“Do you think the code is even here?” she asked.
“Two minutes,” Greystone announced.
Gabriel opened the watch. “Those diamonds were added later. Everything on the watch looks old, but the gems are new.” He looked up. “I need a magnifying glass or a loop and a pair of tweezers.”
“We aren’t going to make it,” someone blurted.
“I’ll find something for you.” Evelyn hurried out, shutting the door behind her.
One of three console phones on the conference table rang.
The President let it ring twice before answering. “President Garrison.” He listened. “We have one minute forty seconds before five EMPs are launched into the atmosphere. When that happens, it’s hell for us. Let’s not get into the ‘are you aware of the situation conversation?’ Just put a stop to this.” Silence. “What do you mean you can’t stop the launch sequence because you’re not aware of its existence?” More silence while the President listened. “I find it hard to believe you weren’t involved in this assault. Expect a strong retaliation.”
The President hung up. “That did not go well.”
“We have one minute—” Greystone announced.
The tension in the room grew tenfold.
“No pressure here,” Teddy said as he and Dustin continued working.
Evelyn rushed back in, set a magnifying glass and a pair of tweezers next to Gabriel.
As he peered through the magnifying glass at the diamonds, the lights in the conference room intensified the brilliance of the stones. He wasn’t examining their authenticity, he was searching for numbers, letters, anything.
There was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
“Can you pluck out a diamond?” he asked Halston.
“Forty seconds,” Greystone announced.
Halston placed the tweezers on either side of the stone in the I position and gently tugged. It released from the face of the watch. She turned it over, holding her hand steady. Gabriel peered through the magnifying glass.
“Nothing,” Gabriel said. “There’s nothing.”
“Thirty seconds,” Greystone said.
“Figure it out,” Gabriel murmured as he stared at the watch. “Laskin was a physicist. He was all about equations. Why are the diamonds inthesespots? Why the 1, the 3, and the 7?” He flicked his gaze from the timepiece to Halston. “The answer is right in front of us. Think Gabriel.” He stared at the watch face. And then, he remembered. “I read about this… Dr. Devereux, isn’t the Physical Constant Code 1, 3, 7?”
Dustin looked up, took him a few seconds to answer, then, “Yes, it is!”
Everyone shifted from Gabriel to Dustin.
“The numbers 1, 3, and 7 are known as the Physical Constant or Fine-Structure Constant,” Dustin said. “Those numbers, in that order, are considered to be fundamental to the structure of the universe, linking electromagnetism, relativity, and quantum mechanics. It’s considered the ‘magic number’ in quantum physics.”
“G, we’re down to fifteen,” Greystone warned, the urgency in his voice snapping Gabriel back to the moment.
Everyone shifted their attention back to Gabriel, the air thick with anticipation… and urgency.
“Dustin, thoughts?” Gabriel asked.
“For physicists, 1-3-7 is the magic number,” Dustin said.
“It’s 1-3-7,” Gabriel said. “I’m sure of it. That’s why he gave me the watch.”
“Five seconds,” Greystone announced.
“Do it, Teddy,” Gabriel commanded.
