Catch me if you can

The Halfway Point

Two Months Later

"Real question is how blatant can I get that I want to jump her the second I'm released?" Lauren sighed.

Halsey had been grilling her on her meeting with Camila from the day before.

"Depends. Will it scare her off?"

"Unlikely." Lauren shrugged, twirling her phone between her fingers. "She hasn't exactly told me to stop."

"She encouraged it?" Halsey tapped a cigarette on her table, eager for their yard time.

"She basically said we could fuck if I was lucky." Lauren sighed wistfully, a smile on her face.

"Good Lord you've caught feelings for the cop who arrested you." Halsey cackled. Lauren felt herself flush and rolled her eyes.

"I have done no such thing."

"Lies. Blatant lies." Halsey snickered. There was a tap on the end of their bed and the pair of them looked towards the door. "What do you want?"

"To make a deal." Billie shrugged, hands dug in her pockets. Lauren huffed and jumped off her bed, coming to stop in front of Billie.

"Why?"

"I'm bored of having to pay off guards." Billie curled her lip. "And people seem to actually like you."

"Well I don't got around beating up everyone I don't like." Lauren said, folding her arms across her chest. "Or shanking them."

"Whatever." Billie looked down the hallway. "How about we work together?"

"Why should I work with you?"

"Because the next time we meet, you'll end up in the medbay and you'll miss out on your precious visitation time." Billie said absently, waving down the hallway with a smirk.

Lauren clenched her jaw and tapped her foot against the floor slowly.

"Fine. How's this gonna work?"

"We get each other's contacts on the inside, I bring in 60% of the stuff and you sell it all."

Lauren blinked at her, her shoulders falling slack as Billie finally looked at her.

"You're putting a lot of trust in me here." Lauren said slowly. "You sure you don't want to sell some of it?"

"You got that business mind Jauregui. It's useful. I just like scaring people, but you, you know how they work." Billie said reluctantly.

"Oh my God." Lauren muttered before breaking out into a grin. "You need my help."

"What? No, it's just boring beating you up." Billie said quickly, stepping back and looking away.

"Ha! This is great, this is amazing, this is-" Lauren cut off with a choked cough when Billie shoved her back into the bed frame.

"This is because I'll get more time if I accidentally kill you Jauregui."

"Understood." Lauren wheezed. "Just tell me what you need."

"Your contact in here." Billie snapped.

"Not happening. She's mine." Lauren coughed and took a deep breath. "I'll sell for you, hell, I'll even give you a bigger share, but my contacts are mine."

There was a tense silence where Lauren could see Halsey getting ready for a fight, where Billie pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes.

"Fine. You've got yourself a deal Jauregui." Billie said with a tight, disdainful smile.