Chapter 7: Et tu, Warren?
When a man…swears an oath to bind himself to a pledge, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. (Numbers 30:2)
Warren Putnam spent a long time in his Chancellery office looking over the report Blaine had delivered to him earlier that morning. A very thorough report, he had to admit, with detailed information on each Commander on the Council: who was loyal to Putnam's leadership, who was on the fence, who wanted to replace him, who had other ambitions. Blaine also noted how each member could best be bribed, flattered, or convinced to follow Putnam's direction. There were also some little nuggets Putnam had been completely unaware of. One Commander's propensity for male prostitutes at Jezebel's, for example, or another's incestuous relationship with his adopted ten year-old. Several with alcohol or drug dependencies. Some having illicit affairs with their handmaids, Marthas, other wives...or even each other. By comparison to some of these Commanders, Putnam mused, Blaine's love for one rebellious handmaid seemed quite tame. At least it was a normal, heterosexual relationship between adults.
But unlike these other perverts, Nick Blaine had dirt on him, and that couldn't stand.
Putnam had been under a lot of pressure in the last months, both from Aunts and Council members, to "do something" about June Osborne. Her treasonous behavior and the celebrity she enjoyed in Canada were driving many in Gilead mad with impotent rage. The Canadians praised her for 'liberating' eighty-six children, ripping away from their families with the excuse that "Gilead homes aren't real homes." How dare she. How dare any woman make decisions for the people of Gilead.
Putnam and Blaine had made a deal: information about the Council for Osborne's safety. But now that Warren had Nick's report, he saw no reason to hold up his end of the bargain. He was being besieged by requests for her execution and detested the nagging demands of others. At his heart, Warren was a people pleaser. He wanted to do what the majority willed. Nick Blaine was the only person in Gilead who liked Osborne. Everyone else wanted her hunted down like a dog, then either shot on sight in Canada or else dragged back to Boston for a show trial and proper particicution. Every family who'd lost a child to her kidnapping plot would surely be in attendance for that hanging.
But if he was going to resume the search for Osborne, he'd certainly have to get rid of Nick Blaine first. The young man seemed affable enough, but when they'd made that last deal, the last thing out of his mouth had been a direct threat against Warren: you touch June, I'll kill you. And despite Blaine's soft-spoken, polite demeanor, Putnam didn't doubt that he meant it. It was always the quiet ones who turned out to be the murderous psychos who shot up schools or supermarkets.
Warren therefore had to consider how to take him down. The other commanders called Commander Blaine "the choir boy," and in many ways he was that. No accusations of bribery, no addictions, no unwarranted violence, no visits to Jezebel's, not even extramarital affairs other than the one with the handmaid. And he had an annoying earnestness about him; he'd delivered the report to Putnam with an almost hopeful look in his eyes. "Please clean up Gilead, High Commander," he'd said. As if Warren really gave a damn about what his Council members did on their own time. As long as they were loyal to him, they could bed their ten year-old daughters, as far as he was concerned. Of course it was repugnant, even if the girl proved fertile. But he prided himself on being pragmatic in such matters. Keep Gilead running smoothly and the men happy—that was his goal.
And stay alive. Also paramount.
He suspected that Blaine was going to be quite angry once he realized that Putnam was going to do nothing to bring his Council members to heel. Perhaps he would threaten to go public about Naomi and Angela's situation. Or even seek to replace Warren. After all, the one Commander not mentioned in that report was Nick Blaine himself. Perhaps he wanted to be High Commander?
Warren considered himself a rational man, not paranoid like some High Commanders were. But Blaine was a genuine threat to his power. And so, with just a twinge of regret, he picked up the phone and placed a call to the District's maximum security prison. This would have to be handled delicately, as Blaine was the head of the local Eyes and presumably had many allies there. Somehow, Putnam would have to arrange for an arrest of a Commander without notifying the Eyes of God.