Esmeralda nodded her head slowly. "So why'd you want to tell me this in private, Indi? You know my policy on keeping everyone in the loop."
"I do, but I thought you might want a chance to digest this alone first. I know everyone basically thinks this mission is over and that we failed our task to bring them together."
"But you don't."
"After yesterday, I think we've just gotten to the beginning of the end. There's so much in play right now... especially after everything that Kay said to Charisma. I think Kay may be the key to this thing getting resolved positively, because she's pushed Charisma out of her comfort zone in Egypt and right into a state of awareness that Charisma is completely unfamiliar with." Indi sighed. "I just don't think we're going to get called home straight away."
"I'm inclined to agree," Esmeralda said with a slow nod. "Thanks, Indi. I appreciate the consideration. I will probably ask you to share everything you just shared with me again.
"I know," Indi smiled. "But at least you won't be taken by surprise by it." A knock on the door brought their heads around just as Saphira stuck her head in.
"Everything all right?" looking between them before meeting Esmeralda's eyes. Esmeralda smiled and nodded, even as she held out a hand to Saphira. Saphira accepted it and lifted it to her lips to brush a kiss over the knuckles. "Opal's here - Brianna just got back into town."
"I'll just...." Indi motioned towards the living room and headed out, closing the door behind her softly. Saphira cocked an eyebrow in Esmeralda's direction.
"Was it something I said?"
"I think our loose ends have started tying up a lot faster than we expected." Before she could elaborate, a knock sounded on the door again, and Ruby poked her head in.
"Es? You're gonna wanna come out here. Mal just arrived."
Saphira and Esmeralda exchanged glances. "Never rains but it pours," Saphira muttered and tugged Esmeralda to her feet so they could go hear the next part of the saga they were enmeshed in.
************
"Well, Brianna's demeanor is in complete contrast to Charisma's," Opal offered when Indi was done sharing Charisma's story. "She spent her holiday relaxing - daily massages, meditation, relaxation therapy even. She did some writing as well. Otherwise, she took advantage of the fact that she was in Dubai sightseeing and such." Opal turned and looked at Esmeralda with a smile. "I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing new pictures grace her walls in the next few weeks. She took a lot of them."
"Do you think she's over Charisma?"
Opal snorted. "I don't think Brianna will ever be *over* Charisma. But I do think she's moved beyond her - not far, but she's taken the first step to putting Charisma in her past."
"Of course," Saphira griped. "Somebody finally switches on a light in the darkness of denial that Charisma's been walking around in for years, and Brianna decides to move on." She looked at Opal. "Can I ask what her step was?" At Opal's confounded look, Saphira sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You said she took the first step to putting Charisma in her past," waiting for Opal to nod. "What did she do that you considered her first step?"
"She deleted the email Charisma sent her, then purged her computer of all the pictures she had of her and Charisma together."
"Does she still have the album?"
"To my knowledge."
"Still, that's a pretty big first step. She's had those pictures on every computer she's had the last twenty years. And we know she wanted a copy of that photograph Charisma sent her - she specifically asked for it." Esmeralda turned her head to one side and let her eyes center on nothing in particular while she pinched her bottom lip thoughtfully. Everyone else remained respectfully silent, waiting for her focus to return to them. Finally, Esmeralda sighed and looked at Mal. "Talk to me, Mal. What brings you back to DC again so soon?"
"Kent." She turned to Indi. "Are you sure he wasn't at the Tagherty's when Kay confronted Charisma? Maybe he snuck back when Jade and I weren't looking??"
"Absolutely. He left on Christmas night - he was there just short of two days. You know that - you left when he did. There is no way the three of us could have missed him coming back to the Tagherty's for any reason."
"Why? What happened?" Esmeralda broke the tableau between Indi and Mal.
"I don't know... honestly. That's what makes me think I missed something significant." Mal scrubbed a hand over her face and into her hair. "This morning Kent called his lawyer and requested those papers. Then he called to ask Charisma to give him some time on Sunday."
"You think he knows what went down between Charisma and Kay the other day?"
"Not unless he's more clairvoyant than all of us combined," Mal said with a shake of her head. "And unless he's got some sort of undercover operative we know nothing about, I'm not sure how he could have heard about it either."
"He may not have needed to."
"Es?"
Esmeralda's comment and Saphira's follow-up question turned all heads in Esmeralda's direction. She bit her lip, then took a deep breath. "I think we can all agree that Kent Rockwell isn't a stupid man, correct? Despite his easy going attitude, he's a pretty sensitive guy, right?" She waited for everyone to nod their agreement. "So why is it so hard to believe that he couldn't pick up the difference in Charisma's behavior from Thanksgiving to Christmas?"
"You think...?"
"Let's consider the things we know - he's been coming back to Washington to spy on Charisma, for lack of a better term, because he recognized something different about her when Brianna Walker came back into her life. He's seen them together in Charisma's home here and he's seen them at the Tagherty's with the entire family. While nothing inappropriate has happened at either location, Kent has identified a distinct difference in Charisma's attitude and behavior in the last few months... especially where Brianna is concerned. And he's also been made aware of just how integral to the entire Tagherty clan Brianna has been... for years." Esmeralda paused and took a deep breath.
"Now, put that together with the woman he's always known - the woman he agreed to marry and have a child with. The same woman who was at the Tagherty's for Christmas because she knew Brianna was essentially lost to her again. It doesn't take a genius to come up with the correct answer."
"So Charisma's life is falling down around her ears?"
"Basically yes. The moment Brianna Walker stepped back into her life, everything started unraveling for Charisma Tagherty. All that remains to be seen is if it's going to be too little, too late."
"I hate this job," Saphira muttered, though it was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear it.
Esmeralda gently squeezed her hand. "Sometimes we all do, love." She turned back to the waiting angels. "All right - everyone back to their posts for now. If and when things change again...."
"We'll just sit back and watch it happen," Saphira said with little inflection in her voice. She met Esmeralda's chiding eyes. "It's the truth and you know it. We're observers at this point. There's not much that you or anyone else can do to influence the way things go."
"Perhaps," Esmeralda conceded. "But that doesn't mean we can be lax in our vigilance. So keep your eyes peeled, ladies. Things should be moving fairly quickly from here on out."
"I guess that means I better get to bed," Ruby stated with a groan. "If we're still working here, I have to be up early to be at the diner tomorrow."
"Us too," Opal said, motioning between her and Indi. "Not for the diner, but the Senators are working through the weekend, so we are too. Everyone wants to greet the new session running apparently." She looked at Indi. "Are you going to be at the office or...?"