Scofield Standard Time (R) COMPLETED

[Skye]

Very wonderful update. Hope Lex, Lois and Clark put their differences aside to help Chloe.

[newbatgirl]

I think this fic is jsut so much fun, even all I know about PB has been "absorbed" from Kit! Her plan is a very Chloe thing for her to do!

[star del mar]

So Clark, Lois, Gabe and Lex all know about the plan? That makes me feel better because while she's in there alone doing something that's dangerous, she has people on the outside who will be able to help if necessary. Lex is definitely going to come in handy in whatever part he plays. Dr. Bellick better not dig too hard because that's going to get old real quick...I freaking hate that guard on Prison Break, bastard, lol. Great update!!

Steph*

[darkangel]

Can't wait until the next chapter is posted. Great story .

[Kit Merlot]

A/N: Thanks to everyone for who left me feedback, I really appreciate it! And, I will explain what a mummer is. Did I peek your interest? GOOD!! Now read on


Chapter 4


Ordinarily, it would have worried Chloe how relatively easy it was for her to get her hands on the blueprints for a prison, but she was just grateful that she didn’t have to waste too much energy in acquiring them.

Fox River had been a haven for the mentally ill since the early 1900’s, when it first opened its doors as an almshouse. It didn’t become a prison hospital for the criminally insane until the 1960’s, and even then, hardly any changes were made to the architecture of the place.

The prison was made up of four, connecting buildings that formed a square, which enclosed a lawn. The structure was reminiscent of a medieval castle, and it didn’t exactly inspire a peaceful feeling.

Instead, when Chloe saw pictures of the place, she had been filled with fear, and for a second, she had been tempted to forget that Fox River ever existed.

But that lasted for another second, because instead of seeing pictures of the prison, she remembered what the news reports said about the mysterious deaths that none of the prison official seemed too concerned about.

Chloe smiled grimly, because there was no way in hell she would ever leave her mother to die in that place so that meant that the mission was on.

In 1990, The Kansas Department of Corrections deemed that Fox River needed an upgrade to its security system. So, structural engineers were sent inside to get measurements of the whole building, including the crawlspaces in the ceiling, and the sewer tunnels that ran underneath the prison.

The design for the new and improved security system had to be submitted to the state, and the plans for the restructuring on the outside building also had to be approved for zoning by the county.

And hacking into county records was a lot easier then trying to gain access to the state’s. Once Chloe had the copies of the blue prints in her hands, her plan became easier to visualize, and it didn’t take her long to locate the prison’s least secure areas.

Chloe focused on the crawl spaces in the ceiling, and the underground tunnels, figuring that this would be the easiest way for to move through the prison undetected.

So when she discovered the tunnel that connected the kitchen to the sewer, she knew that this was going to be her escape route.

~~~

Chloe stood to the side of the common room in Ward A, and tried to hide her shock at what was happening around her.

The room had been quiet, but then pandemonium broke out as her fellow inmates expressed their dismay that there wasn't to be any butterscotch pudding for tonight's dessert, because the cook hadn't had time to prepare it.

Two burly looking orderlies stood next to the nurse who was trying to get all of the women’s attention. The men didn’t look like they were about to take any nonsense from anyone in the room, and the woman looked rather formidable, too.

The nurse who made the announcement was in her late thirties, and she appeared to be in good physical condition. Her name was Robin Tancredi, and she looked to be a bit of a brawler. But even as this obviously tough woman delivered the news, she had looked worried.

Apparently, as Chloe soon discovered, Ward A really enjoyed Butterscotch Pudding Thursdays.

She jumped when the first person started to scream, but soon, half the women in the room had joined her. And then others started to cry, but the majority of the women began to shout out nonsensical threats.

Chloe tried to hide her amazement when a usually docile woman stood on a chair and pointed dramatically at the nurse, and said, "I swear to God, I'm going to talk to the governor about this!"

Chloe's surprise turned into a sick form of amusement, as she watched other women stand up and threaten the nurse, too.

But the nurse, Miss Tancredi as she insisted on being called, remained stoic in the face of all of this anger being directed towards her, and Chloe gave her credit for keeping her cool.

A woman who bore the unmistakable look of an aging Southern belle, glared at the nurse and declared, "You best be stepping before I take a switch to you!"

The implacable looking nurse smiled calmly, and appeared to be waiting out the women. Chloe couldn't help but notice that the nurse kept a safe distance back from the agitated crowd, but she was within an arms reach of her house phone.

Miss Tancredi was apparently willing to let her patients shriek like banshees, but she was not about to allow any violence.

And this, Chloe decided, was a good thing, as she lost sight of the nurse when a woman in her late fifties yelled out: "When's the Mummer's Day Parade? I've been practicing my strut all year. Who wants to see it?"

She didn't know whether she should laugh or cry, so at first, Chloe had just stood there, almost shocked into place. But her shock wore off quickly, and Chloe decided to take Miss Tancredi's example and ride the mayhem out safely. She tried to make herself as invisible as possible, as she crouched down, and did her best to blend in with the wall.

An elderly lady, who had been sitting quietly in her chair crocheting a scarf, suddenly climbed to her feet. "Goddamnit! There's only one other place that has better tasting butterscotch pudding , and that's at the Receiving Station on Norfolk, Virginia!"

Chloe closed her eyes, and thought back to when she had thought that breaking her mom out had been a good plan. She had been in Fox River for two weeks, and she hadn't even come close to talking to her mom.

Instead, she was stuck in a room with a bunch of raving lunatics, freaking out about pudding.

Chloe shook her head roughly, and started her daily pep talk. "Suck it up, Sullivan! You're goal is to find Mom and get her out. Ignore the psychos and focus!"

She was so intent on her inner monologue that she had failed to notice that one of the orderlies had been silently watching her. He stood on the other side of the common room, and just stared at her. He had watched Chloe's reaction to the chaos the entire time, and he made a mental note to himself to find out about the new inmate.


~~~

2nd A/N: The Mummer's Day Parade is a parade that take place's in Philadelphia on New Year's Day. There is also a weird little dance that the people wearing the costumes do that is called “The Mummer’s strut.” I have provided a link for anyone who is crazy enough, I mean curious enough to what to know more: http://www.mummers.org

[hfce]

Kathy that was a great update. Believe or not I kno what the Mummers parade is about. I have the Chicago channel and they show the parade every year. It is funny and good at the same time. LOL!!! Hope

[Zannie]

Very intriguing update. I like all the details you've included about the setting and situation--it's really well thought through and convincing. You portrayed the chaos and confusion of the scene quite vividly, and Chloe's reactions to it are realistic, believable, and in character. I can't wait to see how she'll handle everything.

She was so intent on her inner monologue that she had failed to notice that one of the orderlies had been silently watching her. He stood on the other side of the common room, and just stared at her. He had watched Chloe's reaction to the chaos the entire time, and he made a mental note to himself to find out about the new inmate.

Hmm. Interesting. This could be a problem for Chloe, unless--of course--this orderly ends up being an ally.

I'm looking forward to the next update.

[GivenToFly]

It's so nice to have this story while 'Prison Break' is on hiatus

Another great update! I loved your attention to detail-- from the prison to Chloe's reactions, everything is realistic and intriguing.

Now I'm excited about this new orderly. What's he going to bring to this?

[star del mar]

Chloe better start acting crazy soon or people are going to start paying more attention to her then she may want. But at least she's keeping her goal in mind, helping her mouth will be worth all the nuttiness. Great update!...but I can't wait to get some Chlex interaction

Steph*

[Kit Merlot]

A/N: I appreciate all of your for giving my wacky idea a chance--you all rock the casbah!


Chapter 5


Lois stood by the Talon's cappachino machine, and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible. Lex Luthor had just made his grand entrance and she was determined to watch him to try to figure out exactly why Chloe seemed to trust him as implicitly as she did.

Lois didn't see the attraction, because Lex seemed like a typical spoiled rich boy to her, but he did have a vast intelligence that also included a smugness and sense of entitlement that Lois couldn't abide.

Lois smiled grimly to herself, because she could hear Chloe's voice taunting her that the reason she wanted to get back at Lex was because he had hurt her feelings. True, being referred to as a muffin peddler was not pleasant, but she had so many other reasons to dislike Lex.

She just couldn't think of any of them at the moment.

It took her a minute to realize that Chloe might have been right all along. Yes, it was not a secret that Lois and the billionaire tycoon didn't get along, but she was truthful enough with herself to admit that most of the animosity was fueled by her.

Lex just responded to her contempt, with his own brand of disgust.

This was a humbling thought, and one that Lois didn't welcome, because then she would have to admit that she and Clark's rudeness might have jeopardized Chloe's getting out of Fox River in one piece.

When she and Clark paid their visit to Lex's home, she had promised herself to simply deliver Chloe's message, but then she saw how coolly he had questioned Clark about why he was telling him about Chloe's misfortune, and Lois had lost it.

Her cousin was clearly relying on this guy to help her, and he didn't seem the least bit interested or concerned.

Lois didn't know Chloe's full plan, mainly because Chloe refused to tell her more than she needed to know, but she knew that Chloe had to be half-insane to have even thought of it in the first place.

Still, Chloe was family, and Lois had told her that the only people she needed to rely on were she and Gabe. She might have given in to Clark's being in on the plan, but that was only because Clark seemed to have a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time.

And even with that as a reason, Lois was reluctant to trust Clark. He had let her cousin down too many times to count.

But Clark was definitely preferable to Lex Luthor.

Chloe had listened to Lois' suggestion, and then she smiled gratefully at her cousin, as she began to speak. She understood where Lois was coming from, but she would need all of her friends' help, especially Lex's, and when the time came, she expected Lois to give Lex the message she had asked her to.

So, Lois had no other choice, but to do as Chloe wanted, and to hope and pray that Chloe wasn't wrong for placing her trust in him.

And Lois also hoped that she and Clark hadn't ruined any chance of getting Lex Luthor's help.

~~~

Lex could feel Lois' stare, and he tried to gauge in what mood she was in, by how much she was scowling at him. He wanted to ask her some questions regarding Chloe, but he wasn't in the mood to have his head bitten off.

He had researched Fox River, and looked for any type of a tie between the prison and Luthorcorp, and he had found none. Lex had background checks done on all of the personnel, and there wasn't a single person who was affiliated with his company. He had even checked for family members’ affiliation, and hadn't found anything.

So, he had turned his attention to the prisoners, and that was when things got interesting. He discovered that all of the prisoners who had died mysteriously over the past ten years, had all been delusional, and they had all been assigned to Ward B, which housed the more violent patients.

Lex didn't think that Chloe would be in any danger of falling victim to a mysterious death, because in all likelihood, she would be kept in Ward A. She would still be able to interact with the people in Ward B, but only for a short time, which would be during meals, and in the yard.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Chloe had a reason for needing to be in that specific prison, and Lex didn't think it was to uncover ten years worth of prisoners deaths.

No, Chloe had purposely gotten herself thrown into Fox River to meet someone in particular, and again, it didn't take Lex long to stumble upon Chloe's reason for ruining her life.

Sarah Donovan was not only one of many delusional patients in Ward B, but she was also Chloe's mother. He had read Sarah's file, but it mostly contained the history of her mental illness and subsequent incarceration.

What he wanted to know was what Chloe's mom was like as a person.

He would have preferred to have asked Chloe, but for now, that option was out of the question. He didn't want to ask Gabe; the man was going through enough without being plagued with questions about his ex-wife.

So unfortunately for him, that meant that Lois was his only option. He didn’t dislike Lois, but he didn’t want to be friends with her either. She actually only registered on his radar because of her connection to Chloe and Clark.

He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice at first that Lois had moved from her station behind the counter, and was fast approaching his table.

He quickly closed the file he had on where Chloe was being held, and watched warily as Lois walked up to him.

She stood in silence for half a minute, and Lex sat quietly, and waited for her to finally make up her mind to speak.

And when she did, Lex had been so startled by what she said, he had to ask her to repeat it, which she did, without any trace of impatience to her voice. She was determined to get her message across, and she seemed equally intent on Lex's understanding her completely.

"Catacombs."

He blinked in surprise and stupidly repeated, "Catacombs?"

"Yes, catacombs. It's what Chloe wanted me to tell you. She said you'd understand."

And with that, Lois turned on her heel and walked back to the cappachino machine, and started to vigorously scrub at the countertop.

Lex's mind started to whirl, and he looked through his files until he found the blue prints for the prison. He pulled them out, and began to examine them, paying strict attention to the area beneath Fox River.

Once again, it didn't take him long to figure out what Chloe was trying to tell him, and when he did, Lex felt slightly sick. Chloe was planning to escape through the tunnels underneath the prison, but the question was, which tunnel was she going to use?