Blackgate Correctional Facility – Maximum Security Block

Victor leaned against the cold concrete wall of his cell, arms crossed, watching as the heavy doors groaned open. The energy in the block shifted instantly. Inmates crowded their bars, voices rising in a mix of jeers, threats, and laughter. The fresh batch of prisoners shuffled in, shackled and wide-eyed, their fear like blood in the water.

Victor didn’t join the frenzy. He simply observed, his green eyes half-lidded but sharp. He had seen this play out too many times—some of them would break fast, folding under the weight of this place. Others would pretend to be tough, picking fights they couldn’t win. A few, the dangerous ones, would carve their own place in the hierarchy.

One kid caught his attention—a scrawny thing, probably no older than twenty, glancing around like a trapped rabbit. Too soft for a place like this. He wouldn't last.

"Dead in a week," Victor thought.

The loudest of the new arrivals, a muscle-bound idiot covered in gang tattoos, strutted in like he owned the place. He grinned, flashing gold teeth, mouthing off to the wrong people before he even made it to his cell.

Victor exhaled through his nose, shifting his weight. "He’ll learn the hard way."

A fight would break out before the night ended. It always did.

But Victor? He just watched. Let them all make their noise. He had nothing to prove. Not anymore.