25. “The Hand” in Barcelona (4 pgs.)

ACT I - CHAPTER 25

"THE HAND" IN BARCELONA

Wednesday April 25, 2017

Barcelona Spain

“Hello Boris.”

“Hello. I’m glad you’re okay after the attack at the stadium.”

“Thank you for warning me to come out.”

“Warn you? I haven’t warned you anything.”

“But how! I received a message from your cell phone. It’s your phone number.”

“Let me see it,” and he frowned as he read.

“THE STADIUM WILL EXPLODE! GET OUT NOW!”

“Someone hacked me. It was a warning,” Boris said worriedly, he remained silent for a long time and added, speaking more quietly and slowly. “Someone is spying on us and my hackers can’t identify him. He contacts any time and does whatever he wants. Signs as “The Hand.” My hackers are baffled and scared, they have never seen anything like this and they say he is a genius. He appears and disappears like a ghost and leaves no trace. He is trying to gain our trust. In the KGB we used this technique to infiltrate the enemy.

“But if he wanted to save my life, he must be one of the good ones.”

“Don’t be naive Alexandre!”

Boris scratched his head wondering who it could be. He felt helpless, “The Hand’s” intelligence was superior to his.

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“I won’t stop until I find who is behind this,” Boris said and asked, “Are you carrying the things I gave you?”

“Yes. Why did you want to see me?” said Alexandre.

“I think that on the pendrive are the codes for a military operation prepared years ago for a major attack like 9/11 in New York.

“We already know that. What’s new?”

“I think it will be at the World Cup in Russia,” said Boris.

“What evidence do you have to say that?”

“Since the extremist attack in London, the Russian government assured the Global Football Organization (GFO) that all security measures would be taken for the next World Cup, but I am surprised that the GFO does not see that need. They say that such measures are going to ruin the economic aspect of the World Cup,” said Boris.

“Do you trust the GFO?” Alexandre asked.

“As much as in the Global Health Organization (GHO). Corruption has no borders. I think this is related to what happened in the GFO-GATE case,” Boris answered and asked. You remember?

“Yes, it was a few years ago and quite a scandal,” said Alexandre.

“That’s right,” Boris said and added, “it was when the Swiss authorities raided the hotel in Zurich after years of research. They discovered the bribes that granted the rights to broadcast matches in the United States and Latin America. The same GFO was accused of buying votes to choose the venues for the World Cups. I suspect that the choice of the World Cup host in Russia was rigged and is part of a plan that I hope is just a theory. Do you understand?”

“No,” Alexandre answered, unable to follow Boris.

“When the president of the GFO resigned from his position, I thought it was only about the issue of corruption in football and nothing more. Now I believe that they uncovered the pot of the GFO-GATE case only as a pretext for the previous president and his people to resign to put someone else, that is, the people necessary to carry out a major attack on the World Cup in Russia.

“An attack like the one in London?”

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“A much worse one. Several bombs could explode simultaneously in different stadiums and cities in Russia during the broadcast of live matches. Can you imagine the psychological impact if they explode simultaneously while millions of people watch it?”

“It would be terrible, but I don’t know if it’s worse than 9-11.”

“You know that I spy on history, right?”

“Yes.”

“Unfortunately, the rulers haven’t changed much since before the time of the Crusades, and I suspect something big is coming,” Boris said and added. “The good thing about that time is that there were no nuclear weapons.”

“Are you suggesting a nuclear attack?”

“I haven’t said that, but it’s a possibility.”

“Do you have any proof?”

“Informed speculation, yes; conclusive evidence, no.”

“Boris, why did you want to see me?” Alexandre asked to change the subject and not even look at that possibility, as if evading it could erase it from reality.

“I want you to use this pen. It’s the barrel of a gun with a single 22 caliber bullet, but it can save your life.”

“Thank you. What will you do to find the pendrive?”

“It’s a needle in a haystack and the haystack is very big. I don’t think we’ll find it. Anyway, my hackers and I are investigating Gambino, we think he knows something. He is building a house in the mountains of New Zealand, but no one knows where.

“Will you continue using the same cell phone?” Alexandre asked and Boris felt a pang in his stomach.

“No. But I will sign as always. SIROB. When you receive my message, we will follow the following security procedure. First, you will respond to my message with one key word: absolute. Is it clear? Boris asked.

“Yes.”

“I will answer you with another key word: natural,” said Boris.

“I understand,” said Alexandre.

“To complete the procedure, you will respond to me with the last key word: justice,” Boris added.

“I will not forget. Absolute, natural, justice,” stated Alexandre.

“That’s it,” Boris said and they said goodbye.

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A few meters ahead, Boris took out the chip from his cell phone that had been hacked and put it in his pocket. He furiously slammed the cell phone against the pillar of a lamppost until it shattered. He took a powerful magnet out of his pocket and ran it over the chip. Then he burned it with his lighter and then with his powerful fingers he broke what was left of it into a thousand pieces. His remains were thrown into different garbage cans. He knew it had been “The Hand” that had hacked its cell phone and it has humiliated him. For the first time in his life, he felt frightened and lost.

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