Destiny

FIFTY-EIGHT

Jacob Kogen entered the room where Marcus was working and said, “How is the new computer performing?”

“Fine. As long as it stays off the Internet and no one else has access to it, we should be okay.”

“Good.”

“I had a visit from a friend of yours.”

“Oh, who is that?”

“He said his name is Nathan Levy. I assume he’s Mossad.”

“What did he want?”

“He wanted me to help the Mossad cryptographers elevate their cyber offense to a level that would essentially take apart or greatly slow down Iran’s nuclear efforts.”

Jacob sat down and blew out a raspy breath. “What do you mean? Would this set off explosions in Iran?”

“These bombs are silent. They don’t blow up anything. They’re designed to lie dormant, like a hidden cancer inside the operation system of high-end computers. When certain things happen, such as a system engaging a new workflow, the worm comes out of its cocoon and begins a systematic attack. It could destroy motors and gears, making centrifuge production impossible, in essence rendering the entire operation down to cyber shreds.”

“Is there technology to do that?”

“Don’t look so damn surprised. You baited me! You or the Mossad probably forged my name on the Newton papers, when the real reason you brought me over here was to aid Israel by encoding a cyber attack against Iran.”

Jacob shook his head. “No! Never would I do such a thing. Paul, I didn’t know this technology even existed. And if I had known, I would never have portrayed a ruse to bring you here.”

“Bullshit!”

Jacob stood. “Please! I’m a man of mathematics, science and religion. I, just like Newton, firmly believe in the Bible and what it reveals to us. I also believe that it can show us other things if we can dig deeper, learn more, translate and decipher the old text. I had nothing to do with Nathan Levy’s contacting you.”

“But you do know him.”

“Yes, of course I know him.”

“Was he the contact you spoke with when I told you I thought the prime minister was going to be assassinated at the Lincoln Memorial?”

“Yes.”

Marcus stared out the university window for a few seconds. He leveled his eyes back to Kogen. “Can you really trust him?”

“Of course. Why?”

“He, or someone in your intelligence, needs to bring out all the troops again.”

“What do you mean, Paul?”

“I mean to prevent a new assassination attempt.”

“Oh God…what do you know now?”

“I read the prime minister is going to be at a UNESCO park, a memorial in Paris. He is scheduled to speak at the memorial that was erected to commemorate the life and death of former Primer Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The event is planned for the tenth anniversary of Rabin’s death. That’s in four days.”

Jacob sat down, his face filled with deliberation, his eyes probing the unseen for a sense of direction. “Tell me, Paul. You have cracked it, haven’t you? I can feel it. You have discovered something in Newton’s notes — the Bible, that’s opening these visions, these doors into the future. Newton didn’t just write your name in his notes. He took dictation, and he received it from the word of God.”

“I spoke with Gisele Fournier, the woman who donated the remaining Newton papers to the library.”

“Yes…and?”

“I have reason to believe that a reference to a weeping angel in the Bible is somewhere in the same UNESCO park where the prime minister will speak. I’m going there.”

Alicia sat alone in the patio garden of the Tabard Inn Restaurant and looked at her watch for the third time: 12:45. She located Greg Owens’ number in her cell and hit the dial button. The call made an abrupt, sharp sound and then went to silence. No rings. No voice-mail. Alicia keyed in the GPS mode grid from Owens’ phone. She could make out a faint signal coming from the northwest side of the district. Alicia stared at her phone. “Oh, no,” she whispered. “The river.”

She stood and walked quickly inside the inn and entered the stylish bar, an old episode of Law and Order was playing above the bar on a wide plasma screen. Alicia caught the attention of the bartender. “Excuse me. Would you turn on the news?”

“Sure.” He reached for a remote control and flipped through the channels. “Any preference on the channel?”

An image caught her eye. “Stop! Please turn up the sound.”

There were images of a car being pulled from the Potomac River. The graphic in the lower part of the screen read: Live Video from Chain Bridge. A news reporter, off screen said, “A witness told us he saw the car plummet off the Chain Bridge about ninety minutes ago. Rescue divers found one person in the submerged car. The car was in about twelve feet of water on the bottom of the Potomac River. They report the body, which is that of a man, was found on the driver’s side of the car. The vehicle is a late model Hyundai Sonata. We don’t have a positive identification of the victim. Why the car veered off the bridge is not yet known. The investigation will continue when the car is hauled and inspected. Ron Brooke, News Three.”

Alicia felt tightness in her chest. She remembered the words Greg Owen had said, “Too bad Travis won’t be around to see it.”