Page 143 of The Secret of Secrets

Even so, Katherine felt a foreboding air about this space. If Langdon’s suspicions were correct, then this opulent “Gessner Institute” was actually camouflaging a darker purpose—a secret entrance to Threshold.

Langdon strode to the far end of the space and went immediately to a ponderous wall sculpture made of welded metal blocks, stopping only inches away from it.

What in the world is he doing?

To Katherine’s surprise, Langdon grabbed the sculpture, heaved it to one side, and the sculpture slid silently along the wall to reveal a large alcove behind it. In the dim light beyond, she could see an elevator door.

Why am I not surprised? she mused, hurrying across the room toward Langdon, who was holding the sliding artwork aside for her. As she arrived beside him, however, she noticed Langdon was staring at something behind her.

“What is it?” she asked, glancing back over her shoulder.

“That couch on the far wall…it’s cockeyed.”

Katherine eyed the couch. Seriously, Robert? One edge of the long white couch was pulled at a slight angle away from the wall.

“It was straight this morning when I sat on it,” he said, still staring at the couch. “I don’t know if I missed that, or if it was moved, or—”

“Or if you forgot your OCD meds?”

Langdon returned his attention to her. “Sorry,” he said, shaking it off. “Eidetic memories can be distracting.”

“Apparently,” she said with a smile. “Shall we correct this feng shui emergency, or shall we try to find this facility and save our lives?”

“Right.” Langdon guided her into the dimly lit alcove.

Inside, Katherine spotted an illuminated touch pad next to the elevator door.

“This keypad is for Brigita’s use only,” Langdon said. “It’s the way she would access her private lab one floor below us.”

“But you think there’s a separate entrance to Threshold hidden somewhere here?” Katherine asked.

“Yes, in fact, I think it’s right in front of us.” He motioned to the elevator. “If I’m correct, this elevator shaft goes much deeper—but to descend all the way to Threshold, you’d need an RFID key card like we saw in Gessner’s briefcase.”

He pointed to a sleek, round pad of black glass mounted on the wall just above the keypad. Katherine hadn’t seen it.

An RFID reader.

“I noticed the reader this morning, but when we were at the ambassador’s residence, I realized what it was. It dawned on me why Gessner might have two authorization methods for the same elevator. If I’m right, then all we need is the key card from her briefcase, which I saw earlier in her lab downstairs.”

Langdon was already typing a passcode into the keypad.

“So you really solved the code?” Katherine asked. “An Arabic tribute to an ancient Greek…with a lemon twist?”

“Latin twist,” he corrected with a smile. “You were drunk.”

He finished typing the passcode, and the elevator whirred to life.

Impressive, Katherine thought. He can explain it to me later.

The elevator seemed to take a long time to arrive, but when it did, Katherine noted that the compartment itself was oversized, surprisingly large for Gessner’s private use.

Perhaps more suited to carrying personnel and equipment.

So far, Langdon’s logic seemed sound.

They stepped inside and descended a single floor.

When the elevator opened, Katherine was looking down a long hallway with rock walls, polished inlaid floors, and modern spot lighting. It gave the impression that the Old and New Worlds had come to some kind of awkward compromise.