memory. That which your brother believes is hidden in D.C. . . . it can be found. Sometimes a legend that endures for centuries . . . endures for a reason. No, Katherine said aloud. It cant possibly be real. Sometimes a legend was just thata legend. CHAPTER 16 Security chief canada goose skreslet Trent Anderson stormed back toward the Capitol Rotunda, fuming at the failure of his security canada goose skreslet team. One of his men had just found a sling and an army-surplus jacket in an alcove near the east portico. The goddamn guy walked right out of here! Anderson had already assigned teams to start scanning exterior video, but by the time they found anything, this guy would be long gone. Now, as Anderson entered the Rotunda to survey the damage, he saw that the situation had been contained as well as could be expected. All four
wondere canada goose skreslet d what a simple college professor could possibly do for the man who had everything. Anything at all, he replied, pleased for any opportunity to do something for someone who had given him so much, especially when Peters life of good fortune had also been marred by so much tragedy. Solomon lowered his voice. I was hoping you would consider looking after something for me. Langdon rolled his eyes. Not Hercules, I hope. Langdon had once agreed to take care of Solomons hundred-fifty-pound mastiff, Hercules, during Solomons travels. While at Langdons home, the dog apparently had become homesick for his favorite leather chew toy and had located a worthy substitute in Langdons studyan original vellum canada goose skreslet , handcalligraphed, illuminated Bible from the 1600s. Somehow bad dog didnt quite seem
crumpled packing paper. Anderson shone his light on a copper plate mounted on the door. The plate was covered with verdigris, but the old marking was legible: SBB IV SBB Four, Anderson said. Which one is SBB Thirteen? Sato asked, faint wisps of steam curling out of her mouth in the cold subterranean air. Anderson turned the beam toward the south end of the corridor. Down there. Langdon peered down the narrow passage and shivered, feeling a light sweat despite the cold. As they moved through the phalanx of doorways, all of the rooms l canada goose skreslet ooked the same, doors ajar, apparently abandoned long ago. Whe canada goose skreslet n they reached the end of the line, Anderson turned to his right, raising the beam to peer into room SBB13. The flashlight beam, however, was impeded by a heavy wooden door. Unlike the others, the
screamed had it not been for the viselike grip around her neck. She smashed her foot onto th canada goose skreslet e accelerator, and the car lurched backward, almost snapping her neck as he was dragged beside her car. The Volvo careened up an inclined median, and Katherine could feel her neck about to give way beneath his weight. Suddenly tree branches were scraping the side of her car, slapping through the side windows, and the weight was gone. The car burst through the evergreens and out into the upper parking lot, where Katherine sl canada goose skreslet ammed on the brakes. Below her, the half-naked man clambered to his feet, staring into her headlights. With a terrifying calm, he raised a menacing scale-covered arm and pointed directly at her. Katherines blood coursed with raw fear and hatred as she spun the wheel and hit the
Dispatch? she called in on her radio. Im on the Kalorama Heights call? Owners arent home. No signs of trouble. Finished the perimeter check. No indication of an intruder. Fa canada goose skreslet lse alarm. Roger that, the dispatcher replied. Have a good night. The guard put her radio back on her belt and began retracing her steps, eager to get back to the warmth of her vehicle. As she did so, however, she spotted something she had missed earliera tiny speck of bluish light on th canada goose skreslet e back of the house. Puzzled, she walked over to it, now seeing the sourcea low transom window, apparently to the homes basement. The glass of the window had been blacked out, coated on the inside with an opaque paint. Some kind of darkroom maybe? The bluish glow she had seen was emanating through a tiny spot on the window where the
His chest was burning again. Quietly, he dragged a small branch over the hole in the ice in order to hide it. The hole would be frozen again by morning. As Andros staggered into the woods, it began to snow. He had no idea how far he had run when he stumbled out of the woods onto an embankment beside a small highway. He was delirious and hypothermic. The snow was canada goose skreslet falling harder now, and a single set of headlights approached in the distance. Andros waved wildly, and the lone pickup truck immediately pulled o canada goose skreslet ver. It had Vermont plates. An old man in a red plaid shirt jumped out. Andros staggered toward him, holding his bleeding chest. A hunter . . . shot me! I need a . . . hospital! Without hesitation, the old man helped Andros up into the passenger seat of the truck and turned up the heater.
to their left. The shadow began as an amorphous blob, but it was growing quickly, moving in their direction, becoming more defined, rushing at them faster and faster, stretching, and finally transforming itself into a massive black rectangle crowned by two impossibly tall spires. The cathedral facade is blocking the searchlight, Langdon said. Theyre landing out in front! Langdon grabbed Katherines hand. Run! Now! Inside the cathedral, Dean Galloway felt a lightness in his canada goose skreslet step that he had not felt in years. He moved through the Great Crossing, down the nave toward the narthex and the front doors. He could hear the helicopter hovering in front of the cathedral now, and he imagined its li canada goose skreslet ghts coming through the rose window in front of him, throwing spectacular colors all over the sanctuary.
Its Eight Franklin Square! The man still did not release her shoulders. Thats all I know! Katherine said. Thats the address! Let go of me! Let Robert out of that tank! I would . . . the man said, but theres one problem. I cant go to Eight Franklin Square without being caught. Tell me, whats at that address? I dont know! And the symbols on the base of the pyramid? On the underside? Do you know their meaning? Wh canada goose skreslet at symbols on the base? Katherine had no idea what he was talking about. The bottom has no symbols. Its smooth, blank stone! Apparently immune to the muffled cries for help emanating from the coffinlike crate, the tattooed man calmly padded over to Langdons day-bag and retrieved the stone pyramid. Then he returned to Katherine and held it up before her eyes so she could canada goose skreslet see the base.