CHAPTER 6 — The Man Behind the Badge
The corridor erupted into chaos.
Nearly eighty inmates stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a human wall between the armed intruders and David.
No one threw a punch.
No one rushed forward.
The silence itself was intimidating.
The fake officers hesitated.
They had expected frightened prisoners.
Instead, they faced men who had suddenly stopped fearing them.
Victor stepped out from the front of the line.
His voice echoed through the hallway.
"For twenty years..."
"You people made us believe we were the worst monsters inside these walls."
He pointed directly at the leader of the armed group.
"But you're the ones who turned this prison into a business."
The man's expression hardened.
"You've always been smarter than the others, Victor."
"You should have stayed quiet."
Victor laughed bitterly.
"I did."
"For twenty-four years."
"And look where it got us."
The intruder slowly removed his cap.
Gasps spread through the hallway.
Even several correctional officers who had just arrived froze in disbelief.
It wasn't an outside attacker.
It was Deputy Warden Richard Sloan.
One of the most respected administrators in the entire prison.
The man who regularly appeared on television speaking about rehabilitation and justice.
David's jaw tightened.
"So it was you."
Sloan smiled calmly.
"No."
"It was never just me."
He glanced toward the security cameras mounted above the corridor.
"You think this prison belongs to the government?"
"It belongs to the people who profit from keeping secrets buried."
Several inmates exchanged confused looks.
Sloan continued without fear.
"For twenty years we arranged inmate transfers."
"Witnesses disappeared."
"Evidence disappeared."
"People disappeared."
"And every promotion... every contract... every new prison wing..."
"...was paid for with silence."
Victor slowly clenched his fists.
"My friends died because of you."
Sloan shrugged.
"They were expenses."
The hallway fell silent.
Even hardened murderers looked horrified.
David took one careful step forward.
"My father discovered everything."
Sloan nodded.
"He did."
"And he almost destroyed us."
David's breathing stopped.
"You killed him."
For the first time...
Sloan's smile disappeared.
"No."
"I gave the order."
Before anyone could react, Sloan pressed a hidden button inside his sleeve.
A loud mechanical roar echoed through the building.
Steel blast doors began descending from the ceiling, cutting the prison into separate sections.
David stared at the closing barriers.
"They're trapping everyone."
Victor suddenly shouted,
"RUN!"
As the massive steel door crashed toward the floor, David dove through the narrowing opening with the evidence.
Victor was still on the other side.
The gap shrank...
Three feet.
Two.
One.
David reached back with everything he had.
Victor jumped.
Their hands locked together.
For one terrifying second...
Half of Victor's body remained beneath the descending steel door.
Every prisoner screamed.
Then David pulled with every ounce of strength he had.
Victor slid through only inches before the blast door slammed shut with an earth-shaking crash.
The corridor was split in half.
And somewhere beyond the sealed barrier...
Deputy Warden Sloan calmly applauded.
"Very impressive."
"But you're already too late."
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Because while everyone had been fighting in the hallway...
Someone else had entered the prison's evidence archive.
