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CHAPTER 93
London’s Opus Dei Centre is athe North Walk at Kensington Gardens Silas had never been here, but he felt a rising sense of refuge and asylu on foot Despite the rain, Remy had dropped him off a short distance away in order to keep the limousine off the main streets Silas didn’t
At Reun and disposed of it through a sewer grate He was glad to get rid of it He felt lighter His legs still ached froreater pain He wondered, though, about Teabing, whom Remy had left bound in the back of the li the pain by now
"What will you do with him?" Silas had asked Reed "That is a decision for the Teacher" There was an odd finality in his tone Now, as Silas approached the Opus Dei building, the rain began to fall harder, soaking his heavy robe, stinging the wounds of the day before He was ready to leave behind the sins of the last twenty-four hours and purge his soul His as done
Moving across a small courtyard to the front door, Silas was not surprised to find the door unlocked He opened it and stepped into the minimalist foyer A muted electronic chime sounded upstairs as Silas stepped onto the carpet The bell was a common feature in these halls where the residents spent most of the day in their rooms in prayer Silas could hear movement above on the creaky wood floors
A man in a cloak came downstairs "May I help you?" He had kind eyes that see physical appearance
"Thank you My name is Silas I am an Opus Dei numerary" "Aht I rest here?"
"You need not even ask There are two e you some tea and bread?"
"Thank you" Silas was famished
Silas went upstairs to a modest room with a here he took off his wet robe and knelt down to pray in his undergarments He heard his host come up and lay a tray outside his door Silas finished his prayers, ate his food, and lay down to sleep
Three stories below, a phone was ringing The Opus Dei numerary who had welcomed Silas answered the line
"This is the London police," the caller said "We are trying to find an albino ht be there Have you seen him?"
The nu?" "He is there now?" "Yes, upstairs praying What is going on?"
"Leave him precisely where he is," the officer co officers over right away"
CHAPTER 94
St Jareen in thethe palaces of Westha Henry VIII and stocked with deer for the hunt, St James’s Park is now open to the public On sunny afternoons, Londoners picnic beneath the s and feed the pond’s resident pelicans, whose ancestors were a gift to Charles II from the Russian ambassador
The Teacher saw no pelicans today The storulls from the ocean The laere covered with the the sa out the da, the park afforded splendid views of the Houses of Parlia lawns, past the duck pond and the delicate silhouettes of the weeping s, the Teacher could see the spires of the building that housed the knight’s tomb - the real reason he had told Remy to come to this spot
As the Teacher approached the front passenger door of the parked limousine, Remy leaned across and opened the door The Teacher paused outside, taking a pull fro his mouth, he slid in beside Remy and closed the door
Remy held up the keystone like a trophy "It was almost lost" "You have done well," the Teacher said
"We have done well," Reer hands The Teacher adun? You wiped it down?" "Back in the glove box where I found it" "Excellent" The Teacher took another drink of cognac and handed the flask to Remy "Let’s toast our success The end is near"
Renac tasted salty, but Remy didn’t care He and the Teacher were truly partners now He could feel hiher station in life I will never be a servant againAs Reazed down the embankment at the duck pond below, Chateau Villette see fro his blood The warmth in Remy’s throat, however,his bow tie, Rerittiness and handed the flask back to the Teacher "I’ve probably had enough," hethe flask, the Teacher said," Remy, as you are aware, you are the only one who knows my face I placed enor feverish as he loosened his tie further "And your identity shall go withthe flask and the keystone, the Teacher reached for the glove box and pulled out the tiny Medusa revolver For an instant, Ree of fear, but the Teacher simply slipped it in his trousers pocket
What is he doing? Re suddenly
"I know I pro regretful "But considering your circumstances, this is the best I can do"
The swelling in Reainst the steering colu esophagus He let out a h to be heard outside the car The saltiness in the cognac now registered
I’ murdered!
Incredulous, Re calht ahead out the windshield Reasped for breath Ipossible for him! How could he do this! Whether the Teacher had intended to kill Re or whether it had been Remy’s actions in the Temple Church that had made the Teacher lose faith, Reh hi body could barely !
Remy tried to lift his clenched fists to blow the horn, but instead he slipped sideways, rolling onto the seat, lying on his side beside the Teacher, clutching at his throat The rain fell harder now Reen-deprived brain straining to cling to his last faint shreds of lucidity As his world sloent black, Realudec could have sworn he heard the sounds of the soft Riviera surf
The Teacher stepped fro in his direction Ihad no choice, he told himself, surprised how little remorse he felt for what he had just done Re that Reht need to be eli himself in the Temple Church, Redon’s unexpected visit to Chateau Villette had brought the Teacher both a fortuitous windfall and an intricate diledon had delivered the keystone directly to the heart of the operation, which was a pleasant surprise, and yet he had brought the police on his tail Remy’s prints were all over Chateau Villette, as well as in the barn’s listening post, where Rerateful he had taken soany ties between Remy’s activities and his own Nobody could ier a concern
Onenoard the rear door of the limousine The police will have no idea what happenedand no living witness left to tell the, he pulled open the door and climbed into the spacious rear compart St Jadonand NeveuThey were eable At the moment, however, the Teacher had the cryptex to attend to
Gazing triumphantly across the park, he could see his destination In London lies a knight a Pope interredAs soon as the Teacher had heard the poem, he had known the answer Even so, that the others had not figured it out was not surprising I have an unfair advantageHaving listened to Sauniere’s conversations for months now, the Teacher had heard the Grand Masterestee that he held for Da Vinci The poeht was brutally simple once one saw it - a credit to Sauniere’s wit - and yet how this tomb would reveal the final passas still a ht be on his touely recalled photos of the fa feature A e sphere e as the to and troubling to the Teacher On one hand, it felt like a signpost, and yet, according to the poeht to be on his to on his closer inspection of the to heavier now, and he tucked the cryptex deep in his right-hand pocket to protect it from the dampness He kept the tiny Medusa revolver in his left, out of sight Withininto the quiet sanctuary of London’s grandest nine-hundred-year-old building
Just as the Teacher was stepping out of the rain, Bishop Aringarosa was stepping into it On the rainy tared froainst the cold dareeted by Captain Fache Instead a young British police officer approached with an uarosa? Captain Fache had to leave He asked ested I take you to Scotland Yard He thought it would be safest"
Safest? Aringarosa looked down at the heavy briefcase of Vatican bonds clutched in his hand He had alarosa cli where Silas could be Minutes later, the police scanner crackled with the answer
5 Ornized the address instantly
The Opus Dei Centre in London
He spun to the driver "Take don’s eyes had not left the coan
Five minutes Only two hits Both irrelevant
He was starting to get worried
Pa hot drinks Langdon and Sophie had inquired unwisely if there side the tea Gettum had offered, and frodon suspected their request was about to be rewarded with instant Nescafe
Finally, the coot another," Gettudon eyed the screen Grail Allegory in Medieval Literature: A Treatise on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
"Allegory of the Green Knight," he called back
"No good," Gettuiants buried in London"
Langdon and Sophie sat patiently in front of the screen and waited through two h, the offering was unexpected
DIE OPERN VON RICHARD WAGNER
"The operas of Wagner?" Sophie asked
Gettu a packet of instant coffee "That seeht?"
"No," Langdon said, feeling a sudden intrigue "But he was a well-known Free withMozart, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Gershwin, Houdini, and DisneyVolumes had been written about the ties between the Masons and the Knights Templar, the Priory of Sion, and the Holy Grail "I want to look at this one How do I see the full text?"
"You don’t want the full text," Gettum called "Click on the hypertext title The cos and triple postlogs for context"
Langdon had no idea what she had just said, but he clicked anyway
A ne popped up
ht nauablythe LondonPhilhary" Diva’sWagner’s todon said, disappointed Even so, he was amazed by the systeh to rener’s opera Parsifal was a tribute to Mary Magdalene and the bloodline of Jesus Christ, told through the story of a young knight on a quest for truth
"Just be patient," Gettuame Let the machine run"
Over the next few minutes, the co a text about troubadours - France’s fadon kneas no coincidence that the word ical root The troubadours were the traveling servants or"the co the virtues of" our Lady" - a ed theerly, he checked the hypertext but found nothing The coain KNIGHTS, KNAVES, POPES, AND PENTACLES: THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY GRAIL THROUGH TAROT
"Not surprising," Langdon said to Sophie "Some of our keywords have the same names as individual cards" He reached for the randfather ever mentioned it when you played Tarot with hiame is a ’flash- card catechisation by the evil Church"
Sophie eyed hi incredulous "I had no idea"
"That’s the point By teaching through a uised their don often wondered how many modern card players had any clue that their four suits - spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds - were Grail-related symbols that came directly from Tarot’s four suits of swords, cups, scepters, and pentacles