New Fiction Idea #49

Working Title: Play Dirty

Genre: ...Not sure, actually. Suspense? Horror? Drama? Sports?

Protagonist: Gene, a sociopath doing time for financial fraud and murder. He's as charming as it gets with his level of sarcasm, and he never takes things seriously. He's tall and thin with medium-length dark hair.

Other Main Characters: Vega, a prostitute doing time for arson and accompanied murder. She's the kind of "strong woman" you hear about so much these days. She's rather muscular, dark-skinned, and has a few scars on her hands and arms.
Rayner, a serial rapist-murderer. He's athletic and handsome, although his smiles are always unnerving. He's generally not very kind, and he has a competitive streak.
Jude, a man arrested for strangling and burying his 11-year-old daughter. By now, pretty no one believes that he actually did it, but there's no evidence (or, alternatively, lack of evidence) to free him. He's of average build, although you can tell he's lost a lot of weight. He certainly qualifies as world-weary, although he still tries to do what little good he can.
Keith, a serial murderer (to cover up a past accidental killing) who has more or less repented. He's good friends with Jude but spends most of his time by himself being sorrowful.

Antagonists: The opposing teams of criminals from different prison sectors.

Setting: Some Western society. Most parts take place either in the prison or the sports field. The prison isn't well-kept aside from security issues. The playing field is a large oval with bare, horizontal hoops on either side for a goal.

Plot: The time has come for the first test of the Death Row Tournament. After a period of training, the selected prisoners are grouped into teams by their holding wings, and a bracket is formed. The teams engage in a sport similar to basketball but with much fewer rules (the players are convicts, after all). After each game, the losing team must decide on one member of their team to send to execution. The rationale can be anything, although players are encouraged to "vote off" the criminal who brings the least to the team (statistics for each game are provided). The lone winner at the end of the tournament is allowed to live. The tournament is also broadcast on television, although the viewers have no say in the proceedings.
Gene finds himself on the same team as Keith, who's trying to get others to help him get Jude out alive. After a coin flip, Gene agrees to give him a hand.

Point of View: First person (Gene).