Innocent People's Lives

Chapter Nineteen

He paused, almost thrown by the idea. "You? You killed him? You're a lot colder than I gave you credit for, Lisa. It's almost a shame you have to die."

She reached for the gun tucked underneath her shirt, just at the small of her back. "No, I don't. But if you cooperate, perhaps you won't die."

Charles laughed at the gun pointed at his chest. "Bravo, Lisa. You finally grew a backbone. I was wondering how long it would be until you just snapped one day. What a pleasant surprise."

"It's over for you, Charles. You're going to prison for a long time."

"No, you see, dear, sweet, innocent Lisa… I have friends in high places. Friends who will ensure that I never see trial let alone the inside of a jail cell. I can disappear. It's easy. No one will ever see me again. I'll live out the rest of my life on a tropical island."

"Knowing that you failed."

He shrugged. "It's not failure if I'm killed by a disgruntled former employee. You see, I have an alternate plan for everything. The police are going to find evidence linking you to Sarah's death. A note claiming responsibility. You will take the fall and I will be a hero who tried to stop you."

She shook her head. "You can't. I never wrote such a note. I won't write it."

"Not even to save Jackson? To save his life?"

She shook her head again. "You're bluffing."

"Am I? Are you willing to risk it?"

She flipped off the safety. "You have to be stopped. He'll understand."

Charles shook his head at her. "You disappoint me, Lisa. I thought for sure that would stop you. I guess he knew not to trust you. You see, Rippner was never fully honest with you. About who he is."

"I know who he is."

"Oh? So he told you that he killed your grandmother, did he?"

She blinked, her head tilted. "What?"

"Your grandmother, Henrietta. Ten years ago, you went to Texas to take care of her. She was ill, sure, but you thought there was more time. You were prepared to stay a long time, as long as you needed, to be at her side."

"And?" she pressed, her arms going numb from the weight of the gun.

"She died not long after you arrived. You had the funeral and flew home to Miami the same day because I was coming into town. I requested that you be there and your hotel told you to report in."

She shook her head. "No… that's not possible…"

"I needed you to be in Miami that day, Lisa. Without you, all those months of planning would go to waste. Jackson just…. expedited the inevitable."

"No… you're lying… she was sick…"

"He killed your grandmother, Lisa. You know what I'm saying is the truth. She had several more days, possibly weeks, left to live. Yet, she didn't. It worked out perfectly, did it not?"

She shook her head. "No… you're lying! Jackson didn't—"

"Yes, he did. He was hired to do a job. He had to deliver you. She was already dying. He couldn't let something like her lingering on affect his job. No, he wouldn't let it. It's why I hired him. I knew he would do whatever it took to complete the job. And he did."

She lowered the gun. "You're lying… why would you lie?"

"No, the better question is why would he lie to you? What does he have to gain by having you on his side? Hmm?" Charles pressed. "Why wouldn't he do his job and just kill you like I asked?"

She took a step away, keeping the gun in hand. "No, there has to be another explanation. He wouldn't…"

"He's a killer. You've seen it. Yet you persist in trusting him over me. Why is that?"

"He's more than that."

"You fell for him. For that smooth charm." Charles laughed. "Let me guess, you love him?"

"No."

"That's exactly what happened, isn't it? You fell in love with a killer… and now you trust him. Your trust in him will be your ruin, Lisa. I gave you a way out. All you have to do is put down the gun and accept that you're the reason Sarah is dead."

"No… I know what happens. The moment I'm sent to prison, I die. There would never be a trial. Someone would kill me in jail, wouldn't they?"

He smirked. "Perhaps. Or maybe you would live out what remained of your life behind bars."

She shook her head at him, raising the gun. "I'm not going to prison for a crime I didn't commit."

"You don't have a choice. It's that or you die a painful death. What would that do to your poor mother? Your friends? Hmm?"

She aimed the gun level with his chest. "No, I'm not dying today. Or tomorrow. I'm going to take them all down."

"You and what army?"

The door swung open and in stormed five men in tactical gear. Jackson brought up the front, a flak jacket over his button-up, the sleeves rolled to his elbows. He had a gun in hand as well, which he lowered a bit.

"That army," she breathed, still keeping her gun trained on him.

Jackson came to her side. "Did you get everything?" he asked her.

She nodded. "He admitted some stuff. He claims to be working for someone else."

He nodded. "I suspected as much. Well, Keefe, if you roll on your boss, this will all go much smoother for everyone involved."

"Not for her." He said, glancing at Lisa. "They'll come for you. He can't protect you. No one can."

"Who? Huh? Who is gonna come for me?"

"They all will," he said as one of the agents came around to handcuff him. "You really think that I don't have allies in your organization? Why do you think it took so long to catch me?"

Jackson frowned, motioning for Lisa to step back behind him.

"He's lying," she said.

"What if I'm not? Did you ever think to consider that?"

"Nice try, Keefe. We've got a nice cell all picked out for you already."

"Do you?"

Four guns turned, all trained on the pair. Jackson nudged her fully behind him, his gun cocked and aimed right at Keefe.

"Jack…" she breathed, still gripping her gun.

"All it takes is one bullet," Keefe said, rubbing his wrists in front of him, no handcuffs in sight. "Do you think anyone will miss you, Rippner? Oh, I'm sorry, do you prefer Agent Danvers? I know exactly who you are."

She felt his muscles stiffen. "Stay behind me, Leese."

"You always suspected there were moles in the department, didn't you? What you didn't account for is that I own the department. I own the entire CIA. Why do you think all of your evidence vanished? Why your witnesses disappeared? I used to run Homeland… do you really think I wouldn't know what you were up to? That I wouldn't know someone was building a case against me? I'm not that stupid, Danvers. It's just a shame you have to involve her."

Lisa shook her head. "He didn't get me into this – you did."

"Oh, Lisa, I dearly wish I had the time to explain this all to you. I do. But, unfortunately, I don't. It's time for you and him to go away."

Author's Notes:

Hehehe, yes, cliffie again because I'm mean like that.

I'm nearing the end of the next chapter, which should be up by the end of the weekend or Monday night. Still thinking the whole story will be around 23 chapters... maybe as many as 25. I'm hoping to sit down and get a bunch written on Sunday. This month is one meeting after the other for me, so I'm trying to get ahead. Just remember that reviews help push me to write faster and also to update.

Thanks for reading!