Disclaimer- I don't pretend to own anything related to Red Eye or Beauty and the Beast, etc. Duh. If I did, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction to live out some lost fantasy :P

Thanks for the kind words, readers!

Chapter Three

"One Jump Ahead" - Aladdin

"One jump ahead of the slowpokes. One skip ahead of my doom. Next time gonna use a nom de plume. One jump ahead of the hitmen. One hit ahead of the flock. I think I'll take a stroll around the block."

Lisa opened her eyes drowsily. For a moment she smiled as she stared at the ceiling. Then she remembered she wasn't at her father's house. She was stuck in Jackson's house. She sat up quickly and threw the blanket off of her. Then she took in her surroundings. The bed was still disheveled beyond recognition with the sheets bundled up against the doors leading out onto the balcony. Lisa's hands had been bandaged at some point and she scowled.

She stood up and tossed the blanket over with the crumpled sheets. She tromped over to the wooden doors and listened carefully. Soft music was playing. She tried the handles and when the doors didn't give, she began to bang on them with her fists. Seconds later, the doors flew open and Jackson stood directly in her path. He looked furious.

"Let me go."

He smirked.

"I don't believe that was in the deal, Leese."

"Forget your deal. Kill me or let me go."

Jackson shrugged and produced a gun. Lisa stumbled backward into the room, tripping over the edge of a rug. She fell backward and caught herself, just barely, with her bruised arm. Jackson cocked the gun and aimed it at her.

"No! Wait!"

Jackson inched the gun slightly to the side, still smirking.

"Wait? But I thought my two options were-"

"Don't be an ass."

He laughed and put the safety back on the gun. He pushed it down in the back of his pants. Lisa lowered her good arm that she had been holding up in her defense. Now she was angry.

"Get up. Get showered. Then come downstairs. Don't try anything cute."

"Why?"

"Because it's breakfast and I'm really cranky when I haven't eaten."

"I'm not hungry."

His blue eyes burned with fury.

"Ask her nicely," Melissa called from the hallway.

Lisa smirked and Jackson became furious once more.

"Ask her nicely? She's my prisoner. She'll come down to dinner or she'll starve up here in this room."

"Anything to get rid of you," Lisa spat.

He reached forward and hauled her up by her hair. Lisa clutched his wrist, scratching him, but he paid her no mind. He limped over, still dragging her, to the bathroom of her suite. He tossed her in.

"Get cleaned up. You're a mess."

Lisa spat at his feet and Jackson just smirked.

"You're going to keep pushing my buttons until…"

"Do it."

"Ah, but then I'd be giving you exactly what you want, Leese. An end to your pitiful little life at the hotel, 3am eggs, and old movies. Do you even have any friends?"

She charged at him but he slapped her across the face.

"If you want to eat, you'll be down in twenty minutes. Otherwise…"

He shrugged and then left her alone in the bathroom. She heard the double wooden doors slam shut and lock her inside. Lisa allowed herself to cry on the floor of the elegant bathroom. How had her life come to this? Could she not avoid this man? His food was probably drugged anyway. A shower would be nice, so long as there were no secret hidden cameras. She'd die in this house. She'd never see her father again or Cynthia. Yeah. Cynthia. Her lone friend these days… It made Lisa cry even harder to know that Jackson had been right. Her life was pitiful.

Jackson slammed the double doors shut and quickly locked them. Then he turned and Melissa was leaning against the railing of the stairs, her arms crossed.

"I see you bandaged her hands," he commented. "What kind of game are you playing here?"

"No game. I just didn't want to see Mr. Reisert hurt in your little quest for revenge. When are you planning on killing her?"

Jackson hesitated a moment too long and Melissa smirked.

"Right. Best revenge would be to make her surrender, wouldn't it?"

"Don't be idiotic, Melissa. I'll kill her. After a little fun."

Melissa nodded as he brushed past her.

"Sure you will, Jackson."

He glared back at her as he stomped off toward his office down the hall.

"Just make sure breakfast is ready."

"And if she doesn't come down?"

"She doesn't eat."

Melissa nodded, though she had no intention of following his orders. What Jackson needed was someone like Lisa. Melissa had read through her file. She was perfect for him, though neither of them could see it. She was his equal when she was given a chance. She also knew how infatuated Jackson was, though he tried desperately to hide it. He had never delved so deeply into following a subject until Lisa. And she also knew that Lisa had never been so open or flirty with another man since her rape. The two needed to just quit butting heads and get on with kissing each other. Leave the past to the past. Melissa had just one month to get the two of them together somehow, or the wager she had going with Brooke Kenzie, Jackson's superior and the company head, would fall apart. Brooke would win and would claim her wager, and the lives of Jackson, his workers, Lisa, and her own family. She'd efficiently cut off her loose-ends and get rid of a "failure".

"Lisa. It's Melissa…"

"Go away."

"Can't do that. Jackson sent me to bring you down. You're late."

"I don't care. I'm not going to go down and eat with him. I'd rather starve."

"Keep it up and you will," Melissa called through the wooden doors.

"Just leave me alone. Just keep the doors locked and leave me in here. Promise me he won't hurt my father once I'm gone."

Melissa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Just come down and have something to eat. Stop being childish."

She heard Lisa trying to rip the doors open to face Melissa. She'd probably claw Melissa's eyes out if given the chance.

"Childish?" she shouted. "How am I being childish? I've been kidnapped and-"

"If I remember correctly, Lisa," Melissa interrupted, "You came along willingly."

"Blackmailed! I've been blackmailed by a man who tried to kill me! And countless others!"

"Fine. Starve. I know you'll be hungry later. When you are, just press the little black button next to the door."

Lisa cocked her head to the side and then leaned back to inspect the doors. Sure enough, next to the right door was a silver panel with a variety of buttons. The black one was the first one. She heard silence on the other side of the door and she knew that Melissa had gone. Lisa opened the doors to the balcony, careful to avoid the railing. The pool area below was sparkling in the morning sun. If Lisa was here on any other occasion, she would've thought the place beautiful. But being a prisoner had turned the entire place into a demented mirage covering for what the house really was… her prison and her soon to be place of death.

Lisa sat out on that balcony for hours, sometimes dozing off. She watched the trees blowing lazily in the breeze. A storm was coming, giving the entire area an eerie gray tint. A cool breeze brushed past Lisa, waking her from her latest doze. A few raindrops splattered on her skin and she stood slowly, nearly touching the railing out of habit, but remembering what had happened last night. Her stomach grumbled once she was standing, reminding Lisa that she hadn't eaten since the previous morning.

Lisa shut the doors to the balcony quietly and then wandered over to the large wooden doors. She tried her luck with opening the doors once again but sighed when they didn't even rattle on their hinges. She pressed the black button hesitantly.

"Yes?" a woman's voice asked.

"Melissa?"

"Yeah. Have you finally come down off of that high horse of yours?"

"Whatever. I don't have to eat with him do I?"

Melissa laughed into the speaker.

"No. He's gone out to take care of some business. He'll be back in a few hours. If I give you a little snack will you promise to eat dinner with him?"

"No."

"You're not that hungry, then."

"Why do I have to eat dinner with him? Is it drugged?"

Again, Melissa laughed.

"Hardly. Though a little bit of drugs might calm him down…"

Lisa wasn't sure if Melissa was sure or not.

"Look. I can't promise anything. You have to understand that. But right now I need some kind of food and something to drink."

"Fine. I'll be up in a minute to get you."

Lisa quickly stepped away from the doors and ran over to one of the bedside tables. She unplugged a lamp and then crept back over to the doors. Lamp held over her head, Lisa waited for Melissa to arrive and open the doors. When they finally did open, Melissa stood back.

"Put down the lamp," she commanded calmly.

Lisa tossed the lamp at Melissa's head, but she ducked. Then she lunged for Lisa and pinned her against the wall, cuffing her hands behind her back.

"Let go of me!"

"Gee. I really wish I could, but you insist on fighting me, though I'm just trying to help you…"

"Help me? Then help me get out of here. You can tell Jackson that I put up too much of a fight."

"I really wish I could. Now," she pulled Lisa away from the hall and held her at arm's-length in front of her. "Are you going to keep this up or am I going to have to tase you and bring you down to dinner and strap you to a chair?"

"You're horrible."

Melissa smiled.

"That's a start. Now come on. Downstairs."

Lisa walked a few steps in front of Melissa, but she stopped at the top of the stairs, peering down the hallway toward darkened rooms. Melissa nudged her in the back.

"Keep going. The kitchen is down the stairs, not down the hall."

"What's down there?"

Melissa smirked.

"His bedroom and office."

Lisa cringed at the thought of it, but she was somewhat curious. Everything was darkened. There could be secrets in those rooms that she could use against him. Or weapons… Lisa finally tore her eyes off of the hallway and back to the stairs ahead of her. She walked and followed Melissa's instructions on how to reach the kitchen.

"No eccentric chef?" Lisa asked as she entered the ordinary, but large, kitchen.

"No."

"Who cooks, then?"

"He does."

Lisa laughed.

"And you eat it?"

Melissa looked at her as if she was insane before sitting her on a stool and opening the refrigerator.

"You seem to have this odd idea that he's a cold-blooded killer, Lisa."

Lisa put her head in her hands.

"That's because he is. As for you, Melissa, you seem to have this odd idea that he's decent."

"That's because she is," Melissa mocked.

She pulled out a bowl and set it on the marble counter of the island before Lisa. When she popped the lid off, Lisa couldn't help but look inside. Whatever it was smelled delicious. It didn't help that Lisa hadn't eaten in a while, so she would practically eat anything. Maybe even if it was drugged…

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

"Cajun Chicken Pasta. Something he cooks on special occasions."

"Oh, how sweet," Lisa commented, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "So I'm supposed to be honored that he made some special dish?"

"Whoever said it was for you?" Melissa asked.

Lisa had to admit. That was a good point. Sure, Jackson was, no doubt, driven by revenge, but that didn't mean that everything he did now had to do with Lisa, right? He had to have other priorities.

"Well. Can I have some, or what?"

"Some. We have to save room for dinner…"

Lisa nearly gagged. The idea of sitting down and having dinner with Jackson Rippner not only disgusted her, but it frightened her. She had to admit that her success during their last meeting had to do with their surroundings. She knew her father's house while Jackson hadn't spent years there. Lisa could navigate the place with her eyes closed. Here? She was in his domain. He could have secrets lying behind every corner.

She devoured the small portion of the re-heated Cajun Chicken Pasta quickly while Melissa watched. She smiled once Lisa had finished the last bite and then she handed Lisa a glass of water to ease the burn. Lisa was disgusted with herself and her lack of willpower. She had given in and had eaten something Jackson had made, himself. What was wrong with her?

"Alright. Back upstairs. If he finds out I fed you, he'll be pissed."

"Fine."

Lisa didn't protest. She was going to find some sort of way to render Melissa unconscious so that she could search for a weapon and a way out in those rooms upstairs. She hadn't seen any phones around the house, but she knew there had to be one in Jackson's office. Melissa had failed to blindfold Lisa on their trip here. Lisa knew exactly where they were. All she'd have to do is reach the phone and tell the police.

"To the left," Melissa instructed when they reached the top of the stairs.

"Oh. I know…"

Then she turned quickly and hit Melissa across the face with her closed hands. Melissa fell back onto the railing, just barely catching herself. She was moaning, but conscious. Lisa quickly hit her once more. Once Melissa slumped against the railing at the top of the stairs, Lisa hurried toward the office across from a spare bathroom. She opened the door. Lightning flashed through the window and illuminated the dark room for a split second.

Lisa hurried over to the desk and began searching through the drawers for a weapon. No guns or knives were to be found, but Lisa did manage to get her hands on a letter opener. She smiled to herself in pride and began looking for a phone. There, on the edge of Jackson's desk, closest to the window, was a simple phone. She scrambled for it and picked it up, only to have it explode in her hands. Pieces of plastic flew everywhere and Lisa jumped back in surprise.

Lightning flashed once more and Lisa's eyes grew wide in terror. There, in the doorway to the office, stood Jackson. He had a gun drawn and pointed directly at her. Lisa hesitated. What was she to do? Surely he would shoot her, whatever she did.

"Put down the letter opener before you hurt yourself," he called.

"No. You'll shoot me if I do."

"Wrong. I'll shoot you if you don't."

"Either way you'll shoot me. Don't point that thing at me unless you plan on using it, Jack."

Another shot rang out in the darkness and Lisa felt the air shift as the bullet passed by her head. She screamed and ran towards him, slashing the opener through the air blindly. Her slashing stopped when the opener became lodged in the wall. She wasn't about to stop and try to pry it free, so she took off toward the stairs, running past Melissa's still unconscious form.

Jackson barreled after her, shooting, but missing. Lisa would have turned and laughed or mocked him if her life wasn't in such immediate danger. She remembered him saying how he was a lousy shot. This proved it. She yanked the door open and flew out into the darkness and into the surrounding woods. She could travel well in the darkness, having picked out dark clothes. Jackson wouldn't find her. She heard him holler out into the night, but she continued to run. She'd never look back.

A/N: ou lala. Will Lisa escape...? :P