CHAPTER 4 — The Lockdown That Was Never a Drill
The emergency siren screamed through every corridor.
Red warning lights flashed across the concrete walls.
Metal doors slammed shut one after another with thunderous force, sealing each housing unit.
But something felt wrong.
Veteran guards exchanged uneasy glances.
This wasn't the normal lockdown procedure.
The lights had gone out before the command was announced.
Someone had overridden the prison's security system.
David immediately slipped the envelope containing the evidence inside his protective vest.
"Stay behind me," he told Victor.
Victor gave a bitter smile.
"For the first time in twenty years..."
"...I'm taking orders from a guard."
David didn't answer.
Outside the interview room, footsteps echoed through the hallway.
Fast.
Purposeful.
Too many.
Three armed officers appeared around the corner.
But David recognized something instantly.
Their uniforms looked correct.
Their badges did not.
One badge displayed a serial number belonging to a retired officer.
Another had been clipped upside down.
Tiny mistakes.
The kind only someone who had studied prison procedure would notice.
The leader smiled.
"Officer David."
"The Warden wants the prisoner transferred immediately."
David never moved.
"No transfer order comes during a lockdown."
The man's smile disappeared.
"Open the door."
David quietly reached for his radio.
Only static.
The signal had been jammed.
Victor's expression darkened.
"They're not here for me..."
"They're here for that envelope."
One of the fake officers suddenly pulled a handgun fitted with a suppressor.
The hallway exploded into chaos.
David reacted before anyone else.
He slammed the reinforced steel door shut, locking all four bolts.
A muffled shot struck the metal.
Another.
Another.
Sparks flew from the hinges.
Inside the room, Victor stared at David.
"They're willing to kill a correctional officer inside a federal prison."
David nodded.
"Which means whatever's inside this envelope is worth more than both our lives."
Victor slowly sat down.
For years, he had ruled the prison through fear.
But today...
For the first time...
He realized the real monsters had never worn prison uniforms.
They had worn badges.
Outside, the fake officers stopped firing.
Silence returned.
Then came a voice through the door.
"David..."
"You have sixty seconds."
"Hand over the envelope..."
"...or everyone in Cell Block C dies."
Victor's face drained of color.
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Because Cell Block C housed nearly eighty inmates...
Including the only innocent teenager Victor had spent years secretly protecting.
