The Organization (32 page)

“Are you sure?” Anna asked.

Harriet smiled and said, “Yes.  I don’t want to see you here before ten tomorrow morning.”  Happiness was making her feel generous as well.

Harriet settled into her office chair and called up that afternoon’s diginotes.  She saw one from Dillon, the new intern, but decided to read it later when she noticed there was one waiting from Erin.  She opened it and read the message.

It stated, “Would like to talk.  Drinks tonight?  The Crown & Cushion at 19:00.  I’ll be waiting.”

Harriet knew where the Crown & Cushion was – an easy, ten-minute walk away on the other side of the River Thames.  Erin must have chosen the location precisely for its proximity to her work – although not so close as to be one of the favorite locales for Parliamentary aides.

She reread the message and told herself not to feel annoyed by the demanding tone.  Perhaps Erin was just in a rush.  Perhaps this was her idea of flirting.  Harriet felt the crease on her brow as she considered the possibilities.19:00 hours rolled around, and Harriet entered the Crown & Cushion.  She scanned the room but didn’t find Erin.  After ordering a drink at the bar, thinking that she might have arrived first, she noticed the beer garden off the back.  She wandered outside to find Erin tucked away at a table.  The beer garden was entirely shaded and had a smattering of water misters scattered around to help cool off the patrons.

“You’re hard to find,” Harriet told her lightly.

“Sorry,” Erin said, moving her briefcase from a chair for Harriet to sit.

“I don’t suppose Charlie is joining us,” Harriet said, sitting.  Even though she didn’t mind Erin’s company, it felt strange to meet with her alone now that Charlotte had been released from prison.

“No,” she replied.  “I wanted to talk to you alone, actually.”

“Is something wrong with Charlie’s case?  The parole board?  Her supervising officer?”  Harriet felt a surge of worry, wondering if she had been foolhardy with how she had been avoiding Naomi.

Erin shook her head and said, “No, nothing like that.”

Harriet exhaled deeply, letting her shoulders relax.  “Well, good.” She took a sip of her scotch, studying Erin over the rim of her glass and observing her demeanor.  The last time they had talked in person, they had been on friendly terms – or so Harriet thought – and celebrating Charlotte’s imminent release.  Clearly Erin wasn’t feeling such good cheer anymore.  Harriet asked her, “So what’s going on?”

“Harriet,” Erin began, and Harriet could tell by the tone of her voice that, yes, this was one of
those
kinds of talks.  “You know I have the greatest of respect for you.”

Harriet leaned back into her chair.  “I wasn’t aware, but thank you.  Please continue.”

Erin gripped the base of her beer glass with both hands, although she didn’t appear to be making any progress with draining the glass of its contents.  “I really don’t know what it’s like to be in your shoes – with the positions you’ve held.”  She added more quietly, “And still hold.”

Harriet waited for Erin to reach the point that she was building up to.  She wondered if Erin’s change of mood had something to do with the revelation that Harriet was still part of the organization – or that she was the leader of it.  She decided not to interrupt.

“I don’t presume to understand the worlds in which you operate.  But I know that Charlie’s involvement with you – with your worlds, if you will – has already hurt her well enough.”

Once Erin stopped talking, Harriet took a long, slow drink of scotch then looked her in the eye.  “Let me make sure I’m understanding you correctly.  You don’t want me to see Charlie.”

“Well–”

As evenly as she could, Harriet said, “You know what I’ve done to help free her.  And now you expect me to give her up?”

“I know what you’ve done, and I’m grateful – truly grateful,” Erin said.  “But do it for her sake.  You said you loved her.”

Harriet could feel her blood pressure rising.  She responded, “I do love her.  And that’s why I’m not going to give her up.  She’s a grown woman – she can decide whether she wants to be with me or not.”

“I’m asking you to make a sacrifice for her.  To do the tough, but right, thing.”

“Who are you to say what the right thing to do is?  Who are you to decide that I’m not good for Charlie?” Harriet asked, trying to keep her voice from getting loud.

“It’s not you as a person, Harriet.  It’s you as the great and powerful whatever you are.  It’s the organization.  The SDO.  Whatever you want to call it these days.”  Erin’s eyes told her that she believed in what she was saying.  Erin didn’t seem angry or jealous, only deeply concerned.

Harriet let Erin’s words settle before saying, “You might not realize this, but I tried to keep Charlie from the organization before.”
“Yes, you told me that you didn’t want her involved.”

“And you saw how well that worked out.  For as ‘great and powerful’ as I supposedly am, I couldn’t keep her out of it before.  You think I would somehow be more successful this time around?”

“You know what you could do to change that.  You could tell her you don’t want to be with her,” Erin replied, regarding Harriet seriously.

“She wouldn’t believe me.  She would see straight through it.  And I would never be able to tell her that anyway.”

“Even though letting her go would give her the best chance at the life she’s wanted?  You heard her at the hearing.  She just wants to live a normal life.”

“So you think everything said at the hearing was true?” Harriet asked sharply.

Erin looked at the table and then back up at Harriet.  “I just want you to do what’s best for Charlie.”

“And I think Charlie herself knows what’s best for Charlie,” Harriet said.

“Hasn’t the organization done enough damage to Charlie already?”

Erin’s words stung. 

Harriet replied, “It was never the organization that hurt Charlie.  It was the malicious work of certain individuals.”  She added, “And I don't think you give Charlie enough credit.  ‘Damaged’ or not, she’s stronger than you think.”

Erin stood from the table, leaving her drink almost untouched.  “Just give it some thought.”

“There’s nothing to think about,” Harriet told her. 

After she left, Harriet ordered a second scotch and sat there for a while.  Despite what she had said to Erin, their conversation continued to roll around in her mind for some time.

She had another scotch and decided that she needed to see Naomi to make sure she wasn’t having any second thoughts about her role in releasing Charlotte.  Harriet returned to her office just long enough to send Naomi a diginote asking when and where she would like to meet.

Chapter Fifty-Six

Harriet browsed the flower market, soaking in the colors, the smells, and the way the artificial sunlight diffused through the cloth canopies and bathed everyone in softer light.  She thought back to the time that Charlotte had brought her a potted flower, back at the start to their relationship.  She wondered if Charlotte would have proceeded differently if she had known how things would turn out.  Erin’s words were still haunting her..

She bought a white orchid plant– the same as what Charlotte gave to her.  Whether Charlotte knew the symbolic meaning of hope, purity, and new beginnings was immaterial.  Harriet knew, and believed.  She carried the orchid in the crook of her arm, allowing herself to feel content and trying to forget about what Erin had said.  She moved through the crowd, weaving between people who strolled and lingered in front of the stalls, as she headed back toward Westminster.

Out of the corner of her eye as she passed by one of the stalls, something caught her attention.  There was a person – a delivery man – talking to one of the vendors.  Harriet realized with a chill why the delivery man had caught her eye – he looked strikingly similar to Geoff.  She stopped to look back over her shoulder but didn’t see him anymore.  She scanned the area, searching for any sign of him but finding none.  Had it actually been Geoff or had her mind filled in the details of Geoff’s features?  Had there even been a delivery man?  Feeling uncertain and fearful, she quickly made her way out of the market.

#

Harriet invited Charlotte over that evening for dinner.  The invitation was an unnecessary gesture, really, since Charlotte had been coming over, and staying over, most evenings.  Still, Harriet didn’t want to presume that Charlotte would grace her with her company, and so she kept inviting her.  Each time Harriet extended the invitation, though, a part of her wondered if Charlotte would turn her down, make some excuse for somewhere else she needed to be.  Harriet felt that even though she had Charlotte back in her life, Charlotte was holding something back.

Harriet placed the orchid in the center of the dining room table.  She then lit the candles that she had scattered around the room and told Navigator to dim the electric lights.

Finishing up preparing the curry just before Charlotte arrived, she felt a pang of guilt from the parallels to when she had prepared a meal for Naomi not so long ago.  She prayed that Charlotte would never find out about her actions and how she had manipulated the prison governor.

The bell rang and Harriet promptly moved to answer the door.  Charlotte kissed her hello as she entered, wearing a smart pair of trousers and a fitted top.  Yes, as Harriet observed before, gone were the days of her too-large army-style trousers.

Harriet told her that she could wait in the dining room as she brought in dinner, but Charlotte insisted on helping.  Harriet watched as she moved adeptly in the kitchen, knowing exactly from where to fetch the dinner plates and glasses.  She felt a tug at her heartstrings.  It felt so right, so familiar, to have Charlotte in her home.  Harriet wondered if Charlotte felt the same way.

As they settled into dinner, Harriet casually asked her, “Your microchip – the tracking device – where did they put it?”  She added, “I hope you don’t mind my asking.”

Charlotte held up her left arm and tapped the top of her forearm, about halfway down.  “It’s here.”

Harriet nodded, and replied, “I don’t know why I asked.  I suppose I was just wondering.”  She knew from Erin that the tracking device was presently inactive, that it would be switched on remotely if Charlotte were to go missing or to otherwise violate the conditions of her release.

“It doesn’t hurt, if you were wondering that as well,” Charlotte said in a gentle voice.

“I’m glad,” Harriet responded.

“Can I ask you something?” Charlotte asked between bites.

“You can ask me anything.  That doesn’t mean I’ll answer,” Harriet said with a smile.

“Your job… I mean, your position as an MP, is it a cover too?  Like how the EBC was?”

“Ah.  Well, it’s not so simple,” Harriet replied.  “With the EBC, I needed that position to legitimize me, to keep me above suspicion.  And although I largely hated the message that I had to air, I began to make in-roads into changing that message.  So, in a way, it became more than a cover.”

“I understand,” Charlotte said.  “And now?  As an MP?”

Harriet chewed a bite of her dinner, thinking about how best to respond.  “It’s different now.  I believe in the work that I’m doing as an MP.  It’s
good
work.  And yes, of course it also has its advantages for the organization, just like my position at the EBC had.  But my work in Parliament and my work with the organization… they’re not such separate worlds these days.”  She felt a sting as she realized that Erin, too, had called them her two ‘worlds.’

“The meeting – with Thomas and Zoe and the others – it still seemed pretty underground to me,” Charlotte observed aloud.

Harriet nodded and replied, “With that group, yes, I feel it’s safer to keep it hidden.  But the organization altogether is more mainstream these days. I wouldn’t say we reinvented it, twelve years ago, but we… evolved it… to something that can be out in the open.  It’s actually its own, bona fide political party.  So, now it’s something that can gain wider support.”

“So you diluted it?” Charlotte asked.

“Not at all.  If Joanna did anything positive for us, though, she helped us to rid the organization of the more militaristic members – those who weren’t open to peaceful negotiation, to working within the system.”

Charlotte was quiet for a moment before she finally said, “I’ve had a lot of time to think about why Joanna did what she did.  I don’t know why she, or someone else, killed Daniel… I can only guess that he tried to stop them.”

Harriet matched Charlotte’s tone, saying, “That’s as best as we can figure as well.”

“And I know it’s selfish, but over the years I kept wondering why she set me up to take the fall.  And the only thing that makes sense is that she was trying to get to you, and trying to cause a sensation – to jolt people into action.”

“I believe she expected you to give up my identity to save yourself,” Harriet stated with some difficulty.

“Then she didn’t know me nearly as well as she thought she did.  But then again, I guess I’m used to being underestimated,” Charlotte said with a twitch of a smile.

Harriet hesitated before asking, “Did you consider it?  Did you think about giving me up to the police?  I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

Charlotte took a drink and wiped her lips on her napkin.  She looked at Harriet as she replied, “Yes, it crossed my mind.”

At least she’s honest
, Harriet thought.  “Then… thank you for not going through with it.”

“There was nothing to ‘go through with.’  I considered it, briefly, because I considered all paths before me, no matter how distasteful.  But it was never a real option, not for me,” Charlotte said, her voice wavering slightly.  She took another drink and said, “Erin told me that you kept everything – the story of my arrest and imprisonment – out of the news.”

Harriet nodded and said, “It wasn’t as hard as it might sound.  It was within my purview at the EBC.  And it was a ready enough excuse to say we didn’t want to show any further weakness of the government, especially in light of the attack on the Prime Minister.”

“Joanna’s attack,” Charlotte said.