Disclaimer: Despite my best efforts, I still don't own anything associated with Red-Eye and/or Batman Begins….damn!

This is humiliating…..

Jackson sat in his black BMW, watching her make her way down the crowded streets of Gotham. She wasn't alone; she was never alone these days, not after what had happened. Two men accompanied her – one, an elderly gentleman with a natural gravitas; the other, a middle aged police officer with his badge readily on display for all to see. The security didn't bother him, he had killed many government officials in his day; Jackson could easily handle these lightweights. What bothered him was the stroller she was pushing.

When he had first begun tailing her three months ago, she was in the final trimester of her pregnancy. The baby girl she pushed now was just two weeks old, a fact that weighed heavily on his conscience.

I shouldn't even be here; it's beneath me.

Two years ago, he never would have taken a job like this. He was not a lowly bounty hunter or kidnapper; he preferred a more distinguished prey than this. After the debacle on that red-eye flight to Miami, Jackson had become low man on the totem pole. He'd have to endure all these low-profile, shitty jobs until he rebuilt his reputation. If he did well this time around, the powers that be were sure to throw something bigger and better his way.

So, he watched her now, as he always did; carefully getting a feel for her daily routine. He knew all the ins-and-outs of her life; truth be told, there wasn't that much to know. The very nature of her condition dictated she would not be making the rounds at the local night clubs, but this particular job did have a little flair to it, a little pizzazz. The woman he was watching was involved, in some capacity, with a billionaire playboy named Bruce Wayne; he was the one who made sure she had around the clock security. Jackson had no idea if Bruce was the father of the child; they didn't live together as a family and the girl maintained her own apartment, but the nature of their relationship was irrelevant. All Jackson needed to know was who had fathered that child. If it was who he thought it was, then confirming it would be imperative. The birth certificate he had obtained listed the father as unknown. Jackson knew that was a lie; she knew who the father was, and he would get the information from her one way or another.

He lifted the picture of his primary target from the file folder that lay on the passenger seat of his car. Looking at it gave Jackson chills. His resemblance to Jonathan Crane was uncanny; they could have been brothers…twins. He hadn't realized how much they looked alike until he'd tried to walk down Main Street in Gotham for the first time; people had gawked at him, whispered behind his back and crossed to the other side of the street to avoid him. Since then, he stayed mostly in his car. When the need to go out in public arose, he would always do it in disguise – donning a blonde wig and brown contact lenses to conceal his appearance. The startling baby blues he and Crane shared had a way of drawing attention.

The woman with the stroller was not his true target. She was bait. Carmine Falcone's family were a vindictive little bunch. They'd come to his agency with their fat wallets and asked them to do what they had deemed impossible – locate and kill Dr. Jonathan Crane. Thanks to Crane, Falcone; the one time patriarch of this infamous family, would now require around the clock, permanent care in a state mental facility; his brain having been reduced to something that closely resembled strawberry jelly. Despite their best efforts, and a huge bounty, no one had been able to find Crane. That's when Jackson had been called in- there was no hiding from him. To find your target, you had to think like your target, something Jackson had a knack for.

I'm inside your head now; I know how you think. I'm going to take her because she's the key, no one is allowed to hurt her but you –isn't that right?

From the months he had spent carefully gathering information and observing her, he had found a weakness in her security. Every security detail had at least one, and he always found it. Despite all she'd been through, she would never let them follow her into the bathroom; not even a female security guard could accompany her.

Your modesty will be your undoing.

She stopped in front of a department store and turned to the older of the two men. Jackson watched her lips, reading her words.

"I'll be right back," she said with a smile. "You know how I am."

Yeah, I do. You just had a baby and you still need to pee every fifteen minutes.

Jackson could only see the back of the two men's heads, but they took the stroller from her and she waved goodbye, telling them she would be right back.

Go now…

His contact lenses already in place, he slipped on his wig and stepped out of the car. He calmly made his way across the street and walked right past the two men. There she was, taking a moment to browse through some sweaters on the clearance rack before making her way to the ladies room. Jackson had to smile at that; here she was, dating a billionaire, and she still shopped clearance. He watched her enter the bathroom and he took a moment to carefully survey his surroundings; no one was looking in his direction presently, so he backed up to the door and quietly slipped inside. She had just walked into the stall and locked it behind her, not even bothering to glance over her shoulder as he entered. Jackson saw the small window to his left; it was just large enough for them to fit through, perfect. Readying himself, he stepped up to the door and kicked it open. She cried out in alarm as he forced his way inside, covering her mouth and nose with a chloroform soaked rag.

Sorry sweetheart; this isn't personal, it's just business.

Author's Note: Hi everyone. Here's my little contribution to the world of Red-Eye fan-fiction; I hope you enjoy it.

There will be no Lisa/Jackson pairings in this story, in fact, there will be no romance at all; just cat and mouse games between Jonathan Crane and Jackson Rippner.

This is a sequel, of sorts, to my other story "Be Still My Beating Heart", but you won't be lost if you haven't read it. Since that story isn't completed yet (I'm almost there) I've had to be careful not to give too much away in this first chapter. I had already said that I would give Vanessa a happy ending in BSMBH, so I thought it would be okay to begin, here we go! (I'm starting to ramble)

Again, I hope you enjoy it and please read and review.