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Chapter 43: Return of the Enemy
Lincoln and Jack raced to the morgue as fast as they could. They leapt out of the car and ran into the building.
"Sara Tancredi!" said Lincoln as soon as he saw the Constable, "You said you found her."
"Yes," replied the Constable as he led them into another room, "We found a woman matching her description, but you'll need to confirm."
The Constable walked over to a table where a body lay covered with a thin blue sheet. He pulled the sheet away from the face and stepped aside. Lincoln and Jack exchanged terrified glances, then slowly crept up to the table and peered at the woman that lay there.
Almost immediately, they breathed a sigh of relief. Lincoln leaned on the wall behind him for support.
"That's not her."
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On the drive back from the morgue to the hotel, Lincoln got a phone call.
"Yeah?"
"Hello? Dad?"
Lincoln slammed on the brakes and pulled the car over to the side of the road. Jack gripped the seat and shot Lincoln a seriously irritated look.
"L.J?" asked Lincoln in shock.
Jack's face changed from annoyance to one of surprise.
"Hey dad, look, I'm in Panama. I got your number from the Consulate. Meet me and Sara at the high rise restaurant in downtown Panama City, okay?"
"Sara?" breathed Lincoln, "Sara's okay?"
"Yeah…she's with me. Do what I said, okay dad?"
"Yeah…yeah, I'll be there."
L.J. hung up the phone.
Lincoln sat in the car in stunned silence for a moment.
"L.J.'s with Sara?" asked Jack, confused.
"Yeah," muttered Lincoln, "We got to go meet them at some restaurant in Panama City."
Jack's eyes brightened, "Good…then let's go."
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Jack and Lincoln strode into the fancy restaurant at the top of a large high rise building. They glanced around the room, looking for Sara and L.J.
"I don't see them," murmured Jack, uneasily.
"Well then we'll just wait," retorted Lincoln as he walked over to the bar.
Jack frowned and glanced around the room. Her sixth sense was kicking in again. She was pretty good at knowing when something bad was about to happen and that feeling radiated from the room. She sighed and told herself to stop being so paranoid and walked over to join Lincoln at the bar.
Lincoln had ordered a water and sat sipping on it thoughtfully. Not five minutes after Jack joined him, another woman walked up and sat down beside Lincoln. She was rather pretty and had raven hair with crystal, piercing blue eyes. She gazed at Lincoln and smiled.
She ordered a cocktail and gave Lincoln another head-to-toe glance. Jack rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Suddenly, the woman's gaze snapped to Jack's. She visibly froze in shock. Jack soon felt uneasy under the woman's curious gaze and glanced away. The woman quickly wiped the shocked look off her face and turned her attention back to Lincoln.
"Hey cutie," she crooned.
Lincoln glanced at her and narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm talking to you…are you single?"
Jack sneered in open disgust and watched while the woman flirted shamelessly with Lincoln.
Suddenly, Jack noticed something that caught her attention. Back in FBI training, they had taught her how to read people and Jack had mastered the technique well. She knew how to pick up on the slightest cues and know many things about someone that the average person would never be able to tell. This woman…the way she moved, held herself, even the slight glint behind her eyes…something was there and it was sending alarm signals through Jack's mind. Then it hit her…this woman was a federal agent. But her movements were so precise, confident, rehearsed, almost like the…The Company.
"Look this is the wrong time and I'm waiting for someone," said Lincoln.
Jack suddenly realized that this entire thing was a set up. L.J. and Sara were not here…it was a trap. It was a trap set up by The Company.
The woman glanced briefly up at Jack and noticed that she had figured it out. She smiled, almost in approval at Jack and then glanced sharply back at Lincoln.
Before Jack had a chance to say anything to warn Lincoln, the woman began to speak.
"Yes it is, Lincoln."
Lincoln glanced up sharply at the sound of his name. The realization of what was going on hit him like a punch in the stomach. There was only one way that this woman knew who he was. Her flirty gaze shifted instantly into an intense, sharp glare.
"We have a lot to discuss," she continued in her crooning voice, "Specifically about your brother. Here…"
The woman handed Lincoln an ipod.
"I highly suggest that you watch this and then talk to Michael."
The woman stood and gave Jack another scrutinizing gaze. She turned around and stalked gracefully out of the restaurant, glancing back once more with a wicked grin.
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Lincoln and Jack stood in front of the cage-like fence waiting for Michael. He soon strode out of SONA and walked over to meet them.
"Hey," he said, "What's going on?"
Lincoln did not even hesitate to respond.
"There are some people who want you to break someone out of here."
Jack shot Lincoln an irritated glance. That was not a smooth way to introduce this issue to Michael…especially not with what was going to come next.
"What?" asked Michael in confusion, "No, you know I won't do that again…and you said they're transferring me and Alex out of here in another day."
"Things have changed," muttered Lincoln as he glanced down at the ground.
Michael studied his brother for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Linc…what is it? What aren't you telling me?"
Jack reached into her pocket and pulled out the ipod. She pushed play and an image of Sara and L.J. came onto the screen. They were sitting in chairs and holding up current newspapers. They were pleading for help.
"It's The Company, Michael," said Jack, quietly, "They want you to break out some guy named James Whistler. If you don't…Sara and L.J. are dead."
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