Hallie nodded. “The Soviets are running out of time. Whatever their intent, they want the Orlisian refugees alive, not frozen to death.”
Sophie did her best not to flinch. “Your European counterparts haven’t had any luck convincing them to allow messages in and out of the camp?” The Red Cross specialized, among other things, in facilitating the flow of messages between refugees and family members in times of disaster.
“Not so far,” Hallie said. “They’ve got Parnaas buttoned up so tightly that no one can get near it. We’ve only seen satellite images at this point.” The women spent the next twenty minutes discussing tactics until Sophie drained her coffee and stood.
“Flying back to New York tonight, Sophie?”
“Train.” She gathered her notes. “It’s faster than the plane. Traffic from LaGuardia to our office is murder.”
“I’ve told Will to move you guys down here to DC,” Hallie said. “Your Manhattan office rent must be astronomical.”
“Refugee Crisis International office space is donated. Besides, New York City is my home…as much as I’ll ever have one.” They walked to the door, but Hallie put her hand on Sophie’s arm before they entered the hallway. Her voice was gentle, eyes full of compassion.
“Child, you need to slow down. You’re working too hard.” Sophie started to protest, but Hallie shook her head. “Don’t tell me you’re fine. You look like you haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in weeks. I doubt you’re eating properly, if at all. You might be a rising star in this field, but you still need to take care of yourself.”
“You sound like Will,” said Sophie with a scowl.
“Good. You could do worse than listening to him. Believe me, I know what’s at stake here. But you’ve got to maintain some distance.”
“There are upwards of seventy thousand people in that camp.” Sophie did her best to keep the terror out of her voice. “The Soviet Republic isn’t keeping them there for a sleepover. They’re going to do something to them, and we’ve got to get them out.”
“We’ve got to do our best.” Hallie handed Sophie her jacket. “We may succeed, we may not. The Soviets could bow to international pressure tomorrow, let the refugees return home or at least allow the High Commissioner for Refugees into the camp. The Soviet Republic is a democratic nation, a member of the UN. This isn’t the 1970s. I refuse to believe they’d revert to their totalitarian roots after coming so far.”
“Feels like they’ve already done that by invading Orlisia.”
Hallie nodded. “Either way, there’s only so much we can do. This isn’t the first refugee crisis in the world we’ll work, and it won’t be the last. You can’t make it personal.”
Sophie’s mouth quivered, then she drew a deep breath. “You’re right,” she lied. “I’ll head straight home instead of going back to the office. Eight hours of sleep will do me good.”
“A world of good,” the older woman agreed, opening the door. “We need you. You’re the heart and soul of this coalition, and you need to look after yourself.”
Sophie walked swiftly away, her eyes cast down. She didn’t want Hallie to see the fear she knew was showing in them, the lies and the knowledge that the situation in Orlisia was as personal as it could get for her.
-
“Union Station, please.” Sophie climbed into the taxi. Traffic spilling out from the Mall was heavier than normal, and she arrived with just a few minutes to spare. She had the documents she’d gotten from Interpol spread out in front of her as the train left the station.