A/N: I don't own any of the "Prison Break" characters and I am not making any money from writing this.
Please forgive any minor spelling or grammar mistakes, English is not my native language.
After learning that there will be season five of "Prison Break" and that Michael will likely turn out to be alive, I had this idea going on in my mind. So, this story. It is pretty contrived though. And it is a oneshot. If you want a follow up chapter, with some more characterization and explanation (mainly how come Nick and Veronica are still alive and what is Jennifer's agenda), I can write it, but I doubt there will be anything more than that.
I assume that Veronica and Nick were in their early thirties in season one, making them in their early forties now (in 2016, year when this story takes place, and when the season five will likely take place). Michael Jr. must be around ten now. Some parts may be OOC.
He opened his eyes with a sigh. First sun beams peeked through the windows. He felt her weight on top of him, her warmth teasing his skin. He looked down at her. It was as she had been waiting for that to happen, for who knows how long. Her hands pressed at his chest, sparkles in her eyes, grin on her face. "Good morning", she whispered.
"Good morning", he replied, smiling as he did. She didn't bother to put any clothes on, like usual. He looked at her curves, details searing into his mind, and he felt himself stir. She pressed her lips against his, the tongue pulling out just for a moment, to tease him. His hands gripped at her thighs, running down her soft flesh. He moaned as she pulled away.
"Don't forget that we have to go within an hour", she whispered into his ear, somehow managing to make even that sound sexy. He felt her fingers running, slowly, down his abdomen...
"So fast?", Nick asks, shuddering. Suddenly, Veronica's lips are close to his again.
"The wheels have been set in motion."
#
Sara snapped back to attention, turning away from the window. Her eyes locked wuth Greg's. Her husband was already dressed in white shirt, black pants, and a matching black suit.
"Nothing... just that car again", Sara said, sighing.
"I've already checked few times myself", Greg said softly. "There isn't anything suspicious going on."
Sara sighed, not entirely convinced. She tried making a small smile. Greg stroked her cheek gently. "You are just nervous. Relax. Everything will be OK."
Their conversation was interrupted by the approaching footsteps. They turned around and saw their son, Michael Jr., standing in front of them, a few feet away.
"Have you seen my Math book?", he asked Sara.
Sara smiled warmly. "I think it's in the kitchen, honey."
Michael Jr. headed into the near by room quickly. Sara looked after him for some time, feeling something tingle in her chest.
Greg looked at Sara one more time before planting a soft kiss on her lips. He glanced at her before leaving, closing the door behind. A minute later, his car drove down the road and out of the neighborhood, towards his workplace.
Sara looked after him for quite some time, before sitting on a near by armchair with a sulk.
She has always been cautious, especially in regards to the people she loved, her family. After Michael's death, it has only gotten worse. She still missed him, every day, and often dreamt about him, the times they spent together... but not rarely, about his death too. He did that to save her. During times like this-close to the anniversary of his death-everything would get even worse.
Sara shivered. Her new husband was quite aware of that, at least in part, but loved her regardless. But Sara still loved Michael too, she would still think about him often. A part of her expected him to just show up at her door someday, but that only made everything worse.
Sara shook her head and went to check on her son. She had to drive him to school soon. And she needed to get her mind under control. It was about time to move on and concentrate on her new family completely. Not forget, just move on and find... balance. Despite everything.
#
The office where he was sitting in, behind the desk and opposite to his boss, looked almost like any other, only more elaborate. A bookcase, potted plants, paintings and flag on the wall. But it was anything but that.
Michael Scofield, dressed in suit and matching pants, tried to keep himself from flinching as he observed his boss going through his latest report. The middle aged Caucasian man with a slick grey hair didn't say a word, he was just reading the text slowly, sometimes nodding his head. He eventually looked up at Michael with a cynical smile.
"Very good, Michael", he complinented him. "Thanks to your discovery and ideas, we shall complete our mission by the end of this month." He put the file away. "You will get your next paycheck within a week."
Michael clenched his fists, trying to regain his composure. "Just so you know, I don't support this."
The older man looked up at him with a grin. "Once again, I know." He paused for a moment. "And I don't care." He leaned back in his chair. "And you don't have a choice."
Michael stood up and left, barely resisting the urge to slam the door shut behind himself.
#
Michael sighed as he walked into his apartment, closing and locking the door behind. He put the keys in the key bowl on the cupboard near the door, took off his suit, and started walking down the hallway, tiredly.
First step, second step...
And then he froze.
Somebody was inside.
Not somebody... Veronica.
Little older, dressed in a less formal way than usual, but that was she. The same eyes, face, hair, posture, everything.
And near by, standing in front of the coffee table... was Nick Savrinn. Suit, tie and everything.
"Hello, Michael", Veronica said teasingly.
Michael swallowed a lump in his throat, his palms sweating. Goose bumps appeared and he shuddered. "You are not dead."
Veronica smirked. "Rich, coming from you."
"You have the key", he exclaimed, still shocked.
Veronica smiled slightly. "One of our... contacts followed you, during one of your rare... trips to the outside world. He managed to obtain it, make an impression in the modeling clay, then put it back on time." She stepped aside, moving closer to Nick. "And yes, this is not just any apartment, but an establishment within the "Company" headquarters, but every pathway covered with security cameras has... blind spots that make it possible to pull through."
"We know everything, Michael", he said in a very serious tone. "We know how you found out about that tumor. You figured you didn't have much more time left to live. And you couldn't figure how to tell that to Sarah. To Lincoln. To Sucre. You started going from specialist to specialist, but they would all tell you the same thing." "Of course, when a man does something like that, he can find himself in fishy waters."
Michael was shivering. Drops of cold sweat coated his skin. He slumped onto a near by sofa, his limbs growing numb. His eyes turned watery.
"She approached me outside", he remisced. "Told me about the research she was conducting at the time. New treatments to cure such types of tumor. She was pretty convincing. It actually sounded-looked-promising. But I knew that it wasn't legal. And that it could be a serious health risk. And I doubted that Sara would allow me to do that. And even if she did, it would take years. It would be... hell. For her, for our child. And we couldn't afford that anyway. And then Sarah got arrested. Locked up. And I knew that she wouldn't... last long in there. And then she called me."
Veronica frowned. "Her being Jennifer Sayer?"
Michael nodded his head. "Yeah. She saw what happened. On the news. She found out about my connections to Sara, about my past... that I broke out of prison-prisons before. She had a sister... incarcerated in there."
"But you didn't free anyone else but Sara", Nick noted.
"She didn't want me to release her sister. Her sister would be out within a year. She wasn't in danger there. She was a strong girl. But I were to break in, release Sara..."
"She could sue the prison for security breach, even if her sister wasn't seriously injured", Veronica concluded. "Taking in the account the scandal that would sure follow, they would probably want to get that over with as soon as possible. She gets the money, you get the free Sara. In an exchange, she treats you."
"I still don't know for sure how they did it... they just ordered me to slip out of the car before it exploded. They planted the remains in there later, via one of their secret contacts from the FBI. He also falsifiee the DNA and dental results, so the body would be identified as mine."
"Then you fake your death, to avoid prosecution and get that treatment freely", Nick added.
Michael sighed, his mouth dry. "I've been completely cured for years now. I want out, but..."
"But you can't. Because she doesn't want to reveal her discovery to the world. That would mean her admitting that she had been conducting illegal experiments. Not all the patients survived, am I right? And by keeping that a secret, she makes the people more desperate. She gives them no choice but to come to her. She can charge them as much as she wants." He was pacing around the room. "That is not the only reason... but we'll get to that later."
"And the reason why she didn't kill you... well, she has realized how brilliant you are. So she recruited you", Veronica explained.
Michael shuddered. "She told me, that if I report her... they will learn about my past. My life will be Ruined. And if I kill her... she has the associates who will give the incriminating information to the authorities in case she goes missing or is physically harmed." He took a deep breath. "Eventually, I realized that she has been working for... the "Company"." He rubbed his eyes. "They just slowed down the tumor back then... but they already knew how to cure it. It was all a ruse, leading up to that moment."
"And that's the other reason", Nick chimmed in. "They planned to recruit you from the beginning. They only offered you treatment in order to keep you alive, gain your trust. The story about Jennifer's sister was just a diversion. They needed to gain your trust and to ensure that you will fake your death. Be dead, officially, while actually alive and at their full disposal. Jennifer was-is-just a pawn, money made by the illegal treatments just a gravy. And all the money that she makes goes through and then from "Company". Of course, she still makes substantial amounts of money and has to deposit it on her private account... since the tax evasion accusations. Not even they are perfect at covering their tracks."
A short silence ensued, weight of all the discoveries settling upon all of them even now. Michael was breathing heavily. He felt a strange mixture of fear, shame, and relief.
"How did you find me?", he asked almost sheepishly, looking up at Veronica.
"Jennifer is good at keeping secrets", Veronica admitted. "Remaining low profile. But not that good. Such amount of ilegally obtained money can't be easily stashed away. She was charged with tax evasion twice in the last three years, acquitted both times. That's when people contact me. Officially, I work for Innocence project. But you'd be surprised how often we... moonlight... trying to find ways to convict people who always seem to slip through the cracks." She smirked. "Like vigilantes... only everything is within the legal boundaries. We started digging... and found you through her."
Nick crossed his arms over his chest. "Your signature was on some of the... papers that helped her avoid legal trouble. Veronica, smart as she is, recognized it. It wasn't the same name, of course, but enough letters written the same way and positioned the same way for the connection to be made." He scoffed. "You can change many things, but not the signature. Not many people even remember that they might want to change it, actually, not even geniuses."
Michael looked around, a bit more relaxed. "And you decided to... greet me here?"
"Despite everything, we had to search your apartment first", Nick said. "To make sure that you haven't... gone astray completely. That takes time, and you are a genius. If you were to notice something suspicious and do something impredictible, risky..." He chuckled. "And we sort of like... effective introductions." He ran a hand through his hair. "There were listening devices hidden in your apartment, of course, like you must have assumed, but don't worry, they are blocked now."
Veronica leaned in closer to Michael. "Help us bring her down, bring the "Company" down, and we can make the evidence go away. About the escape... well, the status of limitation should cover that." She widened her eyes. "I am only willing to risk overstepping the boundaries for you, Michael. You are a good man."
Several tense moments passed. Michael was silent.
"What about Sara?", he eventually asked, a pain flashing over his face.
Veronica bit her lower lip, looking away for a moment. "She will not take you back like nothing has happened, I can tell you that much. But at least you will have the chance for a normal life again."
Nick sat down, looking Michael in the eyes. "You haven't sought out help by now for three reasons. Because they keep you under the full control, almost. Because, although you miss Sara and Michael Jr. awfully, you don't want to risk your and their safety. And because you were unable to find... well, worthy-necessary-accomplices. Even if you were to find a way to escape from here, you, Sara and Michael would be in danger, and you'd have this whole organisation against you... again." He smiled. "Well, you have us now."
"You two are an item now?", Michael asked almost jokingly, trying to calm himself down.
Veronica smiled, blushing slightly. "Many things have changed. Now it's your turn to make changes."
"How?", Michael asked, almost pleadingly.
"We have a plan."
#
The young prisoner was breathing heavily, his back pressed against the wall, near T-Bag's bunk. The older man stared down at him with lust in his eyes, licking his lips. He was alarmingly close to him.
"I-I don't...", the kid tried.
"Shhh...", T-Bag mused, putting his hand over the kid's mouth, making him shudder. He leaned over, brushing his moist lips against the boy's ear, making him shudder. "We have to do it quickly", he whispered. "I have a visit scheduled."
He slowly pulled away, running his hand down the boy's abdomen. The blonde looked down at the floor and gulped, then got down on his knees and gripped at the lower part of T-Bag's jumpsuit. T-Bag moaned...
#
About an hour later, T-Bag sat down on the chair in the visiting room, looking at the young woman on the other side of the bullet proof glass intently. A stocky young CO gave them both a stern look before moving to stand on the side. The visitor was of average height, lean build, with long red hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a white blouse and black skirt.
"Hello."
"Hello", the woman who many knew by the name Jennifer Sayer said.
"And who are you?", T-Bag asked, fondling his hands together.
Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "Didn't they inform you?"
T-Bag shook his head dismissively. "Yeah, but they're so basic." He leaned back in his chair and looked Jennifer in the eyes. "You seem like an interesting woman." He shrugged. "Person, I mean."
"I'm a reporter", she lied. "Penelope Stanworth. I am interested in your story."
T-Bag grinned. "Oh, I have many spicy tales down my pocket", he said in a husky tone.
"Your escape", Jennifer said, trying not to grimace. "Eleven years ago, with Michael Scofield and... well, the others. Then the one sometime later, from Mexican prison. Also with the help of Michael Scofield."
"And, you think that I will tell you a whole novel now", T-Bag said, his voice colored with mockery. He frowned. "After eleven years. To you. For a change. What makes you so special then two dozen much more experienced men and women, that I have turned down?", ha taunted.
"You agreed to see me", Jennifer pointed out.
"You seem awfully naive for a reporter." He licked his lips, his eyes flowing over Jennifer's form. "Who wouldn't want to see you?"
Jennifer suppressed a groan. "I have something you want."
"That doesn't mean you can give it to me", T-Bag pointed out.
Jennifer leaned in closer. "Wanna bet?"