Forgotten
By: Jessie Cristo
Genre: Prison Break
Rating: M – Mature audiences only
Disclaimer: I have no claim or affiliation with the Prison Break franchise in any way. This story was written purely for entertainment; namely… mine. Feedback is appreciated.
Chapter 2: Lost and Found
One week later…
Miami-Dade Penitentiary / Women's Facility October 20
Taking her time walking to the chair on her side of the partition – the black-haired woman narrowed her eyes as she spotted the woman who waited on the other side.
"Jane." She said, coming to a stop behind the chair - her cold, blue eyes boring into the other woman.
"Gretchen." The blonde responded. She glanced at the chair on Gretchen's side in a silent invitation to sit.
"What took you so long?" Gretchen hissed.
"How's the leg?" Jane asked, ignoring Gretchen's rudeness.
"It can still kick your ass – so what's your answer to my offer?"
Ignoring her question, Jane reached into the inner pocket of her jacket and pulled out a picture; turning it, she held if flat against the glass.
Frowning, Gretchen stared at the people in the photo – it looked like it had been taken at a birthday party. She didn't recognize anyone in the photo and was about to snap at Jane again, when her eyes froze on the man whose birthday it seemed to be.
Everyone in the picture was focused on him; he wore one of those silly conical hats children wore, and was seated directly behind a large cake with many lit candles on it. He was smiling as he looked up at whoever had taken the photo; the candlelight highlighting his handsome features. Gretchen had never seen this man smile like that in her presence, but she'd recognize him anywhere.
Her eyes shot to the date digitally printed at the bottom right of the picture; then looked back at Jane – shock written plainly on her face.
"Is that who I think it is?"
"Yep."
"Does she know?"
Jane knew who she was and didn't need to ask her to elaborate; she just grimaced then returned the picture to her pocket.
"She doesn't? Why the hell not?"
"Why the sudden concern for her? Weren't you the one who tried to kill her and those that she loved on many occasions?"
Gretchen leaned back in her chair, a small frown marring her brow. "Things change. Let's just say I owe her."
Jane gave an 'ah' of understanding, leaned back in her own chair and crossed her arms – a smirk of amused condescension on her face. "You're talking about Emily and the large sum of money that was given to your sister by an anonymous source – money that was specifically instructed to be for Emily's care and schooling."
Gretchen's eyes shot to Jane's. "How do you know about that?"
"You didn't honestly think we wouldn't keep tabs on you while you were in here, did you? You were a key figure in the Company, after all. Never thought I'd see the day that Gretchen Morgan gave two shits about anybody but herself."
Gretchen just shrugged – because hell if she was going to explain herself to Jane, of all people.
"Why did you call me, Gretchen? Even if what you said is true and you just want to help us take down the Company, why would we need you? The Company is nowhere near as strong as they used to be, and we're routing them out cell by cell. Successfully, mind you."
"Oh Jane… stop playing dumb with me. We both know that the Company that you've been cleaning out is nothing compared to Corporate in Europe. I know you and your… partners… are planning on going after the mother-ship next."
Jane folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair; refusing to acknowledge any part of what Gretchen had just said.
"If you think the Company was a nightmare to weed out, you haven't seen anything yet. Corporate makes Krantz look like a teddy bear that's gone postal. You're gonna need my help."
"Maybe. But my partners left the decision to bring you in, up to me. And frankly Gretch, you're a has-been. I mentioned that I've been keeping tabs on you, right? Well, how long has it been since you've caused trouble in here? Only one piece of trouble since your escape attempt with Sarah Tancredi?"
"Some info got out about an unfortunate death in the shower room. Let's just say a certain someone found out that I was the guilty party and not Sarah, and a bounty was put on my head. To take it off, I took out that certain someone."
"Which is what landed you on death row even faster."
"I was heading there anyways… you know how impatient I can be. All kidding aside, I'll be getting the needle by the end of the month, Jane. I could be a valuable asset in taking down the rest of the Company here, and then going after the big ticket in Europe."
"Do you honestly expect me to believe that you've suddenly turned over a new leaf, Gretchen? You're grasping at straws as you near the end of your days, but we both know that as soon you can, you will stab me in the back… then you'd roll me over and play with my entrails as I slowly died – because that's just the kind of sick bitch that you are."
"I'm not saying I'm some kind of girl scout like you, Jane. But I want revenge – and you know I'm a fuckin' pit bull when I go after people who've wronged me."
"The moment a situation comes up that might look beneficial for you, you'll betray us in a heartbeat and you know it!" hissed Jane.
"No, I won't, I…" Gretchen paused and frowned as if something had just occurred to her. Her expression relaxed and the cold, mocking smile returned – leaning in closer to the glass, she looked directly into Jane's eyes.
"What are you trying to do, Jane?"
Jane just stared; face like a blank canvas. "What are you talking about?"
"Are you trying to verbally spar with me? Get me all emotional so that you can manipulate my decisions to coincide with what you want from me?"
Jane's lips tightened - her eyes cold.
Gretchen just laughed in delight. "Oh my god, this is priceless! Did you forget who taught you everything you know?"
"Not everything, you bitch." Jane hissed. "You never taught me to think for myself, I had to learn that on my own, while you went on to become Krantz's whore.. doing anything he asked, like a bitch in heat."
Slamming one open hand to the glass, Gretchen shot to her feet, sending her chair flying out behind her.
"Do you know who you're talking to? I'll fucking kill you." She screamed.
Jane had also shot to her feet, and was staring mockingly at Gretchen as two female guards ran up behind the ranting woman and got her in a hold so that her arms were pinned behind her back.
"Calm down Morgan, or it's the SHU." one of the guards shouted, as they staggered about the floor, trying to contain Gretchen.
The guard began to sweat profusely at the thought of having to take down Gretchen. Every guard there knew how dangerous she was to begin with, but to add the fact that she'd just been recently moved to death row after having lost her trial and appeals; just made it even worse since Gretchen literally had nothing left to live for.
At the threat of solitary however, Gretchen instantly went still. Fighting to control her rage, she breathed rapidly, deliberately… until she felt she could speak clearly. For her, even death row was better than the SHU. There were too many memories that visited her in the dark.
"I'm okay, boss. I'll be good."
The two guards eyed each other warily, but slowly, they began to release their hold on Gretchen. The older guard then looked at Jane, who was still standing on the other side of the partition.
"Ma'am… do you want to continue? You've still got fifteen minutes."
Staring at Gretchen, Jane nodded and retook her seat.
Letting go of Gretchen, the two guards watched cautiously as she also retook her seat, before they left the cage again.
"Let's get this over with before you fuck up my life anymore than it already is. Are you here about my offer or not? If not, then fuck off and have a nice day." Gretchen gritted out between clenched teeth.
"There are conditions."
"There are always conditions. Spit 'em out."
"You have to perform a task before we can fully trust you." Jane said.
"And let me guess. That picture has something to do with it."
"Yes."
"What do I have to do? You want me to kill him?"
"No, we most certainly do not want you to kill him. In fact, the total opposite will be required… You have to play watchdog. Play it well enough for as long as we tell you to, where we tell you to and you'll be given full admittance."
"When did you and your partners start the bodyguard gig? And why him?"
"We're not like you and the Company. We're the good guys."
"Yeah… right. You know the moment he spots me he's going to try and kill me, right? I can't be held responsible for defending myself."
"Don't worry… he won't even know who you are… and you will control yourself. If he ends up dead, by your hand or not, we'll put you back in prison where you know you belong, or we'll kill you ourselves."
Gretchen smiled maliciously. " You can try."
"Enough, Gretchen… do you agree to our terms or not?"
"What do you mean he won't know who I am. I'm not being vain in saying I doubt that man would ever forget me."
"He didn't die in the breakout, but it doesn't mean he wasn't left without some damage. Obvious physical wounds aside, it seems he lost his memory too."
"Even if he survived the breakout, he still should be dead. I saw the reports on his tumor. Krantz lied when he said the doctors cured him, they only performed a stop-gap procedure. He should be dead by now."
"The guard with the agent that found him, worked for us. We have doctors of our own, every bit as advanced as the Company's… maybe even more. They didn't however, know he'd lose his memory."
Jane laughed softly to herself.
"What's so funny?"
"Even with his memory loss, he still managed to escape from the facility we had him in. Some people just can't be caged. So… instead of reacquiring him, we followed, and watched. Upper management decided that the life he was building for himself was a good enough way to hide him. With just a little misdirection, we stopped inquiries into his past, and eventually he gave up looking and went on with his life. We've since backed off and left him alone."
"It's been four years. Why the sudden need to have him watched again?"
"Because our spies have picked up some murmurs in the Company cells we've taken down. Corporate has been putting out feelers for him."
"They have reason to believe he's still alive, then. You have a leak."
"Unfortunately, it seems so. We've got watchdogs on his family already."
Gretchen frowned, and then shook her head. "First things first… how exactly am I supposed to play watchdog from in here?"
"You're gonna have a little 'accident' that will require a visit to the emergency room." Jane said, nonchalantly.
Gretchen rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Crash and grab?" she asked her tone heavy with disdain.
"Hey, sometimes the old tricks are the best tricks. Can you manage the accident part?"
Gretchen just eyed her contemptuously.
"Then I'll handle the rest."
Without another word, Gretchen rose from her chair and went to the door of the cage. "Boss, I'm done." She called out.
"Goodbye Gretchen. I'll see you again on Friday." Jane called out.
Gretchen didn't reply, she just followed the guard out of the Visitor's Center.
"Boss… what day of the week is it?" she asked the guard.
"Wednesday… Why, you got a date or something?"
Gretchen just smiled and murmured. "… or something."
If all worked out as planned - and Gretchen couldn't see why it wouldn't – she'd be out in two days.
Two weeks later…
Daniel turned from locking the door to his shop, and jogged down the steps to the curb. Throwing his duffel bag in the bed of his red GMC truck, he then walked around to the driver's side, opened the door and jumped in.
The police cruiser with 'Long Lake Sheriff' emblazoned on the side pulled up next to him.
"Hey Dan, you off to the lumber mill now?" asked Carl, leaning his head out the window of his cruiser.
"Yeah. Why? Need something?"
"Naw, just checking to see if you're still planning on opening a booth at this year's Fall Festival."
"Yeah, of course."
"Just asking 'cause Doris, down at the courthouse says you haven't turned in your permit or your payment yet."
"Damn… keep forgetting to do that. I'll get it to her first thing tomorrow morning."
"Ten-four… I'll let her know. Hey, do you know where Emily's at, right now? Sherry says they were supposed to have breakfast together at the diner, but Em never showed."
"No…" Daniel responded quickly, and turning to his truck so that Carl couldn't see his face. "I'll try her on her cell and let her know Sherry's looking for her."
"I'm sure Sher tried that already, but you might have better luck. See ya later, got a chicken pot pie waiting for me at Willis'."
"Nice to know my tax dollars are working hard." Daniel laughed.
"Bite me."
Carl drove off.
Before pulling out of his parking spot, Daniel pulled out his cell and dialed his apartment's land line.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me."
"You just left. Did you miss me already?" laughed Emily.
"Always…" Daniel replied, smiling. "Just wanted to give you a heads-up - Sherry's looking for you - something about you having missed breakfast."
"Oh shoot… completely forgot about that. It's your fault, you know - keeping me here so late."
"Okay, next time I'll just kick you out of bed." Teased Daniel.
"You do that, Mr. Smith and you'll be pulling back a stump."
"Never knew you could be so vicious."
"Oh, you haven't even scratched the surface yet."
"Intriguing… can't wait to get back and do a little more… scratching."
"You can stop with the sexy voice talk, Mr. Smith. I won't fall for it this time. I gotta go before Sherry sends out a posse."
Daniel laughed. "See ya later."
"You'd better."
Five minutes later, Daniel drove out of town and headed north on the two-lane blacktop. His supply of wood was running low, and even if there was a nice forest growing around a good part of the town, Daniel preferred the better quality wood he got from the Long Lake Lumber Mill.
His thoughts were on Emily and their night together. It had only been their second time, but in the past two weeks, Daniel had been in high spirits and he knew it was because of her.
Their strong physical attraction aside; he found he could really talk to her and knew that even if she didn't always agree with him, she at least kept an open mind and listened.
Humming along to the song on the radio, he came to the long curve that led up the mountain. Halfway up the first incline, a deer ran out across the road; he quickly swerved and managed to avoid it.
Suddenly, a white hot pain stabbed his brain… like an ice pick to his temple. His vision faded out quickly as he slumped over on his side - his seatbelt keeping him partially upright. A kaleidoscope of unfamiliar faces and voices crashed through his mind, bombarding his senses; making him cry out in pain.
Stop... Michael, please - this is going to happen. I gotta get my head straight. Let's just share memories, swap stories, talk about the damn weather - anything but torturing myself with the idea of hope. I can't take it anymore.
Then a voice with a distinct southern drawl… Remember, pretty, I am servin' life plus one. So if I get busted for attempted escape, I'm goin' to throw in a homicide no problem, that's like a parkin' ticket to me
And then a woman's face; a face that he could sense was lovingly memorized – and she's speaking… to him. I'm not a jealous woman. But I'm a careful one. And for some reason, when I'm around you, I'm not...careful.
Then more stabbing pain - but just as the truck goes off the road and he's about to black out, he calls out to someone he can almost remembers.
Lincoln… Sarah… sarah… sar…
Blackness.
"Hey! Wake up!"
He felt some sharp stings to his face, but the darkness kept pulling on him.
He jerked awake with a loud groan when he was suddenly free of his seatbelt… the violent jarring setting off a fresh wave of pain.
"Help me, dammit, before we both get our asses blown sky high."
Opening his eyes groggily, Daniel squinted at the bright blue sky above him. He was halfway out of the driver's window, and the reason became clear as the black-haired woman came into his view, grabbing his arms and tugging on him, pulling him completely out.
Damn, she's strong. Was all he could think.
Seeing his open eyes, the woman crouched down beside his head and gripped his chin with one strong hand. "Hey, you awake? I can't carry you. If you can move, get up now or I'll drag you; road rash or not."
When he didn't answer right away, she went to grab his arms again, but he finally responded.
"No… I got it." He said, his voice cracking and weak. He rolled onto his front and pushed up to all fours. He managed to get to his feet, but as he tried to take a step, he began to list to the side.
The woman was quick to grab one of his arms and get under it, bracing him against her body. Again, he noted how strong she was.
With her help, he managed to make it across the road and into the small field across from where his car lay.
She helped him to sit on a small, nearby boulder then crouched down in front of him to examine the cut on his forehead.
"Thank you. Don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come along."
She paused to look him in the eyes. "No problem." She said, before resuming her examination of his wound.
He then just realized how beautiful she was – especially her eyes – they were the most amazing blue eyes he'd ever seen. Her face was also quite intriguing, and from what he could tell from his seated position, she also had a very nice figure. However, something about her got his guard up. There was a coldness to her; something about her that was giving off a 'keep clear' signal.
Settling back on her haunches, the woman turned to took at his truck. "Looks like whatever was smoking in the engine has died out. If it hasn't blown by now, I don't think it will at all. Either way, I'd stay away from it until help gets here."
Rising to her feet, she turned and headed back to the road.
"Hey, are you leaving?" he called to her.
"No, I've gotta get my cell phone, and I think my rental has a first aid kit. Just stay put."
A little taken aback at her authoritative tone, Daniel slid off the boulder so that he could sit with his back to it. His head was pounding, and the rest of his body didn't feel all that great, either.
Carl and Sherry were gonna blow a gasket. Thinking about the scolding he was going to get from the both of them, made his head pound even harder, so he leaned back against the boulder and closed his eyes.
He opened his eyes again when he felt a light touch to his forehead. He looked up at the woman. She worked quietly on his laceration, using efficient, practiced movements.
"You've done this before." He stated.
"What? Dragging idiots who can't drive out of their wrecked cars?"
Daniel chuckled, then groaned as the slight movement made his aches and pains flare up again.
"Stop moving, or you'll just keep hurting yourself. I think you might even have a concussion."
"You a doctor?"
"No. Just a lot of experience."
"Hmmm… if ever a cryptic phrase there was, that would be it." He mumbled, his eyes drooping closed again.
He gasped in pain, as the woman pressed hard on a cut he had on his forearm. His eyes shot open to meet hers. She was now just holding a clean gauze pad gently over the cut. "What did you do that for?" he demanded.
"I told you, you might have a concussion. I have to keep you awake until help comes."
"I can tell this is gonna be loads of fun." He grumbled. "Would that experience you mentioned have something to do with torture?" he asked jokingly, striving to keep his eyes open.
He missed the little smile on the woman's face.
Author's Note:
Sorry for any typos or bad turns of phrases. I'm trying not to obsess over details so much because it tends to kill my mood. I only edited this chapter 3 times instead of 10… but still, I'm only human and I might've missed stuff.
Please give feedback… bad, good… just be honest.