Ch. 13: Now or Never

It had been a month. One month since Mahone had arrived. One month since they had come up with the plan that was finally going to end the Company once and for all. Michael could not wait until he could finally be reunited with his family. It was all he truly wanted. Every month when the General would bring in a picture of Mikey, Michael would be overcome with a surplus of emotions. On one hand, he would feel so much joy and pride for the little miracle that he and Sara had created, but on the other he would feel an undeniable sense of rage because he couldn't be with his family. On top of all of this, he would also feel the deepest amount of disgust because the Company was able to get close enough to Mikey and Sara to get these pictures taken, without their knowing.

Michael's thoughts were interrupted by Mahone entering the room with a proud smile on his face and a piece of tape in hand. Today, Michael felt a glimmer of hope for the first time since Mahone first showed up.

"I'm assuming you got a good print?" Michael chuckled at the look of utter excitement on Mahone's face.

"Not only a fantastic print, but also from a guard who is dumber than a sack of bricks and slower than a tortoise. And look. I even already got his pass key." Mahone was so proud of himself, and Michael could tell.

"Good work Agent Mahone," Michael deadpanned. "Now bring that print over here."

Mahone complied and brought the piece of tape containing the guard's print to Michael. Michael took a deep breath and let it out. He was a nervous wreck. If this didn't work, he didn't know what else to try. If he couldn't copy this print, he didn't know if they were ever going to make it out of Company Headquarters alive. He poured the salt that he had requested because "his eggs were too bland" on the tape. He let it set before shaking off the excess salt that didn't stick to the tape. The purpose of the salt was to make the print three dimensional. Next, Michael took the bubble gum out of his mouth and pressed it to the three dimensional print. He took a deep breath. If this worked, they could escape. If this worked, he could return to his family. If this worked, he could get his life back. There was so much riding on this single piece of gum.

"Well, let's do this. It's now or never, and this is the first piece of gum that has remained intact. We've got to give it a shot, and since we have a pass key and a thumbprint, let's go," Michael said confidently. Mahone nodded and grabbed the backpack containing the final piece they needed for freedom.

He climbed on his bed and unscrewed the panel to the air vent. He climbed up and into the vent and motioned for Mahone to follow. Once they were both inside, they worked on screwing the vent panel back on to eliminate any possible leads as to how they could have escaped.

"C'mon. We better get moving. That curtain's only gonna stay closed for so long," Mahone reminded Michael.

On a normal day, there is a gaping window that allows the guards to watch Mahone and Michael 24/7. However today, Mahone requested that they drop a curtain over the window because they had made tremendous progress in creating something that could rebuild the Company overnight. The General reluctantly agreed and told them they had five hours between breakfast and lunch to finish whatever breakthrough they thought they had found.

Michael nodded understanding the urgency of the situation and led Mahone to the path to freedom. Over the past month, Mahone had walked from Michael's room to the only lab that was directly connected to the outside world. He counted the panels in the ceiling he would pass before making a turn and wrote this information down on a sheet of paper. Michael figured since they didn't have the blueprints of the place, they needed some sort of guide to get out. With the homemade blueprints in hand, Michael led Mahone forward 4 panels. They were officially over the hallway outside of Michael's room.

Many turns and panels later, Michael and Mahone arrived at the vent closest to the lab. Now since it was a lab, the only vents inside of it were ones connected to the outdoors to get rid of harmful fumes and chemicals. These vents were not connected to the rest of the building. To escape, Mahone and Michael would have to get inside the chemical lab, put on biohazard suits available in said lab, climb out through the fume hoods, and run like hell to make it out of there alive. This was it. This was their last chance at freedom, because if this didn't work…neither one of them wanted to think of the consequences.

"WAIT!" Michael frantically stopped.

"What?" Mahone questioned.

"We have to go back. We can't do this, we have to go back."

"You have got to be kidding me! I did not give up my life to come save you for you to give up when we are so close! I did not sacrifice my family for this!" Mahone angrily erupted.

"Don't you get it Alex? That's why we can't do this—because of our families. The Company has agents all over them. How do you think I've gotten all of those pictures of Mikey? We can't put them in danger. There has to be another way," Michael reasoned.

"That's why you didn't want to go through with this?" Mahone asked dumbfounded. "Oh man you had me worried there for a minute. I've got that part of the plan under control. My people have already taken care of that little problem. Now that your little outburst is over, can we just hurry up and get the hell out of here?" Mahone finished with a chuckle.

"Where would I be without you man?" Michael sighed relieved.

"Well probably rotting away in the Company Headquarters, but let's not think about that one. Now can we get on with this please?"

"Right."

Michael peeked through the vent in the ceiling to ensure that no guards or Company agents were in the hallway. This would prove to be the trickiest part of their escape. When he saw the hallway was all clear, Michael began to unscrew the ceiling panel. He dropped down to the floor, and motioned for Mahone to follow suit. While using Mahone's hand to give him a boost, Michael was able to cover the ceiling vent with the panel, once again to erase any trail of how they managed to escape.

"Do you have the gum?" Michael asked Mahone.

"Yes, it's right here," Mahone said handing over the gum.

"Here goes nothing."

Michael and Mahone held their breath as they waited to see if their "gum thumb" would work. They both let out a sigh of relief when they heard the activation sound and the door unlock. They opened the door and were about to get inside when they heard a voice that shocked them to their very core.

"Hello gentlemen. Just what do you think you're doing?"

A/N: Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I've been super busy (and also somewhat discouraged based on the lack of reviews ;)). Please let me know if you're still interested, or if i need to just move on. Much love to those of you who have stuck with this story and are still reading. XOXO