The Apocalypse Watch
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''The Apocalypse Watch'' (1995) is a novel by
Robert Ludlum Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 Thriller (genre), thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original ''Bourne (novel series), The Bourne Trilogy'' series. The number of copi ...
. A TV movie based on it aired in 1997 which starred
Patrick Bergin Patrick Connolly Bergin (born 4 February 1951) is an Irish actor and singer. In 1991, he starred opposite Julia Roberts in '' Sleeping with the Enemy'' and played the title character in ''Robin Hood''. His other roles include terrorist Kevin O' ...
and
Virginia Madsen Virginia Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress. She is the recipient of two Critics' Choice Awards, an Independent Spirit Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Gl ...
. This was Ludlum's second novel to focus on a
neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
conspiracy to take over the world, after '' The Holcroft Covenant'' (1978).


Plot

In the Hausruck Hills in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
agent Harry Latham attempts infiltrating a secret training airfield belonging to the ''Brüderschaft der Wacht'' (The Brotherhood of the Watch), a
Neo-nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
movement gradually building a renaissance of the Nazi ideology across
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. However, he's exposed and captured, and the Brotherhood's chief surgeon, Dr. Gerhardt Kroeger, performs a
microchip An integrated circuit (IC), also known as a microchip or simply chip, is a set of electronic circuits, consisting of various electronic components (such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors) and their interconnections. These components a ...
implant experiment on Harry in an attempt to make him a controllable
double-agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organ ...
. In
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, the suicidal act of deranged
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
veteran Pierre Jodelle in a theater draws the attention of Drew Latham, Harry's younger brother and an agent for the United States Department of Consular Operations, whom believes Jodelle might have uncovered a potential Neo-nazi network in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, being his best clue to find his missing brother. After suffering an attempt on his life, Drew is put under the protection of the
Deuxième Bureau The ''Deuxième Bureau de l'État-major général'' ("Second Bureau of the General Staff") was France's external military intelligence agency from 1871 to 1940. It was dissolved together with the Third Republic upon the armistice with Germany. ...
under Director Claude Moreau, on a request from Drew's superior officer, Director Wesley Sorenson. As Drew continues his investigation, he's also assisted by Stanley 'Stosh' Witkowski, a
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
veteran and Chief of Security for the
US Embassy The United States has the second largest number of active diplomatic posts of any country in the world after the People's Republic of China, including 272 bilateral posts (embassies and consulates) in 174 countries, as well as 11 permanent miss ...
in Paris, and Karin De Vries, a linguistics expert and records specialist (and an unofficial black ops agent). Sudden and unexpectedly, Harry makes contact with the CIA weeks later, providing an explosive, suspicious incriminating list involving high-profile personnel, from politicians to celebrities, that he acquired under the alias 'Alexander Lassiter' - In fact, this is a move by the Brotherhood itself to provoke discord amongst the world's nations, removing strategic personnel to be replaced with the Brotherhood's homegrown sleeper agents, the Sonnenkinder, who'd "pave the road for the Fourth
Reich ( ; ) is a German word whose meaning is analogous to the English word " realm". The terms and are respectively used in German in reference to empires and kingdoms. In English usage, the term " Reich" often refers to Nazi Germany, also ca ...
". Drew and Harry meet each other at the Paris airport, but suddenly are targeted by the Brotherhood's assassins in a
blitzkrieg ''Blitzkrieg'(Lightning/Flash Warfare)'' is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack, using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with ...
attack. Though Drew survives, Harry is a confirmed kill. Moved by grief, determined to avenge his brother and draw the Brotherhood's agents into the open, Drew decides to assume Harry's identity, leading to believe he survived the attack. The fact that Harry's corpse could be recovered in time and couldn't be identified by the assassins whom rashly left the scene only strengthens the scenario, drawing the concern and even desperation from Kroeger, fearing his microchip experiment (which has an expiry date that'd result in the chip's detonation) would be exposed. Kroeger dispatches a unit of elite assassins - the Blitzkrieger - to neutralize Drew, but he and Witkowski repel the attempts, to the point the Blitzkrieger, fearing execution for their repeated failures, desert the Brotherhood and go into self-imposed
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
in
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. Kroeger is eventually captured afterwards and taken to interrogation, but becomes unable to produce much relevant information. Drew's investigation into Kroeger's contacts, the Blitzkrieger attacks and the repeated attempts on his life reveal an
informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...
network within the U.S. Embassy, which is eventually revealed to be headed by Janine Clunes Courtland, a Sonnenkind agent implanted years ago and wife to U.S. Ambassador Daniel Courtland. As Drew, Witkowski, De Vries and even the Deuxième attempt following her steps, to much little avail, Moreau and Sorenson perform their own investigations into both Clunes and Kroeger's connections, they come across the name of Dr. Hans Traupman, a
neurosurgeon Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, ...
whom is a close friend of Kroeger, and has shown to have a connection with the Brotherhood. When Clunes is reunited with her husband (a devised plan to attempt reaching her), she is killed in a sudden strike by the Brotherhood's assassins whom quickly escape again. Witkowski, in an attempt to root out the Brotherhood's agents, forces Moreau to secret away her corpse and deliberately lie to the press that she survived the assault. Moreau himself, after an assassination attempt on his life, eventually confesses his involvement as a double agent for the Brotherhood, using their money payments for a secret revenge plan of his own making, which will be exposed if Moreau decides to interfere. Sorenson orders a black ops operation to kidnap Dr. Traupman and bring him to France for interrogation. In
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
, Drew, Witkowski, De Vries and two special operations specialists (Gerald Antony and Christian Dietz) succeed in capturing Traupman in a sudden boat boarding operation in the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
river. Deciding to follow the boat's proposed trail, they discover a meeting of potential Neo-Nazi leadership members in a shore house, and De Vries discovers to her shock that her former husband Frederik, believed to have been captured and killed by the
Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...
years ago, is the elected neo-Nazi leader using the alias 'Gunter Jäger'. They also discover a plan by the Brotherhood, codenamed "Water Lightning" to provoke a mass poisoning crisis in both the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and France by contaminating each capital's water supply, forcing each political leader to resign and allowing the Brotherhood to implant more Sonnenkinder in the void ranks. De Vries attempts confronting Frederik, alone, to learn and stop the operation, but she's nearly raped before Drew's team storms Frederik's shore house. As Frederik nearly overpowers Drew, De Vries shoots and kills Frederik. The evidence recovered plus intelligence analysis and Drew's quick deduction has them discover that the Brotherhood is using glider aircraft to carry out the chemical strike, as they would not be easily spotted on
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
and be untargetable by anti-air missiles. The attack is successfully countered on the nick of time, but Drew learns shortly afterwards Moreau was mysteriously assassinated. At the Deuxiéme, Drew firstly talks and then coerces his eventual friendly chauffeur, François into revealing that Jacques Bergeron, Moreau's aide and right-hand, was the one responsible for Moreau's murder, being revealed as an implanted Sonnenkind, and François as a coerced agent under blackmail. Bergeron evades capture and goes into hiding. François, afterwards, phones Drew revealing that Bergeron, in one night, ordered François to collect old documents and deliver them to an old castle in the
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
valley, ''Le Nid de I'Aigle'' (The Eagle's Nest), the property of a former French General named André Monluc, told to have been a close friend to
Charles De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
, but Jodelle believed him to be a traitor. Drew, Witkowski and De Vries organize a night raid operation to breach the castle, detain both Monluc and Bergeron and recover all and any information. With the aid of two hired
prostitutes Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-p ...
whom were spending the night at the place, Drew and his team are able to neutralize all resistance, but discover in shock when encountering Monluc, in a
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...
tose state, seeing his facial features match exactly those of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
, under a very advanced age. As Bergeron is captured, De Vries and Latham discover a massive computer room with records, where they acquire over two thousand printed records with the real names of every real member in the Brotherhood across the globe. As the information is delivered to the world's intelligence agencies whom start taking action, Monluc passes away from a heart attack. In a secret laboratory in the
Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...
,
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
analysis reveals Monluc was in fact Hitler, but all evidence is destroyed to preserve established historical facts and prevent creating a legend for potential future neo-Nazis. Drew and De Vries return to the U.S., discovering that, as Harry made some brilliant investments in the world's stock markets when he was alive, earned a millionaire fortune that was inherited to Drew. As they check out the reach in Granby, Colorado for their future house, Witkowski arrives and tries convincing Drew to return to work. Drew immediately refuses.


Publication history

*Pub date April 10, 1995, UK, HarperCollins , Hardback *Pub date May 1, 1995, US, Random House Audio , Audiobook *Pub date May 1, 1995, US, Bantam , Hardback *Pub date August 21, 1995, UK, HarperCollins Audio , Audiobook *Pub date March 4, 1996, UK, HarperCollins , Paperback *Pub date April 1, 1996, US, Bantam , Paperback


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Apocalypse Watch, The 1995 American novels Novels by Robert Ludlum Television series produced at Pinewood Studios HarperCollins books American novels adapted into films American novels adapted into television shows