened to my dad? She took a deep breath and faced the rearview mirror.

"Where are we going?"

Jackson grinned. "Do you actually think I'm going to tell you that?"

She shrugged. "It was worth a try."

"I'll tell you this much, it's quite a ways away. We'll be stopping at some point, but I suggest you try to get some sleep in the meantime."

Kaylie opened her mouth to ask how he expected her to fall asleep in a car with the likes of him, but thought better of it. Instead, she settled into her seat, head turned to stare out the window. The cars flickering by reminded her of taking road trips when she was younger, curled up in the backseat while her dad drove. While her dad… Kaylie was unable to stop the tears from spilling over. She wiped them away quickly, hoping the two men would not have noticed her weakness.

"You ok back there?"

"Fine," Kaylie replied shortly, refusing to meet Jackson's eyes. I'm just fine.

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They were on the highway now, with nothing but black emptiness, and the occasional car, filling Kaylie's vision. She had stopped crying, but her head had begun throbbing again. She had spent a considerable amount of time contemplating the possibility of leaping out of the moving vehicle, but had determined that to do so would be suicidal, one way or another. She had then tried to sleep, but to no avail. The glass window did not provide a comfortable headrest and it was starting to get cold.

"You look exhausted," Jackson commented. "You should sleep."

"Trying," she muttered. "Head hurts again. Which I blame on you, by the way."

"Fair enough." Jackson sighed. He conferred quietly with Leroy. Kaylie was too tired to care what they were saying. She opened her eyes only when she felt the car come to a stop. They were pulled over at a rest stop and both men were opening their doors.

"We're stopping for a minute," Jackson told her. "You are not to go anywhere."

A part of Kaylie's brain was trying to come up with a sarcastic retort, but the door had slammed shut before she could even open her mouth. Like I'm going to try, she thought. My head hurts so much I can't see straight and my legs are tied together. I would get really far like this. Although… Kaylie glanced down at the rope binding her ankles. She leaned forward slightly, stretching out her fingers to explore the complicated knot. Keeping her eyes fixed on Leroy, busy pumping gas, and the door to the convenience store into which Jackson had disappeared, she began her work. The knot loosened more easily than she had expected and she had most of it undone by the time the two men returned to the car. As Jackson slid into the passenger seat and Leroy climbed behind the wheel, Kaylie leaned back in her seat and glanced at her watch: 7:30 PM. How many hours has it been?

"Here." Jackson held out a bag of chips. "Food will help." Kaylie took it gratefully, realizing for the first time that she had not eaten anything since lunch. She wrestled with the opening of the bag for several moments, before a chuckle made her glance up to find Jackson watching her.

"Give it here."

Taking the bag from her hands, he pulled it open and passed it back.

"Thank you," she managed, inwardly cringing at the thought of being so dependent on him. As the car pulled back onto the highway, she awkwardly munched on several handfuls, before leaning back against the window and closing her eyes.

------------

Kaylie jolted awake as the car pulled to a stop. Did I fall asleep? She looked down to find the empty chip bag in her lap, before glancing up towards the sign of a motel.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"I should think it would be obvious," Jackson replied, as he and Leroy both got out of the car. Jackson stepped around to the driver's side, climbing in and pulling away from the curb as Leroy disappeared into the motel.

"Where are we go–"

"Just around back," Jackson replied, before she had finished the query. "Leroy is checking us in."

Kaylie moved her feet tentatively, trying to slip them out of the rope, always watching Jackson carefully in the rearview mirror. She had absolutely no idea what they were planning to do with her and did not particularly like the idea of sticking around to find out. If I can just get to reception, maybe I can get help. Kaylie managed to free her feet just as the car coasted around the corner of the building into a deserted back lot. No sooner had the car rolled to a stop than Kaylie had flung open the back door and bolted, hearing Jackson curse behind her. She sprinted for the side of the building, praying that she would encounter someone other than Leroy in the main parking lot. She was still several yards from the corner when she was grabbed roughly from behind. Jackson locked one arm around her waist, pulling her to him, while the other pressed forcefully into her throat.

"That was not smart, Kaylie," he hissed in her ear, using the pressure on her windpipe to force her head back into his shoulder. She grabbed at his arm, trying to regain her ability to breathe, but he wouldn't budge.

"Now, I'm going to stop trying to strangle you," he continued. "If you stop trying to get away from me. Do we have a deal?" Kaylie managed a nod and instantly his arm disappeared from her throat, moving down to pin her arms to her body. She gasped for breath as he pushed her back towards the car, pinning her against it with his body weight.

"Whatever you may think," Jackson said, his breath hot on her cheek. "I actually have no intention of hurting you, provided you follow these conditions: do as you're told, don't try to contact anyone, and no more of these little escape attempts. Otherwise, it may just not be worth the headache. So it's really up to you."

"Why should I believe you?" Kaylie replied shakily, trying to keep herself from crying. "You knocked me out and just tried to strangle me, and now suddenly you have no intention of hurting me?"

Jackson grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around to face him. "There is no suddenly," he hissed. "Sometimes things are unavoidable, like incapacitating you before you attracted any attention. But I have never lied to you and I'm not about to start now." He gripped her chin in his fingers, tilting her head up to meet his eyes. "So suck it up."