The Prophecy - 25. Chapter 25

Alexandre Lefèvre looked at the screen of his computer. It showed the automatic programme.

He felt content. The time had finally come. In just a few hours, the world would come to an end, as the prophecy had announced a thousand years ago. A thousand years had gone by, nothing more than the blink of an eye from a higher and more divine perspective. So many men had passed on the secret. They all had firmly stuck to their belief, none of them had ever had doubts, and they all had firmly believed in their mission.

Alexandre Lefèvre let out a sigh. He thought of his long and hard training that had begun when he had been just a small boy. He thought of the long days and nights that he had spent in the basement, in a dark cell, the air stifling and stale. He had knelt on the hard and cold floor for many long hours, reciting the words of the prophet and learning them all by heart. His father had been a rigid man, cold and severe. He had hated his father until he had understood, and then he had adored the man who had taught him, who had made him the man he was, who had passed on to him the secret and who had revealed to him his mission and the vocation he couldn't ignore.

Alexandre Lefèvre enlarged the window with the time display. It filled the whole screen. He looked at it contentedly. Ninety more minutes, and then a new era would start. They had all planned it carefully, they were ready to seize control, and they were ready to rebuild and reshape the world according to their ideas and ideals. Alexandre Lefèvre closed his eyes for an instant. He felt awe and gratitude. Fate had chosen him to bring about the change. He was Brother Nicholas' worthy successor.

"The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book," Alexandre Lefèvre recited in a low voice the words from the Book of Revelations.

Jason Bolding came to his mind. Alexandre Lefèvre gave a mocking laugh. They had feared the man’s coming for a thousand years, but the man was a fraud, a wannabe hero, a total loser in his eyes. Alexandre Lefèvre didn’t worry any longer. Jason Bolding and his group of amateurs were no threat to him anymore. He looked at his watch. Jason Bolding would be dead soon anyway. Geraldine would eliminate him and his companions.

Alexandre Lefèvre folded his hands on his belly. He would not miss his vocation. Nobody could stop him now. This was the end of an era.

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city," he recited another passage from the Book of Revelations.

Alexandre Lefèvre leaned back and watched the countdown with relish.

"Fate has chosen me. So be it," he said. " I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. I will create a new heaven and earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. I am the Son of Dawn. I am the Light Bearer. And I said, Let there be light..."

The screen light flickered off and on.

"... and there was light" Alexandre Lefèvre said.

"Wow," Alec mouthed in obvious admiration.

"What?" Jason asked nervously.

Alec turned to him. "The programme will open a sealed lab once the countdown has ended. Very well thought out," he said.

Jason and the others gazed at him. Alec shrugged.

"Well, I guess the vessels with the lethal viruses are in the lab. Only the automatic programme can open the lab. It will open in..." He looked at the time display. "In fifty-nine minutes, and then the distribution of the vessels begins."

"Fifty-nine minutes," Leonard exclaimed hysterically.

"Oh my God," Gary said.

"Can’t you stop the programme?" Jason asked.

"I’m trying," Alec said in a pouting voice. "What the hell do you think I’m doing?" He turned back to the screen.

The others stood in shock.

Antoine Lambert left the company building and went to the parking lot. He climbed into his car and looked at his watch. "There is yet time," he said in a firm voice. He started his car and drove down the drive. His mind was clear now. He had made a decision and he felt totally calm and at ease.

Antoine Lambert left Paris and drove north with no particular destination. He just wanted to get away from the city, from Alexandre Lefèvre and the company. He wanted to find a quiet place, solitary, hidden, and secret. There, out of Lefèvre’s reach, he would put his plan into action. It was all he could do now. He had no option, he saw no other chance. Antoine Lambert drove on, content, calm and at peace with himself. He saw a motorway sign and changed lanes. He left the motorway and drove up the drive. Lambert parked his car and climbed out. He took a deep breath. The morning air was refreshing.

Antoine Lambert looked at the motorway chapel at the end of the parking lot. He walked there slowly and in a solemn state of mind. A perfect place, he found. He entered the chapel. It was empty. Lambert sat down in a row. He looked at the altar and said a short prayer. He asked the Lord's forgiveness, and then he sat motionless for a while.

Antoine Lambert memorized his life and the steps he had taken and the decisions he had made. And then he sat quietly for another minute, his mind and his heart at peace. Finally, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his ultimate weapon. It felt cold in his hand. Now it was only a matter of seconds.

Alec pressed a key. A window popped up. If you would like to abort before the end of countdown, enter password. An empty input field showed under the text.

"Shit," Alec exclaimed.

The others winced at his sudden outburst.

"What?" Jason asked urgently.

Alec looked up. "The automatic programme can be stopped manually by entering a password. I don’t know it. I don't have the faintest clue. Anything about this code in the papers I printed out?" he asked hysterically.

The others gazed at him.

"Time is running out," Alec shouted. "Cracking this password is our only chance. Thirty-seven more minutes."

The others took the sheets of paper and brushed through them, looking for anything that referred to a password. They refused to think of what was going to happen in just a few minutes. They focused grimly on their work, but finally they placed the papers down and looked at each other in silence.

"Nothing," Leonard said in a brittle voice.

Alec gave a nod. "Like I had expected," he whispered.

He leaned forward more. His head almost touched the screen. The others watched him quietly. Gary and Leonard leaned back on the couch and looked into the room. Their faces showed a resigned expression. They were slowly, gradually giving in to their fate.

"That must not be," Jason said, unwilling to accept the inevitable, the impossible that was about to come true.

Geraldine Lefèvre looked at her watch. Nine o’clock, London time. The private jet was landing. Geraldine called her father and spoke with him briefly. She closed her cell phone and pondered. She had to second her father’s opinion. Jason Bolding was no longer a threat to them. Thirty more minutes. Jason Bolding and his amateurish group were not able to stop them. But, like her father had said, better get rid of the losers. Geraldine looked again at her watch.

Unfortunately, she would not make it to Jason Bolding’s apartment before the countdown had ended. It would have given her pleasure to shoot the man herself after granting him a brief glance at the automatic programme. Geraldine opened her cell phone and called the men she had sent to London earlier. The men were waiting for Geraldine’s command. Geraldine looked at her watch.

"Kill them all at half past nine," she said.

She closed her cell phone with a contented smile. Half past nine was the perfect time. Jason Bolding’s life would end at exactly the time the lab in Ahmedabad opened.

The jet landed. Geraldine got off the plane and climbed into a black Bugatti Veyron that had already been waiting for her. Unfortunately, she was not able to shoot Bolding herself, but at least she wanted to have a look at his dead body.

"Okay, I’ve started a programme Dave has written," Alec said in a pressed voice. "I'm trying to crack the password."

The others looked at the screen. A programme was running.

"The programme is looking for the hash," Alec explained. "Plaintext passwords are usually stored in a hashed form."

He looked up. The others gave him puzzled looks.

"We'll find the hash in the rainbow table, if we're lucky, that is," Alec said, turning back to the screen.

"How many more minutes?" Jason asked.

"Nineteen," Alec said in a toneless voice.

Nobody replied. The others gazed at the screen. Silence filled the room and the minutes passed by.

"Bingo!" Alec exclaimed suddenly.

They all leaned forward and looked at the screen. Alec pointed at a window of Dave’s hacking programme. It showed a combination of numbers and letters.

"The hash," Alec said. "We’re making progress." His face was blushed with excitement.

"How many more minutes?" Jason asked nervously.

"Twelve," Alec said. He took a deep breath. "The programme is searching the rainbow table now."

"The what?" Jason asked.

"Many hashes are stored in the table," Alec replied. He looked up. "But naturally not all of them. It all depends on how complex that fucking password is. The search will take a while."

They looked at each other.

"I see," Jason said in a brittle voice when Alec's words had sunken in.

"Our only chance," Alec replied. "Time is too short to try something else." He turned back to the screen.

Leonard looked absently at the screen and Gary started pacing the room. He walked to the window and looked out of it.

"Oh my God," he exclaimed. "Look. They have found us."