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The inmates were finally successful in breaking through the wall of the cell Greg was in. Three men came into the cell, slowly walking up to the CSI who was hugging the one remaining wall in terror. "Hand the key over," one of the inmates said in a calm, but very intimidating voice. "...Or we'll have to hurt you."
Another one of the inmates was holding a brick from the wall in his hand, prompting pictures of Demetrius James, the man Greg ran over a few years ago in self defense, back into the CSI's head. He knew that he had only one chance of getting out of there alive. He had to give up the key. "Alright..." Greg said in a defensive manner, "Just... please don't hurt me..." He was slowly reaching into his pocket to get the key out. When he did, one of the inmates grabbed his wrist before taking the key away from him. Another one grabbed his arm and pulled him through the hole in the wall they hammered.
Russell was still impatiently waiting in the Warden's office, hoping for some news on Greg's condition.
"Russell, don't give up hope," Brass whispered to him.
"I'm not, I..."
"I can see the look on your face. Greg knows not to provoke them. As long as they don't feel threatened by him they have no reason to kill him. They need him, he's leverage."
Russell gave him a look. "Yeah but I guess these guys are not too fond of CSIs, are they?"
"He'll pull through, I'm sure of it."
Russell sighed as he finally sat down. All this time he was walking around nervously. "It should've been me. I should've taken on this case. I wanted to do him a favor, give him the easier case..." He laughed humorlessly. "Guess that backfired, huh?"
"Come on, you know this is not your fault. Our jobs can get dangerous, we all know that. And he'll get out of there without a scratch, anyway, so don't worry. Any other day, he would've appreciated your favor."
Without daring to say a word, Greg was being escorted by some of the inmates into another Cell Block where several prison guards were already being held at. Greg had to sit down on the ground in the middle of the hall, together with three prison guards while several inmates were standing around them, making sure none of them would try to overpower them.
"Are you alright?" one of the guards asked Greg whispering.
He nodded. "How about you guys?"
The guard shook his head. "We have three injured in this cell block and don't know where the others are held at. Where have you been all this time?"
"I was locked up in a cell. They broke through the wall to get me out... I had to hand them over some key."
"...What key?"
Greg shrugged. "I think they said something about the warden's office, but I'm not sure."
The three guards shared a look. "No, you must've heard wrong. It's probably a key to the medicine cabinet in the hospital ward. They're probably seeking drugs."
"But they kept saying something about the..."
He got interrupted by another guard. "The key to the Warden's office is an electronic key. You heard wrong."
The emergency response team had finally come up with a plan to stop the prison riot. Since the inmates gathered in only four different areas of the prison and weren't carrying any firearms, the emergency response team was quickly taking control over the situation and was able to stop the riot. Dozens of prisoners got injured in the process but Greg and the prison guards were rescued without getting harmed.
But before he was allowed to talk to Russell and Brass, Greg was sent into the warden's office. They left him in there waiting for almost three hours. He finally walked in, accompanied by the three guards Greg was talking to earlier.
"...What took you so long? I could've come back later if you didn't have any time for me, you know," the young CSI said annoyed and impatiently.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize it would take so long." The warden smiled rather coldly. "I want to apologize for the inconveniences you experienced today. I'll make sure the prisoners will have to face consequences."
"...Yeah, fine. I was hoping we could talk about a key I found on Robert Leigh, the murder victim."
The warden looked at Greg all confused. "What key?"
Greg explained his finding, as well as what he had heard when the crowd was shouting at him. The warden and the prison guards were determined to talk Greg into believing that he heard wrong and that the key clearly belonged to the medicine cabinet in the hospital ward. Greg asked to check the lock, but they asked him to come back another time, claiming that they'd need some time after the riot.
"Don't worry, Mr. Sanders. We'll handle this internally. We'll immediately change the lock to the medicine cabinet."
After the conversation, Greg was finally allowed to leave the prison.
While sitting in the passenger seat of Russell's car, he kept replaying that talk with the warden inside his head. "Russell, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, what is it?"
Greg went on to tell Russell about the key and the Warden's response. "It just seemed so weird, almost like the warden was scared. Did he mention anything to you?"
"No, nothing."
"Something seemed off about him. I can't point my finger on it, but..."
Russell shrugged. "You've just been through a nightmare, maybe you're reflecting your emotions on him."
"Maybe..." Greg said without sounding too convinced. Something was wrong and he was determined to find out what it was.