Hi, guys. Here's an update. I hope you enjoy it and, though I'm not one to beg, please, please, please review - critiques, not necessarily compliments, so I know if this story is working or if I should abandon it all together and go back to doing real-world stuff.

Thank you.


She said her name was Leisha.

But Piper was experienced enough to know that that probably wasn't her real name. From the start, Piper had been suspicious of her. Her perfect, almost forced, American accent despite her fully Haitian ethnicity, her ability to answer questions regarding where she was from and why she was there with a quick, almost frantic efficiency as though her answers had been rehearsed, her young age, and most of all, her irregular appearances. The girl claimed to be nineteen and a freshmen at Ohio State who was interested in accounting and given Jared Lockheart, their supervisor's, permission to intern with the firm throughout the year. However, Leisha didn't look nineteen – Piper suspected in actuality that she was in her early twenties.

Moreover, she didn't keep the regular hours that one would expect of an intern – in fact, she would disappear for months at a time in between visits. Though none of these reasons in and of themselves were reasons to doubt the girl's credibility, the sum of them compounded by the fact that even when she did arrive to "intern" at the office, she would arrive with a small, black brief case, enter the office of her supervisor, close the blinds in the windows, and stay there for long periods of time.

When she finally exited the office, she would always leave without the suitcase. Upon being asked about the briefcase, Leisha had looked uneasy, sarcastically asking if she was being interrogated to diffuse the tension before offering that the brief case contained assignments that she wanted Lockheart to look over for her accounting class. Piper could have sworn that her American accent wavered during her suspicious explanation.

As a former drug user and dealer, albeit at Alex's behest, Piper knew for a fact that Lockheart did heroin, ecstacy, cocaine, or some other sort of hard drug. All the signs were there – the pale skin that he attributed to his Irish heritage, the shaky hands that he blamed on caffeine, his sporadic attendance at work and dark circles under his eyes, both of which he attributed to his newborn baby's "medical problems." After months of watching Leisha, Piper had little doubt, given her own unfortunate experience, that the girl was a drug mule and probably working for an international drug cartel.

And though Piper tried like Hell to convince herself she didn't care – the fact was, she couldn't get Leisha out of her mind. Not because of physical attraction, but because of the possibility that the Haitian girl could somehow be connected to Alex. Or even working for her.

Though logically, Piper knew that there were a host of international drug cartels and that this girl could belong to any of them, with each visit, Piper's curiousity – and, though she'd never admit it – thoughts of Alex, began to grow. After Leisha's last visit, Piper had been unable to quiet the millions of questions racing through her mind: Does she know Alex? Is Alex still in Litchfield? Does she work for her? Is she fucking her? Piper felt her stomach churn at the thought of the last one. Though Piper went about her normal life, attending Church despite her skepticism, setting the dinner table, arranging firm picnics and events, making love with John, shopping for baby supplies, and dealing with the host of complications that come with being pregnant, she couldn't get Leisha – or the possibility of Alex being nearby - out of her head. Quietly, she waited for Leisha's next visit. Hoping.

And one particularly cold January morning, her hopes were realized as the familiar face appeared in the firm, enthusiastically greeting her co-workers in her perfect Americanized English. Diverting her attention away from the bank statements she'd been reviewing, Piper watched as Leisha, as per her usual way, slipped into Lockheart's office with yet another small, dark suitcase – Piper suspected it contained cocaine. She waited for Leisha to exit the office, hoping her colleagues wouldn't notice that she wasn't listening as they recounted their winter holidays.

After what seemed like an eternity, the girl quietly exited Lockheart's office, looking around her as though to ensure that no one had witnessed the illegal activity that had just taken place. Quickly rejecting her friends' invitation to join them at a local restaurant for lunch with the half-assed excuse that she had to catch up on some work for a particularly demanding client, Piper strode quickly toward the girl, not wanting to give her a chance to escape.

"Leisha," she said in a falsely saccharine voice. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, increasing her pace toward the firm exit. "How are you? I hear you're balancing the books for a new business in town. What's it called?"

"Sweet Dreams, it's a mattress store. Listen, there's this new program that we're using and I wondered if you wanted me to show it to you, really quickly. I've got it downloaded on the computer, right in my office."

"Oh, no thank you. I really should get going. I don't want to be late for my calculus cla-

Not giving Leisha a chance to process what was happening, Piper grabbed the girl by the arm and forcibly dragged her into her office, locking the door behind her.

"Listen, here," she snarled. "I know who, and more importantly what you are."

Leisha's eyes widened. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!," she stammered, hints of her native accent beginning to creep into her vernacular.

Feeling an unexpected fit of rage swelling inside her, Piper, without thinking, shoved the girl against her office wall, causing framed pictures of John and his family to come crashing to floor with a loud thud.

"Bullshit. You must think I'm a fucking idiot if you think I believe that!"

"What do you want from me?!," whimpered Leisha in a frightened tongue, her American accent completely gone.

"I want to know who you work for."

"No," replied Leisha, in a scared but defiant tone. "I-I won't give my boss up."

"Listen, bitch!," Piper hissed, bending her knees so she could look straight into the girl's eyes. "I've been to fucking prison. I beat a girl to death and, if you don't tell me who the fuck you work for, I will call the police right now and smash you to a fucking pulp while they get here."

For a moment, Leisha went silent, as though contemplating her options.

"O-okay," she agreed. "But puh-please don't tell her I told you. She'll kill me."

Feeling a twinge of compassion, Piper nodded.

"I won't tell her," Piper reassured her in a calm voice, keeping the girl pinned against the wall.

Leisha took a breath, trying to calm her frantically beating heart.

"Lisa Giannopolis."

Piper felt her heart stop.

Lisa Giannopolis.

She knew that name. But how? How did she know her? Where had she heard that name before? Then suddenly it hit her like a train.

Alex.

"Alex," laughed Piper, as she lazily rolled out of bed, naked after a heated session of love making. Her girlfriend was seated at a computer, also naked, and typing away frantically.

"You're my little workaholic," she said, as she kissed her cheek.

"Not now, babe," Alex pleaded as she turned away from Piper's embrace. "A problem came up."

"What kind of problem?," asked Piper as she sat on a chair beside Alex.

"One of my former drug mules started her own business."

"So? I thought former mules got arrogant and started businesses that fail all the time."

"They do," Alex, explained, her eyes glued to the screen. "The only problem is, this time, it's not failing. It's actually cutting into my profits."

"Oh," replied Piper. "Which mule is behind it?"

"Lisa Giannopolis."

Leisha's boss knew Alex. Alex's business was probably among her business's greatest competitors. Surely, Giannopolis must know – or at least have a relative idea – of where Alex was or, at least, if she was still in jail or alive.

"Is your boss in the area with you?"

Leisha nodded, unsure as to where this was going.

"Take me with you to see her."


Realizing that Piper had no interest in sabotaging the cartel or sicking the authorities on her or Giannopolis, Leisha agreed with surprisingly little reluctance. That is, after Piper paid her a hundred dollars. Leisha agreed to wait with Piper until the end of the business day. Then, Piper would follow her in her car to wherever Giannopolis was located. She called John and let him know that she'd be home a little later than usual, citing 'work complications' as her excuse. Piper followed closely Leisha's camry with her SUV, lest the girl attempt to ditch her. After about a forty five minute drive, Leisha parked in a driveway of a nondescript, white ranch-house just outside the town. There were no surrounding houses or buildings, Piper noted. It was the perfect place for inconspicuous drug dealing in a small town like Twinsburg.

Leisha got out of the car.

"Come inside with me," Piper demanded, suspecting that Leisha had brought her to the wrong location and intended to ditch her.

Leisha nodded, reached for a key ring in her purse, and unlocked the door.

"We deal here often," Leisha explained. "We figured we might as well get a house in town."

Half-listening, Piper stepped inside, surveying the area. It appeared abandoned.

"Let me go get her," offered Leisha as she began to climb the steps. Piper took the opportunity to look around at the generic furniture, her mind racing.

Why do I care where Alex is? She thought. I've moved on, made a name for myself, I have a baby on the way. Why am I sabotaging my life like this?

Before she could come up with any answers, she was greeted by a tall, blond, elegant looking woman who appeared to be in her mid thirties, eying her cautiously as she descended down the stairs.

"Hello, there," said Giannopolis in a surprisingly friendly tone. "Come have a seat over there on the couch."

Piper complied, feeling nervous as the woman took a seat beside her.

"Can I get you anything? Soda? Coffee?"

Pipe shook her head, getting straight to the chase.

"Ms. Giannopolis, I'm not here to cause you any trouble. My name is-

"Oh, I know very well who you are, my dear," she said, smiling. "You're Alex's girlfriend. You were all she talked about when I worked under her. I heard all about you – that is, until I surpassed her and her company."

"Well, not exactly. We sort of split up," Piper explained, ignoring the arrogance laced in the other woman's voice.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen her years, actually. I was kind of hoping you could, um, tell me where she is?"

Giannopolis laughed lightly. "And what makes you think I know where she is?"

Piper fought the urge to roll her eyes – she needed to stay on this woman's good side.

"You were one of her biggest rivals. I know from my conversations with her that the two of you never got along and that your resentment toward her is part of the reason you started your own business. I'd imagine that you've been keeping at least some sort of tabs on her."

Giannopolis raised her eyebrows in incredulity.

"Keeping tabs on her? I forgot all about her. And by the looks of it, you should, too," replied Giannopolis, gazing at Piper's slightly swollen, very pregnant, abdomen.

Piper could feel the hope she hadn't even realized she had fading.

"So, you can't help me?"

"Sorry, my dear," answered Giannopolis, standing up from the couch and walking back toward the stairs.

"Wait!," Piper cried, hating herself for sounding so desperate. Hearing the pitiful tone of her voice, Giannopolis stopped, her back still facing Piper.

"Ms. Giannopolis, please. I can't explain it, I just…need to know that she's alright."

Piper heard Giannopolis sigh and begin to climb the stairs.

Shaking her head in disappointment and ignoring the stare of Leisha, who had been listening from the top of the stairs, Piper began to walk toward the exit of the house.

"She's back in the Litchfield prison."