Opposing Forces
'Nature abhors a vacuum, even a spiritual one. People who've lost their beliefs, they're like empty vessels, more susceptible to having their lives taken over by forces bigger than themselves ...Almost like a curse...Or a miracle...' (Premonition)
Joe Reisert was a man of simple tastes and desires. This simplicity extended to all he had control over, his home, his meals, his routine but when it came to Lisa, things were never simple; at least not anymore. He was stunned by the amount that she had accomplished at her age but another part of him was more stunned at how things had turned out for her, working long hours, limited socialising and dating and a saviour to all those involved in the assassination attempt. Yes, Lisa Resiert was a complicated and unusual daughter, but she never faltered; especially when answering his phone calls.
'Hi, you have reached Lisa Reisert, please leave a message and I will get back to you.'
"Lisa, hunny, are you there? It's been a couple of days since I called, I'm getting better huh?... Anyway, I know you hate it when I worry, but I thought Id check in on you to see how you were doing, especially training the new manager and repairs to the damage at the hotel. Give me a call whenever you get this, I love you, Lisa, bubye."
Yes, Joe Reisert had little control over his daughter, but he continued to hope that one day, her life would be simple, like it was before.
Elsewhere in Miami, the analytical eyes of a man in his thirties glared at the answering machine in Lisa Reisert's home, listening to the concerned voice of Lisa Reisert's father indicated, at least, that he had no idea where she was, as well as a time-frame of three days disappearance from her last known contact. A gloved hand clicked the off button of the answering machine in the hall to look back at the trail of glass splintered around the floor.
"Any clues?" A deep voice sounded behind him.
"None, the father doesn't know where she is."
"There are no prints or clues anywhere. This was a professional. This guy was aggressive - as you can see - there are few drops of blood leading to the kitchen but the trail ends there. TYou know her car has gone?" the men proceeded out of the front of Lisa Reisert's condo to observe the team of men, scouring for clues.
"Yes - back at office they are scanning the database to find the plate-"
"Sir!" One of the agents called.
"Go." The man replied.
"We found this, from it's positioning, we are guessing it was thrown from about two feet above ground and unlikely, due to how far up the drive, that it wasn't thrown from a pedestrian. It indicates a car window. She doesn't smoke, I'm guessing?" He asked, holding a butt end of a cigarette in a white, gloved hand for inspection.
"Never in her life that we know. Get it bagged and posted to forensics for tests on DNA, we need to hurry before people and neighbours get suspicious."
"That wont be much of an issue, Agent Foster. Loner - limited to no contact with said neighbours, this one is making it easier for us by the second." He replied smugly.
"Well, considering her management role and single-handed defeat of one of the best organizations in a high profile assassination of a politician worth months of careful planning and execution, I'm not going to presume anything that will ensure that this will be easy. I wont make the same mistake as Rippner. He is high priority and main culprit for the disappearance of the girl." Foster replied agitated.
"Yes sir."
Foster looked around in clinical examination 'What are you doing, Jackson Rippner?' He thought with an unfriendly grin.
When Lisa woke up, for the second time, the familiar feeling of dizziness and exhaustion swept over her, regardless of however long she had just slept. It was daylight now. The exhaustion disappeared as anger replaced her drowsiness at being manhandled and drugged. She got little information last time and she intended to change that. The room was fresh and clean looking, the white walls brightened the place and simple wooden furnishings were placed in the room. Much to her chagrin, she realised that she was still in the same clothes and in desperate need of a shower. She heard footsteps and whipped her head round to the door. Men's voices were heard outside.
"We've been through this kellerman, You know we had to employ him, we need what he knows." She heard a familiar voice speak. Standing up, she cautiously approached the door to hear more.
"We need him?" She heard Kellerman emphasise.
"The nature of this doesn't concern you Kellerman, you know that; Rippner's involved, I'm involved and Lisa's involved, therefore this matter is of no relevance to you. As he's involved, he will get the job done and co-operate. Do what I ordered." The door handle moved downwards and Lisa rushed back to sit on the mattress.
With trepidation, Lisa watched as the door opened and none other than Charles Keefe appeared in the doorway.
"Hello, Lisa." Keefe chirped happily. His face welcoming as he approached where she was sitting, he,also, had a glass in his hand and the mirroring similarity to Jackson was startling.
"Mr Keefe? What is going on?" She asked, without bothering to mask her surprise.
"This is all a little complicated Lisa, but from what I've heard you have a tendency to be in complicated situations, huh?" He smiled.
"Please don't dodge the question, I get enough of the cryptic speech from Jackson, what is going on?" She insisted, he smirked at the mention of Jackson.
"Well-"
"Where am I even? And why are you in collusion with Jackson?" She interrupted confused. Keefe opened his mouth to say something when a voice spoke for him.
"You know, you always were one to ask too many questions Leese. Why don't you keep quiet and let the man talk and then maybe you'll get somewhere." Glancing up at the condescending speech of the man standing by the door-frame with his arms folded across his chest, she glared at his smug face.
"For someone who deals in male driven, fact based logic, never did your personal questions on the flight every lead to that conclusion." She said disdainfully. The ice of his eyes cut through her as his smug expression turned into a scowl. Lisa turned her attention back to Keefe, who looked on in intrigue.
"Charles, what is he doing here? He tried to kill you." She whispered harshly, her eyes darting to Jackson's figure,who rolled his eyes in apparent annoyance at her questions.
"Leave us, Mr. Rippner, we have alot to discuss." Keefe ordered still facing Lisa. Jackson looked at her briefly, their eyes locking for a few seconds before he pushed away from the door frame and closed the door. The click of the door closing made her wary and stiff.
"Lisa, I know your angry at the situation but I need you to see that what we had to do was for the best."
"We?" Lisa asked. A small pause ensued before Keefe looked down in slight shame.
"Jackson took you because it had to be realistic, he hoped you wouldn't, but you fought back to the point where he had to harm you. Although, it made the scene more real than anticipated." He asked with an empty smile.
"It was real to me. I was terrified." She responded quietly.
"I know, but the Red Eye situation still hasn't cleared up. If they thought you had left by your own will, they may come for you, Lisa. Although my family and even Jackson are at risk, it is you that have little protection as well as presumed knowledge about Jackson. You needed to disappear in order for you and your father to be safe."
"But I don't know anything. I know nothing about him." Lisa insisted. He gave a smile.
"I know, Lisa, I know, but you beat him. It's never happened before, he was the best they had and you got under his skin." Lisa shifted her eyes away from him, ignoring the comment.
"Who is after me?" She asked, looking back up to meet his eyes.
"We dont know." He spoke tiredly.
"What do you mean, you don't know and who is we?" She asked, getting more frustrated.
"Jackson."
"And you believe him do you? What if he turns against you, what if he's a double agent-"
"Jackson is in as much trouble as you, Lisa. He had to work for us, he had no other place to go."
"He should be in jail!" She demanded.
"So what happens now? What about my father? What about my life?" She stated, a hint of hysteria creeping into her voice. He grimaced , uncertainty etched his features.
"You will need to stay here indefinitely until we can guarantee your safety." She gasped and stood. Battling the panic and constriction of her situation. Looking at Keefe with wide and watered eyes.
"You saved my life Lisa, my wife's, my children's, I will not leave you to their mercy. I will return the favour and keep you safe." He spoke with authority, slowly standing also.
"At what cost, Mr Keefe? Stay here with Jackson? He would never protect me, he would no sooner kill me than save me! What about my father? He needs me." She asked, her voice shaky and backing away slowly. Again he grimaced and averted his gaze.
"He can never know of the situation, he would become a liability to the whole operation. The less he knows, the better. Jackson will remain with you until deemed necessary."
"Necessary? You mean indefinitely." She spat, turning and fleeing from the room. With no direction, she went wherever her feet took her. Eyes blurred from un-shed tears, she cared little for her surroundings and remained intent on being alone and with fresh air.
"Lisa!" She heard Keefe call, she remembered that Jackson was here somewhere just as she rounded a corner and straight into the solid mass of the man himself. She heard him grunt and hiss before distantly hearing the smash of china. She looked on in horror at the hot coffee now all over his shirt.
"Fuck!" He swore furiously, his angry eyes snapped up to meet hers. His appearance demonic as he glared up through his eyeslashes and his hair. The hollows of his face highlighted by the tilt of his head. He looked just as he had in her fathers kitchen all those months ago. She took a step back, then quickly turned to run.
"Lisa?" She heard Keefe pant as he plummeted the last stair. She was then grabbed from behind, Jackson's arms attempted to cage her and Lisa struggled furiously.
"I will not stay with him! I will not, he's going to kill me! He will kill me!" She screeched at the top of her lungs as he yanked her back to his chest by her wrist as she pulled away from him. Now encased in his arms, her own were useless and she became suddenly exhausted. Sliding slowly to the floor, Jackson slowly let her drop, careful that she wouldn't hurt herself. She cried and she was humiliated at her weakness. She held her head in her hands and for the first time, she noticed the cuts on her legs, butterfly stitches laced the lacerations.
"He should be in jail." She whispered brokenly. There was a tense silence in the room.
"You will take care of her Jackson." Keefe demanded. Piercing the mans eyes with his own authoritative stare. A huddled Lisa in-between them.
"And I will keep that promise, sir." Jackson replied in equal measure. They stared at each-other a while longer before Kellerman came into view.
"Mr Keefe, unidentified agents were seen at Lisa's home, scouring the premises this morning. We don't yet know why or how they knew she was missing." Kellerman stated, unconcerned with the scene before him. Jackson knelt behind Lisa, taking her hand away from the lacerations on her leg.
"Leave them, they need to heal. From this stunt of yours, a couple will need re-stitching." He said quietly,only for Lisa to hear and accutely aware of the other men.
"It's because the work on the Lux finishes today...And it was Lisa's last day as manager there yesterday." Keefe explained to Kellerman, his gaze then moving to Jackson's, who's attention whipped up to Keefe's in surprise. He gave a nod. Jackson looked back to Lisa, who looked away from him, for fear of retorts, insults or sarcasm. His face moved to stony indifference and stood, bringing Lisa up with him abruptly.
"Im gonna clear her up... And clean myself up too." He stated in an eerily calm voice, indicating to his soaked shirt. Keefe nodded once again and watched as Jackson pulled a quiet Lisa behind him up the stairs.
Hope they weren't too OOC. It was difficult getting the dialogue right, especially with all three of the golden trio together. For those of you confused - Maria/ Mardigrasbeads (thanks for the reviews) I hope this chapter cleared it up for you a bit. I am also aware that Lisa is a little weak at the moment, but that will change. Realistically, the whole situation is extra-ordinary and she will be physically weak from being unconscious for a day also. Hope this helps, let me know what you think :) B x