Chapter 2 - THE EVIDENCE FROZEN IN TIMEThe atmosphere in the yard instantly turned volatile. High up in the tower, Warden Vance immediately pulled away from his binoculars, spoke frantically into his radio, and slammed the heavy metal door shut.
"Lockdown! Code Red! Secure the yard immediately!" Vance’s booming voice barked over the prison loudspeakers.
Heavy iron gates began to slam shut. Alarm sirens blared, painting the concrete walls in flashing crimson light. Guards began shoving observers and visitors back toward the exit corridors.
"Get the boy out of here!" Officer Miller barked, but Noah ducked beneath a guard’s arm and grabbed my hand.
"Ethan, don't let them take the vest!" Noah screamed over the deafening alarm. "The file on that drive contains the raw audio from the auditor’s murder! It proves Vance paid the hitman and set you up because you were the only stranger in the area!"
Two guards tackled me to the ground, trying to pin my arms, while another attempted to slice through the thermal vest with a pair of shears.
"Not on my watch!" I roared.
With an adrenaline surge I hadn't felt in eight years, I pushed off the concrete, throwing one guard off balance. I pulled the collar of the vest away from my throat, grabbed the stitched seam with both hands, and ripped it open with sheer force.
The tiny, metallic micro-SD card popped out of the fabric and fell onto the dusty ground.
"Get it!" Officer Miller yelled, but he wasn't yelling at the guards to destroy it—he was yelling at his trusted corporal.
Miller had worked under Warden Vance for a decade, but he wasn't a murderer. He had watched me spend eight years as a model prisoner, quiet, respectful, and endlessly protesting my innocence. Miller dove to the ground, scooped the tiny card into his palm, and shoved it deep inside his tactical glove.
"Miller! Hand that over!" yelled Captain Ryker, Vance’s personal enforcer on the guard staff, as he burst into the yard with four armed riot officers.
Miller stood up slowly, placing himself between Ryker’s men and me. "This is evidence in an ongoing review, Captain. It goes straight to the District Attorney's federal liaison, not to the Warden."
May you like
"The Warden controls this facility!" Ryker spat, unholstering his stun baton. "You're committing treason against this department, Miller!"
"No," Miller replied coldly, drawing his service weapon and aiming it down. "I'm doing my job."
