Snake couldn't hear what they were saying beyond the one way mirror. He was afraid but unlike the people on the other side that had lived a sheltered life Snake knew what fear was. Snake could use fear. At times he embraced it.
Fear was what made you cautious and told you things were not right. It was fear that gave you that extra bit of speed to run when you knew you were about to get caught. Snake lived on fear more than he lived on courage. Snake knew most would be surprised by that revelation if he ever chose to share it. He didn't though. He went on letting them think he was afraid and that the fear threw him off. It didn't. Fear made him focused and aware.
Fear to Snake was like hearing check on the chess board. It was time to find the exit and find it fast. That was what the closed door meant to him. Check. Now it was time to avoid the check mate. He was already thinking it through. The halls, the walkways, the way from this room to the SWAT van and then to the prison. People expected him to escape but never in the ways he came up with. Part of it was to be subdued.
Snake rarely fought until the moment he was ready to burst free. That was controlled by fear when it got down to it. It was fear of prison or rather what prison entailed; crazies, castration and starvation, that forced him to bust out. This time would be no different than any other. Fear that had him pacing would lead to the analysis that would in the end discover a loop hole in the system. That loophole would allow him to slither free one more time.
Fear aided Plissken in other ways too. Officers were afraid to transfer him. They feared the degradation of being the one who let Plissken slip away. Snake could use that fear to his advantage. The lower police were afraid that he would attack them. They knew he had no restraint when it came to killing to get free. That too gave him an ace in the hole.
Snake sat down and watched the door. Fear had finally given way in his mind. The emotion died to cold hard instinct. The fearful prey was now the skillful predator. Snake smiled at the fact that they always saw that change much too late.
