Free Against the Clock by Charlie Moore

into the filter tray. He smiled again. He really liked the way her brows furrowed slightly and her eyes grew electric when she focused on something. She was cute, and sexy, and never boring. And then there were times when her guard was down, and he could sense a deep sadness in her, like part of her was broken or missing.
    He couldn't figure her out, and a big part of him really wanted to. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to be the one she opened up to, the one she shared her joys and her sorrows with. He wanted to be the one she would fall in love with. And while it seemed too far off into the distance to wait for her, he knew he would.
    He walked over to her as she packed away the ground coffee beans, gave her a quick hug, kissed her cheek."Give me a minute, and join me in the shower if you like. You left a change of clothes last time you were here. I cleaned them and put them in the closet."
    He didn't wait for her reply, didn't want to put any pressure on her, but hoped very much that she would accept his offer. Without looking back, he headed to the shower.
     
    12:57:31
    Working through the photographs, Barratt fidgeted in the chair. The energy rising in his body made it difficult to sit still. In several of the surveillance photos, one face jumped out at him. A face he recognized.
    William Dornan. He was never the target of the photograph, but he was captured in six of them so far. The most compelling discovery was that his image appeared with or near four different targets in different locations on different days. He was the common thread.
    Excited, Barratt moved through the remaining photos faster, knowing what face he was looking for. Hoping his suspicions would continue to be justified. He reached the end of the pile and found Dornan's image in two more photos. He looked older than Barratt remembered, and thinner, too.
    Barratt had met Dornan in Venice, Italy. Like Barratt at the time, Dornan was involved with private security work. But while Barratt specialized in eliminating threats, Dornan was involved in protecting and evacuating them. They were, in effect, each other's opposites.
    They would never have normally met "outside mission," but as it turned out, they were both in Venice in the process of being recruited by Agent Zelig. On reflection, Barratt often thought of their meeting as being orchestrated by Zelig. To what end, he had no idea.
    In the business of life and death, however, knowing the competition was vital. And so, when they had seen each other across the piazza, they had recognized each other instantly.
    It was the first and last time Barratt had seen him in person. He heard stories of some of his successes and saw him in surveillance footage a number of times, but what he had been doing the last few years was relatively unknown to Barratt.
    Barratt put down the photos He had to think of a way to find him.
    It didn't make sense to him. These men Shirin hunted were directly responsible for or somehow involved in Harry's death. What was an Agency bodyguard doing with them?
    Guessing and double-guessing only fueled his frustration. He had to find Dornan. Then he would get some answers.
     
    12:59:03
    The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled Ben's apartment with a warm and relaxing ambiance that somehow seemed to smooth out the rough, wild edges of Shirin's psyche. She took in a deep breath through her nose and closed her eyes.
    The smells, the sounds, the peace aroused in her a feeling of calm, a feeling of comfort. She wasn't sure she liked it.
    In the distance, she could hear the shower running and Ben singing something resembling a Stevie Wonder song. She couldn't help but smile. Ben was not like other men she had spent time with.
    He was kind and patient and had a deep, disarming confidence that was usually the hallmark of a much older and wiser man. And then, sometimes, at the most unexpected times, he was like a little boy, blindly loyal and excited by the simplest