Alex had felt fear countable times in her life. She hated it every time. It makes her feel weak. It crawls through her spine, leaving scratches and settles deep inside of her brain. It's roots go deep and it dictates her every move. It takes away control from her. It spreads and spreads until she breaks. That's how she felt right now. Like she was breaking.

After Piper had closed the door, she felt it slithering in her back. She diminished it by not paying much attention. She locked the door and flopped onto the bed. The room felt eerie all of a sudden and an empty feeling grasped her chest. She was good at being a loner but it had been hard since she met Piper.

She picked up one of the generic books on the nightstand and tried to read a bit. But the sudden movements outside caught her attention immediately. She heard some heavy vehicles pulling over in front. She got up and peeked through the window.

Two black SUVs had stopped in front of the room. Men in combat gear were marching out as if on an official raid. But Alex knew that they were there for her. She sprinted to check the door lock then to the drawer where she had hid the tape. The gun was beneath the pillow as Piper had told her to keep but Alex knew that it would not be very wise at the moment. There were too many of them.

She dashed to the bathroom vent for possible escape but the boots had already marched to the door. She heard them knock and before she could respond the lock turned and men in black marched in with guns pointing at her.

"Get down! Get down! Get down on the ground!" They shouted so loud it deafened her ears. She could see the flashlights on her face and the room filling up with more and more man.

She couldn't believe that this was all for her. This much weaponry was not needed when she somewhat willingly went down on her knees and held her hands above her head. But then again she and Piper had done quite some damage to their plans.

A man twisted her hands behind her back and handcuffed her. Another one shone a torch on her face. She flinched at the brightness. A huge guy walked forward with an air of authority and got on one knee to look at her. She was disgusted by how close he dared to come. He pulled away his gas mask and grinned like the devil. He pressed switched on the radio on his shoulder and spoke in an arrogant voice,

"This is Captain Piscatella. We have the target in custody. Over."

"Good job, Captain. Sending in the eagle in three. Over." The other end replied.

Alex was surprised at how official all these seemed. If Jason was this powerful now, what would he do once he tastes real power. And whoever he was, he was coming in now. The captain moved away from her and stood by the door making way for Figueroa.

Jason Figueroa turned out to be another generic face of politics. His greyish hair was neatly groomed and thousand dollar tailored suit did nothing but intensified his better-than-thou face. He walked in with a smirk on his face like he won some competition.

"The enigmatic Alex Vause, finally we meet." He said looking down at her. "You have been so infuriating to me -"

"I am aware of that. However I am surprised that you showed up." Alex smirked. "I didn't take you for a greeting hands dirty kind of guy."

"Thanks to your boss's incompetence and your unwillingness to just give up actually forced me to take things in my hand. I hope your girlfriend is not hiding in here waiting to attack us." He laughed.

"You wouldn't be making that joke if she were here." Alex said with a smug smile. "You waited for her to go away because you are a fucking coward."

A gloved fist landed across her cheek. She clenched her teeth trying not to show any weakness but she could taste the blood on her lips. Her glasses were askew but she could still see somewhat distorted smug face of Piscatella.

"You should choose your words more carefully now Vause, shouldn't you? You have been in the business long enough to know that." Jason Tucker her hair behind her ear creepily. "Now, I expect you to be wiser. You have two choices. One, I know you know where the tape is. You just give it up. I let you go unscathed with new identities and new lives. You don't have to be a hero for someone who lied to you, manipulated you, fooled you."

The pragmatist in Alex agreed. Her survival instinct screaming at her to give up. What a way to get back at Piper for lying to her. It would ruin her, her name, her career, her country. But Alex didn't actually want that. For all that they have been through, she realised she didn't actually want to live without Piper. Because without Piper it would actually be just surviving. And life should be about more than just surviving.

"No. I don't k-know where the tape is?" Alex tried to look as convincing as possible.

"Option two then-"

"Sir," a man clad in black suit interrupted holding a phone - her phone. "Someone has been calling-"

Jason grabbed the phone with a smirk.

"You better pray your girlfriend chooses her words more carefully." He said before picking up.

"Hello, Ms. Chapman…I believe you are capable of understanding how crucial the situation is for you and your girlfriend. I know you are meeting with Joe Caputo right now. But I have someone you will not want to lose."

"I want to hear her voice." Alex heard her saying quite shakily.

"As you wish…" he said.

"I am okay, kid." Alex said trying to sound strong.

"Now, Ms. Chapman, I have Ms. Vause but I don't have the tape. I would advise you to follow my instructions as closely as possible. Is that clear?"

"Yes."

—

"If you want to see your girlfriend alive, you are going to walk away from this meeting and bring the tape to the address written on your motel room wall at 9 O' clock. You must not talk to anyone about this because if you do, I'll know. And that will result in excruciating for Alex here if I remember the sequence correctly. What was it again with Bloom - stab wound to the knee, foot and then finally a headshot. I hope you don't want that with your girlfriend."

Piper's breath hitched in her throat by the thought of anything happening to Alex.

"No but I have one condition." She signaled to an anxious Caputo that everything was okay.

"Ms. Chapman, you should understand that this is not a negotiation -"

"And you don't understand what I am capable of with the tape."

"Very well then. What do you want?"

"I will only hand to tape to you."

"Oh, I would be there. You have been a pain in the ass for so long, I can't wait to meet you. You hand me the tape and I will give you a chance to leave this country forever and start a life with a clean slate."

"You promised Kubra the same thing."

"9 PM, Ms. Chapman." He hung up. She kept staring at the phone until Caputo came and shook her.

"Where the fuck is it, Chapman?" He said angrily.

"Caputo," Piper retreated her steps. "I am sorry but I can't do this right now."

She walked backwards into the crowd as Caputo tried to contemplate the situation with a gaping mouth.

"If you walk away now, you will lose every bit of faith I had in you." He said firmly.

"Believe me, I don't want to. But I have to."

"This is a mistake, Chapman. A fucking mistake." He shouted after her as she got lost in the evening crowd.

—

Piper drove to the motel in a car she borrowed by showing off a fake FBI badge. Her face was crimson and hands shaking. She gripped the steering wheel as hard as she could. Mostly, she was angry at herself. How the fuck did she miss that? It was her fault. She put Alex in that situation. It was stupid fucking mistake to use Aydin's car. Of course, they would recognise it. She should have known that.

Piper was trained for high pressure situations but having her love at stake made the situation ten times harder. She couldn't stop imagining Alex. If he is keeping her alive then he must be desperate for the tape. And Alex didn't have to be. She could have negotiated a sweet deal if she wanted. But she didn't. She didn't screw over Piper.

Piper pulled over haphazardly in front of the motel. Their room door was closed shut. Everything looked normal. There was no sign of anyone else. Piper walked inside with her heart thumping loudly.

The mattresses were flipped over. Nighlamp discarded. Pillows shredded. The television set was ripped off of the wall and tables were moved to the side. The drawers were left open. It was evident that there searched every inch of their room. The same room that felt like a safe haven a few hours ago, now felt like chaos and violence.

But what horrified Piper was a note left on the bed. It was covered in blood from one corner and an address was written on it in Alex's handwriting. Piper picked it up. She immediately recognised the address as an abandoned warehouse near the harbour.

She sat on the edge of the bed and allowed herself to feel the overwhelming stress. The stress however dissolved out in the form of tears. She let herself cry for a few minutes. This was not just a mission. This was about the love of her life. About Alex. Alex who helped her find herself. She didn't know who she was without Alex and before Alex. She gripped the note tightly in her fist and wiped away the last of her tears. She should get back to work. Get the objectives with minimum damage.

First the Tape. She knew that Alex had taped it beneath the drawer. That's what they used to do with their valuable things back when they travelled. It had worked for them every time. And it certainly worked for them now.

Piper got up and slid her hand under the top surface of the drawer and indeed she found the tape. She tucked it safely into her jacket pocket and left the room with a loosely thought out plan with only one one objective - Get Alex back safely.

—

The hospital at this time of day was crowded with patients and doctors and nurses. Piper went in through the ER doors wearing a cap and a hood pulled over her head. She stood in a corner and paid close attention to every personnel. None of them seemed suspicious.

She followed a nurse to the dressing room. She waited for the nurse to get out and held the door as it was closing. She unlocked an open locker and quickly changed into a pair of scrubs and surgical mask and tucked a manila envelope into her waistband. She looked through the list of patients and their assigned rooms on the nurses' desk.

She took determined steps towards Nicky's room only to be halted by a predatory looking Red guarding Nicky's door. Piper stopped in her tracks abruptly and that didn't go unnoticed by Red. She turned towards her and looked straight into her eyes. She definitely recognised her because her face looked like she was barely holding back from strangling Piper right then and there.

Piper gulped her fears for the sake of the mission. She walked slowly with her head held high.

"Brave of you to show up." Red said, her eyes never leaving Piper's (not even blinking).

Piper sighed. "How is she doing?"

"Alive. Would have been much better if it weren't for you-"

"Look, Red, I am sorry. But Nick chose this. She was aware of the risks and she chose."

"So what?!" Red yelled through gritted teeth. "You put her life in danger-"

"MA!" Nicky shouted from inside the room. "Just let her come in, would ya?"

Piper didn't wait for Red to respond as she stormed past her in a blink of an eye. But oh boy, that was a mistake.

Nicky's hands, to say the least, were preoccupied. Inside someone - a nurse (a naked nurse). And Piper's entry caused the nurse to jump closer to Nick creating a not so PG scene in front of her.

"Jesus Christ! Nick! Would you just…just wrap it up-" Piper closed her eyes turning to face the wall.

"Oh Chapman, you're in already. I thought Red would beat you to a pulp first." Nicky said amusedly. "You are just in time to meet Sophie. She's been keeping me company. Go sweetheart put on some clothes for a while."

The nurse - Sophie climbed out of bed and retreated towards the bathroom leaving flying kisses to Nicky.

"I can't fucking believe you Nick." Piper said once Sophie was out of sight.

"What? She saved your life. If it wasn't for her, Red would be running in with a frying pan to hit you. She can't even come in because she's seen more obscenity than you." Nicky sat up a little bit straight.

Piper sighed and sat near the edge of the bed.

"I am glad you're okay." She said seriously.

"Me too, blondie. It was a fun ride." Nicky smiled. "But I don't think you're here for that. What is it? And where's your lady love?"

Piper looked down to her hands. "They - they have Alex."

"Holy sh-"

"I know. He wants the tape. But I don't think he will let us go even if we give him the tape. He wants us dead."

"Chapman, there must be some other way, right?"

"There is not. To be honest, we have outlived our chances. And I guess I just came here to say goodbye."

"Chapman. No. No-"

"That's just it, Nicky. I can't fight them anymore. And I don't want them to know that you were involved in any way. You understand?" Piper asked seriously.

Nicky nodded somewhat reluctantly.

"And this-" Piper placed the manila envelope on the side table. "When everything settles down and the world says that we were the terrorists, drop this in Poussey Washington's mailbox anonymously. She will know what to do. But you do it anonymously. Okay?"

Nicky nodded.

"Promise me, you won't get yourself in trouble?" Piper asked again.

"Yeah, I promise." Nicky reassured.

Piper hugged briefly before standing up and leaving the room with one last look at her best friend. Nicky smiled back earnestly.

Sophie came out of the bathroom as soon as Piper left.

"Your friend left already?" She asked curiously. "Can we resume what we were doing?"

"Yeah. Just a moment, babe." Nicky said picking up the envelope. "Jesus H Christ-" Nicky murmured on seeing what was inside. "These kids are gonna be the death of me."

If Piper thought Nicky would sit back and watch it unfold then she thought wrong. Because Nicky often prided herself on her self destructiveness. And this was like the golden ticket to fucking adventure land.

"Babe," Nicky smiled bashfully at Sophie. "What d'you say about a little role play, eh?"

—

A/N:

Here's the apology. I am sorry for leaving you guys like that. But hey, I am back now. I know it must have seemed sketchy as hell as I didn't upload anything after asking about unfinished stories. But trust me, I never intended it to be that way. It just happened that my life got in the way (I think I might have jinxed it). Anyway, all is good now and I am back for real.

A huge thank you for the support in the comments and in PM. I don't think it would have been possible to come back without you guys.

As always, happy reading :)