Divine Encounters

Chapters 121-133

Wizardry. Her phone vibrated with a text from a number sixteen digits long. She tried to delete it, but the message remained in her inbox. Someone was telling her she had an urgent email message.

Unable to switch screens on her phone, she turned on her computer. It made a strange sound, then there was a loud drum roll. The screen opened without any prompting from her and one by one, pictures of her and her old ex-boyfriend began to open in rapid succession. It took a moment for her mind to actually process the images before her. What the hell? She blinked several times and refocused her eyes; surely, she was mistaken. "I know I encrypted these," her shaky voice whispered, astonished.

The woman sat freeze framed and watched as nude photos of them rolled across the screen. They had taken them while on vacation in Cabo. That was many moons ago... way before... Her brain waded through a maze of memories trying to recall when she may have left them vulnerable to theft, but she was stumped. Who would do something like this and why?

"I look horrible," she said out loud, as tears rolled down her face. Hives began to break out all over body, and she dug her nails in her flesh in an effort to relieve the itching sensation threatening to drive her mad. Short trip...

She knew enough about computers to know nothing could be done until the antagonist released her laptop. So, she waited.

She sobbed, and she waited.

Across town, having received the same text, he opened up his computer and sat in stunned silence. I deleted those some years back, he thought, feeling nauseous. How did this happen? The pictures were on loop and his laptop seemed to have a mind of its own. His heart rate soared as they continued to pop up, one behind the other, each one more sordid than the one before. These were not just nude pics of him and his then girlfriend, they were action photos: him and his woman in various positions.

But I know I deleted that garbage! I never even liked them, not my thing at all. I only did it because she wanted to, he cogitated. Exasperation and abject fear sat heavy in his stomach like a bowling ball, making him ill and causing him to make a mad dash for the bathroom.

Sometime later he returned to his desk and put his face in his hands. I can't afford to have something like this happen to me! Especially not now! His stomach rumbled, and he felt like he would be sick again. The pics continued to roll across his screen in slow succession. Well, now I know it's true: once in cyberspace, always in cyberspace. Somebody had him pinned to the wall, and now he wondered what they wanted. He had no control over his computer. No matter what commands he clicked or typed, the pictures just kept rolling past, one revolting image after another. It would not even power off and even if it did, anyone computer savvy enough to do something like this, had copies of everything. So, he waited.

He panicked, and he waited.

The wizard smiled, typed the message and hit send. My work here is almost complete.

The two recipients stared at their computers as the message they had been waiting for appeared on their screens simultaneously, one letter at a time. When it was finally completed, the simplicity of the words did not prevent terror from rising in their hearts:

I have your entire email and phone lists and all your social media. I also know where you work.

Here is my demand: Admit to the proper authorities that you stole that manuscript and made it your own.

Here is my promise: Don't admit it, and I hit send. If either of you try to make changes to your phones, emails, or shut down any of your social media accounts, the pics will automatically be released. If you think I'm bluffing, try me. You will tell the truth or this is only the beginning. I have allotted you 24 hours to do the right thing.