Thanks as always to my gorgeous reviewers! I know I said this chapter was going to be focused on the brothers' past, but it took a slightly different turn as I was writing it. Sorry. :(
trudes193- We've discussed their relationship. :P Jackson will be coming to his senses sooner rather than later.
PirateGyrl- You are probably my favorite reviewer. You notice the little things, and I love your interpretation of things soooo much! As for the note...we'll have to see what happens.
Jesscah- Oh. My. God. You liiiiiive. Glad you enjoyed their little scene. As you'll see, Lisa becomes quite the asset in this chapter. Cheryl is Cheryl- she has motivations, even if they're messed up. I have a weird soft spot for her, honestly. I don't know why. :P Yeah, I noticed that I was writing Caleb a little Jackson-like, but I figure...they're brothers. I think I mentioned that one of my best friends has an identical twin brother, and it's so interesting to watch them together. Sometimes they're different people, and sometimes it's like watching clones. It's trippy.
Just a little warning...Jackson isn't in this chapter. He'll be much more involved in the next chapter.
Chapter 25: The Bachelor and the Bride
Lisa awoke with a start. She rolled over to face Caleb, who was still sleeping. His arm was draped over her waist, probably out of habit. Lisa stared at him, thinking back to the nights she had woken in motel beds with Jackson. Even in sleep, he was closed off, his arms at his sides. It was fascinating to her how two people could look so much alike, and yet be so different. When they were confronted, Caleb fought to get the person on his side, and Jackson just pushed them away.
The more Lisa thought about it, the more she realized that they really weren't all that different. Neither of them completely shut off- they both seemed constantly aware of and analyzing their surroundings. It was amazing to Lisa just how observant they were. Caleb had been more open with his take on things, but she could tell that Jackson had just as firm of a grasp on reality, at least most of the time. Yes, Jackson was the "bad" twin and Caleb was "good", but she had been told that Caleb was quite the killer, and Jackson had his sweet moments. He could be gentlemanly- holding the door open, carrying her bag, and she couldn't forget how gentle he was when he had tended to her injuries.
Images from Lisa's dream invaded her thoughts, pulling her back to reality. She carefully moved Caleb's arm back to his side and shook him awake.
"Caleb," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. When she heard him grunt in reply, she continued. "I know what to do with Cheryl." Caleb stirred, folding his arms under his head and turned to look at Lisa, his eyes half-closed. She sat up, looking down at him. "We can do it at my dad's house," she explained, watching as his eyes widened slightly. "We can get some gasoline or lighter fluid or something, and set the place on fire. Something in there will explode, right?"
Caleb tensed up, stretching, his eyes closing. "Maybe. It's not that easy, though." He yawned widely, opening his eyes. "But we can make it work. What else?"
Lisa toyed with her bandage. "If it were me, I mean if I was doing it to myself, I would probably shoot myself in the head. I mean, I wouldn't want to burn alive."
He nodded, looking curious. "And why your dad's house?" he asked. He didn't seem all that surprised with her plan, or maybe he just wasn't fully awake yet.
"Because that's the only place I would burn down," she replied, her face darkening. "And I kind of want to burn it anyway," she admitted. "I don't want some stranger living there, and I don't have family in Miami who would move in."
"Two birds,"Caleb muttered, and sighed heavily. "Makes sense," he allowed, "But there are lots of logistical issues to deal with. How are we going to set the fire without burning ourselves alive? How are we going to get into the house without catching anyone's attention? Do we do it between one and three a.m. when the night owls are potentially awake, or between three and five when people are getting up for work? Or some other time? How are we going to get away?" He buried his face in his arms. "And those are just off the top of my head."
"How are we going to get Cheryl out of the house without Jackson knowing that we're here?" Lisa added, leaning back on her elbows. She obviously knew that there were details to work out, but she was sure she had a legitimate plan forming.
"Mhm," Caleb replied, and she could see that he was yawning again. "I'll think about it. Can I go back to sleep, or are you not finished?"
Lisa shook her head, lying back on the bed. "No, that was it," she admitted. She didn't see how Caleb could be tired now- she felt wide awake. Even as she asked herself, she felt her eyelids becoming heavy again. She pulled the blankets up to her chin, curling up into a ball again.
Lisa closed her eyes tightly, shutting out the sunlight streaming through the window. She thought over the questions that Caleb had raised. The 1-3 window made more sense, because in that neighborhood, there were likely more workers than people who stayed up all night.
She was pulled from her thoughts when Caleb spoke again. "It would be easier if Jackson was helping." Lisa nodded, pulling the blanket entirely over her head in frustration. She wanted so badly to call him and get help. He had listened to her talk about her dad. He was the one who told her about Keefe and the feds. He had promised to help. It felt wrong to be doing this without him there.
"Why can't we just talk to him?" Even as she asked, she knew the answer. They had tried talking to him- it hadn't worked. "Why is he like that?"
She felt the mattress shift. "Because he is," Caleb replied flatly. "He gets a plan in his head and he sticks to it. He just likes being in control, and we challenge him...so we're out."
Lisa didn't reply. She already knew that. "Was he always like this?" she asked.
"In one way or another," Caleb replied, but didn't elaborate. Lisa sighed. It was so frustrating. She had seen definite moments when Jackson started to relinquish control, but he always snapped back. Maybe Caleb was right. Maybe it was just something inherent in Jackson. Maybe Jackson had done the right thing by ending it with her.
"How does this end?" she heard Caleb ask, and she lowered the blanket to look at him.
"We're going to finish my plan, and then we're going to help with Keefe," Lisa replied, and then hesitated. "Then I'm going to go on with my life." Caleb raised his eyebrows. "I love him," Lisa added quickly, "but if this is just something that isn't going to change...it will never work. I can't force myself into his life if he doesn't want me around."
"I never said it wouldn't change," he replied, irritated. "I said he's been like that in one way or another. He's already changed a lot since you left my house, and it's only been four days. And you caused that."
A small smile tugged at Lisa's lips. She was glad that the changes she saw in Jackson weren't a product of her hopeful imagination. "I mean, it's your choice," Caleb continued, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles. "I just wouldn't want you to give up because of a misunderstanding." He yawned. "Plus, it doesn't make sense for you to risk your life just to disappear after. Martyrdom is such a cliché." He reached over and pulled the blanket back over Lisa's head. "Now go back to sleep."
Lisa's head was spinning a hundred miles an hour. She couldn't get used to the battle between the practical and the optimistic that had been raging for days. It was making her question every thought in her head, especially when it came to Jackson. One minute she thought that she was better off without him and the next she was fired right back up. It was exhausting.
When Lisa awoke again, she was alone. She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand. 1:00. She flopped onto her stomach, pulling the blankets over her head to block out the blaring sunlight. Hadn't Ben heard of closing his blinds? Eventually, the faint scent of food crept into her senses, and she pulled herself out of bed.
Rubbing her eyes, she made her way into the kitchen, and was greeted by Caleb's back as he prepared some kind of sandwich. She briefly let her imagination wander, and wondered what it would be like to wake up in the morning- or afternoon- and have Jackson be there. She could almost pretend it was her apartment- the layout was identical. Lisa leaned against the wall, lost in her daydream.
Caleb turned around and stepped back, startled. "Hey creeper," he greeted hesitantly. Lisa smiled sheepishly at took a seat at the bar.
"Sorry," she said, her voice still husky with sleep. "I'm a little out of it." She leaned forward. "What are you making?"
"Tuna melts," Caleb replied. "Ben doesn't have much food around." He offered a plate, which Lisa took gratefully. Her stomach was complaining obnoxiously about the strange schedule she had forced it into the last few days.
"Why do you call him Ben if you know his real name?" she asked as she took a bite of the sandwich. Caleb shrugged, propping himself on his elbows across the bar.
"I'm used to it. It's standard to use the pseudonyms," he explained casually. "He calls me by my name because I'm not in the agency anymore, and he calls Jackson by his in private to irritate him."
Lisa nodded. "I get why Jackson hates him, but why does he hate Jackson?"
"He should be on Jackson's team, but Jackson made sure to push him off to Robert, and Marie definitely favored Jackson over Robert, so Ben doesn't get much good work. They mostly get bullshit jobs," Caleb replied, taking a bite of his sandwich. "Apparently that's what the whole revolt was about. They wanted to replace Marie more than anything else. But..." Caleb trailed off, staring at his food.
Lisa frowned, shifting in her seat. "But what?" she prodded, setting down the sandwich.
Caleb shook his head. "It's not something I should go into," he replied firmly. "It's a whole new level of complication at an international level." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And it's irrelevant now since it's mostly dead."
Lisa furrowed her eyebrows. She had noticed that Caleb had a tendency to stop himself from sharing his information, but now his vagueness was unsettling. A shadow had been cast across his face, and he looked more troubled than usual. "Mostly?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't know what tricks to use to get to Caleb- she had mostly backed off when he stopped sharing, and that was usually the end of the discussion.
"The agency won't be finishing it," Caleb responded, staring at the counter top. His unease was growing, which made Lisa even more nervous.
"What's going on?" she asked, leaning forward. "Something's wrong."
Caleb shook his head. "It's not your business," he replied. "It's really Ben's thing." Lisa frowned. She definitely couldn't let it go now.
"Does Jackson know?" she asked, irritated. "Or is it not his business, either?"
"No," he responded flatly. Lisa bit her lip.
"Caleb, please tell me," she insisted, but Caleb didn't react. "I won't say anything to Jackson. And how do you know this stuff if he doesn't?" She lowered her voice. "Is Ben in trouble?" She glanced around, noting the empty apartment. "And where is he, anyway?"
"He's picking up some supplies for me," he replied, and shifted his weight, leaning even more heavily against the bar. He looked like he wanted to say more, but there was only silence. Lisa frowned, waiting to see if he would continue if she stopped prodding him. She got no response. Who would have thought that Caleb was harder to break than Jackson?
Caleb sighed heavily. "Listen Leese," he said, taking her hands in his. "I know that you like to ask questions and all that, but please trust that it has to stay a secret. I can't risk you saying anything to Jackson." Lisa opened her mouth to reply that she wouldn't but Caleb anticipated this. "You can't make a promise like that before you know the information," he insisted, and sighed again. "Look- I promise that Jackson's not in any danger, and the only person in the agency it affects is Ben."
Lisa pulled her hands from Caleb's and sat back on the bar stool, frowning slightly. She hated this, but she understood that she was not going to get it comfortably out of Caleb. She begrudgingly had to respect his boundaries and drop it. She doubted that there was any way of getting it out of Ben, which meant that she would just never know what was going on. Even though she wasn't particularly attached to Ben, Caleb's tone made it clear that whatever it was, it was bad for him.
The two sat in silence, picking at their food. Lisa found that her appetite had suddenly disappeared, and got to her feet. "Thanks for the sandwich," she said, leaving more than half of it behind as she walked back into the bedroom. She quickly got back under the blankets again.
It wasn't long before Caleb followed her. "Are you sulking?" he asked incredulously, and Lisa felt a dip in the mattress as he sat down. She repositioned herself so she could face him, propping up her head.
"No," she replied, and she wasn't, really. "I spent the last few years getting involved with people just to the point where I could find out how to make their visit more comfortable. I went to work, dealt with guests and my staff, and then I went home. That's it. I've never really dealt with this life or death stuff before, and it's still taking me a while to get used to it." Caleb nodded, waiting for her to go on. "It's been a while since I was close to anyone other than my dad," she continued, her voice faltering slightly, "and now I am, but the people I'm getting close to might die any day." She blushed heavily, fixing her gaze on the blanket beneath her. "It's scary."
Caleb sighed heavily. "It is," he agreed, resting his weight on his arms behind him. "I know Jackson believes it's all about the greater good, but there is nothing okay about this job. You isolate yourself from the public, associating only with colleagues, marks, and targets. You come to care about most of them, even some of the marks. Maybe even a target or two." He stared at the wall, and Lisa felt as though he was mostly talking to himself. "You see the people you care about die, and you don't have the right to be upset because you're a killer yourself." He glanced at Lisa, his face dark. "Innocent people get dragged into it, and come out either sane, but with blood on their hands, or they don't make it in one way or another." He blinked hard. "And even if you find a way out, you're not really alive anymore."
Lisa pulled herself over to Caleb, sitting close to him. "Do you still think you're a killer?" she asked quietly. "Is that why you're not really trying to be a doctor?" He turned away, laughing nervously.
"I am a doctor," he replied, his voice still uneven. "And not in some free clinic. At a hospital." Lisa furrowed her eyebrows, her head tilting slightly.
"But Jackson said-"
"Because that's what I told him," he interrupted. "He thinks I'm still associated with the agency, but I told Marie years ago that I was done. Completely out." Lisa's eyebrows raised in surprise. She thought back to her conversation with Jackson, when he had told her that he wanted Caleb to choose one path or another. Why had Caleb kept it from him? In his usual style, Caleb seemed to read her mind. "I know I made the right choice, but I still felt like I was abandoning him. Lying to him about it was the only way that I could...you know..." he trailed off, giving Lisa a questioning look, as though he didn't have to explain.
Lisa nodded. She did understand, in a way. She could relate to the thought of knowing that you were doing the right thing, and at the same time having a piece of you unwilling to completely abandon your previous path. But that wasn't her problem at the moment- her problem was that she just didn't know what was the right thing anymore. And to make matters worse, she wasn't getting any help from the men who knew more about such things. Caleb was great to talk to, but he had an irritating ability to give her multiple points of view and make them all sound like the right path. Jackson had his chosen path, and bounced between being highly adept at convincing Lisa that it was the right one, and telling her off if she even questioned it without giving her an explanation.
"How did you figure out what was the right thing?" she asked shyly. She waiting to be rebuked for such a "stupid" question, but Caleb seemed to be thinking it over.
"I guess, I decided that I had to be true to myself first, as stupid as that sounds," he replied. "I love my brother, but he comes second." He chuckled dryly. "Not very romantic, is it?"
Lisa shook her head. "It's honest. And...it's true," she replied, trying to think of a way to express the odd feeling of gratitude she felt.
Caleb raised an eyebrow. "This coming from the girl who battled an assassin to save her father and a government official? Sounds pretty selfless."
She hung her head. "It's not quite like that," she admitted softly. "I set up Keefe, but when I heard his family would be killed too, I just couldn't. I knew I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. But my dad..." She trailed off. She had been dancing around her true motivations ever since the flight, but wasn't sure how to word them. "I...gave Keefe up because I wanted my dad to live, but because I didn't want to lose him, more than because I just didn't want him to die. It was selfish." She fiddled with the blanket, unable to look at Caleb.
"And you think that's wrong?" he replied, leaning forward to lift her chin. "Lisa, when you look at it that way, we're all selfish. Of course you made your choices thinking about the effect it would have on your life. You're here because you want to help Jackson, even though it might kill you. You could just leave, and save your own life, but it sounds like you would hate yourself for it. So does staying make you selfish, too?"
Lisa furrowed her brows, considering what he had just said. It made sense, and it gave her a surprising feeling of release. She collapsed onto her stomach, burying her face in the blankets. "I'm not normally this stupid," she whined, embarrassed. "My head's all mixed up."
"Aw, don't be like that," Caleb replied, laughing lightly. "It's to be expected. You think I just woke up one day and decided 'I don't want to kill people anymore. I want to help them.'?" He shook his head. "No, I just spent eleven years of my life watching my mom and my brother bend over backwards trying to make my dad happy. I've seen what it does to people, and it still took another five years before I decided to be my own person, even if it sucks sometimes. But I had to think about things like that, really. Many people, yourself included, have had the luxury of not having to really think about their motivations and the truly right and wrong things to do."
Lisa lifted her head, staring up at him. She never had to think about right and wrong before? That was news to her. He noticed her irritation and rubbed the back of his neck. "That came out totally wrong. What I mean is..." He groaned, gesturing wildly with one hand while he thought about it. "Okay, take capital punishment. You can put a lot of thought into how you feel about it, but usually, in the end, it doesn't really affect you personally whether or not a criminal gets injected or spends the rest of his life in prison. The increase in your taxes to cover life in prison amounts to pennies for you, and chances are that his crime didn't have anything to do with you. But if you're a juror at his trial, you now have to deal with the fact that you could directly assist in putting another person to death." He sighed, frustrated. "My point is that you haven't had to make decisions like these before the last few weeks, so don't get down on yourself for not being able to just know the answer."
Lisa nodded slowly. She thought that she understood his point, and it did make her feel a little better. "It's a little hard to imagine Jackson trying so hard to get approval," she noted, steering the subject in a different direction. She remembered that she had wanted to get more information out of Caleb when Jackson wasn't around, and it seemed unlikely that he would be as candid with Ben around.
"He wants yours," Caleb replied pointedly. "That much is obvious." Lisa nodded. She had noticed his struggle when she disagreed with him. She didn't want to talk about herself in relation to Jackson anymore, though. She was feeling too overwhelmed by that subject.
"I wouldn't say he's bent over backwards though," she responded, repeating Caleb's previous words and hoping that he would take the bait. He just shrugged, and Lisa couldn't tell if he wasn't understanding what she was getting at, or if he didn't want to talk about their past. She decided to be blunt. "What was he like back then?" she asked. "I mean, before your dad died."
"I told you," he replied. "He was always looking for approval from Dad in one way or another. When that didn't work, he rebelled- started smoking, staying out with a bunch of girls, giving attitude, all that shit. He was trying to get his attention, I guess. Or maybe trying to get Dad to take it out on him instead of Mom. I don't know." He sighed. "I'm not a therapist. I don't know why he did the things he did, and he's not the most open book, in case you hadn't noticed." Lisa rolled her eyes playfully.
"Why do you think I'm talking to you?" she asked.
He shrugged. "My charming personality? Alright, I get it," he continued with a sigh. "He liked to fix things, like cars. And he was really into sports, especially swimming. Shooting was his big thing, though. It was a release for him. And a distraction too, I guess. He liked to stay busy." Lisa nodded. That wasn't really a surprise to her. She couldn't imagine Jackson just sitting around watching TV all day.
"If he liked to go to the range so much, why isn't he a good shot?" she asked. It always seemed to her that there wasn't really a trick to shooting guns. You practiced until you were good, and that was it. She still wondered if it had something to do with their dad.
"I broke his hand," Caleb replied casually. Lisa did a double-take.
"You what?" she asked in disbelief. "When? Why?"
"On the job," he explained, and grimaced. "Oh, it's a long story and he really hates it, but the short version is that I had to break his hand to get him out of restraints. He was cuffed to a dead guy, and we really had to get out of there." Lisa stared at him incredulously.
"I really don't like the short version," she reprimanded. There wasn't one aspect of what he had just said that she didn't need elaboration on. "You can't just leave it at that."
Caleb grinned at her. "Well, I just did." he replied, and explained rapidly. "Alright, longer story is that he did one of those stupid heroic 'get out of here, I'll take the fall' things when we got caught on a job. Ben, Cheryl, a couple other low levels, and I had to get him out. They had him cuffed to some other guy, who we had to kill, but we didn't have time to break him out of the restraints, so I crushed his hand to get him out. And since I didn't have much medical training, his hand didn't heal quite right, so now he's a shit shot. Good enough?"
Lisa stared, stunned. "I guess" she replied quietly. She was embarrassed for suggesting that it was psychological, and wondered why Jackson never corrected her. Why did he hate the story so much?
"Never tell him I told you about it, okay?" Caleb asked, interrupting her musings. She nodded, still confused as to why it was such a big deal. She didn't bother asking, though- she had a feeling that Caleb was keeping something important from her, and also that he wasn't about to share it. She was completely caught off-guard by Caleb's next revelation. "I shot him that day, too."
Lisa's face went slack. What the hell happened that day? Caleb grinned. "Don't look at me like that- I just nicked him," he elaborated. "That guy tried to use him as a body shield, and I kind of had to go through Jackson's shoulder to get at his head when he was moving." Lisa nodded, still a little stunned. She thought back to when Jackson had been sleeping in Caleb's basement, when she had looked at his scars, and remembered seeing a scar on his shoulder from the bullet. She remembered the two knife wounds, and assumed one of them was a result of the knife fight he had told her about.
"Is he going to be okay after everything that's happened?" she asked quietly. She hadn't seen many marks on him that she couldn't attribute to herself and her dad, and it suddenly occurred to her to be very worried for Jackson's health. Caleb had mentioned back in Minnesota that he hadn't had the proper time to heal, and she knew that his lung wound was infected. She couldn't imagine that everything that the last few days were particularly good for him.
"He should be fine if he can rest after this," Caleb replied. "Assuming not much more happens to him. Just cross your fingers that he doesn't get another injury in that same lung." Lisa paled, starting to feel nauseous. From Jackson's behavior, the worst was yet to come.
"You make it sound like he can't take much more," she noted grimly. Why couldn't they just catch a break? "What are the chances that he'll die?"
Caleb was silent for an unnerving amount of time. Lisa's stomach tightened. She knew she wasn't going to like his answer. "Good," he finally replied. "If you want numbers...70%?"
Lisa cried out softly. That couldn't be right. Even with Caleb and Ben at his back? She rubbed her temples, trying to push the thoughts out of her head. She couldn't afford to be distracted.
"Don't fall to pieces- it won't help anything." Lisa nodded, sighing. He was right, of course, but she was tired of playing the glass girl.
"I know," she shot back. "But let me have my weak little moment, and then I'll pull myself together."
He nodded. "Just make it short," he replied, but it was obvious that he understood. He gave her a teasing smile. "We have a lot of work to do still, so buck up, Buttercup."
Despite her best efforts to be moody, Lisa giggled. "Eat me, Sweet Pea," she retorted. She took a deep breath as Caleb laughed, and exhaled, feeling calm again. "When are we getting Cheryl?" She asked after a few moments of silence.
"Later tonight," he replied. "I'm thinking we should shoot for three for your plan...no pun intended."
Lisa rolled her eyes. Yeah right. "We should check into the hotel first," she reminded him, relieved that they were at least on the same page about the timing. "The Pointe requires room keys to access the elevators." Caleb pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes.
"Figures," he replied glumly. "But I guess it will make it easier to get away after if we don't have to all leave."
"But that means that they'll know who accessed the elevator," Lisa pointed out. "Do you have some kind of alias?" She frowned. Even if he did, how would they get out of the hotel after?
Caleb shook his head. "Ben does," he reminded her. "We can use his key card, and he'll get away with his friend."
Lisa cocked her head. "What friend?" she asked. She didn't remember discussing this.
"He called him this morning," he explained. "He's a friend from Brooklyn, really good with computers. He'll take Ben's place with the security cameras which gives us another shooter."
"Oh," she replied. That fixed the exit problem. "We should stay at least a few days. It will look suspicious if we check in the day before and then leave right away." She bit her lip, thinking. "Which means that we should go shopping. It's a five star hotel, and we would look out of place without designer clothes. And luggage." She blushed. "Can you buy them? I don't have much money. I mean, I have $2000, and you can have it, but that won't really cover-"
Caleb waved a hand dismissively. "That's fine," he replied, interrupting her. "And you can keep it- I have plenty."
Lisa propped herself on her hand again. "From being a doctor, or an assassin?" she asked. She knew it was probably a rude question, but she was thinking back to Jackson's suit on the plane. At first glance, he had looked rather casual, but years in the hotel had quickly told her that he was wearing a fairly expensive outfit, and had a professional haircut. She was curious as to how much money people in their line of work actually made.
"Some of both," Caleb replied, "But mostly from the agency. It does pay well, but it involves so much tricky accounting. But if you make it out alive, you retire in your forties." Lisa nodded. It wasn't really a surprise. She could only imagine what the had to go through in the modern world to keep their money off the radar.
"Oh hey, I was thinking." Caleb started again. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I think I figured out a way to solve your ID problem." He hesitated. "But it's kind of weird." Lisa stared at him, waiting with impatience. "Want to marry me?"
Her jaw dropped, and he laughed. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I couldn't resist. No, what I meant was, why don't you take Cheryl's ID?" He continued quickly as Lisa watched in stunned silence. "You'd have a social security number, credit cards, money, and a work and credit history. And we could get you a new driver's license without much trouble. You have pretty much the same dimensions, so you would just need a new photo."
"Are you insane?" Lisa finally asked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could she take the ID of his soon-to-be-dead wife? That would be so awkward.
"It makes sense," Caleb insisted. "It would give you a place to live as long as you wanted, and we could get a divorce whenever you want. I'm not really asking you to be my wife, not like that."
Lisa blushed slightly. "I wasn't thinking that," she assured him. "But I mean, what about her family? Her friends? Her job?"
Caleb shrugged. "She was a runaway. She has no family. She keeps to herself- the only people she really knows are people in the agency. Our neighbors have hardly seen her, and she's only met my friends at our wedding. And I quit her job for her via email already." He sighed. "I know it's weird, but it will give you an ID, and it will save me from having to deal with divorcing someone who has disappeared. I'm not just doing it for you. If I say she left without a trace, I'll be investigated. If I don't say anything, it will be worse if it comes to light later. So I need you as much as you need me."
Lisa sighed. It made sense, but still...it was weird. "I don't know," she replied. "It's kind of twisted." Caleb nodded.
"It is," he admitted. "But I still think it would solve one of your problems." He intertwined his fingers nervously. "And if you're worried about Jackson, like I said, we can get a divorce and you can go to New York with money and a chance of getting your own job and place."
Lisa rolled over onto her back. Pragmatically, everything Caleb said made sense. Her only problem was the weird factor. The idea of pretending to be a dead woman, much less a dead woman who had personally hurt both Caleb and Jackson...how could she ever do something like that? And it didn't escape her that things were still unresolved with Jackson, but she would become Mrs. Rippner in the meantime. And the wrong Mrs. Rippner...
Lisa scowled. Is there a right Mrs. Rippner? She admonished herself for letting her imagination get away with her. The idea of marrying Jackson was just ridiculous. She wanted to agree with Caleb, and knew that the name should be a formality, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was no way to pretend that it really was. But was that such a bad thing?
She glanced over to see Caleb watching her. She decided to bounce her idea off of him. He seemed to have an opinion about everything else, so why not? "Would it be pathetic to use this as a response to Jackson trying to force me out?" she asked. She continued when Caleb's only response was to raise an eyebrow. "It would show him that I'm not so easily rid of, and keep me from being dependent on the agency, right?"
"Well now," Caleb replied in amusement. "Looks like you've learned how to play the game after all."
Lisa barely contained a proud smile. She had been nagging herself to be more formidable, but now she was ready to prove once and for all that she was perfectly capable of holding her own. "We should definitely get her ring before we kill her." A small voice objected to wearing a dead woman's ring, but Lisa quickly crushed it. The more she thought about it, the more the idea of a completely new ID was liberating. She felt a new rush knowing that in fourteen hours, Lisa Reisert would be officially dead and she would be a new person.
Just a little note...my reviewers from chapter 23 received the long version of Jackson's hand breaking story. I think I like doing stuff like that more than previews. I'll still send previews, but I'm just letting everyone know that there's a good chance that I'll write more little side stories and slip them to reviewers. Just a heads up. :)
As for the chapter title...I couldn't resist when I saw the song.
Reviewers get...Cheryl's ring? I don't know. :P