The Da Vinci Code Chapter 7-9

CHAPTER 7The modest ho workout within the church of Saint-Sulpice was located on the second floor of the church itself, to the remaining of the choir balcony. A deuce- agency suite with a st maven floor and minimal furnishings, it had been family to infant Sandrine Bieil for over a decade. The nigh convent washer formal residence, if both genius asked, further she favourite(a) the quiet of the church and had do herself sort of comfortable upstairs with a bed, ph cardinal, and acid plate.As the churchs conservatrice daffaires, Sister Sandrine was responsible for overseeing every(prenominal) told nonreligious aspects of church operations general maintenance, hi anticipate withstand staff and guides, securing the building after hours, and rules of order supplies wish communion wine and wafers.Tonight, dozy in her sm all in all bed, she awoke to the shrill of her teleph hotshot. Ti passingly, she lifted the receiver.Soeur Sandrine. Eglise Saint-Sulpice.Hello, Sister, the art object said in cut.Sister Sandrine sat up. What time is it? Although she recognized her bosss vowelise, in fifteen long time she had never been awoken by him. The abbe was a deeply pious serviceman who went home to bed immediately after can.I apologize if I collect awoken you, Sister, the abbe said, his own voice sounding misty and on edge. I be possessed of a favor to ask of you. I honorable received a call from an influential American bishop.Perhaps you bop him? Manuel Aringarosa?The intellect of man Dei? Of course I k straight of him.Who in the Church doesnt? Aringarosas conservative prelacy had grown powerful in upstart geezerhood. Their ascension to grace was jump-started in 1982 when pontiff John Paul II incidentally elevated them to a individual(prenominal)ised prelature of the pontiff, souricially sanctioning all of their practices. Suspiciously, theme Deis elevation occurred the same year the flush(p) sect allegedly had transferred al closely integrity billion dollars into the Vaticans Institute for Religious works commonly recognizen as the Vatican bound bailing it out of an embarrassing bankruptcy. In a second maneuver that raised eyebrows, the pontiff dictated the fo at a lower place of Opus Dei on the fast track for sainthood, accelerating an often century- dogged delay period for canonization to a unsullied 20 years. Sister Sandrine could non succor unless feel that Opus Deis better standing in Rome was suspect, merely sensation did not argue with the dedicated See.Bishop Aringarosa called to ask me a favor, the abbe told her, his voice nervous. mavin of his numeraries is in Paris tonightAs Sister Sandrine listened to the odd request, she felt a dee draw uping confusion. Im sorry, you say this visiting Opus Dei numerary cannot wait until morning?Im afraid not. His weather sheet leaves very early. He has always ideate of seeing Saint-Sulpice. provided the church is international much interestin g by day. The suns rays with the oculus, the graduated shadows on the gnomon, this is what makes Saint-Sulpice unique.Sister, I agree, and unless I would consider it a personal favor if you could let him in tonight. He can be t present at say star oclock? Thats in twenty minutes.Sister Sandrine frowned. Of course. It would be my pleasure. The abbe thanked her and hung up. Puzzled, Sister Sandrine remained a moment in the warmth of her bed, try to shake off the cobwebs of sleep. Her sixty-year-old body did not awake as fast as it used to, although tonights phone call had sure roused her senses. Opus Dei had always made her uneasy. beyond the prelatures ad hither(predicate)nce to the arcane ritual of sensible mortification, their views on women were medieval at best. She had been take a choke off to learn that female person numeraries were forced to vindicated the mens residence halls for no abide maculation the men were at destiny women slept on hardwood floors, while the men had strew mats and women were forced to endure additional requirements of incorporated mortification all as added penitence for original sin. It seemed Eves bite from the apple of k without delayledge was a debt women were doomed to pay for eternity. Sadly, while roughly of the Catholic Church was little by little moving in the rightfield direction with respect to womens rights, Opus Dei threatened to hold back the progress. plane so, Sister Sandrine had her orders.Swinging her legs off the bed, she stood slowly, chilled by the cold stone on the mends of her bargon feet. As the chill come up by means of her flesh, she felt an unexpected apprehension.Womens science?A follower of deity, Sister Sandrine had knowledgeable to find peace in the tranquillize voices of her own soul. Tonight, however, those voices were as silent as the empty church nigh her.CHAPTER 8Langdon couldnt tear his look from the glowing purplish textbook scrawled across the parquet floor. Ja cques Saunieres last-place communication seemed as improbable a de character referenceing gist as any Langdon could presuppose.The capacity read 13-3-2-21-1-1-8-5 O, Draconian worry Oh, maim saintAlthough Langdon had not the slightest idea what it meant, he did understand Faches instinct that the pentagram had well-nigh social function to do with hellion idolisation.O, Draconian devilSauniere had leave a literal type to the devil. evenly as bizarre was the series of tropes. smash of it looks like a numeric cipher.Yes, Fache said. Our cryptographers are already working on it. We cogitate these numbers maybe the key to who killed him. perchance a telephone exchange or some kind of social identification. Do the numbers lead any exemplary meaning to you?Langdon looked again at the digits, detecting it would take him hours to extract any typic meaning. If Sauniere had even intended any.To Langdon, the numbers looked altogether random. He was accustomed to symbolic progressions that made some semblance of sense, but everything here the pentacle, the text, the numbers seemed disparate at the around fundamental level.You alleged earlier, Fache said, that Saunieres actions here were all in an effort to send some sort of contentedness goddess worship or something in that vein? How does this pass gybe in?Langdon k issue the question was rhetorical. This bizarre despatch obviously did not fit Langdons scenario of goddess worship at all.O, Draconian devil? Oh, nerveless saint?Fache said, This text appears to be an heraldic bearing of some sort. Wouldnt you agree?Langdon tried to imagine the curators closing minutes trapped only if in the majestic Gallery, knowing he was about to die. It seemed logical. An accusation against his murderer makes sense, I suppose.My job, of course, is to put a title to that person. allow me ask you this, Mr. Langdon. To your eye, beyond the numbers, what about this mental object is most foreign?Most str ange? A dying man had block himself in the gallery, drawn a pentacle on himself, and scrawled a mysterious accusation on the floor. What about the scenario wasnt strange?The cry Draconian? he inferd, offering the first thing that came to mind. Langdon was fairly certain that a reference to Draco the ruthless seventh-century B. C. politician was an unlikely dying mind. Draconian devil seems an odd survival of the fittest of vocabulary.Draconian? Faches tone came with a concern of impatience now. Saunieres choice of vocabulary merely seems the primary takings here.Langdon wasnt sure what issue Fache had in mind, but he was starting signal to suspect that Draco and Fache would have gotten on well.Sauniere was a Frenchman, Fache said flatly. He lived in Paris. And to that degree he chose to write this meansIn English, Langdon said, now realizing the maitre ds meaning. Fache nodded. Precisement.Any idea wherefore? Langdon knew Sauniere babble impeccable English, and ye t the causation he had chosen English as the language in which to write his terminal words escaped Langdon. He shrugged.Fache motioned back to the pentacle on Saunieres abdomen. Nothing to do with devil worship? Are you solace certain?Langdon was certain of nothing any much. The symbology and text dont seem to coincide. Im sorry I cant be of much help.Perhaps this go outside(a) clarify. Fache plump for forth from the body and raised the scorch light again, letting the beam fiesta out in a wider angle. And now?To Langdons asnarlment, a rudimentary clique glowed around the curators body. Sauniere had apparently lay down and swung the pen around himself in several long arcs, essentially inscribing himself inside a circle.In a flash, the meaning became produce.The Vitruvian Man,Langdon gasped. Sauniere had created a life-sized replica of Leonardo Da Vincis most famous sketch.Considered the most anatomically mark drawing of its day, Da Vincis The Vitruvian Man had effect a modern-day icon of culture, look on posters, mouse pads, and T-shirts around the world. The observe sketch consisted of a perfect circle in which was inscribed a bare male his arms and legs outstretched in a naked spread eagle.Da Vinci.Langdon felt a shiver of amazement. The lucidness of Saunieres tendencyions could not be denied. In his final moments of life, the curator had stripped off his costume and arranged his body in a clear image of Leonardo Da Vincis VitruvianMan.The circle had been the missing critical element. A feminine symbol of protection, the circle around the naked mans body completed Da Vincis intended message male and female harmony. The question now, though, was why Sauniere would imitate a famous drawing.Mr. Langdon, Fache said, certainly a man like yourself is aware that Leonardo Da Vinci had a tendency toward the darker arts.Langdon was surprised by Faches knowledge of Da Vinci, and it certainly went a long way toward explaining the captains suspicions about devil worship. Da Vinci had always been an awkward government issue for historians, especially in the Christian tradition. scorn the visionarys genius, he was a flamboyant transsexual(prenominal) and worshipper of Natures divine order, both of which placed him in a perpetual call forth of sin against God. Moreover, the artists eerie eccentricities projected an avowedly demonic aura Da Vinci exhumed corpses to return over human anatomy he kept mysterious journals in illegible regression handwriting he relyd he feature the alchemic power to wring hold into gold and even cheat God by creating an elixir to postpone dying and his inventions included horrific, never-before-imagined weapons of war and torture.Misunderstanding breeds distrust, Langdon thought.Even Da Vincis enormous output of dyspneic Christian art only fur on that pointd the artists genius for sanctified hypocrisy. Accepting hundreds of lucrative Vatican commissions, Da Vinci painted Christian theme s not as an postion of his own beliefs but kind of as a commercial venture a means of funding a lavish lifestyle. Unfortunately, Da Vinci was a cheater who often amused himself by piano gnawing at the hand that fed him. He incorporated in many of his Christian paintings hidden symbolism that was anything but Christian tributes to his own beliefs and a subtle thumbing of his nozzle at the Church. Langdon had even given a lecture once at the national Gallery in London authorise The Secret Life of Leonardo non-Jew Symbolism in Christian Art.I understand your concerns, Langdon now said, but Da Vinci never really practiced any dark arts. He was an exceptionally spiritual man, albeit one in constant date with the Church. As Langdon said this, an odd thought popped into his mind. He glanced down at the message on the floor again. O, Draconian devil Oh, lame saintYes? Fache said.Langdon weighed his words carefully. I was just thinking that Sauniere shared a lot of spiritual ideol ogies with Da Vinci, including a concern over the Churchs elimination of the sacred feminine from modern religion. Maybe, by imitating a famous Da Vinci drawing, Sauniere was simply let out some of their shared frustrations with the modern Churchs demonisation of the goddess.Faches eye hardened. You think Sauniere is calling the Church a lame saint and a Draconian devil?Langdon had to admit it seemed further-fetched, and yet the pentacle seemed to endorse the idea on some level. All I am saying is that Mr. Sauniere dedicated his life to perusing the history of the goddess, and nothing has done more to erase that history than the Catholic Church. It seems level-headed that Sauniere might have chosen to express his disappointment in his final good-bye. vexation? Fache demanded, sounding hostile now. This message sounds more enragedthan disappointed, wouldnt you say?Langdon was readying the end of his patience. Captain, you asked for my instincts as to what Sauniere is trying to s ay here, and thats what Im heavy(a) you.That this is an bill of bill of indictment of the Church? Faches jaw tightened as he spoke through clenched teeth. Mr. Langdon, I have seen a lot of conclusion in my work, and let me tell you something. When a man is murdered by other man, I do not believe his final thoughts are to write an obscure spiritual statement that no one will understand. I believe he is thinking of one thing only. Faches whispery voice sliced the air. La vengeance.I believe Sauniere wrote this argument to tell us who killed him. Langdon stared. But that makes no sense whatsoever. No? No, he laid-off back, tired and frustrated. You told me Sauniere was attacked in his major power by someone he had apparently invited in.Yes.So it seems reasonable to conclude that the curator knew his attacker. Fache nodded. Go on. So if Sauniere knew the person who killed him, what kind of indictment is this? He pointed at the floor. Numeric computer codes? rickety saints? Dr aconian devils? Pentacles on his stomach? Its all too cryptic.Fache frowned as if the idea had never occurred to him. You have a point.Considering the circumstances, Langdon said, I would develop that if Sauniere wanted to tell you who killed him, he would have written down somebodys name.As Langdon spoke those words, a smug smile get over Faches lips for the first time all night. Precisement,Fache said. Precisement.I am witnessing the work of a master, mused lieutenant collet chuck as he tweaked his sound recording gear and listened to Faches voice coming through the headphones. The actor superieur knew it was moments like these that had lifted the captain to the pinnacle of French law enforcement.Fache will do what no one else dares.The gauzy art of cajoler was a lost cleverness in modern law enforcement, one that required exceptional poise under pressure. Few men possessed the required sangfroid for this kind of operation, but Fache seemed born for it. His ascendancy and patience meet on the robotic.Faches sole emotion this evening seemed to be one of intense resolve, as if this arrest were someway personal to him. Faches briefing of his agents an hour agone had been unusually succinct and assured. I know who murdered Jacques Sauniere, Fache had said. You know what to do.No mistakes tonight.And so utmost, no mistakes had been made.Collet was not yet commode to the evidence that had cemented Faches certainty of their suspects guilt, but he knew better than to question the instincts of the Bull. Faches intuition seemed close supernatural at times. God whispers in his ear, one agent had insisted after a particularly impressive display of Faches one-sixth sense. Collet had to admit, if there was a God, Bezu Fache would be on His A-list. The captain attended mass and confession with zealous regularity far more than the requisite holiday attendance fulfilled by other officials in the name of good public relations. When the pontiff visited Paris a few years back, Fache had used all his muscle to drive the honor of an audience. A photo of Fache with the Pope now hung in his office. The Papal Bull, the agents in secret called it.Collet found it ironic that one of Faches rare popular public stances in recent years had been his outspoken reply to the Catholic pedophilia scandal. These priests should be hanged in two ways Fache had declared. Once for their crimes against children.And once for shaming the good name of theCatholic Church.Collet had the odd sense it was the latter that kindle Fache more.Turning now to his laptop computer, Collet attended to the other half of his responsibilities here tonight the GPS tracking system. The image onscreen revealed a detailed floor plan of the Denon Wing, a structural schematic uploaded from the Louvre protection Office. Letting his eyes trace the maze of galleries and hallways, Collet found what he was looking at for. Deep in the examinet of the Grand Gallery blinked a tiny red dot. La marque.Fache was keeping his prey on a very tight triad tonight. Wisely so. Robert Langdon had proven himself one alter customer.CHAPTER 9To ensure his conversation with Mr. Langdon would not be interrupted, Bezu Fache had sour off his mobile phoneular phone. Unfortunately, it was an expensive model equipped with a two-way radio feature, which, contrary to his orders, was now being used by one of his agents to page him.Capitaine? The phone crackled like a walkie-talkie.Fache felt his teeth clench in rage. He could imagine nothing chief(prenominal) enough that Collet would interrupt this superintendence cachee especially at this critical juncture.He gave Langdon a calm look of apology. peerless moment please. He take ined the phone from his bang and pressed the radio transmission button. Oui?Capitaine, un agent du Departement de Cryptographie est arrive.Faches crossness stalled momentarily. A cryptographer? disdain the lousy timing, this was probably good news. Fa che, after finding Saunieres cryptic text on the floor, had uploaded photographs of the entire crime scene to the coding Department in hopes someone there could tell him what the hell Sauniere was trying to say. If a code breaker had now arrived, it most likely meant someone had decrypted Saunieres message.Im busy at the moment, Fache radioed back, leaving no doubt in his tone that a bankers bill had been crossed. subscribe to the cryptographer to wait at the dominance post. Ill speak to him when Im done.Her,the voice corrected. Its Agent Neveu.Fache was fair less amused with this call every passing moment. Sophie Neveu was one of DCPJs biggest mistakes. A young Parisian dechiffreuse who had analyze cryptography in England at the Royal Holloway, Sophie Neveu had been foisted on Fache two years ago as part of the ministrys attempt to incorporate more women into the guard force. The ministrys ongoing foray into political correctness, Fache argued, was weakening the department. Women not only lacked the physicality necessary for police work, but their mere carriage posed a dangerous disturbance to the men in the field. As Fache had feared, Sophie Neveu was proving far more distracting than most.At thirty-two years old, she had a dogged determination that bordered on obstinate. Her eager espousal of Britains new cryptologic methodology continually exacerbate the veteran French cryptographers above her. And by far the most troubling to Fache was the inevitable universal truth that in an office of middle-aged men, an winning young womanhood always drew eyes away from the work at hand.The man on the radio said, Agent Neveu insisted on address to you immediately, Captain. I tried to stop her, but shes on her way into the gallery.Fache recoiled in disbelief. unacceptable I made it very clear For a moment, Robert Langdon thought Bezu Fache was suffering a stroke. The captain was mid- sentence when his jaw halt moving and his eyes bulged. His blisterin g heed seemed fixated on something over Langdons shoulder. earlier Langdon could turn to see what it was, he heard a womans voice chime out posterior him.Excusez-moi, messieurs.Langdon turned to see a young woman approaching. She was moving down the corridor toward them with long, gas strides a haunting certainty to her gait. dressed(p) casually in a knee-length, cream-colored Irish sweater over black leggings, she was attractive and looked to be about thirty. Her thick burgundy sensory hair fell unstyled to her shoulders, framing the warmth of her face. impertinent the waifish, cookie-cutter blondes that adorned Harvard dorm room walls, this woman was healthy with an unembellished kayo and genuineness that radiated a striking personal confidence.To Langdons surprise, the woman walked directly up to him and all-encompassing a polite hand. Monsieur Langdon, I am Agent Neveu from DCPJs Cryptology Department. Her words veer richly around her muted Anglo-Franco accent. It is a pleasure to meet you.Langdon took her soft typewriter ribbon in his and felt himself momentarily better in her strong gaze. Her eyes were olive-green intense and clear.Fache drew a seething inhalation, understandably preparing to launch into a reprimand.Captain, she said, turning quickly and beating him to the punch, please excuse the interruption, but Ce nest pas le moment Fache sputtered.I tried to phone you. Sophie continued in English, as if out of courtesy to Langdon. But your cell phone was turned off.I turned it off for a reason, Fache hissed. I am speaking to Mr. Langdon. Ive deciphered the numeric code, she said flatly. Langdon felt a instant of excitement. She broke the code?Fache looked uncertain how to respond.Before I explain, Sophie said, I have an urgent message for Mr. Langdon. Faches expression turned to one of deepening concern. For Mr. Langdon? She nodded, turning back to Langdon. You requirement to contact the U. S. Embassy, Mr. Langdon. They have a mes sage for you from the States.Langdon reacted with surprise, his excitement over the code giving way to a sudden blather of concern. A message from the States? He tried to imagine who could be trying to reach him. Only a few of his colleagues knew he was in Paris.Faches broad jaw had tightened with the news. The U. S. Embassy? he demanded, sounding suspicious. How would they know to find Mr. Langdon here?Sophie shrugged. Apparently they called Mr. Langdons hotel, and the concierge told them Mr. Langdon had been collected by a DCPJ agent.Fache looked troubled. And the embassy contacted DCPJ Cryptography?No, sir, Sophie said, her voice firm. When I called the DCPJ switchboard in an attempt to contact you, they had a message waiting for Mr. Langdon and asked me to pass it along if I got through to you.Faches brow groove in apparent confusion. He open his mouth to speak, but Sophie had already turned back to Langdon.Mr. Langdon, she declared, pulling a blue slip of newspaper from he r pocket, this is the number for your embassys put across service. They asked that you phone in as presently as possible. She handed him the paper with an intent gaze. While I explain the code to Captain Fache, you need to make this call.Langdon studied the slip. It had a Paris phone number and extension on it. Thank you, he said, feeling worried now. Where do I find a phone?Sophie began to pull a cell phone from her sweater pocket, but Fache waved her off. He now looked like Mount Vesuvius about to erupt. Without taking his eyes off Sophie, he produced his own cell phone and held it out. This line is secure, Mr. Langdon. You may use it.Langdon felt mystified by Faches anger with the young woman. Feeling uneasy, he real the captains phone. Fache immediately marched Sophie several steps away and began chastising her in hushed tones. Disliking the captain more and more, Langdon turned away from the odd foeman and switched on the cell phone. Checking the slip of paper Sophie had gi ven him, Langdon dialed the number.The line began to ring.One ring two go three rings Finally the call connected. Langdon expected to hear an embassy operator, but he found himself preferably listening to an answering machine. Oddly, the voice on the tape was familiar. It was that of Sophie Neveu.Bonjour, vous etes bien chez Sophie Neveu, the womans voice said. Je suis absenle pour le moment, maisConfused, Langdon turned back toward Sophie. Im sorry, Ms. Neveu? I think you may have given me No, thats the right number, Sophie interjected quickly, as if anticipating Langdons confusion. The embassy has an automated message system. You have to dial an access code to choice up your messages.Langdon stared. But Its the three-digit code on the paper I gave you.Langdon opened his mouth to explain the bizarre error, but Sophie flashed him a silencing glare that lasted only an instant. Her green eyes sent a crystal-clear message.Dont ask questions. middling do it.Bewildered, Langdon pun ched in the extension on the slip of paper 454.Sophies outgoing message immediately cut off, and Langdon heard an electronic voice announce in French You have one new message. Apparently, 454 was Sophies remote access code for picking up her messages while away from home.Im picking up this womans messages?Langdon could hear the tape rewinding now. Finally, it stopped, and the machine engaged. Langdon listened as the message began to play. Again, the voice on the line was Sophies.Mr. Langdon, the message began in a terrific whisper. Do not react to this message. right listen calmly. You are in danger right now. Follow my directions very closely.