THE FINAL CHANCE
Chapter 2
This was it.
Showtime.
Michael Schofield bounded up the rusted stairs on the Panamanian warehouse's exterior with more energy than he actually felt right then. He didn't feel energetic or strong at all; all he felt was a soul-draining weariness. Though, admittedly, that fatigue wasn't overpowering enough to diminish the longing inside him, the one that burned like a wildfire through every inch of him.
The fact that he could still feel anything at all anymore was a miracle. He knew he couldn't take credit for that, either. After everything that had happened, after all the hell he'd been through, the reason he hadn't lost his soul was due to two people. One was his brother.
The other was someone who was part woman, part angel, everything he could ever ask for in this life.
But he had to be alert. He had one more thing to do, or so he hoped this would be it.
He entered the room, the door closing with a dull thud behind him. It took about a second, no more, before the familiar face came into view, and Michael's stare drew instantly to the weapon steadfastly trained on him.
This one again, he thought with more than irritation.
Mahone smirked at him. Behind him stood Linc, handcuffed to a long, thin pipe, staring back helplessly at his younger brother.
"Promise me you'll change the name of the boat," Michael quipped as he raised his hands and approached the rogue FBI agent slowly. "I'm sure my mother wouldn't have approved of you."
"Aw, c'mon, little buddy. You know we would've just found a way to see each other on the sly," the older man joked with a deep wink. "Now where is that lovely lady, the Christina Rose?"
"Right outside."
"Good man!" Mahone's cell went off. In a genteel tone he told Michael, "I gotta take this, okay? Eh, how rude, huh?" Into the phone he said, "Hello, Mr. Kim…I'm in the warehouse." He didn't say it, but the unspoken last words might have been, you idiot.
Michael waited until he flicked shut the phone. "Come on, Alex. You got the money and the boat. Is this the part where you go back on your word?"
A part of him froze as he watched Mahone pull a key ring from his pants pocket. He tossed it roughly at him, missing Michael's face only because he ducked.
"There's the key. Free your brother. Now where'd you say the money is?"
Confused, Michael exchanged a glance with Linc, who was frowning at the back of Mahone's head.
"You're—you're letting us—" Michael began.
"I'm letting you go, yeah. And the money?" Mahone gave a little whistle. "Come on, kid. We don't have all day. Where's the damn money?"
The door opened again. In stepped Mr. Kim, dressed in a suit, as usual. To Michael's satisfaction, he didn't appear as cocky as he had in the past, his dark eyes darting from the brothers to his associate, like an animal being stalked on all sides by predators. Like a cowardly weasel, to be precise.
"You said we'd have them where we want them, Alex," he said. "This is not where we want them. Seems to me this is a problem. Something that—" Mahone shifted the gun from Michael to his new target—Kim himself. "—like that."
"You know what, Mr. Kim? I owe you an apology. I brought you all the way down here for nothing." Mahone tilted his head to the side, giving a contrite shrug of one shoulder. "I know, I know. It sucks."
In the meantime, Michael hastily worked the key in the cuff's lock, though he could see that Linc, who'd loosened the pipe, would have freed himself in a matter of moments anyway. Instinctively he could tell that this situation was about to blow like a gas station set on fire. He lifted his head, trying to figure out a way to escape. There were two obstacles to his freedom and Linc's, and those were the two men who'd dogged their every step since they'd left Fox River.
The two men who were now in opposition to each other.
"I was going to kill you and frame these two men," Alex went on. "Clever, huh? That way, everybody would've left me alone. I could've taken the boat and the money and Burrows and his brother, well—they'd rot away in some hellhole Panamanian prison for your murder. I could've had my life back with my wife and kid."
At that, he cocked the gun. Michael had to grin at the slight jump Bill Kim gave at that sound.
"But you've changed your mind," Kim said, trying to appear cool while the color drained from his face.
"Yes. Yes, I did. My wife isn't coming now. I've lost my family. I've lost my career. I lost everything." Mahone's lower lip quivered, but then he seemed to force himself to straighten, though his voice shook with raw emotion. "So for me to ruin these two men's lives…that'd be pointless now. I'm tired of all this and I can't keep going this way. I just—I can't. And I'm not gonna let this man and his brother take the rap for murdering a worthless little bastard like you."
Then he smiled. A sad smile, his blue eyes devoid of their shine and life. "So I guess I'll have to take the credit for this one. And you know what, Mr. Kim? This time when I kill, I'm not gonna have any nightmares over it."
It sent a chill through Michael, that change in the former fed's demeanor when he squeezed the trigger. The humanity disappeared, but yet it was there, somewhere, under all the filth of the lies and deception that had brought that man to that unspeakable place.
There were two shots—loud, blaring, heart-stopping. One of the bullets darkened Kim's white shirt with a ghastly blotch of crimson, the other that left a bullet hole in his forehead. And then he slumped to the floor, the last ray of life slipping immediately from his eyes.
Mahone's breathing suddenly turned heavy. He whirled around on his heel to face Michael and demanded, "You got your brother. Now I'm only asking you one more time, and I'm warning you, I've got lots of bullets left. Where's the freakin' money?"
"It's not here, Alex."
"It's not here? Where the hell is it?" Alex bellowed through gritted teeth. "Don't tell me this is the part where you go back on your word, kid. I don't want to hear this. I'm giving you and your brother your freedom. I need the money more than you do, dammit. If I have the money, I can try and get Pam—"
The door at the top of the stairs exploded open. Michael threw his head back to see two men burst in, weapons drawn, and a shower of bullets piercing the air. He only had time to see Mahone shoot back, killing one of the men instantly, before he grabbed hold of Linc and ran together with him behind a pile of crates for cover.
Narrowly, he was able to escape the warehouse with Linc, still hearing the guns firing behind them. With the adrenaline flaming through him, Michael found himself moving with almost supernatural speed, because it couldn't end here. Both he and Linc had come so far, and now Bill Kim was dead, and too much had been lost already.
He stopped to see Alex Mahone fleeing the warehouse behind them. Apparently, he didn't see them, so intent on reaching the Christina Rose. Michael was dumbfounded by his reaction to seeing him, alive and unharmed if perhaps shaken by the battle, as if the knowledge that his nemesis hadn't died in that shootout in the warehouse brought him unexpected relief.
So for me to ruin these two men's lives…that'd be pointless now. I'm tired of all this and I can't keep going this way.
"Hold on, Linc," he said, stopping his brother from running with a hand on his shoulder. "No—go on. I'll catch up with you."
"Where are you—Michael!" his brother shouted.
"Just run, Linc. I'm coming. I have to stop him."
Before Linc could argue with him, Michael turned and headed swiftly in the direction of the Christina Rose, bobbing gently there in the marina. Even before he caught sight of him, he knew he would see Alex there—hunched over, frantically fighting with the rope that bound the vessel to its slip at the dock. He could hear him muttering to himself, saying, "C'mon, c'mon" under his breath, unaware of exactly where that sail into the sea would lead him.
"Alex, stop!" Michael called to him.
He could hear Mahone mumble a cuss word at him, bending over again to yank at the rope.
"You got the money, but I got the boat!" he spat at the younger man. "You're not getting the boat, too, Schofield, that's mine! Now go to hell!"
"You don't wanna get on that boat, Alex."
"Yeah, whatever. You're as much to blame for this as Kim was, okay?" Alex sputtered back stubbornly. "Now get outta here before I change my—"
"Alex, you don't wanna get on that boat. Listen to me." Finally catching his breath after running, Michael frowned and looked him straight in the eye. "For me to ruin your life…that'd be pointless now."
Finally, Mahone stopped, looking at him, still bent at the waist. A gust of sea wind ruffled his hair. Michael could almost decipher the very moment that he saw recognition flash in his former enemy's eyes, when it finally became clear what was being left unsaid.
"Aww…dammit," was all Alex could say.
"Come with me. Just come with me," Michael urged. He glanced back over his shoulder at the men advancing toward them. "Please, Alex. Hurry…."
Sorry for the delay! Hope to have Chapter 3 up soon. A big thank-you to all who read & commented! Let me know if you enjoyed this one.