Prison Break

**Prison Break** was a role-play that took place from May-July 2020. It was a crime-drama and action-thriller, and its plot centred around two brothers; Lincoln Burrows, who had been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and his younger brother Michael Scofield, a genius who devised an elaborate plan to help him escape prison by purposely getting himself incarcerated.

Beyond the two brothers, other main characters in this role-play included Fat Tony, Culverton Smith, Andy Dufresne and Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin.

## Storyline

Senator Catherine Durant, the former Secretary of State, is delivering a speech within her home state, where she is joined by dozens of her constituents, as well as various reporters. She speaks of ongoing corruption in the Senate, saying that she feels the need to blow the whistle and expose the dishonesty within the political system. As Durant is doing so however, a gun shot is heard, and she falls to the floor within seconds. Police enter the scene and seize Lincoln Burrows, who is standing several feet away from the Senator and appears to be holding a weapon of sorts. Burrows continuously pleads innocence, but is arrested and charged for the murder. No more than one month later, he was found guilty and sentenced to the death penalty.

In spite of his conviction, Lincoln maintained his claim of innocence. Whenever his brother, Michael Scofield, would visit, he would often plead his case and argue his guiltlessness. Lincoln's claim was that, prior to the events that took place, he received an anonymous phone call telling him that his ex-wife and son were in danger, and in order to find out more he had to be at this location at a specific time. He subsequently brought a gun to protect himself, and the next thing he knew he was being arrested. When asked as to why the murder weapon had his finger prints on, Burrows responded by suggesting that it had been switched with his own gun by corrupt police officers. He promises Michael that he was in fact framed, and had no motive to murder Durant. Michael eventually believes Lincoln's story, and promises to get him out of prison.

One month later, Michael puts his plan in action. He makes an attempt at robbing a bank, and then surrenders without incident when the police arrive. He was found guilty by the courts, and was therefore sentenced to five years in prison. He was however granted his one request as part of a plea deal, which would allow him to serve at Fox River State Penitentiary; the same prison his brother is serving time.

His next encounter with Lincoln was to be at the prison chapel, where the two were to be reunited. When asked why he is there, Michael informs Lincoln that he stands by his word of getting him out of the prison. Lincoln then tells Michael that the only chance the two of them will have to see one another is by serving on the Prison Industries (PI) crew, to which Michael agrees and begins to set his plan in motion.

Michael's prison cell-mate is Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin, a former US Army sergeant and former truck driver. C-Note's time in the army had come to an end a few years prior after he had been unfairly dishonourably discharged as part of a war crimes cover-up. After that point, he had become a truck driver in order to provide for his family, though he was eventually incarcerated for having transported stolen goods. C-Note became a valuable friend to Michael in the prison, and introduced him to several other prisoners, the first of which was Andy Dufresne. Similar to Burrows, Dufresne had been incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, and was thus serving two life sentences. The next prisoner that Michael came across was Culverton Smith; a psychotic serial killer. Whilst Culverton initially introduces himself as the prison boss, Michael later discovers that true power lies in the hands of mob boss Fat Tony. The latter is in charge of PI, leading Michael to seek his assistance.

Michael finds Fat Tony and asks for a quid-pro-quo; he offers his services to Tony in exchange for being placed on the PI crew. He asks Fat Tony what he wants more than anything else, to which he responds that he wants to leave the prison. Michael says he may be able to help with that, but will require faith and patience. Fat Tony admires Michael's courage and optimism, and grants his command.

Having joined PI, Michael later gets the chance to meet with Lincoln again. He once again tells Lincoln that he knows how to escape from prison. When Lincoln asks if this means that Michael has seen the blueprints, Michael responds by saying: *"Better than that. I've got them on me."* He then reveals his mysterious body tattoo, which features a series of geometric patterns that disguise the blueprints of Fox River State Penitentiary. Later that day, he also makes this revelation to C-Note, who's help is required for much of the escape. C-Note agrees to join, and is eager to break free.

Soon enough, Michael lets Fat Tony in on the secret to fulfil his end of the deal, and the four men begin hatching their plan for escape. Michael informs them that the first part of the scheme requires breaking down the air vent in his cell, and using it as a passageway to get to the medical facility, where the latter part of the escape will take place. Breaking down the air vent will not only require the tools necessary for the job however, but it will also be noisy, and will thus need a distraction. Firstly, they agree to steal tools from PI, which can be used for the manual part of the job. Secondly, Fat Tony says he will pay one of the guards to tamper with the temperature system, which should in turn stir up the prisoners and bring about a riot as a means of distraction.

The next day, they put their plan into action. The heat situation proves insufferable for the inmates, and Culverton Smith leads the charge in confronting the guards. After the guards initiate a lock-down, the prisoners begin to riot and break into the prison cell control room. Soon after doing so, Culverton opens the cell doors, freeing all the prisoners from their current state. He also discovers a set of keys, giving him and the rioters access to the entire prison. In the meantime, Michael and C-Note deduce that they are now in the clear, and break the vent open with a crowbar. The two men then climb into air vents, and make their way through the passageway.

Whilst roaming around the prison hallways, Culverton spots a lonesome guard hiding behind a pillar. He then proceeds to grab the guard, dragging him all the way to the cells. Whilst the guard attempts to flee, Culverton quickly grabs ahold of him again and flings him into the nearest cell, which just so happens to be Michael's. Upon entering this cell, Culverton sees the vent has been broken open, and goes to tell the other prisoners. Just as he is doing so however, Fat Tony appears and quickly quietens him. Moments later, Michael and C-Note re-enter, where they discover Fat Tony, Culverton and the guard all standing before them. Culverton informs Michael that he knows about his plan and demands to go along with them on the escape; a demand that Michael must then concede to. The issue regarding the prison guard remains however, and they discuss at length what to do with him. The guard pleads for his life, and promises not to say anything about it. As a bargaining chip, he gives Fat Tony his identification, and says that they can find him if he goes back on his word. Michael then makes the decision that they should let him go, and they grant the guard his freedom. At the very last minute though, Culverton runs after the guard and stabs him in the back, killing him instantly.

Soon after this happens, a SWAT team enter the prison and declare that all prisoners out of their cells will be returned with brute force. Culverton and Fat Tony flee, whilst Michael and C-Note work to try and put the air vent back in its place. They are successful in doing so, meaning that they had completed this mission. The following day Michael meets with the rest of the crew to inform them that the passageway did in fact lead to the medical facility, though the window which they are to escape from can only be accessed through a locked room. Whilst the team eventually tried to bar Culverton from joining their escape, Culverton informed them that he would expose their plans if they refused to let him come along. With no other choice left, they chose to allow Culverton in on the escape, meaning that the crew now had five members.

In order to gain access to the locked room within the medical facility, Michael deduces that he must feign sickness in order to get admitted as a patient. He is told by Fat Tony that Andy Dufresne is particularly skilled at smuggling random materials in and out of the prison, leading him to ask Andy to acquire rohypnol; a tranquillizer that would allow Michael to lose consciousness. Andy gives him the supplies and Michael takes a large dosage, causing him to lose consciousness within minutes. As a consequence of this, he is admitted to the medical facility.

In the meantime, C-Note leads a PI meeting in order to bring everyone up to speed on the plan. Culverton however objects to it, causing him to argue with both C-Note and Lincoln. The argument eventually turns physical, with Lincoln punching Culverton after the latter made a series of verbal threats. Once Culverton has departed the room, the remaining members of the group all decide that they can no longer work with him, leading Fat Tony to declare that he will make 'arrangements' within the coming days to deal with Culverton. Soon after this takes place, Fat Tony's men seize Culverton from the exercise yard and bring him to a warehouse adjacent to the prison. Fat Tony pulls a knife on Culverton and prepares to murder him, to which Culverton responds to by pleading for his life and promising not to interfere with the escape any further. Fat Tony relents and allows Culverton to leave, when suddenly Culverton produces a razor blade from underneath his tongue and slits Fat Tony's throat.

Whilst all this is taking place, Michael has woken up in the medical ward and is greeted by the prison doctor, Brenda Strong. Similar to Scofield, Brenda is very compassionate, leading the two individuals to strike up an instant connection. They discuss Lincoln's murder case at great length, to which Brenda argues that Lincoln was innocent and that the case was a severe miscarriage of justice. When she leaves the room, Michael attempts to examine the lock, but he ultimately runs out of time and does not get a proper chance to tamper with it. Brenda eventually decides that Michael is well enough to go back to prison, and subsequently discharges him.

When the group re-unite with Michael, Fat Tony is noticeably absent from the line-up. Culverton re-emerges, and vaguely describes Tony as being "out of the game". He then tells the group that he is now essential for their escape, due to the fact that he can provide the money and getaway vehicles that Tony would have otherwise supplied. Realising that without these resources the escape will not be possible, Michael allows Culverton to re-join the group. Andy Durfesne is also invited onto the escape by Michael, due to the fact that he had helped them on numerous occasions. In addition to that, Michael believed in Andy's innocence, and did not feel he deserved to die in prison.

Michael's plan is thrown off track later that week when he is confronted by the prison doctor, Brenda, who has received the results of his blood test and discovered the rhypnol in his bloodstream. Feeling that he can trust Brenda, Michael confesses the entirety of his escape to her, and appeals to her empathetic side; he says that they both know Lincoln to be innocent, and that they can't allow him to be executed. Michael then proceeds to ask for her help, requesting that she leave the door unlocked on the night of the escape in order to facilitate the plan. He assures her that she can't be prosecuted for it, as it would be perceived as a mistake and any evidence would purely be circumstantial. Strong hesitantly agrees to it, and he promises to get a message to her.

The next part of the plan is to dig a tunnel from outside the medical facility to beyond the prison walls, and in order to do so the crew need a reason to be in that particular area. Culverton arranges for a flood to take place in that location, which in turn gives them an excuse to handle 'plumbing issues' in the area. The plan goes as expected, and the crew are hired shortly thereafter to deal with the issue, at which point they begin digging the tunnel. A further hinderance emerges however when Fat Tony reappears, with a scarred and bruised neck, thirsty for Culverton's blood. Whilst most of the team agree that killing Culverton as vengeance would be perfectly justifiable, Culverton claims that he has alerted a family member of his escape, and that should anything happen to him then they are under direct orders to blow the whistle on the whole plan. Whilst C-Note suspects that Culverton is bluffing, Michael is hesitant to take the chance, and allows Culverton to stay on the team. Shortly after this unhappy reunion, Michael was suddenly summoned to the office of Bryon Hadley; the captain of Fox River State Penitentiary.

After entering the office, Hadley proved very suspicious of Michael's actions during his time at Fox River. He firstly questions as to why repairing this flood was taking so long, and where this flood had even appeared from in the first place. He then goes on to point out the bizarre occurrences that had taken place ever since Michael's arrival at the prison, and questioned whether he was linked to any of it. Michael plays dumb throughout the whole interrogation however, and Hadley is unsuccessful in his attempt to find out more. As a result of this, Hadley goes back to the PI crew, and calls in C-Note and Andy instead. C-Note proves difficult and stubborn throughout the process, whilst Andy is at least somewhat more co-operative. Hadley recognises this, and orders C-Note to leave the room, leaving him alone with Andy. He cuts Andy a deal, promising him a guaranteed reduced sentenced should he comply and serve as informant, telling him of Michael's plan. Andy eventually cave into the pressure, and tells Hadley that it may be worth looking at the flood scene more closely.

Hadley rushes down to the site, rips the tarpaulin off of the flood and uncovers the tunnel that the group had been preparing for their escape. He promises to lock them all away for the rest of their life, when suddenly Andy appears. After having realised the consequences of his actions, Andy is overcome with guilt and knocks Hadley unconscious with a shovel. The group all begin to panic, and debate as to what their next steps should be. Andy apologises, and whilst Michael allows him to remain on the escape, he informs him that once they're on the outside he will be on his own. They decide to keep Hadley in the tunnel, before tying him up and gagging him to ensure that no one can hear his screams. Fearing that Hadley's disappearance will be noticed sooner rather than later, Michael makes the decision to accelerate the entire process, informing the group that the prison break is to take place tonight.

Prior to the escape, Michael meets with Lincoln one last time, and tells him that he must take an emetic in order to get admitted to the medical facility. He also hands Lincoln an origami duck with the words "It's tonight" written across it, which he must give to Brenda once he has been admitted.

Later that night, the escape plan begins, with the five inmates escaping through the vent and making their way through the passageway and into the medical facility. They soon encounter Lincoln, who had himself admitted hours earlier, and enter Brenda Strong's office, where they are to carry out the next part of the escape. Whilst making their preparations however, the night nurse enters. Whilst she attempts to flee soon thereafter, she is prevented from doing so by Culverton, who takes her hostage. They all argue about what to do with her, and she continuously pleads for her life, with Michael making the final judgement that they should just tie her up and gag her. Culverton retaliates against this command, and kills her anyway. This leads to a physical confrontation between Culverton and Lincoln, but Michael soon puts an end to it, telling them they must get a move on if they are still to escape. Soon after, they grab a series of bed sheets, tie them together and make rope, which they then use to hoist themselves out of the window and to the outside area of the medical facility.

One by one, they all jump into the tunnel, grabbing shovels on their way in. They encounter Hadley one final time, with Culverton removing his gag momentarily with the suggestion that they kill him as well. Hadley makes a promise to hunt each and every one of them down, but Andy quickly quietens him with the gag shortly thereafter and encourages them to leave him. Fearing that they are now running out of time, Culverton complies, and Hadley is left there once again. They then arrive at the tunnel, and start to dig upwards. After doing so, they are now officially out of the prison, and have arrived in the woods.

At this point, Fat Tony takes charge and leads them to the getaway van. They run to it, and proceed to drive away. Whilst in the vehicle, Culverton pulls out a pair of handcuffs and chains himself to Michael, with the justification that they will now be forced to bring him on the escape jet along with them. He then swallows the key for the handcuffs, leaving Michael shacked to him with no solution. Eventually they hear police sirens in the near distance, causing them to abandon their vehicle and travel to the airstrip by foot through the woods. After getting out, Michael reminds Andy of their deal, to which Andy responds by making his departure. He tells the group never to lose hope, and heads out into the woods alone.

After having run for several miles, the rest of them eventually stop at a warehouse, where Fat Tony carries out his plan to rid themselves of Culverton. With Lincoln and C-Note's help, they pin Culverton down onto a table, before slicing his hand off with an axe. They then quickly depart from the warehouse, leaving Culverton all alone to scream for help.

They finally get to the airstrip, at which point Fat Tony and C-Note are the first to enter the escape plane, which had been arranged by the former. Before getting on the plane, Lincoln thanks Michael for all that he has done, to which Michael responds: *"Don't thank me yet. We've got a long way to go before we're truly free. Mark my words: this is only the beginning."* They then proceed to board the plane, before taking off into the sky.

In a post-credits scene, former First Lady and current Senator Claire Underwood, as well as former White House Chief of Staff Doug Stamper, meet with one another, and are joined by a mysterious figure. Stamper informs the figure that Lincoln Burrows, the man that they had framed for the murder of Catherine Durant, has escaped from prison. The mysterious figure then reveals himself to be former President Frank Underwood, who demands that Lincoln Burrows must be found, and killed, at all costs.

## Cast

**Altamont / Red498**

* Fat Tony
* Culverton Smith
* Bob Hudson

**Buttons9999**

* Michael Scofield
* Lincoln Burrows
* Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin
* Catherine Durant
* Roy Geary
* Claire Underwood
* Doug Stamper

**Fishmr**

* Brenda Strong

**GrandpaGames**

* Andy Dufresne
* Byron Hadley
* Frank Underwood