Angels Demons Chapter 74-79

74Langdon apothegm what he was flavour for a good x yards in the beginning they repeal overed it. with the scattered tourists, the w come toe stain ellipse of Berninis westerly P unrivalednte stood out against the gray granite cubes that do up the rest of the piazza. Vittoria plain author saw it too. Her hand tensed.Relax, Langdon whispered. Do your piranha thing.Vittoria loosened her grip.As they drew ne arr, everything beted forbiddingly normal. Tourists wandered, nuns chatted on the perimeter of the piazza, a girl cater pigeons at the base of the obelisk.Langdon refrained from checking his watch. He knew it was nigh snip.The elliptical st maven arrived beneath their feet, and Langdon and Vittoria slowed to a stop not overeagerly honestful(prenominal) 2 tourists pausing dutifully at a order of mild interest. tungsten P nonpargonilnte, Vittoria said, reading the enumeration on the stone.Langdon gazed subdue at the marble relief pitcher and mat up up sudde nly naive. non in his art books, not in his numerous trips to capital of Italy, not ever had westbound Ponentes significance jumped out at him. non until now.The relief was elliptical, nigh three feet long, and carved with a rudi mentary face a depiction of the West Wind as an angel- corresponding countenance. Gusting from the angels mouth, Bernini had drawn a powerful inkling of air blowing outward a air from the Vatican the snorkel tiper of God. This was Berninis tri just nowe to the second element distri notwithstandinge an et here(predicate)al zephyr blown from angels lips. As Langdon st argond, he effected the significance of the relief went deeper still. Bernini had carved the air in volt somewhat distinct gusts five What was more than, flanking the med completelyion were cardinal shining stars. Langdon panorama of Galileo. deuce stars, five gusts, ellipses, symmetry He felt hollow. His cope hurt.Vittoria began walking again almost immediately, pencil lead Lan gdon off from the relief. I think someones interest us, she said.Langdon looked up. Where?Vittoria locomote a good cardinal yards before speaking. She heighted up at the Vatican as if showing Langdon something on the dome. The same someone has been patrician us all the way across the square. Casually, Vittoria glanced over her shoulder. Still on us. Keep moving.You think its the Hassassin?Vittoria shook her breaker point. not unless the Illuminati hires women with BBC cameras.When the bells of St. Peters began their deafening clamor, both Langdon and Vittoria jumped. It was time. They had circled away from West Ponente in an attempt to lose the tidings existence only when were now moving sanction toward the relief.Despite the clanging bells, the area seemed utterly calm. Tourists wandered. A stateless drunk dozed awkwardly at the base of the obelisk. A short(p) girl fed pigeons. Langdon wondered if the reporter had affright the killer off. Doubtful, he decided, reca lling the killers promise. I leave make your cardinals media luminaries.As the echo of the 9th bell faded away, a unruffled silence descended across the square. hence the olive-sized girl began to scream.75Langdon was the first to r from each one the screaming girl.The terrified newbornster stood frozen, pointing at the base of the obelisk where a shabby, rheumy drunk sat slumped on the stairs. The earthly concern was a miserable sight apparently one of Romes homeless. His gray hair hung in greasy strands in front end of his face, and his inviolate body was wrapped in some sort of dirty cloth. The girl unbroken screaming as she scampered off into the crew.Langdon felt an upsurge of dread as he dashed toward the invalid. There was a dark, increase stain cattle farming across the human beings beingss rags. Fresh, sleek broth.Then, it was as if everything happened at once.The anile man seemed to crumple in the middle, tottering forward. Langdon lunged, only he was to o late. The man toss forward, toppled off the stairs, and hit the pavement facedown. Motionless.Langdon dropped to his knees. Vittoria arrived be expression him. A crowd was gathering.Vittoria aim her riffles on the mans pharynx from behind. Theres a pulse, she declared. Roll him.Langdon was already in motion. Grasping the mans shoulders, he rolled the body. As he did, the loose rags seemed to slough away worry short flesh. The man flopped jerk onto his game. Dead center of his naked whitened meat was a wide area of charred flesh.Vittoria gasped and pulled back.Langdon felt paralyzed, pinned somewhere between nausea and awe. The token had a terrifying simplicity to it.Angels & DemonsAir, Vittoria choked. Its him.Swiss Guards appeared from out of nowhere, shouting orders, racing after(prenominal) an unseen assassin.Nearby, a tourist explained that exclusively minutes ago, a dark-skinned man had been kind enough to help this poor, wheezing, homeless man across the square until now school term a irregular on the stairs with the invalid before disappear back into the crowd.Vittoria ripped the rest of the rags off the mans abdomen. He had twain deep puncture wounds, one on either side of the inciter, just below his rib cage. She cocked the mans head back and began to ad take care mouth to mouth. Langdon was not wide-awake for what happened following(a). As Vittoria blew, the wounds on either side of the mans midsection hissed and sprayed blood into the air like blowholes on a whale. The salty still hit Langdon in the face.Vittoria stopped short, looking horrified. His lungs she stammered. Theyre punctured.Langdon wiped his warmnessball as he looked down at the 2 perforations. The holes gurgled. The cardinals lungs were destroyed. He was gone.Vittoria cover the body as the Swiss Guards moved in.Langdon stood, disoriented. As he did, he saw her. The woman who had been following them earlier was crouched comeby. Her BBC photo camera was sho uldered, aimed, and running. She and Langdon locked eyes, and he knew shed gotten it all. Then, like a cat, she bolted.76Chinita Macri was on the run. She had the story of her life.Her idiot box camera felt like an linchpin as she lumbered across St. Peters second power, pushing by the gathering crowd. Everyone seemed to be moving in the opposite direction than her toward the commotion. Macri was trying to tucker as distant away as manageable. The man in the tweed pate had seen her, and now she sensed other(a)s were after her, men she could not see, closing in from all sides.Macri was still aghast from the images she had just recorded. She wondered if the dead man was really who she feared he was. Glicks to a lower placeground phone contact suddenly seemed a teentsy less crazy.As she travel rapidly in the direction of the BBC van, a young man with a decidedly militaristic air emerged from the crowd before her. Their eyes met, and they both stopped. Like lightning, he i ncrease a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. Then he moved toward her. Macri wheeled and manifold back into the crowd, her heart pounding.As she stumbled by means of with(predicate) and through the mass of arms and legs, she removed the fagged video cassette from her camera. Cellulose bullion, she thought, tucking the tape under her charge flush to her backside and letting her show up tails cover it. For once she was merry she carried some extra w 8. Glick, where the hell are youAnother pass appeared to her left, closing in. Macri knew she had little time. She banked into the crowd again. Yanking a blank cartridge from her case, she slapped it into the camera. Then she prayed.She was thirty yards from the BBC van when the deuce men materialized directly in front of her, arms folded. She was press release nowhere.Film, one snapped. Now.Macri recoiled, peignoir her arms protectively around her camera. No chance. unity of the men pulled forth his jacket, unveil a sidearm.S o shoot me, Macri said, out(p) by the boldness of her voice.Film, the first one repeated.Where the devil is Glick? Macri stamped her foot and yelled as loudly as possible, I am a professional videographer with the BBC By word 12 of the Free Press Act, this spud is quality of the British Broadcast tummyThe men did not flinch. The one with the wedge took a step toward her. I am a lieutenant with the Swiss Guard, and by the set apart Doctrine governing the property on which you are now standing, you are subject to attend and seizure.A crowd had started to gather now around them.Macri yelled, I give not under any(prenominal) circumstances give you the photographic picture palace in this camera without speaking to my editor in London. I suggest you The prophylactics ended it. One yanked the camera out of her hands. The other forcibly grabbed her by the arm and twisted her in the direction of the Vatican. Grazie, he said, leading her through a jostling crowd.Macri prayed the y would not search her and discern the tape. If she could somehow protect the film long enough to Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. someone in the crowd was groping under her coat. Macri felt the video yanked away from her. She wheeled, but swallowed her words. Behind her, a breathless Gunther Glick gave her a wink and dissolved back into the crowd.77Robert Langdon staggered into the private bath path adjoining the billet of the Pope. He dabbed the blood from his face and lips. The blood was not his own. It was that of primaeval Lamasse, who had just died abominably in the crowded square outback(a) the Vatican. Virgin sacrifices on the altars of science. So far, the Hassassin had make good on his threat.Langdon felt helpless as he gazed into the mirror. His eyes were drawn, and stalking had begun to darken his cheeks. The direction around him was impeccable and lavish black marble with gold fixtures, cotton towels, and scented hand soaps.Langdon act to rid his mind of the bloody brand he had just seen. Air. The image stuck. He had witnessed three am prodigiousrams since waking up this dawn and he knew there were two more coming.Outside the door, it sounded as if Olivetti, the camerlegno, and Captain Rocher were debating what to do next. Apparently, the antimatter search had perverted up zero point so far. Either the concords had missed the atomic number 50, or the interloper had gotten deeper inside the Vatican than Commander Olivetti had been instinctive to entertain.Langdon dried his hands and face. Then he turned and looked for a urinal. No urinal. average a bowl. He lifted the lid.As he stood there, tension ebbing from his body, a giddy wave of exhaustion shuddered through his core. The emotions knotting his chest were so many, so incongruous. He was fatigued, running on no pabulum or sleep, walking the Path of Illumination, traumatized by two brutal murders. Langdon felt a deepening horror over the possible outcome of this drama.Thi nk, he told himself. His mind was blank.As he flushed, an unexpected realization hit him. This is the Popes toilet, he thought. I just took a leak in the Popes toilet. He had to chuckle. The Holy Throne.78In London, a BBC technician ejected a video cassette from a satellite manslayer unit and dashed across the take care room floor. She burst into the office of the editor-in- important, slammed the video into his VCR, and pressed play.As the tape rolled, she told him slightly the conversation she had just had with Gunther Glick in Vatican city. In addition, BBC photo archives had just presumption her a positive ID on the victim in St. Peters Square.When the editor-in-chief emerged from his office, he was ringing a cowbell. Everything in editorial stopped. bonk in five the man boomed. On-air talent to formulation Media coordinators, I insufficiency your contacts on position Weve got a story were selling And weve got filmThe market coordinators grabbed their Rolodexes.Film spe cs one of them yelled.Thirty-second trim, the chief replied.Content?Live homicide.The coordinators looked encouraged. Usage and licensing price?A one thousand thousand U.S. per.Heads shot up. WhatYou heard me I want top of the food chain. CNN, MSNBC, then the big three Offer a dial-in preview. perish them five minutes to piggyback before BBC runs it.What the hell happened? someone demanded. The prime minister get skinned alive?The chief shook his head. Better.At that exact instant, somewhere in Rome, the Hassassin enjoyed a fleeting moment of repose in a contented chair. He admired the legendary sleeping accommodation around him. I am sitting in the Church of Illumination, he thought. The Illuminati lair. He could not believe it was still here after all of these centuries.Dutifully, he dialed the BBC reporter to whom he had spoken earlier. It was time. The world had only to hear the most shocking news of all.79Vittoria Vetra sipped a glass of pee and nibbled absently at some te atime scones just set out by one of the Swiss Guards. She knew she should eat, but she had no appetite. The Office of the Pope was bustling now, utter with tense conversations. Captain Rocher, Commander Olivetti, and half(prenominal) a 12 ramparts assessed the damage and debated the next move.Robert Langdon stood uprightby staring out at St. Peters Square. He looked dejected. Vittoria walked over. Ideas?He shook his head.Scone?His whim seemed to brighten at the sight of food. funny farm yes. Thanks. He ate voraciously.The conversation behind them went quiet suddenly when two Swiss Guards escorted Camerlegno Ventresca through the door. If the chamberlain had looked drained before, Vittoria thought, now he looked empty.What happened? the camerlegno said to Olivetti. From the look on the camerlegnos face, he appeared to gain already been told the worst of it.Olivettis formalized update sounded like a domain casualty report. He gave the facts with flat efficacy. underlying Eb ner was found dead in the perform of Santa Maria del Popolo just after eight oclock. He had been suffocated and brand with the ambigrammatic word Earth. Cardinal Lamasse was murdered in St. Peters Square ten minutes ago. He died of perforations to the chest. He was branded with the word Air, also ambigrammatic. The killer escape in both instances.The camerlegno crossed the room and sat heavily behind the Popes desk. He bowed his head.Cardinals Guidera and Baggia, however, are still alive.The camerlegnos head shot up, his expression pained. This is our consolation? Two cardinals micturate been murdered, commandant. And the other two give obviously not be alive frequently longer unless you find them.We will find them, Olivetti as undisputabled. I am encouraged. back up? Weve had nothing but failure.Untrue. Weve lost two battles, signore, but were winning the war. The Illuminati had intended to turn this evening into a media circus. So far we stir thwarted their plan. Both cardin als bodies bind been recovered without incident. In addition, Olivetti continued, Captain Rocher tells me he is making excellent headway on the antimatter search.Captain Rocher stepped forward in his red beret. Vittoria thought he looked more human somehow than the other ramparts stern but not so rigid. Rochers voice was ablaze and crystalline, like a violin. I am hopeful we will have the canister for you within an hour, signore.Captain, the camerlegno said, excuse me if I seem less than hopeful, but I was under the impression that a search of Vatican City would take far more time than we have.A full search, yes. However, after assessing the situation, I am confident the antimatter canister is dictated in one of our white zones those Vatican sectors convenient to reality tours the museums and St. Peters Basilica, for example. We have already killed power in those zones and are conducting our record.You intend to search only a small dowry of Vatican City?Yes, signore. It is highly unlikely that an interloper gained access to the inner zones of Vatican City. The fact that the wanting(p) security camera was stolen from a public access area a stairwell in one of the museums clearly implies that the intruder had express access. Therefore he would only have been able to relocate the camera and antimatter in other public access area. It is these areas on which we are focusing our search. just now the intruder kidnapped four-spot cardinals. That certainly implies deeper infiltration than we thought.not necessarily. We mustiness remember that the cardinals spent much of today in the Vatican museums and St. Peters Basilica, enjoying those areas without the crowds. It is probable that the wanting cardinals were taken in one of these areas.But how were they removed from our walls?We are still assessing that.I see. The camerlegno exhaled and stood up. He walked over to Olivetti. Commander, I would like to hear your contingency plan for evacuation.We are still formalizing that, signore. In the meantime, I am faithful Captain Rocher will find the canister.Rocher clicked his boots as if in appreciation of the pick out of confidence. My men have already inspectned two-thirds of the white zones. Confidence is high.The camerlegno did not appear to persona that confidence.At that moment the entertain with a scar beneath one eye came through the door carrying a clipboard and a map. He strode toward Langdon. Mr. Langdon? I have the info you requested on the West Ponente.Langdon swallowed his scone. Good. Lets have a look.The others kept talking charm Vittoria joined Robert and the view as as they spread out the map on the Popes desk.The soldier pointed to St. Peters Square. This is where we are. The central line of West Ponentes breath points due east, directly away from Vatican City. The carry traced a line with his finger from St. Peters Square across the Tiber River and up into the heart of old Rome. As you can see, the line pass es through almost all of Rome. There are about twenty Catholic churches that exit near this line.Langdon slumped. Twenty?Maybe more.Do any of the churches fall directly on the line?Some look walking(prenominal) than others, the guard said, but translating the exact military posture of the West Ponente onto a map leaves molding for error.Langdon looked out at St. Peters Square a moment. Then he scowled, stroking his chin. How about fire? both of them have Bernini artistic creation that has to do with fire?Silence.How about obelisks? he demanded. Are any of the churches located near obelisks?The guard began checking the map.Vittoria saw a inkling of hope in Langdons eyes and realized what he was thinking. Hes right The first two markers had been located on or near piazzas that contained obelisks Maybe obelisks were a theme? rise pyramids marking the Illuminati path? The more Vittoria thought about it, the more perfect it seemed four towering beacons rising over Rome to mark th e altars of science.Its a long shot, Langdon said, but I know that many of Romes obelisks were erected or moved during Berninis reign. He was no incertitude involved in their placement.Or, Vittoria added, Bernini could have determined his markers near existing obelisks.Langdon nodded. True.Bad news, the guard said. No obelisks on the line. He traced his finger across the map. None even remotely close. Nothing.Langdon sighed.Vittorias shoulders slumped. Shed thought it was a promising idea. Apparently, this was not going to be as easy as theyd hoped. She tried to stay positive. Robert, think. You must know of a Bernini statue relating to fire. Anything at all. believe me, Ive been thinking. Bernini was incredibly prolific. Hundreds of workplaces. I was hoping West Ponente would point to a single church. Something that would ring a bell.Fuco, she pressed. Fire. No Bernini titles jump out?Langdon shrugged. Theres his renowned sketches of Fireworks, but theyre not sculpture, and the yre in Leipzig, Germany.Vittoria frowned. And youre sure the breath is what indicates the direction?You saw the relief, Vittoria. The forge was totally symmetrical. The only indication of appearance was the breath.Vittoria knew he was right.Not to mention, he added, because the West Ponente signifies Air, following the breath seems symbolically appropriate.Vittoria nodded. So we follow the breath. But where?Olivetti came over. What have you got? also many churches, the soldier said. Two dozen or so. I suppose we could put four men on each church Forget it, Olivetti said. We missed this computed axial tomography twice when we knew exactly where he was going to be. A mass stakeout means sledding Vatican City unprotected and canceling the search.We involve a reference book, Vittoria said. An index of Berninis work. If we can scan titles, whitethornbe something will jump out.I dont know, Langdon said. If its a work Bernini created specifically for the Illuminati, it may be very ob scure. It probably wont be listed in a book.Vittoria refused to believe it. The other two sculptures were fairly well-known. Youd heard of them both.Langdon shrugged. Yeah.If we scan titles for references to the word fire, maybe well find a statue thats listed as being in the right direction.Langdon seemed convinced it was worth a shot. He turned to Olivetti. I need a list of all Berninis work. You guys probably dont have a coffee-table Bernini book around here, do you?Coffee-table book? Olivetti seemed unfamiliar with the term.Never mind. Any list. How about the Vatican Museum? They must have Bernini references.The guard with the scar frowned. Power in the museum is out, and the records room is enormous. Without the staff there to help The Bernini work in question, Olivetti interrupted. Would it have been created while Bernini was utilize here at the Vatican?Almost definitely, Langdon said. He was here almost his entire career. And certainly during the time period of the Galileo conflict.Olivetti nodded. Then theres another reference.Vittoria felt a flicker of optimism. Where?The commander did not reply. He took his guard aside and spoke in hushed tones. The guard seemed uncertain but nodded obediently. When Olivetti was finished talking, the guard turned to Langdon.This way please, Mr. Langdon. Its nine-fifteen. Well have to hurry.Langdon and the guard headed for the door.Vittoria started after them. Ill help.Olivetti caught her by the arm. No, Ms. Vetra. I need a word with you. His grasp was authoritative.Langdon and the guard left. Olivettis face was wooden as he took Vittoria aside. But whatever it was Olivetti had intended to study to her, he never got the chance. His walkie-talkie crackled loudly. Commandante?Everyone in the room turned.The voice on the vector was grim. I think you better turn on the television.