EPISODE 4: THE ESCAPE ## CHAPTER 1: THE BREACH The alarm woke Marcus at 3:47 AM. He was dressed and moving within seconds, years of corrections training overriding the fog of interrupted sleep. The corridor outside his quarters was chaos—guards running, radios crackling with overlapping reports, the prison's emergency lights casting everything in harsh red. Captain Reeves met him at the junction to the administrative wing. "Block B. Two inmates breached the east wall twenty minutes ago. They had inside help—a guard named Patterson who's been here eight years." "Do we have eyes on them?" "Perimeter cameras lost them in the tree line. We've called for county support, but the roads are iced over. It'll be at least an hour before anyone can get here." Marcus took a breath, forcing himself to think. "Who are the inmates?" Reeves consulted her tablet. "David Chen—serving twenty-five for armed robbery, no violent incidents during incarceration. And Thomas Mercer—life sentence for three counts of murder. Mercer's the dangerous one. He's smart, patient, and he's been planning this for years." "Why would Patterson help them? Eight years without incident, and suddenly he's breaking prisoners out?" "That's what concerns me. Patterson wasn't the type. Solid family man, good evaluations, no red flags. Something changed him." --- ## CHAPTER 2: THE PURSUIT Marcus led the search...