Red Tape.
Airline uniforms tended to be attractive and the ladies wrapped in them even more so. Daniel smiled warmly at the young woman who had just been checking him onto the flight. Doubtless she had found some pretext to prolong their encounter and he was not averse to delaying his flight until the next day if she had a better idea.
She came over to the table and said, "Mr Sinclair, there appears to be a problem with your passport."
His eyebrows and blood pressure leapt and he smiled with a confidence he suddenly didn't feel. "Problem?" he said.
"Perhaps we could discuss this somewhere less public." she said, "If you'd just come with me ... "
"Of course." he said, "Anything to get this sorted out." His slight hope that this might be just a very bold workplace seduction faded somewhat as he saw the words, "Security Office" on the door to which she led him.
"I'm not going to beat about the bush ... " she said when they were in the office.
"Excellent. Hate bush-beating, always have. What's the problem?"
"Your passport is a fake." she said.
He laughed. Breathe out, not in, before a fake laugh, he had always told Harry.
"That amuses you?" she said.
"Well, it's a joke, isn't it? I've been halfway around the world on that passport."
"I'm not saying it isn't an excellent forgery, Mr ... ?"
The ploy was blatant.
"Sinclair, like on the passport."
"Which you got where?" she asked.
"From the proper authorities." he said.
"It's a fake." she said.
"No it isn't." he said.
"You seem like a nice man. I've caught you out. Give me a source."
"I wish my friend Harry were here. He can make a sauce with oysters that is just divine."
"You bought this from a forger of some skill. Just tell me who and where."
He looked at her name badge. "Rosemary, if I may call you Rosemary, I am an innocent in this. In good faith, I applied for a passport and received that. If it is a forgery, I have no idea how it can be." He took it from her and examined it. "The paper seems right."
"The paper is right. That's part of the problem. Where did the forger get that paper?" she said.
"I'd tell you if I knew, if only to stop those fine features frowning like that. A face like yours should only smile."
"You're very charming." she said and she sounded far too professional.
"Fine, I'll come clean. For the past, well, to be honest, I've lost count, but let's say from the age of 15, I have been a professional con man. I travel from one country to another, tricking people into giving me whatever I want and I have presented a Romanov heir in Russia, I have flown over the Alps with an entirely unreliable Contessa, I have sold the Doge's Palace in Venice to a credulous chap from Milwaukee and I have fifteen times, so far, been shot and killed by jealous lovers to avoid other entanglements. Oh, and I am heading now to a meeting with an accomplice who thinks we have a good chance at the Mona Lisa."
"Ha, ha!" she said, "This may be a joke to you, it's my career."
"Forgive me. I have no idea how to deal with this situation." said Daniel.
"I don't know if you're innocent or if you're just the best liar I've ever met." she said.
"All you know for sure is that I'm carrying a fake passport, which I suppose you do need to investigate. You are sure of that, I take it?"
She nodded, but he saw her bite her lip and knew she was only ninety percent sure. The other ten percent was making her nervous. She was aware that her career could also be harmed by a mistaken accusation.
He turned away. Guilty men never turn their backs on the people they are lying to.
"I'd be just the same." he said, "I'd have to do my duty. Why don't you call the police, let me tell them that I had this passport in good faith? The matter's then out of your hands and I don't have to be the cause of that frown."
"Why are you really flying?" she said.
He turned to smile at her. "My son. Old as he is, he still sometimes needs his father's guidance. It's a family matter, important only to us."
"Are you close?" she said.
He nodded, not needing to lie. "Very." he said, "That boy is my life."
She gave him the passport. "One day, someone else is going to notice. One day, you're going to need more than charm. I don't know why I believe you, but I do. So get on that flight, before I decide I need to stop you."
He kissed her cheek. "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Proverbs 31, verse ... "
"Just get on the plane, Mr Sinclair." she said, but she blushed.
Harry was waiting at the airport. "Any problems?" he said.
"We may need to postpone our assignation with La Gioconda." said Daniel.
"Why? I told you, I can crack the Louvre with no trouble."
"Harry, one day, you'll walk out of Fort Knox a billionaire, but my heart can't take the strain right now. What we need to do now is find a jeweller with a nice range in rubies."
"Why?" said Harry.
Daniel smiled. "I need to send something to stop a lovely young lady from frowning when she thinks of me."