Unexpected Repercussions - Chapter 8

Michael turned around just as Lincoln pushed the kitchen door shut behind him. From the look on Lincoln’s face, he knew that his brother had questions, and it did not surprise him.

As Lincoln watched silently, Michael began to remove his disguise carefully, setting the cushion and the rest of the accessories on the kitchen table. Then, leaning the small of his back against the edge of the table, he gave Lincoln his full attention.

“Mike, what’s going on here? What’s with the new deal with Abruzzi?” Lincoln asked tersely.

“I need to get him away from Fibonacci,” he responded calmly.

“Letting him in on a part of the money doesn’t mean Abruzzi is going to let of Fibonacci,” Lincoln pointed out.

Michael shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe he’ll be happy to leave things as it is and just disappear. He’s a wanted man now, Linc. He can’t move as easily as he used to.”

Lincoln rubbed his forehead, his displeasure at the situation clearly displayed in his movements. “We can’t trust the guy. When I spoke to her over the pay-phone, Veronica said something about Nick being involved in some deal with him.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed. “What deal?” he asked, his tone guarded. What was Abruzzi doing behind their backs?

Lincoln swept his hands over his shaved head. “Abruzzi wanted Nick to bring Veronica to him. She didn’t know why. But Nick set her free.”

Michael frowned, deep in thought. What was the connection between Veronica and Abruzzi? Then realisation dawned. “The picture.”

“What are you talking about?” Lincoln asked, a wary expression crossing his face.

“Abruzzi got her picture when we were doing the thing with his boss, Falzone. You know, that picture you took on our camping trip? After Falzone got popped, Abruzzi held on to that picture. I guess he meant it when he said that he needed it as insurance,” Michael explained gravely.

“To make sure you give up Fibonacci after we got out?”

A grim expression crossed his face. “Looks like it.”

Lincoln remarked tersely. “Should have taken back the picture from him.”

Michael sighed. “Too late for that now. And I’m sure he’d have found another way, even without that picture. Veronica’s safe anyway, so that’s what that counts.”

“My point is, the guy can’t be trusted,” Lincoln complained, pacing the room, his jerky steps displaying his agitation.

 

Michael said levelly, “He can be trusted to be a crook. We’ll just have to be careful. What else did Veronica say?”

“That we should find a way to get to this one place we used to meet.”

Michael began to worry. “She said that over the phone?”

“Don’t worry. No one knows where or what it is besides the two of us. It’s from back when we were dating. She wants to tell us something, but not over the phone. Something about my case.”

“She found something?” Michael asked, his calm façade hiding his anticipation.

 

Lincoln nodded. “Sounds like it. And it must be something big because she’s being so careful not to say anything.”

“We need to see her. After we’re through with Westmoreland’s money,” Michael said thoughtfully.

Lincoln inhaled deeply. “There’s another thing, Michael. Veronica also said something about Sara.”

His brother’s grim tone sent warning alarms ringing in his head. Cautiously, Michael asked, “What is it?”

“Sara has been arrested yesterday.”

Michael’s jaw dropped.

Sara stared blankly at the grimy concrete wall which made up one side of her small holding cell at the back of the police station. Dressed in a pair of standard-issue grey shirt and pants, she was sitting cross-legged on her bunk, her mind filled with thoughts of what had brought her there.

She had been doing a lot of thinking since she had woken up to find Michael sitting beside her. About her father, about Michael, about Katie. About herself and the morphine.

A part of her wanted to fight this. Fight the fact that she was in custody for being an accomplice in the escape of the inmates. But part of her told her that she deserved it. It was the truth after all. Because she had helped Michael and the rest escape. Only she did it because she wanted to make a difference, and not only because of the way she felt about Michael.

She had thought about the way she had cried after Michael had left her room, leaving only an origami flower by her bedside. The only person who cared enough to make sure she received something lasting. The only person who managed to wake her up from her slumber.

The accusations she had thrown at him ate at her. The hurt in his eyes had been genuine, she realised that now. He would not have come to see her, risking his safety if he did not care. That trip would have served him no purpose. The only thing there was her, and he had been there just to see her. It was not something someone would do unless they care.

When she had heard the sound of the alarm, and the drumming of footsteps racing out of the building in pursuit of Michael, her heart felt as if it would stop. She had realised then that she did not want him caught. She wanted him to be free.

Wait for me…

The echo of his words came back to haunt her.

Her lips twisted at the irony of it. There was no chance of that happening now considering that she was the one who would soon be incarcerated in prison if they found her guilty of the charges. Not unless Michael decided to break into in women’s prison in order to help her escape.

Well, Sara, you wanted to make a change. Now you’ve succeeded, a voice in her head told her.

Sara sighed. Strangely enough, she did not blame Michael or Lincoln. Instead, she blamed her father. If he had taken the time to look at Lincoln’s file and had taken the right action, none of this would have happened. But he had been too preoccupied with himself to be concerned with the welfare of a death-row inmate.

Her mind went back to the interrogation session earlier that day. They fired questions, one after another to her, but she said the same thing. Simply that she must have forgotten to lock the door. A mistake anyone could make.

She had been able to tell that they did not believe her. But she simply did not care. As far as she was concerned, she had done the right thing. To refuse to help Michael would have meant that she just stood by to watch as an injustice was being carried out. And if that landed her in prison, it was by her own making.

The door to her cell clanged, snapping her out of her thoughts.

A police officer walked in.

“Sara Tancredi. You have a visitor.”

Sara stood up, wondering who it was. Maybe it was her father.

She snorted. Knowing how much he valued his reputation, there was no chance that he would set foot in such a place, she thought in derision as she followed the officer out through the narrow, secured corridor. Her steps were loud, echoing down the small, narrow space.

The officer opened a metal door at the end of the corridor and ushered her into a room bare of any furnishing except two chairs and a table between.

A man dressed in an immaculately pressed black suit was sitting behind the table, watching her intently as she approached. The officer gestured for her to sit opposite the man and then left the two of them alone.

“Miss Tancredi,” the man said in greeting, his hands clasped in front on him on the table.

“Do I know you?” she asked guardedly, a small frown marring her brow. Was he there to interrogate her as well?

 

“My name’s Carl Weston. I’m a lawyer hired by your father.”

Sara rolled her eyes upwards. “He’s too busy to pay a visit to his daughter,” she stated blandly. “Now that’s surprising.”

The lawyer did not bat an eyelash at her words. Instead, he continued as if she had never spoken. “Your father sent me here to get you out.”

Incredulous, she raised her eyebrow. “Really? And how is he proposing to do it?”

“A vice-president could bring about a lot of things, Miss Tancredi.”

Her lips thinned. Now that the former Vice-President Reynolds had been sworn in as the president, her father finally got his hands on the coveted position of the vice-presidency. “Send him my congratulations,” she said flatly.

The lawyer nodded. He then continued, “He will release you on one condition.”

“What?”

“That you’ll legally change your name once you’re out.”

“Legally change my name?” she echoed, not quite believing what she was hearing.

“Yes,” he confirmed tonelessly.

Just as she thought that her father would not sink any lower, he hit back with an even lower blow. No doubt the reason for the name change was to help keep his precious name out of the press if she decided to go against the law or do something embarrassing again.

She shook her head, chuckling mirthlessly.

The lawyer frowned deeply, breaking his neutral expression. “Is that a no, Miss Tancredi?”

“He’s unbelievable,” she muttered under her breath.

The lawyer inhaled before he said, “He also wanted me to pass this on to you.” He slid a small envelop across the table at her.

She tore it open carelessly and scanned through it. The words would have shocked her if she had received it a week ago, but now, she felt too numb to respond to her father’s latest act of selfishness. Sara wondered if he even loved her. And if he did, he was showing it in a very strange way.

“So, he’s going to just cut me off, huh?” she remarked coldly. “How very kind of him to reassure me that nothing will change except my name and we can still meet up for lunch,” she scorned. “How sweet of him.”

The lawyer did not respond to her sarcastic remarks. “You will still keep your trust fund. All we need to do is to convert it into a new one, in your new name,” the lawyer explained.

She threw the letter onto the table carelessly and leaned onto the back of the chair. “I guess it wouldn’t be too much of a change, considering how often I come into contact with him nowadays,” she remarked.

The lawyer gave her an unsympathetic look. “I need your answer, Miss Tancredi. If you do not accept the offer, then we would just have to let justice run its course. But Vice-President Tancredi would rather avoid that. We have been able to keep most of this off the press so far and he is keen that it remains that way.”

Of course he would, Sara thought in disgust. He would not want his name splashed all over the papers in relation to her latest activity.

She thought back to all their times together. Her father had never approved of anything she did. He had been the absentee father who only turned up whenever it suited him. And normally, he had turned up only to give her another lecture on the way she was wrecking her life.

By doing this, she would be free to pursue whatever she liked without having her father hanging over her disapprovingly. Unbeknownst to him, he has finally given her the freedom she had always wanted. She was free to do what she liked.

Finally making her decision, she said resolutely, “Tell him okay. I’ll do it.”

The lawyer smiled for the first time in the meeting.

McCormick's Creek State Park, Indiana was 50 miles south-west of Indianapolis.

Michael stood with the other four escapees at the entrance to the park, waiting their turn to be admitted. They were all outfitted in various forms of disguises and all sported generous midsections.

In front of him, Lincoln and Sucre had large cowboy hats hiding their heads and dark sunglasses on their faces.

Michael turned to look over his shoulders at Abruzzi and C-Note. Dressed as an old man, Abruzzi was hunched over, leaning his weight against a tattered cane, as C-Note appeared to hover solicitously over him. Michael fought his urge to grin at the look of displeasure on C-Note’s face.

They paid and made their way past the entrance to find themselves surrounded by scenic nature. Tall, lush trees surrounded them and the air was filled with sound of chirping birds and the occasional calls of the wildlife.

As they passed, a park ranger next to the entrance called out, “Park’s closing at 11pm. That’s in three hours. Make sure you all make it back out here by then if you don’t want to spend the night with the wild animals.”

Michael nodded at him, and then exchanged a meaningful glance with Lincoln. They had no intention of leaving the park by that time. Anna’s leather-bound journal had told him that the money was hidden along one of the hiking trails in a small cave off a cliff, but he could not possibly do what he had planned to do with other visitors around.

As they moved away from the other visitors, Abruzzi hissed irritably, “What now, Scofield?”

Being hunched over a cane obviously was not doing much to improve Abruzzi attitude. And neither was squinting through a pair of ill-fitting spectacles, Michael gathered.

“We find the right trail. Then we wait,” Michael said quietly, his sharp eyes glancing around, looking out for the trail they were interested in. A wooden signboard pointing to their right said ‘Trail 5’. Michael’s lips lifted. “We’re in business, gentlemen.”

Lincoln came up to him, his eyes also fixed on the signboard. “Is that the right one?”

“If I’ve read the journal correctly, that’s the one.”

C-Note shook his head in confusion. “Fish, that journal’s full of chess moves. Nothing else. How can you tell if that’s the right one?”

“Those moves tell us where the money is,” Michael explained as he started towards Trail 5.

“This might just be a wild goose chase, for all we know,” Abruzzi scoffed sceptically.

Lincoln threw Abruzzi a sharp look. “You’re still free to walk away.”

Abruzzi glared at him. “And why should I do that?”

Michael studied Abruzzi, noting the impatience in his gait and the cagey light in his eyes, and wondered not for the first time if the man would really keep to his end of the deal. At the moment, his attitude was not encouraging.

“Hey, we’re supposed to be a team here, remember?” Sucre said with a frown.

“Not for long,” Abruzzi muttered as he kicked a twig out of his way.

C-Note gave him a disgusted look, but did not say anything as he continued to make his way down the trail.

Sucre, for once, decided not to let Abruzzi’s comment go. “Look, Abruzzi. What’s your problem, exactly?” he challenged with a frown.

Abruzzi sneered. “You really want to know? I have a problem working with certain people, that’s all.”

C-Note stopped abruptly and swung back to face Abruzzi. “Watch your mouth, old man!”

Unconcerned by the other man’s warning, Abruzzi shoved him in the chest. “Who are you calling an old man, huh?”

Slapping the other man’s hands away, C-Note snarled, “Without all of us, you’ll still be stuck in that hole. So, if I were you, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“Or what?” Abruzzi taunted.

“Enough!” Lincoln snapped, glaring at them one after another.

His expression cold, Michael said flatly, “You’re not doing yourself any favours here, Abruzzi.” The guy was making real enemies out of C-Note and Sucre. And Michael already knew that Lincoln harboured a grudge against the ex-mob-boss for cutting off his toes and beating him up.

Unperturbed, Abruzzi came back with a cocky, “Do I care? Once we get the money, we’re splitting.”

“IF we find the money,” Michael reminded him.

“We had better find the money, Scofield,” C-Note said with a worried frown. “Can’t disappear without it.”

Sucre threw his hands up over his head. “We’ve got to find it.” He turned his head upwards. “Maricruz and the baby will need it.”

And he needed it to buy his way to clear his brother’s name and to find Sara, Michael thought with an inward sigh. But he could not afford to be distracted by those thoughts right now. Resolutely ordering himself not to think too far ahead, Michael turned away from the rest and continued to walk along the trail.

A beech-maple forest surrounded them, the trees towering over to form a canopy over the trail. The place was silent bar the occasional sounds of wild animals. Soon they should hit another trail. And that was the one he was really interested in. That was the one with Westmoreland’s money.

Sucre came up beside him. “Hey, Fish, you think the money’s really there?”

Michael shrugged. He did not know for sure, but there was no reason for Anna to lie to them. “We’ll find out soon. Need to get to Trail 3 first.”

“That’s where Anna left it?” Lincoln asked.

With a nod, Michael replied, “It’s hidden in a cliff, just after the limestone canyon.”

C-Note frowned. “How are we supposed to get to the cliff, Scofield?”

“If Anna managed it, I’m sure we could as well,” Michael replied calmly. Then he suddenly stopped. “We’re turning right into Trail 3 now,” he announced.

The walk along the second trail was harder as they had to hike upwards. Limestone formations and scenic waterfalls surrounded them. Michael wished that he had the time to just sit there to appreciate the natural beauty of his surroundings.

When they reached one of the higher points, he pulled out a small hand-drawn map from his pocket and studied it carefully, occasionally glancing around at his surroundings. A smile of satisfaction graced his lips when he found what he was looking for. They were in the right place.

Although it was already dark, a couple of other visitors were still milling around in the area. Knowing that it was best that they found somewhere close by to hide as soon as they could, Michael gestured for the rest to follow him into the adjacent forest.

“What are you doing, Scofield?” C-Note asked in bewilderment as he stumbled blindly through the bush.

“Getting us invisible.”

“What? Here?” Sucre asked, blinking at the thick bush surrounding them.

“What’s the plan, Mike?”

 

“We wait.”

They had been sitting mainly in silence in the darkness for the past couple of hours but Michael could sense the impatience in the way they kept shuffling. He had no doubt that each of them were thinking of ways they could use Westmoreland’s to make their journeys a little easier.

A quick glance at his watch told him that it was past eleven. “We should move now,” he said as he stood up. The park should be closed to the public by now, leaving them free to carry out what they had come to do.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Lincoln asked.

Michael nodded as he walked to the edge of the cliff where there was a small board explaining the geology of the limestone formations. “Yes. Here,” he said, nudging towards the edge of the rugged cliff. With Lincoln at his side, he stepped to the edge and looked down. The drop to the bottom of the cliff was easily 50 feet.

Lincoln glanced sideways at him worriedly.

Sucre sighed heavily as he looked down the cliff. “If we’re not so desperate, I would say that this is suicide,” he muttered shakily.

“Scared, Sucre?” Abruzzi mocked, raising an eyebrow.

“Some of us have more to lose than our mob friends,” C-Note said pointedly. “Like families. And children. Not that I expect you to understand that.”

Wanting to avoid another confrontation, Michael quickly said before Abruzzi could retort, “We need to find a way down.” He looked around in the moonlit darkness until he saw what he was looking for. Then he gestured towards a slight dip in the ground. “We need to head that way.”

“I’m right behind you,” Lincoln said immediately, lifting up his jumper to unravel a long length of rope from his midsection.

Wordlessly, the rest of the escapees followed them. As Lincoln began to tie the rope to a sturdy tree trunk nearby, the rest unravelled the hidden rope from their midsections and began to do the same. The other ends of the ropes were then tied around their waists.

When the ropes were secured, Michael gripped it tightly and lowered himself down the side of the cliff. Gritting his teeth in concentration, he felt around in the darkness for footholds in the limestone cliff and slowly descended. The risk of falling off the sheer cliff pumped adrenaline through his system, giving him the extra strength to hold on as he swung down unsteadily.

It took him a while to spot the small rock outcrop which Anna had described in her journal, but when he did, he swung the rope towards it and landed on the narrow ledge.

“Swing to the right,” he quickly instructed the rest who were still above him.

Only when they had all landed safely on the ledge that Michael allowed himself to breath easily. Switching on his torch, he pulled the rope inside a short distance before he detached it from his waist and tied it around a rock. The rest followed suit.

Michael brought his torch up in front of him and shined it into the small, musty cave, and then immediately ducked as a flock of birds flew out in fright.

“What’s the-” Sucre exclaimed in surprise just before he flattened himself to the ground.

“Birds. We scared them,” Lincoln said shakily as they all straightened.

Still breathing erratically, Michael forced himself to exhale slowly and then made his way further into the cave. He caught sight of a large rock formation in the shape of a sleeping bear and went towards it, his heart now pounding in anticipation. Several smaller rocks were stacked over the large rocks.

“We need to move these rocks,” Michael said to the rest as he began to lift up the smaller ones.

C-Note frowned as he stepped closer. “It’s buried there?”

“We’ll see,” Michael replied quietly.

Between the five of them, the pile of rocks gradually reduced. Then Lincoln exclaimed, “I see something.”

Everyone stilled.

“Where?” Abruzzi asked impatiently.

Quickly, Michael rolled a few more pieces of rock off the pile, exposing a large black bag lodged under the large rock.

“That’s what I think it is?” Sucre said in awe, his eyes wide.

“Come on, come on. What are we waiting for?” Abruzzi hissed in excitement as Michael pulled the bag out.

He looked around, noting the anticipation on each of their faces. “This is it, guys,” Michael said in satisfaction as he dropped the bag onto the floor. “We’ll be going on our separate ways after this with our own share.”

The cave was silent as they all held their breath collectively while Michael opened the bag. A burst of excited exclamation followed when they saw the bills through a layer of transparent plastic.

Inside the bag, Michael found five other sealed waterproof pouches. One appeared to have been opened. It must have been the one Anna dipped into. In her journal, she said she had taken about 50,000 dollars, which meant that he had to take 10,000 dollars from each of the other pouches to even everything out.

“What are you doing?” C-Note asked warily as Michael began to tear open the pouches.

“Redistributing,” he said, and then explained what Anna had done. “We’ll each have 10,000 dollars short of a million.”

Abruzzi gave him a suspicious look. “How do we know that you’re not just taking more for yourself?”

Michael tensed. Then, glancing at Abruzzi out of the corner of his eyes, he said coldly, “You’re welcomed to count each of them if you like.”

“Don’t listen to him, man. Just do what you need to do and give us our share,” Sucre said, throwing a frown at Abruzzi.

Michael continued to redistribute the money under the watchful eyes of a silent C-Note and a grumbling Abruzzi. When he was done, he stood up with a small smile.

“This is the end of our partnership, gentlemen. Once you get your cash, you’re on your own. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to keep your head low. It has been a pleasure working with you,” he announced quietly.

Sucre grinned as Michael passed him a pouch. “It’s been great, Scofield,” he said before he gave Michael a warm hug. “Keep in touch, alright?”

Michael nodded. “Not soon. But we’ll try.” Then he tossed a bag to C-Note.

C-Note caught it easily and then stepped forward to slap Michael on the back in a comradely fashion. “Thanks, Scofield.”

Abruzzi’s expression was mixed when he took his share from Michael.

“Remember our deal, Abruzzi,” Michael warned. There was still that doubt in his mind as to whether Abruzzi would keep up his end of the bargain. The last thing he wanted was for Abruzzi to come after him or any of his friends and family to demand Fibonacci after this.

Abruzzi raised his eyebrows. “What do you take me for? I’m a man of my words.”

Lincoln snorted. “Just stay away if you know what’s good for you,” he warned.

Abruzzi smirked.

“Linc,” Michael called out with a smile, handing his brother his share.

With a grin, Lincoln took the pouch and inserted it into his backpack.

“Alright, guys. Time to split,” Michael declared in a tone of finality.

They went to the mouth of the cave, each of them with a satisfied look on their faces.

Securing the ropes around the waists again, Sucre, C-Note and Lincoln were out first onto the narrow rock outcrop outside the cave, each of them holding on to the rope dangling down the side of the cliff.

Michael was securing his own rope to his waist as the three of them started to climb, when a crumbling sound reached his ears. A sharp exclamation of horror immediately followed.

Michael turned around just in time to see Abruzzi’s terrified expression as he disappeared off the ledge down the side of the cliff.

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