The Organization (35 page)

Harriet observed Charlotte and Zoe, and wondered if perhaps she had been wrong about the reason for Charlotte’s apparent discomfort.  She had assumed that since Zoe had been Joanna’s supplier, that Charlotte wouldn’t trust her.  But perhaps there was some other history that Harriet didn’t know.

“Pour me a refill?” Zoe asked Charlotte, holding out her cup to Charlotte, who took it and wordlessly poured her a cup of tea.

Harriet watched them and wondered if they had slept together.  She thought back and considered how, if they had, it would have been when Charlotte and she were together before.  Harriet felt her stomach clench as she looked from Charlotte to Zoe, and she pushed the thought from her mind, telling herself she was thinking irrationally.

“So, tomorrow night, then,” Charlotte said.

Zoe nodded and said, “I’ve been going to this particular meeting for a few weeks.  They’ll expect to see me there.”

Rhys said, “Look around the meeting as much as you can, Charlie, but make it seem natural.  Faces are important, though.  We might be able to recognize someone that you don’t know.”

“And if you see Joanna…” Thomas began to say.

“I know what to do,” Charlotte interrupted.  “I’ll pretend to be glad to see her.”

“I was going to say that you should get out of there as fast as you can,” Thomas replied.

“But don’t make it obvious,” Marta added.

Rhys said, “Just play it by ear.”

The group spent some time discussing the details of when and where Charlotte would meet up with Zoe, how Rhys and Harriet would be watching and listening from Bermondsey Street, and how Charlotte and Zoe should plan to return to them afterward for a debriefing.

As the meeting adjourned and Charlotte stood to leave, Thomas caught Harriet’s arm, hissing in her ear, “I need to talk to you.”

Charlotte looked over, concerned, and Harriet told her, “Go ahead downstairs.  I’ll be down in a minute.”

As the others filed out of the room, Thomas glared at Harriet as he asked, “What the hell are you doing?”

Harriet stood up taller, her chin rising in indignation, and asked, “What are you talking about?”

“I always knew that you put the organization above all else, Harriet, but this is too much.  To be sending Charlie into that potential hornet’s nest… you must be one cold-hearted bitch.”

Harriet lashed out and slapped Thomas across his face, her palm stinging from the contact.

He reached up and rubbed his cheek.  He took his time sitting back down in one of the chairs and asked, “Who are you angry with – me or you?”

Harriet looked at Thomas and wondered how he could remain so calm.  She let out a sigh and then apologized.

His eyebrows furrowed as he replied, “Not that I have any personal stake in it, but… I thought you loved her.”

“I do love her,” Harriet replied without hesitation.

“Then let’s just hope we’re wrong, that Joanna’s not behind it.”  He sighed and said in a frustrated tone, “God damn the police.  I know I’ve been saying this for years, but – ”

“Thomas, don’t start again.  You know as well as I do that the police can’t do anything.  There’s nothing we can pin on Joanna.”

Thomas replied, “Right.  Well, we don’t even know that it’s her this time either.  Maybe it’s just another meeting of just another group.”

“Or maybe it’s a trap,” Harriet said, feeling her shoulders grow heavy.  She rubbed her forehead as she said to Thomas, “I should have stopped this while I could.”

“You still can.  You can send Zoe alone – let her wear the eyes and ears, let her see if we recognize anyone there.  Or you could call the whole thing off.”

Harriet shook her head and said, “I can’t.  Charlie needs to go.  She told me that herself.”

Thomas frowned and asked, “Are you sure it’s
Charlie’s
need?  You’ve been wanting to bring Joanna down for twelve years – longer than that, really – and now you see a possible opportunity.  Are you sure it’s not your own need that’s blinding you?”

“Go to hell, Thomas,” Harriet replied, storming out of the room.

Chapter Sixty

Harriet sat down next to Rhys at his desk computer and waited as he began to organize and clear the multitude of holographic images seeming to float in the air before them.

“She’s all set?” he asked.

“Yes, she’s ready.  She should be meeting up with Zoe in just a few minutes,” Harriet replied. 

Harriet had watched as Charlotte dressed in her old style of clothing – the too-large army trousers and long-sleeved t-shirt – and then put the contact lenses in her eyes.  Harriet had kissed the top of her head, her forehead, her nose, and then her lips, and then helped place the transmitter in Charlotte’s ear canal.  Harriet had wanted to stop her and tell her not to go, but in the end she watched as Charlotte walked out the door.

“We have another ten or fifteen minutes until they’re going to arrive at the meeting.  Shall I make us some tea?” Rhys asked.

“Thank you, but no.  I could go for something a little stronger, though,” Harriet replied. 

Harriet strode out of his office, into her own office, and returned with a couple of glasses and her bottle of scotch.

“Care to join me?” she asked, taking her seat again and pouring herself a drink.

“Sure,” he replied.  Harriet handed him a glass and he raised it for a toast.  “To a successful mission,” Rhys said.

“To their safe return,” Harriet said, clinking her glass against his and then drinking a healthy gulp.  “Let’s go ahead and flip it on now.”

“But they’re not going to be at the meeting yet,” Rhys objected.

“I realize that,” Harriet said.

“All right,” he replied, his voice betraying his uncertainty.  His fingers tapped over the keys and suddenly they were seeing the world through Charlotte’s eyes – buildings and people passing by as she walked down the sidewalk.

It took a moment to filter out the sounds of the street before Harriet tuned in to Zoe saying, “—feel nervous?”

“No,” Charlotte said.  Her voice was much louder than Zoe’s.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you, Charlie, how I was really glad when you first showed up with Harriet the other week.  I mean, I’m really glad you’re all right and out of prison and that… well… everything seems to be working out okay for you,” Zoe said.

The view shifted as Charlotte glanced at Zoe.  Charlotte replied, “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“No?  I guess Harriet didn’t mention it.”

“No, she didn’t,” Charlotte said.

“Also… well, we haven’t gotten a chance to be alone, so I haven’t really had a chance to tell you, but…” Zoe said, pausing.  Harriet could feel her breath growing shallow as she eavesdropped on their conversation, anticipating that Zoe was going to say something that would confirm her suspicion than Zoe and Charlotte had been more than mere acquaintances.

“Yes?” Charlotte asked.

“I’m sorry about that last pickup, all those years ago.  Joanna played me for a fool.  I had no idea what she was capable of.  I didn’t know.  And then when I found out, eventually, what had happened to you – what she had done…” Zoe’s voice trailed off.  Harriet expected Charlotte to say something but she remained quiet, her gaze focused straight ahead of her.  Zoe continued, saying, “I just wanted to let you know how sorry I am.”

“Thank you,” Charlotte finally replied.

Harriet poured more scotch into her glass and noted how Rhys had barely sipped from his own glass.  As she watched the projected image of the shops and sidewalk, and listened for more conversation but found none for the moment, she thought about what they had overheard.  So her initial suspicion was most likely correct; the bad blood between Zoe and Charlotte was because of Zoe’s previous role as a supplier.  Her cheeks burned, not from the scotch but from her own embarrassment at thinking they had slept together.  It wasn’t like her to be jealous – or wrong in her intuition about people – and she was grateful that Rhys was busying himself with adjusting the sound and image.

Before long, Zoe and Charlotte entered a sleepy residential neighborhood and were approaching a particular brick building.  Zoe went first, climbing the steps, Charlotte’s eyes on her back.  They were just inside the doorway when two muscular men stopped them and frisked them.

“Yes,” Harriet commented to Rhys, “This is exactly how we used to do it.”

He nodded.  Of course he remembered.

One of the guards said to them, “Check in at the back of the room.”

“That’s different,” Rhys observed.

They walked into a spacious sitting room where perhaps twenty-five or so people were mingling.  At the rear of the room, a small brunette woman sat at a desk.  It seemed that this was where they were supposed to check in.  Charlotte’s eyes went from one face to another, and Harriet noticed how Rhys was creating a file for each face.

“I’ll run these through our system tonight to see if we come up with any matches,” he explained.

Zoe and Charlotte approached the table.

“The woman at the table – she looks familiar,” Harriet said to Rhys.

“I don’t recognize her, but she could be someone we know.  We’ll see what the system says,” Rhys replied.

Zoe stood in front of Charlotte and faced the woman at the desk.  “I’m Zoe.  I was here last week.”

“Yes, welcome back, Sister Zoe,” a female voice answered – presumably it was the woman at the desk.  “And have you brought a friend with you?”

Zoe moved to the side and the woman came into view.

“That’s a better image anyway,” Rhys commented.

“Charlie,” the woman said, her voice an octave higher than before.  “Is it you?” she asked with wide eyes.

“I’m sorry, I –” Charlotte began to reply.

“You don’t remember me.  That’s all right.  We only met the once,” the woman said, her cheeks growing rosy.  She stood and extended her hand.  “Sarah.”

Charlotte shook her hand silently.

“We were at a meeting together once, a long time ago.  You knew Harriet,” Sarah said.  She spoke her name in a hushed tone.

“Oh,” Charlotte said, “Yes.  Yes, I did.”

Good
.
She remembered to use past tense.

“Sorry I didn’t remember you at first,” Charlotte added.  “How have you been?”

“Brilliant, thanks.  And even better now that I see you’re here.  Welcome to our group,” Sarah responded.

“Thanks.  I’m, uh, looking forward to the meeting,” Charlotte said.

“Well, tonight is just a gathering – not a formal meeting.  But please feel free to stay a while and chat with some of the others.  I hope you’ll find that their concerns and interests resonate with yours.”

“Thank you,” Charlotte said. 

Then the image shifted as Charlotte and Zoe turned away from the desk.

Harriet and Rhys continued to watch and listen as Zoe and Charlotte made small talk with several of the other attendees.  The minutes ticked by and soon almost an hour had passed.  As Zoe was talking to a tall man with a salt-and-pepper beard, a feminine voice said hello to Charlotte.

Charlotte turned and faced the woman who had spoken – a blonde woman, looking to be in her mid-forties, with light eyes and well-proportioned features.  Harriet observed her dangling earrings and her drop necklace that came to a point near her cleavage, but she doubt Charlotte noticed the jewelry.  Harriet raised an eyebrow as she watched the image dip momentarily before Charlotte met the woman’s eyes.

“Hello,” Charlotte said back to the woman.

“I haven’t seen you here before, but Sarah said your name is Charlie,” the woman said with an easy smile.

“Oh, you were asking about me?” Charlotte asked, surprise evident in her voice.

“Well, I was watching you from across the room… and thinking about how I would love to get you out of those trousers,” the woman said suggestively.

“Really,” Charlotte said. Harriet could hear the smile in her voice, and thought how she was a convincing actress.

The woman gave a brief, exaggerated laugh, and then smiled again at Charlotte as though they shared a secret.  She said, “I’m a clothier.  I own a little shop.”

“Oh, I see,” Charlotte replied.  “So you don’t like my trousers?”

“They suit you, but you could try something a bit more… fitted, in my opinion.  May I show you what I mean?” she asked, her hand reaching out and touching Charlotte’s arm.

“All right,” Charlotte said. 

The image shifted as Charlotte looked down and over her shoulder as the woman leaned over cinched the material at the top of Charlotte’s thigh, just under her rear end.  “Here,” the woman said, “I would cut it a bit closer right here.”  The woman stood up straight again and smiled once more at Charlotte.

“What did you say your name was?” Charlotte asked.

The woman extended her hand and said, “Margaret.”

Harriet waited for Charlotte to react to the woman having the same name as her dead wife, but instead Charlotte simply replied, “Pleasure to meet you.”

Zoe’s voice interrupted, asking, “Charlie, shall we go grab a bite to eat?”

“Sure,” Charlotte said.  She looked back at Margaret and added, “Maybe I’ll see you again.  Thanks for the advice about my trousers.”

They headed out of the building without talking.  Once on the street, Charlotte said, “Sorry.”

“For what?” Zoe asked.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Charlotte answered.

“Oh,” Zoe said with a small laugh.

“You can turn it off now, Rhys,” Harriet said, pouring herself another glass of scotch.

#

Charlotte and Zoe walked in and took their seats at the table.  Harriet wanted to greet Charlotte more intimately – at least give her a quick embrace to express how relieved she was that Charlotte was fine – but she wasn’t sure how comfortable Charlotte would be with Rhys and Zoe witnessing a display of affection between them.  Really, Harriet wasn’t sure how comfortable she herself would be either.  So instead Harriet watched as Charlotte leaned back in her chair, stretching, and then took off her long-sleeved t-shirt, leaving her in a tank top.  Harriet imagined walking up behind her and kissing the side of her neck, caressing her shoulders.