it may be the last thing of beauty you see.»
With that, he reached out and pressed his palm into the right side of the enormous frame. To Katherine’s shock, the painting rotated into the wall, turning on a central pivot like a revolving door.
Katherine tried to wriggle free, but the man held her firmly, carrying her through the opening behind the canvas. As the Three Graces pivoted shut behind them, she could see heavy insulation on the back of the canvas. Whatever sounds were made back here were apparently not meant to be heard by the outside world.
The space behind the painting was cramped, more like a hallway than a room. The man carried her to the far side and opened a heavy door, carrying her through it onto a small landing. Katherine found herself looking down a narrow ramp into a deep basement. She drew a breath to scream, but the rag was choking her.
The incline was steep and narrow. The walls on either side were made of cement, awash in a bluish light that seemed to emanate from below. The air that wafted up was warm and pungent, laden with an eerie blend of smells. . the sharp bite of chemicals, the smooth calm of incense, the earthy musk of human sweat, and, pervading it all, a distinct aura of visceral, animal fear.
«Your science impressed me,» the man whispered as they reached the bottom of the ramp. «I hope
CHAPTER 99
CIA field agent turner simkins crouched in the darkness of franklin park and kept his steady gaze on warren bellamy. Nobody had taken the bait yet, but it was still early.
Simkins’s transceiver beeped, and he activated it, hoping one of his men had spotted something. But it was Sato. She had new information.
Simkins listened and agreed with her concern. «Hold on,» he said. «I’ll see if I can get a visual.» He crawled through the bushes in which he was hiding and peered back in the direction from which he had entered the square. After some maneuvering, he finally opened a sight line.
He was staring at a building that looked like an Old World mosque. Nestled between two much larger buildings, the Moorish facade was made of gleaming terra-cotta tile laid in intricate multicolored designs. Above the three massive doors, two tiers of lancet windows looked as if Arabian archers might appear and open fire if anyone approached uninvited.
«I see it,» Simkins said.
«Any activity?»
«Nothing.»
«Good. I need you to reposition and watch it very carefully. It’s called the Almas Shrine Temple, and it’s the headquarters of a mystical order.»
Simkins had worked in the D.C. area for a long time but was not familiar with this temple or any ancient mystical order headquartered on Franklin Square.
«This building,» Sato said, «belongs to a group called the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.»
«Never heard of them.»
«I think you
Simkins shot a dubious glance at the ornate building.
Even so, Sato’s concerns were valid. «Ma’am, if our target realizes that this building is in fact ‘The Order’ on Franklin Square, he won’t need the address. He’ll simply bypass the rendezvous and go directly to the correct location.»
«My thoughts exactly. Keep an eye on the entrance.»
«Yes, ma’am.»
«Any word from Agent Hartmann in Kalorama Heights?»
«No, ma’am. You asked him to phone you directly.»
«Well, he hasn’t.»
CHAPTER 100
Robert Langdon lay shivering, naked and alone in total blackness. paralyzed by fear, he was no longer pounding or shouting. instead, he had closed his eyes and was doing his best to control his hammering heart and his panicked breathing.
This calming visualization had been the only way he had managed to survive a recent stint in an enclosed MRI machine. . that and a triple dose of Valium. Tonight, however, the visualization was having no effect whatsoever.
The rag in Katherine Solomon’s mouth had shifted backward and was all but choking her. Her captor had carried her down a narrow ramp and into a dark basement corridor. At the far end of the hall, she had glimpsed a room lit with an eerie reddish-purple light, but they’d never made it that far. The man had stopped instead at a small side room, carried her inside, and placed her on a wooden chair. He had set her down with her bound wrists behind the chair back so she could not move.
Now Katherine could feel the wire on her wrists slicing deeper into her flesh. The pain barely registered next to the rising panic she was feeling over being unable to breathe. The cloth in her mouth was slipping deeper into her throat, and she felt herself gagging reflexively. Her vision started to tunnel.
Behind her, the tattooed man closed the room’s lone door and flipped on the light. Katherine’s eyes were watering profusely now, and she could no longer differentiate objects in her immediate surroundings. Everything had become a blur.
A distorted vision of colorful flesh appeared before her, and Katherine felt her eyes starting to flutter as she teetered on the brink of unconsciousness. A scale-covered arm reached out and yanked the rag from her mouth.
katherine gasped, inhaling deep breaths, coughing and choking as her lungs flooded with precious air. slowly, her vision began to clear, and she found herself looking into the demon’s face. the visage was barely human. blanketing his neck, face, and shaved head was an astounding pattern of bizarre tattooed symbols. with the exception of a small circle on top of his head, every inch of his body appeared to be decorated. a massive double-headed phoenix on his chest glared at her through nipple eyes like some kind of ravenous vulture, patiently waiting for her death.
«Open your mouth,» the man whispered.
Katherine stared at the monster with total revulsion.
«Open your mouth,» the man repeated. «Or the cloth goes back in.»
Trembling, Katherine opened her mouth. The man extended his thick, tattooed index finger, inserting it between her lips. When he touched her tongue, Katherine thought she would vomit. He extracted his wet finger and raised it to the top of his shaved head. Closing his eyes, he massaged her saliva into his small circular patch of untattooed flesh.
Repulsed, Katherine looked away.
