(San Fernando proper)

Nathaniel parked his car two meters away from Sheldon's house. He was aware that the man would do his best to run from him if he gets a glimpse of Nathaniel's form walking towards his place. So, the marine opted to take the backside of Sheldon's dwelling and enter using the kitchen door. He and Valerie visited Sheldon a couple of months back, which gave Nathaniel enough familiarity with the Sheldon's house.

When his wife first introduced him to her family, Nathaniel immediately noticed the cold treatment Sheldon gave to his mother and sister. Many a time he asked Valerie about it, but even the woman he loves failed to comprehend why Sheldon acted that way towards them.

Nathaniel even went as far as asking Maria, but his in-law only shook her head and answered, "I have no idea."

Sheldon's house was a single-story edifice, a bungalow to be precise, located inside a prestigious subdivision.

A house that he managed to procure through years of — as per Maria's words— unimaginable things during his youth. However, Maria never questioned her son's decisions in life, except for the occasional scolding whenever she found him slacking off of his studies or getting himself in a brawl, back when he was a teen.

Maria once told Nathaniel that by doing so, Sheldon might warm up to her. Yet, despite her best efforts, Sheldon remained elusive to Maria's affection. Sheldon himself never gave a reason. But, by how his eyes gazed with anger at his mother, Nathaniel assumed that there was a hidden and deeper reason for the man's cold demeanor.

When the aged marine arrived in front of the kitchen door, immediately noticed something odd. The house was silent. Valerie told him Sheldon doesn't have work on a Saturday, so Nathaniel found it baffling that the house was quiet. It confused him. Yes, Sheldon was not an outgoing man, nor did he have a lover to spend the night with, but the man did love music and would often keep his songs at a high volume whenever he was home. He always, without fail did so.

Immediately, Nathaniel turned the knob on the kitchen door, but, surprise did not hit him when he found it locked. Despite Sheldon's antics in life, he was after all a prison guard, locking up would probably be on the top of his to-do list.

Perhaps the man was only asleep. Maybe his playlist had reached its end.

After Nathaniel failed to dislodge the door, he pulled out the cell phone inside his pocket and dialed Sheldon's number. He smiled when the call went through, but it was immediately wiped off of his face when a voice he did not recognize answered the phone. It was the voice of a man, a rough cold tone that sent shivers down his spine.

"Hello, if you're calling for the phone's owner, he is probably dead," the voice said before the call got interrupted by a screeching sound and finally got disconnected.

The marine immediately spun on his heel and headed for his car. Something was wrong, something was definitely wrong. His years of service taught him this. He was perhaps old, but what he learned throughout his career remained.

***

(East Wing San Fernando Correctional)

"That's not funny," Oscar yelled when Rudolf finally let loose the phone in his hand.

"It was funny to me," the drug lord answered.

"We finally got a signal and you decided to answer a freak'n call, we could have contacted your brother!" Oscar yelled.

Rudolf stared back at him and calmly said, "Relax, we will get out of here. My brother and his men are just outside, and those damned guards are probably busy getting this place opened, so cheer up."

Oscar furrowed his brow. "What do you mean your brother is just outside?"

Rudolf leisurely munched on a piece of biscuit as he answered, "How do you think my brother's man got inside? Those damned guards outside had long met their creator."

Oscar watched as his companion laughed between bites. He wanted so much to get out of prison, but the amount of death Rudolf brought was something he did not foresee. Yes, Oscar was aware that the drug lord had a loose screw in the head, but there must be around thirty guards positioned outside the prison building. Was the lunatic implying that they're all dead? Oscar couldn't help but lament at the amount of blood that was probably staining the grounds of San Fernando Correctional.

He thought their escape would be easy and undetected, long before they'd gone. Protacio arriving in the North Wing just as they were about to escape was something that he too, never thought possible. The warden was usually out of the prison building by early evening.

Oscar couldn't help but pray for the warden's soul. He was told by one of Rudolf's men earlier that they left the warden in the hands of Jasper, the man known as the matador.

Oscar shook his head, his silent escape plan turned out to be a full-blown riot and bloodshed. Something which in truth, he never truly wanted. He only longed to get out. That was it. But he chose to dance with the devil. He should have expected this hell.

***

(West Wing)

Johnny and Raffy were back to their previous task. They fumbled with the telephone and radio, hoping to get in touch with someone.

"I don't get it, surely the guards from the outside had already alerted someone. It's been hours!" Raffy complained.

Rudolf's man was tied behind their backs, their feet too was bound using a few of the nylon rope the guards found inside one of the warden's drawers. Two of them were unconscious, while the other three were badly beaten. Yet, one of the injured renegades managed to give out a laugh after Raffy voiced out his thoughts.

"You stupid guards, how the fuck do you think we got in here, we teleported?" he mocked.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sheldon screamed at the man.

The renegade glared at him and answered, "Everyone outside these walls is dead. You're all dead." He then glanced at Demitri and Farlow then chuckled before he murmured, "Your families too, are dead."

Farlow immediately got to his feet, hoisted the man up by pulling on his shirt's collar, and brought him level to his face, leaving the renegade's feet two inches above the floor.

"He's choking!" Demitri screamed when the man in Farlow's hand squirmed. "What the hell do you mean by dead?" Farlow asked, ignoring Demitri's comment.

"Better put him down if you want a reply!" Sheldon interjected.

Farlow, noticing the renegade's face beginning to take a bluish color finally let go. The man dropped to the floor and gasped for air. But with rage still coursing through his body, Farlow gave the man a kick on the stomach which sent the man curling into a ball

"Enough!" Demitri yelled as he stepped between his companion and the injured renegade.

"Aren't you worried?" Farlow questioned as he stared back at Demitri's eyes.

Demitri placed a hand on Farlow's shoulder and then murmured, "He's messing with you, there's no way Marshal would kill our family without seeing his brother out of these walls."

Farlow wasn't convinced. What assurance did both of them truly had about the safety of their families? He glanced down at the other man who was seated beside the one he choked earlier.

"Talk!" he yelled, which elicited a shudder from everyone inside the office.

The man who was in question suffered a broken nose and lost a few teeth. How the hell did those guards manage to out-power them, when they were the ones who had the element of surprise, the advantage in number, and for the hell of it, held more weapons? He couldn't help but muse.

The renegade thought about teasing the guards further, but the balling of Farlow's fist, immediately sent him talking.

"Look, we don't even have your family. Leader only sent a bunch of thugs to follow them."

"At that time, it was Demitri who asked, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You got played, as simple as that, moron," the man answered.

His face, beet red by the amount of anger dancing inside of him, propelled Farlow to land a serious blow on the man's face. The impact rendered the guy unconscious.

"So, what do we do now?" Mark asked.

Both senior guards shook their heads and answered, "We have no idea."

After a few minutes, when everything finally calmed down, Farlow and Demitri were shown the lever behind the cabinet. But, knowing that the prison building still had convicts lurking freely within its hallways, the guards decided not to reverse the lockdown.

"We need backup" Johnny murmured.

"Well, that's not going to happen anytime soon," Raffy answered.

Mark mused and went back to his original plan. Surely, the building has an escape route for guards if a lockdown with the likes of what they currently have happened. With that in mind, Mark suggested, "We need to find the warden."

Farlow and Demitri both stiffened after hearing what Mark said. Their action was immediately noticed by Sheldon, so he asked, "You know where the warden is, don't you?"

The two guards gazed at each other, Farlow ran a hand over his hair and murmured, "We have a problem."