Chapter 27: Franklin
Minneapolis, Minnesota International Airport
Alex and Jack got off their plane and walked down a hallway in the airport. Alex pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.
"Pediatrics, please," he said.
Jack glanced at him for a moment, and then realized he must be trying to call his son.
"Hello?" asked a higher pitched voice on the other end of the line.
"Cameron?" said Alex, eyes brightening at the sound of his son's voice.
"Hi dad!"
"How are you doing, big guy?"
"Good. I'm eating my lunch."
"That's good. How is it?"
"Pretty disgusting."
Alex laughed, "Maybe your mother can bring you some dinner from home. Did you see the doctor today?"
"Yeah, he said I could go home this week, but I have to stay out of the street."
"You're a smart young man. You know how to cross the road."
"Daddy…are you mad at me?"
Alex stopped walking abruptly. Jack gave him a curious look, and then realized he probably wanted to speak to Cameron alone. Jack pointed over at a nearby bench and Alex nodded gratefully. She walked over and sat down to give Alex his privacy. Alex walked over to the side of the hallway and leaned on the wall.
"Listen to me, Cam," he said quietly, "No one is mad at you. This wasn't your fault. I'm the one who should have been looking out for you."
"You weren't even there."
Alex winced, "But I should have been."
Just then his phone beeped, indicating that he had another call coming in. Alex growled quietly in frustration.
"Hey, buddy? Listen, I have to go, but I'll call you later okay?"
"Okay, bye!"
"Cameron?" he asked, hesitantly, "I love you."
But Cameron had already hung up the phone. Alex sighed and regained his composure before he answered the other line.
"Yeah? What do we have on Franklin?" he asked.
Alex glanced inside the nearby gift shop and saw a stuffed bear with "Get Well" written on it.
"Good news," said Lang, "Since this morning another witness from the Minnesota Diner Robbery gave us a positive ID."
"Good," replied Alex, "Cause Jack and I just landed in Minneapolis fifteen minutes ago. Anything else?"
"Yeah, the girl, D.D…apparently she's been ill. Some sort of chronic condition."
Alex motioned to the clerk that he wanted to purchase the bear.
"Then get Franklin's mug shot all over every hospital in southeastern Minnesota."
"Already done," said Lang, cheerfully, "Any luck and she'll get sick enough to need one and he'll show his face."
Alex got a bewildered look on his face.
"You don't have kids, do you Lang?"
"Nope."
"Call me when you have something," he said as he hung up.
He handed the cashier the bear and paid for it. He walked out of the gift shop and over to where Jack was sitting.
"What's in the bag?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Alex smiled slightly, "A little something for Cameron," he said as he sat down beside her.
He pulled out the bear. Jack's eyes grew soft when she saw it.
"He'll love it," she said, reassuringly.
"I hope so," muttered Alex, looking dejected.
"Hey," said Jack, resting her hand on his shoulder, "He'll be okay."
Alex nodded, "I hope so," he repeated.
Jack gave him a kind smile.
Just then, Alex's phone rang. He answered it, glanced quickly at Jack, and then hung up.
"What?" asked Jack, looking worried, "What is it?"
"Secretary at the local hospital just alerted police that Franklin's there with his daughter."
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Alex and Jack pulled quickly into the hospital, tires squealing as Alex braked hard. The second they parked the car, they spotted Franklin and his daughter walking out of the hospital. But they saw Alex and Jack too.
Franklin scooped up his daughter and ran back into the hospital. Alex and Jack jumped out of their car and followed closely behind them.
Soon, Franklin found another exit and ran back outside. Alex and Jack drew their weapons and ran out into the other parking lot. They scanned back and forth trying to find them.
"Over there!" shouted Jack, pointing at a line of buses.
Franklin was running, with his daughter in his arms, towards a bus.
"FBI! Stop!" yelled Alex as he and Jack caught up with them.
Franklin had just jumped onto the bus and slowly turned around on the bus' steps.
"Okay, okay," he said, admitting defeat.
He glanced down at his daughter who was clinging to his neck.
"Okay, one second, baby," he murmured, trying to coax his daughter to let go.
D.D. whined and refused to let go of her dad.
"Come on, sweetheart," said Jack, gun trained on Franklin, "You have to let go."
Franklin tried again to coax his daughter down.
"Honey, you have to let him go," said Alex, gun also trained on Franklin.
Franklin tried a final time to get her to let go, but she refused and clung on tighter to him. Franklin looked apologetically at Alex and Jack.
"She's not letting go," he said.
Alex shook his head slightly and gritted his teeth.
"Don't let her pay for your mistakes," he said as the bus doors closed.
Alex and Jack watched in frustration as the bus pulled away.
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Later that day, Alex and Jack were driving down the road when Alex's cell phone rang.
"Yeah?"
"Got a call for you," said Lang.
"I'll call them back. We just got a call from a clinic up north. They had contact with Franklin a half an hour ago."
"I think you're going to want to take this."
Alex paused for a moment.
"Alright…put it through."
He waited until Lang connected him.
"Yeah? This is Mahone."
"Is this the man in charge?"
"Oh yeah."
"My name is Benjamin Miles Franklin…and I want to turn myself in. But I got one condition…my wife, she goes free. My little girl, she needs her mother."
Alex sneered, "I don't think I need to make a deal with you Mr. Franklin."
Jack glanced up sharply at the sound of the con's name. Alex was talking to Franklin?
"Yeah," replied Franklin, "Well what if I got something you need?"
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At a nearby hospital, Alex walked over to the side of a bed. He laid the bear he had bought earlier under the arm of a young girl.
Jack watched, eyes brimming with tears at the sight. Alex looked rather dejected himself. He turned and walked back over to where Jack and Franklin were standing.
"Your wife was released an hour ago," said Alex, "She'll be here soon."
"Promise me that she'll be okay," murmured Franklin, gazing sadly at his daughter.
Alex glanced back at the little girl. She was now holding the teddy bear tightly and was fast asleep.
"Just hold up your end of the deal," replied Alex, quietly.
"I will…I'll get you Scofield…"
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