Langdon and Katherine wheeled around to see who had spoken. In the doorway of the sitting room, two black-clad figures aimed laser-sighted rifles at them. Langdon could see a glowing red dot dancing on his chest.
“Nice to see you again, Professor,” said a familiar raspy voice. The agents parted, and the tiny form of Director Sato sliced effortlessly through,
crossing the sitting room and stopping directly in front of Langdon. “You’ve made some exceedingly poor choices tonight.”
“The police found Peter Solomon,” Langdon declared forcefully. “He’s in bad shape, but he’ll live. It’s over.”
If Sato was surprised Peter had been found, she did not show it. Her eyes were unflinching as she walked to Langdon and stopped only inches away. “Professor, I can assure you, this is nowhere
near
over. And if the police are now involved, it has only become more serious. As I told you earlier this evening, this is an extremely delicate situation. You never should have run away with that pyramid.”
“Ma’am,” Katherine blurted, “I need to see my brother. You can
have
the pyramid, but you must let—”
“I
must
?” Sato demanded, spinning to Katherine. “Ms. Solomon, I assume?” She stared at Katherine with fire in her eyes and then turned back to Langdon. “Put the leather bag on the table.”
Langdon glanced down at the pair of laser sights on his chest. He set the leather bag on the coffee table. An agent approached cautiously, unzipped the bag, and pulled the two sides apart. A little puff of trapped steam billowed up out of the bag. He aimed his light inside, stared for a long, puzzled moment, and then nodded to Sato.
Sato walked over and peered into the bag. The wet pyramid and capstone glistened in the beam of the flashlight. Sato crouched down, looking very closely at the golden capstone, which Langdon realized she had only seen in X-ray.
“The inscription,” Sato demanded. “Does it mean anything to you? ‘The secret hides within The Order’?”
“We’re not sure, ma’am.”
“Why is the pyramid steaming hot?”
“We submerged it in boiling water,” Katherine said without hesitation. “It was part of the process of deciphering the code. We’ll tell you everything, but please let us go see my brother. He’s been through—”
“You
boiled
the pyramid?” Sato demanded.
“Turn off the flashlight,” Katherine said. “Look at the capstone. You can probably still see.”
The agent flicked off his light, and Sato knelt down before the capstone. Even from where Langdon was standing, he could see that the text on the capstone was still glowing slightly.
“Eight Franklin Square?” Sato said, sounding amazed.
“Yes, ma’am. That text was written with an incandescent lacquer or something. The thirty-third degree was actually—”
“And the address?” Sato demanded. “Is
this
what this guy wants?”
“Yes,” Langdon said. “He believes the pyramid is a map that will tell him the location of a great treasure—the key to unlocking the Ancient Mysteries.”
Sato looked again at the capstone, her expression one of disbelief. “Tell me,” she said, fear creeping into her voice, “have you contacted this man yet? Have you already
given
him this address?”
“We tried.” Langdon explained what had happened when they called the man’s cell phone.
Sato listened, running her tongue over her yellow teeth as he spoke. Despite looking ready to erupt with anger over the situation, she turned to one of her agents and spoke in a restrained whisper. “Send him in. He’s in the SUV.”
The agent nodded and spoke into his transceiver.
“Send who in?” Langdon said.
“The only person who has any hope of fixing the goddamn mess you made!”
“What mess?” Langdon fired back. “Now that Peter is safe, everything is—”
“For Christ’s sake!” Sato exploded. “This is not
about
Peter! I tried to tell you that at the Capitol Building, Professor, but you chose to work
against
me rather than
with
me! Now you’ve made an ungodly mess! When you destroyed your cell phone, which, by the way, we
were
tracking, you cut off your communication with this man. And this address you uncovered—whatever the hell it is—this address was our
one
chance to catch this lunatic. I needed you to play his game, to
provide
him with this address so we would know where the hell to catch him!”
Before Langdon could reply, Sato directed the remainder of her wrath at Katherine.
“And
you,
Ms. Solomon! You
knew
where this maniac lived? Why didn’t you tell me? You sent a rent-a-cop to this man’s house? Don’t you see you’ve ruined any chance we had of catching him there? I’m glad your brother is safe, but let me tell you this, we are facing a crisis tonight whose ramifications far outreach your family. They will be felt all around the world. The man who took your brother has enormous power, and we need to catch him immediately.”
As she finished her tirade, the tall, elegant silhouette of Warren Bellamy emerged from the shadows and stepped into the sitting room. He looked rumpled, bruised, and shaken . . . like he’d been through hell.
“Warren!” Langdon stood up. “Are you okay?”
“No,” he replied. “Not really.”
“Did you hear? Peter is safe!”
Bellamy nodded, looking dazed, as if nothing mattered anymore. “Yes, I just heard your conversation. I’m glad.”
“Warren, what the hell is going on?”
Sato intervened. “You boys can catch up in a minute. Right now, Mr. Bellamy is going to reach out to this lunatic and communicate with him. Just like he’s been doing all night.”
Langdon felt lost. “Bellamy hasn’t been
communicating
with this guy tonight! This guy doesn’t even know Bellamy is involved!”
Sato turned to Bellamy and raised her eyebrows.
Bellamy sighed. “Robert, I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely honest with you this evening.” Langdon could only stare. “I thought I was doing the right thing . . .” Bellamy said, looking frightened.
“Well,” Sato said, “
now
you will do the right thing . . . and we’d all better pray to God it works.” As if to substantiate Sato’s portentous tone, the mantel clock began chiming the hour. Sato took out a Ziploc bag of items and tossed it to Bellamy. “Here’s your stuff. Does your cell phone take photos?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Hold up the capstone.”
The message Mal’akh had just received was from his contact—Warren Bellamy—the Mason he had sent to the Capitol Building earlier tonight to assist Robert Langdon. Bellamy, like Langdon, wanted Peter Solomon back alive and had assured Mal’akh he would help Langdon acquire and decipher the pyramid. All night, Mal’akh had been receiving e-mail updates, which had been automatically forwarded to his cell phone.
This should be interesting,
Mal’akh thought, opening the message.
From: Warren Bellamy
got separated from langdon
but finally have info you
demanded. proof attached.
call for missing piece. —wb
—one attachment (jpeg)—
Call for missing piece?
Mal’akh wondered, opening the attachment.
The attachment was a photo.
When Mal’akh saw it, he gasped out loud, and he could feel his heart start pounding with excitement. He was looking at a close-up of a tiny golden pyramid.
The legendary capstone!
The ornate engraving on the face carried a promising message:
The secret hides within The Order.
Beneath the inscription, Mal’akh now saw something that stunned him. The capstone seemed to be glowing. In disbelief, he stared at the faintly radiant text and realized that the legend was literally true:
The Masonic Pyramid transforms itself to reveal its secret to the worthy.
How this magical transformation had occurred, Mal’akh had no idea, and he didn’t care. The glowing text was clearly pointing to a specific location in D.C., exactly as prophesied.
Franklin Square.
Unfortunately, the photo of the capstone also included Warren Bellamy’s index finger, which was strategically positioned on the capstone to block out a critical piece of information.
The
secret hides
within The Order
Franklin Square
Call for missing piece.
Mal’akh now understood Bellamy’s meaning.
The Architect of the Capitol had been cooperative all night, but now he had chosen to play a very dangerous game.
CHAPTER
92
Beneath the
watchful gaze of several armed CIA agents, Langdon, Katherine, and Bellamy waited with Sato in the Cathedral College sitting room. On the coffee table before them, Langdon’s leather bag was still open, the golden capstone peeking out the top. The words
Eight Franklin Square
had now faded away, leaving no evidence that they had ever existed.
Katherine had pleaded with Sato to let her go see her brother, but Sato had simply shaken her head, eyes fixed on Bellamy’s cell phone. It sat on the coffee table and had yet to ring.
Why didn’t Bellamy just tell me the truth?
Langdon wondered. Apparently, the Architect had been in contact with Peter’s captor all night, reassuring him that Langdon was making progress deciphering the pyramid. It was a bluff, an attempt to buy time for Peter. In fact, Bellamy was doing all he could to interfere with anyone who threatened to unveil the pyramid’s secret. Now, however, it seemed that Bellamy had switched sides. He and Sato were now prepared to risk the pyramid’s secret in hopes of catching this man.
“Take your hands off me!” shouted an elderly voice in the hall. “I’m
blind,
not inept! I know my way through the college!” Dean Galloway was still protesting loudly as a CIA agent manhandled him into the sitting room and forced him into one of the chairs.
“Who’s here?” Galloway demanded, his blank eyes staring dead ahead. “It sounds like a lot of you. How many do you need to detain an old man? Really now!”
“There are seven of us,” Sato declared. “Including Robert Langdon, Katherine Solomon, and your Masonic brother Warren Bellamy.”
Galloway slumped, all his bluster gone.
“We’re okay,” Langdon said. “And we just heard that Peter is safe. He’s in bad shape, but the police are with him.”
“Thank heavens,” Galloway said. “And the—”
A loud rattling caused everyone in the room to jump. It was Bellamy’s cell phone vibrating against the coffee table. Everyone fell silent.
“Okay, Mr. Bellamy,” Sato said. “Don’t blow it. You know the stakes.”
Bellamy took a deep breath and exhaled. Then he reached down and pressed the speakerphone button to connect the call.
“Bellamy here,” he said, speaking loudly toward the phone on the coffee table.
The voice that crackled back through the speaker was familiar, an airy whisper. It sounded like he was calling from a hands-free speakerphone inside a car. “It’s past midnight, Mr. Bellamy. I was about to put Peter out of his misery.”
There was an uneasy silence in the room. “Let me talk to him.”
“Impossible,” the man replied. “We’re driving. He’s tied up in the trunk.”
Langdon and Katherine exchanged looks and then began shaking their heads at everyone.
He’s bluffing! He no longer has Peter!
Sato motioned for Bellamy to keep pressing.
“I want
proof
that Peter’s alive,” Bellamy said. “I’m not giving you the rest of—”
“Your Worshipful Master needs a doctor. Don’t waste time with negotiations. Tell me the street number on Franklin Square, and I’ll bring Peter to you there.”
“I told you, I want—”
“Now!” the man exploded. “Or I will pull over and Peter Solomon dies this instant!”
“You listen to me,” Bellamy said forcefully. “If you want the rest of the address, you’ll play by
my
rules. Meet me at Franklin Square. Once you deliver Peter alive, I’ll tell you the number of the building.”
“How do I know you won’t bring the authorities?”
“Because I can’t risk double-crossing you. Peter’s life is
not
the only card you hold. I know what’s really at stake tonight.”
“You do realize,” the man on the phone said, “that if I sense so much as a hint of anyone other than
you
at Franklin Square, I will keep driving, and you will never find even a trace of Peter Solomon. And of course . . . that will be the least of your worries.”