"It's not about taking down the Company. It's about becoming the Company." Michael stared intently at Sara as he made the revelation. Sara had to shake her head in awe. Michael had just woken up after undergoing major brain surgery, and already he was making connections and understanding what had been missed by the rest of them.
Just as she was opening her mouth to reply, the door to his room opened and an orderly popped her head in. "Ms. Tancredi? The General wants to have a word with you". Sara nodded and looked at Michael questioningly.
"Go. I'll be right here when you get back", Michael said with that little half smile of his as she stepped into his arms. He held her tight for a moment before releasing her and nodding towards the door where the orderly stood waiting. Sara couldn't help but look back at him as she left, reassuring herself that he was ok now, that he was healthy. He met her eyes briefly, before she stepped out the door and couldn't see him anymore. As she followed the orderly to the General's office, another orderly walked by her, equipped with drugs and IV's.
When she walked into the office, she was surprised to find that he wasn't alone. Lincoln was also there, working, she supposed, on getting them all out of there now that Michael's operation was done. "Sara" he acknowledged her.
"Ah, Ms. Tancredi. So nice to see you", the General said warmly. "I trust the Michael is doing well?"
"Um, yes, he is. What's going on here?" she asked, looking between Link and the General. Link seemed a little too comfortable in this office, and the atmosphere was a little more relaxed than she would have expected. While it perhaps should have be reassuring, it did nothing more than put her on edge.
"I decided that it was time that you were brought into the loop. Lincoln here is now working with me to recover Scylla and bring it back here before it falls into the wrong hands." Sara looked hard at Link to see if he was playing some sort of game, and he met her gaze steadily, giving nothing away. "In exchange, we performed Michael's surgery. Furthermore, once Scylla is safely back with the Company, the three of you will have the slate wiped clean. You will never have to deal with the authorities or with the Company again."
Sara wasn't sure if she had heard correctly. She looked at Link again, before returning her attention to the General and finding her voice. "So…Link is working for you now? In exchange for Michael's life".
"Would you have done anything different, Sara?" Link asked her, almost pleading.
She thought about it for a moment. She thought about her overdose, finding her dead father, the feeling of Kellerman forcing her head underwater in the bathtub as he questioned her. She thought about her time with LJ in Panama with Gretchen's cold eyes and her ease with the whip. She thought about the life shed had a year before, working at the prison trying to make a difference, which the Company had taken from her. And she thought about Michael. She thought about the first time she'd seen him at the prison, how he was charming and flirtatious, not creepy the way that most of the inmates were when they first realized the doctor was a woman. She remembered the flower he gave her on her birthday and the shock and thrill she'd felt the first time he kissed her. She thought about how much the two of them had gone through together, and about how as she lost so much he was always there for her, always there to support her and make her feel special when it seemed that everything was crashing to the ground. She thought about how strong he'd been while his brain was betraying him, making him weak and unable to think clearly. She thought about the anguish she felt as she saw him suffer, yet try to make everything better for her, always for her. "No", she said finally. "No, I wouldn't have made a different choice". She looked at the General, the man responsible for so much pain, not only to her, but to everyone around her. "But I want to know what your plans are for Michael while Link is off doing this for you".
He almost smiled. "Michael will remain here. And, because of his unfortunate habit of escaping from seemingly secure facilities, he is going to be kept unconscious. Which means you have a choice, Ms. Tancredi", he said noticing that she had jumped to her feet at this revelation. "You may remain here with Michael, if you wish, or the Company will set you up with a room at a five star hotel nearby. There will be no expense to you. However, you may not have both. If you remain with Michael, you will not be permitted to leave the facility. And if you choose to go to the hotel, you are free to roam around if you wish, but you will not be permitted to see Michael".
Sara couldn't hide her horror. "But Michael's just had brain surgery! You can't keep him unconscious; you have to monitor his cognition, and motor skills! He could still experience complications from the surgery! He has to be awake!"
The General held up his hand to silence her. "Relax. We are well aware of all this. Michael will be partially woken up once a day to monitor cognition. He won't be fully conscious, but he will be awake enough to speak and comprehend what's happening around him. He will be awake for an hour unless the doctors say otherwise. Additionally, once every three days he will be woken up fully so that we can monitor his motor skills. This will only be about a half hour before he is put under again. So what is your decision Ms. Tancredi?"
Sara looked to Lincoln for support, but he looked away from her and did not say anything. "I…here, of course. I'll stay here with Michael".
The General seemed satisfied with her response. "I figured as much. Now here are the ground rules. You will be told this only once. You will be allowed to stay with Michael; however there is to be no passing of notes to him, no coded messages, no hint of planning an escape or some way of bringing down the Company. If we find any indication of this, Michael will be killed. For this reason, an orderly will be in the room as much as possible. You will be allowed to keep your phone to communicate with Lincoln, but all calls will be monitored and Michael will not be allowed to speak to him. While we will not make you leave when we partially wake Michael up, you will have to stay on the other side of the room so that you cannot whisper to him or attempt some other unauthorized form of communication. When he is fully woken up for motor skills testing you will be required to leave the room, and can look in through a window so you can see one another. If any of these rules are not followed, or if you attempt something that you know that the Company will not look upon favorably, Michael will be killed. No second chances." Sara didn't know what to say, so she simply nodded.
He then turned his attention to Link. "Now Lincoln, just to be clear, you have several rules to follow as well. If you try to double cross me, Michael will be killed. If you fail to retrieve Scylla, Michael will be killed. If you try to break Michael out, Michael will be killed. If you do any of these and Michael is killed, we will then take Sara as a hostage instead and it will be her life you are gambling with. Do you have any questions?"
Lincoln's face was a mixture of horror and repulsion. Sara was glad to see that she wasn't the only one who was sick to her stomach about what they had walked into. "No." He said, trying to retain a cool demeanor. "No, I understand."
The General nodded. "Good. Then I think we're done here. You can leave with your team to find Scylla. And Sara, you may return to Michael."
Link's eyes narrowed. "I want to speak to him first. Let him know what's going on. He should hear it from me."
"Unfortunately, that is not an option. Michael has already received a dose of drugs that will have rendered him unconscious. He will not be able to hear you, even if you try to give him a message. Off you go." With that, Sara and Link were escorted out of the office.