Page 119 of The Secret of Secrets

Several guesses came to mind, and Langdon felt increasingly on edge.

“I’ve been forbidden to discuss anything more specific without presenting these.” She reached down and flipped over the two pages she had set on the coffee table, sliding one page in front of each of them along with the pen. “Standard nondisclosure agreement—a promise to keep private the conversation you are about to have with the man arriving shortly. Once you sign these, I can brief you by telling you everything I know.”

A single-page NDA? Langdon thought. Since when did lawyers accomplish anything in a single page? Langdon was no attorney, but he suspected that an NDA this abbreviated would have to be a sweeping exclusion of all topics discussed. Total blackout. There was also the odd coincidence of Gessner having also asked them to sign an NDA.

Katherine reached for the document, but Langdon, without breaking eye contact with the ambassador, placed a quiet hand on Katherine’s wrist, stopping her. “Madam Ambassador, as this situation clearly relates to Katherine’s book, she can’t sign these without speaking to a lawyer, or at least to her editor. If we could quickly use a phone, perha—”

“That’s a reasonable request,” she interrupted, “and yet I’m unable to oblige. The man coming to speak to you gave me a clear directive prohibiting any outside contact until the NDAs were signed and he had spoken to you.”

“Who is this man?” Katherine asked.

“He goes by Mr. Finch, and these are his NDAs. You’re free to read them, of course.”

“No need,” Langdon said. “I’m guessing it states that anything we discuss in our meeting can never be divulged outside this room.”

Nagel nodded, beginning to look impatient. “That’s usually the point of a nondisclosure.”

“Whoever Mr. Finch is,” Langdon said, “if he cannot even permit us to use a phone, then I hope you can understand why it’s difficult for us to blindly trust this request. I think it’s best if Katherine and I return to our hotel now.”

Katherine looked startled by the comment, as did Ambassador Nagel, whose veneer of diplomacy was starting to crack. “If you truly wish to leave,” Nagel declared sharply, “I do not have the authority or desire to hold you against your will, but I don’t think leaving is in your best interest.” She paused, locking eyes with Langdon. “To be frank, I’m not sure it’s entirely safe for you out there.”

“To be equally frank,” Langdon parried, “I’m not sure we feel entirely safe in here either.”

Nagel’s expression was now a mix of confusion and indignance. “Professor, I had hoped my admission about bugging your hotel room might have bought me a bit of goodwill and trust, but in light—”

A hollow ping from Nagel’s phone cut the air. Annoyed, she pulled out the device and read the incoming message. Her expression morphed from irritation to overt horror. She gasped and covered her mouth, jumping to her feet, eyes wide with emotion.

“I’m…so sorry,” she stammered, steadying herself against the table. “I’m going to need ten minutes. This message is…I’m sorry.” With that, the ambassador rushed out of the door, her rapid footfalls echoing down the marble hallway as she left.

Katherine looked alarmed. “I don’t think that was an act.”

Langdon had the same impression, although politics and acting were more closely related than anyone liked to admit.

“You were very short with her, Robert,” Katherine chided, clearly surprised with Langdon’s resistance to signing the documents. “After all, she had a fair point—she did tell us about the surveillance bug.”

“The same bug I told you about while we were in the ambassador’s limousine. I suspect the ambassador, or perhaps Mr. Finch, eavesdropped on that conversation and realized they had no choice but to tell us what we already knew. I must admit, it was a clever attempt to gain our trust.”

Katherine’s lips tightened into a thin frown. “My God, do you really think she bugged her own limo? You and I talked about…a lot.”

“All I know,” Langdon replied, scooping up one of the documents, “is these NDAs are a trap.” He scanned the text, confirming his suspicions. “This basically says anything we discuss with Mr. Finch is instantly classified. All this guy has to do is mention topics in your book that concern him, and you can never speak or write about them again. You would be legally forbidden from publishing this book. Ever.”

“They can do that?!”

“Hell yes, if you sign this paper.” Langdon had a friend who wrote a thriller about a major tech company, only to have it blocked from publication because he had signed a “standard NDA” before touring the company’s offices.

“Well…” Katherine said, staring into space. “This NDA answers one question I’ve had all day.”

“What question is that?”

She turned back to him. “Robert, when I learned someone was trying to destroy all the copies of my manuscript, I kept wondering why they weren’t concerned that I would just rewrite the book. Now we know. They thought I wouldn’t be allowed to.”

“Exactly,” Langdon said. “And I don’t like the fact that we’re at a private residence rather than the U.S. embassy.” He motioned out the window toward the high security fences surrounding the property. “Think about it. There’s no way out, we can’t use a phone, and some strange guy is coming to talk to us. Here? In a private home? Someone who can order a U.S. ambassador to plant listening devices?”

Katherine’s expressive brown eyes seldom flashed fear, but there was definitely concern in them now. “What scares me,” she said, “is nobody knows we’re here. And we don’t even know if Jonas is safe.”

Langdon stood up. “Which is why I’m going to kill those two birds with one phone.”

She gave him an odd look. “You mean ‘stone’?”