Langdon found Bellamy’s sense of drama to be somewhat overwrought.
«Peter always told me you were a hard man to convince — an academic who prefers proof to speculation.»
«You’re saying you
Bellamy gave a patient smile. «The craft of Freemasonry has given me a deep respect for that which transcends human understanding. I’ve learned
CHAPTER 54
Frantically, the smsc perimeter patrolman dashed down the gravel pathway that ran along the outside of the building. he’d just received a call from an officer inside saying that the keypad to pod 5 had been sabotaged, and that a security light indicated that pod 5’s specimen bay door was now open.
As he arrived at the specimen bay, sure enough he found the door open a couple of feet.
Powerful hands seized his wrist and yanked him into the blackness. The guard felt himself being spun around by an invisible force. He smelled ethanol. The flashlight flew out of his hand, and before he could even process what was happening, a rock-hard fist collided with his sternum. The guard crumpled to the cement floor. . groaning in pain as a large black form stepped away from him.
The guard lay on his side, gasping and wheezing for breath. His flashlight lay nearby, its beam spilling across the floor and illuminating what appeared to be a metal can of some sort. The can’s label said it was fuel oil for a Bunsen burner.
A cigarette lighter sparked, and the orange flame illuminated a vision that hardly seemed human.
Instantly, a strip of fire materialized, leaping away from them, racing into the void. Bewildered, the guard looked back, but the creature was already slipping out the open bay door into the night.
The guard managed to sit up, wincing in pain as his eyes followed the thin ribbon of fire.
The flame raced in a straight line directly to the lab’s outer door. The guard clambered to his feet, knowing full well that the ribbon of oil probably continued beneath the lab door. . and would soon start a fire inside. But as he turned to run for help, he felt an unexpected puff of air sucking past him.
For a brief instant, all of Pod 5 was bathed in light.
The guard never saw the hydrogen fireball erupting skyward, ripping the roof off Pod 5 and billowing hundreds of feet into the air. Nor did he see the sky raining fragments of titanium mesh, electronic equipment, and droplets of melted silicon from the lab’s holographic storage units.
Katherine Solomon was driving north when she saw the sudden flash of light in her rearview mirror. A deep rumble thundered through the night air, startling her.
She refocused on the road, her thoughts still on the 911 call she’d placed from the deserted gas station’s pay phone.
Katherine had successfully convinced the 911 dispatcher to send the police to the SMSC to investigate a tattooed intruder and, Katherine prayed, to find her assistant, Trish. In addition, she urged the dispatcher to check Dr. Abaddon’s address in Kalorama Heights, where she thought Peter was being held hostage.
Unfortunately, Katherine had been unable to obtain Robert Langdon’s unlisted cell-phone number. So now, seeing no other option, she was speeding toward the Library of Congress, where Langdon had told her he was headed.
The terrifying revelation of Dr. Abaddon’s true identity had changed everything. Katherine had no idea what to believe anymore. All she knew for certain was that the same man who had killed her mother and nephew all those years ago had now captured her brother and had come to kill her.
Unexpectedly, the fireworks in her rearview mirror grew brighter, the initial flash followed by an unexpected sight — a blazing orange fireball that Katherine could see rising above the tree line.
Then, like an oncoming truck, it hit her.
CHAPTER 55
Warren Bellamy stabbed urgently at the buttons on his cell phone, trying again to make contact with someone who could help them, whoever that might be.
Langdon watched Bellamy, but his mind was with Peter, trying to figure out how best to find him.
Bellamy hung up, frowning. Still no answer.
«Here’s what I don’t understand,» Langdon said. «Even if I could somehow accept that this hidden wisdom exists. . and that this pyramid somehow points to its underground location. . what am I looking for? A vault? A bunker?»
Bellamy sat quietly for a long moment. Then he gave a reluctant sigh and spoke guardedly. «Robert, according to what I’ve heard through the years, the pyramid leads to the entrance of a spiral staircase.»
«A
«That’s right. A staircase that leads down into the earth. . many hundreds of feet.»
Langdon could not believe what he was hearing. He leaned closer.
«I’ve heard it said that the ancient wisdom is buried at the bottom.»
Robert Langdon stood up and began pacing.
