Page 44 of The Secret of Secrets

“Is anyone here?” he yelled into the frenzy.

Langdon made his way toward the machine, noticing the heavy braids of tubing and wires emerging from its side and winding across the floor to a secondary device—a slender, low-slung container made of clear plastic or glass. Beneath its transparent cover, the interior radiated a soft glow.

What in the world is this?

The size and shape made Langdon think of a sleeping pod.

Or a coffin, he realized, suddenly unnerved.

As he neared the pod, he could see its transparent shell was heavily fogged with condensation from whatever was happening inside. The beeping continued. He carefully approached, arriving over the pod, and peered down through the glass lid.

Langdon instantly recoiled in horror.

Lying motionless inside the pod, shrouded in thick swirling mist, was the hazy outline of a human form.

My God…Katherine?!

Chapter 28

On the second floor of the U.S. embassy, Michael Harris felt off-balance as he stepped out of his private conversation with the ambassador. Having just been partially “read in,” Harris was still trying to process the full implications of the classified information the ambassador had now shared with him.

She had not shared everything, he sensed, but one thing was crystal clear: Today is about much more than a bomb scare at the Four Seasons.

Harris gathered himself and quickly headed back downstairs to Dana’s office, wishing he had talked to the ambassador before involving Dana. He found her at her computer, engrossed in multiple video feeds of Charles Bridge. Shit.

Dana glanced up as he entered. “I located your woman with the spiked tiara, Michael. She’s very cute. You never told—”

“Turn it off, Dana,” he said, rushing over to her. “I made a mistake.”

“But you asked—”

“I know. I’m sorry. Turn it off, please. Now.”

Dana eyed him warily and stood up. As a six-foot-tall former runway model, she was one of the few women who could look Michael Harris in the eye. Before she could say a word, however, Harris crouched down near the floor.

“Seriously?” she said. “Begging me on bended knee?”

Not exactly. Harris reached under her desk and pulled a plug, cutting power to her computer.

Dana saw her display go black. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“I need you to trust me,” he said, standing again.

“You have a lot of secrets lately.”

You have no idea, he thought. “Look…I’m just asking you to go back to work and forget I ever asked you about any of this.”

Dana’s glare was unflinching, and Harris sensed she had no intention of letting this go. Digging deep, he mustered a playful smile and lowered his voice to a whisper. “The walls here have ears. How about I tell you everything over dinner tonight?”

Dana’s eyes brightened, her full lips pouting with promise. “Takeout? Your place?”

Harris winked. “Food optional.”

She smiled. “I like the way you think, Mr. Harris.”

Harris blew her a kiss and headed out.

Minutes later, he was in one of the embassy’s black Audi A7s, zipping along Tržiště Street. He had expected to be going directly to Crucifix Bastion, but the ambassador had ordered him to do something for her first.