Chapter 9: A New Partner

Michael woke to the sound of the loud P.A. system in his room that had conveniently, conveniently for the Company at least, become an alarm clock for the Company's use. They could use it to wake him up pretty much anytime they felt like it. It was the most unpleasant wakeup call he had ever had the displeasure of experiencing. But, he knew he had to wake up, as the 'new General' would be in any minute with Michael's agenda for the day. He was already dreading that.

It had been three months since he began working for the Company, and so far he had made good progress, but he was secretly holding back. He knew eventually the General would figure out that Michael was withholding all of his talent, but for now it was the only leverage he had. If he gave the General everything he wanted, there would no longer be any reason for him to keep Michael alive. So he was working a little bit slower than he should have been, but the General seemed pleased with the progress that had been made, and Michael planned to keep up this charade for as long as he could.

After Michael had been up for what felt like hours, but was really only about twenty minutes, the General entered the room. He looked pleased, as always. He was probably just excited that he was able to get his hands on the only mind that was even more brilliant that the Christina Scofield's.

"Good morning Michael. I do hope that the wakeup call wasn't too early, and that you have rested well," the General greeted.

"Slept just fine. What's the plan for today?" Michael asked curtly. He didn't feel the need to waste time on small talk with his captor. They weren't friends, and they were never going to be friends. Therefore, Michael did not feel the need to 'play nice'.

"Well since you are so eager, as always, to get started, I do have a little treat for you. You know, to say thank you for all of your hard work," Jeremy finished with a smirk.

Michael's mind began to wander to all of the terrible things that 'the General' could have planned for him. Was it going to be more pictures of his family? As much as he loved seeing his beautiful wife and son, he absolutely hated the fact that Company agents were so close by that they could their pictures while remaining undetected. It killed him inside to know that his family was completely unaware that they were actively being watched, and there was nothing he could do about it. He wished more than anything that he could somehow warn them of the danger that always seemed to find them someway, but he knew that couldn't happen. So for now, he would have to cooperate with the General until he could somehow figure a way out of this mess. He would do whatever it took to get back to his family, even if it meant feigning a little enthusiasm for his 'surprise'.

"Well I can't wait to see what you have in store for me today," Michael finished with a tight smile.

"Well when you put it that way," the General began as he made his way over to where Michael was standing, "I figure that building a multimillion dollar company from the ground up is not an easy task, and you can use all the help you can get. So I took the initiative in hiring one of your former cohorts to make your job a little bit less stressful."

Jeremy made his way over to the intercom on the wall. He pressed the button and said, "You can come in now," before turning back to Michael with a smile.

Michael eyed him suspiciously, before turning his attention back to the door to await the arrival of his newest 'surprise'.

"Hello Michael."

Michael couldn't believe his eyes. Alex Mahone was standing in front of his very eyes. He was shocked. For one because Alex was standing right in front of his face, but also because he couldn't believe that Alex could willingly work for the Company after everything they did to Pam and especially Cameron.

"Alex," Michael offered as a greeting. "What are you doing here?"

"Allow me to explain," the General interrupted before Alex could speak. "You see, I found your old friend here, unemployed and drinking away his sorrows alone in a bar one night. After helping you in your escape from Miami Dade, the FBI refused to rehire him, and well with his growing criminal record, not many people would. So I offered him a job, explaining to him the new situation, and I of course informed him of your involvement in the rebuilding of the Company. Once I laid it all out on the table for him, Alex happily accepted the job. See Michael? Not everyone is so intent on holding the grudges that you and your family seem to so desperately cling to."

"How could you do this Alex? You're practically throwing away the life that you fought, that we all fought for so desperately. How could you work for the same people who gave the order to kill your son?" Michael said in outrage. He was furious. He would do anything to get his old life back, while Alex was throwing his away, and for what? A little extra cash?

"Well Michael, if it weren't for you I wouldn't be in this situation. I felt indebted to you, and I risked it all in hopes that my FBI agent girlfriend would be able to convince the bureau to take me back. Well guess what? She couldn't. And I couldn't stay unemployed for much longer, so you know what I did what I had to do. It is your fault that I'm in this situation, and I am going to make you pay," Alex finished out as his rant came to an end.

"Well it's clear that you two have a lot of catching up to do now, so I'll leave you to it. And don't worry about getting any work done today. Your new partnership can begin tomorrow," the General finished before leaving the room.

"What the hell man? After everything I've done for you? After everything we've survived together? You're just gonna screw me over like that? How could you? I thought our friendship actually meant something. No one forced you to help us break Sara out of prison, okay? I thought you were doing it to save her life because you cared, but if it messed your life up this much, you shouldn't have even agreed to help us. We could've figured it out without you, and you know what? I would've preferred figuring it out without you than to have you hate me so much that you would actually willingly work for the Company," Michael finished with a frustrated sigh.

"Would you just shut up for two seconds?" Alex questioned. "That story was our cover. I'm here to get you out of here."

A/N: Aha the boys are back together! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll update as soon as I can. As always I love reviews, so feel free to tell me what you're thinking about this story! Thanks guys! XOXO