Bea leaned against the door to the equipment room and banged her head against it, proceeding to massage her face and wipe away her tears. She covered her ears, failing to drown out the sound of Allie's cries.
"Bea! Come back! Bea! Please don't leave me!"
Bea heard a loud crash from the equipment room, the sound of Allie accidentally knocking over a shelf in her current delirious state. Bea ran her fingers through her hair as her eyes surveyed the kitchen. She ran over to the cabinets and began scouring them all until she found a pitcher and a clean dishrag. Bea rushed to the sink and began filling the pitcher with water, then proceeded to soak the dishrag. She carried both items back to the equipment room, opening the door and kicking it closed it behind her. Allie had brought down an entire shelf, and pots, pans, bowls, mixers, ladles, and tongs were now scattered all over the floor. Allie was lying on the floor on her back, her hands covering her eyes, which she lowered when she heard the door close. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Bea.
"Bea, you came back! Come, come, come, sit! Please stay with me!"
Allie patted the floor next to her. As angry as Bea was, she was filled with grief at the sight of Allie. She stepped over Allie, kicked aside pots and pans, and placed the pitcher down on the floor, the dishrag on the counter. Bea crouched down and hooked her arms underneath Allie's, pulling her up off the floor, as Allie began to half laugh and half cry as she hugged Bea. Bea pushed her against the counter, boosting her so she ended up sitting on top of it. Bea kept her hand on Allie's knee as she bent down to pick up the pitcher of water. She sat next to Allie on the counter and placed her hand on the back of Allie's head, as she raised the pitcher and made Allie drink the water. When she was no longer capable of swallowing anymore, she began to cough and pushed the pitcher away. Bea set it down next to her, now picking up the dishrag and using it to gently wipe Allie's face. She then took Allie's face in her hands and forced her to look at her, pressing the wet dishrag against her cheek.
"Allie, Allie, Allie, look at me. Allie, why would you do this?" Bea cried. "I thought we were… Why, Allie? Why now? Why this? Did I do something to you? I'm sorry, Allie, I'm so sorry."
Allie transitioned between laughing and crying, as the only other thing she could do was shake her head. Bea's soft voice transitioned into a harsh tone, as she demanded to know the answer to another question.
"Who the fuck gave you the gear?" Bea asked, anger emanating from each word she uttered.
Allie pulled Bea's hands off her face and leaned forward, almost falling over, before being caught by Bea, who gently pushed her to slide back against the wall.
"Allie, who gave you the gear?" Bea asked, trying to hold Allie's head up.
Allie shook her head.
"I didn't…I didn't want it," she muttered as she began to nod off, her eyes opening and closing as if she was about to fall asleep.
"Where did you…"
"Kaz…" Allie began to laugh again. "Fucking Kaz."
"What? No, Allie, I'm asking who gave you the drugs?"
"Why are you so beautiful…" Allie asked as if she was about to burst into tears.
Bea turned to reach for the pitcher of water, bringing it back up to Allie's mouth and making her drink as much as possible. After pushing the pitcher away again, she stared at Bea, her smile slowly fading as she turned her eyes towards the door. As Bea turned to set the pitcher back down, Allie leapt off of the counter and collapsed on the floor as she began to vomit. Bea dropped the pitcher of water and slid off the counter, kneeling next to Allie as she grabbed her hair and held it back as she continued to vomit. Bea rubbed her back, the heartbreaking sight of Allie making her build up both tears and rage. When Allie finished vomiting and began to cough, Bea helped her sit back up, as she stood up and moved behind Allie, hooking her arms underneath Allie's arms once again and pulling her away from the vomit. Bea rested her against a wall on the opposite end of the room. She walked back to grab the dishrag and sat down next to Allie, who no longer showed any emotion, her empty, bloodshot eyes staring blankly ahead. Bea cleaned the vomit off of Allie's mouth, before Allie let herself fall over into Bea's lap. Bea pushed the loose strands of hair away from Allie's face and began to stroke her hair as Allie closed her eyes.
…
Vera rose from her chair as Channing stormed into her office, slamming the door shut behind him, then approaching the desk and planting his fists on it as he glared at Vera.
"What the fuck is going on here, Vera?"
"I'm sorry?"
Channing walked around the desk, as Vera stepped aside as he began to use her computer. He pulled up a webpage then stepped back to point towards the monitor.
"What the fuck is this?" Channing asked.
Vera leaned forward to read what was on the screen, an article titled "The Prison Within: The Inhumane Negligence in Wentworth Correctional Centre." Vera quickly read through the article, which highlighted the refusal of the correctional facility to protect the inmates, focusing on the recent attack on Joan Ferguson. The article reported that instead of helping Ferguson, she had been forced into solitary confinement in order to hide the ineptitude of the officers as well as the administration. Vera became appalled as she continued to scroll through the article and saw pictures of Ferguson, her scorched arm and bleeding red eyes the foci of the photographs. Vera stepped back, completely dumbfounded by how there could be photos of Ferguson's burned arm and bleeding eyes when she had been taken to the hospital immediately following the incident.
"We've been taking shit for this since it came out, and there's a call to demand an internal investigation of the prison, Vera. How the fuck could you let something like this happen and not tell me? Who attacked Ferguson?"
"There was an altercation in the laundry room, yes, but Ferguson was not the victim. Along with Karen Proctor, she made an attempt on Bea Smith's life."
"Fuck, Vera…"
Channing let out a deep breath as he rubbed his forehead and walked back around the desk, placing his hands on the chair in front of him.
"So Smith did it then?"
"I'm not sure…"
"How could you not know?" Channing yelled.
Vera's eyes shifted, as she found it hard to imagine that anyone other than Bea would be capable of forcing Ferguson into the steam press, but then recalling that Allie was the only one left standing in the laundry room. Now familiar with the extent of her relationship with Bea, Vera began to further consider Allie as Ferguson's attacker. Regardless, to Vera, what had happened to Ferguson didn't matter, as she had always been more concerned about what had actually happened to Bea.
"Whatever happened to Ferguson was the result of self-defense…"
"Is Ferguson really in the slot?"
"She's in the protection unit."
"For fuck's sake, Vera, how could you not inform me of what was happening here? You get her back into general population immediately."
"Are you hearing yourself? She's had her arm burned in a steam press and her eyes nearly gouged out. If she goes back…"
"Take that bitch out of her cage and let the rest of the pack finish her off already."
"Oh, so there can be even greater agitation?"
"So there won't be anymore of these fucking reports. If another article comes out about her still being isolated, they'll see we have something to hide and then we'll all be fucked. I'm not about to almost lose my job again over this bitch."
"Derek, I can't…"
"Do it!" ordered Channing.
Vera lowered her eyes. She began to nod, a resigned look on her face as she realized she had no choice but to release Ferguson. Channing pushed the chair and headed for the door, turning to Vera as he reached for the handle.
"And you better find out who took those photos and who contacted that fucking reporter. Go through as many call records as it takes, I don't give a shit how long it takes. I want a name, and I want that fucking camera."
Channing left the office, leaving the door open. He nodded once in Jake's direction as he passed by him on his way out. Jake walked up to the doorway of the office and watched Vera begin to massage her face, shaken up as she began to think that no matter what, she would have to call in a coroner in the near future.
…
Allie sat alone on a bench in the courtyard, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms crossed on top, her face buried in them. Images flooded her mind of what had been done to her by Kaz and her former crew, the people she called her family. As she replayed the event in her mind, she failed to notice Tina and two members of her crew approach her, the two women sitting down on either side of her as Tina stood in front of her.
"Novak, I've been told you could use a fix," Tina smiled.
Allie lifted her head to look at Tina, who was moving her left hand inside her pocket.
"Piss off, Tina," Allie responded as she stood up from the bench.
"Hey, hey now, I just want to help you," Tina replied, stepping in front of Allie and keeping her from leaving.
The two other women rose from the bench as well, one of them placing her hand on Allie's back.
"If you can't afford it, I'm more than happy to discuss other methods of payment…" she grinned.
Allie pushed the woman away, who became angry and pushed Allie back, as the other woman tripped Allie and made her fall to the ground. As the two women began to kick Allie in her stomach and her back as they laughed, Kaz and two members of her crew rushed over and pulled the women back, beginning to beat them as Kaz grabbed Tina and pulled her back by her hair.
"You come anywhere near her again and I'll gut you, you hear me?"
Kaz yanked Tina's hair one last time before shoving her away, the other women leaving with her. Kaz held her hand out to Allie, who refused to take it as she stood back up on her own. Kaz motioned for her crew to go, leaving her alone with Allie.
"Allie, I'm so sorry…"
"Fuck off, Kaz," replied Allie as she sat back down on the bench.
Kaz sat down next to Allie and sighed, knowing it would take some time for Allie to realize that what she had done had been for her own good. Kaz wanted to open her eyes to who Bea Smith truly was, a woman who was only using her and would leave her the second Allie slipped up. Everyone knew of Bea's anti-drug stance, she knew the effect it would have on her to see Allie under the influence, and she knew this was the only way to remove her dearest friend from the hold Bea had on her.
"What'd she do when she found you?" Kaz asked, longing to know the answer.
Allie stared at the gate to H block, hoping Bea would come out into the yard at any moment.
"She didn't help you, did she?" Kaz guessed, knowing that Bea would be unable to forgive Allie for falling into the habit that took her daughter away.
Tears began to well in Allie's eyes, but she wiped them away, reluctant to cry in front of Kaz. Regardless, Kaz noticed how broken Allie was and faced forward again.
"That fucking bitch…" Kaz uttered. "You crossed me to protect her and look how she repays you… Allie, how could you let yourself get played by her like that? You knew damn well she wasn't into women. How could that not make you question her motives at all?"
Allie began to chuckle as she brought her hands to cover her face, not because of amusement but out of hysteria. She began to question Kaz's judgment and sanity. As Allie understood, Kaz knew Bea would ditch her the minute she started using drugs again, but she wouldn't have used drugs had Kaz not forced them into her veins. So by that logic, Bea never would have left her had Kaz not drugged her, something Kaz seemed to overlook when defending her twisted deed. As much as Kaz wanted to believe she had done Allie a favor, Allie could only see her decision as retribution for having betrayed her in the first place. Allie had always expected some kind of retaliation for the new allegiance she pledged through her own actions in the laundry room, but never could she have imagined Kaz would have done something so inhumane to someone she supposedly loved and cared about.
As Allie lowered her hands from her face again, she saw Bea walk in through the gate by herself, heading towards the table where Maxine, Liz, Boomer, and Sonia sat. Allie sprang from the bench and ran towards Bea, grabbing her arm to stop her. Maxine, Liz, Boomer, and Sonia all turned to watch them, as did many of the other women in the yard, too interested in the scene that was about to unfold before them. Rumors had been spread about what happened in the laundry room. Rumors had been spread about what happened in the equipment room. Now everyone was intent on getting to firsthand experience the newest rumor that was about to be circulated. Kaz stood up and slowly began to saunter towards Bea and Allie.
"Can I please talk to you?" Allie begged.
Bea jerked her arm out of Allie's hand.
"You stay the fuck away from me." Bea gritted her teeth.
"Bea, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened, but I didn't want the gear, I swear."
"Guessing you were probably too hopped up to even remember."
Bea turned to leave but was once again stopped by Allie grabbing her right arm. This time, Bea didn't pull away, choosing only to glare at Allie as she continued to speak.
"No, it's not like that, I just…One minute I was in the equipment room…Then the next I was just… I can't remember what happened, but you know I'm not…"
"Just shut the fuck up!" Bea yelled. "I don't want to hear your bullshit anymore. I don't care. If you're going to shove crank in your veins, that's fine, I couldn't give less of a shit, but if you ever, ever do it in front of me, the drugs won't be the reason you blackout, do you understand?"
Allie struggled to fight back her tears, as Bea grabbed her wrist and broke Allie's hold on her, swatting her arm away. As Bea turned to walk away from her, Jake approached the two of them.
"Smith… Governor wants to see you."
Bea nodded as she turned back towards Allie and ended up glaring at Kaz who now stood behind her. Jake walked Bea out of the yard, taking her towards the governor's office. As the rest of the women in the yard began to discuss what they had just seen, Sonia's eyes remained fixed on Allie, as Kaz turned her around, kissed her on the cheek, and hugged her as Allie broke down crying.
…
"You're fucking kidding me," muttered Bea in complete disbelief.
"No, I'm not. Ferguson will be released into general population once again," responded Vera.
Bea turned up towards the ceiling, covering her eyes with her hands as she leaned back in the chair in Vera's office. Vera leaned against her desk with her arms crossed, as she gave Bea a minute to process the news. She walked back around her desk and opened the webpage of the article regarding the supposed attack on Ferguson.
"You need to read something."
Bea faced forward again, seeing Vera gesturing towards her chair.
"Seriously?"
"I'm sure you'll find it a bit more comfortable than your current throne."
Bea sighed, as she stood up and walked around the desk to sit in Vera's chair. She spun in it to turn and face the screen.
"The prison within…" Bea scoffed as she read the title out loud.
Bea started reading the article, as Vera gauged her reactions.
"What the… This is a joke right?" Bea asked as she continued reading.
Bea scrolled down the page, becoming visibly disturbed at the sight of Ferguson's photos.
"Who wrote… What the fuck? Ferguson wasn't the victim here."
Bea turned to look at Vera who simply raised her eyebrows.
"Unfortunately, the journalist is incredibly influential, and it is this article that led to Ferguson being released back into general. So, given that you will ultimately cross paths again, I suggest you reconsider your stance on not discussing the events that took place in the laundry room."
Bea turned to look back at the pictures of Ferguson, this being the first time she truly understood the level of damage Sonia had inflicted. Ferguson's arm was nothing but a reddened, blackened, blistered limb that was only held together by patches of flesh, as most of her skin had been seared. Her eyes were as red as the blood that had streamed out of them, clearly in pain just from having them open as she stared into the camera, her piercing gaze akin to that of a woman possessed. The article stated that Ferguson had been the victim of violence at the hands of a group of women intent on killing her, and that in lieu of protecting Ferguson, the officers ignored her cries for help. Bea wanted to tell Vera that the article was obviously untrue, but she couldn't speak about what truly happened without compromising Sonia.
"Smith, when Ferguson goes to trial, she will undoubtedly use this in her case, and I wouldn't be surprised if she names you as the ringleader of the attack. Now is your chance to get ahead of her and be prepared for any false allegations, as well as help this facility divulge the truth. She tried to choke you, so that obviously means her arm was still fine up to that point. What happened after…"
"How do you know that?" Bea asked, rising from the chair. "Who have you been talking to? Who told you that?"
"It doesn't matter, Smith! What matters is getting yourstory straight before Ferguson can write it herself! Just tell me, who burned her arm and tried scratching her eyes out, you or Novak?"
Unable to make eye contact with Vera, Bea took a deep breath and simply shook her head, a little unsettled at the thought of the only possible culprits being Allie or herself since Sonia would always appear guiltless and harmless compared to the two of them. And now, Ferguson would be back, injured, but absolutely ready to strike with Kaz at her right hand yet again. Bea thought back to that day in the laundry room and recalled the list of women Sonia had made. She knew there was no way Ferguson could've assembled that group, it was all Kaz's doing. She knew the extent of the network Kaz had at her disposal outside of the prison, and she was positive that Kaz was behind taking the pictures and contacting the reporter. Kaz had an arsenal, an army behind her, but Ferguson was ultimately the puppetmaster, the manipulator, the controller, the role she triumphed in time and time again. To take down Ferguson, Bea would need to crush her support, eliminate her resources, and break her alliance with Kaz, the heart of which was the murderous hatred they shared for her. Bea needed to destroy that alliance, which had to begin with clearing her own name with the woman who nearly killed her.
"You need to get me some information," Bea demanded, as she sat back down in Vera's chair.
…
Allie trudged down the hallway as she stared down at the floor, her mind still occupied by the events that had transpired in the equipment room. She puzzled over what could drive Kaz, the woman who saved her from drugs in the first place, to commit such an atrocity. Kaz justified herself over and over again, claiming she did it to prove that Bea didn't give a fuck about her, but the only conclusion Allie could arrive at was that Kaz was the one who didn't care about her. It hadn't always been that way. Kaz was the one to take care of her in the past and give her a future, but that woman seemed to have disappeared the moment Bea came back into the prison. Allie ultimately realized that the hatred Kaz felt for Bea outweighed the love she once had for her.
While she could assume that Kaz finally figured out that something was going on between her and Bea, she struggled to think of how Kaz knew when the perfect moment to strike was, as she obviously knew Bea would be in the kitchen to witness the aftermath. Allie began to think of Doreen, a woman who had a child on the outside, and how she could possibly join in on the assault and be the one to ensure Kaz found her vein. Allie thought of her crew, the girls she had grown to call her sisters, and how they took no issue with holding her down and letting Kaz carry out her cruel act. All these people that Allie once believed to be the only ones who would ever protect her, stand up for her, were now nothing more than blind soldiers following their corrupted leader's orders, no matter how demented. Her mind raced back to the moment Kaz met Bea for the first time as a prisoner, recalling Kaz assert how dehumanizing the prison could be before spurning the idea of being any kind of victim. And now, Kaz herself had degenerated into nothing more than a merciless figurehead, the same type of leader she claimed to want to remove from the prison, controlled entirely by Ferguson. Her crew had become victims, Doreen had become a victim, and Kaz had become a victim of the prison, of the system, of the circumstances, and as much as Allie wanted to absolve Kaz because of everything she had done for her, knowing that this was not the same woman who had walked into prison at her side, Allie could not forgive Kaz for victimizing her in the end.
Allie's memories faded in and out, but after forcing herself to stop thinking of the event itself, she began to focus on what happened afterwards, as she recalled Bea giving her water, holding her hair back as she threw up, and cradling her before she passed out. As horrifying as the entire ordeal had been, Allie couldn't help but smile as she remembered Bea holding her and running her fingers through her hair.
Allie was brought back to the present as she was yanked inside a cleaning supplies closet.
"I've been waiting in here so long I almost started cleaning…"
As Bea turned back around after shutting the door, Allie pushed her up against it and pressed her body into Bea's, as she pinned her wrists above her head and covered Bea's lips with her own. Bea needed to speak to Allie, but nowhere near as much as she needed to kiss her. Allie slid her hands down Bea's arms and the sides of her breasts, until she reached her waist and ran her hands underneath Bea's shirt. Allie was elated to feel the warmth of Bea's skin again, pushing her shirt up as her hands travelled up her abdomen, smoothly gliding underneath her bra to caress her breasts. Bea wrapped her arms around Allie and moaned into her mouth as her fingers electrified her entire body. Before her mind entered into a complete fog, Bea began trying to speak in between kisses, as she found it impossible to separate herself from Allie.
"I… I hope I… didn't… inti…intimidate you… too much…"
"Oh please, by… now you should… know how hot… you are when… threatening people…"
Allie placed her leg in between Bea's legs, slowly and softly beginning to push into her, as Bea gripped her hair and began to push down against Allie. Allie slid her tongue out of Bea's mouth, running it over Bea's bottom lip, along her jawline, down her neck, and across her collarbone. Bea swallowed hard as she closed her eyes, her breathing becoming shallower with each action, unsure if she could continue speaking.
"Allie… It's…It's just for a little while longer, okay?" Bea whispered, throwing her head back as Allie kissed and licked her neck. "Just while… while I figure out this… situation… I'm sorry… but… but you'll be safe and… and…"
Bea's disconnected train of thought was interrupted when Allie ran her tongue up her neck, before slipping it into her mouth and thrusting her leg into Bea as her manipulations of Bea's breasts intensified. Bea and Allie continued to kiss and caress one another, both women treasuring the little time they had left together, as Vera and Jake walked past the supplies closet, escorting Ferguson back to H3.