Chapter 1 - The Iron Coin
Blackgate Penitentiary was a fortress built of cold stone and forgotten nightmares.
The air inside the maximum security wing always smelled of rust and despair.
Elias Thorne walked into the crowded cafeteria with a plastic tray trembling slightly in his wrinkled hands.
He looked like an incredibly easy target with his hunched shoulders and snow-white hair.
Most of the inmates assumed he was just a frail old man serving out the end of a white-collar sentence.
Marcus Vance sat at the center table like a brutal king upon a concrete throne.
Everyone in the prison called Marcus the beast because he had allegedly killed three men with his bare hands.
Marcus absolutely hated the way Elias walked through the room with quiet and unbothered dignity.
He stood up and intentionally blocked the old man's path to the tables.
"You are breathing my air, Grandpa," Marcus growled as he puffed out his massive tattooed chest.
Elias did not look up from his tray of gray oatmeal and simply waited.
Marcus smirked and slapped the plastic tray completely out of the old man's hands.
The food splattered all over Elias's faded gray uniform and the filthy floor.
The entire cafeteria erupted into cruel and echoing laughter at the humiliation.
Marcus grabbed Elias by the collar and lifted the old man entirely onto his toes.
"Beg for my forgiveness right now before I snap your fragile little neck," Marcus whispered maliciously.
Elias finally raised his piercing blue eyes to meet the giant's aggressive gaze.
His eyes held absolutely no fear and instead reflected a deep and chilling boredom.
Elias reached into his pocket with a remarkably steady hand.
He pulled out a heavy gold coin bearing a deeply engraved black crest.
He slammed it onto the metal table next to them with a deafening crack.
Officer Miller rushed over with his heavy baton raised high to strike Elias for causing a disturbance.
But the moment the seasoned guard saw the crest on the coin his face turned completely pale.
Officer Miller immediately dropped his baton as if it had caught fire.
He unholstered his service weapon and racked the slide with trembling hands.
The entire cafeteria went dead silent as the inmates watched in pure shock.
Officer Miller did not aim his gun at the old man.
He pressed the cold steel barrel directly against the back of Marcus's head.
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"Let Mr. Thorne go right this second or I will blow your brains all over the wall," the guard shouted.
Before Marcus could even process the threat the heavy cafeteria doors slammed open to reveal the Warden holding a tactical shotgun.
