Alex quickly made a furtive glance towards the chapel as she was being escorted back from the infirmary. She spotted the red hair she was looking for, glancing around looking for any reason to stop. She spotted the few payphones available to the prisoners along the back wall.

"Guard…..she glanced at her nametag…"Fischer…I know it's not time for personal calls…but please I really need to talk to my grandma…I hear she's really been sick...and I don't know when she might pass.."

Fischer weighed her options…she really should take her directly back…but she also wanted a cigarette. She kept ushering her past the phones…"Yeah, well put in for a furlough if you really want to talk to your 'sick grandma' then."

"Please….Please….there may not be time...I'd really appreciate the favor.", Alex stopped and stood in front of her, giving her most beguiling smile complete with a hair flip.

Though Fischer rolled her eyes at Alex's attempt to flirt, she couldn't help but trail them down to Alex's lips and below where her jumpsuit was not baggy enough to hide the body beneath. She had no intention of making her sexuality known here, but could surely see why even though Vause had only been here a couple of days that she had already been dubbed "The Hot One" by a few of the younger male guards.

"Save it Vause….I'm no lady lover…but everybody's got family I suppose…you got two minutes…no more no less…", as Fischer nudged her towards the phones, Alex making no reply at the obvious lie as she'd seen the officer's eyes glaze over for a second. "But I'm leaving the cuffs on…she warned…two minutes", and she turned to step just outside the glass door for that cigarette.

Alex quickly went to the wall at the back of the chapel and picked up the phone pretending to make a call. She made a whistling noise similar to a bird call, which caused Red's head to perk up instantly. That had been an old signal back in the day when she'd been hiding out from the cops or CPS that the coast was to clear to come back in after they had came around the restaurant, Alex would hide in the back alley until Red had whistled for her. Red had spotted her and moved to the back pew along the wall, the few small cut-out squares allowing for conversation.

"I was hoping I would catch you...not sure how many days you get out for chapel?"

"Sometimes three...sometimes less depends on if I've been a good girl or not...", Red chuckled but without her usual mirth. She kept her head faced forward to the preacher and strained her left ear to hear Alex's whisper as she was obscured by other side of the wall.

"Well...we don't have much time before Fischer comes back so I hear the only way you can get out of your cell is chapel and PI...I'm working on getting us on PI...we have to start planning soon... the days are stacked against us.", Alex's voice desperate

"Yeah, I know exactly how many are left...don't remind me...I don't know what you're doing but I'm telling you, if you would have told me beforehand that this was your plan- I would have said don't bother...I'm not worth it...you don't belong here."

"And you do?...I won't stand by and let them execute you and do nothing...", Alex's voice firm.

"Well, it looks like you just earned yourself a front row seat...and there's no way that Parker is going to do you any favors with PI."

"Trust me, Mom, I have my ways of getting what I want"

"Just be careful, please, remember there's only one way to survive in here and that's by earning respect...the second you're perceived as weak, you already are."

Her Russian accent was thick with worry, they both knew what she really meant... was the second others thought you were weak that you were as good as dead in here...a shiver went up Alex's spine at the thought. She'd never been a fighter and been generally well liked, but most girls had usually been intimidated by her height enough to be satisfied with talking behind her back if they felt differently. She was sure that was no longer the case in here.

"Vause, let's go already, Yard time... wrap it up", Fischer had returned. Alex hung up the phone and was led away.

The Yard

As Alex files out into the yard from leaving the infirmary, she is lost in thoughts of Red and her previous encounter with Piper. She nearly blew it earlier judging from the look on her face. So, she would need to move much more slowly with Piper in regards to building on their 'relationship' or the premise of one anyways.

She casually wandered the green grass looking at the grates. Her last origami swan sat in its expected place beneath the metal slots, verifying the path of the water flow from under the infirmary to the yard in her mind. Alex noticed Rosa Cisneros sitting on a nearby bench and decided it was time to follow up on a hunch. She approached the older lady cautiously, as she stared out absentmindedly petting her tabby cat.

"Word around here is, you were Rosa Westmoreland once upon a time…"

"Do I know you?", she replies never looking up from the front page of a newspaper.

Alex paused, "I knew your husband before he passed."

"Paul?"

"You mean Charles?", Alex quickly volleyed back

Cisneros face betrayed a small side smirk, "How'd you know him?"

"We worked together downtown for awhile.", Alex stated.

"Boston?"

"You know it was Chicago.", a quick reply came back.

"Oh yeah, over on East Riverton?", Rosa quizzed.

"You mean West Overton?", Alex's green eyes held her elder's purposefully.

Finally, Cisneros broke, "Okay, okay, no more tests, I promise. Seems you know everything about me. So who the hell are you?"

"Alex Vause,…..How did you get it in here?", she nodded her head to the cat in her lap.

"First off, she's not an it, her name is Marilynn, and she's grandfathered in from a time when the prisoners were allowed a few comforts."

"So you were the leader of the Dead Presidents?", Alex whispered in a low tone.

"Every new fish that comes in here, that's the first thing they hear….I'll tell you the same as I tell them..she paused…You want to know where the money is… I can't tell ya….cuz I'm not her..!"

"That's too bad….sorta wish it was true….that lady was a legend.", Alex just smiled.

"You?"…."You don't think I wish it was true….I'd have two million waiting for me on the outside", Cisneros shook her head. She looked up just in time to see V quickly approaching flanked by two of her toughest looking crew members. "Sorry fish….I'm putting some grass between the two of us, I don't want no trouble…" as she quickly left the bench.

Alex's back stiffened and her facial expression dropped into one of determination, as they crowded around her. She would do whatever it took to complete her mission, she would not fail. She was in too deep now...for herself and for Red.

"This thing would go a whole lot easier if you would just hire me on PI."

V immediately got in her face, "What the hell is this all about?"

Alex didn't balk, "Say you were able to get outside these walls...would you have the people in place to be sure that you disappeared forever?"

"What's it to you?"

"Just curious", Alex shrugged.

"Where's Watson?", V growled, her eyes sparked with impatience as she edged even closer to intimidate her.

Alex simply smirked," It doesnt' work that way."

Parker's face just went blank and then she quickly stepped aside, as her new crew members took that as V's silent message to finish pressuring her for answers. They seemed happy about it too...Red's words rang in her head...earn respect....she had known that V was not likely to be easily blackmailed. It was now or never.

Alex quickly jumped to her feet and down the first step onto the ground for equal footing.

She took several steps toward the retreating back of V..."They come after me, Parker, and I'm coming after you just so you know.", Her voice was bold and loud enough for others to hear nearby gaining some attention and a crowd quickly.

V turned and stood, she scoffed, "I doubt it, fish"

They held eye contact so that Alex did not see the first brutal punch to her kidneys coming from her right...she doubled over in pain momentarily and the sound of her anguish garnered cheers from the surrounding strangers. V laughed, relishing this part. Alex quickly made her mind up of her next move, rising back up suddenly and lunging forward with her right hand fisted, catching V square in the jaw once...rearing back and quickly tagging her again in the left eye causing her stumble back in surprise, nearly falling but grabbing the ground with an outstretched arm.

The crowd roared again as no one had seen Yvonne Parker ever been actually touched by another inmate since her arrival, the fight had turned to garner some supporters...as they chanted "Fish, Fish, Fish"...

Her success was short lived however, as the fight quickly became one against many. Her two crew members each grabbed her arms and shoved her face hard into the ground. One quickly smashed a boot down onto her back, once...twice...forcing the air from her lungs...the other pulled out a white tube sock with a lock inside and began swinging down...raining several hits on her back until Alex managed to curl into a protective ball, she grunted holding in her screams of pain as the lock seemed to hit all the way to bone down her spine. The thud of the metal piece pounding her flesh was sickening to her ears.

She managed to roll left dodging one blow only take another to her hip. She groaned and deftly swung out a long limb performing a leg sweep takedown of the one doing the most damage and delivered another hard punch to her face delighted to return the favor...

But the other crew member simply picked up the sock and continued where the other left off...the first blow catching her in the ribs unexpectedly...Alex screamed out now for the first time hearing cracking and rolling to cover her vulnerable middle with her arms, catching the second blow on her right forearm. She didn't know how much more she could take, that one felt like it broke her arm...luckily the guard in the high tower above spotted the thickening crowd and ensuing fight at just that moment which was grounds for severe punishment.

Semi-automatic shots rang out... peppering the ground around them, so dangerously close that it was to be considered the one and only warning they would get before the next shots would be fatal ones. Everyone in the yard immediately hit the dirt as the sirens wailed and V and her crew shifted away from her, hiding their weapons.

Alex made eye contact with V and could see the anger boiling in them, a small trickle of blood running from her nose...this was definitely not over as guards swarmed them grabbing V and her up from ground roughly. Alex was unable to speak from the sharp shooting pains coming from her ribs and she struggled to take a breath.

Caputo's office

Joe walked in, frowning, "Looks like I totally misjudged you, Vause, I didn't think you were the violent type...that kind of agitating behavior is simply not tolerated in my prison..."

Alex said nothing to defend herself, simply slumping next to the guard, still trying to right herself after the fight. Her head and body throbbing miserably as the adrenaline wore off.

Caputo got closer then," How's 30 days in the SHU sound, oughta be enough time to teach you how things work around here..." Caputo waved a hand to dismiss the guard into the hall.

"30 days?", Alex spurted, her eyes reached for the calendar on the desk...April 13th...there was no way...Red would be dead by then...

"Yeah, that's right."

Alex dropped her head scrambling for a way out of this..."Something you gotta say...", Caputo quizzed

"Well...Alex reasoned..."I'm not of much value to you in the SHU."

"What value?"

Alex smiled then, "The taj...remember...it would be a shame for it to collapse because of the stress that is improperly propagated."

"Improperly propagated?", her words were like a foreign language to Caputo.

"Yes, Improperly propagated...you see the joints are overloaded and won't provide near the strength needed for the structure to be finished."

Joe's eyes lit up, "How much work are we talking," as he crossed around the desk to stand right in front of Alex.

"You wanted it by when...June?"

"Yes"

"Then we better get started, wouldn't you say...", Alex reasoned effectively finding a way to stay out of the SHU for now, but how in the hell she was going to plan a breakout right under the warden's nose was another issue entirely.