"Time for head count, ladies," called out Will as he stepped into H1.
The women all stood outside their doors, none of them looking up. Will walked towards Bea's closed door and peeked inside. Sonia walked up to him and placed her hand on his arm.
"Please, Mr. Jackson…"
"She's been in there all day, no work, no meals… I can't just let her…"
"She has no one left, Mr. Jackson. Please, if only for tonight."
Will turned back towards the door to Bea's cell, sighing and nodding before walking out of the cellblock and shutting the gate behind him. Maxine, Boomer, and Doreen returned to their own rooms, each woman throwing the door closed. Sonia looked at Liz, who sat down on the couch and stared at the floor.
Allie sat on Bea's bed, her back against the wall with her face in Bea's pillow, rocking back and forth as she cried. She gripped the pillow with all her might, as she struggled to breathe. The door to Bea's room opened, as Sonia walked inside and shut it behind her. She watched Allie, taking pity on the girl who had entered the room that morning, never having left for a second the entire day. Even though she knew that nothing she could say could possibly help Allie, Sonia wanted to let her know that she was not alone. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to Allie, wrapping her left arm around the devastated girl and bringing her in for a hug. Allie never once looked up, keeping her face buried in Bea's pillow, hoping that maybe if she kept her face in the pillow long enough, she wouldn't have to suffer any longer.
…
Vera sat in her office, staring at nothing and completely disengaged from her environment. She failed to notice the office door thrown open as Franky pushed Miles away to get through and stop in front of Vera. Vera finally looked up, nodding to Miles who immediately left and slammed the door behind her, before turning her attention towards Franky. Franky slammed her fists down on the desk.
"How the fuck could you let this happen?" Franky yelled, her eyes watering. "All you had to do was play the fucking recording for Proctor. That was it, that's all!"
"Franky, I never could have imagined…"
Franky reached across the desk and grabbed Vera by her collar, easily dragging the small woman over the desk like a ragdoll and punching her in the face before letting her fall to the floor. Franky bent over and picked her back up by her collar again, shaking her as she spoke.
"You never could have imagined?! Why the fuck do you think Bea needed that information so badly?! You knew those fuckers were out for her blood, and you served Bea to them on a silver platter!" Franky cried out.
"Franky, it was an accident!"
Franky struck Vera across the face again, catching her before Vera fell to the floor and slamming her down on the desk.
"AN ACCIDENT?! AN ACCIDENT?! SHE'S FUCKING DEAD, YOU HEARTLESS PIECE OF SHIT!"
Franky punched Vera in the face with her right hand as she held her down by her neck with her left hand. Hearing the commotion, Jake ran into the office and pulled Franky off of Vera as she wrestled to break free from his hold.
"Let go of me, you rat bastard!" Franky screamed before head-butting Jake, who immediately let go of her to bring his hands to his face.
Franky stepped back over to Vera, pulling her up off the desk by her hair and gripping her by her neck.
"Listen to me and listen to me close. I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't keep your precious job for much longer. I will make your life a fucking nightmare, and I'll be sure to get that fucking woman the justice this hellhole denied her all her life."
Franky pushed Vera away, who fell to the floor and struggled to breathe. Franky pushed past Jake before storming out of the office. Vera sat up and leaned against the desk, burying her bleeding face in her hands as Jake watched her. She suddenly jumped up off the floor and ran out of her office, as Jake walked over to the desk to grab a tissue for his bloody nose.
…
Bridget opened the door to the slot cell where Kaz was being held. As much as Bridget wanted to go off on Kaz for what she had done, she did her best to try to remain professional when dealing with the woman. Kaz sat up in her bed and stared at Bridget as she walked into her room.
"I don't need a fucking psych," Kaz remarked scornfully.
"I'm afraid I have to check in with any inmate who has been involved in a murder," Bridget replied coldly, unable to disguise her contempt for Kaz.
"I already told you fuckers I didn't kill Bea Smith."
"It's incredibly difficult to believe that when you were the one who ended up on top of her and beating her for accidentally hitting you with a door, Kaz."
"Look, I don't know what happened, but I didn't shiv her. That wasn't my weapon. For all you know she was there to kill me and her plan backfired."
"And why would she want to kill you? It seems since you arrived here that's been a bigger part of your agenda, hasn't it?"
Kaz scoffed, upset at the obvious favoritism Bridget displayed for Bea.
"She put me in here for twelve years. I think I'm more than allowed to not cry over her death, wouldn't you agree, Ms. Westfall?"
Bridget turned towards the door, reaching for the handle and pulling it closed. She threw her notepad on the floor before reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone.
"Kaz… Bea never wanted to hurt you. Ever. All she wanted was to keep you from hurting her. She asked the governor to find information on who it was that named you as the leader of the Red Right Hand… The day you were supposed to be called in to the governor's office to hear the information was the day Bea tragically died."
Bridget held the phone out to Kaz, who refused to take it.
"As devastating as this recording will be for you, it's imperative for you to listen to it so you can finally begin to take responsibility for the mistakes you've made and the horrific tragedy you played a part in."
Kaz took the phone from Bridget, her hand beginning to shake as she pressed play.
Sonia, Maxine, and Liz all sat at a table in the library, making their way through dozens of papers.
"I have thirty," Liz stated, placing her papers on the table.
"Twenty-eight," Maxine remarked, setting her papers down on the table as well.
"Forty-two," Sonia added, as she grabbed the other papers to form one stack. "That's a hundred total."
"This is great," Liz said sadly as she pat the table.
"Do you really think it'll help?" Maxine asked turning towards Sonia.
"It certainly won't hurt. The biggest witness to Joan Ferguson's inhumanity is now gone, having fallen victim to her one last time, so whatever testimonies we can get detailing the level of Ferguson's atrocities both as a governor and as an inmate will at the very least impede her from walking out a free woman anytime soon."
As Sonia went through the stack of papers, writing down the names of the inmates who had written and signed them, Boomer and Doreen entered the library.
"Guys, Dors has got a juicy one for ya," Boomer stated pointing towards Doreen.
"It's a little long…" Doreen remarked as she looked at her stack of papers.
"That makes it even better, Dor," Liz smiled, taking the papers from her.
Liz handed the papers to Sonia, who placed them on the table in front of her. She removed her glasses and wiped them with a lens cloth, before picking up the testimony and beginning to read it.
…
Allie sat on the floor, leaning against Bea's bed as she flipped through her sketchbook. Tears continued to fall down her face, but she no longer made a sound as she cried. The door to the room opened, and Maxine, Liz, Sonia, and Boomer all crowded into the small space. Allie ignored the women, focusing only on the image Bea had drawn of her. Liz and Sonia sat down on either side of Allie, Maxine sat down on the toilet seat, and Boomer sat down next to her on the floor. Sonia wrapped her arm around Allie, and Liz began to rub Allie's leg, as they looked at the drawing as well.
Allie turned to the last page, beginning to half laugh and half cry as the tears raced down her cheeks. Liz brought her hands up to cover her face and cry into them, while Sonia removed her glasses and wiped her eyes. Allie turned the sketchpad towards Maxine and Boomer, showing them a drawing Bea had done of all of them. Maxine, Boomer, Liz, Sonia, and Allie were all in the drawing, smiling and standing close to one another. Boomer began to bawl as Maxine tried to comfort her by rubbing her back, unable to do so as she broke down as well.
…
After having skipped meals for days, Allie was brought into the mess hall by the women of H1, all concerned with her physical and mental health. She sat in Bea's former chair, barely eating or drinking anything at all as she stared off into space, her eyes opening and closing slowly as if she was about to fall asleep, her only other movement being that of her fingers twirling her fork. None of the women at the table said a word, none of the women in the mess hall made a sound. Kaz sat at her table, unable to eat anything either, and unable to shake the guilt, shame, and regret that had overcome her since listening to the phone call that put her and her crew in prison, those feelings having been exasperated as she looked into Allie's dead eyes. Jake and Will observed the mess hall through their booth.
"Bleak as fuck in here," Jake muttered as his eyes surveyed the mess hall. "Wonder how long this will last."
"Smith was important to these women. Losing her isn't something they can easily get over."
Jake turned towards Will, noticing his eyes were watering.
"By the looks of it, you can't get over her either," Jake commented.
Will inhaled and exhaled deeply as he looked down at the floor.
"…She was a good person. We went through a lot together in here and… It's a shit place to be but… She made it better."
Jake observed Will as he spoke, never before having seen him this frail or vulnerable.
"Shit, mate… You sort of loved her, didn't you?"
Will looked up at Jake, a small, sad smile appearing on his face as he slowly nodded. Jake patted him on the back, looking up at the doors of the mess hall to see Ferguson walk through.
"This should be fun," Jake muttered.
Maxine, Boomer, Liz, Doreen, and Sonia all glared at Ferguson with contempt. Ferguson made her way towards the lunch line, glancing over at Allie and smiling, before beginning to grab food and place it on her tray, as the women working the counter refused to serve her. Allie continued staring off into space, unaware and disconnected from everything and everyone around her. Ferguson walked past the H1 table, a little disappointed to see that Doreen had joined them once again, before arriving at the H3 table.
"Didn't expect such a hostile environment from the same women who wanted Smith gone in the first place," Ferguson remarked as she went to sit down next to Kaz.
Kaz kicked Ferguson's chair back, causing her to fall backwards onto the floor. Some of the women in the mess hall began to laugh. Kaz pushed Ferguson's tray, spilling the contents of it onto her. She stood up from her chair and crouched down next to Ferguson.
"Fuck you, Freak."
Kaz rose back up and looked around the mess hall at the women laughing, some cheering. Her eyes turned towards Allie, who had finally looked up at her.
"Long live Queen Bea," Kaz declared.
Kaz looked at the other members of her crew at her table, only two remaining loyal to her after everything she had done.
"Fuck you, Freak. Long live Queen Bea," Kaz proclaimed even louder.
The two women sitting at her table joined in the chant, as they began to beat their hands on the table.
"Fuck you, Freak! Long live Queen Bea!"
The majority of the women in the rest of the mess hall joined in, the rallying call becoming louder and louder as the women yelled and brought their hands down on the tables and stomped their feet on the floor. They began to throw food at Ferguson who was still on the floor, trying to cover herself, all the while continuing to chant. Will and Jake exited the booth and began yelling at everyone, demanding they settle down, as food, trays, silverware, and glasses flew across the mess hall, some aimed towards them, the majority thrown towards Ferguson.
Almost as if in unison, the women rose from their seats and made their way towards Ferguson as she tried to stand up, beginning to kick her, punch her, yank her hair, and tear her clothes. Tables were flipped, chairs were thrown, one of them managing to hit Jake in the head and knock him out. Will radioed in a distress call for backup and medical assistance as he dragged Jake back into the booth as the women became even more violent.
"FUCK YOU, FREAK! LONG LIVE QUEEN BEA!"
Maxine, Boomer, Liz, and Doreen joined the mob in chanting and throwing food at Ferguson. Sonia walked towards the counter, taking her sweater off and using it to pick up a hot tray of beans, running over to pour it on Ferguson before chucking the scalding tray itself in her face. Other women followed Sonia's example, grabbing every last tray of hot food, every last pitcher of water, and dumping it on the screaming woman as the group that assaulted her stepped back. Juice and her crew headed for the tea maker, unscrewing the top off, picking it up, and pouring the hot water on Ferguson before hurling the machine at her. Allie remained seated, twirling her fork in her hand, watching the chaos unfold around her, ignoring the food that mistakenly hit her. She turned her eyes towards the clock, realized it was time for her to start work duty, and rose from her seat to head towards the kitchen, leaving her tray and glass behind on the table.
…
Franky sat in the visitors' room with Bridget, as she looked up at the clock.
"Where is she?" Franky asked.
"H-block is at lunch right now, but given how she hasn't been eating recently, it might take a bit to track her down. They probably should've gone to check Bea's room first."
"Can't even imagine what she's feeling right now…"
Bridget sighed and nodded, placing her elbows on the table as she massaged her face.
"Are you okay?" Franky asked, taking Bridget's hand in her own.
Bridget placed her hand over Franky's, looking into her eyes with the greatest concern.
"Are you?"
"…You should've seen them together, Gidge… I… I just want to make sure Allie's okay. I mean it's the least I can do at this point."
Bridget nodded and softly smiled. Suddenly, the alarms began to sound, and the officers began to clear everyone out of the visiting area.
"What's going on?" Franky asked, receiving no answer as she was pulled out of the room.
…
As Allie turned the faucet on, the intercom blared a warning signaling a lockdown and ordering all women to return to their units, followed by the sounds of the alarms. Allie squeezed her eyes shut tight and tried to cover her ears, the sirens forcing her to relive the moment Bea died in her arms. She covered her ears so tightly, her fingernails dug into her scalp, but she was unable to drown out the alarms. Allie lowered her hands, hit the counter with both her fists, and walked over to a cabinet, taking out an apron and tying it around her waist, deciding to stay and continue working as if there was no riot occurring right outside, not wanting to return to H3 ever again. She ran her hands underneath the running water, before beginning to wash the knives as the chanting and screaming from the mess hall became even louder following the announcement.
"Allie?"
Allie gripped the knife in her hand with all her might at the sound of Kaz's voice. She turned around, keeping her hand behind her as she leaned against the counter.
"We… We have to go back to our units, bubba," Kaz said with tears in her eyes.
Allie glared at Kaz, feeling nothing but pure hatred for the woman before her. Allie couldn't cry anymore. All she wanted to do was somehow numb her pain.
"Allie, I… I know it wasn't Bea who shopped us. I… I know that now and I'm sorry, but you have to believe me, Allie, I didn't kill her, I swear."
"You and Ferguson both killed her," Allie replied coldly, her eyes no longer showing sorrow, only rage.
"…I'm so sorry, Allie, I know she meant a lot to you and if I could…"
"She means the world to me, Kaz, and you took her away from me," Allie interjected. "She never did anything, anything to you but you were so intimidated, so afraid of her that you made a pact with the woman responsible for you being here and you took her away from me."
"Allie… Just… Just tell me how to make things right, please! I love you and I can't lose you!"
"You love me? You love me? You held me down and shoved drugs into my veins. You kept saying it was so Bea would leave me, but it was just so you could give me a reason to stay with you. She took care of me, Kaz. She told me to stay with your fucking crew so you wouldn't come after me again. She cared for me, Kaz. She was all I had and you took her away from me," Allie gritted through her teeth.
"Allie… Allie, I just didn't want to lose you," Kaz whispered as her voice cracked and tears began to run down her face.
"I don't need you, Kaz."
"Allie, please don't say that!"
Kaz threw herself on Allie, closing her eyes as she hugged her tightly. Allie seized the back of her head and brought it down with full force against the counter. She rolled Kaz over on the counter, so she faced her. Allie raised the knife to Kaz's throat, placing pressure on it and causing the blade to break through Kaz's skin.
"I won't slit your throat. You're going to suffer. You're going to rot in here. You're going to pay for what you did to her. But if you ever, ever come near me again, I will rip out your intestines and hang you from the ceiling, do you understand me?"
"Allie!" Kaz cried.
"DO YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND ME?"
Allie shoved Kaz, who fell to the floor, holding her bleeding neck. Kaz could only nod as she looked up at Allie, before slowly standing up and walking out of the kitchen, not turning her back on Allie as she was terrified she would use the knife on her. Allie threw the knife in the sink, as she broke down crying. With every repeat of the siren, Allie could only picture holding Bea in her arms as she bled to death. She shut her eyes tight and tried to cover her ears again, ultimately knowing that try as she might, nothing could alleviate the pain she felt. Allie opened her eyes again and stared into the sink, the running water still pouring over the knife. She lifted the knife, dragging her left index finger across it and cutting through the skin. Allie stared at the blood, only remembering the blood that had flowed out of Bea and onto her hand.
Allie shut off the water and walked into the equipment room, ripping off her apron and tossing it to the side as she closed the door and fell to the floor against the wall where Bea had rested her after Kaz's attack. Allie stared blankly ahead, her bloodshot, lifeless eyes looking at nothing and thinking of no one but Bea. Suddenly the door to the equipment room opened and Ferguson ran inside, covered in food, liquid, and garbage from head to toe. Her skin was red from where the burning food and tea had hit her. She was gasping for breath as she shut the door behind her and leaned against it, wiping her face with her sleeve before realizing that Allie sat no more than two feet away from her, holding a knife in her right hand.
The two women looked at one another, Ferguson standing tall and mighty over Allie who sat on the floor, gripping the knife in her right hand as her left index finger bled out. She slowly rose from the floor as Ferguson reached her hand back towards the door handle. As Ferguson rushed to open the door, Allie shot forward and kicked the door shut, at the same time aiming the knife to stab Ferguson in the stomach. Ferguson managed to grab hold of Allie's wrist, twisting it and turning her arm forcefully, causing it to snap like a twig and forcing her to drop the knife. Ferguson kicked Allie in the stomach, pushing her back towards the counter before bending down to pick up the knife and clenching Allie's neck with one hand as she held the knife to her throat.
"You're such an insignificant little mutt…" whispered Ferguson as she brought her face down to Allie's.
Allie didn't struggle. She ignored the pain of her broken arm, ignored the crushing weight of Ferguson on top of her body. Part of Allie wanted Ferguson to hurt her, to harm her, to cause her severe enough damage that she would be forced to finally face justice for something. But Ferguson knew better than that.
"I pity you, Allie. Truly. But with Smith gone, you now mean nothing to me."
Ferguson struck Allie across her face before grabbing her and knocking her to the floor. She grabbed Allie's broken arm and put the knife in her left hand, gripping it with her own hand before stabbing and dragging it through her broken forearm, causing her to begin to bleed out. She switched the knife to Allie's other hand and stabbed her other wrist with it as well, dragging it down her forearm as the blood shed down both her arms.
"I hope you see this as an act of mercy, my dear… Consider this my gift."
Ferguson threw the knife on the other side of the equipment room. She stepped on Allie's broken and bleeding arm, causing the woman to scream for the first time out of sheer pain. Ferguson walked out of the equipment room, not before bringing down a shelf filled with pots and utensils on top of Allie. She shut the door behind her, leaving Allie bleeding and agonizing, this time with no one there to hold her.
…
"Proctor for you, Governor," Miles announced as she let Kaz into the office.
Vera rubbed her face softly, the bruises from Franky's attack still fresh and sensitive. She sighed and nodded as Miles exited the room.
"What is it, Proctor?" Vera asked.
Kaz stood with her hands in her pockets, a solemn look on her face, the cut on her neck highlighted by the light that came in through the windows.
"I need you to call up the judge in Allie's case," Kaz requested.
"And tell him what exactly?"
"Allie was blackmailed into working for me with the Red Right Hand. I threatened to kill her if she didn't do what I said and kept pressuring her under the threat of death into not saying anything the whole time we've been here."
Vera stared at Kaz, her mouth agape as she shook her head, unable to say anything. Kaz continued.
"I spoke with our lawyer already, but I need you to also tell the judge of my confession and write a statement on behalf of Allie's exemplary conduct since she's been here."
"…As… generous as your cause is, Proctor, Novak has hardly been a model of good behavior. She worked with your group willingly, played a role in one of the bloodiest clashes of my time here, has been rumored to be taking drugs again…"
"She's not using again. I held her down and injected her with a shot of heroin. That's it. That's all that happened."
Vera was confounded by the words coming out of Kaz's mouth. She stood up from her chair and stared Kaz in the eyes.
"That's not true."
"It is true. We assaulted her in the equipment room."
"You wouldn't do that."
"I did it as a fucked up way of getting her away from Bea Smith, but honestly, part of me hoped she would relapse and need me to take care of her again."
"…What are you doing?"
"I'm taking responsibility for the mistakes I've made. Please do this. Allie's sentencing is coming up, and once she gets out of the hospital, I don't want her to have to spend anymore time than she has to in this place. She has nothing, no one here anymore, and I don't see her surviving another suicide attempt."
"Look, Proctor, Novak has to face her time just like any other…"
"You want to know who took those photos of Ferguson and contacted the journalist?"
Vera stared into Kaz's eyes.
"Call the judge, and write that statement, and I'm more than happy to give you the mole, phone and all, and I'll help you tell the journalist the story of what really happened."
Kaz held her hand out to Vera, who hesitated at first before ultimately shaking it.
…
Allie slowly opened her eyes, having trouble adjusting to the bright light. She felt lightheaded, but the pain in her arms was barely noticeable. Allie opened and closed her eyes as she tried to make sense of where she was, looking down to see an arm across her chest. Allie turned to the side to see Bea lying next to her with her eyes closed. Allie smiled, happy that death had given Bea back to her. Allie turned on her side, lifting her arm up and wrapping herself around Bea as she pulled her in close, who stirred in her sleep before finally opening her eyes.
"You know… I never really thought about the afterlife… but I'm thankful it exists," Allie whispered, as she hugged Bea as tightly as she could.
"What? Allie… Allie, you're not dead," Bea replied, unable to hold back a soft laugh.
"…I'm not?"
"No," Bea chuckled. "You're my Allie Cat, remember? You have nine lives."
"Ohhh… it's a coma then? Okay that's cool too, just don't be that lame kind of vision that tells me to wake up," Allie said, as she kissed Bea's forehead and closed her eyes.
Bea laughed as she brought her hands up to Allie's face and caressed her.
"Allie… You're not dead. You're not in a coma."
Allie's eyes shot open as she stared at Bea.
"I'm not?"
"You're alive… We're alive."
Bea smiled as she brought Allie's face down to hers and kissed her. Allie couldn't close her eyes, terrified that this was all just a dream she would soon wake up from. Allie shot up in the bed and looked down at Bea, before looking at her own bandaged arms, her right arm in a cast, and then around the room, unfamiliar with the area. Bea slowly sat up in the bed, softly smiling at Allie as she waited for her confusion to pass. Allie placed her hands on Bea's face, running them up and down her cheeks, over her lips and eyes, through her hair, down her neck, and over her shoulders and arms, before grabbing her hands and intertwining their fingers. She swallowed hard before placing her hands on Bea's neck and pulling her in for a kiss. Bea smiled as Allie desperately kissed her for a few seconds before she pulled away and wrapped her arms around her, planting kisses on her forehead, cheeks, nose, eyes, and the top of her head as she began to cry. Bea hugged her tightly, exhilarated to be back in Allie's arms again.