Thank your for your kind support, hollyjonas 101. As a new writer, I could really use some supports from readers. It keeps me motivated! So, feel free to drop any comments!

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CHAPTER FOUR

Michael saw Lincoln and LJ when they got out of their car. He felt surprised and at the same time, not surprised. Somehow, he knew LJ was going to tell his dad. He thought of getting away after LJ left. However, how far could he go? He had no car, no food, no clothes, no money, nothing.

He wanted to see Lincoln, the only brother he had in this world. That was why he travelled back here two days ago. But once he arrived, he knew he would do Lincoln more harm than good. "I would destroy everything he has right now," Michael knew this from the bottom of his heart. "And he has a family," he added when he thought of his nephew and Sophia. He just couldn't find Lincoln like nothing ever happened. That was why Michael was here, sitting in one of the dark alleys in the Panama City.

It seemed that everyone was trying to get to him these days. The FBI, the Panamanian police, the Company and now it was Lincoln. Michael felt he had had enough. No matter how hard he tried, there were always strings that pulled him back to where he started. He could never run away.

Feeling desperate, Michael sat down in the dark corner hoping that Lincoln wouldn't see him. He prayed that the ridiculously heavy rain would block Lincoln's vision. Or they would suddenly realize they should simply give up and leave. Sitting down alone, Michael thought about how his life had turned upside down like this. He thought about Fox River, Panama, Sona and … Gretchen. Gretchen, the nasty bitch, was the one Michael wanted nothing but to forget. He hated her because she beheaded the only woman he ever loved – Sara. He felt a stabbing pain through his heart every time he thought of Sara. "Sara," Michael whispered and buried his head in his hands.

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"Michael," someone called. Michael looked up and saw Lincoln right in front of him, with LJ next to him. Michael decided that he was definitely out of luck.

"Michael, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Lincoln said again and began to check whether Michael was hiding any injury.

Michael didn't reply. His mind was processing thousands of possibilities and consequences at the same time.

Lincoln thought he was going to hug Michael ten thousand times when he saw him. Now that he actually did, he couldn't bring himself to do that. He looked at Michael and felt that he didn't quite know the man in front of him. Michael looked different.

LJ sensed that there was something strange about his dad and uncle. He imagined there would be a warm embrace and they would joke about this silly hide-and-seek thing together. But the reality was the otherwise. The brothers looked distant. "Let's get to the car. It's raining heavily," LJ said, trying to break the suffocating silence between the two adults.

Satisfied that Michael apparently had sustained no injury, Lincoln agreed, "Right. We should go to the car. And then we can talk."

"What do we need to talk about?" Michael replied.

"I don't know. Everything."

"I don't have anything to say."

"Michael, come on. At least tell me …," Lincoln stopped right there, suddenly realized that he had probably said something inappropriate.

"What do you want to know, Linc?" Michael asked coldly.

Lincoln was going to say, "You know what I mean, Mike. Did you kill Gretchen?" But he somehow couldn't bring himself to ask that. LJ didn't have to know what Michael wanted to do to Gretchen. And to be honest, Lincoln didn't want to know too. He didn't think Michael would give up avenging Sara's death but he couldn't bring himself to think that his little brother now became a merciless killer. So, he simply said, "I just thought we could go to my place." He studied Michael, looking at his clothes and face. "And you could have a change of clothes, something to eat and rest," he added.

"I don't need that," Michael replied coldly.

Linc was losing his patience even though he knew he shouldn't. He shouted, "You don't need that? You can't see yourself, can you? Your clothes are dirty and wet. You look like you haven't eaten for days and haven't fucking slept in months, Michael!"

He stepped in front of Michael and pulled him up. "Get off me!" Michael refused. He tried to push Lincoln back but he was never his brother's match. He was the brain and Lincoln was the muscle. Lincoln was practically dragging Michael towards to the car whereas Michael was resisting in whatever way he could.

"Linc, I'll hit you if I have to," Michael shouted.

"Yea, try that," Lincoln was not afraid of threat. He was used to it after spending all his teenage years on the street and being in juvy or prison for more times than he could remember.

"What the hell did Lincoln mean? Did he really think that I wouldn't? That's it," Michael thought. He was suddenly furious. He summoned all his energy and hit Lincoln in the face.

That caught Lincoln off-guard because he didn't believe his younger brother would actually do that. Lincoln fell down on the street and swore angrily, "What the fuck, Michael?"

Michael didn't answer. He jumped on Lincoln and decided to give him another smack in the face. If there were any skills that Lincoln could say he was better than Michael, it would be the fighting ones. He knew what Michael wanted to do and got out of the way before Michael could finish his second attack. He grabbed Michael's arms and sent him to the walls.

LJ was the only audience for this fight. He knew his dad was never able to control his temper well, but what about Uncle Mike? LJ could not recall a time when he saw Michael fight like this. What could he do now? He didn't want his dad or uncle to get hurt. "Hey, chill," LJ managed to say. "Don't fight! Let's just talk! Dad! Uncle Mike!"

Predictably, none of the brothers listened to him. Michael got up and pushed Lincoln towards the rubbish bins. The rubbish was thrown all over the place. Lincoln picked up whatever he could find and threw it to Michael.

It was a pillow case. The feathers inside came out when it was sent off the air. Michael retreated backward as the feathers were blocking his sight. Sensing that it was the right time, Lincoln ran towards Michael and knocked him down using his momentum. He sat on Michael. Michael tried to roll but he couldn't. Lincoln was too heavy for him. Lincoln then hit Michael in the face. Twice.

LJ ran towards his father and grabbed Lincoln's hand when he was planning on his third attack. "Stop, dad!" LJ screamed. "You're hurting him!"

Lincoln stopped. He was breathing heavily. He looked at Michael, who was now lying on the floor trying to catch his breath too. Lincoln stood up finally. Once he got up, he held out his hand for Michael. For a moment, LJ thought his uncle would seize this opportunity and hit his dad. "An eye for an eye," LJ thought.

Michael didn't. Instead, he took Linc's hand and stood up. And from that point onwards, LJ knew that he would never understand the relationship between his dad and uncle. They attacked each other for one moment and then they were absolutely cool about that the next minute. How strange.

"Let's go home," Lincoln announced and began to walk off. Michael, who looked now more tired than he already was, followed Lincoln. LJ was again surprised by Michael's lack of protest but, who cared? He got what he wanted. His father, uncle and him were together at last.

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I've planned that next chapter to be about Michael meeting Sophia. But I never like the Sophia character much so I'm not sure if it's a good direction to take. Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave comments!