Back in the showers, the atmosphere was thick with unspoken tension.
"That newcomer is interesting," Abruzzi remarked, his eyes narrowing as he watched Lee Sin's retreating back.
In another corner, T-Bag's face was a mask of cold fury. He turned to one of his lackeys and hissed, "Find out exactly what that fresh fish did to get in here. I want his whole history on my desk."
Meanwhile, Michael and Westmoreland remained silent, both lost in their own complicated thoughts about the man who had just dismantled a giant without breaking a sweat.
…
Fox River, A-Block.
The hour between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM was free time—the last bit of "liberty" before the heavy iron doors slammed shut until morning.
Lee Sin stood by the second-floor railing, leaning against the cold steel, looking down at the sea of blue uniforms below. Many prisoners cast wary glances his way. He ignored them. His eyes were fixed on a specific target: the hulking bodyguard who followed C-Note around.
The guilt he felt from "releasing" Biggs earlier that day had faded. It turns out that once you take that first step, the second one is much easier.
He memorized the target's face, turned around, and headed back to his cell. Michael was already there, leaning against the wall and meticulously folding a white paper crane.
"Lee," Michael spoke suddenly, his voice low. "Have you regained any of your memory?"
Lee Sin climbed toward his top bunk with a faint smile. "Unfortunately, no. Still a fog."
"That's a shame," Michael replied, his eyes tracing the lines of the crane. "You don't remember anything from before?"
Lee Sin lay down, staring at the ceiling. He knew what Michael was doing—profiling him. "I can't say it's all gone. I remember the important things. The things that matter."
Michael's expression remained neutral. "That's a start. Do you have family? Anyone waiting for you out there?"
Lee Sin grinned, staring into the darkness. "Of course. I remember having plenty of girlfriends. I miss them dearly."
Michael paused, the answer clearly not what he expected. But given Lee Sin's looks, it wasn't hard to believe. "It sounds like you had quite the life, Lee."
"Probably. I imagine a life of extravagance, surrounded by beautiful women, living the dream," Lee Sin improvised, enjoying the confusion he was causing the genius architect.
"I see," Michael said, hesitating for a moment. "Have you thought about going back to that life?"
"Is that a serious question? You think I like it here?" Lee Sin laughed softly. "This godforsaken place took my memory. Of course I want out. But I'm looking at forty years, Michael. Forty years is a long time to wait."
"There's always hope," Michael replied cryptically.
"If you say so."
The conversation died there. Soon after, the guards finished the headcount, and the heavy doors slid shut with a synchronized thud. The prison descended into its usual night-time cacophony of shouting and rattling bars, but eventually, the lights went out, and a restless silence took over.
Lee Sin wasn't sleepy. He lay in the dark, summoned the fully restored Five Poison Gu, and gave it the command. In the shadows, the fly-sized insect left Lee Sin's body and flew toward its next target.
…
Outside Fox River – Dr. Sara Tancredi's Apartment
"Dr. Tancredi, the preliminary autopsy results are in. Just as you suspected, the deceased died of poisoning."
Sara, who had been reading on her sofa, sat bolt upright. "Thank you. Do we know what kind of toxin it was?"
"Not yet. The analysis is complex. We can confirm there's more than one type of toxin present—all of them rare and extremely lethal."
Sara's heart hammered against her ribs. "More than one??"
"Yes. It's almost impossible for this to have been an accidental exposure."
"Understood. Let me know the moment you identify the specifics," Sara said, her voice trembling slightly.
She reached for the phone to call Warden Pope, but it rang before she could dial. It was the Fox River medical clinic.
"Dr. Tancredi, another prisoner in A-Block just dropped. It's exactly like Biggs this morning. Can you get here immediately?"
"I'm on my way!"
…
Infirmary, Fox River
Half an hour later, Sara was looking at the body of a man named Bowman. Warden Pope stood beside her, his face so dark with rage it looked purple.
"I've run Fox River for decades," Pope growled. "I have never seen anything like this. How is someone getting poison into my yard?!"
Sara shook her head. "That's what you need to find out, Warden—and fast. These two are just the beginning. If the killer isn't caught, inmates and guards alike are going to keep dying."
Pope didn't need to be told twice. "A silent killer is the worst kind. Without a method, we're hunting a ghost." He turned to a guard. "Get Captain Bellick. Tell him to mobilize every free guard. We're doing a full sweep of A-Block. Now!"
…
Cell 40
Lee Sin lay in the darkness, a new notification echoing in his mind:
[You have successfully 'released' Bowman Smith. Reward: Stealing Skill]
A strange sensation tingled in his fingers—a sudden awareness of weight, balance, and the subtle art of misdirection. He felt like he could lift a watch off a man's wrist without him ever knowing.
But Lee Sin frowned. First, a deadly poison. Then, ancient Chinese martial arts. Now, the skills of a master thief.
'Something is definitely off,' he thought. 'The system isn't just helping me survive... it's turning me into something.'
Something wasn't right.
But objectively speaking, the Stealing Skill was incredibly valuable. Lee Sin had no complaints. After feeling the new dexterity in his fingers, he glanced at the guards outside, suppressed the lingering nausea from the "release," and forced himself to sleep.
He didn't sleep for long.
The lights suddenly blared to life, followed by a thunderous shout: "All inmates, on your feet!"
Lee Sin, who had only been out for about fifteen minutes, was jolted awake. Across the block, groans of protest and curses echoed as hundreds of unhappy prisoners were forced out of their bunks. The prison area was back in a state of chaos.
Lee Sin stayed in his bunk, peeking down at the floor. Warden Pope, Captain Bellick, and dozens of armed guards marched into view. His heart sank. Instinct told him that an operation of this scale was about him.
"QUIET!" Bellick roared.
The shouting gradually died down into a tense, heavy silence. Seeing that he had their attention, Pope looked around, his voice echoing through the steel and concrete.
"Gentlemen! We have a crisis on our hands!"
"Biggs this morning, and Bowman just a short time ago, were both murdered by poisoning!"
A ripple of murmurs went through the cells.
"I don't know who did it, or how they did it yet," Pope continued, his eyes cold. "But I promise you this: I will find the truth. I will bring the murderer to justice. This will not be ignored!"
"For the safety of everyone here, A-Block is now under Level 1 Lockdown, effective immediately. You will remain in your cells until the culprit is found!"
Pope paused, letting the weight of the words sink in. "If anyone has information regarding the murderer, I expect you to come forward. Do the right thing."
Without another word, Pope turned and walked out, followed by his personal detail.
Bellick lingered, a smug, sadistic grin on his face. "You heard the Warden! Anyone with a lead, talk now. Otherwise," he chuckled, "you're going to be staring at these four walls for a very, very long time."
…
As the guards began the lockdown procedures, the prisoners started shouting in protest. However, a few stayed silent, lost in their own realizations.
C-Note was one of them. He wasn't usually the quiet type, but his limited brain capacity was currently working overtime. It wasn't until he heard Pope mention "poisoning" that the pieces fell into place.
Bowman... and Biggs...
He thought back to the brief encounter with the "new fish" in the yard. Lee Sin had made a joke about a "zero-dollar purchase" for cigarettes. C-Note hadn't even touched him, and Lee Sin hadn't come back—yet Bowman, the man who tried to attack him, was dead.
A cold shiver ran down C-Note's spine. 'Is it that kid? How? He didn't even get close to him!' Fear, raw and primal, took hold of C-Note. He made a decision right then and there: Lee Sin was getting his cigarettes and matches. He didn't care how he got them to him; he just didn't want to be the third body in the morgue.
Snitching? No way. C-Note knew that being a "snitch" was a death sentence, but being a target of a ghost-killer was worse. He'd just pay the "tax" and stay out of the way.
Nearby, Westmoreland sat stroking his cat, his mind racing. He had seen Lee Sin provoke C-Note and nearly get mauled by Bowman. Combined with Lee Sin's chilling knowledge of his daughter and the five million dollars... he realized he had drastically underestimated the newcomer.
'He can kill without leaving a trace...' Westmoreland thought. 'For a man like that, these walls are nothing.' For the first time in decades, the old man began to seriously consider the possibility of actually leaving Fox River.
…
Cell 40
Michael Scofield was stunned. A Level 1 Lockdown was a death blow to his timeline. He was agitated, pacing the small space of the cell. He didn't have time for this! Every day wasted was a day closer to his brother's execution.
He glanced at the toilet—the "bolt" he needed was still out there on the bleachers. Without it, he couldn't even begin the work behind the walls. Frustrated, Michael slammed his fist against the concrete.
Lee Sin heard the muffled thud from the bunk below. He was just as annoyed.
'Man proposes, God disposes,' Lee Sin muttered to himself.
He had expected the poisoning to cause a stir, but a total lockdown was a massive hurdle. If he couldn't get out of his cell, he couldn't "release" more people. And if he didn't release more people, he wouldn't get the skills needed to escape.
But then, a dark, daring idea formed in his mind.
'What if I apply maximum pressure?' If he "released" someone else during the lockdown, it would prove to Pope that locking them up was useless. It would throw the prison into an absolute panic. It was a high-risk gamble—if Pope "exploded," things could get much worse.
But as Lee Sin felt the Five Poison Gu stirring within him, he knew he couldn't stop now.