"Relax, I'm your friend, otherwise I would have already turned you in, no?" said Nolan, watching the tense Michael.
Michael rubbed his forehead, thought for a couple of seconds and then asked, "What do you want?"
"For now nothing, I have nothing to ask" Nolan smiled kindly. "Is that okay?"
Michael did not answer affirmatively. "I can't promise you anything."
"It doesn't matter, I'll get what I want." Nolan smiled again and added: "Michael, don't be so serious, better let's be clear and put everything on the table, it's a good thing, from now on you can dig the tunnels whenever you want, you should be happy, right?"
"You showed your card, and what about mine?" thought Michael, very irritated. "Then we'll be in the same boat from now on, if we want to get out, I'll need your help."
"No problem, what do you think you need, a long screw?" Nolan asked with a smile.
"..."
"This guy! How can he even know that?" Michael asked himself with dilated eyes.
With his character, or rather his need for control, it was impossible for him to admit anything. "I'll tell you when I need your help."
Saying this, Michael turned away and continued washing his clothes in silence. Inside he was agitated, with a thousand thoughts running through his head.
Losing control meant the future was suddenly full of variables. Michael could not, nor did he want to, bear that risk. He needed to find a way to compensate for it.
Nolan didn't care. He had had enough fun and said no more, he lay down, made himself comfortable, and slept well. ...
The next day the sun shone and the weather was pleasant.
Not long after entering the yard, Westmoreland approached him and quietly reminded Nolan: "Today will be the fight between blacks and whites, be careful."
"Thanks." Nolan answered with a nod, Westmoreland left immediately.
Nolan did not worry, he walked calmly, sat on the grass and passed the time unhurriedly, the racial war would not take place in that yard, but in Area A prison.
The reason is simple, there were watchtowers around and armed guards patrolling the grounds, if the inmates fought the guards would shoot.
With the first shot the fight would end, it's boring to kill only a few in such little time, he knows it, and the guards do too.
Therefore he expected the raid to confiscate contraband to occur before or after lunch.
He planned to get another weapon for the afternoon, and when the battle started, take advantage of the chaos to kill as many prisoners as he could.
Thinking about killing no longer disgusted him so much. On one hand, almost all the inmates are criminals, so the psychological barrier is not so strong.
On the other hand, the important thing is to survive, if one decides not to attack, that does not mean others will not attack him, this is a dog-eat-dog world, it always has been and always will be, the difference is who devours whom. ...
While Nolan daydreamed and prepared himself mentally for what he was going to do, Michael sat on a bleacher, silently unscrewing a long screw that was under the seat.
He was almost done when a group of T-Bag appeared. Michael saw them and tried to hurry, he wanted to leave with the screw before they arrived, but he didn't make it.
Just as he pulled out the screw, before he could hide it, T-Bag's group reached him and T-Bag, seeing the screw in his hand, smiled licking his lips.
"Pretty boy, I thought I made it clear last time, if you don't join us you can't be here and yet you come again trying to take that."
"What are you going to do? Do you think you're black and can stand up to us?"
Michael remained silent. T-Bag tugged at the left pocket of his pants and smiled. "Pretty boy, if you hold my pocket and become mine, I won't say anything, and what you have in your hand will be yours."
Michael looked at him and this time answered: "Don't even dream it."
T-Bag's smile disappeared, he reached out his hand and said, "Don't make me do it by force, it would be a shame if your face stopped being so pretty."
Once again everything got out of control, Michael stayed calm, endured the irritation, and without resisting, he stood up, obediently handed over the long screw and looked at him with a sombre face. ...
Seeing the scene, Nolan could not help thinking about what happened in the original series, it seems they are destined to clash, which is rather interesting.
While he daydreamed, Nolan imagined what would have happened if Michael had taken T-Bag's pocket, no, too disturbing.
Not long passed before a guard scolded them, and Michael left unharmed, now Michael walked distractedly in his direction.
Michael reached Nolan and sat down: "Did you see what happened?" he asked in a low voice.
"I saw." Nolan nodded.
"I need that screw, without it I can't complete the first step." said Michael. "How can I get it back? What do you suggest?"
"It's simple, go and talk to him seriously, it will surely work." Nolan answered as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"..." Michael was speechless for a moment. "I'm serious."
"Me too" Nolan replied, still smiling. "You're a genius, don't you see you have a good chance to talk to him?"
"What chance are you talking about?" Michael didn't understand.
"About the three poisoned inmates, wasn't one of them from T-Bag's people?" Nolan hinted.
As a true genius, Michael understood instantly and was surprised. "You want me to pretend to be the poisoning murderer?"
Nolan nodded firmly. "Exactly, you're so clever, think it over, is it viable? No matter how tough T-Bag acts, he also fears death."
"Give him a hint and scare him, in the end everything will depend on how convincing you are."
Michael thought about it and realized he hadn't considered that possibility.