Back in his own cell, Yang Yi thought long and hard, and it was during exercise that he pondered. He had grown to like working out his body and mind simultaneously.
In the special security area, two people of great importance to Yang Yi were detained: one was the beast Wayne, who had to be taken out, and the other was Brian, who had to be rescued.
But Brian’s situation was not promising, and the difficulty of rescuing him was immense.
Brian had been incarcerated for many years, and now that the Soviet Union had dissolved, his importance was far less than when he first entered prison. Yet, having once been the CIA’s Middle East operations chief, his status and role were significant, so he remained the special security prisoner who garnered the most attention.
Brian’s defection was a significant victory for the KGB, as he was one of the highest-ranking turncoats within the CIA. During the period of US-Soviet rivalry, in the tremendously crucial Middle East, Brian’s betrayal severely damaged the CIA’s intelligence network there.
Had the Soviet Union not disintegrated so soon, and the KGB not already been in its twilight years when Brian defected, he could have been catastrophic to the CIA’s operations in the Middle East.
Therefore, the more significant Brian’s former position, the greater the damage he inflicted, the stricter the custody he was under.
The fact that Brian was still alive was miraculous in itself. If the CIA wasn’t hoping to extract more valuable information from him, his death would have been certain.
Brian hadn’t died, and he had survived the sunless years in prison, yet he remained the most strictly supervised individual in the special security area, without equal.
Everyone knew that although Brian was old, given the chance, he would surely escape. He still posed the greatest danger, so even if the scrutiny he was under had relaxed countless times compared to before, it was still the strictest.
Brian’s cell was searched every week for anything that might help him escape, his manacles checked daily for signs of tampering, and even his meals had to be eaten under the watchful eyes of prison guards.
These procedures had become routine, and no one paid special attention to Brian’s surveillance; yet these routines signified the importance of their purpose and were sufficiently effective in forestalling any possibility of his escape.
If no one helped Brian, he would never think of leaving prison. Yang Yi was the only person who could assist, and he indeed decided to help Brian.
But how to help a prisoner under maximum security to escape? Yang Yi genuinely couldn’t think of any good ideas. So, he set a principle: he shouldn’t be dragged down by Brian to the point where he too was stuck in prison. On this principle, he would do everything within his power.
"Hank, could you make a key that can open heavy manacles, not the type you used before, but the heavy-duty kind?"
Hank replied indifferently, "That kind of manacle, can you draw it?"
Yang Yi found a short piece of pencil and then sketched the shape of the manacles on the tin foil from a pack of cigarettes.
Yang Yi had a decent foundation in sketching, and his memory was good, so with a pencil, he could draw anything he had seen like a camera.
Having drawn the shape of the manacles, Yang Yi handed the tin foil to Hank. After taking it, Hank immediately frowned and said, "I’ve never seen these kinds of manacles."
"They are used for particularly important prisoners; ordinary ones would never have them. They’re extremely heavy. I asked around, and a full set of these manacles weighs about fifteen pounds."
After looking at the sketch of the manacles and pondering for a moment, Hank then asked Yang Yi, "Can you draw the shape of the keyhole? It’s best if you can match the original scale."
Yang Yi promptly sketched the shape of the keyhole.
Hank glanced at it and immediately said with a relaxed expression, "Just as I expected, most of the handcuff and shackle keys in prison are interchangeable, even for these heavy shackles."
Of course, a pair of handcuffs wouldn’t come with a single unique key; one key can open all cuffs of the same model, and the same goes for shackles.
Hank just took a look and said to Yang Yi, "The locks on these shackles should be the same as the ones I’m used to. I can make a key out of plastic, no problem."
Yang Yi immediately asked, "Good, then can you still use the key you made last time?"
Hank shook his head, "Better to remake it. A key made from a cigarette butt isn’t sturdy enough. If it breaks off inside the lock, we’ll be in trouble. I had no choice last time, but if possible, it’s best to use a stronger material."
"Great, find a sturdier material and make me a key, no, make that two."
Without any hesitation, Hank replied, "Sure, that’s easy."
As Yang Yi tapped his leg, he thought for a long time, then looked at Hank and asked, "Do you still want to escape?"
Hank was taken aback, then looked at Yang Yi and asked, "Why do you ask?"
"I just want to know, if there’s a chance to escape, would you try again?"
Hank sighed and said to Yang Yi with a sense of resignation, "The first time I escaped, four years were added to my sentence. After the last escape... I got an additional ten years tacked on. Buddy, I still have twenty-two years to spend in prison, but I don’t want to escape anymore."
Yang Yi was surprised and frowned, "Why not?"
Hank shrugged, "I don’t want to die, and most importantly, I don’t trust you."
Ever since Yang Yi had seen through his true nature, Hank had stopped putting on his sycophantic act in front of him, because there was no point in pretending anymore. However, Hank still acted submissively in front of Yang Yi and his flunkies, but this was the first time he had so bluntly expressed his distrust of Yang Yi.
Yang Yi said with some astonishment, "Well, you’re certainly candid."
With a helpless look, Hank replied, "How do I know if someone still wants me dead?"
Hank all but pointed at Yang Yi’s nose to say he was afraid of being harmed by him. Having once framed Hank, Yang Yi of course knew what Hank was worried about, so he said very seriously, "If I decide to escape and I’m willing to take you with me, no, if we collaborate on an escape, would you agree?"
"No, absolutely not!"
Hank refused Yang Yi’s proposal without any hesitation.
Yang Yi sighed and said, "Actually, I could use someone like you, really. After getting out, we could collaborate. Besides, I’ll do something significant to show my sincerity. How about it? Come with me."
But Hank was steadfast and shook his head, his voice firm, "I will never betray you. I know what happens to snitches, but I will never join you in an escape. Never!"