As always, thanks to my reviewers! A few of you seemed to really like my "threat", but it wasn't very effective. :P Over 100 people read the story in two days, and six took the time to say something. But it's okay- you guys make me feel like I have some kind of cult following! :D

Brunette bulma- Glad you liked the little kiss. Obviously, there will be more in chapters to come.

trudes193- Ah, excuses. Kidding, your review is always appreciated no matter what order it comes in. I love how you seem to notice the nuances in a chapter- makes me feel like my work is appreciated. I'll be sure to check out your story. I just haven't had time to do much lately. Boo. Glad you liked Lisa's ideas, too- it was basically me writing down the ideas that have been running through my head while I try to decide what's going to happen, and Jackson got to play the logic part of my brain reminding me that I know nothing about staging deaths.

Jesscah- Yes, they're finally getting somewhere. If Jackson could just get over himself, they would be moving along faster. But since he's a bundle of complications that doesn't understand the meaning of the word "easy", he's not getting the girl. Yet. Glad you liked the action scene, and thanks as always for the supportive words!

Medisha- It makes me feel so special to know I made your Saturday! And what you said about Lisa's strength was exactly what I was going for- I think she showed signs of having a real strength, not just one that shown when she was backed into a corner. I've been trying to bring it out in her, and I'm glad you noticed. As for Jackson's behavior when Lisa was drunk- assassins can be gentlemen, too! :) Oh, and check what I wrote to trudes193 for a response to your comment about the action scene.

empirex- Thank you so much for that review. I always worried that the relationship isn't moving at the right pace, so reviews like yours are very welcome!

SparklesFranqula- I definitely have some hand-to-hand planned. Jackson can handle a gun alright if he has plenty of bullets and time, but he's going to have to use a knife eventually, and if that fails, some good old-fashioned fisticuffs. Your idea about his change from Jack to Jackson is intriguing- I'm already thinking about how to work the story into a later chapter. Right now, I'm torn between him actively being involved with an incident with a knife, or just being kind of death-obsessed as a kid to the point where others teased him about being "Jack the Ripper". Since he was 10 at the time, it makes the idea of him stabbing/slashing someone seem a little slim, unless it was an accident of some kind.

And now for a chapter full of "WTF?":

Chapter 13: The Never-Ending Why

Jackson jerked when he heard a cell phone ringing. He hadn't realized that he had drifted off. He didn't recognize the ring tone, but it was definitely coming from his bag. He reached into the bag and pulled out the phone, glancing at the screen. 'Jackson.' Was he still asleep?

"Yeah?" he greeted, his voice husky with sleep.

"Jackson?" He frowned.

"Jackson?" he repeated. It sounded like him. Must be a dream. He didn't usually get phone calls from himself.

The other line was silent for a moment. "Are you high?" the voice finally asked. Jackson shook his head, feeling like a complete idiot.

"Oh. What's up?" Jackson asked Caleb, rubbing his eyes and checking his watch. 3 in the morning, which meant it was 4 on the east coast. He narrowed his eyes. "Wait. Why do you have my phone?"

"Jackson..." Caleb said again, and the older brother immediately sobered, straightening in his chair. He knew this tone...it wasn't good.

"Hold on," he whispered, realizing that Lisa was still asleep in the same room. He grabbed his bag and key, and walked outside, hoping that she didn't wake up and panic at his absence, since he had nothing to write a note with. "What's wrong?" he asked, sitting on the curb near the car. He shivered in the cold night, chastising himself for not grabbing his coat.

"...it's Cheryl," Caleb said, sounding more and more upset. Jackson's heart quickened, and he paled.

"What happened?" he asked, swallowing hard. Were they attacked? Was she hurt, or worse, dead?

"It's Cheryl," Caleb repeated. Jackson was used to this. When Caleb was upset, he had a tendency to repeat his words as he struggled to get the next ones out.

"Caleb, what happened to Cheryl?" he asked firmly, trying to get his brother back to reality. Caleb let out a shaky sigh, and Jackson's dread continued to build as he waited for what was to come.

"She...it...she fucking betrayed us, Jackson!" Caleb spat out, his voice rising at the end of his sentence. Everything froze. Cheryl? CHERYL? Jackson shook his head. First things first. Focus.

"Are you alright, Caleb? She didn't do anything to you, did she? Where is she?" Jackson rambled. So many questions were flashing through his mind.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Except my fucking wife plotting to kill my brother, I'm goddamn fantastic," Caleb replied. "Stupid...bitch...thought I was asleep. I heard her talking to Robert. She told him the plan changed, and that she was bringing you to him. I'm in the room, and she's talking to him free as you please." Jackson ran a hand through his hair. How was this happening? Of all the contingencies he had planned for...this wasn't something he could have anticipated.

"Where is she?" he asked, simultaneously trying to adjust to the new information and keep Caleb on track. It was a losing battle- the endless torrent of questions continued to fight for priority.

"I hit her, knocked her out. She's tied up now." Caleb sighed shakily. "I don't understand...it's going to be days before you're here. Why would she say she would have you here today?"

Jackson's swimming brain skidded to a halt. Suddenly it all made horrible sense. "Caleb, you took my phone because of trackers, right?"

"Yeah," Caleb replied. "I thought that if they got ahold of your number, it would be better if they tracked us." He paused. "Why?"

Jackson buried his face in his free hand. "Lisa and I were attacked on the road today. They must have been tracking the signal. Your signal, not mine."

Silence. "I don't understand. Are you saying..." Caleb trailed off, and Jackson could feel his distress in his own chest and gut on top of his own.

"She's not taking me to him. She's taking you. She's switching us," Jackson spat. This realization only made him angrier. How dare she try to kill his brother, especially in his own place? He pulled on his hair, feeling an overwhelming urge to strangle that...traitor...with his bare hands. Florida had never felt so far away. "Fuck it, I'm having one," he spat, grabbing the pack of cigarettes from his bag.

"I am already," Caleb replied, sounding more stressed than Jackson had heard in a long time, not that it was a big surprise. Jackson lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply. The smoke burned in his lungs and he coughed, but he didn't stop. It pain was giving him the same release that would come from punching a wall, so he was just fine with it. The two men were silent for a while, and Jackson became aware that his brother was crying softly. It pained him to hear, and Jackson wanted him to stop, but there were no words. He couldn't tell him things were going to be okay- it was a lie. He would never tell him to 'be a man', because that was a crock of shit.

"What do I do?" Caleb muttered, and Jackson knew that it wasn't a rhetorical question. Out of habit, Caleb was genuinely asking Jackson what to do next. Was he supposed to kill his own wife? Jackson remained silent, drumming the cigarette-holding hand on his knee while he thought about what to tell him. He spun around when he heard his name come from behind him. Lisa stood near him, looking confused.

"Caleb, Lisa's here. Is it okay if I put you on speaker? She needs to know, too." His brother grunted in response, and Jackson motioned for Lisa to sit next to him. He put the phone on speaker. "Cheryl's the one who sold us out," he explained quickly, "She's trying to trade Caleb's life for mine, and we were attacked today because Caleb took my cell phone, and I have his. The attack was meant for him."

Lisa's jaw dropped. "Oh my God," she said softly. "Why would she do that?" Jackson shook his head, taking another drag. Lisa shivered slightly in the night air, and moved closer to him. Jackson stubbed out his cigarette with his shoe and maneuvered his crushed arm to drape it across her back. She reached down and squeezed his hand in support, seeming to sense that he was struggling to keep it together.

"We have no fucking idea," he replied. "We're trying to figure out what to do now." Lisa's eyes connected with his, and he waited for the questions.

Instead, Lisa could have knocked him off the curb with what she said next. "Well, remember when we were talking about the plan?" she asked very quietly, "You said that we needed a body to trade..." Both brothers were silent. Jackson wasn't sure that Caleb had even heard what Lisa had said. Jackson was completely stunned. When did she get so pragmatic? "I mean, you're going to kill Robert for what he's done..." Lisa continued carefully, obviously aware that Caleb likely didn't want to hear any of this. "So..." Jackson cut her off.

"You're right. Caleb, did you catch that?" he asked hesitantly, wondering how he was going to convince the other man of Lisa's idea. His brother remained silent for a few more seconds before responding.

"I'm in," he replied, his anguish already replaced with something more sinister. "How are we going to do it?" Jackson racked his brain, and then it hit him.

"An explosion," he said, eyeing Lisa. "If we destroy her face at least, dental records are useless, and I assume they don't have Lisa's DNA on file." Lisa nodded in confimation.

"Not that I'm aware of," she replied, "But can't they match it with my family?" Jackson scowled. Why hadn't he thought of that? The three were silent.

"They won't test all that if they think it's her anyway," Caleb offered eventually, "If they think that she's alone wherever, and they find one body, there's no reason to waste resources on detailed testing. They'll see that she's an adult female based on the remains, and that will be enough for them."

Jackson briefly wondered again if this was some kind of dream. Usually, it was him coming up with the plans. Now, Caleb and Lisa were thinking just as quickly as him, and he wasn't sure which one of them was surprising him more. There were many flaws, yes, but the roots of a decent plan were there.

"Where are we going to do it?" Lisa asked.

"We don't have to figure that out now," Jackson interjected. In his experience, it was rarely a good idea to make a complete plan in a one session brainstorm unless you absolutely had to. They still had time to think about it.

"You're right," Caleb reassured him, sighing loudly. "I'm going to get ahold of Thomas and get some anesthesia so I don't have to keep knocking her out." He scoffed. "Not that I really mind doing that. Are you guys at the ranch yet?"

"No, we got delayed. We'll head out now, though. We'll get Lisa's ID's and tell Marie what's happening. I'll get the latest news on Keefe, and then Lisa and I will be in Miami as soon as possible- tonight, I hope." Jackson hesitated. He could only imagine what was going on in his brother's head, but he could sense that the younger man was getting angry enough to impact his thinking. "Be careful, Cal. I don't know what her plans were- if she was supposed to take you to Robert today, he might get suspicious when you don't show up. You might want to get rid of her phone and switch hotels to be on the safe side." He sighed. "Just try to keep calm, and I'll call you when I know when we're coming in." Caleb agreed, and hung up quickly.

Jackson and Lisa stared straight ahead for a few moments.

"Are you okay?" she asked, poking the pavement with her toe. Jackson shrugged.

"Not really," he responded, moving away from her to light another cigarette. He needed to clear his head. "Can you get our stuff together?" he asked. Lisa nodded.

"Yeah," she said, but she didn't move. "Hey Jackson?" He looked at her. "Thanks for earlier." She nudged him. "It would have been a big mistake." Jackson nodded, distracted. He had all but forgotten that kiss, and he had more important things to worry about now. Lisa walked into the room, leaving him behind.

He ran a hand through his hair. There was a lot of negativity that he was used to, but betrayal was relatively new. Betrayal served no purpose. The idea of killing Cheryl did not upset him as much as it probably should have. To him, it wasn't revenge- it was common sense. They could no longer trust her, and the easiest way to solve that problem was by eliminating her, and Robert as well. The agency couldn't have traitors in their ranks, and they couldn't allow them to live knowing that they had the capacity to turn on them. Loyalty was a huge issue in their line of work. If you couldn't trust the others, you couldn't work with them.

He couldn't deny that Cheryl's actions hurt him, though. They had worked together for years before she switched to Robert's team. She was as good of a friend as he had. She was his sister-in-law, and had been for four years. He had danced with her at their wedding, and listened as she had gushed about how great Caleb was. He had found it both amusing and touching since it was so out of character for her to be so soft and emotional.

Jackson wouldn't have been able to understand why Cheryl was trying to kill him, much less why she was trying to kill Caleb. Was she really trying to trade them, or would they come for him next? But why Caleb? If she were really trying to trade them, did she really think it would work out? Did she really expect that he was going to be fine with the fact that his brother had died in his place, much less be any degree of happy about it? He couldn't make sense of it.

These were the questions that plagued Jackson, even as Lisa packed up the car and pulled out, heading for Bennington. Jackson stared out the window, saying nothing. His head was full of questions that he just could not answer, and they all boiled down to the same thing: Why?

"You need to stop thinking about her," Lisa said to him after an hour or so. "You're not going to figure it out."

Jackson rolled his eyes. "Forget about the fact that she's trying to kill Caleb?" he asked incredulously. "Don't be stupid."

"I am not being stupid," she replied indignantly, "You're not thinking straight because you're angry at her." Jackson shook his head.

"That's not how it is," he snapped defensively. "You have no idea what's in my head right now, Leese."

She looked at him. "But-"

Jackson slammed his fist against the door. "No! Dammit, Leese. You aren't my therapist!" He turned to her. "Yes, I told you one story about my parents, but you have no idea what it's been like, and you have no idea what we have been through together. You don't know how I think, and you don't know why!" He was well aware that he had lost control, but he just couldn't reign it in. This served to anger him more, and he was taking it out on her.

"But I want to know those things!" Lisa yelled back, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"But you don't know! And you aren't going to figure me out in a few days!" He dropped back against the headrest. "Just...stop." He closed his eyes. "I've already told you so much more than I have anyone else, and it's never good enough. You just keep pushing." He lolled his head to look at her. "And if this is going to work, you need to just...back off." This. The word hung over them, and the two were silent for a moment, avoiding eye contact.

"What is this?" Lisa asked. She sounded more frustrated than angry now.

It wasn't lost on Jackson that it was the first time either of them had mentioned this mutual bond growing between them. "I don't know...it is whatever it is." He rolled down his window, letting the wind blow in his face. Between the lack of painkillers, the sleep-deprivation, and his outburst, not to mention the last two weeks in general, he was feeling incredibly burnt out. "Why does it need a label? There is no well-defined category, Leese."

She was quiet for so long that it started to unnerve Jackson. Finally, she spoke. "You're warm and then you're cold. You're open and then you just close me out again. What do you expect from me?" Jackson said nothing, because he didn't have an answer. If he had his way, she could just read his mind and know what he wanted, but that was obviously unreasonable. He just didn't know how to communicate at this level unless it was just a cover for a job. Lisa sighed heavily. "You're right. I don't know what it's like for you. I'm sorry." He shrugged.

"Don't worry about it," he replied honestly, "I haven't made it very easy for you." Jackson slipped on his sunglasses, propping his head against the door frame. What was she doing to him? A few weeks ago, he would have probably tossed her out of the car, maybe after stopping first. Now he was practically apologizing for her being to pushy and pissing him off? He had gotten to where he was because he was quick on his feet and always knew what to say to manipulate a situation toward the direction that he wanted. He usually had fantastic control of his emotions, but she was quite a game changer. Now he was failing miserably.

"Jackson?" she began after a long period of silence, and he grunted in response. "Do you still think there's no chance?"

He frowned, thinking about it yet again. It was different this time, because he actually had to give her an answer. Yes, he wanted her. Yes, they had grown surprisingly closer in the last few days. On the other hand, this wasn't exactly a normal situation that would breed normal emotions. Not to mention that their definitions of normal were quite a bit different. How long would she stay with him knowing that when he left, he was killing people? Manipulating people? "Honestly, I don't know, Leese. Why don't you ask me again when this is over?" He inhaled deeply. "Right now, I don't think there is."

He continued to stare out the window, purposely avoiding Lisa's reaction. "I think there is," he heard her say softly, almost to herself. He shook his head. He wished that he could be as naïve as she was sometimes. If he had his way, things would magically sort themselves. He would get over his hang ups and they would be together, or at least have a shot at it. In reality, it was a bad idea. Their worlds were completely different. As as much as he hated to admit it, Lisa was somewhat correct when she had said the situation with Cheryl was affecting his judgment. However, it was the opposite of what she thought. Cheryl's betrayal served as a reality check, a reminder that life isn't a fairy tale, and things don't work out just because you want them to.

Some people are just meant to be alone. They are so wrapped up in their own bullshit and their flaws and issues that they forget how to let someone else in.

"Are you conveniently forgetting that I am a killer?" he asked softly. He took Lisa's silence as a 'yes' and continued. "Do you really think that you could just put it aside?"

"Why do you kill people?" she asked. Jackson ran a hand through his hair. He was used to this question, but it was usually in the form of 'why are you doing this?', and he needed a better answer than a cocky smirk this time.

"Sometimes, people need to die. If there weren't people like me, things would be much worse than they are," he responded. He didn't expect her to understand. She was brought up in a world where the government may sometimes be corrupt, but they served the greater good and people who lived on the other side of the law were bad. Sure enough, Lisa scoffed.

"So you're some kind of self-sacrificing hero?" she mocked, "You give up everything to protect our way of life?" Jackson raised an eyebrow.

"What if I said 'yes'?" he asked.

"Oh come on," she retorted. Jackson shook his head.

"So you still think I'm a monster?" he asked icily. "You think I get off on killing people, or that I'm so cold that it's all just business?" Lisa said nothing. Jackson grinned, oddly smug and at the same time shamed. "See? You can't have it both ways. If I'm a monster, why would you want there to be a chance, much less actually admit it?"

"You're not a monster," Lisa conceded. "So tell me the real reason Keefe's family had to die then." Jackson sighed.

"It's a classic morality question," he responded. "If you could save a million innocent people by killing another innocent, would you? What is one life worth to you?"

"I wouldn't kill any innocent people," she replied, sounding sure of herself.

Jackson scoffed, rolling his eyes. "And that's the classic cop-out of someone with the luxury of not actually having to answer that question," he snapped. "So by being self-righteous and refusing to take that one life, you'd rather condemn the million and the one. Just so you don't have to dirty your hands." He ran a hand through his hair. "And that's why you will never understand why I do what I do."

He heard Lisa's hands slam on the steering wheel. "Then help me understand since you know so much! Stop writing me off." Jackson turned to look at her. This girl was such a contradiction. She obviously had strong views about what he did, but now she was asking him to change her mind?

"I don't think you want to hear this, Leese," he said, and he meant it. People like Lisa had no idea of most of what happened in the political theater, and for mostly good reason. She didn't seem like the kind of woman who was quick to buy government conspiracies, so the truth could change her entire perspective. He gave her one more chance to back out. "This won't be easy to hear. But if you really insist I tell you, you can't interrupt me, and don't you dare call me a liar. And once I start, I'm not going to stop."

She turned to look at him, defiant. "I want to try to understand," she insisted. "And I'll try to believe you. That's the best I can do."

Jackson stroked his chin. Good enough, I guess. "DHS is in plans with a group of terrorists in Georgia- the country, not the state- to launch an attack on America, similar to September 11th. They're going to frame a cell in Russia for the attack. And if you recall what happened after the Twin Towers were attacked, you can imagine that this could easily escalate into a war with Russia. Keefe is a major player in this conspiracy."

Lisa looked completely stunned, but true to her word, she kept her mouth shut. He continued. "The problem is that we can't go to war with Russia in the same way that we are in the Middle East- Russia has more than guerrilla tactics, and there will be much higher casualties on both sides. On the other hand, communism is still a hot-button issue here- just look at the attacks against Obama for being a commie, socialist, whatever. It doesn't matter that Russia isn't communist- if Americans think that any Russian attacked us and killed thousands of Americans, they will be screaming for revenge just like in 2001."

Jackson sighed. "And that's exactly what Keefe wants. He wants war with Russia. It's a family thing- his dad was part of DOD back in the cold war, and let's just say Keefe has some pretty strong opinions about Russia. He's one of those who believes that things aren't going well in the Middle East for us because of Russia, who is dedicated to getting us out of there. Plus, they supply the region with weapons." He removed his sunglasses and looked at Lisa.

"Keefe is willing to sacrifice thousands of Americans in the initial attack, plus potentially millions of Americans and Russians if there is open war, all for what he considers to be the greater good. Those few in DHS think that if Russia is annihilated, we can conquer terrorism in the Middle East and practically turn them into U.S. territories. Can you imagine what will happen to oil prices in their fantasy scenario?"

Jackson shook his head. "But it won't happen. Best case scenario if Keefe and his friends get their way- thousands of Americans dead and incredibly tense relations between America and Russia. Worst case- nuclear war, millions dead, and increased terrorism." He leaned toward Lisa.

"Now you tell me," he said flatly. "If you could kill Keefe and send a message to those involved that they can't get away with what they're trying to do, but doing so means that you're also going to kill his children, wife, and some of his agents, what would you do?"

Lisa didn't reply. She looked very troubled, and Jackson was sure he had made a mistake in telling her. It was too late to take it back, though. "We have people on the inside, Leese," he continued, turning away again. "This is what I do, remember? High-profile assassinations and government overthrows?" He put his sunglasses back on. "I'm not a monster. I just know that sometimes bad things have to happen to good people for the benefit of even more good people. It doesn't make it easy, though," he admitted, gritting his teeth. "Those children's only crime is having Keefe for a father."

He glanced over and saw Lisa covering her mouth with her hand, looking like she was going to be sick. "Get off at this exit and pull over," he commanded gently, and waited while she did so. "There's something else you should know," he said. "Why do you think Keefe takes his family on business trips? Security. He's paranoid that we're after him, and he is using his wife and kids as a body shield." Lisa dropped her face in her hands, and Jackson knew that he should stop pushing, but they were beyond that now.

"Leese, look at me," he ordered. When she finally did, he continued. "There's something else, something that's been bothering me about this whole thing, and I keep coming back to the same idea. I think DHS is using you to keep us quiet." Lisa's eyes went wide and then back into a frown.

"I don't...why?" Jackson could tell she was trying hard to take in everything that he was saying. If he had to guess, he would say that her head was too full of questions for her to make any kind of coherent response.

He sighed. "There's nothing concrete to prove that you were actually in on the attempt, and as far as your record looks, you couldn't assassinate a squirrel, but it seems like they pinned it on you without much of an investigation. Makes me wonder why. Then I thought, you look like an easy target. I thought you were, and maybe they're thinking the same thing. If Keefe comes after us, he thinks he runs the risk of being exposed. By making you the scapegoat, he probably thinks that we'll be thankful and lie low for a while. He probably thought they could just...kill you and it would send us the message that he will stop at nothing."

Lisa bolted from the car and ran into the ditch, vomiting into the grass. Jackson was by her side instantly, one hand on her back in support. When she finished, he grabbed a bottle of water from the car and handed it to her. "My dad..." she said shakily, tears in her eyes, "...a message? I told them..." The tears streamed down her cheeks, and she was starting to breathe heavily. She rinsed her mouth and spat the water into the grass. "I asked why I would stop it if I...they said I was trying to gain trust so I could do it later...without suspicion." Jackson sighed heavily. The stupidity of that idea was astounding.

"Leese, that's the biggest crock of shit. There's no way they really think that." Lisa shook her head, eventually crying herself into submission. "If you want to see a silver lining," Jackson offered, "If I am right, which I likely am, it will make helping you disappear easy. If we make it look like a suicide, they'll believe it. He will probably never even imagine that you got my help, and as far as he's concerned, you're just a stupid girl who wouldn't even know where to start in staging your own death. Like Caleb said- they won't waste time with testing. We'll leave something to indicate that the pressure got to you, and they will buy it."

Almost like a switch had been flipped, Lisa looked at him with concern. "What about you?" she asked. "Do you think they really think you're dead? Is that doctor in danger?" Jackson shook his head.

"Even if they think I'm alive, what are they going to do? Keep in mind that when I say Keefe knows we're after him, I mean that he knows there is someone after him. He has no idea who we specifically are. But if they think I'm alive and even if they think Thomas has something to do with it, they can't really do anything about it. If they want to go after Thomas, they would have to admit that you are innocent and there is more to the situation. Thomas is established- there would have to be some explanation as to why he was being investigated." Lisa nodded.

"I'm a body shield for both sides," she said bitterly. Jackson sighed, his head dropping. He wanted to refute it, but knew she was right. She was the reason that there wasn't a bigger government backlash in response to his failure. He was pulled from his thoughts when Lisa took his hand, staring into his eyes. "If what you say is true, it actually makes me feel a little better," she admitted. It was Jackson's turn to be dumbfounded. "It gives what happened a reason. It justifies me being here, getting your help."

Lisa stared at the ground. "I know my dad died for me. And I've been asking myself over and over what he would think if he knew I was with you. I mean, as far as he knew, and as far as I knew, this was all your fault. But it's not. I know why I did what I did. I couldn't justify killing Keefe and his family just to keep me and my dad alive. Now I know why you did what you did. You couldn't tell me your reasons flat-out, and I wouldn't have believed you anyway. You just did what you had to do." She looked up at Jackson again, her eyes flaring in defiance.

"I know that it's Keefe's fault- all of it. He needs to die for everything that he's done, and for everything he is going to do."

Sorry the chapter got so long and that I just gave you guys a LOT of plot to process, but there wasn't really a good cut-off point.

It was implied in chapter 1 that this story takes place in 2010 even though the movie itself was released in 2005. I couldn't find anything in the movie that implicitly stated that the events took place in 2005, so I decided to take some liberties with the year so Obama could be president. This was done because when Bush was president, there wasn't nearly as much anti-communist/socialist vitrol as we have now. Also, Russia's anti-American policy in the Middle East has been much more relevant to the Obama administration than to the Bush administration.

Also, I feel the need to make this disclaimer- I am not suggesting in any way that the Dept. of Homeland Security would ever be involved, either as a whole or in part, in the kind of conspiracy talked about in this chapter.

I also want to apologize if Jackson's feelings for Lisa seem a little bipolar. Jackson's point of view is based on a guy that I used to be in an "are we or aren't we?" long-distance relationship with (I like you but it's too hard, blah blah blah). I thought it was fitting based on Jackson's behavior in the film- struggling for calculated control of what I thought was an obvious attraction to Lisa. Don't worry, though- his doubts are sounding their little death rattles. He might act like the cold manager, but the human in him hadn't reconciled with what he did to Lisa. Her little speech at the end will have an impact on him. :)

Review if you think it's about damn time they got to the ranch and got this business with Keefe finished! Or if you don't, I guess...

One more thing- school is getting pretty hectic right now (I'm taking 22 credits when 20 is the max and running myself into the ground so I can graduate this spring), so I have no idea when I'll be able to update again.