The Organization (20 page)

“Daniel wasn’t there,” Charlotte said, starting to get a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Harriet studied her before replying, “So the order came from Joanna?”

“All of the orders for meeting with the supplier have come from Joanna.  But it doesn’t make sense… I asked why Daniel wasn’t available this morning, and she even suggested that I could ask him myself.”

“She didn’t offer any explanation?”

“Well, she joked that maybe he was at the salons,” Charlotte replied.

“I see.  So with that suggestion, even as a joke, were you likely to ask Daniel where he had been?”

Charlotte thought about it for a moment but eventually realized there was no other answer.  “No,” she replied.  “But she must have known I’d tell you.”

“Yes, I’m certain she did,” Harriet said, a worried frown on her face.

#

Charlotte tried not to be offended when Harriet kicked her out of her office so she could talk privately with Daniel.  She said Charlotte should go and mingle, have some of the food that was set out, and observe the meeting.  She also said that Charlotte shouldn’t tell anyone that she was in the back, that she was keeping a low profile.  Charlotte thought hopefully that maybe Harriet was even implying that she should keep her ears open for what people were talking about.  It didn’t take long for her to find a conversation that piqued her interest.

“No, I haven’t seen her before.  Of course, the one meeting she attends in recent memory and it was a night I was gone on assignment,” said a short and well-muscled man at the drinks table, pouring himself a glass of water.  Charlotte noticed his shaved head and red-haired goatee. He was talking to a second man who was a solid foot taller than him.

The second man said, “Well, you should have been there.”

“I think you’ve just got a fetish for women in positions of power,” the shorter man said with a grin.

“I probably do, but that’s not what I’m talking about, mate.  You’d have to see her.  She’s the kind of woman you want to impress.  I wonder if she has any special rewards for a job well done, if you know what I mean.”

The other man replied, “Who knows?  But I wouldn’t want to find out.”

“Seriously?  You’d say no to her?  If you saw her, I doubt you’d still think that way.”

With a shrug, the shorter man said, “I value my own hide.  You know what happens when you get involved with the management, don’t you?  It makes you a target.”

“Can’t argue with that.  I’m just saying, if you saw her…?  You might decide she’s worth it.”

The conversation changed to discussing football and Charlotte realized she had been hovering nearby for too long anyway.  She walked away and leaned against a wall, sipping her own glass of water.  She felt troubled for the second time that day, not because the men were discussing how attractive Harriet was – indeed, she almost enjoyed hearing about that – but rather because of the implication that she, herself, might be a target.  The question remained, whose target?  If Harriet’s identity was supposedly unknown outside of the organization, then the people targeting her, and perhaps targeting those in her favor, could only come from within the organization.  Charlotte wondered what Harriet hadn’t told her about the night that she and Thomas were attacked.  She let that thought sit as she surveyed the people entering for the meeting.  The room was starting to crowd with vaguely familiar faces and then one that she knew for sure.

“Evening, Charlie,” Paul said, walking over and leaning back against the wall next to her.

“How are you, Paul?” Charlotte asked as causally as she could.

“I… am great,” Paul said with a grin.  He pulled out a small tin from his pocket.  Charlotte remembered from all those months ago at the pub that the tin contained his pills.  “Want one?” he offered, holding out the tin to her.

“No, thanks,” she said.  She almost added that she had already drunk a healthy amount of scotch and she didn’t want her thoughts to be anymore muddled than they already were, but then she remembered Harriet saying that she shouldn’t tell anyone she was in the back.  And where else would she have gotten scotch?  “I’m already feeling pretty relaxed, but thanks,” she lied.

“Suit yourself,” Paul replied.  They watched the crowd together as he asked, “Say, seen our illustrious leader lately?”

Charlotte looked at him with a forced neutral expression and asked, “Why?  Need to talk with her?”

“Oh, it’s nothing that won’t keep.  You know, Joanna mentioned that you and Harriet…”

Charlotte raised her eyebrows but tried to keep the nervousness out of her face.  “Yes?”

“Forget it.  I told her she must be out of her mind,” he said with a short laugh.  “Maybe my dear beloved Joanna is indulging in some of these herself,” Paul added, tapping his fingers against his front pocket, where he stored his tin of pills.

“Doubt it,” Charlotte said.  As casually as she could muster, but wanting to see Paul’s reaction, she added, “You once told me that Joanna never touches them.”

“I did, didn’t I?  You must pay greater attention than I thought,” Paul said, smiling.  “Oh, look, the meeting’s going to start.”

A hush fell over the crowd as Daniel approached the dais.  He was about ten minutes into reading a series of announcements before someone from the crowd heckled, “When are we going to see some more action?”

Daniel gripped the sides of the podium at which he stood, and replied, “What kind of action would that be, brother?”

Paul leaned over and whispered to Charlotte, “Here he goes again…”

“You know damned well what kind of action I mean,
brother
,” the man said, spitting out his words.

“And
you
know the policy of this organization’s administration.  If you have a problem with that –”

“I do, and I’m not the only one,” the man replied, his voice rising in volume.

“—Then I suggest we talk about it privately.”

“Well,
I
suggest we take more action,” the man shouted.

Charlotte heard a murmur among the crowd and she followed their eyes to see Harriet emerging from the back and stepping onto the dais.  “Thank you, Daniel.  I’ll take it from here,” she said, moving to in front of the podium.

The heckler still looked angry but also looked slightly less sure of himself as his gaze settled on Harriet.

“What’s your name?” she asked him, her voice light and easy.

“Robert,” he replied.

“All right, Robert.  I’m Harriet,” she said with a small smile.  A few people laughed at the preposterousness of Harriet having to introduce herself.  Robert mumbled something and Harriet asked, “I’m sorry?  I didn’t catch what you said.”

“I said, I know who you are.  I mean, I figured that’s who you must be.”

She smiled again before letting it fade and regarding him seriously.  “So tell me, Robert, what specific action you’d like to suggest.”

“I don’t have a specific action in mind, but in general… in general I think we’re not doing enough,” he said.

“I see.”  She folded her hands in front of her and asked, “And how do you measure that?”

“Excuse me?” Robert asked, confused.

“Well, I assume you’re not suggesting that we commit acts of violence… just for the sake of committing acts of violence,” she said.

“Of course not,” Robert replied, indignant.

“You’re saying that we’re not doing enough, and that’s a legitimate concern to have.  Let’s think about that.  How do you measure progress within our organization?” she replied with a tilt of her head, her tone softer that Charlotte would have expected.

“Well… how would I know that?” Robert asked.

“Let’s work through this together, Robert, just you and me.  And our friends here,” she said, gesturing briefly to the crowd, which brought on another few laughs.  “How about membership?”

“All right…” he said warily.

“Our membership has grown by four percent in the last month alone,” she replied.  “Perhaps we should consider money?”

“Okay,” he said with a hard swallow.

“Our accounts are up by fourteen percent in the last month.  We’ve established new sources within government, giving us new lines of information.  Valuable information.  Or do we no longer care about information…?” she asked, now addressing the crowd.  She added, “Or perhaps we should look at the opposition?”  The crowd murmured and she continued, “Did you know that membership in right-wing political parties has fallen drastically?  That youths under age 35 are far less likely than their parents to join, even with all the perks that membership brings?”

Harriet gazed steadily around the room before she settled on Robert.  “Robert, it’s your kind of passion, and your courage in speaking up, that we need in this organization.  Thank you for voicing your concern,” she said.  “I hope you’ll join me after the meeting so we can discuss your perspective more thoroughly.”

Robert, who was red-faced, said something quietly.  Harriet cupped her ear and Robert said more loudly, “That won’t be necessary.”  He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Harriet smiled at him and Charlotte felt as though the entire crowd relaxed.  Harriet said, “Thank you all for coming.  I believe Daniel has some further announcements.”  She disappeared into the back, accompanied by the applause of the crowd and a few whistles.  Charlotte thought,
And that’s why she’s in charge and Joanna’s not.

Charlotte picked up on a voice a few feet to her right and recognized it as belonging to the shorter of the two men from earlier.  It sounded like he said, “All right, mate.  You were right.”

#

Charlotte lingered long after most of the crowd had left.  When she saw Paul approaching again, she turned to the woman nearest to her and said, “Hello.  I’m Charlie.”

The woman, a smallish brunette with rosy cheeks, replied, “Are you
the
Charlie?”

Charlotte laughed despite herself and, although she knew what the woman meant, said, “Well, that depends on which Charlie you mean.”

The brunette replied, “The healer.  The one who helped Thomas.”

“Healer?  Really?  That’s what they’re saying?” Charlotte asked lightly, as she saw out of her peripheral vision that Paul was headed for the door.

The woman smiled. “I knew it was you.  I’m Sarah,” she said, holding out her hand.

Charlotte shook her hand and replied, “Pleasure to meet you.”

“And you.”  A moment passed as Charlotte was trying to figure out what to say, or whether to walk away now that Paul had left.  Sarah said quietly, perhaps confidentially, “That really was something tonight.  I mean, with Harriet.”  She said Harriet’s name with a breathy hush.

Charlotte resisted the urge to smile.  “She certainly has a presence.”

“She’s spectacular,” Sarah replied, blushing deeply.

“Yes,” Charlotte said simply.  “Yes, she is.”

Charlotte felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see one of the guards, who said, “Harriet would like to see you.”

“Excuse me,” Charlotte said to Sarah, who looked wide-eyed.

Charlotte followed the guard back to Harriet’s office.  He gave a quick rap on the door with his knuckles, then left.  Charlotte heard Harriet’s voice calling, “Come in,” and so she did.

Harriet was seated on her couch, her legs crossed at the knees, offering Charlotte a glimpse of her thighs.  “You look ravishing,” Charlotte said, closing the door behind her.  “You know, I was just talking with a woman out there—”

“Flirting, Charlie?” she asked with a smile.

Ignoring her question, Charlotte continued, “—whose cheeks turned just about the same color as your blouse at the mere mention of you.”  She sat next to Harriet and let her eyes linger on her ruby blouse before meeting her gaze.

“So you were mentioning me?” she asked, clearly amused.

“Actually, she mentioned you.  She thinks you’re spectacular, and I have to agree.  And I’m guessing you were the topic of many conversations after the meeting.”

“Yes, well, sometimes it’s best to address these things head on,” Harriet said, referring to the exchange with Robert.

“But how you handled it… was amazing,” Charlotte said.  “You defused the situation, put that idiot in his place, and made it clear that you have everything under control.”

“Charlie…” she replied, seemingly bored with the compliments, “It just takes experience.  I’ve been doing this for a long time, you do realize.”

“Still,” Charlotte said stubbornly.  “I like seeing that side of you.”

Harriet stood and smoothed her skirt.  She gave a small smile and asked, “Are you ready to go home?”

Charlotte wanted to comment on how she called it “home” – not her home, but simply home.  Instead she returned her smile and said yes.  She reached the exterior door ahead of Harriet.  She opened it and her breath caught.  “Harriet, look – it’s raining.”  Charlotte rushed out into the alley and lifted her face into the rain, letting it fall on her skin and soak into her hair and clothes.  She looked back to the doorway to see Harriet standing just inside the building, her arms folded, her expression pleased but seemingly distracted.

Within ninety seconds at most, the rain stopped.  Charlotte wiped her eyes clear and, feeling regret that Harriet hadn’t experienced the rain, said, “You missed it.”  Harriet’s eyes looked glassy as she quietly said, “No, I didn’t.”  She walked out into the alley and pressed her body against Charlotte’s, and kissed her softly.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Charlotte caught up to Joanna on their lunch break a few nights later at work.  She was seated on their usual bench under the now-flickering streetlight.  Charlotte sat down next to her, leaving her lunch unopened on her lap.

“Evening, Charlie,” Joanna said casually.

“Joanna, we need to talk.”

“Yes, there’s something I’ve been wanting to discuss with you.  But go ahead, you go first.”

Charlotte noted something in Joanna’s tone that made her uncomfortable, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was exactly.  Charlotte said, “I know that Harriet didn’t authorize the last pickup that I did.”

“Oh, is that what this is about?  Don’t worry about that, Charlie.  I’ll smooth things over with Harriet.  I didn’t mean to cause any trouble between the two of you,” Joanna replied.