The press had been waiting on Mahone for over 30 minutes. The rumors were spread about a mass breakout at Fox River, and every news station within a 2 hour radius had shown up to this conference. They all knew that if they brought in Mahone, it must be something serious. In the background, Warden Pope and Agent Collins were waiting for Mahone. They both wanted this nightmare to be over as soon as possible.
Finally, the door opened and the cameras started flashing. Mahone slowly made his way up to the podium, and the journalists already started pounding him with questions. Was there really a mass breakout? How many? Are they dangerous? Who are they? Agent Collins scoffed at all of these vultures. Of course these men were dangerous, and they had taken his daughter with them. He just hoped that her secret hadn't been blown. Mahone cleared his throat to speak.
"It took 12 days to find John Wilkes Booth. His mental mind went from paranoia to psychosis. The mental mind of the criminal today has not changed. The fear is still there. One big change today is the power of television. Please take a look at these eight faces. They are the eight most wanted men in America."
For all of the viewers watching the press conference from home a picture of the eight convicts now flashed across the screen. Some of the inmates were easily recognizable like Bagwell, Abruzzi, and Burrows. Others weren't so easy because they were younger are not as dangerous. The television flashed back to Mahone.
"Make note of another face if you would. We have now determined that she is a known hostage, and was working undercover for the FBI. Agent Laney Collins."
The television flashed to a picture of a young and beautiful girl. Her dark hair fell around her shoulders, and her blue eyes contrasted with her light skin. Her smile radiated off the television and anyone watching this would feel deep sympathy for her safety. That was the idea anyway. Agent Collins was fuming in the back of the room. Was Mahone out of his mind? He couldn't wait until he got this man alone and give him a piece of his mind.
He had to wait almost another 30 minutes, but he was finally able to get Mahone alone. Warden Pope must have sensed the tension because he followed the two agents in.
"What do you think you are doing involving Laney?" spat Collins.
Mahone just looked blankly at him for a moment.
"She got involved when she first set foot in Fox River. She may very well be a hostage."
Collins angrily shook his head.
"Or she was still undercover, and your little announcement just put her in danger."
Mahone almost smirked.
"And the third option is that she is working with them."
Collins had had enough of this crap and roughly grabbed Mahone by his shirt collar. He slammed him up against the wall and got in close to his face. Pope decided it was time to intervene and break these two up. They were never going to catch the inmates if they couldn't get along with each other.
"Son. Of. A. Bitch." Growled Collins.
"You may not like it, but I am guessing that your daughter is going to be the key."
Mahone didn't even try to fight him off. He was just standing there looking blankly like he had something else on his mind. Collins on the other hand looked like he could rip somebody's head off.
"Alright Collins, he didn't mean it like that. I'm sure whatever Laney is doing out there will get sorted out, but fighting each other is not helping."
Collins considered this for a moment and released Mahone. He knew that Pope was right. He vowed that he would bring these scum to justice and get his daughter back, or he would die trying.