Minutes before the lights came on to signal wake up time, Bayley had gotten out of Becky's bed and climbed up to her bunk above. Becky had said it would be a smart thing to do because inmates sleeping together was strictly against prison rules, and she had said she expected Vega to try and catch them out, in the hope of giving them a punishment.
Sure enough, literally a matter of seconds after the lights came on, they heard their door being unlocked. Ms Vega opened the door and strode into the cell, an unpleasant look on her face as usual. Her mood probably wasn't improved by finding the inmates in the correct bunks.
"Alright, get up and hit the showers," Vega barked, since there was nothing to lay into them about.
"Morning, Miss," Bayley said tiredly, hoping that her pleasantness would get under Vega's skin.
"Don't morning me, Martinez!" Vega snapped. "Up, now!"
"You shouldn't watch us in a state of undress," Becky said cheekily, still tucked up under her blanket. The comment almost made Bayley laugh.
"The last thing I want is to see you undressed, Lynch. Now get your asses to the showers. Once you're done there, report to me in the canteen area. You're going to be assigned your jobs today."
Becky groaned as she sat up, but she didn't bother answering back. Any more smart ass comments were likely to land them both in water hotter than they would find in the showers. In any case, Vega turned and left the cell.
"God, I hate that woman," Bayley said once the coast was clear.
A grunt of a laugh came from Becky. "Trust me, she's not even started yet."
"At least we're together now," Bayley said as she dropped down from her bunk to the floor. "So long as that's the case, we can get through anything, right?"
"Right," Becky said lovingly. She gave her girl a gentle kiss on the lips.
A couple of minutes later, they left their cell to head for the showers, carrying their things. They found Stephanie McMahon waiting for them near the top of the stairs.
"Stay close to me in there," Stephanie ordered them, not bothering with a greeting. "I don't want any bitches near me while I shower, understand?"
"Yes, we understand," Bayley said.
"You can wait while I shower, then you can have yours afterwards," Stephanie informed them. "Becky, you've got a lot to prove to me, so I've got an assignment for you today. Do it well, and I just might start believing I made the right decision in taking you on."
"Uhm, Ms Vega is assigning us jobs today," Becky reported hesitantly, not wanting to get onto Stephanie's bad side right from the start.
"I know," came the simple response. Stephanie and started down the stairs. "Come on, hurry up, before everyone else gets to the showers before us."
On the way down the stairs, Bayley and Becky exchanged a quizzical glance. They had both picked up on the fact that the news of their jobs hadn't come as a surprise to Stephanie. They were wondering how much she knew about what went on with other inmates, and how she knew it.
Half an hour later, Bayley and Becky were showered and dressed. They made their way to the canteen, as instructed by Ms Vega. They found the ill-tempered guard standing near to the kitchen door waiting for them.
"Take your time, why don't you?" Vega snarled as soon as she saw them.
"We came as quick as we could," Bayley said with a hint of attitude.
"Well it wasn't quick enough!" Vega shouted at her. "Any more backchat from you, Martinez and you'll be on report."
"You have jobs for us, Miss?" Becky enquired, wanting to get the interaction with their nemesis over with as soon as possible.
"Yes, I do. You're on cleaning duty," Vega informed them with a sneer. "You'll start after breakfast, with the canteen. You'll clean all of the tables and the floor. When you've done that, you'll move on to the bathroom."
"How did I know you'd have us scrubbing toilets?" Becky sighed.
"Being unpredictable isn't always one of my strengths," Vega said with a smug expression on her face. She turned around and unlocked the door to the kitchen. Just inside, on the left hand side, there was a door to a cleaning cupboard. She pointed at the door and said, "That's where you'll get your supplies. Bliss and Jax will be cleaning the kitchen at the same time. Please, cause trouble with each other."
"So you can put us all on report?" Becky guessed sarcastically.
"Got it in one," Vega said. "You two dykes and that mouthy slut Bliss are right at the time of my list of worst-behaved inmates. So you'd better have eyes in the back of your heads while I'm around."
"How am I worst-behaved?" Bayley demanded. "I only got here yesterday for Christ's sake."
"Yeah, and you're tarred with the same brush as her," Vega said pointing at Becky. "She's been nothing but disobedient since she got here. If it was up to me, I would have had her shipped out to another prison before now."
Becky's grip on her Irish temper began to fail her. "Yeah, but it's not up to you is it, Vega?" she said aggressively. "And I love how much that pisses you off."
Vega didn't respond directly to the insolence, but Bayley could tell by the look on her face that there would be some future payback coming their way as a result of it. "Move," the guard barked, pointing back towards the canteen, where prisoners were starting to line up for their breakfast.
All too gladly, Bayley led the way over to Stephanie, who was waiting for them near the bottom of the stairs. "I don't think you should keep trying to needle Vega like that," Bayley said quietly to Becky.
"Fuck her," Becky hissed. "There's only so much abuse I can take. And I'm more than sick of being called a fucking dyke."
"Poor choice of partner then," Stephanie said dryly, having heard the last part of the exchange as they approached her.
"Please don't start," Becky said tiredly. "We've agreed to work for you. Can we at least do it without being abused?"
"Jesus, I was just making a joke," Stephanie said, rolling her eyes. "Good news, Ms Fragile. You don't have to wait in line for your food anymore. We go straight to the front of the line."
With that, Stephanie walked in the direction of the serving counter, where Alexa Bliss was handing out the food trays. Bayley followed along behind her new boss, feeling sheepish about skipping the line of prisoners. No one offered any objection, though. All of the inmates knew that Stephanie was the queen bee of C Wing, and speaking up against her would only end badly for them.
"Hi, Stephanie," Alexa said when McMahon stepped forward, blatantly sucking up to her.
"Alexa," Stephanie replied without much interest. "Bayley and Becky are working for me now, in place of Emma and Dana. Ensure they're fed accordingly, alright?"
"You got it," Alexa said deferentially.
Bayley noticed that the portions that found their way onto Stephanie's tray were more than generous.
"Thank you," Stephanie said when her tray was handed to her. She set off for her usual private table at the back of the catering area without waiting for her two employees.
Bayley stepped up to the counter next, noting that Bliss's expression had changed the moment Stephanie's back was turned. She was now serving and evil glare along with her food. "How did you manage to get that job?" Alexa hissed, meaning working for Stephanie.
"It's not what you know, it's who you know," Bayley said mysteriously, savouring stringing the nasty little witch along.
"Yeah, well, ain't nobody here afraid of you," Alexa said, still with a glare on her face.
"That might mean something if it came from someone tall enough to see over the counter," Bayley said. Beside her, Becky burst out laughing.
Despite the unpleasant exchange of words, the diminutive Alexa served Bayley with a tray containing similar portions to Stephanie's. She took it without a word of thanks and made her way over to her boss's table.
"You should start playing nicely," Stephanie said through a mouthful of food as Bayley sat down.
"Just showing her that mouthing off to me isn't a good idea," Bayley said, wanting to sound tough.
"Fair enough," Stephanie said. "Just be careful around that one. I'm not sure all of her dogs are barking."
Becky arrived and sat down next to Bayley. The three of them sat and ate for a few minutes in silence. The relationship, such as it was with Stephanie, wasn't one that leant itself to friendly chatter.
"So, the job I have for you today," Stephanie said after a while. She had a sneaky glance around to see where the guards were. Mr Ambrose and Mr Styles were the ones supposedly keeping watch over meal time, but they seemed to be more interested in chatting to each other than monitoring the prisoners. Stephanie reached around and pulled a folded up brown envelope out from the back of her pants and passed it under the table to Becky.
"What's that?" the Irishwoman whispered.
"Never mind what it is," Stephanie said sternly. "It's what you're going to do with it that concerns you. When you're doing your cleaning after breakfast, a laundry cart will be brought past the rear door of the kitchen and exactly ten AM. You will give this envelope to the man who works for the laundry contractor."
"The rear door of the kitchen will be locked while we're in there," Becky said.
Stephanie gave her a condescending look. "No, Becky, it won't. And this whole arrangement will go a lot smoother for all of us if you stop questioning what I tell you to do and just do it. Think you can manage that?"
"Yes, sorry," Becky said as she hid the envelope down the back of her own pants.
Bayley sat and ate her food in silence, watching and listening to the exchange. It now seemed pretty obvious that McMahon had one of the guards in her pocket. How else could she be sure that a door that was supposed to be locked at all times would be unlocked at a moment that suited her purposes?
"And don't even think about opening the envelope," Stephanie threatened Becky.
"You don't have to speak to me like that," Becky replied. "I wouldn't have agreed to work for you if I intended to mess you around. Bay and I both realise this is in our best interests, so we're doing what you ask of us."
Stephanie nodded. It was the first hint of any kind of respect Bayley had seen from her since they had met.
"Frankly," Bayley said to Stephanie, "We were discussing our situation last night. Becks is virtually certain to be found not guilty of all charges against her, but I'm looking at a long sentence for the robberies I was wanted for, to say nothing of killing Ronda. We figured you might be able to help me, if we served you well enough."
Becky's eyes had widened. She hadn't imagined Bayley was going to be upfront with Stephanie like that about what they hoped to get out of working for her.
For a moment, Stephanie said nothing, instead choosing to slowly chew a mouthful of food, a thoughtful expression on her face. "You figured that, did you?" she asked eventually, without any particular emotion in her voice.
"We need something to hope for," Bayley said, her words especially heartfelt. "And you did say good things could happen if we worked for you."
In that moment, Becky made an impulsive decision. If Bayley was going to sit there trying to convince McMahon that she was worth helping, Becky decided to do the same, and to go all in with it. "Stephanie, how's this for a deal," she said. "You do whatever you have to do to get Bayley out of here. Hire lawyers, grease palms, I don't care. Whatever it takes to stop her being found guilty and given a sentence. I know you can get her off the charges if you put your mind and resources into it, the same way you're undoubtedly going to get yourself off your charges."
"I'm hearing demands, not a deal," Stephanie said icily.
"This deal is this," Becky said. "You make sure Bayley and I both get out and we're together on the outside, and I'll develop the BL-04 chip for you. That's what started all of this, right? You paid Bayley and her crew a million dollars for me and my idea. Here I am, right in front of you." She tapped the side of her head. "I still have the idea right up here. I can remember all of the ins and outs of it. No one else knows how to replicate it. Get me and Bay out of here, both of us, get me a research lab, and the BL-04 is all yours. That's the deal."
Stephanie sat and worked on her breakfast for a couple of minutes, looking like she was trying to decide how to respond. Even an offer as good as that had produced barely any sign of emotion. She looked between Bayley and Becky, with what Bayley considered to be an excellent poker face.
"Okay," she said eventually. "You've got a deal."
A/N: Thank you to everyone who left a review on the previous chapter.
Becky struck a deal with Stephanie regarding their freedom. But it will be a while before any can happen with that, so in the next chapter we'll be seeing Becky attempting to carry out the task Stephanie gave her. Will she be able to pull it off?