Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Prison Break, or any of its characters or plots. All publicly recognizable character, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners.

Kathleen O'Hare would never forget the day Lincoln Burrows came back into her life full force, even though you could say that, in a way, he had never left it although they had not been in contact for over five years. A fourth year associate attorney at McCoy, Byrne & Murphy, a long standing law firm in Chicago, that morning she had been formally summoned by the partners and she had been informed that she would be joining them as an equity partner by the end of the year. Four years of hard work and long hours were finally paying off. She was in the middle of an important murder case and welcomed the news. As she had been highly stressed during the last weeks, knowing that she was definitely on the partnership track for the following year would certainly help her prepare the upcoming hearing in a more relax mood. Little did she know that all her life was about to change.

"Hey, Kate," her assistance called by the interphone. "There're some FBI agents here who need to see you urgently. They won't tell me what they want but..."

"I'm already late for my next meeting, Cindy. Collin's gonna kill me if I don't show up right now." Her colleague Collin, a tax lawyer and a partner at the firm, had asked for her help regarding a possible new client she had dealt with before, successfully getting him acquitted from a DUI a few months back. Once Kate had earned his trust, the partners were hoping to convince him to bring his whole corporate business to the firm. Since he owned a medium-sized tech company, the regular fees alone could easily cover half of Collin's team salary. Therefore they had thoroughly prepared the meeting and Kate was well aware that her presence in it was key. "Please ask them to wait and..."

"I already told them you're busy, Kate. They insist on seeing you now..."

"I see. Any chance you can distract them while I sneak into the conference room?" Kate hopefully asked. She knew by experience that those who worked in law enforcement did not usually ask for an appointment, but she would really appreciate if they showed a little more respect about other people's work schedule.

"I don't think so, Kate..." Cindy answered, looking at the two agents in front of her.

Kate sighed. "Very well, send them in, please. And let Collin know the FBI is here and I'll be there as soon as I can..."

She had a quick look around her office. She never met with clients or counterpart lawyers in there. It was just a working place and it showed. Folders, books and binders were scattered on the round table by the corner and on her desk, a white board with information was leaning on the larger wall and boxes were stacked under the table, but at least it looked somehow tidy.

She was thinking that she should return some of the already reviewed boxes to the archive when she heard a knock on the door, Cindy opened it door and let a man and a woman in.

"Thank you, Cindy," Kate said quickly raising from her chair and walking towards the pair, a man and a woman. They were tall, both wearing dark suits, his being dark grey, with a white shirt and a dark blue tie, and hers black. Kate recognized his face at once, as she had seen him on the news regarding several important cases investigated by the FBI over the past few years. The first thing that Kate noticed was the way his piercing blue eyes scanned her office as soon as they stepped in it.

"Kathleen O'Hare. What can I do for you?" she introduced herself as she shook the man's hand and then the woman's.

They showed her their badges. "Special Agent Mahone, and this is Agent Lang, FBI. It won't take long, Ms O'Hare..." he said, shifting his attention from the office back to her.

Kate nodded. "I'd really appreciate that, I was supposed to be in a meeting five minutes ago..."

"Well, I'm sure it can wait. Ms O'Hare..." he said, quickly taking in that although it was not a corner office, given its size and the furniture in it the young lawyer in front of them had to be quite important to the firm she worked for.

Kate pretended she had not heard his last line. "What's wrong with this man? Who does he think he is barging in here?" she thought to herself, and immediately softened when she noticed the way Agent Lang was looking at him after his comment. "Well, well, she's clearly interested in him beyond the professional scope... God, I hope I never looked at Jack like that..." John Murphy III, a name partner at McCoy, Byrne & Murphy, was her boss and had also been her secret boyfriend during her first and second year as an associate. As romantic relationships between coworkers were not allowed at the firm, they had managed to keep it in the dark until she had broken up with him two years ago. There is no need to say that working for him after that had proved to be a great challenge, and it still was on a daily basis.

"Well, have a seat then," Kate replied trying to keep her good manners.

"Thank you, we're okay," Special Agent Mahone said holding up his hand. "You are friends with Veronica Donovan, aren't you?" he inquired without further ado.

His question surprised her, as she had taken for granted that they were here about one of the cases she was currently working on. "Vee? Well, yes… We haven't seen each other for ages but of course we're friends. Why, is she okay? Is this about her?" she quickly asked back, worry now evident on her face.

"According to her working schedule, you're supposed to be meeting her for lunch in ten days..." he added, first locking eyes with her and then diverting his gaze from her to have a quick look around her cozy office again, noticing the documents and notes displayed on almost every surface, the boxes under the table and the board on the far wall.

Kate nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Is she okay?" she repeated, leaning on her desk for support. She was beginning to figure out that her friend was not okay at all if the FBI was looking for information about her.

"She's been missing for a week. She's missed two court appointments. Nobody has seen her nor heard from her since right before the Fox River Eight escaped from prison..." Special Agent Mahone explained, fixing his eyes on her again trying to determine if the young woman in front of him was telling them everything she knew.

Kate frowned. "And you think it's related? She was working on the Burrows case, she's been for years, but missing court appointments… that doesn't sound like her at all..." she elaborated shaking her head.

Her spontaneous mention of the Burrows case made him think she was not going to hide any important information. Maybe she could be a good source to shed some clarity on Donovan's part in the escape, if she had any. "How close are you two? Are you familiar with the Burrows case?" he asked again, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and placing his hands on his hips.

Kate shrugged. "I live in Chicago and watch the news, we are all familiar with that case somehow, Agent." She did not mention how painful it was for her to see Lincoln's face constantly on the news, and how she would turn off the television as soon as she saw him on the screen. "And Vee was my boss at Smith & Schumman, my very first job when I came back from law school. She's also a Baylor grad, she showed me the ropes of this job... We had some acquaintances in common and we used to go for a drink after work with some colleagues. We became friends and stayed in contact after the firm merged and all the first year associates like me were fired. Apparently we were the weak part in the new equation..." Kate trailed off.

"Was she already working the Burrows case back then?" he asked again, mentally thanking Veronica Donovan's agenda for leading them to this woman, as she was providing them with information that it would have been difficult to gather otherwise.

Kate shook her head. "No, not yet. If memory serves, Linc was arrested a year after that..."

Agent Mahone narrowed his eyes when he heard the way she had just referred to Burrows. "Linc... do you know Lincoln Burrows? Let me be clear here, Ms O'Hare, could Ms Donovan be harboring him and the rest of the escapees? Any place you could think of for that?"

Kate nodded again. "I do know Lincoln. Vee and he have been dating on and off forever, as I'm sure you already know. But Vee helping him and the rest? All I know is that she's been working his case from the beginning... The rest is mere conjecture and speculation, Agent..."

Suddenly Mahone rested his gaze on the board placed on the far wall of the room. It was filled to the brim with photos and random scribbling on notes, very similar to the way he liked to display all the information at hand when he worked his cases. Noticing his attention had diverted from their conversation to the documents and notes on the board, Kate suddenly chuckled.

"Excuse me, Special Agent Mahone. That's confidential and privileged information regarding an ongoing case. I'd really appreciate if..."

"Yeah, sorry. Nice work...' he mumbled running his hand through his long fair hair and fixing his blue eyes on her. The way he kept moving his hands and darting his eyes since he had set foot in her office made her wonder if he was just the nervous type or he was under the influence of a controlled substance.

Kate was not sure if he had just complimented her and she should thank him for it when Agent Lang quickly chimed in. "So you know Lincoln Burrows and Michael Scofield?"

Kate smiled to herself, thinking that that was also the way Jack and she would work together. He always played the leading role and she was always ready for the rescue in case he needed it, like a protective shadow. She just wished Special Agent Mahone would appreciate and respect his partner's points of view more than Jack had grown to respect hers. Of course it had not always been that way. She quickly shifted her attention back to Agent Lang and replied. "I do, although I've only met Michael once, at a birthday party. And for what it's worth, I'm sure Linc is innocent and he would never hurt Vee, if that's what you're thinking..."

This time it was Mahone who chuckled, like if he had been brought back from a trance by her words. "You know he's innocent... That's a lot to say given the strong evidence against him. You're a lawyer, Ms O'Hare. What makes you think that?"

Kate shrugged. "I'm well aware all the evidence is against him. But I know him and he just hasn't it in him to kill anybody. And I'm sure you know, giving the line of work you're in, Agent, that some people do have it and some people just don't."

The way she had just phrased her thoughts surprised Mahone, as he totally agreed with her on that, and he would probably express it with those same words. He run his hand through his hair again and slightly nodded. "Okay, I think this is all..."

"Please don't hesitate to contact me for anything you may need regarding Vee," Kate pleaded pushing herself off the desk and handing them her business card. "And if you know anything please let me know," she added, fixing her green eyes on Agent Lang while her partner seemed distracted reading Kate's card.

"Don't worry, as soon as we find her we'll let you know. Thank you for your time," the female agent assured her while Special Agent Mahone just nodded and they both turned to leave the office.

"You're welcome," Kate heard herself say in automatic mode as she rounded her desk and took the documents she needed for her meeting. She knew Collin would be wondering where the hell she was and she should rush to the conference room, but she needed a minute to cope with what she had just learnt about Veronica. She wished she had been closer to Vee during this last year, but she had been overwhelmed with work and Veronica had also been very busy trying to find a way to get Lincoln exonerated. A few weeks back they had finally agreed to have lunch together but apparently that may not happen.

Kate took a deep breath and put on her best smile as she left her office and joined Collin and his prospective client in the conference room, all thoughts about Veronica and the Burrows case put aside for the time being.

It was only that night, when she was getting ready for bed, exhausted after a long day, that she realized that she had failed to mention to the FBI agents that there had been a time, more than five years ago, when she and Lincoln had been close. They had been more than friends. She had not hidden it on purpose, and she considered the advisability of contacting the FBI the following morning to let them know, but she finally decided against it. After all, they had only been together for six weeks and a lot had happened since then. She wondered if after everything he had endured, Linc was still the same man she had fallen for all those years ago. What was she going to tell the FBI? That she had once fallen in love with one of America's most famous cons? That she would never forgive herself for leaving him after only six weeks? Maybe everything would have played differently for him if she had stayed by his side... She was sure that the FBI was not interested on that kind of information. "God, I can imagine the look Special Agent Mahone would give me if I told them all this..." she thought as she turned off the lamp on the bedside table, wishing that Linc and Wee were well and safe wherever they were.

Kate did not know back then that, completely unbeknown to her, Michael Scofield had assigned her an important role on their way out of the country, the FBI would eventually find out about it and try to use it in their favor.