Free Against the Clock by Charlie Moore Page B

me to marry him? The song he played on his phone?"
    "Yes."
    "That's the password. First letter of each word in lower case, the rest in uppercase, no spaces. Access my databases and check out the accountant. I'll be at the meet in twenty minutes. If you find anything, get me what you can by then."
    Getting into the back seat of the cab, preparing herself for the meeting ahead, Shirin placed her backpack beside her, felt the weight of the gun hidden inside it, and wondered with a detached curiosity if she would need to use it.
     
    13:17:04
    Minister Jordan clung to the doorframe of the toilet stall. She felt dizzy, disorientated. As though plucked from the earth and thrown into a rotating chasm of reversing gravity.
    She had tried desperately for the past two hours to get a grip on her life, so quickly spiraling out of control. The calls to her husband went unanswered, and while she grasped at the thinnest of hopes that the photos of her husband in the arms of another man were somehow fake, the reality of his betrayal squeezed its tentacles around her heart tighter and tighter.
    She had no tears left, yet still she cried. There had been no warning signs she could see, no troubles in their relationship that she could recognize. How this could happen, why this would happen, dumbfounded her.
    Once Zelig left her, she regained some composure and examined each photo over and over, looking for some indication of being doctored or altered. But reluctantly, she steeled herself for the truth that there were too many photos showing the same details for them all to be fake.
    Another round of nausea fought for control of her balance; she stumbled into the empty toilet stall and dropped heavily onto the lidded bowl.
    Bent over her legs, she sobbed loudly. Slowly the realization of Zelig's motives became clearer in her mind. The repercussions of his veiled threat and subtle blackmail fell before her like dominos.
    If those photos were to ever find the light of day, her husband's life and, by extension, her life would cease to exist in any way palatable to her. She could see in her mind the scandal unfolding: her husband of thirty-four years being arrested for statutory rape, the inevitable media storm casting permanent shadows over her judgment and credibility, perhaps alluding to prior knowledge. Knowing Zelig as she did, he had probably already fabricated evidence implicating her awareness, and possibly even her participation. The fortress that was her professional achievement would come tumbling down in a matter of weeks, if not days.
    Then, of course, she was sure Zelig would find a way to leak the photos to the press. Her shame would be complete. The fact that her marriage was over would be a small but cherished moment for the spy, she was sure. She could already imagine his smug smile knowing he had won.
    The bastard had beaten her.
    The helplessness, the betrayal, the despair was overwhelming.
    From across the executive bathroom, her cell phone rang. Its dull tones broke her free of the horrible thoughts overwhelming her heart.
    It was her personal phone. Only her family and her dearest friend had that number. She pried herself loose of the toilet bowl, hoping it was her husband calling back with some explanation that dispelled all possibilities of this nightmare becoming true. She dashed to the marble counter and dug hurriedly through her bag to catch the cell before it stopped ringing.
    "Hello?" she panted.
    "Sue, it's Tony." Feigned sympathy colored Zelig's tone.
    "How did you get this number?" Minister Jordan asked in shock.
    "Well, when you didn't take my calls or return my messages, I thought it prudent I contact you this way."Zelig paused for a moment before continuing, "I was worried about you, Sue. How are you coping?"
    The familiarity of Zelig using her first name repulsed her, and angered her more.
    "If you've called to gloat, you'll have to wait. I'm heading into a meeting," she said, doing her best to regain some