— Part 2 —
1
"Alex." Piper's voice was low and gentle as Alex leaned in attentively. "I work for the CIA. I am a CIA special agent."
Alex laughed. A hoarse sound that she tried to cover with the back of her hand. She laughed like Piper had made the best joke ever. A storyline from some Hollywood movie. Fucking hilarious.
"A convicted terrorist and a spy." Alex sighed dreamily. "That is a fun role play. Cliche but fun. Thi-"
Unbelievable.
"Alex." Piper interrupted. "In ten minutes, CIA combat units and Special Ops team will barge in with M16s, the sky will be covered with military helicopters and the whole nation will be watching your arrest on live television only to get murmured in a jail cell. Now, if you want to get out of here alive, you do what I say, when I say."
Piper didn't wait for a reply and got out of the room and into the hallway leading to the main floor of the library. From a corner window on the main floor, she took a quick glance at the street out front. The police officers patrolling the area had increased in number but still casual.
"We need a distraction." Piper said to herself.
Alex had unquestioningly followed her out. They both looked around for something to distract the officers outside.
"Fire." Piper said. "Let's burn some things."
"Piper, we are not gonna burn books just to fucking survive. I'm not okay with that." Alex replied offensively.
"Fine. Newspapers? How about the newspaper section downstairs? It has a vent opening out in the front. Some smoke and fire will probably be the centre of attraction. Maybe they will call the fire brigade, delaying the operation even further."
Piper dashed for the basement. Alex followed with an amused look. This Piper was different than the one she has been with so far. Different in a good way. And she would be lying if she said she wasn't turned on by this sexy agent look that Piper was owning so far.
"Go open the vent." Piper said to Alex. "Where's your phone?"
"I broke it. In the corner."
Piper took the discarded battery and lit a fire at the corner of an old newspaper stack. It will get enough fuel to cause havoc.
"C'mon. Let's go." Piper said and got out to lock the door after Alex had exited. Alex gave her a questioning look. "What? I don't want to burn books either."
Piper dashed towards the back of the library. They were really really short on time. She stopped short at the door waiting for Alex to catch up.
"Here's how we do it. There's a sniper out there posted on the roof of the -"
A gunshot sound came from the outside, causing both of them to back up. Then another, and another. Piper figured, someone must have tried to come in through the back alley just to be a prey in the sniper's range. But the noises stopped suddenly with a thud. One of them must have gone down. Piper prayed it to be the sniper.
She glanced at Alex and opened the door inch by inch. Outside, leaning on a street lamp was Agent Poussey Washington. Gun in one hand, and the other hand pressing on a wound in lower abdomen.
Poussey's head jerked up alerted by the motion. She raised her gun shakily. Her eyes were threatening to close. She grunted to keep her head straight and gun stretched out, pointed at Piper.
Piper raised her hand above her head. Weapon still in hand. Alex right behind her.
"You shot down the sniper." Piper praised.
"I n-need to tell you something, Chapman." Poussey's breaths were coming in wheezes. Like it aches to stand still.
"It's okay." Piper moves towards her. "You do what you gotta do. But, you need to lie down, you're losing blood."
"The choppers will be here in five minutes. You don't have much time, Chapman."
Piper moved closer to her and took the gun out of her hand with ease. She tucked in her own holster. She held Poussey down to the ground and laid her down in a pool of her own blood.
"Impressive shot you took." Piper checked her wound. "I couldn't have done it myself."
"The fire. It's a great distraction." Poussey said, panting. "I can't let you… the information. I have to tell you…y-you"
"You have done your job. The man you took down was working for Kubra. He was here to make sure that Alex doesn't make it out of here alive. You did a good job. Now rest."
Poussey reluctantly slipped into unconsciousness. Piper sighed and stood up.
"Let's go." She said and led the way to her car, parked right outside of the alley. She got in the driver's seat as Alex got in front. She backed it all the way to the back of the avenue, hitting the barricades out of the way.
As expected, all the units had been called out in front to stop the fire, leaving the checkposts barren. But the crash certainly drew their attention as they charged towards the car with determination to stop. But Piper would be damned if she stops now. She smirked as she backed away again and pressed her foot hard on the accelerator and practically zoomed out of the street.
"Where are we going?" Alex asked after a while.
Piper didn't answer. Her mind was occupied by Poussey. She will get help soon enough. But Piper never thought about the possibility of good people getting hurt. Or what consequences her actions will bring. This was her mess and she didn't mean to drag someone else in it. Like Alex. Poussey. Diane. Diane.
"How's Diane? Did you get to see her before…" Piper trailed off.
"Why? Is that information critical to your operation?" Alex mimicked.
"At least, now you acknowledge who I am." Piper muttered under her breath.
Alex scoffed. "Did you give me a choice? Oh, no, wait, you came in guns a-blazing and said you were a spy and then expect me to act normal like it's so much better than letting me think that you fcuking cheated on me. It isn't. It's worse."
Alex scoffed again and turned towards the window when Piper said nothing in return.
"You know what, I don't care what you say anymore given there will be a high possibility of it being another one of your lies."
Piper's knuckles were turning white in the steering wheel. She had to take the long way to her house to avoid cameras. The combat units will be at the spot already. And soon the entire law enforcement department would be looking for her. And with the adrenaline washing out, the stress came back.
Piper pulled over on the street across from her brownstone. The neighborhood was peaceful as usual. In the quiet hours of afternoon, these upperclassmen liked to hang out on private beaches. She glanced over the street, finding it vacant, she said,
"We are here."
"Great." Alex unbuckled her seat belt.
"Get out when I say." Piper said putting a hand over Alex's. Alex retrieved her hand and nodded.
Piper stepped out with the gun still loaded and in position. On the back of the car, she unscrewed her number plate and changed it with another one. The last one had been a fake too. If they track it, they will end up with someone else anyway. She had taken the battery and card out of her phone as a safety precaution anyway. If they were going to be fugitives, she wasn't going to do it in a half-assed way.
"Come on." Piper opened the door for Alex. "Let's go."
2
Poussey Washington had been shot before. In Afghanistan. Two 9 mms in her leg. She had been shot trying to save a kid from a mass shooter in an Afghani school. She had shot the man right in the chest but instead of lying down he had taken a shot on a kid from behind whom she saved. Of course, it earned her a purple star but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt like bitch.
She had been going in and out of consciousness for the past few minutes even though it felt like hours. There was a commotion on the street. Police trying to control the fire. She could already hear the helicopters coming in. But she was bleeding too much too soon. She saw Piper going away but she couldn't get herself to shoot her 'cause somewhere in her somewhere in her heart she knew that something was off.
Next time she opened her eyes, she was in something moving, an ambulance. A mask restricting or supporting her breathing. Restricting, definitely, she thought as she tried to pull them off only to be stopped by a familiar voice ordering her to calm down. Caputo.
"Washington. Washington. Stay with me. You're going to be okay. You've been shot but we are getting you to a hospital now."
Poussey heaved. It hurt to open her mouth. But she was determined to tell Caputo anyway. She yanked off her mask and grabbed Caputo by his collar with every ounce of energy left in her.
"Lis-listen to me. Chapman. Chapman-"
"Yes, Chapman what? Where is she?" Caputo asked very calmly in the midst of the medical staff freaking out.
"Chapman was there..." Her words came out slurry and incoherent before the exhaustion took over and she dropped on the gurney again.
But the words had been clear enough for Caputo as they echoed back and forth in his head. Questioning his trust and belief in his most trusted agent. He had known it the moment he has seen the fire. A clever diversion. Not an amateur's work. And the way the police officers were talking about a blonde women taking off like a maniac confirmed that it was her. His best agent has been compromised.
3
Joe Caputo was never questioned about his capabilities in his entire career in the agency. Everyone respected, feared or grudgingly accepted his way of work. Until Natalie Figueroa came into the picture.
She was the most infuriating, annoying and bossy boss he has ever had. Not to mention sexy as hell. In her Gucci heels and Armani blazers gave Caputo numerous fantasies. But she somehow enraged him at the same time. Enraged him so much that he thought about pulling her hair back and fucking her there on her desk. But fuck that.
Now, he was the one being fucked over by his agent. An agent he was supposed to handle. An operation he was conducting. An operation that has somehow became the most important covert operation in the entire CIA history.
Caputo picked at his tweed blazer as he waited for Figueroa to get off the phone. After collecting statements from the cops and Poussey herself it was safe to say that Piper Chapman was the one who broke Alex Vause out of the damn fucking library minutes before the combat team arrived. He had reported the whole thing to Natalie who only gave a disgusted condescending glare in response before calling her superiors to report about the recent developments. And by the looks of it, it wasn't going so well.
Natalie threw the phone on her desk with a scowl on her face. Her face was practically red in anger. Caputo could feel the heat from where he was sitting.
"Agent Chapman betrayed us." Natalie said through gritted teeth.
"Yes, it seems so."
"How did you not see this coming?"
"How could I? Chapman completed countless missions without a hitch. How could I predict that she'll flip this one time." Caputo raised his voice.
"You said she was getting too attached to the subject. If you had interfered back then, we wouldn't be in this situation right now, Joe!"
"So this is all my fault?"
"Your trust on her blindsided you from simple facts."
"Oh! Is that so? Then why didn't you see through her when she was here in the agency. And who knows, maybe she lied right in you face!"
"Did you give her that training too, huh?" Natalie scoffed and folded her arms. "I leave for Washington in two hours to get my brain fried by the Director. So you tell me what we are going to do next about this rogue agent of yours."
Joe paced the room in long thoughtful strides as Natalie sat on her desk with an amusing smile.
"You know what?" Joe said touching his moustache. "Let's just get all of our resources to find Alex Vause. Wherever she is, Chapman is with her."
"That's the smartest thing you've said all day. We keep Chapman out of the news. She doesn't exist for the public. But get our field agents to find her as soon as possible."
"Yeah, putting her picture out there won't do us any good anyone. If she wants to hide, there's no way in hell to find her. We have to wait for a slip up. Besides, putting her name out there-"
"-will do irreparable damage to the agency's reputation." Natalie finished.
"Okay. Let me gather whatever is left of my team." Caputo got out with determination. The ball was in his court now. His most trusted agent betrayed him that certainly asks for some tough calls to be made. And he always prided himself on being the man of hard times.
—
Updates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Mild spoilers ahead:
Shalom everyone! Did you guys finish S7 or are you going one episode at a time? I, for sure, dived right in for a 14 hour ride and it was worth every second of it. I will probably miss this show for the rest of my life. Because OITNB is on ne of those things that becomes an integral part of you, that makes you- you.
The bittersweet Vauseman ending was something I had anticipated and dreaded for a long time. Because endings are endings no matter how happy or sad they are, they are the closing of a chapter.
These two lovable, flawed and beautiful idiots are now a part of my life. My memories. And I'll try my best to keep them in my stories and my heart as long as I can.
And with that, I hope you enjoy the rest of this story.
Happy reading!
-R