McLean spent much of the next day going over his plan in his mind and avoiding Dalton Keller. He was sure the plan would work, as long as the others came through on their end, which was not a guarantee, especially with Phil who was an idiot. Still McLean was confident and until something happened to prove him wrong he would remain that way. He was less confident about avoiding Dalton for the entire day and was certain that if Dalton got a hold of him he wouldn't make it to the next day. This was less than comforting as the next day was the date of McLean's planned escape and if Dalton kept him from escaping he would never get to enact his revenge on those who had landed him here. McLean knew that if he died without getting his revenge he would die a very unhappy man indeed, so he had no intention of letting Dalton get him. The only question was how to avoid the man for the remainder of his time on the inside. It would not be an easy task, as Dalton had many allies in the prison, at least as many as McLean did, but McLean was never without a plan and he was fairly confident his plan for avoiding Dalton would work.
Unfortunately Dalton had a plan of his own and McLean would not be able to avoid him for the entire day. At dinner that night, Dalton and several of his cronies cornered McLean in one corner of the cafeteria.
"Alright McLean, time's up." Dalton snarled. "Time to pay up."
"Sorry Dalton, I can't." McLean said with an innocent smile.
"What do you mean you can't?" Dalton snapped. "I thought I made it clear what would happen if you don't pay up."
"You did." McLean said, with a nod. "But I don't really care. Your threats don't scare me and I have no intention of paying what I owe. So you can just walk away Keller, we're no longer in business together."
"You insolent little shit." Dalton snarled, advancing towards McLean. "You don't get to just walk away from me. I run this prison and now you're gonna die here."
"Keller, get back to your cell." a guard shouted, advancing towards them, his nightstick drawn. Dalton looked like he was going to disobey but then thought better of it. With one last glance at McLean he turned and stomped off to his cell, while McLean moved to get some more food.
A short while later, as McLean made his way back to his cell he ran into Carlos and Tommy, who were also on their way back to the cell block. McLean's two cohorts both nodded and McLean motioned for them to follow him. Once they were safely in McLean's cell he turned to face them. "Alright, there's been a change in the plan." he said, in hushed tones. "Instead of starting a fight with each other I want you to take out Keller, got it?"
Carlos and Tommy both nodded and McLean smiled. "Excellent, make sure Doug and Phil know the new plan as well." he said. His cohorts nodded again and left, leaving McLean to make one final run through of the plan.
The next day, as the prisoners made their way down to the cafeteria for lunch, McLean took note of where everyone was and made sure they all had visual contact with one another. Twenty minutes later, once the majority of the prison population was seated in the cafeteria, McLean gave the signal and Tommy, Carlos, Phil, and Doug approached Dalton's table. McLean watched as Tommy pulled out a shank and lunged at Dalton, who blocked that attack with ease. Within seconds the entire table was involved in a brawl, with more and more prisoners joining by the second. As soon as the cafeteria was consumed by chaos McLean slipped out past the guards as they moved to break up the brawl and made his way back to his cell where he retrieved the small capsule Carlos had gotten him six days earlier.
McLean had no idea exactly what was in the capsule but he knew it would get the job done, Carlos had assured him of that. Whatever drugs or chemicals Carlos' associates on the outside had put into the capsule McLean knew they would simulate the effects of an overdose and that the prison hospital would not be equipped to deal with his symptoms. Still, despite the months of planning McLean could not help feeling a little worried. If something went wrong and Carlos' drugs didn't work the way they were supposed to McLean could end up dead and then he wouldn't get his revenge. McLean pushed the thought aside as he made his way back down to the cafeteria, which was still in a state of chaos, much to his delight. For a moment he simply stood and watched the brawl amazed at how easily prisoners were spurred to violence. He had to give the guys credit, they certainly knew how create mayhem and he was grateful for that, though he still had no intention of returning for them once he was out. After another moment of admiring his cohort's handiwork McLean took a deep breath and swallowed the capsule.
The effects were instantaneous, as no sooner had the capsule hit McLean's stomach when an intense burning sensation began to radiate through his midsection. Seconds later McLean doubled over and began vomiting uncontrollably, the sound of his heaving echoing in the suddenly silent cafeteria. McLean felt the room begin to spin and the next thing he knew he was lying on his back with Carlos and two guards kneeling over him.
"I think he's fucking dying." Carlos said, glancing from McLean to the guards and then at Tommy, Phil, and Doug who were standing nearby.
"Fuck, I think Zapata is right." one of the guards said, also glancing at McLean.
The other guard looked less than convinced and for a moment it seemed like he was going to just let McLean lay there and die. But then he sighed and moved to pull McLean to his feet, supporting McLean's weight with one massive arm. "Alright McLean, let's get you to the prison hospital." the guard muttered, motioning for the other guard to join them.
Together the two guards half carried, half dragged McLean to the prison hospital with him coughing and vomiting the whole time. Moments later they entered the hospital ward where they were greeted by a nurse who lead them to one of the beds along the far wall. The guards deposited McLean in the bed and moved aside as the prison doctor entered.
"What've we got?" the doctor asked, her voice sounding to McLean as though it was coming from very far way. McLean had only seen the hospital doctor once, when he had first been brought here, but he remembered she had been kind. The doctor's name was Leslie Steiner and she was the only person in Archer whom McLean actually liked, despite having only met her once.
"We're not really sure, he just started vomiting and then he collapsed." one of the guards said, his voice bringing McLean back to the reality of the situation. It seemed Carlos' drugs were working, though McLean was shocked by how well they were working. He had not expected the pain to be so intense or the symptoms to be so sudden, but again he had to give Carlos credit. The former drug dealer certainly knew his craft.
"Well, let's take a look and see if we can't figure out what's wrong with him." Dr. Steiner said, moving to examine McLean. "McLean can you speak? Tell me what's wrong."
McLean tried to speak but nothing came out except for a gasp of pain. His eyes rolled and he began to convulse, blood dribbling out of the corners of his mouth.
"Shit, that's not good." Dr. Steiner said, her tone shocked. "I think he's been poisoned and if that's the case this is beyond my ability to treat."
"Well what the fuck are we supposed to do then?" one of the guards asked.
"We'll have to ship him to the hospital in town." Dr. Steiner answered.
"That is out of the question." said the other guard. "He's a prisoner at the most brutal prison in the country, there is no way in hell we are sending him to a hospital full of civilians."
"He's been poisoned." Dr. Steiner snapped. "Do you really think he's going to be a threat to anyone in his current condition? We can't just let him die, no matter what he did to land himself in here, we have an obligation to ensure his safety."
"Alright, we'll send him to the hospital in town." the first guard said, with a sigh. "Make the call Dr. Steiner."
Dr. Steiner nodded and moved to call the hospital in town. Fifteen minutes later the ambulance arrived and four paramedics entered the prison hospital. After stabilizing McLean they took him to the ambulance and loaded him inside with assurances that he would be taken care of and would be monitored at all times. Dr. Steiner and the guards watched the ambulance pull away before heading back into the prison, content that McLean would be treated and returned to them in working condition. But what none of them suspected was this was the last time they would ever see Chris McLean, as the paramedics were plants and McLean had planned all of this.
Twenty minutes later the ambulance pulled into an abandoned parking lot, where an SUV sat waiting for its arrival. Within the ambulance McLean was recovering, his fake paramedics having given him the antidote for the poison in Carlos' capsule. After several more minutes of recovery McLean made his way to the SUV where he was greeted by the driver's smile.
"Where to boss?" the driver asked, his smile widening.
"Take me to Fort Columbus, I have business to attended to there." McLean said, his smile sinister. The driver nodded and the SUV pulled out of the parking lot before heading towards Fort Columbus.
A/N: Oh yeah, I did it. I let McLean out. Some of you probably suspected this was going to happen and you were right. So, what does this mean for Bridgette and her friends? Well, it means a lot of things actually and you'll just have to keep reading to find out.