S02E19: 'Sweet Caroline'

Despite being in possession of the recording that could exonerate Lincoln, Michael and his brother have discovered that it is legally useless as its date of origin cannot be verified. However, the tape contains such an incendiary revelation about President Caroline Reynolds that it has great value as a blackmailing tool and could be used as a bargaining chip to get Lincoln a presidential pardon. And with Reynolds due to make a public appearance in Chicago, the brothers are presented with the perfect opportunity to lay down the terms of the deal.

While Lincoln heads off to see an old friend who may be able to help them with an escape plan if this all goes wrong, Michael immerses himself in the crowd and waits for President Reynolds’s motorcade to arrive. She gets out of her limo and starts greeting the crowd, but is surprised when Michael leans across the barrier and thrusts a piece of paper into her hand. While Michael gets hustled away by security, President Reynolds opens the note and reads: “We have the tape.” Michael is handcuffed and led down a hallway by a group of agents. Suddenly Agent Kim appears and dismisses the others, before embarking on a futile and violent attempt to get Michael to reveal Lincoln’s whereabouts.

When President Reynolds arrives, she tells Kim to make himself scarce so that she can speak to Michael alone. She is not worried when Michael tells her that he has a recording of her speaking to her brother after Steadman’s ‘death’ – until he calmly reveals the scandalous contents of the tape. Michael suggests a trade: the tape for a pair of presidential pardons – and offers to let her hear the tape to let her know that he is serious. “These are the terms,” he says quietly. “You can hear it over the phone or you can hear it on the news. It’s up to you...”

T-Bag, meanwhile, thinks he is well on his way to an easy life – all he has to do is pick up his bag containing Westmoreland’s millions and continue on his way to Bangkok. Waiting at the baggage carousel after his connecting flight to Mexico, he spots his bag and heads towards it... until he also spies Bellick, who took the same flight to bountyhunt Sucre for Mahone. Ducking out of sight, T-Bag dashes into the baggage handling area and makes another attempt to grab his bag, but is stopped short when a handler sees him. T-Bag is forced to make a run for it when a scuffle with the handler leaves the guy out cold on the carousel – and he has to split without the cash. Oblivious to the fact that another Fox River fugitive has just slipped under his radar, Bellick heads off to hunt down Sucre – and it is not long before he finds the house where his quarry has been laying low. Sucre is horrified to come face to face with his old tormentor, and reluctantly allows Bellick to cuff him and lead him away. However, when he finds out that the price on his head is a lousy $100,000, he remembers spotting T-Bag on the news and offers Bellick a deal. “What if I knew where you could get $5million?”

Sara comes face-to-face with Mahone. After his suicide attempt is thwarted by a guard, C-Note is terrified that Mahone will make good on his promise to hurt Kacie and Dede. And Reynolds outdoes herself when she deals Michael and Lincoln a nasty surprise.