ch 11
Olivia took the first available phone calling Ava first. She didn't bother to greet her daughter jumping into the problem. "What did he say?"
"No I'm doing fine. Thank you for asking."
"Ava please, you know I love you."
"He said that if we find Patrick and he tells the same story there is a chance Rafe could get off easy, like probation."
"Is he sure?" Olivia partially released the breath she had been holding. They still weren't out of the woods. A chance isn't good enough.
"He said he could try. The investigator called and said he was close to finding Patrick. He said he would call if he had more."
"Thank you Ava. I'll call you back later. Tell Rafe to hang in there." For the first time in two day Olivia smiled. Things were starting to fall in place, for Natalia to get out. Now all she had to do was hope the investigator would find Patrick and he would confess leaving Rafe out of it.
"Hey what's wrong with you? You been quite all day." Doris sat beside her roommate on edge of the basketball court.
"Nothing. Leave me alone." Kennedy picked a handful of grass tossing it in the wind.
"So what was up with the committee of evil meeting? Harley talking to the Royal family, something big must be happening"
"It's none of your business." Kennedy snapped back tossing more grass up. The two women sat in silence for a moment. "Can you keep a secret?"
"No but tell me anyway." Doris turned to Kennedy sitting Indian style, eager to know.
"Kennedy, come on." Another young member of the Queen stood over the two roommates.
Kennedy reluctantly rose from the ground following the woman inside.
Doris watched as Kennedy looked back. Something was in her eyes that she couldn't explain; regret, a call for help, maybe.
0-
"So tell me how much you love me." Natalia snuck up behind Olivia in the washroom.
"I don't know my roommate might not like it." Olivia smiled to herself. The week was looking up.
"So?" Natalia lean against Olivia pressing her against the machine.
"She might find out and give me some lock down time."
"Is that so bad?"
"More like a reward." Olivia twisted in Natalia hug. "So no one is around." She quirked her eyebrow, tempting Natalia.
"Maybe," Natalia ducked an incoming kiss, "only if you tell me about your secret telephone conversations with my son."
"Secret? No secrets here." Olivia's voice rose an octave deflecting the statement.
"Fine." Natalia stepped out of Olivia's reached, grabbing her clothes stuffing them in the washing machine.
"Okay, okay." Don't tell her not now. Olivia argued with herself, but the prospect of being left out in the cold was weighing heavily on her body.
"Tell me." Natalia could see the internal battle being waged. She ran her finger faintly down Olivia jaw line.
Don't break. She's playing dirty. Be strong.
"Tell me now." Natalia lean forward whispering in Olivia's ear.
"Spencer." Frank pooped his head in the door way. "Come here."
"Two seconds." Olivia blew the officer off.
"No, now."
Olivia sighed before reluctantly following Frank out of the room. "You better have a great reason for interrupting me."
"Yea life or death." Frank took Olivia by the arm escorting to the front. "Hey, I'm taking Spencer to an attorney visit."
"So what's up?" Olivia walked beside Frank as they exited the doors. She looked down the hall, watching Foley walking another inmate from the hole in their direction. For some reason Olivia felt like she should know the woman but she couldn't put her finger on where.
"You'll see."
Blake and Megan walked into the wash room joining Natalia.
"So when did Olivia become so close to Cooper." Blake questioned Natalia. If anyone knew Natalia should. Lately she had caught Cooper watching Olivia a little too close.
Natalia just shrugged her shoulders.
"Well I don't think you should worry too much. I think you two are really cute." The pregnant girl blushed.
Blake scuffed at the statement. Leave it up to teenagers to believe in love.
"I'm serious you guys are so cute together." Megan gushed at Natalia across the rows of washing machines. Blake stood beside the young girl folding her clothing. "I would kill to have someone look at me the way she looks at you. You guys are lucky to have it."
"God knows I love Olivia. It's just sometimes…I know she's hiding something."
"That's Olivia for you." Blake shrugged her shoulders. Olivia never was an open book.
"Even you." Megan pointed at Blake, "at least you had a shot with D.W."
"Excuse me." Blake dropped the white shirt in her hands. She gave Megan a questioning look, her hands settling on her hips.
"Well you know. You and D.W. were together than she broke up with you." Megan explained. "That's what she told me."
Natalia grimaced knowing Blake was going to be out for blood and nothing would stop her.
"What?'
Blake marched out of the washroom, through the showers and into the outside area. Her eyes zeroed in on suspect one.
"Blake, wait." Natalia tried to stop the woman but she was giggling too hard to stop anyone.
"WOLFE!"
Doris's head popped up to the charging woman. She took a few steps back, her hands in front of her. "Blake, look whatever it is it will have to wait."
"Give me one good reason…"
"Kennedy is trying to kill me." Doris blurted out in a hushed voice. "For the last couple of days she's been having all these secret meetings and I wake up sometimes and she just standing there." She stopped waiting for Blake's reaction.
"Well good we'll all be better off." Blake tossed her hair turning away from her stalker.
"Good! Their trying to kill me and you say is good." Doris followed Blake inside the building trying to make the woman come around to helping her.
Natalia joined them at the entrance on the building, half listening to Doris ramble about Kennedy. Talk about the devil himself. Natalia looked upstairs at the doorway of Royal's room. Kennedy was leaning against the door frame. Ever since the gang leader had arrival Kennedy seemed withdrawn and even more so for the last day or so. She hadn't even stopped to talk to her in the lunch line.
For a second the younger woman looked down at her target, praying for anything to intervene in her mission to become part of the royal family.
Kennedy listened to Rachel talk behind her, something about Winslow getting her something through. It didn't matter to her, not anymore. Before she hung onto every word the woman said, but now she almost hated her as much as she hated herself. It's the way of life, you do what you're told until you're telling others what to do.
"Kennedy, are you listening to me?"
No. "Yes."
"Hey hey, once it's done you'll have your double R's and this will all be a funny story to tell. Don't be a baby." Rachel laughed.
Fuck you. Kennedy continued to survey the unit. She stepped further out of the room when she heard the door close. At the Officer station stood the third woman who had rode the ferry with them. The woman had a mini buckwheat hair style going but she still remembered the face and the tattoos. The wings on the side of her neck.
The woman smiled as she approached Winslow. The said a couple of words as Winslow pointed at Natalia by the door. A sinister grin played across the woman's face and Kennedy knew her prays had been answered just not in the way she wanted.
9999999999999999999999
"Harley." Winslow called the woman passing by. "This is the final solution." He pointed at the newcomer.
"Oh I think I know you. Teri Holmes, right?" Harley looked the woman up and down. Beside the tattoos and the wild hair she didn't look that bad.
"Yea we meet at the prison in Utah. I help you take down that woman and got sent here." The woman smiled obviously proud of her accomplishment.
"Yea I remember." Harley shook the woman's hand. If it were not for her Harley might have been dead by now. "Well since you're one of us. Come with me."
Harley walked up the stairs with the woman trailing. "Kennedy, this is your partner."
"I already got one." Kennedy pinched her lips at the woman.
"Well this is your new partner she's going to help you take care of our problem." Harley managed to smile despite her loathe of the whole gang, even more the young woman.
"Your problem." Kennedy retorted, instantly flinching.
"Watch your mouth. Some might take the snap as disrespect." Harley looked over Kennedy's shoulder at Rachel. She raised her eyebrow at the woman.
"Take it how you like." Kennedy stood her ground, impressing and annoying her leader.
"Kennedy, be nice." Rachel took Kennedy by the shoulder squeezing till the young woman groaned in pain. Her knees almost gave out under the pressure.
"I saw Rivera run into the showers. And it's only 9 a.m. so I believe it's not her turn." Harley checked the clock on the wall almost laughing at the timing. Everything had come together too good, Olivia was gone and Natalia was officially out of place.
"Kennedy, why don't you show the way." Rachel slipped a shank into the young girls' hand and then passed one to the other woman. "Go ahead." She pushed Kennedy towards the stairs.
"We've been over this a hundred times already, Frank." Olivia sat back in her chair tossing the papers on the table. "Where's Josh?"
"He's still upset you wouldn't take the offer." Frank stacked the papers, shuffling through them. "Now focus. There has to be something you can tell me. Every other prison we've been to, we've wrapped the investigation up in almost 6 months, why is it that we are still here."
"Maybe someone is on to us or let something leak."
Frank stared hard at Olivia. "Yea and I wonder who that could be."
"Well it wasn't me, if that s what your trying to say. I haven't told anyone anything not even Natalia."
"And I'm just supposed to believe that."
"You don't exactly have a choice. Maybe it was you Frank. Maybe this being friends with Winslow went to your head and you let it slip." Olivia leaned over the table.
"You're crazy. Lewis knows I didn't say anything to anyone. Unlike you, we're professionals." Frank rose from his chair.
"So you call professional sleeping with inmate and another guard."
"Watch it Spencer you're in the same boat. Now sit down and help me so we can get out of here." Frank pointed at the chair sitting back in his chair.
Wolfe paced in the shower area, hiding from her roommate. If Kennedy was really trying to kill her she would have to catch her first. Oh yea, I got a few tricks up my sleeve Miss. Kennedy if that is your real name. Doris squatted practicing the karate moves she learned for the movies.
"What the hell is this?" Holmes laughed as she watched Doris punch the air.
Doris was startled out of her practice by Kennedy and the other woman. Oh God, I'm gonna die.
Holmes slowly walked towards Doris, sizing her up. She flashed the blade in Doris's face. "Is it your turn to use the showers?"
Kennedy stood at the doorway, two seconds from bolting.
"Oh is this the showers, I was looking for the basketball court, if you could just point me in the direction." Wolfe flinched as the woman pointed the knife at her ribs.
"You're lucky I'm in a good mood. Get out."
"OH GOD,Thank you." Doris let out a rush of air touching the woman's shoulder; quickly she pulled her hand back. "Sorry." She rushed pass Kennedy who still had yet to say a word.
Natalia closed the dyer holding her and Olivia's clothes. She busied herself folding the few clothing that was dry. Olivia better hurry back it's almost time to call Rafe.
"So we meet again."
Natalia turned towards the voice. Her breathe caught in her chest painfully as she recognized the other woman.
"I told you I would get you." The woman walked forward as Natalia back peddled.
Natalia dropped the shirt in her hand. She saw the blade in both the women's hands. "Kennedy?" Natalia begged hoping her former roommate would help.
"The time for begging is over with. Ain't that right?"
Kennedy stepped forward slightly behind the other woman. "You should have stayed out of it Natalia." Kennedy shook her head trying to stay in the game.
Natalia could see the regret in Kennedy's young eyes. It did nothing to easy the betrayal or the feeling of death breathing on her neck.
"I'm having trouble deciding what to do first, so I'll let you choose. Would you like to feel pleasure first or be killed first?"
"I'm not having sex with you." Natalia straightened her back against the wall.
"Well you really don't have a choice. So I guess I'll decide. Get on your knees." Teri held the blade high,
"Fuck you bitch." A group of girl pushed and shoved their way into the shower area.
It was just enough to distract the menacing woman. Natalia pushed her away running around the washer to the doorway.
Kennedy had had enough. The woman turned towards her and she swung the blade catching her right below the ribs.
"You fucking bitch." The woman's scream boomed through the small room, stopping Natalia in her tracks.
"Fight!" One of the girl yelled from the shower door way.
It opened up the flood gate. The inmates flooded from outside into the small area. Anyone who had had a disagreement in the last couple of days used the call to settle it right then.
Fist flew around Natalia as she tried to find the exit.
"So far all we know is every time we follow a lead we end up at a dead end." Frank sat in his chair exhausted. Nothing was working and Lewis and Spencer seemed like they were out of the game.
"Yea so far." Olivia replied.
"CODE X RAY. F BLOCK. CODE X RAY. F BLOCK." The voice boomed over the intercom system.
"Natalia." Olivia jumped up from her chair and out the door before Cooper could respond.
"Olivia, no." He ran out of the room behind her.
Olivia ran down the hall way, she came to the intersection of the hallway. Coming down the adjacent hallway was the swat team in full gear. The armed men didn't faze her one bit. She continued down the hall to the unit.
Olivia ran crashing through the unlocked door of the unit. The swat team a couple of steps behind her. She skidded to a halt in the middle of the floor. The thick mist of pepper spray began to cloud her vision, not before she spotted Natalia running from the melee in the showers.
Blake and Doris met Olivia as she ran over to Natalia. "Talia are you okay?"
Natalia threw herself in Olivia arms. Her life was still flashing in her mind. "They tried to kill me."
"Oh thank God." Doris shied away from Olivia. "Sorry I thought they were… Shit" A tear gas canister rolled by her feet, releasing a thick fog of smoke.
The four women split up running to their respective rooms.
"Come on." Olivia guided the distraught woman to their room, clearing the space under the bunk, squeezing them both under it. She held Natalia stroking the distraught woman's hair. "It's okay, you're fine." Olivia tried to block out the sounds of women screaming as they were being dragged away.
"We missed Rafe." Natalia sat on the metal desk swinging her feet. For the last two hours she had been nibbling on everything in sight. She picked at the donuts lying beside her. "Olivia did you hear me?" I knew I shouldn't have told her the whole story. Her eyes and nose were still red from the irritation from the spray.
Olivia had heard her but she wasn't acknowledging Natalia at the moment. The only thought that was going through her head was payback, on Kennedy, Holmes, Royal and Harley, the whole gang.
"I know what you're thinking so cut it out right now." Natalia knew exactly what Olivia was thinking; to be honest she was thinking the same thing.
"No." Olivia rolled over staring at Natalia in disbelief. "They just tried to kill you!"
"I know I was there. But they have to answer to a higher power than us. You have to let go and let god take care of it." She was still shaken from the ordeal and right now what she wanted wasn't revenge it was for Olivia to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay.
Olivia rolled back towards the wall grumbling something Natalia was sure a shot at her religion.
"You're so childish Olivia." Natalia exploded, throwing her package of powdered donuts against the wall. "Why can't you ever just let things be? Everything is eye for an eye with you. Life isn't about revenge. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?" Natalia screamed, beyond frustrated. She was mad, too upset to even see things from Olivia's point of view. The other woman's silence was not helping in the least bit. "I'm talking to you. What is your problem?"
In a flash Olivia was off the bed, standing toe to toe with Natalia. "I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!" She stood in front of Natalia holding nothing back in her stare, not the fear or the pain of losing the one thing she was holding on to. "I don't want to lose you okay."
Olivia shook her head. She knew in her current settings she didn't have much control, but it still hurt to be reminded of the helplessness of the situation.
"Olivia… "Natalia tried to soothe the worry lines forming into Olivia's face, but her hands were blocked.
Olivia walked over to the doorway looking out the large window across the floor. The mood outside reflected her growing sense of dread. The sun was quickly being swallowed by dark clouds. It was the hope of ever being free dying and knowing one day Natalia would be free, leaving her to sit in this hell alone. "My whole life people have taken things from me and I don't want to lose you, I refuse to." Olivia's voice faltered. "Not yet."
"You won't. Somehow we are going to figure this out and when that day comes we'll be together outside of these walls." Natalia hugged Olivia from behind, resting her chin on Olivia's shoulder. She watched as the sun disappeared; dread settling deep in her stomach.