The Hand of God

John let out a sigh as he continued to stare at the computer screen in front of him. He had been here for hours, but was having absolutely no luck cracking this program. He had tried everything he could think of, but alas "The Hand of God” it seemed was much too sophisticated for him. Chalk this up to another failure in his less than notable career as a police “detective”.

He had always wanted to solve crimes, but due to a stretch of bad luck and department politics, he found himself relegated to desk duty. If it wasn’t for his skill with computers he would probably be off the force altogether.

This was his opportunity though. Nobody else was having any luck cracking the case and so here he was trying to hack one of the most sophisticated programs he had ever seen. He didn’t know all the details but apparently this guy had some dirt on some really high ups in the city government. Human trafficking and the like. The captain had told him it was made up B.S. to try to blackmail people with money. It wasn't John's place to say one way or another. The programmer had managed to escape the raid on his apartment but he had left behind his computer; So here John was…

The computer itself was easy to break into.

"You really need to reset your password" mumbled John under his breath before he took another sip of his now cold coffee.

After hacking into the computer things got dicey. The home screen itself was neat and orderly and the program was easy to find, but when he went to access it he found himself staring at lines of encryption that made no sense to him. He had never seen anything like it before. He tried everything, but it was well beyond his skill level. He couldn't get in.

He rubbed his eyes and looked around the dark one room apartment. It was a dump. Trash everywhere, dishes piled in the sink, clothes strewn about every which way. There was even a distinct rotten sour smell that he couldn't quite place. The only things of any value were the computer and the dozen or so renaissance replica paintings hanging on the walls. Apparently he’s an art lover, thought John as he stood up to stretch. He needed a smoke.

He went out on the fifth story balcony and stared out into the dark stormy night. The city was nearly silent. Equal parts eerie and peaceful. Rain dripped down on him from a leak on the balcony on the next floor above, but he didn't care. He was gonna enjoy this cigarette because it would probably be his last one as a detective. If he wasn’t fired after this he would probably quit. It was time for a change of scenery anyway. Maybe he would go back to school, and get a degree or something. It would be his own renaissance…

“That’s it!” He exclaimed suddenly into the quiet night.

He quickly put out his cigarette and rushed back inside. Once he found the light switch he frantically examined the paintings on the walls. They had been thinking about this case all wrong. Sure the suspect was a master programmer but the clue was hidden in plain sight. He scanned the images trying to form some kind of connection. The names of the art and the artists escaped him but it didn’t matter because he had found the answer. He stood in front of the famous image of Adam and God reaching out towards each other, almost touching. It was now clear to him the answer was in “The Hand of God”

He tore the painting down and turned it over. Pulling out his pocket knife he cut into the canvas. His hand searched inside until he found what he was looking for. A thumb Drive.

He quickly inserted it into the computer. Suddenly a voice came through the speakers startling John.

“Now the real fun begins.”