The Prophecy

Payne.’

‘Yes, Jonathon, I must admit I’m rather intrigued by your insinuation. Please continue.’

Payne pointed at the screen. ‘This poem is about someone in Philadelphia.’

Jones rolled his eyes. ‘Philadelphia? How do you figure?’

He stared at Jones. ‘What’s Philadelphia’s nickname?’

‘The City of Brotherly Love.’

Jones argued. ‘Wait, where’s the love? It doesn’t say anything about love!’

‘Look at the next line, DJ. You’ll find your love there.’

‘Oh,’ Jones grunted.

Payne turned his attention to the screen. ‘Petr, in the third line, are you certain about the word mare?’

Ulster looked at the board and nodded. ‘Fairly certain, why?’

‘By mare, did you mean a female horse?’

‘Yes.’

‘An adult female or a baby female?’

Ulster shrugged. ‘Just a female. An age was not specified.’

‘In that case, may I suggest a substitution?’

‘You may.’

‘How about filly instead?’

Ulster considered the word. ‘Yes, filly would fit. “A filly with no mother”.’

Payne smirked at Jones. ‘Hey, DJ, what’s the abbreviated name for Philadelphia?’

Jones stopped smiling. ‘Philly.’

‘And the nickname of their professional baseball team?’

‘How about that? A Philly with no mother. That’s two references to the city. I have a strange feeling that isn’t a coincidence.’

Ulster stood and changed the word in his translation. ‘Nor do I.’

‘While we’re at it,’ Payne said, ‘why don’t you tell Petr about the woman who gave us the letter? Where was she from?’

‘Philly,’ Jones mumbled, unhappy with his friend’s success.

Payne grinned, glad he could finally contribute something to the conversation instead of listening to Ulster and Jones going on and on about historical events.

‘Last, but not least,’ he exclaimed. ‘When we’re done talking to Petr about the letter, where do you think we’re going next?’

Jones swore under his breath, refusing to answer the question.

27

black propaganda — fake documents that were designed to destroy the morale of the enemy.

Because of Nostradamus’s popularity in Europe, Goebbels hired Karl Ernst Krafft, a prominent Swiss astrologer and an enthusiastic Nazi supporter, to interpret Nostradamus’s prophecies in such a way as to cast a positive light on the Third Reich. Their goal was to create the illusion that Nostradamus had predicted a German victory, which would make their opponents believe they were fighting an unwinnable war. Goebbels published the Nazi prophecies in leaflets, and then air-dropped the leaflets over

As soon as the British learned of the Nazi tactics, they quickly produced their own set of fifty false Nostradamus prophecies, which foretold Allied victories. These verses were printed and dispersed throughout Nazi occupied territories in an attempt to counteract Goebbels’s efforts.

Not to be outdone, the American government commissioned Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios to produce a series of short films to be shown before movies. The anti-propaganda films — which had titles like Nostradamus Says So, More About Nostradamus, and Further Prophecies of Nostradamus — were narrated by acclaimed screenwriter Carey Wilson and included prophecies that could be connected to World War Two. Some of the quatrains were presented in their original state, others were edited for effect, making it seem as though Nostradamus had predicted an Allied victory. The films were so successful that More About Nostradamus was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Short Subject category in 1941.

A few years later, Nostradamus IV was released

Needless to say, the poster and the film were very popular in America.

Back when Francois Dubois was still trying to come to grips with his visions of the future, he asked his mother why she viewed his dreams as a gift. Her explanation was a simple one. She said, ‘Knowing the future is a tool you can use to conquer your environment. The more you know, the better off you’ll be — especially if you possess information that no one else has.’

From that moment on, he became fixated with the concept.

As a teenager, whenever he was interested in a girl, he would study her for weeks in advance, long before he even talked to her. Later, when he planned his first heist, he bribed city officials for blueprints, paid security guards for patrol routes,

The more he knew, the better off he would be.

That was one of the reasons he had established a network of spies in universities round the globe. Dubois realized how much information was available on college campuses, particularly schools with strict academic standards like Oxford, Princeton, and Yale. Places where the best and the brightest graduated. He also knew how broke some graduate students were and how desperate they were for money.

For a man like Dubois, it was a match made in heaven.

Over the years, he had learned about corporate mergers long before they were announced, which allowed him to invest wisely and make millions. He had been warned of impending military actions, allowing him to protect his assets in several foreign countries. And he had compiled dirty laundry on enough politicians and royal families to ensure political favours whenever he needed

Martin Muller was a doctoral student in finance at the Faculte des Hautes Etudes Commerciales. Often referred to as HEC Lausanne, it was the highly respected business school at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Having attended the university as an undergraduate and a graduate student, Muller had developed personal relationships with most of the faculty and was often asked to help exchange students get to know the campus. A few months earlier, a student from France had told him about Francois Dubois and the type of information he was looking for. Muller had laughed it off, thinking he wasn’t the type of person who consorted with criminals, but he wrote down Dubois’s hotline number, just in case.

On the night of 9 December, Muller was glad that he had.

One of Dubois’s associates answered the phone, but as soon as Muller explained why he was calling, he was immediately patched through to Dubois.

‘I understand you have some information for me,’ Dubois said in English.

‘And it has to do with Nostradamus?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Well, what is it?’

Muller paused, nervous. ‘Sir, I have to admit I’ve never done this before. Shouldn’t we talk about money first?’