Page 20 of The Secret of Secrets

Janáček leaned toward Langdon, elbows on knees. “Any other questions?”

“No, sir.”

“Good, then let us move to my question…because I have only one. And it is one that, so far, you have refused to answer.” Janáček took another pull on his cigarette and drew out his question as if talking to a child. “Professor…how did you know about the bomb?”

“I didn’t know,” Langdon replied. “I just—”

“You pulled the alarm!” Janáček exploded. “You knew something! And Professor, please don’t say again, ‘It’s complicated.’ I appreciate that you are a famous scholar, but I too am a smart man. I believe I am capable of understanding your complications.”

“Mr. Langdon,” Harris said calmly. “This is your moment; just tell the truth.”

Langdon took a deep breath and hoped that John the Evangelist had been correct when he promised “the truth will set you free.”

Chapter 11

Editor Jonas Faukman clicked his computer mouse repeatedly, willing his terminal to boot up faster. Only two people on earth were supposed to have access to Katherine Solomon’s private SVW—Katherine herself and, as of this afternoon, Faukman.

How could someone on the outside have gained access?!

Faukman felt physically ill imagining what might have been compromised—all of Katherine’s scientific research, her notes, and, most importantly, the manuscript itself. Hurry up! he urged, waiting for his machine to power on.

Behind him, the young data technician was peering over Faukman’s shoulder, fretfully humming to himself, which did little to calm Faukman’s nerves. When the computer finally came to life, Faukman navigated to the proper folder and clicked on the alias for the server partition named “SUM”: Solomon—Untitled Manuscript.

Faukman had written Katherine’s access code on a file card and stored it safely in a drawer, but before he could move to retrieve it, the computer made an unfamiliar sound—three staccato beeps. Faukman turned back to the screen, expecting to see Katherine’s log-in window, but instead he was looking at a bright red error message.

Partition Not Found.

“What the…?” Faukman clicked again on the SUM icon. There were three short beeps and the same error message. Partition not found? Faukman spun to Alex. “The entire partition is…gone?!” The partition had been there this afternoon when Faukman tested Katherine’s password. Where did it go?!

Wide-eyed, the tech knelt down beside Faukman and commandeered his keyboard and mouse. Faukman held his breath as the tech worked, fingers flying. Attempt after attempt, the tech got the same result. Three loud beeps.

Partition Not Found.

“Don’t panic,” the kid said, sounding utterly panicked. “This just means that in an effort to cover their tracks, they purged the partition.”

“Purged?”

“Yes, sir, it means deleted. Your data—”

“Thanks, I’m familiar with the definition of ‘purged.’ Are you saying someone deleted all the research and manuscript drafts associated with this title?”

“Yes, sir. Purging is a common post-hack protocol. It makes tracking the hackers more difficult.” He began typing again. “But don’t worry, Mr. Faukman, we have redundant systems, and all your data will still exist on PRH’s off-site backup. It’s located in our distribution warehouse in Maryland. I’m logging in now to recover it.”

Alex’s fingertips were a blur. “We just have to access the remote partition and migrate—”

The computer pinged three short beeps again. A familiar dialogue box flashed on the screen.

Partition Not Found.

The tech’s eyes went wider as he tried the redundant server again.

Partition Not Found.

“Oh…no,” the kid said.

Faukman felt suddenly weak. Katherine’s partition is deleted from both servers?! Along with her manuscript and notes?

Alex Conan jumped up and headed for the door. “I need to get to my terminal, sir. I’ve never seen anything like this before—it’s a serious breach.”