"OK, Ben, but bear with me. This will take a little explaining. Right now, the new IBM Sequoia is considered to be the most powerful computer in the world. It was developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and its computing speed is classified, but it's probably somewhere around 16 petaflops." Daniel could see the glazed expression growing on Ben's face. "Anyway, it's definitely more powerful than its predecessor at Los Alamos, which could perform up to 1000 trillion operations per second, or even the Chinese Tianhe-1A, which scared the pants off the guys at the NSA a few years back."

Ben backed against the concrete wall as two more white-suited men hurried between them. "Come on, Daniel ... make it fast. We're running out of time down here."

Daniel exhaled in exasperation as he tried to keep up his running dialogue. "What I'm trying to say is that none of those computers I just described were the result of any great technological breakthrough, because they achieved their power and speed by simply employing massive numbers of off-the-shelf processors linked together in a cluster, and they put off equally massive amounts of heat. But this thing is completely different. It's actually a breakthrough in computer science ... one that makes our current supercomputers look like hand-held calculators. We're looking into the future, Ben, because this is definitely a quantum computer of massive proportions, and the crystal in my pocket is a critical piece of the puzzle. Like I told you in the truck, we were looking at a component that works at the atomic level ... the hallmark of a quantum computer. They're also using various methods to keep it cool ... methods that computer scientists predicted would have to be used to cool a computer like this. The liquid nitrogen tanks we saw on the surface were the icing on the cake. They're pumping large amounts of liquid nitrogen into the system instead of using water, and all those fiber optic cables below us are used for lasers. In experiments conducted at the quantum optical lab at the Niels Bohr Institute last year, laser cooling was proven to work in semiconductor membranes that function at the atomic level. It all fits."

"And this computer has the power to take over all of the computer systems that were affected by the worm?" Ben asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared overhead.

"This thing can overwhelm any computer system in existence. I'm sure the worm came from here, and once it worked its way through the system, it basically took over the internet and anything connected to it. Israel was only a test. Once they have all of their components in place, this thing will have the power to begin taking over other systems. That man we met on the stairway wasn't kidding when he told us that these people would soon rule the world."

CHAPTER 34.

Ever since the pope had disappeared, an ominous silence had descended over the Apostolic Palace. On orders from the papal secretary, the pope's apartments had been sealed, preventing anyone from entering the sanctified space. To many it seemed as if the pope had died, and in truth his disappearance had been much like a death. Special masses had been held in Saint Peter's Basilica and around the world, and the constant rain over the Holy City for the past few days had lent a dreary backdrop to an already somber atmosphere.

Sipping tea in a small apartment near the palace, Cardinal Serafino Acone brushed aside the sugary cookies next to his cup and looked across the table at Father Leonardo Vespa, the Vatican's Camerlengo. "I grow weary of this purgatory the curia has forced me to endure, Camerlengo. Even I am forbidden to enter the Papal Apartments, which makes it very difficult for me to conduct myself in a manner befitting my position."

As Vespa remained silent, Acone took notice of the priest's steady eyes and chiseled features. "I understand you are an expert in matters involving papal succession, Father. I wondered if you would mind answering a few of my questions."

"Of course, Your Eminence," Vespa answered cautiously. "I will do anything I can to help you through this very difficult time."

Acone measured his next words carefully, for it was well known around the Vatican that the camerlengo was a man of great intellect and had many powerful friends within the curia. Acone would have to tread lightly in his questioning. "Tell me, Father Vespa, what is the accepted length of time in which a sitting pope can remain missing before he is declared dead and the College of Cardinals can meet to elect a new pope?"

Vespa coughed into his rolled up fist. "May I remind Your Eminence that Jesus disappeared for forty days before he returned from the desert. The Holy Father has been gone for only twelve days. Should we not accord him the same support we would have given our Lord in his unexplained absence?"

Acone's eyes blazed. "Your answer borders on impudence, Vespa. How can you compare that Jesuit Pope to our Lord."

Vespa's face remained frozen in a neutral mask. "My comparison only attempts to illustrate a point, Your Eminence, and I'm surprised the analogy offends you. A cardinal of your stature should know that the Holy Father is seen as Christ's vicar here on Earth, and as such he deserves our respect as well as our patience. If he has left of his own free will ... and we all pray to God that that is the case ... then we must trust that whatever he is doing is God's will."

Vespa paused to let his words sink in as he watched the cardinal's face redden. It was like being in the room with a snake. You never take your eyes off of it ... least it strike without warning.

"There is no specific time limit set forth for the removal of a pope if he is unable to perform duties," Vespa continued. "Since our history provides us with no previous record of an incident like this, we have no precedent upon which to draw a conclusion. The curia's canonical scholars have interpreted the pope's mysterious disappearance to be in line with that of a prolonged illness, and for the present their decision is final. I would advise Your Eminence to have patience, because I have no doubt your line of questioning arises from your concern for the safe return of our Holy Father."

"Yes, of course ... your observations are most insightful, Father Vespa." Running a hand over a dagger concealed beneath his robes, Acone remembered what he had learned about Vespa before he had left Turkey. His first name, Leonardo, meant lion, and his last name, Vespa, meant wasp. A lion that stings. Yes, Acone thought to himself, he must tread very lightly indeed around this lion-wasp of a man, least he fall victim to his sting. Maybe they should have foreseen this Jesuit threat and dealt with it before the pope had disappeared, but who could have predicted that Pope Michael would suddenly disappear without warning just days before they struck. Whether through genius or by accident, the disappearance of the pope had placed Acone and his conspirators in an uneasy position. They were now permanently stalled in their quest to place Satan's representative at the head of the Church where he would be able to influence the hearts and minds of billions of people around the world who were unaware that a snake had slithered into their midst.

Acone sipped at his tea and forced himself to smile as he reached for a cookie and tried a new tactic. "Forgive me, Father Vespa. I'm not myself lately. I never asked for this job, but now that I have it I must do my utmost to lead the Church through uncharted waters. You are truly a valued member of the team, and I can only hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive an impetuous old man for seeming impatient, but the Lord's work must continue."

"And we are all here to make sure that it does, Your Eminence." Vespa could feel himself shaking as he laid his napkin on the table. "If you will excuse me, Your Eminence, I have a doctor's appointment."

"Of course, Father. I hope everything is alright."

"Yes. Just a routine check-up."

"Very well. May God go with you, my son."

"And with you as well, Your Eminence."

Rising on unsteady feet, Vespa walked away from the table as the color drained from his face. When he reached the door he turned his head slightly, catching the cardinal's malevolent glare. Acone quickly tried to smile, but it was too late. Father Leonardo Vespa knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had just been speaking to evil incarnate.

As soon as he was clear of the Apostolic Palace, Vespa hurried over to the residential apartments and knocked on Morelli's door. After practically jerking the door off its hinges, Morelli peered out into the hallway before ushering the young priest inside.

Standing by the open window, Cardinal McCulley blew the smoke from his cigarette out over the gardens below. "Well, Camerlengo ... what have you learned?"

Vespa smiled at the way McCulley pronounced the word camerlengo with his thick, New York accent. He always felt like he was watching an old detective movie when he listened to the cardinal speak.

"I believe our fears are well-founded, Cardinal. Acone has an agenda, and although I'm not sure yet just what that agenda is, I fear for the safety of the Holy Father should he return before we've had a chance to discover what this wolf in sheep's clothing is up to."

CHAPTER 35.

In the pre-dawn darkness covering the Mediterranean Sea, Gwyneth Hastings, Doug Peterson and Shane Trent stood on the rolling deck of the HMS Ambush and waved goodbye to Leo and the others as they transferred to the Israeli sub Tekuma.

The time spent running and hiding inside the labyrinth beneath the Rock of Gibraltar had been an exhausting ordeal for all of them, and despite the fact that they had made it safely onboard the British sub back at the harbor in Gibraltar, they were still on the run from an invisible enemy that seemed capable of striking anywhere and at any time without warning.

In a move orchestrated to protect Pope Michael and Eduardo Acerbi from those looking to kill them, Danny Zamir had insisted that they accompany him and the others back to Israel aboard the Tekuma. "The web of security the Mossad and the IDF will throw up around you will not be penetrated," he had promised.

In the tight confines of the Israeli sub, the crew of the Tekuma showed the new arrivals to their sleeping quarters before escorting them down to the galley for some much needed food and coffee.

Ducking through the tight hatchway that led into the galley's seating area, Misha Bagrov poured a steaming cup of hot coffee from a large, stainless-steel urn and slid into the seat next to Leo. "Good morning, Cardinal. I see you have returned for another trip on our little boat ... and this time you have brought my boss with you." Bagrov grinned across the table at Danny Zamir. "How are you, sir?"

"I've been better, Misha," Zamir replied. "How is life for a security officer onboard a sub?"

"Best duty you've ever given me. I have a warm place to sleep every night, hot food ... and no one is shooting at me."

Zamir's face became serious. "Any news from Team 5 yet?"

Bagrov looked down the table at Pope Michael and Eduardo Acerbi. "Mind if we talk in private?"

"Of course." Zamir launched his heavy frame from the booth-like seating area and followed the security officer into another compartment. "What's up?"

"While we were on the surface we received a 0.5 nanosecond burst transmission. Evidently, Team 5 is still maintaining radio silence. The rest of the transmission was just routine naval stuff ... weather reports and things like that, but there was one new report that caught my attention. It seems that Mossad headquarters received a message from Morelli's friend in Turkey."

"The Muslim?"

"Yes. His name is Abbas Sadik, and he contacted us using the Turkish intelligence agency's tried and true method of sending messages overland in beat-up old cars ... like we did in the old days. Remember, Danny?"

"Yeah. It looks like the old days are coming back. What did he have to say?"

"It seems that a UN force has arrived in the town of Orencik with Acerbi's wife and son."

"A UN force! What in the world is a UN force doing transporting Acerbi's son to Orencik?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, but if I were you I'd let the old man in on it, because he seems to be the key behind all of this."

Zamir frowned. "He's not telling us everything, and probably for good reason. He's going to flip out when we tell him his son is in Turkey. He believes the boy is about to be taken to some old ruin where he'll be transformed into the Antichrist or something, and the pope seems to agree with him."

"You've got to be kidding! The Antichrist?"

"Yeah, I know it sounds farfetched, Misha, but a lot of what the old man says makes sense."

"Like which part, boss?"

"Like the part about how someone is beginning to take over all of the world's computers, and we're seeing the beginnings of that right now in Israel. But what really scares me is the fact that Acerbi seems to know what's about to happen before it happens. I don't know how the old man knows the things he does, but it's freaky scary, Misha."

"Listen, Danny. You and I both know that this assault on our communications infrastructure has to be some kind of state-sponsored cyber attack. I mean, think about it ... the Antichrist ... really?"

"We're talking about a man who probably saved the world last year. He warned us then and he's warning us again now. You should have been with us in Gibraltar, Misha. The old guy was pretty convincing."

Bagrov rubbed his chin in silent thought. "Maybe we'll know more when Team 5 reports back in from Babylon. Until then, I think we owe it to Mr. Acerbi to let him know that his wife and son are now in Turkey courtesy of the UN."

Zamir frowned. "What else did the Muslim say in his message?"

"Just that we should hurry before they take the boy into the hills ... whatever that means."

"It means you have to take me to Turkey." The two men spun around to see Eduardo Acerbi standing behind them in the doorway.

Exchanging a quick glance with Zamir, Bagrov cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Mr. Acerbi, but we have orders not to stop until we reach Israel."

"Then I'd like to talk to the captain."

"That won't be necessary," Zamir replied. "As the head of the Mossad, this particular naval mission is under my command. But even if we changed course right now it would take us almost forty-eight hours to reach the Turkish coast."

Acerbi leaned against the hatchway and closed his eyes. "Then we will be too late. My son has already been delivered to the place of his transition, and there is nothing we can do to stop it."

Zamir looked on as Eduardo Acerbi leaned against the wall, his frail figure looking even more fragile against the sub's cold steel bulkhead. "Would you care to sit, Mr. Acerbi?"

"Yes, thank you." Acerbi collapsed into a cushioned seat as the two men studied his eyes.

"What I'm about to tell you is highly classified, Mr. Acerbi," Zamir continued. "After you told us about the computer activity at your house in Babylon, our cyber warfare section traced the origin of the worm back to that location. In response, Team 5 has been dispatched to scout the area and attempt to locate the source computer. They were also tasked with a secondary mission. They were ordered to locate your son and bring him back to Israel so that he could be reunited with you. Unfortunately, we have no way to contact our men right now without giving their position away, so we're unable to let them know your son is no longer there. As far as their primary mission is concerned, we'll just have to wait until they are out of Iraq to learn if your suspicions about the computer were validated."

Zamir paused as he pressed his face close to Acerbi. "Now, Mr. Acerbi, I want you to look me right in the eye and tell me that you had no knowledge of a cyber attack being launched from your compound in Babylon."

"You have my word, Mr. Zamir. As soon as I saw that thing on the security monitor, I knew something big was going on right under my nose without my knowledge or permission. I had nothing to do with it ... but someone close to me did."

The old man's eyes took on a hollow, vacant stare. "Something about my wife had changed. There was a coldness to her personality. Instead of looking at me, she seemed to be looking right through me, and she stiffened at my touch. I don't know what she is, but she's no longer the woman I've been living with for the past forty years."

Zamir traded looks with Bagrov. "Are we talking about mental illness ... depression perhaps?"

"I mean just what I said, Mr. Zamir. She wasn't my wife ... she's no longer Colette. I first began to notice the change after we traveled to the ruins in Turkey. She never seemed to sleep after our visit, and, please forgive me for what I'm about to say because it sounds totally insane, but the day I collapsed at the palace in Babylon I saw a flash of what can only be described as something you would see in a nightmare. For a split second I saw a hideous, demonic-looking form that wavered right in front of my eyes before Colette's face came back into focus. I've dreaded mentioning this to anyone because I realized I would be receiving the same kinds of looks I'm receiving right now from the two of you, but you have to believe me ... I saw it ... she changed right in front of my eyes, and I'm not insane."

Zamir breathed in deeply and exhaled as he tried to ignore Bagrov's rolling eyes. "This entire episode is insane, Mr. Acerbi. I want to believe you ... I really do, but you're describing an event with supernatural overtones, and we're military men. We know that you believe your son is about to become the Antichrist, but even if that were true there is nothing available to mortal man that can stop a supernatural event from happening. It may not be evident by listening to me, but I too am a deeply religious man, and if there is such a thing as an Antichrist, then the matter should be left up to God."

Acerbi winced in the glare of doubt. "I understand what you're saying, Mr. Zamir, but all through history God has worked through man, and right now ... at this very minute, the way is being paved for the Antichrist to make his appearance on the world stage, and if there's anything we can do to prevent that from happening we should at least try."

Zamir threw up his hands. "What would you have us do, Eduardo ... nuke the site in Turkey on a supposition that the Antichrist is about to appear? I'm afraid the best we can do at this point is to have the Turkish authorities look into the matter. Turkey is a sovereign country ... one we happen to be on friendly terms with, and we can't just go charging into their territory on a hunch that some kind of supernatural event is about to occur in the hills outside one of their villages."

"What about just dropping me off along the coast of Turkey somewhere?" Eduardo countered.

"Even if we could get you there in time, you'd be all alone," Zamir said, "and you're hardly in any condition to go traipsing around the countryside by yourself right now."

Zamir's stoic facade began to break when he saw the look of pain on Acerbi's face. "Look, Mr. Acerbi, I'd like to help you, but this is out of our hands. The Turks have some very competent people in their intelligence service. We'll contact them and have them send some people up into the hills around that village you described. They can get there a lot quicker, and if they see anything strange they can deal with it right then."

"Don't bother. They wouldn't stand a chance against what's out there." Acerbi's breathing became more labored. "I think by now my motives are obvious. I want to save my son. But the implications of an Antichrist turned loose on the world will soon become even more obvious. We are rapidly approaching the climactic end to thousands of years of preparation by a liar and deceiver who has tormented mankind for as long as we have existed on this earth, and things are about to get much worse. The final act in this celestial war between heaven and hell will be the transition of my son into the one who has been prophesized in Revelation. The dark star has risen, gentlemen, and may God have mercy on our souls."

Zamir hunched his thick shoulders and breathed a sigh of resignation. "After we contact the Turkish military, we can take you to a spot off the coast of Italy, Mr. Acerbi, but I'm afraid that is the best we can do for now. The world situation is spinning out of control and we've been ordered to return to Israel as soon as possible." Looking up at Bagrov, the Mossad chief turned and walked right into Leo and Pope Michael.

"Might as well drop us off too, Danny," Leo said. "The pope wants to return to Rome."

CHAPTER 36.

Moving through the immense space, Ben and Daniel were unable to take their eyes off the colossal sphere rising above their heads. Below them, down in the steaming, hissing pit filled with miles of fiber optic cable, they could feel the heat being generated inside the monstrous computer, making it feel uncomfortably warm for anyone who stood too close to its silvery-black composite shell.

Tapping Ben on the arm, Daniel pointed to a computer terminal built into the wall behind them. After waiting for a technician to pass, he moved closer, and right away he spotted several USB ports and a row of slots below the screen. While Ben kept watch, Daniel quickly removed a flash drive from his pocket and plugged it into one of the ports. Immediately the screen came to life and requested a password.

I should have known better! Daniel stared at the flashing screen in horror. If he didn't enter a password soon the computer would trigger a security alert that would most likely prompt someone to check the camera monitoring this terminal. He quickly unplugged the flash drive, but just before he walked away he decided to hit the eject button next to the top slot. To his amazement, a metallic-looking blue disk slid out. Peering defiantly at the camera above his head, he pulled it out and shoved it into his pocket.

Walking away from the terminal, Daniel saw Ben unzip the top of his clean suit and remove a pair of heavy-framed glasses from his shirt pocket. Looking up at the sphere, he slid them on and pressed a tiny button located along the inside of the earpiece, triggering a miniature camera embedded within the frame.

Panicked about his encounter with the computer, Daniel moved next to Ben. "We've probably got less than a minute before they notice I just triggered a computer security alert, and they have me on camera."

"Yeah, I think we've seen enough. Lets ... Ben suddenly stopped talking and his eyes widened as he looked over Daniel's shoulder. Standing right behind him was the bearded man they had seen driving the yellow Lamborghini.

"What are you doing?" the man asked in a thick Russian accent. It was Ilia Sokolov.

Ben could feel the hair rise up on the back of his neck as he glanced sideways at Daniel.

"Why are you looking at him?" Sokolov's face reddened. "I asked you a question. What are you doing down here?"