George Rivas walked slowly out of the guard house of the maximum security prison he was serving time in and made his way over to the gate beside the guard tower.  Nervously he cleared his throat and yelled up to the officer to open the main gate. The officer approached the side of the tower and peered down at the inmate who was now disguised in civilian clothing… the gate remained shut. If he was going to escape, Rivas needed this gate open. He yelled up to the officer again and watched in horror as he backed away from the edge and went inside the guard tower. The panic set in and Rivas’ heart started to pound in his chest. Was the guard calling for backup? Did he recognize him? Could he see right through the plan? Rivas needed to get up into that guard tower. He needed that gate opened. His escape plan depended on it.