If Alex had slept more than two hours that night, she'd be surprised. Nevertheless, the day of reckoning was before her, and she needed to be at the law firm by 8:30 that morning. As she stepped out of the shower, she noticed that she had two missed calls from Piper, but the blonde hadn't left a message. On the one hand, Alex thought, Piper was probably calling to beg her to reconsider. On the other, she might've been calling to simply say goodbye. But what if she was calling because Fahri's men had found her? What if she was in danger?

No matter how much the brunette tried to focus on her meeting with the DEA that morning, she couldn't quiet her mind. She quickly got dressed, not even blow drying her hair, and left the hotel in a frantic rush. She hailed a cab and gave the driver instructions to take her to the train station as fast as he could.

During the 10 minute ride, Alex didn't know if she was doing the right thing—if she was sending Piper a mixed-message. As the cab pulled up to the station, the brunette decided that she didn't care what message it sent. She needed to see Piper with her own eyes not only to make sure that she was alive, but also to see that she boarded the train to Manhattan and got far away from the shit storm that was about to happen.

"Piper!" she called with a raised hand. "Piper, wait!"

She heard a voice on the intercom announce boarding for Grand Central Station.

The blonde craned her neck. "Alex?"

The dark haired woman full-on sprinted to her lover, and for the briefest of moments, was reminded of the last time she'd run to catch up with Piper when they were in Prague. That time, too, Piper had left, but under much different circumstances. It was that day when Alex swore to herself she'd never lie to Piper again.

"What are you doing here?" Piper asked in a muffled voice as Alex held her head firmly against her shoulder.

"I needed to make sure you were ok," she admitted, holding on to the blonde for dear life. "I missed your calls this morning, and I…I…" she couldn't finish the sentence.

Piper pulled back and wiped Alex's black hair out of her face. "I'm ok."

Alex nodded and closed her eyes before leaning her forehead against the blonde's. "I don't want you to miss the train. The sooner you get out of here, the better."

"I'll see you soon." Piper said those words like a promise, punctuating the sentence with a firm kiss, hands splayed on both sides of Alex's face.

Alex could sense that her own face was twisted and pinched as she tried desperately to keep her tears at bay. She couldn't speak for fear that words would tumble out wet and needy, so she just nodded and gently pushed her lover away.

Piper walked backwards, eyes focused on Alex, until she bumped into someone and was forced to turn around to board the train. Their eyes met through the window, and Alex watched her lover raise her hand in a miserable little wave. The brunette covered her heart with both hands as the trained pulled away.

Alex was thankful for the brick column behind her that kept her from crumbling to the ground. She cried harder in that moment than she'd ever remembered crying before, not just at the loss of Piper, but at the uncertainty of what would happen next.


The dark haired woman was five minutes late for her meeting with her attorney and the DEA, but she swore if they commented on her tardiness, she would let them have it. Alex was in no mood to be chastised.

"Good morning," Daphne greeted her with a you're-lucky-you made-it expression. "These are agents Nelson and Huff. They'll be questioning you this morning."

Alex pushed her glasses up higher on her nose before shaking each man's hand.

They went through the preliminary questioning in less than 10 minutes, but the harder questions about Alex's involvement in the drug ring were just beginning to surface like a storm coming ashore. Daphne had advised the brunette to answer each question honestly, giving the agents no more than what they asked. Alex did her best to follow those instructions, but she knew that she was incriminating herself.

"Was there ever a time when you felt like your life was in danger?" Agent Huff asked.

"The last six months, when I began making intentional mistakes to try to get out of the cartel," she began. "I felt more and more in danger. And now I'm scared for my life every minute of the day."

"Why did you want out of the cartel?" Agent Nelson scratched his chin.

She looked at her lap, and then back up at him. "I promised a woman I was seeing that I'd leave the drug business, because that's what she wanted."

"You didn't want that for yourself?"

She shrugged. "I loved the money, but I recognized that it was wrong, so eventually I wanted out for my own reasons."

"But it was this other woman who convinced you to do it sooner rather than later?" Agent Nelson asked.

"Yeah." She felt her voice quiver as she pictured Piper in her mind—all sunshine and smiles.

"Is that Ms. Chapman?" Agent Nelson looked at his notepad. "Piper Chapman?"

"Yes."

The two agents looked at each other, and then Huff directed his attention to Daphne. "When will we be able to speak with Ms. Chapman?"

"She's not involved in this in any way," Alex quickly interjected.

"I'm sure I can have her here within 24 hours," Daphne replied. She looked at Alex with a pained expression, leaving the brunette fearful of the consequences.

The agents continued asking a string of questions over the next hour, and Alex had to pause several times for a sip of water. She felt as if a part of her was there in that room and another part of her was searching for Piper. It was difficult to concentrate on the interrogation when she was so fucking worried about her lover.

"Do you have any idea when Fahri and Mr. Balik will be in the US?" Agent Huff asked.

This was the question Daphne had hoped the agents would ask, and Alex didn't hesitate before providing an answer.

"Kubra has a house in Miami, and for the last ten years or so, he's had a huge Fourth of July party," the brunette stated. "There's probably been 75 to 100 members of the cartel at the house, including Fahri. I would suspect the same would be true this year. Kubra loves to party and show off his mansion."

"Good," he replied. "That's good."

As the interrogation wrapped up, Daphne presented their case. "My client has answered your questions fully and honestly, and as you heard, she is fearful for her life as well as the life of Ms. Chapman. We ask that she be placed in protective custody as she cooperates with the DEA to bring down Mr. Balik and his cartel."

"Unfortunately, the only protective custody that we're able to provide Ms. Vause is prison." Agent Nelson clicked his pen, and then shoved it into his shirt pocket.

"No," Alex said. "Please, I can continue staying in hotels until you catch them. I'll move around every couple of days, and…"

"I'm really sorry, but you're a criminal," Agent Huff interrupted with a sincerely apologetic expression.

"I'd like you to reconsider and instead, place Ms. Vause into a Safe House," Daphne offered.

"No way in hell my boss will go for that," Nelson responded with a slight chuckle. "Your client just confessed to working for an international drug cartel for the past 12 years; we have to lock her up. She'll get a fair trial and all that."

Alex looked up at Daphne with terrified eyes. "Please, Daphne, don't let them take me away."

"I'm going to need to arrange a meeting with your boss," she told them.

"Here's his card." Huff flung the business card onto her desk. "Ms. Vause, I know going to prison isn't something you want, but you'll be safer in there than out on the streets. I'm sure your attorney can work something out with the powers that be to arrange your release once the drug bosses are caught."

Daphne focused her eyes on Alex. "She will cooperate fully, and we'll have her out in no time."

"So that's it?" She asked in a shaky voice. "I'm going to prison?"

"I will work my hardest to get you out quickly, Alex." Daphne placed a hand on her arm. "We knew this was a possibility."

"This can't be happening." An unexpected tear rolled down the brunette's face. "Daphne, do something!"

"I will do everything in my power to help you."

"You need to call Piper," she begged with a thick voice. "Call her now; tell her everything will be all right. Please, Daphne."

"I will call her the second you leave," she promised. "Don't worry. I will get you out of this, and Piper will be fine."

One of the agents, Alex couldn't be sure which one, read her the Miranda rights as the other grabbed her upper arm and escorted her out of the building. They didn't cuff her, but she felt suffocated. It was difficult for her to breathe as the men rode down the elevator with her, and then shoved her into an unmarked black sedan.

She creased her brow with fear. "What's going to happen to my gir…to Piper?"

"Did she do anything to aid the drug operation?"

They'd asked that question an hour ago, and Alex had given the same response. "No!"

"Then probably nothing." Agent Nelson popped a stick of gum into his mouth. "We'll question her as soon as possible."

"Where are you taking me?"

No answer.

"I have a right to know where I'm going!" she yelled.

Nelson closed the partition, leaving Alex scared and alone.