Deep Down Under

Chapter 42

Doblhoff Park, Vienna, 4:07 PM

The stream quietly flowed down the unlevelled surface, some of the water leaking into the stone plate studded sidewalk. The weather did well to calm the situation down.

All the lush green trees were leaning away from the stream, allowing it to bathe in the sun's heat.

Giggs was waiting for Sadowsky and Lucia to ask him. Sweat trickled down his cheek. The heat was on, and didn't just affect him. There were people constantly wiping their sweat off with their handkerchiefs.

"Now, what is it?" asked Lucia.

Giggs cleared his throat before speaking, "Alright, there are nine secrets."

Sadowsky raised an eyebrow, "Nine? So that's why you have nine members?"

Giggs wanted to say something witty, but he didn't, "Yes."

"There are several sections: physics, genetics, AI sector and all that. Each member is in charge of one section, but I'm in charge of the AI section." he explained.

"AI as in Artificial Intelligence?"

Giggs nodded his head, "I plan on creating the world's first human mind-like robot after The Nine are dead."

"You're going to kill them?" asked Lucia, slightly shocked.

Giggs turned to Sadowsky, "I hope that you will assist me."

He shook his head as a reply, "I can't kill. I'm not built for that kind of action," he said looking down at his slightly unfit body.

"Whatever. Back to the topic," said Lucia, shifting back the point of discussion.

"Subramanian was a physicist before becoming a business man. He's in charge of the physics section."

"Wait," Sadowsky interjected, "You have the secret to creating Artificial Intelligence?"

"Yes. Yes I do," he paused, then continued and looked to Lucia, "I don't exactly know what your father was onto. But I know this: It would cause complete devastation to mankind, and the end of the world itself."

Lucia racked her brains, trying to find out what part of physics had the potential to cause a global destruction event. Maybe a weapon that would be used in the Third World War.

"You're a physicist, you should know," stated Giggs.

"There over a fifty things that you could be talking about. It could be a fusion bomb, but since my father specialized in quantum mechanics, it could be throwing the Higgs Boson of balance, but that would cause the destruction of the entire universe-"

Sadowsky's heart almost skipped a beat, "Wait, wait, wait," he blurted in quick succession. "The entire universe?"

Lucia nodded, "That's physics folks."

* * *

Vienna International Airport, Vienna, 4:13 pm

Sophia took a sip of her latte; her grandfather hadn't even touched his. "What's wrong? I didn't buy you coffee so you could sit and stare at it."

"No..." he said slowly, "I'm just trying to visualize the place where it all happens."

"What...happens?" asked Sophia, sounding scared.

His shot up, "The rise of the Antichrist,"

Sophia recoiled back. What the hell are you talking about?! She ran through her memory, trying to recall the meaning of the word 'Antichrist'. Then it hit her.

That was what the prophecy was talking about. A man of Mohammed. Whatever was happening was slowly adding up for her to recognize the big picture. History would be made in this place. And she was going to be there to witness it.

"It will be in a church!" exclaimed Papa.

Sophia's eyes widened, the rise of the Antichrist would be in a church. How dramatic.

"Which church? When?"

He shook his head, "I do not which one, but it will take place tonight, when it will rain."

Sophia opened her phone and accessed the free airport Wi-Fi to check all the churches in the city. Vienna had many medieval churches. She flashed the phone in Papa's face. He peered into them closely, and then took it in his hands.

After about a few seconds he found it. "This one," he pointed, with his finger placed one of the photos. It looked very old, medieval no doubt. Once Sophia tapped on the photo, the name appeared.

"Saint Stephen's Cathedral," she whispered.

It was off the road parallel to the one where the first attack that shocked the city took, Wollzeille.

* * *

Justizanstalt Josefstadt Prison, Vienna, 4:17 pm

"We need access to the Vienna traffic surveillance server room," said Lorssen, who had just come back from the hotel.

"Why?" demanded Mohammed.

Lorssen eyed him without turning his neck, "Because, that way we could know where they've been."

They all thought for a while, racking their brains, while the hired terrorists were taking time for re-energizing. "What about their credit cards? They must have had lunch or something," suggested Lorssen once again.

Subramanian scowled, "Have lunch? They were busy running away from us, and you think that they'd have lunch!"

He shrugged, "It's worth a try. I do have a database."

"We confiscated everything in Sadowsky's possession, remember?"

He smiled dryly, "But Giggs is with them."

A few minutes went in bringing the machine. When they had it, they searched the last time Giggs had used his credit card. Sure enough, Lorssen was right.

"The last time he used it was like forty-five minutes ago," announced Lorssen, looking up after he had bent down to view the screen.

"Where?" demanded Subramanian, as if he was looking for a man who had stolen a million dollars from him.

"Restaurant Alexander."

"How long will it take for us to reach there?"

"About forty minutes."

"Tracing there footsteps like that is impractical," stated Mohammed, joining the conversation.

"Well," Lorssen started, "There is one thing."

* * *