Charlotte stiffened and asked, “What does she need?”
“Nothing, as far as I know,” Joanna replied. “But she asked that you drop by her place after work. If you have time, of course.”
“To check on Thomas?” Charlotte asked.
“Hmm? No. Thomas has been moved to the countryside, just in case.”
“In case someone can recognize him?” Charlotte ventured.
Joanna shrugged and said, “He’s just too high of risk right now. We don’t think anyone got a good look at him, but we want to play it safe.”
Nothing about the organization seemed all that safe to Charlotte.
#
Charlotte had the set of clothes from the Birds’ Nest in her locker at work, so she changed into them after her shift. They were nicer than her ordinary clothes and would, perhaps, make her look less out of place in Harriet’s neighborhood. And indeed, as she walked through Harriet’s neighborhood and approached the front door of her house, she felt less self-conscious than she imagined she would feel.
She wasn’t sure how to feel as she rang the bell. Conflicting emotions had preoccupied her for several days. She was still feeling stung by Harriet’s demeanor when they last saw each other, but she was also worried by what Daniel had told her. She wished that she could talk it all over with Erin, but she knew that wasn’t possible.
Harriet opened her front door and looked Charlotte in the eye in a way that immediately disarmed her. “Hello, Charlie.”
“Hello, Harriet,” Charlotte replied, taking in the image of her. Not a wrinkle was to be found in her carefully pressed blouse, a deep sapphire color that made her eyes shine all the more brightly, or in her grey fitted slacks.
She moved aside to let Charlotte in and it seemed she had been observing Charlotte’s appearance as well as she remarked, “So you like the clothes after all.” Harriet closed the door behind her.
Charlotte tensed. “Listen,” she said, “We need to get something straight.”
“And what’s that?” Harriet asked, folding her arms across her chest.
“I’m not one of your members… You can’t just order me around, telling me when to come and when to go, what to wear.” Charlotte’s cheeks flushed as she said it, realizing that Harriet had quite capably ordered her around so far. Charlotte was at her house now because Harriet had relayed the message that she should appear.
Harriet took a step toward her and Charlotte saw her steely expression falter as Harriet let her arms drop away from her chest. “I don’t want you to be one of my members.”
“You don’t?” Charlotte asked, surprised by her reaction.
“No. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want you to support our movement, or at least to agree with what we’re trying to accomplish, but….” She looked away.
“But what, Harriet?”
“I don’t want you getting caught up in everything, putting your life at risk. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sent for you the other day.” Harriet’s eyes had tears in them.
“How is Thomas?” Charlotte asked quietly.
“He’s fine. Better. Thank you – for everything you did.”
“Do you want to sit down and talk?”
“No,” Harriet replied, looking at Charlotte and stepping closer yet.
Charlotte couldn’t help but give a short laugh. She tried to stifle a smile as she asked, “Did you… did you really use Joanna as a messenger for me to come over to sleep with you?”
Harriet’s steely demeanor returned. “No, Charlie. I asked you here because I have something to give you.”
Harriet looked pointedly at the foyer table on which a familiar canvass bag had been set. Charlotte followed her gaze. “My clothes,” Charlotte said.
“Yes,” Harriet confirmed. “We didn’t incinerate them. Consider it a good faith gesture, that I trust you and I trust your judgment to do what you wish with them.”
Charlotte reached out to take her hand but she pulled away. “Harriet, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean anything by what I said.”
“You just… you haven’t got a clue, have you, Charlie?” she asked, and again the tears had returned to her eyes.
“About what?” Charlotte asked.
Harriet swallowed hard and then looked at her with a pained expression. “When Thomas was injured, it was because of an attack on – on me. And now, three men are dead because of my decisions. One was ours, and two were working for the government, but that’s three more souls… and I’m responsible for their deaths.”
Charlotte opened her mouth to say something but couldn’t find the right words.
“Sometimes,” Harriet added, “I wonder if there can ever be an end to the violence. And in the meanwhile, every death is on my shoulders. That’s what it means to be their leader. It’s not about ordering you around, or however you put it.”
Charlotte reached up and stroked her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear. “I’m here for you, Harriet. Let me take some of the weight off your shoulders.”
She looked at Charlotte skeptically, so Charlotte walked a few feet toward the base of her staircase, leading up to her bedroom. Charlotte held out her hand and said, “Join me.”
Silently, Harriet walked over and took her hand.
#
“You can stay for a while, if you like,” Harriet said.
Charlotte watched her from bed, lying naked under her sheets. She absent-mindedly rubbed the edge of the sheet between her fingers, thinking how the thread count was probably double that of the nicest linens she had ever owned. “Come back to bed,” Charlotte suggested.
They had slept and Harriet had showered. Her hair still damp, Harriet stood in her silk robe, looking into her closet of clothes. She continued facing away from Charlotte as she replied, “I have to get to work.”
“Which work?” Charlotte asked, her tone heavy with suggestion.
Harriet glanced over her shoulder at her. “The EBC. The other… isn’t work.”
Charlotte crossed her arms behind her head, propping up higher to watch Harriet. “Have you ever thought about leaving the job behind?”
“Which one?” Harriet asked with the hint of a smile tugging at her lips.
“Either. Both.”
Harriet momentarily abandoned her task of choosing an outfit. She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to Charlotte and said, “Some years ago, maybe that was an option. It isn’t anymore. It would look suspicious if I left the EBC now that I’ve risen near the top and, well… the other… isn’t exactly something you wake up one day and decide you don’t want to be part of. Besides, I believe in our cause.”
Charlotte moved a hand to gently caress Harriet’s thigh with her fingertips. “Tell me about the cause.”
Harriet studied her as if trying to decide whether she was serious. When she spoke, it was with both patience and passion. “We want the borders reopened. We want diplomatic relations restored with North America and an end to the persecution of foreigners. We want an end to the xenophobia and a reconciliation with other world powers.”
Charlotte took in her words and let them settle before replying, “That’s a far cry from what we hear on the news.”
“On the EBC,” Harriet said.
Charlotte nodded and tried not to become distracted by Harriet’s skin and near-nakedness, by the deep V of her robe that revealed so much.
“How is it, Harriet, that you can allow such a different picture to be painted? The EBC makes it seem like you’re a band of terrorists hell-bent on creating chaos and anarchy.”
Harriet stiffened almost imperceptibly before she replied, “It’s slow work, Charlie. I can’t make sweeping changes to the EBC’s agenda. Right now the best I can do is to make sure our message is getting out to those who know how to listen for it.”
“Will you teach me how to listen for it?” Charlotte asked, moving her hand to pull the belt loose on Harriet’s robe.
Harriet caught her wrist in her hand and brought it up
to her lips to kiss before letting it go. She replied, “Haven’t you got your hands full enough already?”
“You might be surprised at how much I can handle,” Charlotte said.
Harriet studied her again and then smiled in a way that made Charlotte feel like she had been judged and had failed some unknown test. “I really do have to get to work.”
Charlotte sighed and relented, crossing her arms behind her head once again. Harriet dressed in one of her usual looks: a sleeveless blouse, blazer, and pencil skirt. As Harriet slipped into her heels, Charlotte wished she could convince her to take them off again. She told herself to choose her battles, and she watched as Harriet left for work, giving Charlotte a too-brief kiss on her way out.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Paul, Joanna, and Charlotte resumed their end-of-the-work-week celebrations at the café. It was Paul’s turn to buy the tea, and as soon as he was out of earshot, Joanna took the opportunity to talk to Charlotte in a quiet voice.
“Everything go okay with Harriet the other day?” Joanna asked.
“Sure, of course,” Charlotte replied, feeling uncomfortable.
“Good. I’m glad. I expect it will be a few days still until she’s back,” Joanna said, turning her head to each side to crack her neck in an exaggerated fashion. “Long day today. I need to see about getting a more supportive chair in the lab.”
“What do you mean ‘until she’s back’? Has Harriet gone somewhere?”
“She didn’t tell you? She went to the countryside to be with Thomas,” Joanna said.
“No, she didn’t mention it,” Charlotte said as the feeling of uneasiness started to grow.
“Well, he is her husband after all,” Joanna said.
“It was my understanding that it wasn’t exactly like that, between the two of them.”
“Oh, I see,” Joanna said, as Paul returned with the tray of tea. Joanna looked up at him, asking, “Paul, be a dear and fetch me a scone, will you? I feel a bit peckish this morning.”
Paul sighed and asked, “Really?”
Joanna smiled sweetly at him, and he headed off to get back in line.
Turning her attention back to their conversation, Joanna said, “I take it, Charlie, that you’ve been sleeping with Harriet?” Charlotte’s mouth dropped open but before she could say anything, Joanna said, “S’all right, you don’t have to confirm it. It’s quite obvious.”
Charlotte glanced out the window. The sky was beginning to lighten as the sun rose. Soon the café’s shades would lower. Charlotte said, “When it started – between us – I hadn’t yet known who she was.”
“Oh, so you wouldn’t have gotten involved with her had you known about the organization?” Joanna asked, surprise evident in her voice.
“That’s not what I mean,” Charlotte said. “I just mean that I wasn’t trying to complicate things unnecessarily. I wasn’t trying to interfere in something… larger... than just us.”
“Regardless, you knew she was married,” Joanna said, softening her voice and touching Charlotte’s hand.
“I did. You told me yourself, and she never hid it. And I know, Joanna, that you warned me not to get involved. You said she’d break my heart, but she hasn’t.”
The word “yet” was waiting to be spoken. Joanna squeezed her hand and replied, “But she hasn’t told you that she loves you, either.”
“Nor I, her.”
“Because you don’t love her?” Joanna smiled softly. “No, don’t answer that. Listen, Charlie, just don’t allow yourself to get hurt while Harriet is trying to sort out other things.”
“What other things?” Charlotte asked.
“Like whether she’s committed to the cause,” Joanna replied, her smile gone.
“Who says she’s not committed?”.
Paul returned to the table with three scones and helped himself to one of the chairs. “There, now no one has to go hungry,” he said, grinning.
“You’re the best, my dear,” Joanna said to Paul, giving him a kiss on the cheek and asking him about his weekend plans. It seemed their conversation about Harriet was over for the time being.
Paul was the first to leave. If Joanna had left first, Charlotte was going to have to make an excuse to leave with her. Charlotte had hoped that Paul and Joanna wouldn’t leave together. She wanted to ask Joanna what she had meant about Harriet’s commitment to the cause. Even though Paul was a member of the organization, Charlotte wasn’t sure how freely to speak in front of him.
“I should be getting home soon too,” Joanna said, pouring the last bit of tea, which only filled her cup halfway.
“Sure, of course. Listen, I wanted to –” Charlotte started to say but Joanna cut her off mid-sentence.
“There’s something I have to ask you before I go,” Joanna said.
Charlotte blinked and replied, “Okay, what is it?”
“I – we – have a small task for you, if you’re willing to do it.” She sipped her tea.
“Okay,” Charlotte said.
Joanna smiled and asked, “Okay you’ll do it, or okay tell you more?”
In spite of herself, Charlotte cracked a smile in response. “Okay, tell me more.”
Joanna spoke more quietly even though there was no one around to hear. She replied, “We have a shipment coming in. Some medical supplies. We’d like you to meet our supplier, check out the shipment and make sure everything is in order. And pay the supplier.”
Charlotte felt her brow furrow as she said, “This doesn’t really sound like a ‘small’ task.”
“All right, maybe that wasn’t the best descriptor. But listen, Daniel will be there, too. And he’s the best we’ve got.”
“The best what?” Charlotte asked.
“Just… the best, for whatever you’d need, if anything were to happen,” Joanna said, her tone artificially light, her eyes following the movement of someone across the room. “And you’ll need to negotiate a price. We’re not looking for a bargain, but make sure what we pay is fair.” She turned and retrieved a digicard from her bag and slid it across the table. “Use this.”
Charlotte wondered whose account linked to this digicard or if it were a fabricated identity. “How much is in the account? How do I know the payment will go through?”
Joanna looked almost amused as she replied, “It will go through. And don’t lose the card – I’ll need that back.”
Charlotte placed her fingertips on the card but didn’t take it. “Joanna,” she said, her hesitation ever more obvious in her voice.
“You want to help, don’t you, Charlie?” Joanna asked. When Charlotte didn’t reply right away, Joanna said, “Listen, maybe you don’t believe in the cause – not yet anyway – but I know you’re concerned about Harriet. And there’s not a whole lot that you can do to help her when you’re on the outside.” Joanna shrugged and said, “I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”
Charlotte nodded and admitted, “Yes, I know.”
“So you’ll do it?” Joanna asked.
Charlotte picked up the digicard and put in her zippered pocket. “Just let me know when and where,” she replied. She was already rationalizing her decision to herself, telling herself there was no harm when it was just medical supplies.
“Brilliant,” Joanna said, looking pleased, her facial muscles relaxing.
Chapter Thirty
After tea, Charlotte had just enough time to go home and sleep for a few hours before going out again to meet the supplier. As she dressed, choosing to wear the trousers that Harriet had sent her for their night out at the gallery, she wondered what the back-up plan had been. She wished she could talk to Harriet before the meeting and make sure Harriet approved of her involvement in the meeting, but Joanna had told Charlotte she was out of town.
Is this what Harriet wanted? Charlotte thought about how Harriet had said she didn’t want her involved in the organization, yet she hadn’t made an attempt to stop her from joining. Surely, if her joining had been off-limits,
she would have made that clear to Joanna months ago.
Charlotte met Daniel outside the busy King’s Cross Station. She had crossed the street to join him, barely registering how the words “Look Left” had been worn down to illegibility; the city had painted these words on the pavement as a friendly reminder about the direction of car travel on one-way streets, but these days pedestrians wandered freely into the roads without fear of collision.
Daniel stood waiting in front of a digital propaganda poster that warned loyal subjects to “beware the enemy” with angry, scowling faces superimposed over a burning American flag. It didn’t even have artistic merit, Charlotte thought as Daniel shook her hand in greeting.
They blended into the crowd of people, making their way on foot to a hotel that was a couple of blocks southwest of the station. Daniel had seemed surprised but pleased to see her, yet they walked swiftly and wordlessly. Charlotte felt like she was squandering her time by not asking him questions about the organization, about Harriet, but she was too preoccupied.
Hotels mainly let rooms by the hour these days, as there wasn’t much in the way of out-of-town visitors. The front desk clerk glanced up at Daniel and Charlotte when they entered the lobby but didn’t offer any greeting. “I’ve already checked in,” Daniel said, although Charlotte wasn’t sure whether he was talking to her or to the clerk. Daniel then used a hotel guest keycard to swipe into a ground floor hallway.
For whatever reason, Charlotte wasn’t expecting a woman to answer the hotel room door, nor was she expecting that person to be young and attractive. Her blond hair was braided to one side and her eyes seemed alert, perhaps anxious. If Charlotte had passed her on the street, she would have never suspected her of collaborating with rebel terrorists. Then again, Charlotte supposed that was the point, that none of them particularly looked like anything other than ordinary people.
“Hello,” Charlotte said.
Daniel said, “The world spins…”
“Madly on,” the woman replied. “The world spins madly on.”
Daniel nodded and the woman moved aside to let them in. The woman entered the room’s bathroom and returned with a large duffel bag, which she set upon the bed. Charlotte realized that Daniel and this woman were both waiting for Charlotte to examine the contents of the bag, so she walked over and unzipped it. Within the bag, she found smaller bags and cases of supplies, which she began placing in neat stacks and groups on the bed. She tried to create a mental tally of supplies and associated costs, counting the bottles of alcohol, gauze bandages, pins, scissors, sutures, forceps, saline solution, ointments, splints, and various bottles and tablets of medicine.
The Organization Page 12
