Chapter 57:

Before I got caught off guard again, I slipped the gun out of my bag and tucked it in behind me so it was more readily available. The thought occurred to me while I was walking that I could have used my gun earlier and stopped Mahone. It would have even been easy for me to do that, but the Company was still expecting us to do our work and I wanted these few moments of freedom without anyone on my back.

Based on the address given to us by the Company, the building came into view that Tbag was supposed to be holed up in. Too bad it looked like some abandoned warehouse, which made me skeptical that anyone was inside. I also had no sense of time and no way to gauge if I was first to arrive here, if Tbag was already here, or the whole group was inside.

I slipped off the main road and noticed a giant hole in the back where a window was supposed to be, now only a couple of wooden planks remained blocking the entrance. Using my stronger arm and one of my legs, I broke the beam and hoisted myself inside the building. It was eerily silent except for a few old noises coming from the building itself. I retrieved the gun from my back pocket and used my prior training to scope out the building for who might be inside.

The building smelled awful, old and musty. The paint and plaster chipped on different portions of the wall. Just breathing in here was liable to give anyone health risks, so I didn't want to prolong my stay. Rounding the corner of the main floor still without a trace of anyone, I spotted stairs that I wasn't confident would support my weight. The noise of climbing the stairs could also alert someone to my presence, but I felt as though I didn't have any other choice.

Slowly, I pushed up the stairs, leading with my toes, trying to keep the noise to a minimum, and rounded another corner to face a long hallway with one more turn to the right at the end. This place was deceivingly complicated on the inside, like some sort of maze and I had no idea where in the hell I was going. As I neared the end of the hallway getting ready to turn, I heard a door close.

I froze in mid-step.

With a slow exhale, I tried to focus all my energy on listening if any footsteps were heading in my direction, but they sounded as though they were getting fainter and then closer, back and forth like the person was pacing.

I clenched my hand holding the gun tighter to stop it from shaking and pushed myself as close to the wall as humanly possible. Then I inched forward so slowly it actually hurt my body to restrict the muscle movements. Once I reached the corner of the wall, I waited until those footsteps sounded like they were moving away before tilting my head around the corner to get some sort of visual.

His back was to me, but there was no denying that gawky stance or the fake hand that rested on top of a ridiculous looking hat.

Tbag.

He kissed me on that pavement and I knocked him out with the handle of that axe.

The memory replayed in my mind of our previous interaction. I guess it was wishful thinking to assume I would never have to see him again. Questions burned through me about how he went from Alabama to get caught up in all of this, but something told me he may not be in a conversational mood.

I surmised that he was indeed here alone, although maybe that was the source of his stress as he kept both hands on top of his head. It was clear that he was expecting someone.

He whipped his head back in my direction so quickly, I nearly fell backwards trying to pull myself away in time. I could only hope that he hadn't seen me.

"Come on out. I know you're there, whoever you are." Tbag shouted.

I blew my hair out of my face. So much for the element of surprise.

Keeping the gun extended out in front of me, I emerged from around the corner. My eyes locked with Tbag and whoever he thought he might see, I was certainly not one of them. His eyes flickered and I could tell that he was replaying the exact same images in his head like I was only moments before.

The vulnerability only lasted a few seconds before Tbag masked his features again. He crossed his ankles and set himself into a deep bow with his arms spread wide.

"Well call me a monkey's uncle, if it isn't agent Collins herself."

All the air had left the room. Despite his demeanor, he was not in a joking mood.

But he was in a dangerous one.

Even though I felt the urge to roll my eyes at his gesture, I kept my face neutral and gun locked on him.

"Imagine my surprise to awake in Alabama with no money or car and you gone."

"Why should that surprise you? Because you seemed to have forgotten, you forced me to travel South with you in the first place."

"Witnesses to a day out in a yellow dress may cause some doubt about what exactly constitutes as being forced."

We could keep going around in circles like this forever if I let it. I shifted my weight as to close some of the distance between us, but a noise sounded from a room to the left and Tbag quickly disappeared inside. Still keeping the gun aimed high, I followed closely behind.

I couldn't be sure if Tbag had something that could be used as a weapon. But when I rounded the corner the only thing he was doing was staring out of the window. His demeanor was difficult to read, acting flustered as opposed to his usual calculating self.

"How did you get down here?" I spoke moving further into the room.

"Airplane." He responded stretching his arms out to the side.

His attention was still focused away from me, so he didn't notice the squinting of my eyes. Partially due to his stupid joke, but the other because of some sort of foul, tangy smell coming from this room. I couldn't figure out how it didn't bother Tbag.

"You know what I mean, with them. How did you get mixed up with the Compnay?"

That statement effectively turned his attention back towards me. We engaged in a brief staring contest, but it was short lived because the intensity of his stare made the heat crawl up the back of my neck and I resulted to glancing out the window.

"Perhaps the better question, Laneykins, is how you seemed to know my exact location? How were you privy to such information?"

Here was the moment I was going to have to be very careful as to how much information I revealed. If I let too much slip about who I was affiliating with, it would most certainly spell trouble that I did not need.

"I'd just assumed that you were a part of our fine federal government, but maybe it is this Company who pulls your strings." Tbag challenged.

"If that was true, I would have killed you ages ago." I responded maybe a little too quickly.

Tbag actually smirked at my response causing me to grin in return. It actually sort of bugged me how quickly we could fall back into a comfort zone with one another. In truth we were both probably just trying to get the other to drop their guard just enough…. for an advantage.

"I can help you, T. Just tell me what they told you."

He seriously seemed to consider this for a moment. A way out of whatever he had been roped into. Maybe I was still too difficult to trust with my gun pointed right at his face. Maybe if I drop it just slightly, he might open up just a bit….

"WE KNOW YOU'RE IN HERE BAGWELL!"

I immediately turned my head towards the booming voice of Brad Bellick from down the hall in complete confusion. I thought this whole ploy was to get Michael, why the hell was Brad Bellick here? Unfortunately, I spent too long pondering, and the next thing I knew, Tbag had pounced on me and yanked me hard against his chest. With my now confiscated gun in his good hand, he placed his other arm over my throat applying just enough pressure to cause some sort of disorientation.

"You left me alone on that pavement with no more value than Alabama roadkill." His hot breath hissed in my ear. "And you think you can bat those pretty eyes at me and I'll bow to your every whim?"

He squeezed a little harder and I opened my mouth in an attempt to gasp for breath. I felt the end of the gun pressed tightly against my side, which made me apprehensive to make any sort of sudden movement.

"That act may work for your Tweener boyfriend, but not me."

Keeping a hold of the gun, he released me and pushed me away from him. I barely had time to register my balance before Michael Scofield, Sucre, and Brad Bellick burst through the door. They all took in the scene of the two us in this room. I stood straight keeping my eyes trained on them while Tbag held my gun in the air in a surrendered position. What was the point of confiscating my gun in the first place if he was just going to give up?

"I don't want any trouble, now." Tbag spoke first.

He had completely flipped his tone from only seconds before, back and forth from threatening to passive. He was pretending to act as though he was caught off guard and was backed into a corner, but I sensed that he was exactly in control.

"Slide the gun over, now hillbilly!" Bellick demanded with Michael and Sucre standing behind him.

I wondered why they acted like they were taking orders from Bellick, but I just kept my eyes trained on Michael, last seeing him in that hotel room. Without argument, Tbag slid the gun across the floor right into Bellick's hands.

"Are you alright, Laney?" Michael asked.

I nodded my head, playing into the ruse that Tbag was the one who tracked me down in Chicago. The only problem was that the one person who could blow that cover story sky high was standing a few feet away from me. I felt at his mercy that he wouldn't catch on and reveal how he really got down here.

"Where's the money?" Came Bellick's next demand.

Also a problematic question because Tbag only had a small portion and Mahone and I had the rest. We had decided to split the rest of the money between our two bags in case anything went wrong, the entire amount wouldn't be in one spot. Mahone planted the story that Tbag had somehow gotten the money back. However, Tbag knew who had the money and once again, I couldn't force myself to look him in the eye to see if he was going to cover for me.

To my brief relief, Tbag remained silent, although that added to the frustrations of the others. The anxiety only heightened when the sounds of sirens in the distance filtered throughout the room.

"Someone called the police." Sucre sounded panicked.

Tbag shook his head like he didn't make the call and I wondered if this was a role that Mahone or the others from the Company played. Things seemed like they were unraveling and the situation was getting more difficult to control. The only person who didn't seem surprised or on edge was Michael, just taking in the situation trying to figure out everyone's angle. He was definitely suspicious of all of these occurrences suddenly coming together.

"Last time I ask nicely Bagwell, where is the money?" Bellick bellowed once more.

The sirens were getting louder but Tbag still didn't speak. He did however gesture with his eyes over to the direction of a closed door. Everyone's eyes followed suit now thinking that the money was being kept behind the door.

Perhaps with the exception of Michael and myself.

The air in here had shifted and something in my gut didn't feel right. I also thought that I could have been feeling light-headed because of that horrible smell.

"Go get it!" Bellick gestured towards the door with the gun.

Tbag stood his ground, "if you want it, you get it."

Bellick must have sensed that Tbag wasn't going to give in and time was of the essence.

"Sucre, move your ass!"

I held my breath as Sucre moved towards the door. What if he opened it and there was no money? Would Michael ask me where the money was next? How would I get myself out of this mess?

The sirens were so close they were practically drowning out all of the other noise and everything felt dead silent as Sucre pulled back the door. A gagging sound caught in my throat as the source of that terrible smell was revealed.

A dead body.

My brain was trying to process what I was looking at and Tbag took the moment of everyone's utter confusion to make a run for it towards a door in the back of the room. Bellick fired off a shot trying to stop him, which snapped me out of the state of shock I was in. Tbag slammed the door shut behind him and when Bellick tried to go after, he found the door to be locked.

In a split second, everyone seemed to make eye contact with one another as the realization finally set in as the sirens closed in.

"It's a trap."

This was all the elaborate set up of the Company.

Using Tbag to lure all of us down here to set us up for this murder. I was still left wondering why they bothered bring Mahone down here if this was always the plan, and why they would want to hand us over to the Panamanian authorities instead of just killing us?

Too bad there was no time to figure all of this out. My original gun was lying on the floor so I quickly gathered it up and sprinted out back towards the hallway, not bothering to check if anyone was following me. There was no way in hell I was going to just sit around and wait for the Company to take us all out. I sharply rounded the corner and bolted down the stairs. If I got outside and Tbag was long gone then I would track down Mahone and give him a piece of my mind. Then maybe shoot him anyway for good measure.

Surprisingly, as I reached the street, I heard Bellick's screams but also saw Tbag right as a car nearly ran him over. My mouth remained open as I slowly approached to see how much damage the impact inflicted. He wasn't dead, but strained to pull himself back to his feet. I closed the distance between us and offered my hand to help. Footsteps sounded behind me and I guessed that Michael and Sucre must have followed my way out. I shifted my weight as Tbag used my hand to finally stand up. Michael closed the distance between us.

"Move." He stated nearly shoving his own gun down Tbag's throat.

As a reaction, I slipped my hand out of Tbag's and backed up.

"Come on guys. I think we can work something out." Tbag said swaying still trying to get his bearings.

Michael said nothing but pushed the gun closer and Tbag held up his hands to his chest in defeat. We needed to move far away from the direction of the police. Sucre was the only one who seemed hesitant to move with his eyes trained on the building we just exited. I followed his gaze to see Bellick being man-handled by the police. His face looked so sad and desperate, but at this point there was nothing we could do. I grazed Sucre's shoulder in support, not even sure of why he looked worried, but it seemed to snap him out of it and we continued on.

I kept my face neutral, but I could feel my anxiety slowly start building as we moved further away from Mahone and Lincoln's position. We were off the course of the Company's plan now and I was going to have to improvise. If I could spend months undercover in a high security prison with no one catching wind, then I could surely pull this off.

Right?

Michael kept us moving and instructed Sucre to find us a car. I fell in step behind Michael and Tbag as Sucre sprinted ahead in order to find a working car to steal. Michael and Tbag were talking but I could hardly understand what they were saying, my own racing thoughts drowning out the sounds.

"That set up back there looked a little too professional for your taste." Michael scoffed.

"What's it worth for you to find out? Cuz' it just so happens that I am in possession of some very interesting information. Ain't that right Laneykins?"

I could have knocked him over the head with the end of my gun for bringing my name up and making Michael suspicious of me. Tbag wasn't exactly wrong, but he didn't need to announce it to the whole world, and I felt like he knew things that even I wasn't made aware of by Mahone.

Michael stole a glance in my direction and I just shrugged my shoulders at him. It was the only thing I could do without full blown going after Tbag, which would make me look guiltier. I tried to add a little humor to the situation by throwing in a little eye roll.

The sound of tires screeching turned everyone's attention as Sucre found a beat up car to steal. That realization must have hit Tbag because he turned back towards Michael in a panicked state.

"Don't be foolish now pretty. Is your pound of flesh against me really worth the trouble of knowing exactly what this is all about?"

Michael only smirked and used his gun to push Tbag closer to the car. He shook his head and whispered to himself while moving towards the back seat. I followed suit but Michael held out to his hand to stop me and gestured me toward the front seat. He wanted Sucre to keep an eye on Tbag in the back and Michael quickly moved into the driver's seat. My hand hesitated right over to the door handle. It was tempting to just go back to find Mahone and come up with some sort of plan, but if we separated there was no guarantee that we would be able to find Michael again.

What was wrong with me? Where was all of this anxiety and apprehension coming from? The first time I was undercover in Fox River, I could play the part and act cool under pressure. Since then, something in me had changed and it was as though I had lost all of my confidence in my abilities..

The problem was I had no idea how to get it back.

Perhaps the reason why I decided to go with Mahone and work with him was to find a bit of that old Laney back.

Goosebumps pricked my skin, even in this heat, as I gripped the door handle and lowered myself into the car. I barely had the door shut before Michael sped away. Sucre had a gun held against Tbag, but he kept muttering pound foolish to either himself or the group. The faster Michael drove the car, the more my stomach started to turn in on itself. My chest felt like it was tightening and closing up with every breath I took. The only way to cope was to try to ignore everything going on around me and stare out of the window until I regained control of my breathing.

Unfortunately, ignore was not a word in Tbag's vocabulary.

"What it is, pretty, that has you on this manhunt for me? It's getting a little predictable now to come traipsing across the country for little ole' me. Or are you just in it for the money?"

"You deserve everything you're gonna get." Michael said without missing a beat. "If there was a shred of justice in this world, I would let Laney haul you back to Fox River herself for what you put her through."

It instantly grew ten degrees hotter in the car and I trained my eyes on anything out of the window to stay distracted from what was happening inside the car. If it was completely silent, the only noise that would be heard would be my fingers strumming the seat.

"Ahhh, yes. Laney and I had quite the cross-country journey. So many highlights of hotel rooms and betrayal. Which gallant tale would you like to hear? My personal favorite involves a yellow dress and a lip lock."

Maybe I was actually having a heart attack and that would explain the extreme tightening and pain in my chest. I could feel Michael's gaze sliding back and forth from the road to me trying to get a sense of what was going on. I didn't have the courage to meet his glance. My breaths were also now coming out in short bursts

"Laneykins proved herself to be quite the actress at the climax of our story, making a get away with the money. And that's the end, the next thing I knew she had somehow tracked me down here in Panama, but only she can answer how she knew exactly where to be or the true whereabouts of the money."

Doubt.

That's what Tbag was out to accomplish, putting doubt in the other's head about me. It was the only way he could try to gain the upper hand, with everyone being so consumed in their own thoughts that they wouldn't see him strike before it was too late.

I wanted speak out and defend myself, but no words formed. Memory after memory crashed through me knocking me breathless….

Nearly strangled and thrown in the back of the car….

Tbag tortured at the hands of Bellick and Geary, and how he got revenge….

The killing of those innocent bystanders trying to help me….

A night out that I hated to admit that I enjoyed and a near make out session….

Tormenting a mother and her children….

Knocking Tbag unconscious and running away trying to convince myself that I needed to get away…..

Reuniting with my dad and listening to him die….

It was all too much. Everything was hitting me at once, the toll of it all and I couldn't suppress it anymore.

But why now when I so desperately needed to keep it together?

Something was wrong with me, I felt like I was suffocating, my chest was so tight. The only way I could breathe was taking in huge gulps of air. Michael and Sucre were calling out my name asking what was wrong, but the sounds were all muffled. The voices sounded panicked, chaotic and that chaos was precisely the moment Tbag was waiting for.

Sucre screamed from the back seat and I shifted my eyes over long enough to see Tbag shoving a screwdriver into Michael's seat, missing his throat by mere inches. The car swerved in different directions as the struggled continued and I was too paralyzed to intervene still trying to gain control of my breath.

Michael jerked the car trying to avoid Tbag and the car flipped off of the road.

Then everything was black.