First of all, a huge thank you to awesomepants, Imzadi and MiSa-PizVe. Reviews make me so very happy and I'm really glad you're enjoying the story.
So now, without further ado, I present chapter two…
All three men in the hotel room jumped at the sound of the phone. Michael hurried over to the desk and grabbed it.
"Sara?" He all but cried out into the phone.
"It's me." The voice on the other end confirmed.
"Oh, thank goodness." Michael leaned his head back in relief. "Where are you?"
"I'm not sure, still near Gila I think. Where are you?"
"Albuquerque. We're heading out though, can you come meet us?"
"Where?"
Michael looked around conspiratorially and lowered his voice, "In the narcissistic town where light-hearted play loses y to a."
"What the hell?"
"Where Allison is no me, but everything is backwards."
"In English, Michael?"
He sighed. "Where the Spanish agree in the middle of…"
"Oh for crying out loud Michael, just tell me."
"Mesilla. I want us to meet in Mesilla, ok?" Michael snapped into the phone. "Forgive me if I like to keep things covert."
"There's covert and there's jibberish." Sara snapped back. "And don't pretend you're just doing this because of people listening in. I remember all those times in the infirmary when you would whisper sweet nothings in my ear in morse code."
"But…"
"And let's not forget those binary love letters you kept leaving on my desk. Or how whenever I asked how you were feeling you answered with anagrams."
"I like puzzles." Michael pouted.
"Fine," Sara sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow, puzzle-boy."
With that she hung up.
……
"Hey, do you want to sleep with my dad?"
If Jane was shocked by her young charge's question, she didn't show it. She didn't even take her eyes off the road as she continued to drive the two of them down the highway.
"What makes you say that, LJ?"
"Well, it's just that you're the only female we've come across in, like, forever and I know that Uncle Mike has dibs on that doctor lady he's always talking about, so I thought that maybe you were around to get with my father."
"Really? Tell me, is head-butting considered mating-behaviour by convicts nowadays?"
"Oh yeah. Means he likes you. A lot."
Jane just smiled.
"And where exactly are we going, anyway?" LJ spoke up again.
"Disneyland."
"I'm serious."
"Me too, I've always wanted to see Mickey Mouse. After that I suppose we can go to the place your uncle told me about."
LJ stared at her, trying desperately to see any sign that she was joking but eventually realising that she was deadly serious.
"Uhh… couldn't we, you know, do that first? I mean we are being chased by a lot of people. People who want to kill us."
Jane's head whipped around so quickly, LJ jumped back in surprise.
"We. Are. Going. To. See. Mickey. ALL RIGHT?" Her entire expression was one of solid fury and determination and LJ found himself more than a little tempted to bail out of the car right then and there.
"O-ok…" He nodded quickly, not wanting to anger her further. He just hoped that she'd be satisfied with a quick visit.
……
Sucre walked a bit further through the desert. It was getting late and would be very cold soon but he still hadn't found any signs of life.
Just as he began to give up hope, he heard a car in the distance. His heart lifting like so many helium filled balloons, he waved his arms.
"Hey! Over here!"
The car turned to drive towards him and he almost fainted with relief when it slowed to a stop. That feeling however, was soon replaced by shock.
"Maricruz?" He couldn't believe his eyes.
"Fernando!" Maricruz jumped out of the car and into his arms.
"What a highly improbable yet incredibly useful for the sake of the storyline coincidence!" he cried happily.
At that very moment, another car pulled up. This one also slowed to a stop and a man emerged, twirling his very large moustache.
"Hector!" Sucre narrowed his eyes, pushing Maricruz behind him protectively.
"Fernando." Hector sneered slightly. "We meet at last."
Sucre frowned in confusion, this was his cousin after all, but what the hell. "I will not allow you to take her," he announced. Maricruz swooned slightly.
"You cannot stop me. For I have…" Hector reached into belt, causing the other two people to tense in fear. "A banana!"
"Huh?" Sucre and Maricruz relaxed, each wearing identical expressions of confusion.
"No, wait." Hector moved the banana into his coat pocket and pointed it at the two of them. "I mean… I have a gun!"
Sucre and Maricruz gasped in fear.
"Oh, Fernando," Maricruz cried. "Is this the end for us and our love?"
"Never!" Sucre replied dramatically. "Our love will never die, for my heart is filled with pashion."
Maricruz swooned again.
"Enough!" Hector shouted. "Hand over the girl, Fernando."
"You will have to shoot me first." Sucre stood firm and unwavering. Maricruz swooned a bit more.
"Very well, then." Hector pulled the trigger.
……
It was evening in Fox River. The cells were locked and everyone was trapped.
For Brad Bellick, this wouldn't have been so bad were it not for the identity of the man he was trapped with. Avocado hadn't spoken to him since his arrival, but he knew it was only a matter of time.
He was right.
"Hey fish." The voice came from above him. "I've got something for you."
Bellick swallowed in fear. This was it, he was going to die. If he was lucky.
"Why don't you hold it for me?" Avocado continued, moving closer to the smaller man. "Here."
Bellick closed his eyes, only to open them again when he felt something large and soft being shoved into his hands. He looked down at the bundle of wool and back up at his cellmate quizzically.
"What's this?"
"What do you think?" Avocado leered at him. "It's my knitting. Helps me relax."
He picked up his knitting needles and continued work on the scarf he was making for his mother while Bellick dutifully held his wool.
……
It was getting dark in Mexico. Sucre, Maricruz and Hector hadn't moved from their positions.
"So…uh… what now?" Sucre asked no one in particular.
"I shot you. You're dead." Hector whined. "I win, Maricruz is mine and you're dead."
"I don't think so." Sucre squinted. "I think we need to, like, duel for her love or something."
"Can we do it in the morning? I'm cold." Maricruz spoke up from behind Sucre.
The two men murmured agreement.
"We should probably go find a hotel," Sucre pointed out. "Why don't Maricruz and I go ahead and look for one and you can follow behind."
"Sounds good. But you're getting separate bedrooms." Hector pointed at the two accusingly. "At least until this thing is settled."
……
The next morning, Sara began her journey to Mesilla. She made sure to buy a paper first though. After all, a woman on the run needed to keep up with current events. There could well be a story about her father or herself or any of the escapees from Fox River. It was important to have as much information as possible.
But first she just had to do the crossword.
"Hmm, cryptic or quick?" She murmured to herself, settling into her seat on the bus.
……
Susan was scared. She was more than scared, she was terrified. Her psycho ex-boyfriend had been in her house for over twelve hours now and he showed no sign of leaving. This was torture, no this was worse than torture.
She held her son and daughter closer to her, trying to protect them from the depravity.
"And what's the deal with Wal-Mart?" T-Bag drawled from his position in front of the sofa that his, literally, captive audience were sitting on. "I gotta ask, do we really need to be greeted every time we go for a bit of shopping. Seems like overkill to me. Speaking of killing, did y'all hear the one about the guy who killed his lawyer? He was awarded for services to the community!"
T-Bag threw out his arms and opened his mouth in the universal sign for a punch line. Susan and her children laughed weakly. Would the torment never end?
……
C-Note threw the newspaper down in frustration. His wife had been tried, convicted and sent to prison in the space of a few days. Court cases sure moved fast around here.
He had been forced to step up his plan. The first phase was complete – dropping Dee Dee off at conveniently placed relatives who he instinctively knew wouldn't turn him in and who would disappear into the ether once they were no longer needed.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself for what he was about to do. He had made the decision that since Michael's plan had worked so well, it was probably best if he stick to it as closely as possible. Walking into the bank, he raised the gun above his head and fired.
"All right, everybody on the floor now!"
Everyone calmly complied with his request and he made his way over to the counter.
"You, put all the money in a bag. Now."
"Certainly, ma'am," the woman chirped happily. "This may take a while, we have quite a bit of cash on the premises."
C-Note tried to look annoyed at this, but inside was grateful for the delay. It would give the police plenty of time to apprehend him.
A few minutes passed, during which time C-Note fiddled with his gun and thought about the best way of surrendering. One thing he definitely wanted to avoid was being shot, and he knew that that was a very real possibility unless he made it absolutely clear that he was giving up.
And even then there were no guarantees.
"Hey, I know you." One of the hostages looked up at him. C-Note froze, if he was busted this would all be over. He'd be sent back to Fox River and nowhere near his wife.
"Yeah…you're that actress, whatshername, Queen Latifah!"
"Hey! There's no way that I'm…" He began to argue, but was cut off by another voice.
"Excuse me, ma'am. I have your cash." The lady behind the counter handed a large bag over to C-Note. "Thank you for doing business with us, have a nice day."
"Uh…" C-Note took the bag and looked around uncertainly. "Well….good. Great." He moved slowly to the door, straining to hear sirens in the distance but failing to make out anything that would even suggest the approach of police cars.
Walking down the street, dressed in drag and carrying a bag full of dollars, C-Note swore to himself. This wasn't going according to plan.
……
To Be Continued…
