Thanks to everyone's who's been reading/reviewing!!!! This one's for all of you!
Chapter 15: Cat and Mouse
Alex slammed on the breaks and forced the car into a hard u-turn. Finally, he put it in park and stepped out of the car. Jack took a few shaky breaths and followed him.
They drew their guns as they approached the factory. Alex went inside, gun first, and glanced around. He blinked a few times, trying to get used to the low lighting.
Jack followed him, glancing back once in a while to see if they were being followed. Alex turned sharply at every sound, trying to pick out any distinct noises. Suddenly, as they reached the end of the hall, Alex froze. Something was telling him that Michael was on the other side. He motioned for Jack to be quiet, and turned to go the other way.
Once they reached the other side of the wall, Alex leapt out, expecting to find Michael. But he was gone. Alex's heart thudded in his chest. Where did he go? Jack tried to keep her breathing steady and even. This was a game of cat and mouse…and she wanted to remain the cat.
As they turned another corner, Jack thought she saw a shadow move behind a large metal bin. She signaled to Alex, and then began to approach slowly. Just then, the sound of a metal pipe falling distracted them. Alex and Jack whirled around, guns sweeping back and forth in search of the cause of the noise. Alex began to step forward slowly, heading towards where they heard the pipe fall.
As they continued to stalk their prey, Alex picked up on some barely noticeable noises. Breathing, slight, but detectable. A quiet grunt of pain. Michael must have hit something or ran into something. All those years of training were being put to the test.
They walked forward, warily. Then Jack froze. Something just did not feel right. It had suddenly grown very quiet…too quiet. Alex sensed the same thing and glanced back at her to make sure she was okay. She gave him an encouraging nod, and they continued to move forward.
Soon, they saw a stack of boxes and barrels ahead. They glanced around and determined, silently, that that was the best place for Michael to be hiding. They approached the boxes and Alex signaled to Jack to back him up. She crept up behind him, nearly stepping on the backs of his heels, and followed him the last few feet to the boxes.
Just as Alex prepared to kick them over, an eerie feeling came over him. He glanced to the left and saw that he had just walked into a trap. He was in a cage.
Suddenly, a metal gate slammed shut behind them. The heavy metal bar on the side of the gate hit the back of Jack's head. She fell to the floor with a cry of pain. Alex whirled around with a growl of absolute fury and slammed his body against the gate. But he was too late. Michael Scofield had already locked it and stood on the other side, giving Alex a very smug look.
Alex glanced briefly down at Jack to make sure she was okay. She moaned and stirred slightly, but did not bother getting up. Alex whirled around to face Michael. He stuck his gun through the chain-length fence of the gate.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Alex," said Michael, coolly, "Smell that? It's propane. It's filling the room, and if you pull that trigger all three of us die."
Alex glared at Michael with undisguised hatred. It was bad enough that he had managed to trap them, but he had also hurt Jack in the process. Alex was beyond himself with rage. He glanced back at the other gate and walked over to it, gun still trained on Michael. He kicked it violently, but it too was locked. With a snarl of anger he stormed back over to Michael.
"I'll do it…I'll do it!" he screamed as he stuck the gun back through the metal gate.
"Maybe," replied Michael, calmly, "But before you do, let me ask you a question, Alex. Do you still think you're one of the good guys?"
Alex gave him an incredulous look.
"Cause I think we both know that you've crossed over. You're on the wrong side chasing the wrong guys. And now you've dragged another person into this," he said, pointed at Jack, "My brother is innocent, Alex. He never killed anybody."
"Well, thanks for opening my eyes," retorted Alex, sarcastically.
"Okay, Alex. Shoot. We both know what will happen."
"Ahh, the propane will kill us anyway, what difference does it make?" he sneered.
"That's a good point," replied Michael as he walked over to a window and broke it with a nearby pipe, "There you go…there!" he yelled, growing angry, "That'll give you time to think about what you are doing. But first, a word of advice…stop. Because when you get close I will win…every time."
"You think?"
"I'm not the one in the cage."
Alex laughed sarcastically, "No, no you're not."
He lowered the gun as Michael turned to walk away.
"There's a big difference between me and you, Michael," he called, "You just proved it. You can't kill. And that's what it's going to take to stop me. Cause I don't have the same reservations you do. I can. So whether it's today in Gila, or tomorrow in Albuquerque, or two months from now…in Panama…"
Michael stopped walking. How did he know about Panama?
"…I will get you."
Michael took a deep breath and continued to walk away.
"I don't have a choice…"
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!
I'll be kind of busy these next 2 weeks, so I may not update as often as I have been…but I'll write whenever I get some downtime!!