Chapter Twenty-How Long is Long?
Orange really was not her color and yet here Piper sat, her hands and feet cuffed and wearing the neon pumpkin of a convict in court. This particular humiliation was new since during her original case she had pled guilty and been a self-surrender to prison. So here she was waiting for the judge to appear from his chambers first thing on Monday morning so that she could plead guilty to assaulting Doggett and accept her increased, but tolerable, enhanced sentence.
Piper had dutifully relayed every fact she could recall about Fahri and the cartel to DA Watkins on videotape, with particular emphasis on the information contained on the notecards her lawyer had shown her. Well, all the cards except the love note from Alex. Since she couldn't keep that card in her pocket, she kept the words close to her heart. And if her memory regarding Alex's particular involvements with the Cartel were a little more vague who could really fault her?
In the end it had been enough for Watkins. Piper left the most tantalizing tidbits about the cabin and the bank account number for the end of the interview and the District Attorney had practically run from the room to get the information out to his agents in the field as soon as she had relayed it.
Had that really just been Saturday? The interview had been terminated soon thereafter and she had been sent back to the dorms under orders to stay in her cube unless she was in the bathroom or eating. She had slept most of the next day and had been moved to the courthouse early this morning. Had she been standing trial with a jury they would have allowed her to change into 'civvies' and taken off the restraints. But this was just a plea before a judge and it was easier for everyone if she stayed in cuffs. She had never felt more like a criminal than in this moment.
Besides, Fig was still paranoid that Alex was going to stage some sort of swashbuckling rescue attempt, swooping down to scoop Piper up in her arms and whisk her away. Maybe Alex would be wearing tight black leather pants and a silk shirt. Now Piper was completely distracted thinking about how hot and sexy Alex would be as the pirate queen, stealing from the rich and saving the fair maiden. Piper would feel obligated to show her appreciation to her savior. Hhmmm, she could almost hear herself calling out Alex's name.
Wait. Someone was talking about Alex, but it wasn't her voice. It was a trim woman in a suit who appeared to be a Federal Agent, talking to Watkins. Piper listened more closely, but couldn't make out all the words. The agent was almost arguing with Watkins and Piper could hear her saying "premature" and "Investigation ongoing" and finally "coroner".
When the judge took his seat at the front and struck his gavel Watkins glowered at the woman and barked. "Go to the autopsy yourself if you don't think the body is Alex Vause!"
Piper felt her jaw quiver and tears spring to her eyes. She looked at Mr. Bartone and started to ask him what the hell had happened when the court bailiff announced all quiet and that court would now commence. Piper tried to get Mr. Bartone to look at her. He was assiduously staring forward at the judge, even going to far as to ignore her unsuccessful attempts to grab his arm with her bound hands.
"Is your client prepared to enter a plea Mr. Bartone?" The judge intoned.
"Yes your honor, she is." The lawyer responded.
"Mr. Watkins? If you would please read the charges against the accused." A yawn accompanied the request from the bench.
It looked to Piper like the judge was busy reading the newspaper where no one could see it, although it was hard for her to be sure through the sheen of tears clouding her eyes. Had something happened to Alex? She couldn't fathom that her lawyer would just calmly sit beside her if anything really bad had occurred. He would tell her, right?
Piper didn't notice that Watkins was done talking until Mr. Bartone gently grasped her elbow and helped her to stand next to him at the defense table. "It's ok Piper, trust me. You need to enter your plea now."
She looked at him as a few tears escaped and slid down her face. She couldn't even wipe them away because of the cuffs. "Alex?"
The lawyer leaned down whispered where only she could hear. "Not now. Get through this first."
That wasn't comforting at all, but what choice did she have? She turned to look at the judge who was at least looking up now. His expression even showed just a twinge of compassion. "Ms. Chapman, how do you plead to the charge of simple assault?"
"Guilty your honor." Piper croaked out through a tight throat.
"I know this isn't easy, but I believe you are doing the right thing. You understand you are waiving your right to a trial by jury?"
"Yes your honor." Piper realized the judge thought she was crying because of her guilty plea. As if she would ever feel bad about defending herself against Doggett.
"Very well. Then I find you guilty. Based on your plea and the recommendation of the district attorney, I sentence you to two years in prison to be added to your current sentence." After Piper sat back down, the judge continued. "Mr. Watkins tells me the information you provided was of significant assistance in the capture of high level cartel members, as well as the seizure of cash and drugs. For that I will agree to this reduced sentence. Counselors, is there anything else?"
Mr. Bartone shook his head. "No your honor."
"That is all from the State your honor. If you will excuse me, I am due at a press conference." Mr. Watkins was straightening his tie and heading out of the courtroom. He paused as he passed Piper. "I am sorry about Ms. Vause. We only wanted her caught, truly."
The deputies guarding Piper stepped forward to escort her back to Litchfield, but Mr. Bartone intervened. "I need to speak to my client for a few minutes if you could escort her to the interview room."
The guards looked annoyed, but did as instructed with the caveat that they needed to get back to the prison soon.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Piper burst into sobs. "Is Alex dead?"
District Attorney Watkins liked his job. He didn't have to wade through the hard work of actually trying cases and dealing with the refuse of the criminal justice system. As the man in charge he just supervised, oversaw the proceedings as it were. But he was ready for something more. This bust would give him a huge leg up in the run to be the next Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York, if he got it publicized correctly. A press conference was the first step.
He had assured several news agencies that it would be worth their time to come to the courthouse on a Monday morning and was pleased to see his statement would be well attended. It was showtime.
"Thank you all for coming. I am here to announce that our department, in conjunction with the local sheriff's office, officials from the Litchfield Correctional Institution for women and the FBI have conducted a joint operation resulting in a major disruption of an international drug cartel acting in our area. We have discovered and seized several kilos of cocaine and heroin and found a warehouse site that was abandoned and partially destroyed containing evidence of drug distribution. I can also report we uncovered leads on the underlying financing of the operation that we believe will result in millions of dollars of drug money returned to the taxpayers of New York."
Watkins looked around to see several reporters already making calls and texts and knew the story would be big.
"Lastly I am here to report the capture of a high level cartel member as well as the unfortunate death of a second. The deceased was an inmate at Litchfield who recently escaped and had returned to the drug trade. Her death was not the result of any police action, but occurred before our presence at one of the crime scenes. The public can rest knowing that this dangerous escaped convict is no longer on the loose and that a major blow has been dealt to one of the world's worst drug syndicates. Thank you. As more information becomes available, I will be back to keep you informed."
Watkins smiled as he left the podium to the chatter of the reporters trying to ask questions. It was always good to keep them wanting more, and he was sure a few updates with the details would only help his reputation.
The charred body was sent to the closest Office of the Medical Examiner which was in Syracuse. After speaking to DA Watkins in court, Agent Cynthia Ford, DEA, drove to attend the autopsy of the remains found in the fire and subsequent explosion of a cabin in Niagara Falls where a major cartel member had been found tied to a chair. She arrived just as the forensic pathologist was reviewing the radiographs and preparing to start the examination.
The older gray haired man held a small tape recorder that he spoke into as he worked. "Fragments of presumed projectile material involve the right parietal and occipital lobes, but no intact bullets are identified."
Agent Ford introduced herself. "Are you saying Alex Vause was shot?" She had tried her best to get Watkins to at least delay his press conference until the remains could be positively identified, but he was insistent that he needed to make a statement to the public as soon as possible. Self-righteous politician.
"Let's proceed with the autopsy before I come to any conclusions. If you'd like to watch, I'm about to start." The pathologist was donning a mask and gloves and approaching a portable cart on which were the fragmented and very charred remains of a human being. A tag labeled 'unidentified' was hanging from the body bag.
Agent Ford watched as the pathologist removed organs and took them to cutting board by a sink. When he got to the lungs he waved her over excitedly. "Look. This is the inside of the trachea and lungs. There is no soot, none at all."
When she shrugged her shoulders he continued. "If you are in a fire with smoke, as this one was reported to be, you breathe in soot and it deposits in your airways. Even if you are unconscious you will get soot deposition."
"So Alex Vause was dead before the fire started. How?" Agent Ford was scowling now. Her push to delay Watkins looked like the right call now. Part of her knew he deserved any repercussions from his rash actions, but these things had a way of backfiring and the refuse would land directly on her.
Now the Medical Examiner was waving her over to the body. "See these holes in the skull? At the edges are beveling fractures. You only get those from bullet wounds." He pointed to one on the back of the head. "This is the entrance, the beveling is on the inside of the skull. This man was shot point blank in the back of the head and was dead before the fire."
"Man? Doctor, this was a woman." Agent Ford clarified.
The pathologist grabbed the file from a counter near the body. "The report says the tentative identification is 'Alex Vause'."
"Alex is short for Alexandra. Ms. Vause is an escaped inmate from the Litchfield minimum security prison for women upstate. She works for the cartel and was at the cabin. Officers heard her screaming from the back and then the explosion took place."
The Medical Examiner walked back over to the remains and sifted through the pieces for a moment before holding up a large charred remnant. "Agent, I really didn't need to go to medical school to figure this out. If this was Alexandra Vause, she had more issues than working for a drug cartel."
Cynthia Ford knew her day had just been seriously fucked. Even in its charred state, it was clear the Doctor was holding a human pelvis, complete with penis and scrotum. "Shit."
"Piper, it's ok. Please, sit. Remember our conversation at Litchfield? About what we should say to each other? I think it should also apply here." Mr. Bartone didn't have notecards this time.
"I just need to go over a few things with you, so I'll talk and you just listen." He emphasized the word 'listen' as he took out a set of headphones and handed them to her. He began to talk about appeals and other nonsense as Piper slid the headphones into her ears.
The voice that greeted her was better than hearing from angels in heaven. Alex sounded tired and her voice was tinny, like she was in a metal box, but none of that mattered one bit. Piper was having trouble hearing the words over the soft sobs that kept wracking her body with relief. She made out a few words, 'safe',' sorry', but most importantly 'love'. She got herself under control in time to hear Alex tell her she would always love her and would wait for her. The last of Alex's dulcet tones told her the lawyer would keep them in contact with messages as often as he could and not to worry about her, that she would be fine and to take good care of herself.
Then she was gone. Piper leaned over and clutched her hands to her ears hoping it would make Alex say something else, but the recording was over. She slowly slid the headphones off and handed them to Mr. Bartone with tears still sliding down her cheeks. "Thank you."
The lawyer smiled at her for the first time today. "You're welcome. I told you this would all work out Piper, and it will."
Piper wiped her eyes on her shoulder and returned his smile. "I probably shouldn't, but I want to believe you, so I will. It's all I have to hold on to, for the next three years."
Alex stretched as she emerged from her fetal position in the trunk of the car. "Fuck. I never want to do that again!"
Antonio was grabbing a couple of bags from the back seat and gave her a sympathetic grimace. "I'm sorry boss, but the trunk was the best place for you to travel under the circumstances."
"I know. I'm just bitching. That was a long uncomfortable ride. Plus I bet that call to the lawyer sounded like I was underwater or something. I just didn't want Piper to worry." Alex had worked out the worst of the kinks from her back before heading towards the dock. "So this is part of our newly acquired asset portfolio from Fahri. Nicest boat I've ever been on."
Antonio showed her to her suite on board and wisely left her alone saying they would be headed out to sea within the hour. Alex didn't have anything to unpack so she just roamed around the space opening drawers and staring in awe at the huge tub in the en suite. Finally she found herself gazing out the porthole thinking about Piper.
She had spent an uncomfortable day stuffed into the trunk of their 'getaway' car as Antonio drove to a private marina in New Jersey controlled by the cartel. They had received 'permission' from the higher ups to confiscate Fahri's assets and take over his contacts and clients. Apparently they weren't happy about him getting himself arrested. That put Alex back in the middle of the drug dealing business which she had mixed feelings about. But it also meant she could protect Piper, she had money and muscle now.
It just didn't seem fair. She was sailing away from the United States on a luxury yacht and looking forward to good food and excellent wine for dinner. Piper was stuck in Litchfield fending off asshole COs and eating slop for another three years. Well, she would do what she could for the future, and that meant working hard to make as much money as possible and to diversify her investments to places the cartel would never find. Even if Piper didn't want to be with her when she got out, Alex wanted to make sure the woman she had gotten imprisoned in the first place never needed to worry about finances again.
The yacht engines roared to full strength signifying their departure from the marina into the deep waters of the Atlantic. Alex thought about her life as a fugitive. It bothered her less than she thought it would. Her mother was dead and her only real friends were still behind the locked gates of Litchfield, along with her love. She could operate in friendly foreign ports and international waters with relative ease for as long as necessary.
But what would Piper think about life on the run? Would she have any interest in spending her life with a wanted escaped criminal?
Alex sighed and headed topside to enjoy the fresh air. She couldn't know what Piper might want three years from now, but she did know what would make Piper's life better during the remainder of her incarceration. There were people who owed Piper a debt, and she was just the woman to make sure they paid in full.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this particular journey of Piper and Alex is about to come to conclusion. You have all been so supportive and generous with your comments and I can't thank you enough!