Chapter Three
Earth to Piper
Outside was fantastic. She had missed the sun and was literally shaking when she felt it on her skin. It was hot in the dorms with all the persons in there, but outside there was a breeze and it felt good. She walked along with the older ladies and immediately felt guilty that she could experience the sun and Alex was on her bunk bed in pain. It made her stomach twist again and she couldn't help but dart her eyes at the garden as they went inside the greenhouse. She was such a badass with a prison gang and the tats to prove it...but she was really a manipulative cunt that didn't deserve one ounce of love. Piper felt queasy but she knew if she showed Red she was sick, her ass would be sent back.
"Chapman, over here, weed the cabbages here and I'll pull up the onions that aren't dried up," Irma explained. Piper nodded and got to work. She was careful to only pull the small grass and weeds that had grown up. Red was getting her watering mixture together and she talked the whole time to them about her children. Apparently, one son had chosen his dad's side over hers. She respected him for it and explained she didn't want them to have to choose between their parents.
"At least you saw a problem in your marriage and did something about it. My mother ignored it. Boo once said it explained why I was so uptight," Piper mumbled some. Red snorted at Boo's words and started to water the remaining veggies. Piper kept looking over to the part of the garden where the corn once stood tall. It had been composted and the soil turned. Now it was the ignoble grave of an assassin and all she could feel was grateful that she'd hopefully not be there to eat from the garden next year. She gave up trying not to worry about getting caught. It was easy if she just kept repeating to herself that she didn't give a shit. It worked before and it will again.
"Blondie, you have to move your hands to work- hey...Earth to Piper," Red said and Piper heard it but it seemed so far away. She felt herself being jerked about and blinked a few times before she saw Red. "Are you alright? You spaced out completely frozen." Her hand went to Piper's forehead and she closed her eyes a moment at the gesture. Her grandmother used to do that to her when she would get sick. Piper would try to go to school because if she had to stay home with her mother all day.
"Yes...sorry..I...got lost," she muttered then she turned to weed at a vigorous pace to catch up to Irma. Red pulled her up by the arm and walked her into the green house.
"Alright, what happened?"
Piper started to lie to her but Red just looked at her with those eyes. "I can't tell you everything because it isn't all my story to tell. I don't want to lie to you either so...I don't know what you want here."
Red crossed her arms and looked at Piper a long time. "You didn't hurt Vause. Any fool could see that you two damage each other in much more hurtful ways. You feel guilty though as if you threw each punch and it is making you sick...and crazy. You can't be crazy Blondie, you run a business and are in prison...people rely on you not to get caught."
"I'm giving that up. I told you already. I never guaranteed I'd keep it up and keep paying you," Piper shot back. She crossed her arms too and tried to harden her gaze at Red. It was hot as hell in that greenhouse but she wasn't about to wilt under the pressure. Piper knew she could never mention what happened to anyone else.
"Back to the point, I know you didn't hurt her but someone did. We've all been helping you two cover it up but I need to know something before we go on here," Red said straight out. "Which guard choked her? I know the print of a man's hand on a woman." Red motioned to her neck. Piper winced and looked away. She was trying so hard to hold on to her badass self but Red had a way of seeing through that.
"She was attacked and I had nothing to do with it. I...found her afterwards. You don't have to worry about him, he is gone with the Lake Day group that split. I am guilty because I...she is here and all of this happened...I should have had my head in the game of protecting the woman I claimed to love. What the fuck do I know about love? Each and every time I think I have it in my life, I fuck it up or it fucks me up. I tried to follow your advice and just be selfish and survive, but I'm already a massive self absorbed, uptight asshole-" Piper started to laugh some and she bent over at the waist.
"Good, you've been doing some thinking. Keep it to yourself and answer my questions. Was she attacked for sex? Is there a baby we should worry about?"
"No..no Ay- no...Red it is about something on the outside...and I can't elaborate," Piper said again and she walked back and forth. She missed Nicky. She told Nicky everything and she always seemed to see through her bullshit. "Fuck I miss Nicky."
"Don't miss her so much you end up joining her. Whatever happened you can't keep reliving it in your head. You need your wits about you. Just focus on the task at hand. Think about it in your mind in simple terms, like when you helped your grandmother knit," Red observed. Piper didn't realize that she knew about that but she guessed the other Golden Girls had shared.
Piper promised to be more focused and went back outside to weed. It seemed to work. She just worked with her hands and tried to do each task at hand. She listened to the other women talk and enjoyed their banter. After that she went to gather some buckets that had blown around in the rainstorm the day before. Piper went close to the grounds greenhouse and went inside. She looked immediately to the floor and it was darker but you couldn't really see any blood. It helped her to feel better. She reached in and took an extra bucket from by the door and exited. They watered the seedlings inside. A few things were lost but overall it looked like they would all survive. Red had to go to the kitchen and their hour and a half was up. Piper looked back at the garden one last time and let her eyes rest on the open turned dirt of Aydin's grave.
It was hard not to think back to the night in Paris where she saw Kubra go too far. They had stayed for a show. Alex left early to go sleep. Fahri had smoked a joint laced with something else with her. She enjoyed the dancers and didn't even mind when Kubra got a little grabby with her. But afterwards, they were waiting on him to finish in the back with one of the girls and she had to pee. Fahri escorted her to the bathroom but when she came out, he was paying the manager for the extra special showing. Piper wanted to peek. She was curious...the girl had sex with two other people while dancing around flamingoes. Kubra had sat on the front row and enjoyed himself. It had been wild and Fahri was watching her as that joint had fucked her up. Usually, she wouldn't be with them but Alex had cut out early so she wanted to see what "Kubra" after hours was like.
At first, she heard them laughing and she followed the sound. She saw them...and then she watched him force the girl to turn around when she didn't want to...her phone came up automatically. She should have turned to get Fahri then...but instead she videotaped Kubra force a girl to have anal, then slam her hard against the vanity as he bent her over. He didn't realize it. Piper was sure of it. He didn't intend to hurt her badly. Yet she could see the girl's arm fall limply to the side. She turned and ran back to the bathroom. Fahri was still talking to the manager so she just stood there and waited. Kubra yelled for him and Fahri want right away. It wasn't long afterward that he came out and told Piper to take a cab back to the hotel. He paid the manager to see that she was put in one. She never knew what he did to cover it up. Perhaps he had just knocked the girl out. She knew more had happened though because Alex mentioned that a girl from that club went missing.
Piper left her two days later. She put it all away in a dark part of her mind and tried to carry on with the nice life she was supposed to lead. It had been an utter failure really. Prison had forced her to look at it all again.
She didn't try to stop Kubra that night. She didn't stop Lolly from killing Aydin. She didn't let Alex run safely away and she failed to protect her or even to believe she was in danger. Piper was guilty for a lot more than just criminal conspiracy for carrying drug money or selling stinking panties. She knew this and the truth of it was constantly eating at her. She returned to the dorm all the while thinking heavily. Some of the new prisoners now had uniforms. It made it seem more real that the dorms were overfilled.
She went to her bunk and sat in the floor by the locker she now shared with an upper bunky. Piper offered to share the noodles with her if she kept her mouth shut about how it was still packed half full. The girl didn't complain because the food sucked. Her name was Wallace and she was only in for eighteen months for some sort of fraud. She was young and it was her first time down. Her hair was red and her face showed every blush on her pale skin. The prison had filled up the transition beds as well so the girls were pretty much just tossed in the dorms. Piper wasn't being very friendly with her but she did help her out with some tooth paste and toilet paper.
"How was gardening?" Wallace asked.
"It was hard work and hot...but nice to feel the sun," Piper replied. She wanted to go check on Alex but couldn't really. She watched though as Boo came up to talk to Luschek. He didn't seem happy about what she said and told her to get away from the bubble. She walked back slowly with a grin that told Piper she was up to something. She wanted to go talk to her but made herself relax. Alex had agreed to let her try again. Piper hadn't really let herself think about that all day. She had lots of other things on her mind. Yet, thinking about Alex giving her another shot was almost enough to make her physically feel better. Piper knew herself. She wanted to feel good and thinking of Alex felt good. She wasn't so shallow that she wasn't really worried. She worried that Alex only agreed because she basically forced her to agree or she'd blackmail Kubra. She was worried that she would do something new and awful to fuck everything up. Unable to stop herself, she left her cube and went down next to Alex to check on her. She was sleeping still on her tummy. The other girls were actually being quiet so Piper didn't on in and actually touch her. She didn't want to wake her up if she was able to sleep in the noisey dorm. Piper settled for just seeing her and went to find Morello to see if she wanted to play cards...just like Red said, focus on small things.
They were told at Dinner that they would be going to eat breakfast in shifts. Anyone without a work detail would eat later and everyone else would be going back to work. There were some differences, like they all left in shifts and if you were going to another building or outside, you had to be shackled in transport. She groaned at the idea of having to be shackled possibly between Flaca and Big Cindy. Boo asked Luschek if he had to keep doing guard duty. He told her to shut up but one of the new guards told her that they were all doing both jobs so work hours were cut for everyone but the panty crew.
"Hey, they get more pay and more time. That isn't fucking fair," a girl shouted. Piper ducked down and out of the way. They dispersed the girls back to the cubes. Alex seemed worried so Piper disobeyed and walked over to her.
"No worries. I was outside today, there isn't any damage really from that storm. Everything is clean still...you take it easy though right?" Piper said to her. She felt herself being pushed up against the low wall and then felt a man's body press her close. She stiffened.
"You were told to go back to your cube, inmate. If I have to speak to you again, I'll be sending you to the SHU...do you understand that Chapman?" Luschek threatened in her ear. Piper had to take a deep breath to keep from smashing her head backwards against his nose. She could almost hear the sound it would make if she hit it hard enough. She heard Nicky's voice asking her if she wanted to spend time in the SHU...or worse in max with her.
"Piper, don't..just do as he says," Alex warned.
Piper clenched her teeth and started to move towards her cube with a smart ass " Yes Officer!" He started to say something else when Alex told him that she was just checking up on her. He snorted and walked away and Piper felt her molten gut twist up again with hate. She threw herself on her bunk and sat there staring up at the bunk above her. They stayed in bunks until they went to dinner. At dinner they were marched in shifts but were still allowed to sit where they wanted. Flaca joined them to catch up on the business. She told them that she would be selling it. Flaca and Boo whispered some but seh didn't care. She got to sit across from Alex and just look at her.
"I'm still thinking about the rules," Alex whispered to her when she caught Piper staring.
"Yes..yes..of course,"Piper countered.
"Your message before...you mean you went inside," Alex made a gesture and then behind her Piper felt something and looked bcak to see Lolly was practically falling backwards to listen.
"Yes, it all looked good," she said so they could hear. Both of them seemed to relax. They had been so rushed and hurried that day there was no way they didn't leave trace evidence. Their real safety relied on no one investigating Aydin's absence. On her way to the workshop tomorrow, she planned on checking the parking lot. Not that she knew what he drove.
Alex seemed to eat better and though the food tasted terrible, it was hot. Piper listened as everyone talked about the new changes and she didn't get to finish all of her meal before they were told to pack up. Everyone complained until the guards threatened to shackle them back to their dorm. It seemed meal time had been cut by at last ten minutes to try and fit everyone in to the evening time. Piper knew this meant more hours for the kitchen staff and knew that they would have to hire a new shift to serve through the day. A few of the girls were complaining about not having phone priveliges. She knew that Cal and her mother had to have called the prison to complain. They couldn't keep it up.
One of the new prisoners was that southern chef lady. She was living in the room with DiMarco and she was complaining the loudest. Caputo wasn't seen as much anymore but when he was seen, he looked stressed out. She wondered if the news got wind of the switch in prisons. She bet with the lock down that no one knew the Diva was there and that seemed to suit the prison just fine. She walked back in line behind Alex and when they stopped she pressed close to her. Alex stiffened and looked over at the guard. She was watching another place in the line.
"Enjoying yourself?" she whispered.
Piper closed her eyes and leaned in to inhale Alex's scent. "Yes...I miss feeling you close to me...it helps." Piper hadn't intended to say the last bit. She had tried to tease and flirt with Alex before the whole Stella fiasco. She didn't want to do the same shit again but it was truthful. Touching her made the roar in her head get quiet, if even for a moment.
Alex didn't respond, they just started to walk on down the hall. She could see the second shift from her Dorm was already to the kitchen and the other dorm was lining up. "I'm still thinking so you don't get to feel me right now...but I do understand about it helping." Piper was worried instantly that Alex changed her mind about them. She didn't want Piper to touch her.
"So I can't touch you?"
Alex looked back at her and over to the guard. "Let me think, Pipes...patience please."
She started to argue and push but then clamped her mouth shut. She had to learn to shut the fuck up and let people just deal. It was only a few hours after Alex said she'd give her another chance. Piper just kept pushing and pushing. She decided to give her space and just stay away from her. She knew her resolve was weak and she'd still see her in the bathroom, cafe and other places. Yet, she could not push her or speak to her too much. Piper vowed to play it cool and wait.
Getting to work was awful the next morning. They had to shower early and breakfast was rushed. They lined them up at the door, shackled her wrists to a chain and then pulled them out into the morning sun. Piper scanned the parking lot but all the cars pretty much looked the same. At work, Flaca talked about what was needed to sell them online. Piper gave her a quiet overlook. She told her that she'd have to get a different name and online address...Piper never mentioned her brother was trying to recreate the product. Big Cindy chimed in now and again. Eventually, Piper felt she had a good understanding. If she went in with Boo, she could make more money to help her mother. By the end of the day, they made her an offer. They paid her out for all the panties she had saved up and a few thousand on some new green dot card accounts she gave them. Boo had provided the capital on the outside, while Flaca would be managing the internal operation. Piper made sure she included Red for her services helping direct the money but left them to negotiate the percentage. Just like that, she was out of the business. She watched Boo with Luschek was knew he was the one she was getting to smuggle them out. He still had to do guard duty inside and Boo used her job in maintenance to bring them by his shop. She felt kind of proud of them when the first order went out.
Piper had kept her word to herself and gave Alex space. She spoke to her each day but didn't press the relationship conversation. A few weeks went by and she was really trying to stay calm. She hadn't said anything when Piper handed the business over to Boo and Flaca but she could tell it pleased her. The thing was, without the business to occupy her, Piper was ancy. Her dreams were bad again and eating was becoming a chore. For the first time in a long while, Piper knew she was actually sick. Her stomach hurt all the time and it was getting harder to ignore. When she got her phone privileges back, she set up a meeting with the lawyer Cal chose for her. Her name as Jennings and she would be Piper's first visitor after the lcok down. She complained to Cal about the prison and all the changes. She told him she was out of business and he told her that over the last month they had made a great profit.
"We are still giving you money, just more 60/40 now- and you aren't on anything official. I took the green dot deposit you made and put them in a new account for you. You should be alright when you get out Pipes, at least enough to get a reasonable place of your own. We moved out and got a place in the Bay Ridge and Neri has already lined up two welding gigs," he explained. Piper heard all about it before her time was up. She asked him to tell her parents she loved them and was alright and then had to go.
Alex was waiting in line when she got off the phone. She didn't look at ehr when she passed but felt Alex reach out to tug her shirt. "Come by my cube before last count," she said softly. Piper nodded and went back to the dorm. She was nervous about it though she tried to hide it. Luschek was on duty in the dorm that night and Piper watched him interact with Boo. He wasn't a happy participant. Boo had something on him and she wished she knew what. She was heading towards Alex's cube when she heard a ruckus behind her. She turned to see Caputo with officers taht were obviously policemen. She had seen the marshals there before when they arrested Pornstache.
"Here he is officers," Caputo said, showing them Luschek.
"What can I do for you?" Luschek started with a grin. Piper felt her pulse quicken and she looked fast to Boo. Boo was frozen in place watching it all crumble.
"You're under arrest for distrubiting a controlled substance. You have the right to an attorney-
"What are yout alking about? What substance? I told you that smack was Nichol's stash!" Luschek barked at Caputo as they put him in handcuffs.
"Yeah well your brother-in-law turned on you. It seemed a concerned citizen brought the information forward and he was caught dealing it. He gave you up...said a junky found some heroin and you did her a favor by getting rid of it. You dirty fuckin' prick- I sent her to Max over you!" Caputo seemed to lose his shit and smacked Luschek up against his head. One of the new guards came over and pulled him back. Luschek seemed stunned and the officers warned Caputo to stay back. He removed him and the women started to cheer. Everyone had liked Nicky and felt Luschek got what he deserved.
Everyone was backing away but Piper saw this as an opportunity. She walked up and to him, though a guard held up his hand to keep her back. "So...are you going to make it up to Nicky?"she asked him. Caputo looked at her for a moment and then stormed out of the dorm.
"Not smart to provoke him while he is pissed, "Alex said and Piper turned around to find her right behind her. She knew that she had to have come up behind her while she was confronting Caputo. She may not agree with it but she did back her up.
She gave her a small grin. "I thought we established already I'm a fucking idiot," Piper countered. Alex nodded to agree and then slipped Piper a folded piece of legal paper.
"What's this, "Piper murmured.
Alex walked on and didn't look back but she said one thing that set Piper's heart racing. "Rules."
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