After Don had left to go check in to the whereabouts of LJ Burrows, Jackie pulled up the nearest chair and sized up her colleagues. Then she said simply, "So where can I help?"
The man named Michael Scofield said, "You can find a bed and stay there. We don't need any more help, thanks." He looked and talked to her as if she was a child with no idea of what was going on here.
"Respectfully, I'm not sure that's why I'm here."
"You can do what my brother says," Lincoln said, squaring himself up to her in a threatening way.
Jackie grinned and asked, "And if I feel disinclined?"
"Then we won't give you a choice," Lincoln answered.
"Oh, I always have a choice," Jackie said, getting up and issuing a challenge. Jackie stood up and added, "Gimme your best shot. I can hold my own with the best of 'em." Lincoln made a grab for her arm and caught it, but only for a millisecond. She jerked her elbow out of his hands and grabbed his instead, twisting it so it was useless in the fight and then hitting him with a vicious punch that knocked him back several feet. Alexander Mahone rushed to pull her back from him and she allowed herself to be guided five feet away from Lincoln. When he recovered, he looked alarmed and was nursing a bleeding lip.
"What the hell…?" Fernando Sucre piped up.
Jackie shook Mahone off, panting, and said, "I warned him."
Lincoln looked murderous, but at the same time he looked at her with a kind of new found respect. Jackie walked right by him and said softly, "You should get that looked at." Then, stopping to look him in the eye she said, "Don't ever touch me again."
"I'll find a bed. When you find yourself in need of my expertise, don't hesitate to knock."
She walked out of the main part of the warehouse and into a bunch of rooms where cots were set up. Lincoln shot a look at his brother and then followed her. The others began to talk in low tones about this newcomer.
Jackie threw her bag onto a cot in a room with only one and sighed. Lincoln walked in behind her and shut the door. She looked up and grinned.
"Not back for round two are you?"
He leaned in the doorframe and stared at her with a cold expression. "We clearly have some unfinished business. I wanna know a few things."
"What things?"
"Firstly, who the hell are you?"
"That's a vague question. What do you want to know about me?"
"How do you know about the company, or Scylla?"
"My parents were killed because they witnessed a meeting with a few of the cardholders of Scylla," she answered.
He looked at her with an interested expression. "How do you know Self?"
"He took me in to protective custody after they died, but kept me away from the foster care system."
"How do you know who I am?" he asked.
She hesitated here. How much should she tell him about herself? "I…," she said, trailing off. "I know your son."
Lincoln stood up straighter and looked at her in an alarmed way. "How do you know him?"
"I met him when he was running from the Company. You were still in Fox River," she answered.
"Wow, a little skimpy on the details don't you think?"
She sighed and said, "If you want the whole story, maybe you should sit down."
Lincoln obliged and took the nearest chair, implying that he wanted to know.
"I worked in a hotel when I first met him. He was wandering outside it, and he looked lost and upset and desperate. So I went out to talk to him. At first he just tried to leave, but I asked if I could help. I told him he didn't have to tell me what was going on, just let me help him. He reluctantly let me, and I got him a room under my name. I gave him food and a place to sleep for a day or so, until he wanted to leave or wanted to talk to me and let me help him get some safety. Eventually, he confided in me, and I got him to your lawyer, Veronica."
Lincoln listened to everything quietly, so she continued. "After that, I kept it touch with him via cell phone, until we met up again when he was back in school. When he disappeared again, I tried to find him back. I tracked him to Panama and got caught. That brings us to now."
Lincoln looked at her and said simply, "Well thanks for helping him."
"No problem."
Then, he punched her in the face and said, "And that was for hitting me."
She groaned and then laughed. "Fair enough."
