insufficient military intelligence. Now, h canada goose usa sale aving risen to one of the most secretive and potent posts in U.S. intelligence work, Sato had proven an uncompromising patriot as well as a terrifying enemy to any who stood in opposition. Seldom seen but universally feared, the OS director cruised the deep waters of the CIA like a leviathan who surfaced only to devour its prey. Anderson had met Sato face-to-face only once, and the memory of looking into those cold black eyes was enough to make him count his blessings that he would be having this conversation by telephone. Anderson took the phone and brought it to his lips. Director Sato, he said in as friendly a voice as possible. This is Chief Anderson. How may I There is a man in your building to whom I need to speak immediat canada goose usa sale ely. The OS
to trust. So now I am asking you to trust me when I tell you this talisman is powerful. I was told it can imbue its possessor with the ability to bring order from chaos. Langdon could only stare. The idea of order from chaos was one of the great Masonic axioms. Ordo ab chao. canada goose usa sale Even so, the claim that a talisman could impart any power at all was absurd, much less the power to bring order from chaos. This talisman, Solomon continued, would be dangerous in canada goose usa sale the wrong hands, and unfortunately, I have reason to believe powerful people want to steal it from me. His eyes were as serious as Langdon could ever recall. I would like you to keep it safe for me for a while. Can you do that? That night, Langdon sat alone at his kitchen table with the package and tried to imagine what could possibly be
? At the threshold of SBB13, Anderson fumbled with his light and retreated a step. Langdon also recoiled, as did Sato, who looked startled for the first time all night. Sato aimed the gun at the back wall and motioned for Anderson to shine the light again. Anderson raised the light. The beam was dim by the time it reached the far wall, but the light was enough to illuminate the shape of a pallid and ghostly face, staring back at them through lifeless sockets. A human skull. The skul canada goose usa sale l sat atop a rickety wooden desk positioned against the rear wall of the chamber. Two human leg bones sat beside the skull, along with a collection of other items that were meticulously arranged on the des canada goose usa sale k in shrinelike fashionan antique hourglass, a crystal flask, a candle, two saucers of pale powder, and a
pyramid. For Langdon, the spectacular backdrop of the reading room had all but disappeared, his world constricting now to include only what was directly in front of hima stone pyramid, a sealed package containing a capstone, and an elegant African American man who had materialized out of the darkness and rescued him from the certainty of a CIA interrogation. Langdon had expected a modicum of sanity from the Architect of the Capitol, but now it seemed Warren Bellamy was no more rational than the madman claiming Peter was in purgatory. Bellamy was insisting this stone pyramid was, in fact, the Masonic Pyramid of legend. An ancient map? That guides us to powerful wisdom? Mr. canada goose usa sale Bellamy, Langdon said politely, this idea that there exists some kind of ancient canada goose usa sale knowledge that can imbue men with
nothing. As you know, every Solomon child, upon reaching adulthood, is presented with his or her birthrighta share of the Solomon fortunewhich is intended to be a seed . . . a seed for you to nurture, make grow, and use to help nourish mankind. Solomon walked to a vault in the wall, unlocked it, and removed a large black folder. Son, this portfolio contains everything you need to legally transfer your financial inheritance into your own name. He laid it on the desk. The aim is that you use this money to build a life of productivity, prosperity, and philanthropy. Zachary reached for the folder. Thanks. Hold on, his father said canada goose usa sale , putting his hand on the portfolio. Theres something else I need to explain. Zachary shot his father a contemptuous look and slumped back down. There are aspects canada goose usa sale of
it. Months had passed, and although his body had healed, Andros was no longer the cocky specimen he had been in Greece. He had stopped working out, and he had stopped admiring himself naked in the mirror. He felt as if his canada goose usa sale body were beginning to show signs of age. His once-perfect skin was a patchwork of scars, and this only depressed him further. He still relied on th canada goose usa sale e painkillers that had nursed him through his recovery, and he felt himself slipping back to the lifestyle that had put him in Soganlik Prison. He didnt care. The body craves what the body craves. One night, he was in Greenwich Village buying drugs from a man whose forearm had been tattooed with a long, jagged lightning bolt. Andros asked him about it, and the man told him the tattoo was covering a long scar he had gotten in
sof canada goose usa sale tware had proven more of a distraction than any real helpconstant interruption software, she called it. Right, I forgot, Nola said. What have you got? She was positive that nobody else in the building knew about this crisis, much less could be working on it. The only computer work Nola had done tonight was histo canada goose usa sale rical research for Sato on esoteric Masonic topics. Nonetheless, she was obliged to play the game. Well, its probably nothing, Parrish said, but we stopped a hacker tonight, and the CI program keeps suggesting I share the information with you. A hacker? Nola sipped her coffee. Im listening. About an hour ago, Parrish said, we snagged a guy named Zoubianis trying to access a file on one of our internal databases. This guy claims it was a job for hire and that he has no idea why he
final inscription was now laid bare. The engraving was a perfectly square grid of symbols from every tradition imaginablealchemical, astrological, heraldic, angelic, magical, numeric, sigilic, Greek, Latin. As a totality, this was symbolic anarchya bowl of alphabet soup whose letters came from dozens of different languages, cultures, and time periods. Total chaos. Symbologist Robert Langdon, in his wildest academic interpretations, could not fathom how this grid of symbols could be deciphered to mean anything at all. Order from this chaos? Impossible. The liquid was now creepi canada goose usa sale ng over his Adams apple, and Langdon could feel his level of terror rising along with canada goose usa sale it. He continued banging on the tank. The pyramid stared back at him tauntingly. In frantic desperation, Langdon focused every bit