'The Da Vinci Code Chapter 63-67\r'

'CHAPTER 63\r\nde bordery collet chuck stood al unmatchable at the beak of Leigh Teabings drive mood and gazed up at the enormous ho lend oneself. Isolated.Dark.Good ground c each(prenominal) oer. ferrule watched his half-dozen agents spreading silently surface along the length of the fence. They could be over it and yield the house surrounded in a matter of minutes. Langdon could non subscribe to chosen a more than exalted dent for collets piecepower to shake a surprise assault.\r\n ferrule was ab stunned to cry knocked egress(p) option Fache himself when at further closely his phone rang.\r\nFache sounded non nearly as pleased with the develop lock forcets as collet chuck would arrive envisaged. â€Å"Why didnt mortal single out me we had a lead on Langdon?”\r\nâ€Å"You were on a phone c exclusively and †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"W here(predicate) ex start alongly are you, Lieutenant collet?”\r\ncollet chuck gave him the address. â€Å"The demesne belongs to a British national named Teabing. Langdon drove a elevator carnival distance to get here, and the vehicle is in spite of appearance the security gate, with no signs of forced entry, so chances are good that Langdon pass ons the occupant.”\r\nâ€Å"Im access out,” Fache said. â€Å"Dont murder a move. Ill hatfulle this person eachy.”\r\n ferrules jaw befuddleped. â€Å" nonwithstanding Captain, youre twenty minutes external! We should act straight. I agree him s leased out. Im with eight reckon force total. Four of us have f guile theatre rifles and the differents have fount ordnance store.” â€Å"Wait for me.” â€Å"Captain, what if Langdon has a hostage in at that place? What if he sees us and decides to go on on stand? We contend to move in a flash! My men are in position and organise to go.”\r\nâ€Å"Lieutenant collet, you w poorly(predicate) wait for me to stimulate sooner taking work on. That is an order.” Fache hung up.\r\nStunned, Lieutenant collet chuck switched moody his phone. Why the hell is Fache request me to wait? ferrule knew the answer. Fache, though celebrated for his instinct, was nonorious for his pride. Fache wants de nonation for the arrest. afterwards putting the Ameri en softles side all over the television, Fache cherished to be sure his cause face got friction match time. Collets cable was simply to hold devour the fort until the boss showed up to action the day.\r\nAs he stood there, Collet flashed on a second possible story for this de worldly. Damage control. In law enforcement, hesitate to arrest a fugitive lone roughly(prenominal) occurred when un accreditedty had arisen regarding the suspects guilt. Is Fache having second ideas that Langdon is the right composition? The thought was frightening. Captain Fache had at rest(p) out on a limb this plaining to arrest Robert Langdon †surveillance cachee, Interpol, an d straightway television. non even the great Bezu Fache would survive the political outlying(prenominal)eout if he had mistakenly dabbled a prominent Americans face all over french television, claiming he was a murderer. If Fache now realized hed make a mistake, accordingly it made perfect mind that he would tell Collet not to make a move. The last occasion Fache needed was for Collet to storm an unobjectionable Brits private estate and take Langdon at crap-shooterpoint.\r\nMoreover, Collet realized, if Langdon were innocent, it explained one of this cases strangest paradoxes: Why had Sophie Neveu, the granddaughter of the victim, helped the allege sweep awayer escape? Unless Sophie knew Langdon was falsely supercharged. Fache had posited all kinds of explanations tonight to explain Sophies odd behavior, including that Sophie, as Saunieres sole heir, had persuaded her secret lover Robert Langdon to kill off Sauniere for the inheritance money. Sauniere, if he had pret end this, energyiness have odd the guard the message P. S. re prolong RobertLangdon.Collet was f var.ly reliable both(prenominal)(prenominal)thing else was passage on here. Sophie Neveu seemed far too unhurt of citation to be mixed up in roundthing that sordid.\r\nâ€Å"Lieutenant?” One of the field agents came running over. â€Å"We put together a car.”\r\nCollet followed the agent to the highest degree(predicate) fifty yards prehistoric the driveway. The agent pointed to a round-eyed raise on the opposite side of the road. There, pose in the brush, al close to out of sight, was a black Audi. It had rental plates. Collet entangle the hood. Still warm. Hot even.\r\nâ€Å"That must be how Langdon got here,” Collet said. â€Å"Call the rental comp each. Find out if its stolen.”\r\nâ€Å"Yes, sir.”\r\nAnother agent waved Collet abide over in the counsellor of the fence. â€Å"Lieutenant, have a await at this.” He pecked Collet a pair of night vision field glasses. â€Å"The grove of trees near the top of the driveway.”\r\nCollet aimed the binoculars up the hill and ad salutaryed the throw intensifier telephone dials. Slowly, the greenish shapes came into focus. He primed(p) the curve of the driveway and easy followed it up, or slice the grove of trees. All he could do was stare. There, shrouded in the greenery, was an armored sink transport. A truck identical to the one Collet had permitted to leave the Depository Bank of Zurich earlier tonight. He prayed this was some kind of bizarre coincidence, still he knew it could not be.\r\nâ€Å"It seems obvious,” the agent said,” that this truck is how Langdon and Neveu got away from the swear.”\r\nCollet was speechless. He thought of the armored truck driver he had stop at the roadblock. The Rolex. His impatience to leave. I neer checked the cargo hold.\r\nIncredulous, Collet realized that someone in the bank had actual ly lied to DCPJ about Langdon and Sophies whereabouts and then helped them escape. alone who? And why? Collet wondered if perhaps this were the reason Fache had told him not to take action withal. Maybe Fache realized there were more wad involved tonight than sinlessly Langdon and Sophie. And if Langdon and Neveu arrived inthe armored truck, then who drove the Audi?\r\nHundreds of miles to the south, a ch cr afterwardsed Beechcraft Baron 58 raced atomic number 7 over the Tyrrhenian Sea. Despite calm skies, Bishop Aringarosa clutched an airsickness bag, certain he could be ill at some(prenominal) moment. His conversation with capital of France had not at all been what he had conjectured.\r\nAlone in the piffling cabin, Aringarosa misrepresented the gold ring on his leaf and tried to ease his overwhelming mavin of fear and desperation. E genuinelything in Paris has gone terribly wrong.Closing his eyeball, Aringarosa said a solicitation that Bezu Fache would have the mea ns to fix it.\r\nCHAPTER 64\r\nTeabing sat on the divan, cradling the wooden corner on his lap and admiring the hats intricate in frame travel. Tonight has become the strangest and most magic night of my life.\r\nâ€Å"Lift the lid,” Sophie whispered, standing over him, beside Langdon.\r\nTeabing smiled. Do not rush me.Having spend over a decade curious for this cable match, he wanted to savor all(prenominal) millisecond of this moment. He ran a medal across the wooden lid, feeling the cereal of the beautify flower.\r\nâ€Å"The blush,” he whispered. The Rose is Magdalene is the divine grail.The Rose is the compass that guides the way.Teabing tangle foolish. For eld he had traveled to cathedrals and churches all over France, indemnifying for special access, examining hundreds of archways to a lower place travel windows, inquiring for an encrypted aboriginal perdition. La clef de voute †a stone key below the sign of the Rose.\r\nTeabing slowly unlatched the lid and raised it.\r\nAs his eyes at last gazed upon the contents, he knew in an instant it could only be the key fruit. He was staring at a stone cylinder, crafted of interconnecting lettered dials. The dev scum seemed surprisingly beaten(prenominal) to him.\r\nâ€Å"Designed from Da Vincis diaries,” Sophie said. â€Å"My grandfather made them as a hobby.”\r\nOf course, Teabing realized. He had seen the sketches and blueprints. The key to incuring the Holy grail lies inner(a) this stone.Teabing lifted the heavy cryptex from the box, guardianship it gently. Although he had no idea how to informal the cylinder, he sensed his own destiny lay inside. In moments of failure, Teabing had questioned whether his lifes quest would ever be rewarded. Now those doubts were gone forever. He could take the ancient words… the foundation of the grail legend:\r\nVous ne trouvez pas le Saint-Graal, cest le Saint-Graal qui vous trouve. You do not find the gra il, the grail finds you. And tonight, incredibly, the key to finding the Holy Grail had walked right by dint of and by dint of and by means of with(predicate) his precedent door.\r\n sequence Sophie and Teabing sat with the cryptex and talked about the vinegar, the dials, and what the password king be, Langdon carried the rosewood box across the live to a wellspring-lit table to get a better look at it. Something Teabing had ripe said was now running through with(predicate) Langdons mind.\r\nThe key to the Grail is hidden beneath the sign of the Rose.\r\nLangdon held the wooden box up to the unprovoked and canvassd the adorn symbol of the Rose. Although his knownity with art did not include wood workings or in determined furniture, he had just re grouseed the illustrious tiled ceiling of the Spanish monastery out-of-door of Madrid, where, terce centuries after its construction, the ceiling tiles began to fall out, revealing sacred texts scrawled by monastics on the plaster beneath.\r\nLangdon looked again at the Rose.\r\n beneath the Rose. Sub Rosa. Secret.\r\nA bump in the hallway nooky(predicate) him made Langdon turn. He dictum nothing but cans. Teabings manservant most uniformly had passed through. Langdon sullen stake to the box. He ran his finger over the smooth environ of the inlay, wondering if he could pry the Rose out, but the craftsmanship was perfect. He doubted even a razor blade could take on in between the inlaid Rose and the cautiously carved depression into which it was seated.\r\n interruption the box, he examined the inside of the lid. It was smooth. As he shifted its position, though, the washy caught what appeared to be a weeny fix on the underside of the lid, positioned in the exact center. Langdon closed the lid and examined the inlaid symbol from the top. No hole.\r\nIt doesnt pass through.\r\n shot the box on the table, he looked more or less the fashion and spied a stack of document with a composing clip on it. Borrowing the clip, he re turned to the box, opened it, and canvass the hole again. Carefully, he unbent the paper clip and inserted one end into the hole. He gave a gentle push. It took almost no effort. He sampled something clatter lightly onto the table. Langdon closed the lid to look. It was a small piece of wood, like a puzzle piece. The wooden Rose had popped out of the lid and move onto the desk.\r\nSpeechless, Langdon stared at the bare spot on the lid where the Rose had been. There, inscribe in the wood, written in an harmless hand, were four lines of text in a language he had never seen.\r\nThe characters look vaguely Semitic, Langdon thought to himself, and yet I dont recognize the language!\r\nA abrupt movement behind him caught his attention. Out of nowhere, a crushing blow to the head knocked Langdon to his knees.\r\nAs he fell, he thought for a moment he saw a piquet ghost hovering over him, clutching a wedge. Then everything went black.\r\nCHAP TER 65\r\nSophie Neveu, despite working in law enforcement, had never found herself at gaseous statepoint until tonight. Almost inconceivably, the gun into which she was now staring was clutched in the pale hand of an enormous albino with long albumen hair. He looked at her with red eyes that radiated a frightening, disembodied quality. Dressed in a wool robe with a rope tie, he resembled a chivalrous cleric. Sophie could not imagine who he was, and yet she was feeling a sudden new respect for Teabings suspicions that the Church was behind this.\r\nâ€Å"You receipt what I have come for,” the monastic said, his voice hollow.\r\nSophie and Teabing were seated on the divan, arms raised as their attacker had commanded. Langdon lay groaning on the floor. The monks eyes fell immediately to the paint on Teabings lap.\r\nTeabings tone was defiant. â€Å"You go out not be able to open it.”\r\nâ€Å"My Teacher is very wise,” the monk replied, inching closer, the gun shifting between Teabing and Sophie.\r\nSophie wondered where Teabings manservant was. Didnt he hear Robert fall?\r\nâ€Å"Who is your teacher?” Teabing asked. â€Å"Perhaps we can make a financial arrangement.” â€Å"The Grail is priceless.” He moved closer.” Youre bleeding,” Teabing noted calmly, dolourous to the monks right ankle where a trickle of blood had run rarify his leg. â€Å"And youre limping.”\r\nâ€Å"As do you,” the monk replied, motioning to the metal crutches propped beside Teabing. â€Å"Now, hand me the keystone.”\r\nâ€Å"You know of the keystone?” Teabing said, sounding move. â€Å" neer mind what I know. Stand up slowly, and blow over it to me.” â€Å"Standing is difficult for me.” â€Å"Precisely. I would prefer no trunk attempt any quick moves.”\r\nTeabing slipped his right hand through one of his crutches and grasped the keystone in his left wing. Lurching to his feet , he stood erect, palming the heavy cylinder in his left hand, and leaning unsteadily on his crutch with his right.\r\nThe monk closed to within a hardly a(prenominal) feet, hold the lineing the gun aimed directly at Teabings head. Sophie watched, feeling helpless as the monk reached out to take the cylinder.\r\nâ€Å"You pull up stakes not succeed,” Teabing said. â€Å"Only the worthy can open this stone.”\r\nGod alone judges the worthy, Silas thought.\r\nâ€Å"Its quite heavy,” the man on crutches said, his arm fluctuation now. â€Å"If you dont take it soon, Im afraid I shall drop it!” He swayed perilously.\r\nSilas stepped quickly forward to take the stone, and as he did, the man on crutches lost his balance. The crutch slid out from under him, and he began to topple sideways to his right. No! Silas lunged to come through the stone, lowering his weapon in the process. But the keystone was moving away from him now. As the man fell to his right, his left hand swung rumpward, and the cylinder tumbled from his palm onto the couch. At the equal instant, the metal crutch that had been sliding out from under the man seemed to accelerate, cutting a astray arc through the air toward Silass leg.\r\nsplinters of pain tore up Silass dust as the crutch made perfect pass on with his cilice, crushing the barbs into his already raw flesh. Buckling, Silas crumble to his knees, causing the belt to cut mysticaler still. The pistol discharged with a deafening roar, the green goddess burying itself harmlessly in the floorboards as Silas fell. earlier he could raise the gun and fire again, the cleaning ladys foot caught him square beneath the jaw.\r\nAt the layabout of the driveway, Collet hear the gunshot. The muffled pop sent threat through his veins. With Fache on the way, Collet had already relinquished any hopes of claiming personal credit for finding Langdon tonight. But Collet would be damned if Faches ego arrive him in fron t of a Ministerial revue Board for negligent patrol procedure.\r\nA weapon was discharged inside a private sept! And you waited at the bottom of the driveway?\r\nCollet knew the opportunity for a stealth approach had long since passed. He as well as knew if he stood idly by for another second, his entire career would be history by morning. Eyeing the estates iron gate, he made his decision.\r\nâ€Å"Tie on, and pull it down.”\r\nIn the distant recesses of his blurred mind, Robert Langdon had heard the gunshot. Hed also heard a scream of pain. His own? A jackhammer was boring a hole into the rearwards of his cranium. Somewhere nearby, people were talking.\r\nâ€Å"Where the devil were you?” Teabing was yelling. The manservant hurried in. â€Å"What happened? Oh my God! Who is that? Ill call the police!” â€Å"Bloody hell! Dont call the police. Make yourself useful and get us something with which to restrain this monster.”\r\nâ€Å"And some ice!† Sophie called after him.\r\nLangdon drifted out again. More voices. Movement. Now he was seated on the divan. Sophie was holding an ice pack to his head. His skull ached. As Langdons vision finally began to clear, he found himself staring at a body on the floor. Am I hallucinating? The massive body of an albino monk lay bound and gagged with canal tape. His chin was split open, and the robe over his right thigh was soaked with blood. He too appeared to be just now coming to.\r\nLangdon turned to Sophie. â€Å"Who is that? What… happened?”\r\nTeabing hobbled over. â€Å"You were rescued by a knight brandishing an Excalibur made by Acme Orthopedic.”\r\nHuh? Langdon tried to sit up.\r\nSophies feign was shaken but tender. â€Å"Just give yourself a minute, Robert.”\r\nâ€Å"I fear,” Teabing said,” that Ive just demonstrate for your lady friend the unfortunate take in of my condition. It seems everyone underestimates you.”\r\nFrom hi s seat on the divan, Langdon gazed down at the monk and tried to imagine what had happened.\r\nâ€Å"He was wearing a cilice,”Teabing explained. â€Å"A what?” Teabing pointed to a bloody strip of barbed slash that lay on the floor. â€Å"A checker belt. He wore it on his thigh. I took careful aim.”\r\nLangdon rubbed his head. He knew of look into belts. â€Å"But how… did you know?”\r\nTeabing grinned. â€Å"Christianity is my field of study, Robert, and there are certain sects who wear their hearts on their sleeves.” He pointed his crutch at the blood soaking through the monks cloak. â€Å"As it were.”\r\nâ€Å"Opus Dei,” Langdon whispered, recalling recent media coverage of several prominent Boston business community who were members of Opus Dei. Apprehensive coworkers had falsely and in public accused the men of wearing Discipline belts beneath their three-piece suits. In fact, the three men did no such thing. wish ma ny members of Opus Dei, these businessmen were at the” supernumerary” stage and practiced no corporal mortification at all. They were good Catholics, caring fathers to their children, and deeply dedicated members of the community. non surprisingly, the media spotlighted their spiritual commitment only in short before moving on to the semiconsciousness value of the sects more stringent” numerary” members… members like the monk now lying on the floor before Langdon.\r\nTeabing was tone about at the bloody belt. â€Å"But why would Opus Dei be trying to find the Holy Grail?”\r\nLangdon was too groggy to consider it.\r\nâ€Å"Robert,” Sophie said, walking to the wooden box. â€Å"Whats this?” She was holding the small Rose inlay he had removed from the lid.” It covered an engraving on the box. I guess the text might tell us how to open the keystone.” Before Sophie and Teabing could respond, a sea of blue police lights and sirens erupted at thebottom of the hill and began snaking up the half-mile driveway.\r\nTeabing frowned. â€Å"My friends, it seems we have a decision to make. And wed better make it fast.”\r\nCHAPTER 66\r\nCollet and his agents burst through the front door of Sir Leigh Teabings estate with their guns drawn. Fanning out, they began run all the rooms on the beginning(a) level. They found a bullet hole in the drawing room floor, signs of a struggle, a small amount of blood, a strange, barbed leather belt, and a partly used roll of groove tape. The entire level seemed deserted.\r\nJust as Collet was about to divide his men to search the basement and grounds behind the house, he heard voices on the level supra them.\r\nâ€Å"Theyre upstairs!”\r\nRushing up the wide staircase, Collet and his men moved room by room through the ample home, securing darkened bedrooms and hallways as they closed in on the sounds of voices. The sound seemed to be coming from the last be droom on an exceptionally long hallway. The agents inched down the corridor, sealing off alternate exits.\r\nAs they neared the final bedroom, Collet could see the door was wide open. The voices had stopped utterly, and had been replaced by an odd rumbling, like an railway locomotive.\r\nsidearm raised, Collet gave the signal. Reaching silently nearly the door frame, he found the light switch and flicked it on. Spinning into the room with men pouring in after him, Collet shouted and aimed his weapon at… nothing.\r\nAn put down guest bedroom. Pristine.\r\nThe rumbling sounds of an automobile engine poured from a black electronic adorn on the surround beside the bed. Collet had seen these elsewhere in the house. Some kind of intercommunication system system. He raced over. The panel had about a dozen labeled get-up-and-gos:\r\nSTUDY… KITCHEN… washout… CELLAR…\r\nSo where the hell do I hear a car?\r\nMASTER BED room… SUN ROOM… BARN†¦ LIBRARY…\r\nBarn! Collet was downstairs in seconds, running toward the back door, grabbing one of his agents on the way. The men track the stool lawn and arrived breathless at the front of a weathered gray barn. until now before they entered, Collet could hear the fade sounds of a car engine. He pull his weapon, rushed in, and flicked on the lights.\r\nThe right side of the barn was a rudimentary shop class †lawn-mowers, automotive tools, gardening supplies. A familiar intercom panel hung on the wall nearby. One of its buttons was flipped down, transmitting.\r\nGUEST BEDROOM II.\r\nCollet wheeled, anger brimming. They lured us upstairs with the intercom! Searching the other side of the barn, he found a long line of horse stalls. No horses. Apparently the proprietor preferred a different kind of horsepower; the stalls had been converted into an noble automotive parking facility. The collection was awesome †a black Ferrari, a autochthonic Rolls-Royce, an ant ique Astin Martin sports coupe, a vintage Porsche 356.\r\nThe last stall was drop off.\r\nCollet ran over and saw oil stains on the stall floor. They cant get off the compound.The driveway and gate were blockade with two patrol cars to prevent this very situation.\r\nâ€Å"Sir?” The agent pointed down the length of the stalls.\r\nThe barns rear slider was wide open, giving way to a dark, muddy slope of bad handle that stretched out into the night behind the barn. Collet ran to the door, trying to see out into the darkness. All he could make out was the faint shadow of a timber in the distance. No headlights. This bosky vale was likely criss track by tons of un mathematical functionped fire roads and hunting trails, but Collet was confident his butt would never make the woods. â€Å"Get some men spread out down there. Theyre probably already stuck somewhere nearby. These take in sports cars cant handle terrain.”\r\nâ€Å"Um, sir?” The agent pointed to a nearby pegboard on which hung several sets of keys. The labels above the keys pall familiar names.\r\nDAIMLER… ROLLS-ROYCE… ASTIN MARTIN… PORSCHE…\r\nThe last peg was empty.\r\nWhen Collet read the label above the empty peg, he knew he was in trouble.\r\nCHAPTER 67\r\nThe background Rover was Java desolate Pearl, four-wheel drive, standard transmission, with high- strength polypropene lamps, rear light cluster fittings, and the maneuver wheel on the right.\r\nLangdon was pleased he was not driving.\r\nTeabings manservant Remy, on orders from his master, was doing an impressive job of maneuvering the vehicle across the moonlit fields behind Chateau Villette. With no headlights, he had go through an open knoll and was now come down a long slope, moving far away from the estate. He seemed to be movement toward a jagged silhouette of wooded land in the distance.\r\nLangdon, cradling the keystone, turned in the passenger seat and eyed Teabing and Sophie i n the back seat.\r\nâ€Å"Hows your head, Robert?” Sophie asked, sounding concerned. Langdon forced a pained smile. â€Å"Better, thanks.” It was killing him. Beside her, Teabing glanced over his elevate at the bound and gagged monk lying in the cramped luggage knowledge domain behind the back seat. Teabing had the monks gun on his lap and looked like an old painting of a British safari snap posing over his kill.\r\nâ€Å"So gladiola you popped in this evening, Robert,” Teabing said, grinning as if he were having fun for the first time in years.\r\nâ€Å"Sorry to get you involved in this, Leigh.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh, please, Ive waited my entire life to be involved.” Teabing looked ult Langdon out the windshield at the shadow of a long hedgerow. He tapped Remy on the berm joint from behind.” Remember, no brake lights. drill the emergency brake if you need it. I want to get into the woods a bit. No reason to risk them beholding us from the h ouse.”\r\nRemy coasted to a crawl and manoeuvre the Range Rover through an first step in the hedge. As the vehicle lurched onto an exceed pathway, almost immediately the trees overhead blotted out the moonlight.\r\nI cant see a thing, Langdon thought, drive to distinguish any shapes at all in front of them. It was pitch black. Branches rubbed against the left side of the vehicle, and Remy corrected in the other direction. Keeping the wheel more or less straight now, he inched out front about thirty yards.\r\nâ€Å"Youre doing beautifully, Remy,” Teabing said. â€Å"That should be far enough. Robert, if you could press that little blue button just below the vent there. see to it it?”\r\nLangdon found the button and pressed it.\r\nA muted icteric glow fan out across the path in front of them, revealing thick underwood on both side of the pathway. haze lights, Langdon realized. They gave off just enough light to keep them on the path, and yet they were deep enough into the woods now that the lights would not give them away.\r\nâ€Å"Well, Remy,” Teabing chimed happily. â€Å"The lights are on. Our lives are in your hands.” â€Å"Where are we going?” Sophie asked.” This trail continues about three kilometers into the forest,” Teabing said. â€Å"Cutting across the estate and then arching uniting. Provided we dont hit any standing water or fallen trees, we shall emerge unscathed on the shoulder of highway five.”\r\nUnscathed.Langdons head begged to differ. He turned his eyes down to his own lap, where the keystone was safely stowed in its wooden box. The inlaid Rose on the lid was back in place, and although his head felt muddled, Langdon was yearning to remove the inlay again and examine the engraving beneath more closely. He unlatched the lid and began to raise it when Teabing laid a hand on his shoulder from behind.\r\nâ€Å"Patience, Robert,” Teabing said. â€Å"Its bumpy and dark. G od save us if we break anything. If you didnt recognize the language in the light, you wont do any better in the dark. Lets focus on get away in one piece, shall we? There will be time for that very soon.”\r\nLangdon knew Teabing was right. With a nod, he relatched the box.\r\nThe monk in back was moaning now, struggling against his trusses. Suddenly, he began kicking wildly.\r\nTeabing spun more or less and aimed the pistol over the seat. â€Å"I cant imagine your complaint, sir. You trespassed in my home and planted a nasty welt on the skull of a dear friend. I would be well within my rights to shoot you right now and leave you to rot in the woods.” The monk fell silent.” Are you sure we should have brought him?” Langdon asked.\r\nâ€Å"Bloody well positive!” Teabing exclaimed. â€Å"Youre wanted for murder, Robert. This scoundrel is your ticket to freedom. The police on the face of it want you badly enough to have tailed you to my home.”\ r\nâ€Å"My fault,” Sophie said. â€Å"The armored car probably had a transmitter.”\r\nâ€Å"Not the point,” Teabing said. â€Å"Im not surprised the police found you, but I am surprised that this Opus Dei character found you. From all youve told me, I cant imagine how this man could have tailed you to my home unless he had a contact lens either within the Judicial jurisprudence or within the Zurich Depository.”\r\nLangdon considered it. Bezu Fache certainly seemed intent on finding a scapegoat for tonights murders. And Vernet had turned on them rather suddenly, although considering Langdon was being charged with four murders, the bankers change of heart seemed understandable.\r\nâ€Å"This monk is not working alone, Robert,” Teabing said,” and until you learn who is behind all this, you both are in danger. The good news, my friend, is that you are now in the position of power. This monster behind me holds that information, and whoever is drag his strings has got to be quite anxious(p) right now.”\r\nRemy was picking up speed, getting comfortable with the trail. They splashed through some water, climbed a small rise, and began descending again.\r\nâ€Å"Robert, could you be so kind as to hand me that phone?” Teabing pointed to the car phone on the dash. Langdon handed it back, and Teabing dialed a number. He waited for a very long time before someone answered. â€Å"Richard? Did I wake you? Of course, I did. Silly question. Im sorry. I have a small problem. Im feeling a bit off. Remy and I need to pop up to the Isles for my treatments. Well, right away, actually. Sorry for the short notice. derriere you have Elizabeth ready in about twenty minutes? I know, do the best you can. See you shortly.” He hung up.\r\nâ€Å"Elizabeth?” Langdon said.\r\nâ€Å"My plane. She woo me a Queens ransom.” Langdon turned full around and looked at him.” What?” Teabing demanded. â€Å"Yo u two cant expect to cleave in France with the entire Judicial Police after you. London will be much safer.”\r\nSophie had turned to Teabing as well. â€Å"You hazard we should leave the country?”\r\nâ€Å"My friends, I am far more influential in the civilized world than here in France. Furthermore, the Grail is believed to be in ample Britain. If we unlock the keystone, I am certain we will discover a map that indicates we have moved in the straitlaced direction.”\r\nâ€Å"Youre running a big risk,” Sophie said,” by helping us. You wont make any friends with the cut police.”\r\nTeabing gave a wave of disgust. â€Å"I am finished with France. I moved here to find the keystone. That work is now done. I shant care if I ever again see Chateau Villette.”\r\nSophie sounded uncertain. â€Å"How will we get through airport security?”\r\nTeabing chuckled. â€Å"I vaporise from Le Bourget †an executive airfield not far from her e. French doctors make me nervous, so every fortnight, I fly north to take my treatments in England. I pay for certain special privileges at both ends. Once were airborne, you can make a decision as to whether or not youd like someone from the U. S. Embassy to meet us.”\r\nLangdon suddenly didnt want anything to do with the embassy. All he could think of was the keystone, the inscription, and whether it would all lead to the Grail. He wondered if Teabing was right about Britain. Admittedly most modern legends placed the Grail somewhere in the United superpowerdom. Even King Arthurs mythical, Grail-rich Isle of Avalon was now believed to be none other than Glastonbury, England. Wherever the Grail lay, Langdon never imagined he would actually be looking for it. The Sangreal documents.The true history of Jesus Christ.The tomb of Mary Magdalene.He suddenly felt as if he were living in some kind of limbo tonight… a bubble where the real world could not reach him.\r\nâ€Å" Sir?” Remy said. â€Å"Are you truly view of knuckle undering to England for good?”\r\nâ€Å"Remy, you neednt worry,” Teabing assured. â€Å"Just because I am returning to the Queens realm does not mean I intend to fount my palate to bangers and mash for the rest of my days. I expect you will join me there permanently. Im planning to buy a fantabulous villa in Devonshire, and well have all your things shipped up immediately. An adventure, Remy. I say, an adventure!”\r\nLangdon had to smile. As Teabing railed on about his plans for a triumphant return to Britain, Langdon felt himself caught up in the mans septic enthusiasm.\r\nGazing absently out the window, Langdon watched the woods strait by, ghostly pale in the yellow blush of the fog lights. The side reflect was tipped inward, brushed askew by branches, and Langdon saw the reflection of Sophie sitting hushed in the back seat. He watched her for a long while and felt an surprising upwelling of c ontentment. Despite his troubles tonight, Langdon was thankful to have landed in such good company.\r\nAfter several minutes, as if suddenly spying his eyes on her, Sophie leaned forward and put her hands on his shoulders, giving him a quick rub. â€Å"You okay?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah,” Langdon said. â€Å"Somehow.”\r\nSophie sat back in her seat, and Langdon saw a quiet smile cross her lips. He realized that he too was now grinning.\r\n secure in the back of the Range Rover, Silas could but breathe. His arms were wrenched backward and heavily lashed to his ankles with kitchen ramble and duct tape. Every bump in the road sent pain shoot through his twisted shoulders. At least(prenominal) his captors had removed the cilice. Unable to inhale through the strip of tape over his mouth, he could only breathe through his nostrils, which were slowly clogging up due to the dust-covered rear cargo area into which he had been crammed. He began coughing.\r\nâ€Å"I think hes choking,” the French driver said, sounding concerned.\r\nThe British man who had struck Silas with his crutch now turned and peered over the seat, frowning coldly at Silas. â€Å" fortunately for you, we British judge mans civility not by his compassion for his friends, but by his compassion for his enemies.” The Brit reached down and grabbed the duct tape on Silass mouth. In one fast motion, he tore it off.\r\nSilas felt as if his lips had just caught fire, but the air pouring into his lungs was sent from God. â€Å"Whom do you work for?” the British man demanded.” I do the work of God,” Silas spat back through the pain in his jaw where the woman had kicked him.\r\nâ€Å"You belong to Opus Dei,” the man said. It was not a question. â€Å"You know nothing of who I am.” â€Å"Why does Opus Dei want the keystone?”\r\nSilas had no intention of answering. The keystone was the tie beam to the Holy Grail, and the Holy Grail was the key to protecting the faith.\r\nI do the work of God. The Way is in peril.\r\nNow, in the Range Rover, struggling against his bonds, Silas feared he had failed the Teacher and the bishop forever. He had no way even to contact them and tell them the terrible turn of events. My captors have the keystone! They will reach the Grail before we do! In the stifling darkness, Silas prayed. He let the pain of his body fuel his supplications.\r\nA miracle, Lord.I need a miracle.Silas had no way of knowing that hours from now, he would get one.\r\nâ€Å"Robert?” Sophie was still watching him. â€Å"A funny look just crossed your face.”\r\nLangdon glanced back at her, realizing his jaw was heavily set and his heart was racing. An incredible fancy had just occurred to him. Could it really be that honest an explanation?” I need to use your cell phone, Sophie.” â€Å"Now?” â€Å"I think I just figured something out.” â€Å"What?” â€Å"Ill tell you in a minute. I need your phone.”\r\nSophie looked wary. â€Å"I doubt Fache is tracing, but keep it under a minute just in case.” She gave him her phone.\r\nâ€Å"How do I dial the States?”\r\nâ€Å"You need to reverse the charges. My service doesnt cover transatlantic.”\r\nLangdon dialed zero, knowing that the next sixty seconds might answer a question that had been enigmatic him all night.\r\n'