CHAPTER 2 — The Janitor Who Was Never Just a Janitor
The next morning...
Marcus was already waiting.
Word had spread through every cellblock.
The old janitor would be cleaning the exercise yard.
Hundreds of inmates deliberately gathered there.
Not to exercise.
To watch.
Marcus sat on a weight bench like a king surrounded by loyal followers.
"There he is."
Walter slowly pushed his cleaning cart across the cracked concrete.
His movements were as slow as ever.
His shoulders remained bent.
His faded cap shaded his face.
Marcus picked up a basketball.
He bounced it once.
Twice.
Then hurled it directly at Walter's head.
THUD.
The ball struck the old man's shoulder.
Walter stumbled...
But somehow managed to keep the bucket from spilling.
More laughter.
Marcus applauded sarcastically.
"Still standing?"
"Impressive."
Walter looked at the basketball lying beside his feet.
For several seconds...
He simply stared at it.
Then...
Without changing expression...
He picked it up.
Everyone expected him to hand it back.
Instead...
Walter casually spun the ball once on a single finger.
Perfectly balanced.
The yard suddenly became quiet.
The spin lasted several seconds.
Then Walter gently tossed the ball back.
It landed softly in Marcus's lap.
Exactly.
Without bouncing once.
Marcus blinked.
"What the..."
One of the younger inmates whispered,
"Did you see that?"
Another shook his head.
"Probably luck."
Walter continued walking as though nothing had happened.
But several guards had seen it too.
Officer Daniels narrowed his eyes.
"No seventy-year-old moves like that..."
Later that afternoon...
Daniels quietly entered the prison administration office.
He couldn't stop thinking about the old janitor.
Something didn't add up.
He opened Walter's employment records.
The file was almost empty.
Name: Walter Hayes.
Age: 74.
Previous occupation: Security Guard.
No family.
No criminal history.
No military record.
Nothing.
Too clean.
Far too clean.
Daniels requested access to archived employment records.
ACCESS DENIED.
He tried again using supervisor credentials.
ACCESS DENIED.
Then...
A red message appeared on the screen.
FEDERAL CLEARANCE REQUIRED.
Daniels stared at the monitor.
"What kind of janitor needs federal clearance?"
Before he could investigate further...
The prison director quietly stepped into the office.
"Close that file."
Daniels looked confused.
"Sir...who is Walter?"
The director remained silent.
Finally he answered...
"The less you know..."
"The longer you'll stay alive."
Daniels laughed nervously.
"I thought you were joking."
The director wasn't smiling.
Meanwhile...
Deep beneath the prison...
Walter entered the same storage room.
This time...
Someone was already waiting.
A man wearing a dark suit.
No prison badge.
No identification.
He handed Walter a sealed envelope.
"The operation is moving faster than expected."
Walter opened it.
Inside were recent photographs.
Marcus meeting secretly with three correctional officers.
Cash changing hands.
Weapons.
Blueprints.
A date circled in red.
Three nights from now.
Prison escape.
Mass casualty expected.
Walter quietly closed the envelope.
"So..."
"It's beginning."
The suited man nodded.
"We finally know who's behind it."
Walter looked toward the ceiling...
As though he could see through layers of concrete directly into Marcus's cell.
"You think you're the hunter."
He whispered.
"But you've spent weeks entertaining the man sent here to destroy your entire organization."
Above ground...
Marcus laughed with his crew...
Planning the biggest prison escape in state history.
None of them realized...
The quiet old janitor pushing a mop through the hallways wasn't cleaning the prison at all.
He was gathering every piece needed to bring down a criminal empire that stretched far beyond those prison walls.
And before the week was over...
The most dangerous inmates would discover the terrifying truth.
Walter Hayes had never been a janitor.
May you like
That identity...
Had died decades ago.
