CHAPTER 3 — "The King of the Prison Receives an Offer He Cannot Refuse"
Word spread through Blackridge faster than any riot ever had.
Victor Carter...
The man who had ruled the prison for nearly fifteen years...
Had been taken down in less than three seconds.
By the "soft" new guard.
Every cafeteria table fell silent when Victor entered for dinner that evening.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody whispered.
They simply watched.
Victor carried his tray without looking at anyone and sat alone.
For the first time in years, no inmate dared approach him.
Humiliation burned inside him like fire.
Across the room, David calmly continued his rounds as if nothing had happened.
He neither celebrated nor mocked Victor.
That irritated Victor even more.
"I'd rather he laughed," Victor muttered.
One of his closest followers, Mason, leaned closer.
"Boss... give the order."
Victor looked up.
"We'll jump him tonight."
"Twelve men."
"No cameras."
"He'll disappear before morning."
Several inmates nodded eagerly.
Revenge was expected.
It was the only way Victor could keep his reputation.
Instead of answering...
Victor silently continued eating.
That surprised everyone.
Late that night, David made his routine inspection of Cell Block C.
As he approached Victor's cell, the giant inmate stood waiting in the shadows.
"So..."
David stopped.
"So."
"You embarrassed me."
"I restrained you."
Victor smirked.
"Same thing."
For several seconds neither man spoke.
Finally Victor asked,
"Why didn't you hit me?"
David's answer came immediately.
"Because you wanted me to."
Victor frowned.
"If I'd punched you, you'd become the victim."
"If I'd lost control, every inmate would have won."
"You don't defeat violence by feeding it."
Victor stared silently.
No guard had ever spoken to him like that.
Not with fear.
Not with arrogance.
Just honesty.
Before Victor could answer, alarms suddenly exploded throughout the prison.
Red emergency lights flooded every corridor.
"LOCKDOWN!"
"ALL UNITS RESPOND!"
Screams echoed from Cell Block D.
A prison riot had begun.
David sprinted toward the disturbance.
Smoke filled the hallway.
Broken glass covered the floor.
Several inmates had overpowered two guards and stolen their keys.
Others were smashing surveillance cameras.
Someone shouted,
"They're heading for the armory!"
David grabbed his radio.
"Seal every exit!"
But before anyone could react...
A masked inmate attacked him from behind with a sharpened metal shank.
David twisted just enough for the blade to slash his shoulder instead of his neck.
Another attacker rushed him.
Then another.
Within seconds...
Five inmates surrounded him.
Hidden among the chaos...
Someone smiled.
It wasn't Victor.
It was Deputy Warden Richard Hale.
Watching everything unfold through the security cameras...
He quietly whispered,
"Now nobody will ever discover what we've been hiding."
And for the first time...
May you like
David realized the riot hadn't started by accident.
Someone inside the prison had planned every second of it.
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