Landing in Panama, Alex waited in his seat on the plane for Clara. She had taken a spot four rows behind him and was currently stuck in the window seat, waiting for people to move down the aisle and leave. She thanked herself for being so organised and keeping her passport in her bag at all times. Picking the satchel up from beneath the chair in front of her, she swung it onto her shoulder before standing and moving to the aisle.

Looking down the rows of seats, she saw Mahone, his arm over the back of a seat as he stood up, one leg bent and resting on the chair as he watched her. Offering her a slim smile, he held his arm in front of him, letting her go in front of him as they left the plane. The heat hit Clara hard and she instantly wished she could remove the tights from her legs, but she didn't. She didn't want people to ask questions about the scars.

"So what's the plan?" Clara dared to ask of Alex as they moved into the terminal.

"The Company want Theodore Bagwell captured alive," Alex spoke. "I don't know why. I sent a message to Scofield on this website that the crooks use to contact each other telling him that Bagwell was in Panama. I'm hoping that lures him out of hiding."

"Why would it do that?" Clara enquired of him.

"Because Bagwell has the cash," he said. "He has the cash that Scofield discovered from D.B. Cooper…plus I think I know Scofield…he doesn't like the idea of a man like Bagwell being on the streets."

Clara nodded, looking down for a moment as they stood in the queue at passport control. "I heard about what he did," she informed him. "So you're going after him?"

"The Company have agents watching him," Alex informed her. "I'm here for the brothers and the money."

"To disappear with," Clara confirmed and Alex nodded.

"Yeah," Alex said.

They lapsed into silence then, going through the controls and then waiting for Alex's suitcase. He walked outside, wheeling the case behind him before he saw Clara begin to sweat, no doubt with thanks to those thick tights she wore on her legs. Saying nothing, he watched her with intrigue as he hailed a cab outside, wondering exactly what was running through her mind.

Holding the door to the car open, Alex instructed the driver to take them to Panama City before sliding in, shutting the door and pulling out his cell. Clara looked out the window, her eyes set on the scenery as they left the airport behind. She felt her mouth gape slightly as Alex spoke on the phone, his tone full of hope and adoration.

No doubt he was speaking to Pam. Clara tried not to eavesdrop, but he was telling her how he had one last job to do and then he was finished with the bureau. He told her how he would make things right. He told her how he would do everything possible to get her back. It was enough to make Clara want to either cry with envy or yell at him for being foolish.

Instead she did neither. She kept her eyes focused on the window as Alex made another call, no doubt to the men who were watching Bagwell. She looked on as they drove down a road in the middle of sand surrounded by blue water and Alex hung up his call before speaking to Clara.

"They have eyes on Bagwell," he informed her. "He's hiding in some swanky hotel. When we arrive in Panama City I'll check you into a hotel and you can wait there until this is all over."

"How long before they find out I'm with you?" Clara enquired from him. "You know as well as I do that they'll find out I caught a flight to Panama soon."

"I know," Alex agreed. "Hopefully by the time they find out this will all be done and we both won't have to deal with them anymore."

Clara chuckled darkly. "Isn't that the dream," she muttered and Alex studied her face before broaching the subject he wanted to discuss with her about the previous night.

"So, Tom," he said, not needing to add anything further for Clara to know what he was getting at. Nodding her head, Clara took a deep breath and turned to look at Alex, shrugging her shoulders as she did so.

"He's in trouble," she said. "I think it's some kind of money trouble. He wanted me to move out so he could take his half of the house. Of course, if he had asked me nicely I would have bought him out. I have enough money."

"I take it he didn't ask nicely?" Alex continued.

"Not entirely," she said, her voice a mutter.

"He shouldn't have hurt you like he did," Alex said. "That wasn't right of him."

Clara wanted to laugh at that, but she kept silent instead. Looking down to her lap, she let her fingers lace together as she felt her forehead continue to grow wet, the heat taking its toll on her.

"He…sometimes he could be forceful," Clara said. "I never thought anything of it really, but speaking of…well…you know…I shouldn't have slapped you yesterday. I'm sorry for doing it. I should have just yelled at you."

Moving his hand to his cheek, Alex rubbed it and offered her a slim smile. "You have got one mean slapping hand on you," he informed her, drawing a smile onto her own lips as he watched her and then shrugged his shoulders. "But I deserved it. What I said wasn't nice."

"But it was true," she responded.

"Not entirely," he answered back without missing a beat. "You do have someone who cares. You know that."

He saw her lips quirk upwards then and he couldn't help but notice the small dimples in her cheeks that appeared whenever she made the motion. How had he not noticed those before? He suspected he didn't notice because she hadn't had much to smile about recently. He remained mute, watching as Clara went back to looking out the window.

He found it odd how a woman like her had been with a man like Tom. She was too kind for someone like him. How had she not found someone who matched her? Perhaps she had an attraction for people who were wrong for her? He had heard horror stories about that. He remained mute for a few more moments before his cell began to ring.

"What? Where? Yes…follow them…five minutes."

Hanging up, Alex found Clara watching him again, that questioning gaze back on her face.

"They're on the move," he informed her, his foot tapping on the floor as they entered Panama City and Alex gave directions to the cab driver.

It took a few more minutes before the cab stopped and the pair of them climbed out of the vehicle. Clara looked around, her hand going to her forehead as she blocked out the sun and Alex asked the cab driver to take his suitcase on to a hotel, tossing him some notes to cover the cost.

"Get back in and go with him," Alex urged her.

"No," Clara challenged him. "I'll lay low somewhere, but I am not going back to that hotel. If The Company are putting you up there then they might find out I am there. I'd rather not take that risk."

Alex huffed, his arms flapping by his side, but he nodded and beckoned for her to hurry up. Clara followed Alex down the busy street, looking around for any sign of something off. It took a moment before Alex grabbed hold of her by the arm, dragging her into a doorway of some kind as he watched passers by on the sidewalk that was covered with stunning flowers and green plants.

And then he saw him. Bagwell and Scofield moved past him, but there was also Brad and someone who looked surprisingly like Sucre. Alex wondered what the hell they were all doing before he moved a hand to Clara's arm, dragging her attention away from the scenery.

"Stay here," he demanded from her. "I'm going after them."

She began to say something, but Alex didn't have time to hear what it was. Instead he was among the crowd of people, walking down the street. Clara peered out from the hiding spot she was in. She could make out Alex's head moving down the street, bobbing amongst others. It was busy on the sidewalk and she did her best to peer into the distance and see if she could spot Scofield.

She failed miserably, instead her eyes caught the sight of a burly man dressed in a white top with a blue shirt over it, his bald head covered with a surface of sweat. Frowning, Clara watched as he moved across the street and then straight towards Alex. Moving from her hiding spot, Clara pushed people out of her way as she looked around to where Alex had been before she had moved. She couldn't see anything.

Turning on the spot, Clara soon heard a loud grunt and she saw a building to the side, the gates smashed in. Moving into the building, she screamed at the sight she saw. Alex was on the floor, Lincoln Burrows above him, his fist hammering against Alex's face. Clara moved then, trying to help Alex as she hit at Lincoln's back.

Her presence threw him off guard as Alex grabbed hold of his leg, dragging him down to the floor before he could kick him. Both men fell onto their backs and Clara stood in the middle of them, her hands stretched to the side to stop them from getting back up and hitting each other.

"Stop it," she demanded. "One of you is going to get killed."

"That's the idea," Lincoln said, pushing himself to his feet as both of them began to move in circles and Clara struggled to keep her eye on both of them. Groaning in frustration, she watched as Alex wiped his nose and she was shocked he hadn't broken it after Lincoln's pummelling.

"You're not going to like how this ends in that case, Lincoln," Alex said to him and Clara shook her head, knowing exactly what Alex was talking about.

"Both of you…just stop," she said, her gaze moving to Lincoln. "I know what he has done. I know about everything-"

"-Michael said you did," Lincoln said, spitting on the ground besides him before looking to Clara and standing still while Alex did the same. "He said that you defended the bastard."

"They have his family," Clara told Lincoln.

"And he took mine," Lincoln informed her and Clara frowned as Lincoln chuckled, glancing across to Alex for a moment. "So he didn't tell you that, did he?"

"That was an accident," Alex said with a shrug. "Your father was an accident. I hadn't aimed for him…and you were shooting at me. I am just doing what I can to get my life back, don't you understand that?"

"By taking other people's?" Lincoln asked and then pointed to Clara. "What are you doing bringing her with you, anyway, Alex? You ruined your own life so you thought that you would ruin hers?"

"I make my own choices," Clara snapped, refusing to be spoken about in such a manner. "Besides, I need to talk to your brother. Does he know anything about an email?"

Lincoln nodded his head. "Yeah, we sent a copy to you because we thought that you had been a journalist."

"Well, whatever was on that email probably isn't there anymore. Some guys in suits turned up and demanded my laptop and asked me to go with them for questioning."

"So they're after you too, huh?" Lincoln asked and Alex felt his palm twitch, knowing that he needed to do something before these two became too friendly with each other.

"I don't know," Clara shrugged. "Apparently there's someone in The Company who is looking out for me…but I didn't trust them so I didn't go with them. I ran and came here with Alex."

"Why?" Lincoln wondered back. "I mean, I know what you did. Michael told me about the murderer and your sister and what happened. I don't blame you for that…I don't blame you for wanting revenge. I'd have wanted it too. But this? This is bigger than that."

Clara gulped and nodded before turning to glance over at Alex. He shot her an agitated look before she let herself go back to staring at Lincoln, the man placing his hands on his hips as he waited expectantly for an answer from her. But she didn't have an answer. She didn't know how any of this had happened really. One moment she was living a relatively normal life and the next she was on the run in Panama.

"Initially The Company wanted me dead," Clara said, trying to delay the two men from fighting, hoping that they could both see sense eventually. "They wanted me dead because of what Alex and I had done. They thought that I was a liability…that I could go to the police any moment and tell them what we had done. If I did that then Alex wouldn't be able to do his job."

"What? Killing everyone in his path?" Lincoln asked, voice low and harsh as Alex pointed a finger in his direction, his head bowed in defeat.

"You have no idea," he said in a whisper as Clara continued to speak.

"But then they decided not to try to kill me. They could buy my silence by threatening my ex fiancé and it worked…it worked and that was how they bought Alex's silence. They threatened his wife and son to do what they said or else they would be hurt," Clara continued, but nothing she said was making any difference to Lincoln. "Anyway, it all got out of hand when I went to New Mexico."

"Michael said you bumped into him there," Lincoln confirmed.

"The Company found out I had been to New Mexico and they…they thought that I might have known something I shouldn't," she informed him. "They took it upon themselves to find out what that was."

Lincoln observed her for a minute before he saw her look down to the ground. He moved his gaze over to Alex, the agent shifting from one foot to the other, clearly looking uncomfortable with what she had just said. Whatever The Company had done to her had not been pleasant.

"Look," Lincoln said with his hands held in defence, "Michael said you seemed like a pleasant enough person. He…we both don't know how you ended up in this mess with him…and how you can defend him after everything he has done is just wrong."

"I don't need her to defend me," Alex said, moving forwards again as Clara saw the rage inside of his gaze. "I just need this to be over."

Clara tried to grab hold of Alex's arm as he stormed past her, moving towards Lincoln again. The agent tried to grab hold of him as Clara stood back, the grunts coming from both of them as they punched at each other enough to make her cover her mouth in horror. It took a few moments before Alex moved, his arm wrapping around Lincoln's throat as the man fell to his knees.

"Alex!" Clara roared at him. "You'll suffocate him!"

But Alex didn't seem to be paying her any attention. He kept on strangling Lincoln until Clara moved, her hands going to Alex's arm and trying to tug it free. Looking up at her, Alex barked his order, his voice harsh and demanding.

"Get away, Clara!"

"No," Clara challenged him, her voice also stubborn. "I won't let you do this…I can't…"

But Lincoln was already moving, his hand retracting back and his fingers moving to Alex's shoulder, pressing down on where he knew the gunshot wound would be. Alex screamed in pain, releasing Lincoln from his hold and giving the man a chance to scramble free, both of them tumbling to the floor.

Lincoln crawled the furthest, grabbing a gun that Alex must have dropped when he was forced into the room. He held it in his fingers tightly while Alex forced himself to his feet and bent slightly at the waist, panting for breath.

"Takes a while for a gunshot wound to heal, doesn't it, Mahone?" Lincoln taunted him as Clara stayed to the side.

"Toss me the handcuffs," Lincoln continued to demand as Alex continued to grab his breath. "Hand them over."

Clara didn't know exactly what happened next, but Alex was charging at Lincoln, moving to push him to the ground, both men grunting. It was then when the gun slipped out of Lincoln's hands and Clara moved then, bending down to pick it up and holding it in her fingertips, dangling it by her side. She didn't know exactly what happened as Lincoln ended up on his back and Alex grabbed his arms behind his back, cuffing him as he stood up.

"Get up," Alex demanded from Lincoln and the man ground his teeth together before Alex marched over to Clara, grabbing the gun from her and pointing it at Lincoln.

"Alex," Clara pleaded with him.

"Don't," he shot her a warning glare from over his shoulder. "Now move, Burrows. We're going for a little walk."

Lincoln could practically feel the rage boiling inside of him as Clara felt Alex grip her harshly by the arm and drag her along by his side. She knew that this was what Alex had been waiting for.

…

The port just outside of Panama City was quiet and Alex had found the perfect location to cuff Lincoln. He was cuffed to a pipe while Alex held the gun in between his legs. Clara had found herself stood to the side, looking out of the window as she chewed down on her lip, trying to find out what she should do.

"You should go," Lincoln was the one to speak, leaning against the pipe as he turned his head to look to Clara. "You shouldn't be here."

"She's going nowhere," Alex declared, speaking for Clara. "Now pull out your phone and call Michael."

"Why?"

"Just do it," Alex said, waving the gun threateningly as Clara shook her head and Lincoln ground his teeth together.

He pulled his cell out from his jean pocket, opening it and calling Michael. Clara could hear the rings from the other end, but no one was picking up. Moving in and out of all the wooden boxes, she let her hands skim over the top of them as she let her thoughts consume her for a little while.

"He's not answering," Lincoln said.

"Well I hope he made it back to your boat," Alex retorted, still seated.

"And if he doesn't?" Lincoln wondered. "Look at you…you're barely holding it together."

"I just want this finished."

"Then you shouldn't have come to Panama," Lincoln declared. "Besides, Michael will never give you what you want. You know that."

"I know," Alex responded to him. "But that's good…because you guys keep me going with a job."

"This isn't going to end well for you," Lincoln said, peering off to the side. "I've never been good at anything, except for a few things. One is being able to look at a man and know when he has been defeated."

Lincoln looked back to Alex then as Clara peered at him through the corner of her eye, knowing full well that Lincoln was telling the truth. Alex could only look away before Clara went back to sit next to Alex, leaning closer to him and whispering into his ear.

"Promise me you won't kill him," she demanded from him and Alex turned to look at her, brow arched.

"You've never had a problem with me killing the previous ones," he informed her and she shook her head at hearing him.

"You told me that Abruzzi didn't come quietly and that one of them committed suicide…I know there was that kid-"

"-You don't know half of it," Alex interrupted her. "You really don't know, Clara."

"No, I don't," Clara hissed at him, "and I have been trying to understand, truly I have, Alex. And I do understand…I understood why you killed them…for Pam and Cameron…to keep them safe. I know that. But if you intend to disappear with their money and boat then you don't need them dead."

Clara watched as Alex stood up then, hands going through his hair as he spoke to her and she remained seated before shouting at him, her voice on the verge of hysteria as Alex went to stand by the window.

"Do you not get it?" Clara demanded from him as Lincoln watched on. "All of this has been so wrong, Alex…all of it…and they get away with it…but you…if you kill him…"

"What?" Alex demanded from her, waving the gun in Lincoln's direction. "What, Clara? Do you think I don't know how far this has gone? I know, okay? I get it, but I can't do anything about it, can I? I promised to help you get away, Clara, and that is what I am doing."

"No," Clara said with a shake of her head. "No…I don't want this…it's gone too far."

Alex watched as she began to move towards the door of the warehouse, but he was quicker. Grabbing her by the elbow, he stopped her from going anywhere as she turned around and fought against him, her hands pushing at his chest while he grappled with her, trying not to drop the gun as he finally twisted her arm behind her back.

Moving her over to a crate, he pushed her down, bending her at the waist as he kept her pinned there. Tears fell down her face as she continued to fight Alex.

"Let her go, man!" Lincoln yelled.

"If I let her go then she'll go to the police," Alex retorted. "I can't let you do that, Clara," he spoke to her as he found the spare set of handcuffs he kept in his pocket, attaching one to her wrist before dragging her to the same pipe Lincoln was cuffed at.

He attached her to it, watching as she sunk down to the floor, letting her legs bend underneath her as Alex backed away again.

"Alex," Clara said, trying not to sob openly as she looked to him. "Please…"

"I can't let you go," Alex said to her, looking her in the eye. "I thought you understood, Clara."

"I do!" she snapped back at him. "I do understand, Alex, but that doesn't make this right…I'm…are you not tired of doing this? Of doing the wrong thing all of the time?"

"I have a family to protect," Alex said. "Do you think I want to be here? I don't, Clara. I want to go…get away from here…and I will do."

"And when you hand them over to The Company?" Clara wondered of him. "What about me? You know that they think I have something…you'd leave me here?"

"No," Alex said without skipping a beat.

"Then don't leave them," Clara urged of him.

"I don't care about them," Alex responded. "I don't care what happens to them. All I care about is getting my family away from this…and getting you somewhere safe."

Clara went silent then, bowing her head as Alex pointed the gun at Lincoln once again.

"Try him again," he demanded from him.

Lincoln continued to glare, but he picked up his phone and dialled the number for Michael once more. But this time Michael did answer.

"I'm sorry, Michael," Lincoln spoke down the phone before handing the phone over to Alex.

"Hello, Michael," he answered and Michael said something down the other end of the phone as Clara looked over to Alex. "You don't have to worry about that. Because when you get to the bottom of things, Michael, your brother is like you. He doesn't have it in him to kill a man."

There was silence for another few moments before Alex spoke.

"This is what I want," Alex said. "You see, I heard that Bagwell was caught earlier today, but that money he had was nowhere to be found. So I am going to assume you have it? I also assume you're on the Christina Rose right now. It's a great plan, Michael…but you see…I kind of need your plan. I need your plan to disappear. So you're going to bring me the money and the boat."

Silence once more as Alex spoke.

"So you have five minutes and then you can have your brother."

Alex hung up, waiting with patience for the five minutes to be over before he called Michael back, demanding to know if he was going to go through with the plan. Clara said nothing further until Alex hung up after giving away his location.

"How does it feel being on the run?" Lincoln wondered of him.

"I feel more free than I have done in years," Alex responded back.

"Not if they catch you."

"I doubt that will happen," Alex responded.

"If they catch you then you'll be facing the chair."

"How ironic," Alex said, pulling his phone out again before dialling another number. "Mr Kim. It's Alex Mahone. Call me back."

Hanging up, Alex chuckled. "And he shall have his justice."

Clara frowned then. "What do you intend to do?"

Looking to her, Alex moved over to her while Lincoln watched him kneel before her, taking her hand into both of his and holding it tightly. She said nothing for a moment as his other hand went to her cheek, wiping away a speck of dirt that sat there.

"I'm not letting Kim leave here alive," he whispered to her. "After everything he had ordered done to you…Cameron…I promised you that I wouldn't let him get away with it."

"He's the man who ordered…who…"

Alex nodded as she struggled to speak and he tucked her hair behind her ear. "He's the one you have to thank for those scars on your back."

"Then I'm not leaving until I find out why he didn't want me dead."

"He told me that order came from someone higher up."

"And he will know who, so I want to know," Clara told Alex. "So if you intend to kill him, then what? What happens to Lincoln and Michael?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't care, Clara. They go their own way and we go our own way."

"But what if this doesn't work?" Clara demanded from him.

"It will," Alex said, his voice full of determination as he squeezed her hand once more. "It will work."

…

A/N: Do let me know what you think! I'm pretty sure no one is really reading, but I'm having fun writing so will keep going, it would just be great to know if anyone is reading! Next chapter soon!