Hell or High Water
It's now or never; Michael watches as T-Bag, Bellick and Lechero escape through the tunnel and are captured within minutes. Everything is going exactly as planned, yet Alex and Whistler begin to complain that since the lights are on, the authorities will know they're escaping. Michael rolls his eyes and explains that yes, that is correct and yes, it's part of the plan. With the focus on Bellick, T-Bag and Lechero, the four of them could slide right out unnoticed. He should feel bad about selling out the other three, but T-Bag and Lechero are monsters and Bellick had exploited him every chance he could get back in Fox River, so Michael's not really into handing out his sympathy card.
It's a close call as they can hear police officers at the end of the hall, gaining closer and closer to learning of the hole. Michael crawls into the open air and from there, once Whistler, Alex and Luis have followed, they begin to barrel roll and army crawl from vehicle to vehicle, catching a few close calls but mostly staying unnoticed. Crawling carefully beneath the fence Sucre's eroded away for them, Michael and the other escapees take off into the night and begin to sprint through the jungle, leaving Sona behind. The sun rises and Whistler trips and falls, complaining of a sprained ankle, and Michael is sure it's all just a ploy he'd been planning all along. He doesn't fall for it and makes Alex drag him along.
There's no way he's staying behind, not when they've come this far.
They find Lincoln on the beach and he comments on how Michael's always picking up the strays, pointing to Luis. They don't have time for jokes; there are soldiers on their heels. Digging through the sand for the tanks doesn't take too long with five guys on the job, but there are only four tanks ("Sucks for you, Mahone," Lincoln tells the rogue FBI agent.), so with a haphazard comment about sharing with Lincoln, Michael takes off into the ocean, the others following suit. They hang onto the buoy and, honestly, Michael couldn't have anticipated the plan working out any better than it had.
That is, until Sucre doesn't show up with their boat. Luis's father rescues them from the water when Sucre does not and Michael is left wondering what's happened to him, because there's no way he'd let them down like that. But he'll have time to locate Sucre later; his thoughts must now be on exchanging Whistler for Sofia and LJ so they can finally move on with their lives. Michael bids farewell to Luis at the dock; he considers him the Tweener of Sona, except he'd been able to save this one. He's hoping Luis will manage to stay out of trouble and climbs into the vehicle Lincoln's obtained to ride into the city.
Gretchen calls the moment they reach the exchange point and Lincoln gives her the new whereabouts, threatening that he now calls the shots as long as he's got Whistler. Speaking of the devil, Whistler is still limping about and muttering about how they're all going to die the moment he's turned over to The Company. It's a bit of a downer, actually. But Michael doesn't have time to put him in his place. He sees Lincoln standing by the great window in the warehouse and walks over to him, wanting to apologize for his awful mood and his even worse behavior towards his brother these past few days. He'd been in a dark place, and perhaps he still is, but even still, Michael knows his brother didn't deserve to be treated as if he was the prime source of Michael's suffering.
"You know, Linc," Michael opens. "You did great."
"Thanks," Lincoln says appreciatively. "I just want LJ back, you know?"
I want Sara back, he thinks, but he doesn't say it. Instead, Michael assures his brother. "It's just a matter of time."
"Yeah," Lincoln replies unconvinced and Alex breaks up their conversation to say he's leaving them behind.
And Lincoln grows angry, angrier than Michael has seen him in a while, and cocks the gun in Alex's face. But before anything can occur, there's a sound of breaking glass and Whistler escapes.
Just like that, it becomes another game of cat and mouse.
