The Da Vinci Code Chapter 78-80

CHAPTER 78Sophie tangle a wild excitement as she cradled the cryptex and began dialing in the letters. An ancient word of wisdom frees this scroll.Langdon and Teabing fancymed to score stopped existent as they looked on.S O FCarefully, Teabing urged. Ever so carefully. I A.Sophie aligned the final dial. Okay, she whispered, glancing up at the others. Im going to pull it apart.Remember the acetum, Langdon whispered with fearful exhilaration. Be careful.Sophie knew that if this cryptex were equivalent those she had opened in her y give awayh, all she would need to do is grip the cylinder at both ends, just beyond the dials, and pull, applying slow, soused sign onure in opposite directions. If the dials were properly aligned with the password, then one of the ends would slide off, much like a lens cap, and she could pretend inside and remove the rolled papyrus document, which would be wrapped approximatelywhat the vial of vinegar. However, if the password they had entered wer e incorrect, Sophies outward force on the ends would be transferred to a hinged lever inside, which would pivot napwards into the cavity and apply pressure to the glass vial, eventually shattering it if she pulled too hard.Pull gently, she t centenarian herself.Teabing and Langdon both leaned in as Sophie wrapped her palms around the ends of the cylinder. In the excitement of deciphering the code word, Sophie had almost forgotten what they expected to regain inside. This is the Priory keystone.According to Teabing, it contained a map to the Holy Grail, unveiling the tomb of Mary Magdalene and the Sangreal treasure the ultimate treasure trove of secret truth.Now gripping the stone tube, Sophie double-checked that all of the letters were properly aligned with the indicator. Then, slowly, she pulled. nothing happened. She utilize a little more force. Suddenly, the stone slid apart like a well-crafted telescope. The heavy end undercoat detached in her hand. Langdon and Teabing alm ost jumped to their feet. Sophies heart rate climbed as she set the end cap on the table and tipped the cylinder to peer inside.A scrollPeering have the hollow of the rolled paper, Sophie could see it had been wrapped around a cylindrical design the vial of vinegar, she assumed. Strangely, though, the paper around the vinegar was non the customary delicate papyrus plainly rather, vellum. Thats odd, she thought, vinegar cant dissolve a lambskin vellum.She looked again down the hollow of the scroll and realized the object in the center was not a vial of vinegar after all. It was something else entirely. Whats wrong? Teabing asked. Pull out the scroll. Frowning, Sophie grabbed the rolled vellum and the object around which it was wrapped, pulling them both out of the container.Thats not papyrus, Teabing said. Its too heavy. I know. Its padding. For what? The vial of vinegar?No. Sophie unrolled the scroll and revealed what was wrapped inside. For this.When Langdon saw the object ins ide the sheet of vellum, his heart sank.God help us, Teabing said, slumping. Your grandfather was a pitiless architect.Langdon stared in amazement. I see Sauniere has no intention of making this easy.On the table sat a second cryptex. Smaller. make of black onyx. It had been nested within the premier. Saunieres passion for dualism. Two cryptexes.E realthing in pairs. Double entendres.Male female.Black nested within white.Langdon felt the web of symbolization stretching onward. White gives birthto black.Every part sprang from woman. White female. Black male.Reaching over, Langdon lifted the smaller cryptex. It looked kindred to the first, except half the size and black. He heard the familiar gurgle. Apparently, the vial of vinegar they had heard rather was inside this smaller cryptex.Well, Robert, Teabing said, sliding the page of vellum over to him. Youll be pleased to hear that at least were flying in the right direction. Langdon examined the thick vellum sheet. Written in o rnate penmanship was other four-line verse. Again, in iambic pentameter. The verse was cryptic, but Langdon needed to read only as farther as the first line to realize that Teabings plan to come to Britain was going to pay off.IN LONDON LIES A cavalry A POPE INTERRED.The remainder of the poem clearly implied that the password for opening the second cryptex could be found by visiting this knights tomb, somewhere in the city.Langdon turned excitedly to Teabing. Do you have every thinker what knight this poem is referring to?Teabing grinned. Not the foggiest. But I know in precisely which crypt we should look.At that moment, cardinal miles ahead of them, six Kent police cars streaked down rain-soaked streets toward Biggin Hill Executive Airport.CHAPTER 79Lieutenant ferrule helped himself to a Perrier from Teabings refrigerator and strode okay out through the drawing room. Rather than accompanying Fache to London where the military action was, he was now baby-sitting the PTS te am that had spread out through Chateau Villette.So far, the usher they had uncovered was unhelpful a single bullet buried in the floor a paper with several symbols scrawled on it a wide with the words blade and chalice and a bloody spiked belt that PTS had told collet chuck was associated with the buttoned-up Catholic group Opus Dei, which had caused a stir recently when a news program undecided their aggressive recruiting practices in capital of France.collet chuck sighed. Good luck making sense of this unlikely melange.Moving down a lavish hallway, ferrule entered the vast ballroom study, where the chief PTS quizzer was busy dusting for fingerprints. He was a corpulent man in suspenders. Anything? ferrule asked, entering. The examiner shook his head. Nothing new. Multiple sets matching those in the rest of the house. How about the prints on the cilice belt? Interpol is still working. I uploaded all(prenominal)thing we found.Collet motioned to two sealed evidence bags on th e desk. And this? The man shrugged. Force of habit. I bag anything peculiar. Collet walked over. Peculiar?This Brits a strange one, the examiner said. Have a look at this. He sifted through the evidence bags and selected one, handing it to Collet.The photo showed the main mesmerise of a Gothic cathedral the traditional, recessed archway, narrowing through multiple, ribbed layers to a small doorway.Collet studied the photo and turned. This is peculiar? Turn it over. On the back, Collet found notations scrawled in English, describing a cathedrals long hollow nave as a secret pagan tribute to a womans womb. This was strange. The notation describing the cathedrals doorway, however, was what startled him. take into custody on He thinks a cathedrals entrance represents a womansThe examiner nodded. Complete with receding labial ridges and a nice little cinquefoil clitoris above the doorway. He sighed. Kind of makes you want to go back to church.Collet picked up the second evidence bag. Through the plastic, he could see a large burnished photograph of what appeared to be an old document. The heading at the top readLes Dossiers Secrets Number 4o lm1 249Whats this? Collet asked.No idea. Hes got copies of it all over the place, so I bagged it. Collet studied the document.PRIEURE DE SIGN LES NAUTONIERS/GRAND MASTERS blue jean DE GISORS1188-1220MARIE DE SAINT-CLAIR1220-1266GUILLAUME DE GlSORS1266-1307EDOUARD DE BAR1307-1336JEANNE DE BAR1336-1351JEAN DE SAINT-CLAIR1351-1366BLANCE DEVREUX1366-1398NICOLAS FLAMEL1398-1418RENE DANJOU1418-1480IOLANDE DE BAR1480-1483SANDRO BOTTICELLI1483-1510LEONARDO DA VINCI1510-1519CONNETABLE DE BOURBON 1519-1527FERDINAND DE GONZAQUE1527-1575LOUIS DE NEVERS1575-1595ROBERT FLUDD1595-1637J. VALENTIN ANDREA1637-1654ROBERT BOYLE1654-1691ISAAC NEWTON1691-1727CHARLES RADCLYFFE1727-1746CHARLES DE LORRAINE1746-1780MAXIMILIAN DE LORRAINE1780-1801CHARLES NODIER1801-1844VICTOR HUGO1844-1885CLAUDE DEBUSSY1885-1918JEAN COCTEAU1918-1963 Prieure de Sion ? Collet wondered.Lieutenant? Another agent stuck his head in. The switch notice has an urgent call off for Captain Fache, but they cant reach him. Will you take it? Collet returned to the kitchen and took the call. It was Andre Vernet.The bankers refined accent did little to mask the tension in his voice. I thought Captain Fache said he would call me, but I have not to that degree heard from him.The captain is quite busy, Collet replied. May I help you?I was assured I would be kept abreast of your progress tonight.For a moment, Collet thought he recognized the musical note of the mans voice, but he couldnt quite place it. Monsieur Vernet, I am currently in charge of the Paris investigation. My name is Lieutenant Collet.There was a long pause on the line. Lieutenant, I have another call coming in. Please excuse me. I will call you later. He hung up.For several seconds, Collet held the receiver. Then it dawned on him. I knew I recognized that voice The revelation made him gasp.The armored car driver.With the fake Rolex. Collet now understood why the banker had hung up so quickly. Vernet had remembered the name Lieutenant Collet the officer he blatantly lied to earlier tonight.Collet pondered the implications of this bizarre development. Vernet is involved.Instinctively, he knew he should call Fache. Emotionally, he knew this lucky break was going to be his moment to shine.He immediately called Interpol and requested every shred of information they could find on the Depository Bank of Zurich and its president, Andre Vernet.CHAPTER 80Seat belts, please, Teabings archetype announce as the Hawker 731 descended into a gloomy morning drizzle. Well be landing in five minutes.Teabing felt a joyous sense of homecoming when he saw the misty hills of Kent spreading wide downstairs the descending plane. England was less than an hour from Paris, and yet a world away. This morning, the damp, spring green of his homeland looked particularly welcoming. My time in Franc e is over.I am returning to England victorious.The keystone has been found.The question remained, of course, as to where the keystone would ultimately lead. somewhere in the United Kingdom.Where exactly, Teabing had no idea, but he was already tasting the glory.As Langdon and Sophie looked on, Teabing got up and went to the far side of the cabin, then slid aside a wall panel to reveal a discreetly cabalistic wall safe. He dialed in the combination, opened the safe, and extracted two passports. Documentation for Remy and myself. He then removed a thick stack of fifty-pound notes. And documentation for you two. Sophie looked leery. A bribe? Creative diplomacy. Executive airfields make certain allowances. A British customs official will greet us at my hangar and ask to board the plane. Rather than permitting him to come on, Ill tell him Im traveling with a cut celebrity who prefers that nobody knows she is in England press considerations, you know and Ill offer the official this ge nerous tip as gratitude for his discretion.Langdon looked amazed. And the official will accept?Not from anyone, they wont, but these people all know me. Im not an arms dealer, for heavens sake. I was knighted. Teabing smiled. Membership has its privileges.Remy approached up the gangplank now, the Heckler Koch pistol cradled in his hand. Sir, my agenda? Teabing glanced at his servant. Im going to have you stay onboard with our guest until we return.We cant very well drag him all over London with us.Sophie looked wary. Leigh, I was serious about the French police finding your plane before we return.Teabing laughed. Yes, imagine their surprise if they board and find Remy.Sophie looked surprised by his high-handed attitude. Leigh, you transported a bound hostage across international borders. This is serious.So are my lawyers. He scowled toward the monk in the rear of the plane. That animal broke into my home and almost killed me. That is a fact, and Remy will corroborate. But you tied him up and flew him to London Langdon said. Teabing held up his right hand and feigned a courtroom oath. Your honor, forgive an eccentric old knight his foolish prejudice for the British court system. I realize I should have called the French authorities, but Im a snob and do not trust those laissez-faire French to prosecute properly. This man almost murdered me. Yes, I made a rash decision forcing my manservant to help me bring him to England, but I was under great stress. Mea culpa. Mea culpa.Langdon looked incredulous. Coming from you, Leigh, that just might fly.Sir? the pilot called back. The tower just radioed. Theyve got some kind of maintenance problem out near your hangar, and theyre asking me to bring the plane directly to the end instead.Teabing had been flying to Biggin Hill for over a decade, and this was a first. Did they mention what the problem is?The controller was vague. Something about a gas leak at the pumping station? They asked me to park in front of the termi nal and keep everyone onboard until moreover notice. Safety precaution. Were not supposed to deplane until we stool the all clear from airport authorities.Teabing was skeptical. Must be one hell of a gas leak.The pumping station was a good half mile from his hangar.Remy excessively looked concerned. Sir, this sounds highly irregular.Teabing turned to Sophie and Langdon. My friends, I have an unpleasant suspicion that we are about to be met by a welcoming committee.Langdon gave a bleak sigh. I guess Fache still thinks Im his man.Either that, Sophie said, or he is too deep into this to admit his error.Teabing was not listening. Regardless of Faches mind-set, action needed to be taken fast. Dontlose sketch of the ultimate goal.The Grail.Were so dose.Below them, the landing gear descended with a clunk.Leigh, Langdon said, sounding deeply remorseful, I should turn myself in and sort this out legally. Leave you all out of it.Oh, heavens, Robert Teabing waved it off. Do you really thin k theyre going to let the rest of us go? I just transported you illegally. Miss Neveu assisted in your escape from the Louvre, and we have a man tied up in the back of the plane. Really now Were all in this together.Maybe a different airport? Sophie said.Teabing shook his head. If we pull up now, by the time we get clearance anywhere else, our welcoming party will include army tanks.Sophie slumped.Teabing sensed that if they were to have any chance of postponing confrontation with the British authorities long enough to find the Grail, bold action had to be taken. Give me a minute, he said, hobbling toward the cockpit.What are you doing? Langdon asked.Sales meeting, Teabing said, wondering how much it would cost him to persuade his pilot to perform one highly irregular maneuver.