“Hm.”
“Okay,” Marc said, laughing, and Hilary couldn’t help joining.
They both had a hard time to stay focused on the matter. The twilight of the early dawn was warm and gentle, unlike the dire realities that had made them start Exodus in the first place.
“No, really, I have no idea. They don’t want to join, but they gave us Miller’s Chief of Staff, if not Miller yet, on a silver platter. My guess is they’re as angry as we are. You don’t just stumble across that kind of information with a Google search. It takes someone who is capable and willing to go deeper and cross some lines.”
“You sound a bit wistful,” he said, brushing a hand over her hair.
“I am, but we can’t do everything at once. What’s more, we can’t bring everyone with us, not even in the state. For this to work, sadly, we have to draw the line somewhere. At least at this stage.”
“It will work,” Marc assured her. “It’s a common sense approach. Once people see it happen, they will realize it works.”
She smiled at him. “First wave starts right now?”
He tugged at the sheet. “In a bit.”
Hilary was more than all right with that schedule.
* * * *
“There’s a lot of gloating on these days over at Greene Industries,” Morten Harris said. “Of course you heard about the latest smear campaign targeting the governor’s office. Well, Governor Miller will have a chance to speak out at one of many peaceful protests all across the country. You think The Surge is only confined to the city or the state? Think again! There are many people who’ve had it with the excuses. They stand behind his work and will support him. We recall Exodus, because we already know it won’t work.”
“You may try any time,” Sunny said, showing her middle finger to the computer that provided them with the radio feed, causing cheers and laughter. “California, here I come.”
The following weekend, the first screened participants would leave for their new homes and jobs. The local human resources department had worked overtime to hire new employees to fill the vacancies. Security had been increased as well, for the premises and the people of First Wave.
Aimee’s expression was stormy. “The Surge folks are annoying the hell out of everybody, shoving their pamphlets into people’s faces on the street. It’s interesting how we don’t have to do this—people come after us for applications and places where to sign up so they can toss Miller’s bills into the dustbin of history.”
That sounded hopeful, Vivien thought. She was happy and a bit giddy watching Kerry and Hilary interact, grateful to be a part of this undertaking—“The Spouses of Exodus,” a tabloid magazine had called her and Marc. For a moment, she had wished they would have taken a nicer picture of hers, then she had laughed at her antics. It didn’t matter. After the events scheduled to coincide with The Surge, she and Kerry would be off on the Greene private jet, and she wouldn’t have to take another flight until the baby was born.
She and Kerry had been hoping for this news for so long, and yet, when it came, it turned their world upside down.
They would still do their jobs and not close their eyes to what was happening in the world, yet, it seemed easier to pick one’s fights all of a sudden, and not waste energy on things they couldn’t change at this moment. They had help from different and unusual sources. That was what counted.
Vivien wished they could already be in the house by the sea, plotting ways to create a world in which common sense and kindness ruled. It was certainly the kind of world she wanted her child to grow up in.
* * * *
Emily Camden believed The Surge was a bad idea. The fact that Miller had thrown his open support behind the series of events, and was even going to speak at one of those, was even worse. Of course, Harris was ecstatic about the prospect.
They believed that the recall, should it come to that, would be smooth sailing. She was naturally suspicious of the media backing their opponents. It couldn’t be denied these people had a thing for numbers, which, unfortunately, made their predictions right more often than not.
It was time for her to lay low for a bit. The same numbers told her that her association with Miller might hinder her aspirations for the senate more than it helped. She couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t go the way of Annette LeBlanc either, because she didn’t have a sad story to back up an abrupt change of heart. Either way, Annette would be dead to her party friends, once they were through gossiping about her.
Emily stared at the pile of paper awaiting her signature. So far, she’d done a good job navigating the demands of constituents and staying electable, but she had to be careful. She shook her head with a wry smile at the terminology chosen by the opponents in this battle. Wave. Surge. She refused to let either one drown her political career.
* * * *
The new reality felt bewildering to Annette. More than once, she’d woken in a cold sweat, waiting for her heartbeat to calm down and the realization to seep in that she had exchanged her house for a condo without the invisible prison bars, a predictable career for an uncertain future.
No one called. Annette was no stranger to the tactic of denial, in her private and political life. She knew that most of the people she’d worked with weren’t close friends by any means, but to be written off completely—it hurt, even though she understood why they were doing it. When you tried to sell the idea that most women were frivolous beings not to be taken too seriously, admitting to the reality of domestic violence meant utter defeat.
Defeat was what defined her life every day. She had met with a wary Vivien Collins in the new sprawling Women’s Center. Money was not a problem at the moment, but she needed to work, do something else than sit in her new home and stare at the walls. Annette knew about the talk behind her back, from both sides. Her new “friends” thought she had it so easy, leaving her husband only to start working with the famous Katherine Rhayne. The truth was the work with Rhayne challenged her at every turn. They fact that the trauma therapist did believe in God had become a small solace. If everything she believed in, on what she had based every detail of her career, was wrong, what was left for her? Collins made her uncomfortable, possibly, the same thing was true vice versa. Annette couldn’t imagine what about her was so horrible, then again, Collins, a lesbian and pregnant, wasn’t quite what Annette had expected either. She wasn’t here at the moment, but back in her home state where Hilary Greene and her friend, Collins’ lover, had started a revolution. Annette was paying rent to the Greenes.
Truth be told, if anyone had to go to hell in the end, she hoped it would be Barry. Annette figured he deserved it for all the times he had hit her for working late to finance the lifestyle he had become so accustomed to.
* * * *
The Surge. Those two words alone were enough to make Kerry’s stomach churn, making her wish she and Vivien could just take the next plane and join the many workers, teachers, doctors, and nurses who were either already settling into their new homes, or on the way. For the moment, though, they had escaped the media and the madness certain to come, enjoying dinner with Marc and Hilary at the penthouse to the stunning sight of the full moon rising over the city.
Next week.
Already, local business owners were heavily involved in the process, new jobs for workers and contractors. Vacancies at home had led to more hiring as well, some unexpected gift Miller would certainly use to promote himself, while he’d conveniently leave out whom he had to thank for it. Kerry decided it didn’t matter. They’d taken a chance and already gained so much. Her vision got a little blurry when she recalled the moment Vivien told her, how they’d lain together that night and talked for hours about their hopes for this baby’s future. It was no longer a fantasy--Exodus, or their family.
“It will be nothing like the protest earlier,” Vivien said, sensing her thoughts. “There’ll be too much police presence for them to go crazy. We have faith leaders who endorse us.”
“Well, not those according to what Miller and his people call faith. You’re right though,” Kerry admitted. “This is something to enjoy. It’s not like we ever come back here.” The city, maybe, but not this apartment, or the Greene’s mansion. Marc and Hilary had decided to convert the apartments they owned in this building into affordable housing options. Their house outside of the city would become a group home for women.
The outrage on their opponent’s side was already growing. Those plans were probably a subject at Surge events, the Greenes giving away “free things to lazy people.” Miller’s friends had pumped so much money into his race they couldn’t possibly afford to put their share into the state in order to help people who were scraping to get by if at all.
Meanwhile, at Greene Industries it didn’t look like anyone was missing out on anything. Marc and Hilary would still go on a luxury vacation when their tight timetable allowed it. Their shareholders were richer than ever, because around the world, smart business analysts were taking notice of strategies that worked.
“You’re not going to miss it so much,” Marc said.
“No, not really,” Kerry admitted. “We’ll watch the moon rise over the ocean instead.” She shook her head, laughing self-consciously. “Part of me still feels guilty over this, but knowing our child will grow up without Miller’s bullying is worth a little guilt.”
“Don’t feel guilty,” Hilary said. “We brought things on the way.”
“That we did.”
Their glasses clinked together, probably for the last time in this place and city.
* * * *
Celeste wished the morning would never come, though she was aware of the delusion every minute. She wasn’t used to things in her life going right, just calming, slowing down if she was lucky. After her shift, she and Jessica had sat down and talked, over coffee, and more over dinner. Perhaps it was a mistake to put this much hope and trust into a person she’d previously only known online, and would be out of her life in a matter of days…but there had been a moment when she didn’t care, when she felt like they both deserved this.
Whatever “this” was. She couldn’t deny her instincts had been true. She felt safe with Jessica even after they’d gone to her apartment, and at some point, got out of their clothes. She’d felt like she’d known her for a long time. Maybe it still wasn’t what it could have been if they weren’t both wounded, but it was a start—of something, for both of them.
“You met the Greenes,” Celeste said, trying not to sound envious when in fact, she was.
“You could too.” Jessica kissed her temple gently. “Or maybe they don’t see everyone personally, but you could go. The people who live there will want to decorate their houses at some point. They’ll need flowers for birthdays and anniversaries.”
Maybe it was true, she could. If she could trust a virtual stranger with her body and not fall apart, maybe everything was possible. Just not this.
“Why don’t you go?” she asked.
“There’s a job…maybe another after that.” Jessica’s explanation was vague. “I don’t know yet. It’s hard to commit that way. You could fill out an application.” When Celeste had first met Jessica online, she’d been unemployed. In another time, she had been forced to leave the military because of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. This wasn’t a problem now, but she had wanted to settle into civilian life which proved to be harder than she’d thought.
There was a lot about Jessica that Celeste could read between the lines, because she was observant, and because of her own story. There were a lot of questions she didn’t dare ask, not yet. The problem was they might never see each other again, because of ‘The Job.”
“Why did you take Ophelia with you?”
“She wanted me to come.”
“Who paid for the trip?” Celeste asked, regretting her sharp tone the moment it registered with her. Jessica was not the enemy. Beyond that though, Celeste had little knowledge of who she was. Maybe that would never change. If those days were all they could ever have, she’d take it. “I’m sorry. That’s really none of my business.”
“I can’t tell you right now, but I will, eventually,” Jessica promised.
“Will we meet again?”
“I hope so. Celeste…Do you remember when we first started talking?” It was a rhetorical question. Celeste remembered the night well, one of those when she had trouble pushing back the images and sensations that haunted her, in sleep and awake. It was no exaggeration to say that the chat room had saved her life. Jessica. Ophelia. Gladys and Leah. They all had their respective sad story. They were all angry. That anger had given her energy, and she supposed the same was true for Hilary Greene and her friends and family, given the attacks they were dealing with.
“We said we’d do something big to change the world, right? Well, it’s something like that what the Greenes are doing and it’s amazing. Once you clear away all the crap that’s been said about them, when you look at it in action…It’s impressive, but there are places where they can’t go, and maybe we can.”
Celeste sat up in bed, excited and petrified alike. “How?” What could she possibly contribute?
“By thinking even bigger than that. Mrs. Greene says they need to stay within the boundaries of the law. I understand that, they are out there. They also say they leave no one behind, so if we presented them with someone who was in danger from their own family or community, no matter where they come from—this could be a safe place for them.”
Celeste wasn’t sure what exactly she was hearing. Jessica’s last tour had been to Afghanistan, but she had been stationed in various places around the world. She had to have some inside information to back up her words, but she was only one. Just like Ophelia was only one.
“We’re going to build a net. Ophelia is on it already. The Greenes and their friends said it themselves, Exodus, in California, is only the beginning. We could create safe places for women all over the world, not to hide them away, but give them a place and a community where they can live and thrive.” Jessica laughed. “To say it in Ophelia’s words, we’re going to fuck with patriarchy—royally.”
“Where is my place in that?” Celeste hated that her voice sounded so small and timid at this moment. More often than not, she’d been the one left behind.
“You could be our contact to Exodus. Your job would be the perfect cover.” Jessica brushed her fingertips over Celeste’s cheek, her expression hopeful. “I might be getting way ahead of myself, but if you want…Your place could be with me.”
Celeste leaned forward to kiss her in answer, already anxious of the moment she would have to let her go.
Chapter Twenty-Four
So far, so good. The gathering of people in front of the stage had a friendly and celebratory vibe. Vivien felt a pang of excitement when she spotted Kerry a few feet away, realizing that for the first time, they were visibly together in this, working towards a better future not just for themselves.
Miller had wanted a promo circus. The Greenes could put up, and so The Surge would coincide with a triumphant convoy. Some of them would simply take the exit to the airport and return the rented car. Others like Sonia and Taylor would be off on a trip that would take them across the country before they’d arrive at the destination they all had in common. Some had Exodus themed license plates or the Greene Industries logo. Vivien had never been more proud to be part of something, and she knew this development could only help to counteract the disastrous governing of Miller’s administration. In the long term, hopefully, people would recognize the dangers and know better than voting anyone like him into office.
While Dana was still speaking, she went back into the small backstage area set up by the center and all helpers. She recognized some women from the FPCs. Everyone was hopeful, even though in the past few days, they had all had pamphlets detailing The Surge shoved into their faces, and those of their children and elderly family members. A man in his twenties had hassled Julia’s mother when she refused to ta
ke one of them, stopping short of calling her a slut. Vivien had been called that and worse, but she’d just smiled at them and thought,
Take that, I’m going to marry the woman I love. We’re going to have a family, live in a beautiful house, and I’m going to dedicate my life to educate and protect people against your ignorance and bigotry.
All right, the modest, but fairly religious, background of her own family had taught her gloating wasn’t the way to go, but in this situation, it helped a little. Vivien felt wistful thinking of her parents. They’d be worried about her, but so proud.
Lee was going to leave today as part of the First Wave. Vivien went in search of her, thinking they might not have the chance to say goodbye later. Logically, Vivien and Kerry would be part of First Wave as well, but they might have to stay for a couple of days to clean up here. They had already moved into a hotel, the rest of their belongings packed up and on their way, the rest to charity. What goes around comes around, for them to move into the house by the sea, for one family to get a set of furniture and electronics almost new.
Lee was on the phone, a look of tense concentration on her face. Vivien honestly hadn’t meant to spy on her, but there was one name that caught her attention.
“Congresswoman Camden, I’m not sure I—okay, I’ll get those files. By tomorrow. Yes, they still think Lemon did it, from what I hear. No. I have to go.”
Her eyes went wide when she saw Vivien.
“I can explain this.”
“I hope so,” Vivien said dryly, “because that’s what you will have to do right now.”
* * * *
The crowd had grown beyond tens of thousands when Kerry joined Hilary on stage, briefly, before she would go back to her newly assigned duties. If she had ever any doubts, they would have vanished over the past few days when she’d worked as a liaison between the local police force and the growing security staff for the Exodus project. It was as challenging as any case she’d ever worked on and as rewarding. No doubt, they needed to continue the work after their move. Fairbanks and Jepsen had supported her efforts—those who didn’t, kept quiet at least, though there was certainly some talk. She had dealt with it whenever briefing members of either team, but now they were working well together. Everyone would be safe.
The Exodus Strategy Page 27