Chapter 2

Red and Nicky followed Piper into the TV room. They had MSNBC on and were all listening with rapt attention. It was eerily quiet. Red didn't pay attention to the news at first, but took in the suspiciousness of the room. Through the haze of observation, she heard a name. His name.

Adrik Kazarian has been taken into custody after an anonymous tip off. The Russian mobster linked to, Ganya Agron, has been a wanted man for some time. While many believed him to be dead, the authorities have kept the case against him open and have continued to look for him over the years.

Awaiting trial, it is uncertain Kazarian will take a plea bargain, being offered for more information, or if he will stay silent to protect those above him.

Agron, suspected to be the mob leader has been detained several times over the last decade, but there has never been enough evidence to link him to crimes. Kazarian's testimony, if he chooses to speak out, could be a changing factor in taking Agron down.

Kazarian is facing a hefty amount of prison time if sentenced. He is thought to be involved in embezzlement of over $600,000, linked to at least four murders, and 5 kidnappings. As a high ranking member of the organization it is likely that he has orchestrated many more crimes than those previously listed.

Police are hopeful that they can glean some information and press charges. In a statement they made at a press conference this morning, Police Chief _ said, "The Russian's have been terrorizing this area for over a decade - it's time we took some of that power away from them. We have in custody a key player of that organization. We see this as a win for us and it will help us to bring this group down for good."

Kazarian's lawyers responded to the press conference with their own statement, claiming that their client is innocent of all charges against him. Kazarian has nothing to hide and will cooperate with the authorities in any way he can. They are confident that this will not make it to trial.

What those charges are specifically, we are still unaware of, but as always we will continue to follow the story and update new details as they come in. In other news, …."

The girls all looked at Red. She turned to Piper and spoke, voice steady and calm, "Thank you for getting me." Red turned and walked back out of the room.

Nicky shot the group a warning look and then followed behind her.

"Wanna tell me what the hell is going on?" she asked, sounding more frustrated than concerned. If Red had thought she was being jumpy before, she was wrong. Nicky was practically shaking with anger. "Does that have anything to do with what that kid was saying?"

Red nodded, there was no point in hiding it. Even if she wanted to, Nicky would just assume she was lying. Red knew the news should have frightened her, but it calmed her nerves a bit. At least now she knew what Stesha had been talking about. They wanted her to keep her mouth shut and she would. That life was long behind her now.

"That man they arrested. That is Stesha's father. Trouble is brewing in the old neighborhood. I don't know what's going to come up or what is going to happen, but none of it will be good."

"What can I do?" Nicky asked.

Grabbing her hand, Red brought it up to her lips and kissed her knuckles. "You don't need to do anything. I'll let you know if there is something you can help with. For now, we should probably just act normal until I know more. I'll call the boys and see if they have any idea, but I doubt they've kept any old contacts. We always tried to keep them out of the business."

Red stopped Nicky's questions with a look. "Just like I'm trying to keep you out of it, upryamaya devushka."

Nicky stayed quiet for a moment, considering everything Red had just told her. She wasn't quite sure what Red had just said to her, but her tone of voice gave her that gist of it.

"Is there anything else I should worry about? Stesha made it seem like they think you know something? I saw how you looked at her, Red. I saw how you looked at that news. What aren't you telling me?" Nicky chewed on her lip worriedly and crossed her arms.

Turning to look at her daughter, Red touched her face. "When did you become too smart for you own good? I think I liked it better when I could hide things from you." She sighed, there was no use pretending. "I will not give you details, but I will say that there are things that I never told. Things I won't tell, but they don't know for sure how much I know. Stesha is here as a warning, just as she said. The best thing we can do right now is nothing."

Nicky huffed, trying to bite back her own emotion. She wanted to fight. She wanted to go track that Russian brat down and scream at her for bringing this into their home. Red had done more than her time and it wasn't fair that they were drawing her back in. It had been over a decade.

Seeing the look on Nicky's face Red shot her a warning look. "You, stay out of trouble. You hear me? I can take care of myself. These aren't people to underestimate. There are consequences bigger than just ending up in SHU."

Nicky nodded, knowing that there wasn't anything she could do. Stirring up trouble with that girl would only make things worse. "I'm good. I'll keep my hands to myself."

"Good," Red said firmly. "Now go find something to do or I'll put you to work in the kitchen."

Nicky wanted to say yes, put her to work, but she knew that would probably upset Red more. She didn't like it when Nicky got overprotective and hovered. She would be sure to make her pay for it. "Alright, but send one of the girl's if you need me."

Red nodded. "Fine, but I don't want to have this conversation a third time. Stay out of trouble." She muttering to herself about Nicky being so damn stubborn, as she walked away. The last thing she needed was more drama, as if this day hadn't already brought enough.

Adrik must have been afraid that Red had proof of his ties to Ganya. She wasn't sure how much damage she could actually do. There were so many memories. So many meetings with that group. Would her word be enough to stir up suspicion? Could she really influence the trial so heavily that they felt the need to send her such a message?

Did he know what she had hidden before coming here? He couldn't … It was impossible…

Shaking her head, Red rid herself of those kinds of thoughts. They were dangerous. She had no desire to get sucked back in. Not now, not after all the time she'd put in working towards freedom.

XOXOXO

Looking up from the vegetables she was chopping, Gloria watched Red enter the kitchen. Red seemed tense, more quiet, more worried. "You look like you've seen a ghost," Gloria said. She looked tentative, but not afraid of Red.

Gloria had never been one to run from things. It never solved anything. All that nonsense of keeping secrets for the sake of pride. It didn't work in here. The sooner it was out in the open, the sooner they could all move forward. She didn't deal with bullshit. "You see the news?"

Red looked up and nodded. "Yes, I guess it's no surprise that everyone in here has skeletons. I just wasn't expecting to see mine on the television. It's no trouble to me though. That was such a long time ago. I have no ties that world any longer."

"Mmhmm, your girls might buy into that shit, but you are talking to the wrong woman if you think I'm gonna fall for it," Gloria said, pointing with the knife, as her hands moved along with her words. "Don't think we don't have our own secrets just because we come from different neighborhoods. You don't leave those groups - not like this."

Buttoning her jacket, Red sighed. "I know, but let's just keep that between us for now. Nicky is already too invested as it is. I don't want her digging around and winding up in trouble. Chapman worries me too; she talks too much. The others, they're just safer not knowing anything."

"Damn, you got yourself into some shit didn't you? I don't know what it is you did and I don't want to, but I'll back you if you need it. You've been good to us and that means something, especially in here."

Red smiled and shrugged. "What can I say? Russians don't do things small."

XOXOXO

Not sure what to do with herself, Nicky made her way out to the yard. She didn't normally hang outside much, but it seemed as good a place as any. Stesha would be in the suburbs, so heading back to her cube didn't seem like a good idea. The yard was big. If she was there it wouldn't be hard to avoid her.

Nicky spotted Alex sitting in the grass and walked over. "Hey Vause," she greeted.

"Wow, out and about in the sun, Nichols. You're not going to turn into a gremlin on me or something right?" Alex marked the page in her book and slid her glasses onto the top of her head. Looking up at Nicky she squinted from the sunlight, behind the other woman.

Nicky shook her hands helplessly in front of her, pretending to be scared. "Bright light! Bright light!" They both laughed and Nicky sat down. "Besides, I think you have to get me wet first too," she said with a wink.

Alex playfully shoved her. "Wouldn't you like that?" Alex quipped.

Nicky's mouth rose into a half grin. "I can't say you'd hear me complaining." She wanted to be as carefree as she sounded, but knew she wasn't doing a good job hiding it.

Staring at Nicky, Alex waited for her to talk. She hadn't missed that all of Nicky's joking had been half-hearted. Realizing that Nicky wasn't going to say anything she rolled her eyes. "Seriously though, what's going on with you?"

Nicky drew her legs up and propped her arms up. "Eh, I don't know. Just stuff," she shrugged.

"Stuff?" Alex questioned. It wasn't like her to push - they weren't those kinds of friends. That might have been why they tended to hang out so much. They both knew when to stop pressing. "Stuff you want to talk about?"

Nicky sighed. "There's just stuff going on with Red... about her past. I don't know what to do and she said there's nothing I can do to help. She won't even really tell me what's going on. Well she sorta did, but I can tell that's not all of it." Nicky pursed her lips and shook her head in frustration.

"And of course, you being a total momma's girl has you itching to do something," Alex said, as the pieces began to fall into place. She watched as Nicky's features moped into a childlike pout.

Nicky looked at Alex. "She told me not to get into trouble," she said, sounding defeated.

"She makes a good point. You do have a knack for it. What is it she calls you? Little girl, big mouth?" Alex knew it was pointless to try and cheer Nicky up or get her to stop worrying, so they sat in silence for several minutes.

"God I would kill for some sunglasses," Nicky said, changing the subject. That had been enough opening up for one afternoon. She raised her hand to her forehead, trying to block the sun from her eyes, as, she looked around the yard.

Alex scoffed. "Try having green eyes. At least you have enough melanin to block out some of the light.

"I get drunk faster too," Nicky said cheekily. "Sparkly eyes, pale as fuck, and… is that glitter I see shimmering on your skin? You look like a character out of Twilight," Nicky said with a challenging gaze.

"You bitch!" Alex said laughing. She shoved Nicky, knocking her over.

Nicky laughed but didn't sit up. She propped herself up on her elbows and stared out at the women in the yard. "I needed that, thanks."

Alex laid down next to her. "I'm here all week. And the next week. And the one after that." She sighed heavily. "So what's your plan?"

"My plan?" Nicky asked.

"Yes idiot. I know you're not going to just sit back and do as Red tells you. That would make sense. So, what's your plan? I need to know these things, that way when Red comes around looking for answers I can at least tell her that I tried to talk you out of it."

Nicky knew Alex was right, but she hadn't really come up with anything yet. She gestured with her chin to a girl hanging on the outskirts of a large group of girls talking. She didn't seem to be included, more just hanging on the fringes trying to fit in. "That kid there. She came in this morning all threatening Red."

Alex scoffed. "The one I could probably step on? Nicky come on, don't you think you're blowing this out of proportion."

Nicky sat up and sat crisscrossed facing Alex. "It's not just the girl. Apparently she's some mob bigwig's daughter. She was going on about how things were getting stirred up and Red needed to watch her back. Then Piper comes up, drags us to watch the news and the kid's dad is getting arrested. They're trying to tie him to the main guy."

Staring at the girl, Alex nodded. "Yeah, that doesn't sound like shit you want to mess with. I mean it wasn't the mob obviously, but international drug cartels have their own troublesome politics. It sounds like a lot of shit is getting stirred up. Did Red know anything else?"

Nicky shrugged and looked at the girl over her shoulder. She didn't like to admit it, but Red didn't want her help. "I dunno, she wouldn't talk to me about it."

"Nicky, don't do that." Alex said seriously.

Nicky looked at Alex, clearly not understanding. "Do what?"

Alex smiled gently at her. "Don't get all upset because Red didn't tell you. Red's not going to talk to anyone. You know she trusts you more than any of us. Give her time."

Nicky nodded and chewed on the bottom of her lip. "It's just hard. She's always been there for me and now when she might need me, she won't let me in."

"Alright, enough with that. Here's what we're going to do. You're going to stay out of it. You're going to keep your head down. You're going to stay out of trouble." She paused amused at the pissed off look Nicky was giving her. "I on the other hand am going to keep an eye on her and see what I can figure out. As soon as I know something I'll let you know."

"You're a good friend Vause," Nicky said, mood already lighter.

Alex batted her eyes and smiled. "I know." More seriously, she said. "Yeah, just remember that when your mom kills me for enabling you."

Nicky couldn't keep the grin off her face. "Will do. I guess I better head inside then, find some regular trouble I can get into." She stood up and reached down to help Alex up.

The girls said their goodbyes and headed towards the group. It wasn't something Nicky would have considered, but it would work. She shot a dirty look at Stesha as she passed, trying to bite back the angry words she wanted to say.