Piper stayed seated on the couch watching as blood slowly pooled out from under the deceased officer's head. The red fluid spread, beginning to coagulate and harden on the edges of the rug. She looked at his face. She'd been so used to picking up corpses that'd been dead several hours prior to her arrival. Piper had never seen the light exiting from someone's eyes in real time. She'd never heard the last living breath escape the lungs and creep out of a gaping mouth.
She listened as Officer Bennett's throat gurgled and a fish-like groan squeaked out. She knew he was dead. It was just his body beginning to exert the last of its resources. His brain was no longer firing as half of it was sprayed across Alex's dining room wall. His heart may have let out one or two more beats before it halted to a stop. She wondered if his mind had lived long enough to tell his body it didn't have to feel afraid anymore. The pain was over.
Piper looked up to see Alex had disappeared. She swallowed hard, tasting a coppery flavor on her tongue. She looked down at herself. The Officer's brain matter speckled her skin and had painted her gray clothing. It was Larry's favorite UCONN hoodie. She swallowed hard, trying her best to get the taste of Bennett's blood out of her mouth.
"Al…" She whispered. "Alex."
As soon as Kubra had exited her apartment, Alex had climbed to her feet and dizzily walked to her bedroom. Her ears were ringing and her stomach felt as if it was going to flip directly out of her body. Her heart was beating in a rhythm that felt like it was going to explode.
She walked into her bedroom and fell to her knees in front of her nightstand. She grabbed the mirror from the drawer and looked over it. The amount of cocaine left was nearly pitiful. Not even enough for a bump. Tears began to fall from her eyes. Through the deafening ringing in her ears she couldn't make out the sound of Piper calling out for her.
Piper entered the room, approaching her from behind. Alex was running her fingertip over the glass and vigorously rubbing her gums. She was scraping it for anything, even just a speck. Piper kneeled next to her.
"Alex." She said. The other woman ignored her, continuing her mission to find some kind of numbing cure out of this situation.
"Alex!" Piper set her hand on her wrist. Alex jerked away.
"Don't!" Alex screamed, flinging the glass across the room. It hit the bedroom door, shattering loudly. The brunette put her head between her hands and began to scream. A deep, aching scream that echoed throughout the apartment.
Piper grabbed her wrists and began to shake her roughly.
"Stop! Alex, stop!" She shushed her. Alex's body shook as she sobbed. She threw herself into Piper, wrapping her hoodie in her fists. The blonde held her tightly. Piper set her hand on the other woman's face and forced her to look in her eyes.
"Alex, we can't do this. You can't do this. There's already been a gunshot, if people hear glass breaking and screaming they're gonna call the police. I'd be surprised if they're not already on their way. They can't come in here and see a dead cop in that living room. Please, you've gotta pull yourself together." She grabbed her hand. "Alex, if we call them now and tell them something like… I don't know. We came home and he was here so we killed him. That he was stalking us. We can figure something out but I can't do this alone. I need to know you can do this with me."
Alex began to hyperventilate, not processing Piper's words. She watched as her lover receded into herself, rocking gently as tears slowly streamed down her cheeks.
"Alex, please, tell me you won't make me do this alone?"
Alex didn't meet her eyes. Her gaze held a thousand yard stare and her mouth seemed as though it was attempting words but nothing was coming out. Her face resembled the dead man's in the other room.
Piper took a deep breath in and rose to her feet, returning to the living room. She looked down at the Officer's body. His skin had begun to take on a pale shade. The blood wasn't spilling out anymore. It was dried in a thick crust and emitting a smell that was now incredibly familiar to Piper.
She reached into her backpack, noticing the droplets of blood that were now dried on its front pocket. Piper pulled out her cellphone. The screen notified her of twenty four missed calls from Larry, two missed calls from Polly, one from her mother, and multiple texts from all three of them. She ignored them and went forward with placing her own phone call.
Alex hadn't moved in the time it took for Nicky to arrive. She remained curled up on the floor with a blank stare on her face. Piper opened the bedroom door, allowing their friend to make her way to the brunette.
"Uh, hey Vause." Nicky shuffled in slowly, her dress shoes tapping gently on the wooden flooring. Alex didn't flinch.
"Pretty um…nasty scene you got out there." Nicky motioned for Piper to leave them be. She returned to the living room while Nicky sat next to her friend. Alex was taking in shaky breaths and continuing to try to utter words.
Nicky pulled her pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit one.
"I know you don't like me smokin' in here but desperate times y'know?" She blew the smoke upwards towards the ceiling. She grabbed Alex's hand gently and ran her thumb over the dried specks of blood on her pale skin.
"Vause, listen to me." She looked down at their joined hands. "I…I love you kid. I've never loved somebody more than I love you. We both know it. This shit we've gotten ourselves wrapped up into it uh… it's bigger than anything either of us can manage. I don't think we're gonna be able to talk our way outta this shit the way we always have." Nicky began to cry.
"Your mom dying, my own fuckin' drug shit, Regina, all of that we got through it. This…we can get through this too. We may not get out of it until we're dead like old boy out there or we're both serving life in prison, I guess. But uh…we will get through this. No matter what happens I will always love you." Nicky took a deep breath in, tasting salty tears on her lips.
"Do you really believe that?" Alex asked hoarsely. "You really think we'll make it out of this?"
"I won't lay down and let Kubra plow over the best person I have ever met in my life." Nicky shook her head. "I'll let him break my fingers. I'll let him rip my teeth out and feed me to dogs or whatever fucked up shit he wants to do. But not to you. I will take myself to the police station right now and tell them I shot that poor bastard out there myself. I would fight Kubra to the death to know that you, Alex, will fucking make it out of this. We may not make it out of this but you will make it out of this. Even if I've gotta die to make sure. Okay?" She looked over at her friend. Alex met her eyes. She was no longer in a glazed over haze. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and her face was tear stained. She tightened her grip on Nicky's hand. Nicky pushed Alex's hair back off of her face and straightened her glasses.
Alex rested her head on her shoulder, taking Nicky's cigarette from her and hitting it herself.
"What the fuck are we gonna do, Nick?" She blew smoke out slowly, sniffling. Nicky kissed the top of her head.
"You remember our old crematory in the basement, don't ya?"
The three women went to work cutting away the carpet in Alex's living room. They moved carefully, doing their best not to step in or touch the blood. Piper caught herself staring at his face periodically. His eyes had begun to gloss and look as if she were meeting eyes with a mannequin. His short brown hair was matted down with dried brain matter. Nicky nudged her shoulder, urging her to continue working and keep her focus on the task at hand.
Once the carpet was loosened enough, the women rolled him into it. The three stood in a circle looking down at their work. Nicky took a look around the apartment, mentally considering her options.
"Alright." She sighed and lit a cigarette. She passed the other women their own and gave them each a light. Piper's hand shook as she drew smoke from it.
"Piper, I want you to take off your clothes."
"Nicky, I really don't think now is the time." Piper scoffed.
"Not for that reason." Nicky held up a hand. "You're covered in that poor kid's blood and brain chunks and probably also other juices." Piper winced at the word 'juices'.
"We're gonna burn it with him. Vause, we need to get rid of that robe too."
Nicky looked at the blood covered wall.
"We're gonna get the cleaning chemicals from the funeral home. The fuckin' green spray… you know, the one that foams, it's green."
Alex nodded her head.
"I know what you mean, Nicky."
"Yeah." Nicky sighed. "We're gonna scrub this place from top to bottom. We need to get rid of anything that's got his blood on it. The couch, your clothes, anything."
"How are we gonna get him out of here without anyone noticing?" Piper asked.
"Did you forget what it is we do for a living? Besides the drug trafficking, I mean." Nicky chuckled.
The three women made their way to the funeral home. They retrieved the supplies needed to get the job done before returning to Alex's apartment complex. Nicky pulled to the back of the building nearest to the side entrance. Piper and Alex had traded their blood soaked clothing for their funeral attire.
"It's just another removal." Nicky did her best to calm the negative energy in the air.
"Except," Piper sighed. "It's not."
"It is." Alex replied. "It's just another removal for the funeral home."
"Alex, they have to know that's your apartment." Piper said with anxiety in her voice.
"That's why I'm staying here with the van." Alex answered. "You and Nicky are going to get him. The apartment is under Red's name, not mine."
"What? Why?" Piper scoffed.
"I got it when I was trying to avoid Regina finding me." Alex said.
"If the staff asks anything at all I'll tell them we are here to pick up Galina Reznikov. Say she's a family friend of the Vause Funeral Home and she was on hospice care. If they ask if anybody from the apartment building called the answer is no, we were notified by her daughter who left before we arrived. I've got the paperwork here for them to sign." Nicky pulled a small stack of folded papers from her blazer pocket.
"Okay so if Galina Reznikov is dead they're gonna have to dissolve the lease. That means Alex won't have anywhere to live and then they're going to wonder why she's here moving Galina Reznikov's things out of her apartment." Piper was starting to get twitchy from nerves.
"I'll tell them I'm doing a favor for Galina Reznikov's daughter. The pain of her death was too much to bear so as a family friend I, Alex Vause, will be moving her things out of there."
"Fuck that." Nicky waved her hand. "These people don't need to know shit. That goes for everybody. Nobody needs to know who the fuck we're picking up, who's moving what, who lives where, no one. That goes for Larry, Red, Polly, any other friends, family, and especially not fucking Lorna. We are going in there, we are getting a removal done, we are having the front desk lady sign these papers or whoever we see first, the fuckin' doorman I don't give a shit.
We are getting a signature for the legal removal of Galina Reznikov from this building out of apartment thirty three B. Then we are going to the funeral home and we are turning on that dusty ass oven in the basement-" She lowered her voice. "We are cremating Galina Reznikov and then we are going to do some-" She looked around them before continuing. "Spring cleaning. Then we are going to do some shopping for a nice carpet for our friend's new apartment that lives all the way in some fucking podunk town miles away from here and has no name. Finally, Alex is gonna move into my place and we are all gonna discuss getting the fuck outta dodge. For now, we don't volunteer that information and we don't tell a soul a goddamn thing unless we will be murdered for not doing so."
Nicky pulled the removal cot from the trunk and slammed the door closed. Piper's phone began to ring loudly, startling all three of them.
"Who the fuck is that?" Alex asked.
"It's Larry." Piper yelped.
"Don't answer it." Alex demanded.
"No, answer it." Nicky disagreed. "Answer the phone and tell him you stayed at my house last night. Right now, we are out doing some retail therapy and you'll talk to him when you get home."
Piper nodded her head. She reluctantly answered the call.
"H-Hello?" She said in a mousy tone.
"Piper? Piper, where are you? Oh my god. You've got everyone worried sick about you." Larry answered in a panicked voice.
"I'm fine." She answered.
"Where are you? I'll come get you." He asked.
"No I'm fine, Larry." Piper lied. This was what she did best and now was the time to really put her power to good use.
"Where did you go? I called Polly, your mom, I tried to call your job but the Russian lady told me you didn't come in today." He pushed.
"I went to Nicky's." She sighed. "Nicky and I got a little too fucked up and I passed out on the couch. I just woke up actually."
"Jesus Piper, it's three o'clock." He scoffed.
"Yeah, I know. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go." Piper put on her best angry voice.
"No! No, please, wait." Larry begged. "Can you please come home? I need… We need to talk."
Piper took a deep breath and looked at the two women standing in front of her. Nicky gave her a hand motion that meant it was time to wrap things up.
"Yes, Larry, I'll come home." She said, "I need to think some things over a little bit though, okay? I'll be home tonight. Just, give me a few hours."
The phone went silent for a few moments.
"Larry?"
"Okay." He breathed. "I'll see you in a few hours."
"Okay."
"I love you, Pipes."
"Yeah…" Piper looked at Alex. "Love you too."
She hung up. Nicky gave her a thumbs up and pulled on her sunglasses. She clapped her hands together.
"Alright, let's go."
Alex climbed into the driver's seat of the van and watched as Nicky and Piper entered the building, removal cot in tow. The two women walked through the hallways until they found the front lobby desk. Nicky set her papers on the counter and looked over at the woman sitting behind a computer screen.
"Hello, I'm with Vause Funeral-"
"Yeah, where do you need me to sign?" The woman asked, not looking away from her game of solitaire.
"Uh, just right here on this line." Nicky pointed. The woman signed quickly and motioned them down the hallway. Piper and Nicky shared a look before entering the elevator.
"That was easy." Piper whispered.
"Yeah. Lotta elderly live here." Nicky shrugged and pressed the button for floor three.
They made their way to Alex's apartment and quickly loaded the body into a bag. They made a careful effort of trying not to allow any blood to spill its way out of the rolled up carpet surrounding his corpse. Piper hesitated as she zipped the bag.
"Pipes." Nicky said. The blonde didn't break her gaze.
"Pipes, it's just another removal. This kid…" She sighed. "This wasn't your fault. This isn't your fault, or Alex's, or mine. It's Kubra's."
"But it is our fault." Piper choked. "If we didn't do the things we do for Kubra he wouldn't have come here. Bennett wouldn't have come looking because of Luschek."
"Bennett was trying to be a hero, Piper." Nicky reassured her. "He wanted to play the Sherlock Holmes game and he lost, okay? You can't go after guys like Kubra and expect to live at the end of it. We aren't choosing to do what we do when it comes to Kubra. We are choosing not to end up like Bennett. Now let's go."
Nicky zipped up the body bag and threw the cot cover over it. She opened the door and rolled the cot out, Piper following behind.
They loaded the body into the van and climbed inside, Piper sitting in the middle front seat between Alex and Nicky. They pulled out of the parking lot and began the drive to the funeral home. The women made it three blocks away from the building before realizing the immense amount of police presence around them.
The street ahead of them was blocked off by three police cruisers with multiple sheriffs standing next to them. They noticed a deputy speaking to the driver in the car in front of them.
"Fuck." Alex breathed.
"Relax, Vause." Nicky took a deep breath. "We don't know what this is about, okay?"
The car in front of them began to pull away. Piper could feel her heartbeat in her throat.
"Everybody, relax." Nicky set her hand on Piper's knee. The officer approached their car. Alex rolled down the window.
"Afternoon, ladies." He said seriously.
"Afternoon, officer." Alex looked at him behind her sunglasses. "What's going on?" She asked.
"We've got a police officer who's currently missing." He sighed. "You three wouldn't mind us taking a look in the back, would you?"
"I'm sorry to hear that." Alex swallowed. "You're more than welcome to check but I do have to warn you, we just did a removal that was pretty badly decomposed by the time we arrived."
He made a disgusted face.
"Yeah and she's a pretty large gal so it's not exactly pleasant in here right now." Nicky chimed in, chuckling.
"Okay." He looked towards the back of the vehicle. "Do you have the proper paperwork? The transit permit, I mean? Just so I can verify that's who you've got back there."
"Right here, sir." Nicky whipped the paperwork from her blazer and handed it to him. He studied it for a moment.
"Vause Funeral Home, huh?" He asked. Alex nodded, biting her lip.
"You guys did my best friend's funeral a few years ago." He sighed.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Alex said instinctively.
"You remember an Officer Mendez? Big tall guy with a bushy mustache?" He smiled.
"Of course." Alex lied. "Yeah, he was a good guy from what everybody said."
"Yeah, you guys let us park his motorcycle right there in the viewing room." The officer patted the roof of the car. "'You know, I don't really care to see a dead body today. I see those too often nowadays. If you see anything give us a call, okay?"
"Of course." Alex retrieved the paperwork from him. "I hope you guys find him."
"Yeah me too. He's a good kid. Have a good one." The officer waved and walked away.
The women looked at each other for a moment before slowly driving away. They arrived at the funeral home, screeching into the garage.
"We need to fire up that oven fuckin' now." Nicky said as she unloaded the body. Alex led the cot down the hallway as the two others followed behind.
"Who's here?" She asked.
"Nobody. I sent Lorna and Red home. I've told the answering service we're closed for maintenance. No viewings, no removals, no nothing until tomorrow." Nicky answered.
"Nicky, I owe you my life." Alex sighed.
"You owe me an eight ball after this." Nicky laughed.
They rolled the cot to the stairwell, carefully maneuvering it down each step. Piper followed closely behind.
The wheels of the cot squeaked loudly in the dark, dusty funeral home basement. Alex turned on the breakers, sending the seemingly ancient retort into a loud growling grind. It came to life slowly, emitting a low buzzing sound.
"How long is this gonna take?" Piper asked.
"At least three hours. We don't have any combustion aids like wood or charcoal and this thing is older than the building. It could take a lot longer than that." Alex answered. "He's small at least. So once it starts going, he should be able to burn pretty fast."
"Fuck." Nicky sighed.
"What?" Piper asked.
"We haven't run this mother fucker in years. What's gonna happen when people see smoke pouring outta our roof for the first time in a long time? They're gonna have questions."
"Maintenance." Alex piped up. "We're closed for maintenance and maintenance includes making sure our old retort still works by burning leftover boxes. That's all it is. The sun will go down in a few hours anyways so the smoke shouldn't be very visible."
Piper stood silently. The basement was silent besides the hum of the retort.
"What now?" The blonde asked.
"You go home." Alex whispered. Piper looked at her, watching the reflection of the orange light of the flames inside the oven dancing across the lenses of her glasses.
"You go home and you make up with Larry. You don't let him know anything's wrong. Nicky's gonna go clean my apartment. I'm gonna stay here and get rid of him. Tomorrow is business as usual. Are we all clear?" Alex asked.
"Yeah." Nicky nodded. She set her hand on Alex's shoulder and sighed before heading up the stairs. Piper looked to her lover.
"Al?" She pushed. Alex stayed silent. "Do you still feel that feeling?"
Alex continued staring into the flames.
"Do you still feel what we talked about last night?"
"I feel like… I'm going to throw myself right into this oven with him." Alex answered.
"Please…" Piper grabbed her hand.
"I'm not going to, but I want to." She breathed. "This isn't going to end well, Piper. For any of us."
"I know, Al."
"Go home." Alex turned to face her. "Leave and marry Larry."
"Alex…"
"Piper, I lied. I do not love you. I don't feel any kind of feeling towards you. I feel fucking… annoyed by you actually. I'm annoyed by your fucking need to be apart of everything. You worm your way into everything you possibly can just to be near me when I have done everything I possibly can to keep you the fuck away from me." The older woman hissed. Piper felt hot tears brimming in her eyes.
"No. No, Alex, you don't mean that."
"Yes I do!" She shouted. "I absolutely fucking mean it Piper. You constantly do this. You try to tell me what I do and don't want. I'm telling you I don't want some pathetic little rich girl following me around like some kicked puppy. I have enough going on you think I need to tack you and your fucking baggage onto it? You think I want anything to do with you and your crybaby boyfriend? No, Piper, I don't."
Tears began to run down Piper's face. She didn't know if it was the heat of the retort or the words coming out of Alex's mouth but she felt as if she was about to burst into flames.
"Do you know how many sad straight girls I've told I love them while I'm fucking them? A lot, Piper. You're not special. You're a naive child who volunteered her money in hopes I'd want her back and it didn't work. Get over it."
"Shut up." She demanded.
"No. I'm not gonna shut up. I'm gonna keep going until you get it through your thick skull that I do not want you and that you don't belong here. Things were perfectly fine around here until you showed up. Nicky and I had things under control but then you do what you do and weaseled into my life and now look where we are."
"Things were not fine, Alex." Piper pointed her finger at her. "If I hadn't showed up and did what I did, Poussey and Taystee would've turned you in and you know I'm right."
"Maybe that's what I wanted!" Alex screamed. "If they had I would've been charged with drug trafficking and lost this piece of shit business. A huge weight would've been lifted off of me, Piper! Do you not get that? I would've served a few years and come home to a different life. But now… Now I have a murder under my belt. I have murder and disposing of a body on top of drug trafficking and also lying to the police. So, thank you, Piper. You've improved my life so much." Alex said sarcastically. "And you?" She grinned. "You've lost your best friend Polly and your entire life savings for something I never asked you to do. You're too stupid to see you're about to lose marrying somebody who actually gives a fuck about you for someone who couldn't give two fucks about you, Piper."
She stared at her in silence. Alex crossed her arms across her chest and looked down at the floor. Piper wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Someone who couldn't give two fucks about me?" She chuckled. "You know what, Alex? I don't give a shit anymore. Keep the money, keep the drugs, keep everything. Don't worry about anyone finding out about anything here because I'm leaving and I'm forgetting every single thing about this place. Climb in that fucking oven with him. I'm done." Piper turned away and began to climb the stairs.
"Forget everything then, asshole!" Alex yelled after her. "I better not hear shit about any of this getting out because if I do, I'll fucking kill you myself Piper!"
Piper didn't reply. She closed the door to the basement behind her and exited the funeral home. As she walked through the parking lot, Piper looked to the setting sun. The surrounding sky was darkened by a billowing cloud of black smoke pouring from the chimney of Vause Crematory and Funeral Home.
She returned home to find Larry sitting on the couch in silence. He jumped up when he saw her. She could see he'd been crying. They stood staring at each other for a moment. Larry swallowed hard and took in a shaky breath.
"Look…" He started.
"I'm sorry." Piper blurted out. "Last night got out of hand and I should've never hit you. I'm sorry, Larry."
"I don't even…" He gave her a sad smile. "None of last night matters, Piper. It got out of hand now but I want you to know that it's gonna be okay. At the end of the day, no matter what you do, I will always love you."
"Okay." She nodded.
"I know everything Piper." He nodded seriously.
"What?" Her voice hitched in her throat.
"I know everything that's been going on." His face became hardened. Piper noticed he was holding his hands behind his back.
"Larry, I can explain-"
"You don't have to." He cut her off. "I know what the big secret is now and I want you to know I'm okay with it." Larry smiled. Piper squinted at him.
"Excuse me?" She asked in confusion. Larry revealed his hands. He was holding the pregnancy test she'd thrown away the night before.
"You've been acting so weird because you're pregnant, Piper. The vomiting, the anger, the sneakiness. It all makes sense now."
"No." Piper neared him, taking the pregnancy test from his hand. She stared down at it. In the dark lighting of the bathroom the night before she'd somehow missed the barely visible second pink line. It was positive.
"I-I didn't…" She stuttered.
"You didn't wanna tell me because things have been so rocky with us lately and Piper I take complete responsibility for that. You being so close to Alex, working all the time, leaving last night. Like I said, none of that matters now. Because now, we're gonna have a baby. I'm gonna be a dad, Piper." Tears of happiness began to flow from his eyes. Piper felt the world closing in around her. She tried to go to her happy place. Tried to find that serene feeling. She couldn't reach it. It was gone. It was just her and Larry. Here. Now.
"I know I've put a lot of pressure on you in the past with having kids but Piper if you wanna work while we do this, you can. You can do anything you wanna do. Anything. I want nothing more than for us to be a family and if that means I sit back and give you the reins then by all means, please. All I ask is you let me be the father I've always wanted to be. To our baby."
Piper began to cry. She couldn't muster up a response. All she could do was nod and give in as Larry wrapped his arms around her while she stared at the death sentence in her hand.