No sooner had Kaylie slid into the backseat of the car than Leroy tossed a paper bag into her lap.

"Hungry?"

Kaylie opened the bag and warily inspected her doughnut. Despite her small and unbalanced dinner of chips the night before, she wasn't particularly hungry. I need to eat, she reminded herself firmly. Taking a deep breath, Kaylie reached for the doughnut. Jackson slid behind the wheel and took a quick sip of coffee before turning on the ignition. As the car pulled out of the motel lot, Kaylie took in her surroundings, realizing that she had absolutely no idea where they were.

"Where are we?"

"We are, my dear, in North Carolina." Kaylie looked out the window, wondering how many miles she was from home, and then turned back to Jackson.

"What's in North Carolina?"

He smiled. "Nothing… not for us, at least. It's just en route to somewhere else."

"Somewhere else being…?"

Jackson and Leroy exchanged a look. "And here I thought you'd never ask."

"That's not an answer," Kaylie retorted.

"Did you really expect one?" Jackson replied, as Kaylie glared at him in the mirror. "We still have a long way to go, so you might as well catch some more shut-eye." He paused, his eyes twinkling. "Maybe, if you behave yourself, I'll tell you where we're headed a little later on."

Kaylie couldn't tell if he was serious or not, but didn't have the energy to pursue the matter. She finished her breakfast and, dropping the bag to one side, curled up in her seat and rubbed her ankle. On a promise of good behavior, Jackson had removed that rope before they left the motel, but her ankles were still sore from where it had chafed. She glanced down at her still bound wrists and sighed, before leaning her head back against the seat and closing her eyes.

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

Kaylie slept fitfully. From time to time, she would wake up and stare out the window for a while, only to drift back into another hour or so of sleep. Finally, the car began to slow, and she opened her eyes to find them pulling off at a rest stop.

"Kaylie." She turned to find Jackson watching her. "Do you need the bathroom?"

Kaylie sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Actually, yes," she admitted.

Jackson's hand shot out and grabbed her wrists. "I'm going to have to undo this," he said, tugging on the rope. "When we get out of the car, you need to stay close to me. Do NOT attract attention and don't even think about taking off." He yanked forcefully at her arms, pulling her closer. "Do not make me regret this. Understood?" Kaylie nodded and he quickly untied the rope from around her wrists. Jackson and Leroy stepped out of the car, the former pulling open the back door for Kaylie. She slid out into the sunlight.

"It's hot," she exclaimed with surprise, gently tugging on her t-shirt.

"Welcome to Florida."

"Flor-" she began, but Jackson was already taking her arm and guiding her away from the car. "Come on," he said. "Let's make this quick."

As they crossed the relatively empty parking lot, Kaylie took in the small visitor center and convenience store, the gas station around the side, the small bathhouse set apart from the rest of the center. Glancing at her surroundings, Kaylie realized that Jackson and Leroy had picked this rest stop on purpose. There aren't very many people to see us. They reached the bathrooms and Jackson gestured for Kaylie to go in. She stepped through the door, grateful for a few moments of privacy, even if they were spent in a public restroom along the Florida interstate.

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

Jackson and Kaylie returned to the car only moments before Leroy appeared, carrying a bag of groceries. He deposited it in the back seat.

"Feel free to help yourself," he said to Kaylie. "It's not exactly lunch, but it will have to do."

As Jackson and Leroy took turns using the facilities, Kaylie investigated the contents of the bag. Once Jackson had returned to the car and settled into the passenger seat, he turned to face her.

"Do I need to tie you up again?"

"I'd rather you didn't," she replied truthfully, fingers resting on her sore wrist. He gave her a measured stare.

"Ok," he said after a moment. "I'm choosing to trust you, so don't push it." There was silence for several minutes as Leroy steered the car back on to the highway, and then Kaylie spoke.

"So, you said you would tell me where we were going."

"Did I?" Kaylie detected a hint of teasing in Jackson's voice.

"Yes," she replied. "I didn't attract attention or try to escape and I already know we're in Florida, so…"

Jackson grinned at her in the mirror and Kaylie got the distinct impression that he was enjoying this game.

"We are," he said after a minute. "Going to Miami."

"Miami? Why Miami?"

Jackson raised his eyebrows. "I remember promising to tell you where we were going. I didn't ever say that I would tell you why."

"Why am I not surprised?" Kaylie muttered.

"Glad to see you're catching on so fast." Jackson glanced at her over his shoulder. "Leroy and I have business in Miami. We've set up a temporary… establishment there. That's where we're going."

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

Kaylie had never been to Florida and, although she recalled its general shape and size from middle school geography tests, she had never before considered what that size meant in practical terms. Being in the same state as their destination gave her hope that they might arrive soon; three hours later, with no move made to get off the highway, she watched the palm trees pass by and considered that she might have been overly optimistic. It was not until after 4:30 PM that she began to make out the city in the distance.

For the last half hour, Jackson insisted that Kaylie wear a blindfold. She complied, though not without retorting that she had never been to Miami and had a terrible sense of direction. He assured her that it was a necessary precaution. When the car finally came to a stop, Kaylie heard the doors click open and shut and then hands were at her head, untying the blindfold. It dropped into her lap and she found herself staring into those increasingly familiar blue eyes. Jackson grinned.

"Here we are."

Kaylie blinked, taking in her surroundings. They were in a parking garage. It didn't look any different from any other parking garage she had ever seen. She raised her eyebrows.

"Your "establishment" is in a parking garage?"

"No," Jackson replied, actually rolling his eyes. "It's in the building above the parking garage." He leaned down to peer in at her. "Now, since you've been so well behaved, I'm going to let you remain untied, okay?"

"Okay."

She took his offered hand and climbed out of the car. He adjusted his hand so that it was grasping her arm and nodded to Leroy, who shouldered a couple of bags from the trunk. As they walked towards the elevator, Kaylie glanced around at the other cars parked in the garage. She wondered what kind of people they belonged to, if their owners were everyday people, if they knew they shared a building with a couple of hired killers. Kaylie shook her head slightly, trying to sort out her confused emotions. Her common sense screamed at her that she should hate these men: they had killed her father and were more than capable of doing the same to her. Yet her instinct told her that she could trust them, that they had no desire to hurt her. She believed Jackson when he told her that she was in danger, and who better to protect her than those who knew how to play this kind of game. The fact that she was turning to them for protection made Kaylie uneasy, but Jackson had given her his word. And, as far as she could tell, Jackson didn't lie.

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

Their "establishment" was a nicely decorated apartment, which gave off a pleasant, cozy air that was far from what Kaylie had expected. The door led them into a sizeable kitchen, one wall of which opened into a comfortable looking living room. A hallway extended from the other side of the kitchen, leading perhaps to bedrooms and offices. No sooner had they stepped inside than a young man emerged from the hall, calling out a friendly greeting. Jackson and Leroy returned the salutation, and then Jackson turned to Kaylie.

"Kaylie, this is Ben," he said, inclining his head towards the younger man. "Ben, meet Kaylie."

"Hi," Ben said, shooting Kaylie a smile. She smiled back. He was about Jackson's height, with dark blond hair and a pleasant face. He didn't look like he could be much past 20 and Kaylie briefly wondered how he had gotten involved in this business.

"I'll show you to your room." Jackson's words interrupted her thoughts and she followed him out of the kitchen, exchanging another smile with Ben as she passed.

I have a room?

"Here we are." Jackson opened the door into a cozy room, nicely furnished with a bed and a wood dresser. She stepped inside and looked around, as Jackson dropped a duffel bag by the foot of the bed. There were no windows, a fact that did not surprise her in the least, but otherwise the room was more than comfortable.

"Well? What do you think?" Kaylie turned to face Jackson, who was leaning against the doorframe.

"It's nice," she replied. "Not really what I expected from your…establishment."

"What did you think, that we'd have guns hanging from the walls?" Jackson grinned. "We do have some amount of class, you know." He pointed to the duffel bag. "In there you'll find some of your belongings. The drawers and closet are empty, so feel free to use them."

"What do you mean, my belongings?" Kaylie looked at him quizzically.

"I mean, the belongings that we took out of your room," he returned. "Don't look at me like that, Kaylie, I'm sure you wouldn't prefer to wear that every single day."

Kaylie glanced down. She could do with a change of clothes.

"Bathroom's down the hall," Jackson continued. "I'm happy to show you if you want to shower."

Yeah, Kaylie thought, realizing that she hadn't showered since before school the previous day. That'd be good.

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

The bathroom was also nicely decorated and quite clean, given that this apartment appeared to be shared by three men. Jackson handed Kaylie a towel and then turned to leave.

"Just knock on the door when you're done."

"What, I don't get free run of the apartment?" Kaylie asked, a trace of sarcasm in her voice.

"Not yet." Jackson smirked. "But you do get points for good behavior." With that, he disappeared out the door and Kaylie heard the click of the bolt sliding into place. She sighed and then stepped towards the shower to turn the water on. She undressed quickly, leaving her clothes in a heap on the floor, and stepped into the shower. She massaged her wrists gently and closed her eyes, letting the hot water soothe her stiff muscles. With her eyes shut, she could almost imagine that she was still at home, rinsing off after a long day at school while her dad cooked dinner. Silent tears slid down her cheeks, mixed with the running water. She didn't try to stop them; for a few minutes at least, she didn't have to be brave.

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

A half-hour later, and in a clean pair of clothes, Kaylie knocked on the bathroom door. After a few seconds, it swung open.

"Come on," Jackson said, heading down the hall to the kitchen. "There's food on the table."

Kaylie followed him into the kitchen, where Ben was seated at the table, eating a slice of pizza. She glanced at the clock as she took the offered chair: it was just about 6:30 PM. Ben pushed the tray of pizza in her direction and Kaylie took a slice, nodding in thanks. Suddenly she was starving.

"My turn to shower," Jackson commented. He took a slice of pizza and disappeared back down the hall, whistling. Kaylie looked up from her dinner to find Ben watching her. When their eyes met, he spoke.

"I hope the pizza's alright… I had no idea what time you were all getting in." He shrugged and smiled. "Everyone's tired and starving, so oven pizza it is."

"It's fine." Kaylie smiled back and then resumed eating her food.

"Your name's Kaylie?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"And you're…"

"The kidnappee." She finished his sentence, surprised at how easily the words rolled off her tongue.

"Oh, I didn't mean…" Ben blushed slightly. "I mean, I already knew that, but…"

"It's ok." Kaylie laughed lightly. "I'm actually beginning to get used to the idea."

Ben smiled. "Well, I was trying to ask about you, where you're from, that sort of thing."

"Oh! Well, I'm from Washington, D.C. I'm in high school…" Kaylie trailed off and shrugged. "I don't really know what else to say… my life is pretty normal I guess, at least until these last few days."

"Yeah." Ben smiled sympathetically. "But they've been treating you ok?" He inclined his head towards the hallway.

Kaylie's thoughts ran over the events of the past two days. Tears threatened to flood her vision as the image of her father's immobile body flashed before her eyes, but she pushed the thought away and quickly nodded. She was not about to fall apart in front of this guy she'd barely met.

"Yeah," she managed. "It's been fine… I mean, as fine as to be expected." She smiled. "So, what about you? I'm assuming you work with Jackson and Leroy? If it's ok to say, that is."

"I'm the assistant manager," Ben answered before swallowing his last bite of pizza.

"Manager?" Kaylie asked, knowing full well that her image of shopping malls and hotels did not fit into this situation.

"Yeah," Ben replied. "Jackson's the manager, right? It's his job to coordinate the team, make sure that everything comes off as it should. I'm his assistant, of sorts. I help put together plans, gather information, that sort of thing."

Kaylie nodded, although she was far from comprehension.

"And then Leroy…"

Ben raised his eyebrows.

"Leroy…" Kaylie trailed off, unable to vocalize any opinion on the man she knew to be responsible for her father's death.

Ben eyed her somewhat cautiously. "I guess you could say that Leroy does the dirty work."

They finished their dinner in relative silence, Kaylie struggling to keep herself from thinking too much about all that had occurred. The sound of a door opening drifted down the hall and Kaylie and Ben both looked up to see Jackson enter the kitchen. The two men exchanged a significant look, after which Ben climbed to his feet and went to confer quietly with Jackson in the corner. After a moment, he headed down the hall, calling "See you later, Kaylie" over his shoulder. Jackson crossed the room and joined Kaylie at the table.

"So, I see you're making friends with Ben," he commented, a slight smirk playing across his face.

"Yeah, he seems nice enough," Kaylie replied, slightly relieved to have something else to think about. "Of course, he is an assassin."

"Not an assassin," Jackson corrected. "Assistant manager. Big difference."

"Managers don't kill people?" Kaylie asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Not typically. Their primary responsibility lies in the planning. Of course, sometimes circumstances require a change in plans." He smiled cryptically.

"So what," Kaylie asked, unable to keep herself from smiling back. "Does that mean you're not an assassin?"

Jackson absentmindedly helped himself to another slice of pizza. "I'm a lousy shot."

"So you don't kill people? Not personally, at least?"

Jackson studied her for a moment. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

Kaylie sighed. He had a point.