A new day in Fox River.
Because A-Block was under Level 1 Lockdown, breakfast was delivered directly to the cells by the guards. Lee Sin had spent the night refining his plan, but there was a catch: the Five Poison Gu was still in its recovery state. He had to wait until lunch.
Around 9:00 AM, Warden Pope made his rounds. He shouted slogans about "order" and "cooperation," thinly veiling his threats. It didn't work. The inmates responded with nothing but guttural growls, discontented grumbling, and a few brave souls shouting profanities. Pope left empty-handed, his face tight with frustration.
Finally, it was lunchtime.
As the food was distributed and the inmates began to eat, Lee Sin stood by his cell door. He scanned the corridor. No guards were in sight. Without hesitation, he summoned the fully restored Five Poison Gu.
'Get to work,' he commanded.
It was broad daylight. Doing this now was a massive gamble; hundreds of eyes were pressed against the bars of their cells. If anyone spotted the shimmering, five-colored insect, the secret would be out. Lee Sin focused every ounce of his concentration, guiding the Gu through the shadows of the corridor.
Everything went smoothly. Five minutes later, the Gu infiltrated John Abruzzi's cell. It crawled along the damp corner and slipped into the clothing of Abruzzi's cellmate—a short, bald man named Quinn.
Seconds later, it was over.
Quinn was mid-bite when he suddenly stiffened. He collapsed to the floor, his body racking with violent convulsions. Foam bubbled from his lips.
Abruzzi jumped to his feet, his eyes bulging in terror. "What the f**k! There's poison in the food! THE FOOD IS POISONED! GUARDS!"
His roar ignited the block. Mark, the floor guard, sprinted toward the cell. Panicked prisoners who were currently eating immediately stopped. Many began gagging, sticking fingers down their throats to vomit up whatever they had just swallowed.
"Ugh... ugh..." The sound of mass retching echoed through the wing.
"Medical! Sector A needs a doctor now!" Mark barked into his radio. "Inmate Quinn is down!"
In Cell 40, a notification rang in Lee Sin's mind:
[You have successfully 'released' Quinn 'Fried' Stevens. Reward: American Iaijutsu – Pistol Marksmanship (50% Accuracy).]
Lee Sin felt the knowledge of grip, stance, and trigger pull settle into his brain. He wasn't particularly impressed. 'Pistol skills? In here?' It was almost useless for now, but he stood by the door anyway, pretending to watch the chaos.
He had to fit in. Michael was watching the scene with a pale face, and others were screaming in terror. Lee Sin suppressed his indifference and put on a mask of solemn concern.
Minutes later, a swarm of guards, along with Warden Pope and Dr. Sara Tancredi, arrived. Quinn's body was dragged out and laid in the corridor. Sara knelt beside him, her hands moving quickly, but after ten seconds, she looked up at Pope and shook her head.
"He's gone, Warden."
The announcement was the spark the prisoners needed.
"Warden! Look what you've done!" one inmate screamed. "You're going to get us all killed!" "LET US OUT! F**K YOU!"
The uproar was deafening. Prisoners began slamming their bodies and fists against the iron doors. A full-scale riot was brewing.
Pope, his face twisted in fury and fear, turned to Bellick. "Take control of the kitchen staff immediately! Find out who delivered this lunch!"
"Yes, sir!" Bellick turned to the floor guards. "Who brought the trays? Step forward!"
A few trembling guards stepped out, their faces pale. "It wasn't us, sir! we just delivered what was given to us!"
"Shut up!" Pope snapped. "Take them to the yard. I want them isolated until we get answers."
As Pope and Sara left, the atmosphere in A-Block turned lethal. Amidst the rage, two men remained eerily silent. Both were staring at Lee Sin.
C-Note was paralyzed with fear. 'Holy s**t! How did he do it? He's locked in a cage and people are still dropping dead!' To C-Note, Lee Sin was no longer a man; he was a demon.
Westmoreland felt a different kind of chill. He gripped his cat tighter, his eyes locked on Lee Sin's calm silhouette. 'Who are you... and what do you really want?'
…
It was a good question. What did Lee Sin want?
Aside from forcing Pope to lift the lockdown, he had realized something the night before. Whether he went for Westmoreland's five million or headed to Colombia to find Pablo Escobar, he couldn't do it alone. He needed a lieutenant. Someone with resources, a ruthless streak, and the ability to get things done.
The answer was John Abruzzi.
By killing Quinn, Lee Sin had brought the shadow of death into Abruzzi's very home. He wanted the mob boss to feel the cold hand of fear, to realize that his status meant nothing against a ghost who could strike at any time.
It was the "Stick and Carrot" method. First, the beating. Later... the treat.
Lee Sin wasn't a master strategist yet; he was still an ordinary man learning to use extraordinary power. But as he watched the chaos he had created, he knew he was no longer the person who had arrived at Fox River. He was becoming something much more dangerous.
The Prison Yard.
The unfortunate guards responsible for lunch, along with the entire cafeteria staff, stood in a silent, trembling row. Armed guards in the watchtowers kept their sniper rifles trained on the group. Warden Pope paced in front of them, his face a mask of suppressed rage. He didn't say a word; he just let the silence eat at them.
Suddenly, the distance was filled with the wail of sirens. Police cruisers from nearby precincts swarmed into the prison. Because of Pope's decades of service and deep connections, he had managed to mobilize local law enforcement to assist in the crisis.
"Thank you for coming," Pope greeted the officers. "I won't waste time with details. I want the cafeteria turned upside down. Check every inch. If it's suspicious, if it looks like poison, bag it."
As the officers headed for the kitchen, Pope turned back to the suspects. "Three prisoners are dead. Whether it was one of you or all of you, you are murderers in my eyes. I'll say this once: confess now, and there might be room for a deal. Otherwise, I'll make sure you rot in a cell for the rest of your miserable lives!"
Pope was certain the killer was among them. A-Block was on lockdown; the poison couldn't have come from another inmate. It had to be a staff member. Yet, to his fury, not one person moved. They all maintained their innocence, looking more confused than guilty.
"Fine," Pope spat. "Bellick, get the tent ready. Strip-search every single one of them."
…
2:00 PM – The Infirmary
Dr. Sara Tancredi's phone rang. It was the toxicology lab.
"Dr. Tancredi, the results for Biggs are in. It's... it's insane. We found five high-potency toxins in his system: arsenic, ricin, cyanide, strychnine, and a cardiac glycoside from Lily of the Valley."
Sara froze. "Five? All in one person?"
"Yes. It's a cocktail of death. I can't imagine how this happened. What is going on in there?"
"I don't know," Sara whispered. "Tell me, with a dose like that, what's the incubation period? How long from ingestion to death?"
"There is no incubation period," the specialist replied firmly. "Once that hits the bloodstream, they're dead in sixty seconds. Usually less."
Sara rubbed her temples. "Then something is fundamentally wrong here."
She hung up and sprinted to find Pope. She explained the findings immediately. "Warden, the killer might not be from the cafeteria. Biggs died in the yard, hours after breakfast. Bowman died last night, nowhere near dinner. Quinn is the only one who died during a meal, and I suspect the killer did that specifically to lead us toward the food supply."
Pope nodded slowly. He was a veteran administrator; he saw the logic. If the poison kills in under a minute, the killer had to be near the victim at the moment of death.
But that made it worse. Much worse.
Biggs died in the open yard—anyone could have done it. But Bowman and Quinn? They died in locked cells.
"If it's not their cellmates, then it has to be..." Pope's voice trailed off, his heart clenching.
"A guard," Sara finished the thought for him.
Pope took a deep breath. "Sara, all three were poisoned, but how? They didn't have food or water right before they dropped."
"Maybe a cigarette?" Sara suggested. "Or something they touched?"
"Let's find out," Pope said, heading back toward A-Block.
…
A-Block
The atmosphere inside the prison was electric. Lee Sin watched with genuine curiosity. 'Don't these guys ever get tired?' he wondered. They had been screaming for two hours on empty stomachs.
Warden Pope arrived and began a desperate interrogation. He started with C-Note.
"He was just sleeping, man!" C-Note swore, his voice cracking with uncharacteristic fear. "He didn't eat, didn't drink, didn't even light up a smoke. He just... stopped."
Abruzzi gave the same report regarding Quinn. "He hadn't touched his lunch yet, Warden. He just collapsed."
Finally, Pope went to T-Bag. "What about Biggs in the yard?"
T-Bag sneered, though his eyes were restless. "Warden, we were outside. What is there to eat out there besides the dust? I swear on my life, he didn't put a thing in his mouth."
Pope left in a whirlwind of frustration, and his departure left a vacuum of silence that was soon filled by a new, more terrifying rumor among the inmates.
"There's a ghost-killer in here," one inmate whispered. "A serial killer who doesn't even need to touch you." "Who's next? Is it me? Is it you?"
The panic spread like wildfire. Suddenly, the bravado of the hardened criminals vanished.
"Guard! Guard!" a prisoner screamed, slamming his hands against the bars. "I want solitary! Put me in the hole! Now!"
"Me too! Take me to Ad-Seg!" another joined in.
Then, one inmate got "creative." "Guard! I confess! I've been sleeping with your mother! I'm your new step-dad! Come get me!"
The block erupted.
"I slept with all your moms!" "I'm your real father, you son of a b***h! Come put your daddy in solitary!"
Lee Sin watched from his top bunk, his jaw dropping. 'What the...? It actually worked?' These men were so terrified of his "invisible" poison that they were willing to endure the hell of solitary confinement and assault the guards' pride just to be behind a different set of bars.
He glanced at Michael, who was staring at the screaming inmates with a look of utter bewilderment. The carefully constructed plan for the prison break was being buried under a mountain of chaotic, unintended consequences.