After seeing that Maggie is safely out of the building, and temporarily out of Charlie's reach, Jeremy directs himself towards the basement and his two new prisoners. The supposed Ben and Rachel Matheson are being held in cells right next to each other, though two guards are stationed right in front of them to prevent them from talking to each other. As he approaches, the man looks up at him hopefully but the woman merely scowls in his direction and turns away.
"I was told that the two of you came here wanting to speak to General Matheson," he says to the room at large. The woman gives him an unimpressed look, but the man nods at him through the bars.
"Yes, well, we came for Charlie too."
"Sir, I have to tell you that around here we don't typically refer to the Vice President by her first name. It's either Madam Vice President or Mrs. Monroe."
The woman scoffs. "Monroe."
"Is there a problem, ma'am?"
The man shrugs apologetically for his wife and says, "but she's our daughter."
Jeremy studies the soft features of the man's face. He has kind eyes and a gentle smile, all things that he associates with Charlie. "We have yet to prove whether or not you are who you say you are, so in the meantime, show some respect."
The man stares at him confusedly. "Why on earth would we lie about who our daughter is?"
"I don't know," Jeremy says. "But if you are Ben Matheson and that boy upstairs is Danny, maybe you can explain to me why he has no idea that he has a sister."
Ben steps back from the bars as if he's been physically struck, his face filling with guilt. Jeremy looks over at the woman who is glaring right at him.
"How dare you," she growls. "You had no right talking to my son!" She jumps to her feet, her voice rising with her anger. "You have no right to treat us like criminals, we just want our daughter back!"
"You and your husband attempted to break into the building, which means that I have every right to question you however I see fit. And as far as 'getting your daughter back' goes, don't you think you're a bit late? It's been almost seventeen years since the blackout. Why the hell are you just now showing up?"
Rachel sits back down on the cot in her cell with her lips pursed. "This is ridiculous. I don't have to defend myself to you. I want to speak to Miles."
Jeremy can't help it, he actually laughs at her. "And you think that Miles isn't going to ask you the same exact thing? He's been taking care of Charlie for longer than you even knew her. He raised that girl, protected her from crazies of the world, even gave her away at her wedding. Trust me lady, if you want this to go well for you, you'll talk to me."
Ben leans wearily against the bars of his cell. "We didn't mean for this happen. We... we wanted to come sooner."
"Then why didn't you?"
"Because Danny was sick and-"
"-He has no idea who Charlie is?"
Ben sighs. "Look, we left Chicago right after the blackout. We headed straight for Miles in North Carolina, but even then with a sick toddler and just the two of us, it took over fifteen months to get there. And when we did finally get to his house, what we found was..."
"Bodies." Rachel finishes for him. "Two men had been shot in the living room. They had been dead for a while and were badly decomposed, but they fit Miles and Bass' general descriptions. Plus, they were in Miles' house. We thought... we thought that Miles and Bass had been killed but that Charlie must have been taken. We figured by then that she was probably dead too."
Ben nods in agreemen. "And Danny was just a little kid, not even four years old yet. It killed us to think that we would never see our baby girl again. It was too hard to talk about, so we just didn't. As Danny got older, he knew nothing about her because we never talked about her."
As stupid as the whole thing sounds, Jeremy hates that it sort of makes sense. "OK, say I believe you. For those first few years you thought they were dead, but then why didn't you come looking for her again when you heard about the Republic."
Ben shifts uncomfortably. "We didn't know she was here, we thought it was just Miles and Bass."
"Bullshit," Jeremy spits at him. "Charlie's been well known all over the place as the General's niece since she was introduced at the anniversary gala when she was twelve years old. Plus, your kid told me that you guys have been living in Atlanta. Charlie's visited Atlanta no less than five times. The first time when she was fourteen. Not to mention the fact that President Foster came all the way to Philly just for the ceremony when Charlie was named Vice President of the Republic on her eighteenth birthday." He stops to draw in a deep breath.
"There is no way in hell that you didn't know she was alive all this time."
Ben slumps down onto his cot and puts his head in his hands. "We didn't know for sure. At first we thought it was just Miles and Bass, but then when they visited Atlanta and we actually saw Charlie..."
"Why didn't say anything?" Jeremy asks angrily. "You guys were right there the whole time!"
"Danny was already a teenager and he had no idea that we were related to Miles, nonetheless that he had a sister. It just... it would have been too hard to explain it to him."
"So you just didn't bother? You just left your daughter alone, letting her wonder forever if her parents cared or if they were even alive?"
"It wasn't like that," Ben says desperately.
"Then tell me, what was it like?"
"We thought Miles had it under control!" Rachel bursts out angrily.
Ben flinches at the sound of her voice, but all Jeremy can do is stare at her in confusion. "What?"
Rachel huffs and whips a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. "We thought he was taking care of her," she hisses as she shoves the paper under his nose. Jeremy takes the paper, recognizing it as a part of a newspaper and looks at the article that Rachel apparently though was important enough to carry around with her.
'The Monroe Republic: A True Family Business'
Beneath the heading is a black and white photograph of Bass and Charlie on their wedding day. He looks at the caption beneath the picture.
'Sebastian Monroe, President of the Monroe Republic, marries his second in command, Vice President Charlotte Matheson. Below: General Miles Matheson with his newlywed niece.'
Jeremy takes a moment to admire how happy Bass and Charlie look in their picture and how proud Miles is in his before turning back to the two Matheson's. He waves the paper around and shrugs. "I don't get it."
Rachel snatches the paper back from him and looks down at the picture of her daughter with sad eyes. "My little girl," she whispers softly to no one in particular. "And they're using her like some political toy!" She shouts all of a sudden. "Miles was supposed to be taking care of her but instead he married her off to a man twice her age for his own political gain."
Jeremy has to stop and take a step back for a second. "Wait, you think that Charlie was forced into marrying Bass? That's why you decided to come here all of a sudden?"
"We left as soon as we saw the article in the paper," Rachel explains calmly. "But Danny's been sick so it took us longer to get here than we would have liked."
If it weren't for the fact that they both appeared to be completely serious, Jeremy would have thought that this entire thing was a joke. He kind of wishes it was. "Listen, you guys have this all wrong-"
"-I think we've had enough of your stupid questions," Rachel says nastily. "I'd like to see my daughter now."
The look on Ben's face says that he feels the same way, so Jeremy just shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until Miles or Bass return and can confirm your identities before you'll be allowed to see Charlie. In the meantime, you'll just have to be patient."
He leaves them there, both with irritated looks on their faces, and heads to his office where he pours himself a nice, strong drink.
XxX
As the Vice President, and acting President while Bass is out of town, it's Charlie's job to know what is happening in the Republic at any given time. Part of how she accomplishes this, is with the help of her friends. Jeremy, for starters. His rank as Captain, not to mention his social butterfly qualities, make him the perfect person to know the gossip going around town.
But Jer isn't the only one. Jason may not be as high up as him, but her best friend isn't good for nothing. He's a smart guy with a pretty face, and he knows how to use it. If a woman under the age of thirty has a plan, Charlie would be willing to bet her husband that Jason knows about it.
But having helpers doesn't mean Charlie isn't capable of gathering intel on her own. For instance, she's fairly certain that someone in Independence Hall is currently keeping secrets. Given that fact that most people aren't that stupid, that narrows her list of suspects down to just a few people.
Two, to be exact.
"Good morning, Captain Baker." Charlie lets herself into his office and hands the man a steaming cup of coffee, giving him her best smile. Jeremy, who is certainly no idiot, gives the cup a suspicious look before turning it her way.
"Good morning, Madam Vice President. Is there something I can help you with?"
Charlie glares at him. "Cut the crap, Jer. Tell me what's going on."
He blows out a long breath, carefully setting the cup down on his desk. "I'm afraid I don't now what you mean, Ma'am."
"Don't ma'am me. I know that something is going on around here and you are going to tell me what it is."
"Honestly Madam Vice President, there's nothing to report. If there were-"
"Jeremy Dylan Baker, you tell me what's going on right now or I swear to God, I will go to the clinic and tell Maggie that you've been in love with her since she gave you the Heimlich at my fifteenth birthday party."
His eyes go wide with shock but then narrow angrily. "You wouldn't."
"Watch me."
"That's blackmail."
Charlie scoffs. "What are you gonna do, tell on me? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that President Monroe will take my side."
"Only because you married him," Jeremy grumbles.
Smirking, Charlie slides into the seat in front of his desk. "Spill it, Baker."
The partially joking atmosphere of the room dissipates, leaving the two of them staring at each other with neither willing to relent.
"I can't tell you, Charlie."
"You can, you just won't. What is going on? This is my house and I'm in charge, I have a right to know!"
"I know you do."
"Then why won't you tell me?" Charlie looks at him with wide eyes. "Please Jeremy?" Her lips tilt into a small pout, causing him to groan.
"Oh, come on! That's not fair!"
Dropping all pretense of being an adult, Charlie hops up and down in her seat and whines. "Please Jeremy, I promise I won't tell!"
He claps his hands over his ears and squeezes his eyes shut. "Enough, enough!" Charlie stops immediately.
"I want to tell you. Believe me, I really do. But I have orders and I have to follow them."
"Bass put you up to this?" Charlie asks, suddenly worried. She can already picture dozens of horrible scenarios that her husband may be trying to protect her from. "What's happened? Is he OK?"
"He's fine. They're both fine, I promise. And these orders came from Miles, not Bass."
"What could Miles possibly be trying to hide from me? We don't keep secrets from each other. About anything. Ever. Why wouldn't he tell me that something is going on?"
Jeremy leans back in his chair with a sigh. Sixteen years he's known this girl, woman, now married and running a country. Miles has built her up into one of the toughest people he's ever met, but the slightest betrayal on Miles' part could bring the whole thing crashing down. Jeremy loves Charlie like she's his own niece and would hate to see that happen.
"Miles loves you, Charlie. You need to remember that." He says soothingly.
"You're taking his side?" She asks incredulously. "You're supposed to be my friend!"
"I am your friend, but I'm also Miles' friend and Bass' friend. And as a member of this family and a soldier of the Republic, it's my duty to keep the peace. I'm not taking sides."
Charlie glares at him, her eyes full of anguish. "Real family doesn't lie." She jumps up from her seat and runs to the door.
"Charlie wait!" But it's too late, she's already slammed it shut.
Jeremy leans back in his chair and stares at the ceiling. "We're so fucked."