"Put your gun down, blondie. I am here to deal with your partner. I hold no fight against you. Give her up."

"Over my dead body."

"Jesus Christ!" Nicky shouted and slid in the small space between the two of them. "We are not in the Wild West! Red, you need to calm down a couple of notches-"

"Tell your friend to lower her gun first." Red said through gritted teeth.

"Chapman, c'mon. Let's all be friends, eh?" Nicky joked. "No need to get your panties in a twist. What d'ya say?"

"I'll pass." Piper said.

"Okay. Piper, this is getting nowhere." Alex interrupted, coming out front, hands held above her head. "Look," she addressed Red, "Look, I am unarmed. I cannot possibly hurt you. We just need a place to stay-"

"Hide." Red spat out. "You mean hide."

"Whatever suits you, Red." Alex replied. "I know you do some shady business behind this restaurant cover. So, it's not like we are asking you something out of the ordinary."

"I do not shelter child killers. I know what you did to that hospital full of sick children-"

Alex walked closer. Using her height as an advantage, she looked down at Red with the most sincere look that she could conjure.

"I understand if you don't trust me. But I did not do what they are saying. We need time to make it right. We need help from you. You can still deny. But maybe it will work out in your favour too. Help us. Just for a few days. Or pull that trigger if you want but remember that Nicky trusted us and brought us here."

Red lowered her weapon slightly still keeping an eye on Piper. She nodded her head just enough to let Piper know that she won't shoot. Piper brought her gun down simultaneously.

"Ufff…" Nicky dramatically sighed.

"Your friends can live here. 24 hours. But I do not want this shit getting back at my ass. You leave tomorrow as quietly as you came." Red firmly said to Nicky. "И волки сыты, и овцы целы."

"Whatever that means, thank you for letting us stay." Alex replied exaggeratedly.

"благодарю вас." Piper thanked.

"I need to attend business downstairs. Keep a fucking eye on them." Red said and knocked Nicky on her head.

"Tough love, woman, tough love." Nicky smirked behind her.

—

Three hours had passed since Piper had ungraciously fell asleep on the couch. She had intended a short nap, hardly an hour but the exhaustion and stress got the best of her. She woke up by the sound of muffled giggling coming from Nicky's bedroom. She sat up, looked around, Alex and Nicky weren't around. The laughter came again. This time Piper recognised it as Alex's.

"What the fuck?" She muttered under her breath and walked in the direction of the bedroom.

The door was slightly ajar. Looking inside, Piper found it dimly lit. She took her time adjusting to the light in the room, standing just two steps inside.

"Nicky!" Piper asked, surprised.

Nicky and Alex giggled, trying to hide behind the covers around them, failing miserably. Piper pulled away the cover in front of their faces with disgust.

"What are you doing!?" Piper asked.

"Hey, bummer Chapman!" Nicky laughed. "Get the fuck down or fuck the fuck off."

"Bum-bum-bum-bum…" Alex said in sing-song voice. "My tongue feels delightful."

Piper scrunched up her nose. But before she could say anything, Nicky pulled her by her wrist, making her fall onto the bed beside them. They both laughed hilariously as Piper managed to get up in a sitting position.

"Hey," Nicky crawled towards her, "from this angle, your nose hair looks pretty prominent, eh?"

"Ooh," Alex joined in. "She used to trim those. You are really letting yourself go, Chapman."

"Are you two crazy?" Piper yelled. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"It's a weekly meeting, Okay," Nicky said seriously. "For the morally morose and successfully challenged. So, we are just going back and forth and, uh, talking about all the truly dreadful, horrible shit that we have to slog through on a daily basis-"

"-And we are smoking crack." Alex added.

"Oh, yeah, that too."

"Are you two fucking serious!?"

"While not my first choice, crack in small amount is actually good for you."

"Yeah. Yeah." Alex muttered, clearly high on the drug as well. Nicky took out the glass pipe she had been hiding behind her back and lit a lighter beneath it, taking a long inhale.

"Perfect." Piper said. "So, you guys are cracked out of your minds."

"Hmm." Alex nodded playfully.

Nicky exhaled slowly. White smoke spread throughout the room that smelled like burning rubber.

"You can be too. Here." Nicky held the crack pipe and the lighter towards Piper.

"Fuck it." She took the pipe without hesitation.

"Whoa! Seriously?" Alex slid her glasses to the top of her head.

"Why would you offer it to me if didn't want to share it?" Piper asked angrily and put one end of the pipe in her mouth. Nicky chuckled amusedly.

Piper could feel the crack making place in her mind, the relief coming instantly. The weight lifting off of her shoulder. She chuckled. It felt nice. Even if on borrowed time. It felt like a break.

"Heyy… take it easy." Nicky took away the pipe from her hand.

"Take it easy? Fuck that! I am a fugitive okay? I was the best agent and now I am a fucking fugitive and I kill people. I fucking kill people and I can't fucking stop it. I can never fucking stop it-"

"Hey, they were bad people. Vause told me all about it, eh. You did what you had to do-"

"No. No. No. No. You don't understand. You don't fucking understand. I kill people. I kill and I can't stop. Why do you think I became a fucking agent huh? I loved my job. It's one thing I am fucking good at. I am good at becoming anyone, creating anyone. As long as I didn't have to look in a mirror, look at myself. I don't have that now. It's hard being myself. It's so fucking hard."

"Piper," Alex slid closer to her and cupped her face in her hands. "Piper, you are not the only bad person, okay-"

"No, no. I took it too far. I took it too far. I always take it too fucking far. I dragged you into this. I fucking dragged everyone into this. And I don't fucking know where to go from her. I don't fucking know. This is what I have become. This is what I have fucking become. And this what I would have to live with." Piper broke down in her hands. Tears flowing freely and all the frustration coming up in pathetic sobs. Alex's touch practically melted her.

"Hey, Hey, hey…" Alex tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear, wiping a stray tear from her cheeks with her thumb. "You didn't dragged me into this. This is my mess, okay? I was not fucking naive. Fuck, I knew what Kubra was capable of doing still I chose to ignore it. I knew I was just a mule for him. Still, I never fucking stopped. I couldn't fucking stop doing his bidding." Alex leaned in closer. Their noses touching and tears blending. Piper put an arm around Alex, hugging her gently. Giving her the assurance and acceptance that she knew Alex craved. Alex pulled back briefly, looking at her with strong intentions and Piper reciprocated it, stealing glances on her lips -

"I fell in love with a straight girl." Nicky said out of nowhere.

They both let go of each other instantly and stared at Nicky, idly sitting there. Her pupils blown out and face covered in smoke from all the crack she has been doing.

"What?" They both said in unison.

"What, what?" Nicky shrugged. "I figured it was my turn. Are you not done yet Vasue?"

"You fell in love?" Piper asked, shocked.

"A straight girl?" Alex said at the same time.

"Yes, I fell in love. And yes, with a straight girl. She lives… lived down the street, above the Italian bakery." Nicky said gloomy.

"Well, what happened, Romeo?" Alex asked, genuinely interested.

"She got issues, man." Nicky sighed. "Real issues with her brain. She was stalking some dude. The cops arrested her the night I was going to propose."

Alex stifled a traitorous giggle with the back of her hand. Piper tapped on her shoulder, scolding her.

"Don't laugh." Piper said. "It's really sad, Nick. Although, I am not really surprised, given no girl would give you time of her day without being you know, crazy."

"Fuck you, Chapman!"

Alex rolled back in a fit of laughter, landing on the side of the bed. She held her stomach as she laughed. Piper joined her soon enough. They laid side by side as Nicky bombarded them with a fountain of curses. Finally, Nicky fell back as well. Next to Piper as they all stared at the bare ceiling. The laughter died down eventually after some more teasing.

"What's her name, Nick?" Piper asked after a while.

Nicky regarded the question before answering in a quiet, sincere voice. "Lorna. Lorna Morello."

"She's pretty?" Alex asked.

"Very." Nicky answered.

"You are absolutely smitten, kid." Alex chuckled at the honest answer.

"May be I am." Nicky replied. "Aren't you?"

Yes. I am.

Alex turned just enough to lock eyes with Piper as a small smile appeared on her lips. They heard Nicky snoring before she could answer. Piper sighed and moved closer into Alex's side, searching the warmth and comfort she had missed so dearly. Alex gave in. She got up on her elbow and kissed the top of Piper's forehead in a silent promise that eventually they will be okay.

—

"So, this Larry guy, you sure he's the one?" Nicky asked, popping popcorn into her mouth. She was absentmindedly watching the news.

"Yes, there's no one else. He's all we have got." Piper replied.

They had woken up almost an hour ago along with severe headaches and a setting sun. After several coffees and showers, they had set some sort of an office on Nicky's dining table. Red had graciously fed them best of Russian cuisine.

"How good is he?" Alex asked. "I mean, as an agent."

"He's practically a nobody. His father got him the job."

"Family? Marriage?"

"He's married to my former best friend, Polly Harper."

"Holy fuck, Chapman. She steal him from you." Nicky piped in enthusiastically from the couch. Alex gave a disgusted look.

"What? Too hetero?" Nicky smirked.

"It's more like he steal her from me. He's a sleazebag." Piper replied. "I am actually not surprised it's him. Son of a bitch."

"What do we do with that, though? Even if we were to come out and say it's him, there's no point. Kubra will walk away, anyway." Alex added.

"We have to be smart about this. Besides, this is bigger than Kubra. There's someone calle - "

Nicky had went over to the television screen. She was watching it very intently.

"That was fast." Nicky said.

"What was fast?" Alex asked.

"The next vice-president. Some guy named Jason Figueroa. Apparently he is the president's choice. It's all over the news, man." Nicky explained. "They are having the funeral the day after tomorrow. It's gonna be a big event in D.C."

"Jason Figueroa?" Piper asked.

"What? Do you know him?"

"Yeah. He's Natalie Figueroa's husband. She is the deputy director of the agency. My boss."

"Wow." Alex took a sip of her beer.

"Yeah." Nicky walked back to the kitchen counter. "What are we gonna do about the sleazebag?" Nicky scrolled down his Instagram page on Piper's laptop.

"How about we get him to confess?" Alex suggested.

"Yeah. But he's a trained agent. We will have to isolate him and then probably torture him for information."

"Looks like the guy loves his yacht." Nicky whistled. "I have an idea. Do you have his number?"

"Yes. But what's the idea?"

"We lure him into a trap. He loves his yacht. We will prank call him that somebody vandalised his boat. He'll come running."

"But, Nick we don't know where his boat is-"

"Are you really an agent Chapman?" Nicky smirked. "His posts are from the same location. Look here. They are all geo stamped. And I know this place. My mother's boyfriend once had a party over there."

"Wow." Piper patted Nicky's back. "This actually sounds like a good plan. We can hold him on his boat until he gives us what we want."

"Yeah. We can record his confession. Use it to our advantage."

"Fucking absolutely, agent obvious." Nicky high fived Alex in excitement.

"Nick, are you sure you want to get involved in this?" Piper asked one last time.

"My shrink calls me self-destructive, Chapman. I gotta live up to her diagnosis." Nicky reasoned. "Besides, I am already involved."

—

"Larry Bloom speaking," Larry picked up in four rings.

"Yea, 'tis Jeffrey, the maintenance guy. Just wanted to let ya know, some kids were here fuckin' with yer boat-"

"My boat?!" He said frantically.

"Yea. Polly. Think they broke a window or two, painted the front with some vulgar art. If I were ya, I woulda come down to check the damage. But, just lettin' ya know. Scared the kids away for now. Have a good night, sir."

"Hold on! Hold on!" Larry shouted over the phone. "I am coming right now. Just stay there, alright."

"No problem, sir."

Jeffrey hung up.

"He bought it?" Alex asked.

"Yup. He's comin' to wherever y'all want him. He sounded pretty emotional though. Never seen a guy with so much love for a boat." He chuckled.

Alex handed him a fifty. "Thanks, Jeffrey."

Piper and Nicky were already waiting on the yacht. When Alex nodded in confirmation, they started preparing for his arrival.

—-

Hola!

I am officially back! The exams are over. So, I am back on the Mon-Wed-Fri schedule. Thank you so much for waiting patiently. And for the reviews. Love you, guys.

Ps : Someone in the reviews asked,

Did I plan this story beforehand?

Yes, I had a basic plot outlined for the whole thing. A chronological order of events just so that I don't deviate from the story. I wrote the last chapter beforehand which I'll probably have to change. I work the details while writing the chapters and try to fit them into the story frame in the most coherent way. And the plot outline helps me avoid writer's block. (The reviews are a great cure for writer's block too. I keep going back to them whenever I feel low. Thanks, again.)