Free That Will Do Nicely by Ian Campbell

end... and his equipment didn't live up to expectation... and if you're going to keep moving your hand where it is now, I hope... you're prepared for the consequences... " Pascoe stilled his hand, letting it nestle snugly between her thighs. "You see, it was all in the ink", she went on, a little calmer now that all movement had ceased, "The combination of standard size characters and the use of a magnetic ink gives the banks' reading machines all the information they need to decode the cheques. Whichever company issues them... uses the standardized characters, so the results are the same... "
    “So you didn't have to ... compromise yourself... "
    "Not compromise exactly, my lord and would be master ... let's just say a little give and take," she added provocatively.
    "And just when did you find all this out?" His hand stirred in response to her teasing.
    "The week we... met." She moaned softly.
    "And your oppos ite number at the university?" he asked, increasing the motion of his hand.
    "Never existed ... except in your imagination... "
    "You little vixen, you knew all along."
    "Of course I did... ouch! Otherwise you wouldn't have needed me at all." Her breathing became faster and deeper as Pascoe settle into a steady rhythm with his hand.
    "Now are you going to finish what you've started?" She squirmed to his touch and soon all thoughts of their scheme were long forgotten.
    Later, exhausted after an hour's intensive lovemaking, Sam was the first to get back to the other business in hand.

C hapter 6
    What's in a number?
     
    "What's so special about the che que-numbering. I understand the magnetic side of it but not the other?" Sam asked, examining the latest sample of the printing. Pascoe took his wallet from the bedside table and withdrew a sterling travelers' cheque from it.
    "Take a look at this, darling. How many groups of numbers can you see on the face of the che ques?"
    "Four, not counting the values."
    "O.K. Now look at the main number. It's got a prefix - in this case the figure '3' before the rest of the number. Now look at the first series of figures in magnetic code at the bottom of the cheque - '333333'. The prefix has to match. See the top left hand corner - another '3' and at the top right '60-00-43'. The '3' in each case signifies a £10 cheque and all the banks are familiar with that code. Similarly the '4' series denotes a £20 cheque and the '5', a £50 cheque. The second magnetic series of numbers is the same as the ordinary figures in the top right hand corner. The '60-00' part gives the sort code and the '43' the value. The last group gives the actual number of the cheques."
    "It sounds terribly complicated", said Sam, giving him her undivided attention.
    "It's fairly simple really. You can see that first we will have to print all our cheques with the correct prefix and sort code and then we will run them through the press again, this time with the numbering machine. Once that is finished, we will still have to reprint all the cheques with the computer style numbers using the magnetic ink. Don't forget the numbering sequence must match exactly the figures already on the cheque."
    "How many che ques?" she asked.
    "How much money do you want? It works out at 10,000 che ques per million dollars. Don't forget, I, for one, don't intend to do this more than once."
    "How fast does the press print?"
    "About 6,000 copies per hour - but before you get carried away with the idea, remember each cheque has to be printed several times - so practically speaking, we'll be limited to about 1,000 cheques per hour."
    "But that's $100,000 per hour."
    "I know darling, but the problem's not how many we can print, but how many we can pass. Now let's change the subject - time is getting short and I want to get some lunch and some golf in today. You realize I'll have to go to Dallas soon."
    "Dallas as in Texas?" Pascoe nodded. "What the hell for?"
    "To post the circulars to the clearing banks here, giving the details and