The swordsman was testing the lock mechanism.
Even from twenty meters away, across the yard and through the usual prison noise that made every movement feel slightly unreal, Proxy could identify the motion. Fingers at the edge of the frame. Pressure applied from different directions. Testing resistance. Searching for weakness.
It was the kind of careful, irritatingly rational behavior that immediately revealed a person had already spent too much time thinking about the problem.
Which, in fairness, the swordsman clearly had.
Yesterday he had walked away from the east corner without touching the grate. Today he returned with methodology. That was the difference between curiosity and intent, and unfortunately intent tended to become action once it found a usable tool.
The current plan was obvious enough to summarize in three steps: find the lock, find something that opens the lock, open the lock.
Elegant in the same way all bad prison plans were elegant.
