John and Veronica

It was all too easy. Too cut and dried. I finally figured out what it was I couldn't put my finger on: I didn't trust her. Helluva deal.

We headed into the kitchen. Bobbie was seated at the table sipping her inevitable tea.

"Hi Bobbie, so you're here to back up her story," I snickered.

"Guess, so," she said. "We talked long and deep, John. She gets it. I hope you two can get by this. It really was just a dumb female head trip, John."

I nodded. As much as I respected Bobbie and her skills, I was still very loath to take anything for granted. Not after the scene on Friday. Bobbie hadn't seen her, heard her; I had.

The next several days Veronica did everything she could to reassure me. I had almost begun to accept the "dumb female head trip" analysis of Bobbie's. Then Thursday, there was the phone call. I picked it up, heard something in the background over the line and then whoever it was hung up on me. Weird. I didn't mention the call to Veronica.

I thought about what I heard in the background—I had it. The words were "...call...cell." Call my cell! That had to be it. I went up stairs. I hoped I was right. I was. Her cell was on the dresser. I checked the call history. I knew most of the numbers. I wrote down the six I did not know. I smiled the smile of the lucky. I didn't have a top security clearance for nothing. Working for the military I knew I could find out who the numbers belonged to very easily. It would be illegal as hell of course, but my very own boss had used his clearance to nail his cheating wife, but a year past. I was about to do the same thing. This was not a no-fault state. If I caught her, and had the evidence, her ass was mine, and her lover's too, or lovers. I was feeling good.

That night the sex was good, actually better than good. She'd sure made a turn-around over the past six days. I hoped I wouldn't have to be giving that up any time soon.

I was in the lab early. I had to catch Tim before he headed out into the field. Tim was our systems installer and field techie. He and I had downed more than few brews rooting for our alma mater, Ohio State.

"Tim, got a minute," I said as he passed me on his way out. He stopped.

"Sure, John, what's up?" he said.

"Come on into my office. I got a problem and I need your help," I said.

We sent inside and Tim plopped down in a chair in front of the desk. I took a seat next to him.

"Tim, you remember last year when Mr. Peters had you do some snooping for him?" He was suddenly all ears.

"Oh no John, not you too?" he said.

"I'm not sure. But, I have reason to be worried. Can you help me?"

"John, I can. But it's a risk. Unless you're pretty damn sure..."

"I am, Tim."

He nodded. "Okay, you got it. Just don't talk about it, not even to me. When and if I have anything, I will contact you. You okay with that?" he said.

"Yeah. I'll be patient. Just do some spot checking over say the next month and then get back to me. If there's nothing, great. If there is—"

"I got yuh," he said.

"Here's some phone numbers I pulled from her cell. I don't know them. It might be nothing, but then again maybe it's the whole enchilada," I said.

He nodded. "Good, it's a good place to start. It's not even illegal if your name is on the account."

"It is," I said.

I had to think my wife was a blithering idiot. She knew I was tech savvy and that I had friends who were geniuses in the field. She knew I could find out anything that I wanted to. If she was going to cheat, she stood no chance of getting away with it unless she was able to utterly allay my concerns. That was pretty thin bread to be spreading your shit on, but it was the only thing that made any sense.

Things settled down at the house. The kids were happy. Veronica was happy. And I pretended to be happy.

A week later my world crashed. Tim called and asked me to meet him at our favorite hangout.

"I checked out the numbers," he said. "I got the addresses, checked them out too. And bingo, I caught her at two of them on successive days. John, I got pictures, film, and audio. Let it be enough to say that your wife is definitely cheating on you. Sorry, John."

"No sweat man. Do me a favor. Get more, especially more film. I have plans for this broad. I don't care what it takes; I'm going to take her down and her lovers with her."

"You got it.

"John, you gotta know. This was so easy, I kinda wonder if she isn't running some kind of a sting. Keep it in mind. I just don't see your wife as being this dumb."

"I won't be using any of this stuff in court anyway. I have another use in mind," I said.

He smiled. Tim did love espionage.

It took three weeks. It was amazed at the depth of information Tim was able to amass; I now had everything on these shitass yahoos but their DNA matrices, and I could get those too if it became necessary. Now it was just a matter of picking my time and battle ground. I needed to speak with Bobbie.

******

We sat watching the film in her office. "Geezsus! I can't believe it. She even had me fooled," said my sister.

"What pisses me off the most is that I know I've been getting sloppy seconds at least sometimes," I said.

"John, forget about revenge. Dump her sorry ass, but forget about revenge. It'll only eat at you in the afterglow, and someday your kids are going to be making judgments about the both of you. Don't give her any ammunition," she said.

I was writhing in mental agony, but I knew she was right. Revenge, at least anything overt was out of the question. But, that did not mean I couldn't get back at the lovers. She was going to be one very unpopular lady in very short order if I could work it.

******

Okay, it turned out that she had five lovers not six. The other number I'd secured had been a wrong number to her cell.

Four of her liaisons were married. All of the married four had children underage. Two were men whose careers I could seriously compromise with very little effort: one a state politician, the other a goddamned priest. Veronica had stepped in very deep poop. Oh, the power of a woman's sexual drive; power had indeed corrupted her absolutely. I now had a far better understanding of my sister's choice to remain single for so long. Clearly Veronica would have been well served to have done the same.

My only concern was for the children of the cheaters, and of course my own. Mine would be with me, about that there would be no compromise. I would allow Veronica open ended visitation, but no boyfriends would ever be allowed near them, or else. I was going to give her the house, but take everything else. I would move myself and the children into a very nice three bedroom condo close to the new elementary school that each of them would be attending. It was time to go to war.

A techie friend of mine blurred my wife's face in five of the most damning videos and made copies for the wives and important others in the lives of the five assholes. Two other copies were made to send to a specially selected TV station to bring down the pol and the priest. I thought about suing the assholes too, but that would have left Veronica open to cross in court, and I needed to protect her to some degree in order to protect my children. I was at least partially heeding Bobbie's advice.

I occurred to me that technology might just put an end to extra marital affairs at some time in the future. It was getting just too easy to nail these jackasses.

******

On D-day, I went to work early. I stared at my computer. I had it set up and ready to go. One double click and four husbands would likely soon be four ex-husbands, and one other guy would probably be spending a long time singing hymns in some remote monastery. I double clicked. Oh yes, there would soon be hell to pay. I smiled. I was Joshua at the walls of Jericho, and "dem" walls would be a tumblin' down-down-down.

I told my section boss that I was taking the rest of the day off, and I went home.

I wondered how long it would be before Veronica got the news, or even if she would. Just in case, I loaded one of the videos in the player and turned on the TV. One button to push and she would be treated to herself starring in some very provocative film clips. It would signal the end of many things, our marriage included. I went upstairs to take a nap.

I had a thought. I went to the phone, picked up the pad there, and wrote a note on it. It said simply, "play video."

An hour later I heard her car and the garage door open and close. She was home.

I waited t the top of the stairs more or less out of sight. I saw her stop in front of the TV and read the taped note. She walked over to the player and punched the start button. I could see she was nervous.

I couldn't see the video as it played, but no more than one minute into it she fainted. The video continued to play. I came down stairs and turned off the machine.

******

She came to about half an hour later. I was sitting on the couch waiting for her to come out of it. She saw me.

"I guess you hate me don't you," she said, groggily.

"Yes."

"No chance for me?"

"None," I said. "I will give you the house. The kids will live with me. Everything else: stocks, bonds, savings will be mine. If you don't fight me, I will let you save a modicum of your self-respect. If you do fight me, I will ruin you."

"John, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. I needed to do it or thought I did. I'm sorry."

"I know you are Veronica. But, what you've done is unforgivable, way-way beyond the pale. I warned you. Now it's caught up with you and the men too. As we speak they are in the process of being ruined. I wouldn't be answering your cell any time soon. You're not going to be real welcome around them is the way I figure it.

"I have already leased a place. The children will be taken there by Bobbie after school today. You will be allowed visitation whenever you want, but none of your men friends—not ever them! Are we clear?"

She nodded. So far to her credit, she hadn't begun to cry or make excuses. I figured that at least the tears would come about two minutes after I left. I proceeded to do that now.

******

All of the marrieds were divorced by their wives and taken to the cleaners. The priest was reassigned, but I never discovered where. The pol is now selling used cars.

Veronica still works for the dean. She sees the children often. It was a task to have them understand why mommy wasn't living with us anymore. But, somehow we got by it.

Veronica dates every once in a while. I think some of her office friends fix her up, but that's just speculation; I know for a fact that the idea of slutting around no longer has any appeal for her.

She'll be with us at Christmas; she's still family, but she knows she blew it big time and has had the decency not to push it with me.

Sex-sex-sex, it can be such a killer.