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98
The six pompieri firemen who responded to the fire at the Church of Santa Maria Della Vittoria extinguished the bonfire with blasts of Halon gas. Water was cheaper, but the steam it created would have ruined the frescoes in the chapel, and the Vatican paid Roman pompieri a healthy stipend for swift and prudent service in all Vatican-owned buildings.
Pompieri, by the nature of their work, witnessed tragedy almost daily, but the execution in this church was something none of them would ever forget. Part crucifixion, part hanging, part burning at the stake, the scene was something dredged from a Gothic nightmare.
Unfortunately, the press, as usual, had arrived before the fire department. They'd shot plenty of video before the pompieri cleared the church. When the firemen finally cut the victim down and lay him on the floor, there was no doubt who the man was.
"Cardinale Guidera," one whispered. "Di Barcellona."
The victim was nude. The lower half of his body was crimson-black, blood oozing through gaping cracks in his thighs. His shinbones were exposed. One fireman vomited. Another went outside to breathe.
The true horror, though, was the symbol seared on the cardinal's chest. The squad chief circled the corpse in awestruck dread. Lavoro del diavolo, he said to himself. Satan himself did this. He crossed himself for the first time since childhood.
"Un' altro corpo!" someone yelled. One of the firemen had found another body.
The second victim was a man the chief recognized immediately. The austere commander of the Swiss Guard was a man for whom few public law enforcement officials had any affection. The chief called the Vatican, but all the circuits were busy. He knew it didn't matter. The Swiss Guard would hear about this on television in a matter of minutes.
As the chief surveyed the damage, trying to recreate what possibly could have gone on here, he saw a niche riddled with bullet holes. A coffin had been rolled off its supports and fallen upside down in an apparent struggle. It was a mess. That's for the police and Holy See to deal with, the chief thought, turning away.
As he turned, though, he stopped. Coming from the coffin he heard a sound. It was not a sound any fireman ever liked to hear.
"Bomba!" he cried out. "Tutti fuori!"
When the bomb squad rolled the coffin over, they discovered the source of the electronic beeping. They stared, confused.
"Medico!" one finally screamed. "Medico!"
99
"Any word from Olivetti?" the camerlegno asked, looking drained as Rocher escorted him back from the Sistine Chapel to the Pope's office.
"No, signore. I am fearing the worst."
When they reached the Pope's office, the camerlegno's voice was heavy. "Captain, there is nothing more I can do here tonight. I fear I have done too much already. I am going into this office to pray. I do not wish to be disturbed. The rest is in God's hands."
"Yes, signore."
"The hour is late, Captain. Find that canister."
"Our search continues." Rocher hesitated. "The weapon proves to be too well hidden."
The camerlegno winced, as if he could not think of it. "Yes. At exactly 11:15 P.M., if the church is still in peril, I want you to evacuate the cardinals. I am putting their safety in your hands. I ask only one thing. Let these men proceed from this place with dignity. Let them exit into St. Peter's Square and stand side by side with the rest of the world. I do not want the last image of this church to be frightened old men sneaking out a back door."
"Very good, signore. And you? Shall I come for you at 11:15 as well?"
"There will be no need."
"Signore?"
"I will leave when the spirit moves me."
Rocher wondered if the camerlegno intended to go down with the ship.
The camerlegno opened the door to the Pope's office and entered. "Actually..." he said, turning. "There is one thing."
"Signore?"
"There seems to be a chill in this office tonight. I am trembling."
"The electric heat is out. Let me lay you a fire."
The camerlegno smiled tiredly. "Thank you. Thank you, very much."
Rocher exited the Pope's office where he had left the camerlegno praying by firelight in front of a small statue of the Blessed Mother Mary. It was an eerie sight. A black shadow kneeling in the flickering glow. As Rocher headed down the hall, a guard appeared, running toward him. Even by candlelight Rocher recognized Lieutenant Chartrand. Young, green, and eager.
"Captain," Chartrand called, holding out a cellular phone. "I think the camerlegno's address may have worked. We've got a caller here who says he has information that can help us. He phoned on one of the Vatican's private extensions. I have no idea how he got the number."
Rocher stopped. "What?"
"He will only speak to the ranking officer."
"Any word from Olivetti?"
"No, sir."
He took the receiver. "This is Captain Rocher. I am ranking officer here."
"Rocher," the voice said. "I will explain to you who I am. Then I will tell you what you are going to do next."
When the caller stopped talking and hung up, Rocher stood stunned. He now knew from whom he was taking orders.
Back at CERN, Sylvie Baudeloque was frantically trying to keep track of all the licensing inquiries coming in on Kohler's voice mail. When the private line on the director's desk began to ring, Sylvie jumped. Nobody had that number. She answered.
"Yes?"
"Ms. Baudeloque? This is Director Kohler. Contact my pilot. My jet is to be ready in five minutes."
100
Robert Langdon had no idea where he was or how long he had been unconscious when he opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the underside of a baroque, frescoed cupola. Smoke drifted overhead. Something was covering his mouth. An oxygen mask. He pulled it off. There was a terrible smell in the room - like burning flesh.
Langdon winced at the pounding in his head. He tried to sit up. A man in white was kneeling beside him.
"Riposati!" the man said, easing Langdon onto his back again. "Sono il paramedico."
Langdon succumbed, his head spiraling like the smoke overhead. What the hell happened? Wispy feelings of panic sifted through his mind.
"Sorcio salvatore," the paramedic said. "Mouse... savior."
Langdon felt even more lost. Mouse savior?
The man motioned to the Mickey Mouse watch on Langdon's wrist. Langdon's thoughts began to clear. He remembered setting the alarm. As he stared absently at the watch face, Langdon also noted the hour. 10:28 P.M.
He sat bolt upright.
Then, it all came back.
Langdon stood near the main altar with the fire chief and a few of his men. They had been rattling him with questions. Langdon wasn't listening. He had questions of his own. His whole body ached, but he knew he needed to act immediately.
A pompiero approached Langdon across the church. "I checked again, sir. The only bodies we found are Cardinal Guidera and the Swiss Guard commander. There's no sign of a woman here."
"Grazie," Langdon said, unsure whether he was relieved or horrified. He knew he had seen Vittoria unconscious on the floor. Now she was gone. The only explanation he came up with was not a comforting one. The killer had not been subtle on the phone. A woman of spirit. I am aroused. Perhaps before this night is over, I will find you. And when I do..."
Langdon looked around. "Where is the Swiss Guard?"
"Still no contact. Vatican lines are jammed."
Langdon felt overwhelmed and alone. Olivetti was dead. The cardinal was dead. Vittoria was missing. A half hour of his life had disappeared in a blink.
Outside, Langdon could hear the press swarming. He suspected footage of the third cardinal's horrific death would no doubt air soon, if it hadn't already. Langdon hoped the camerlegno had long since assumed the worst and taken action. Evacuate the damn Vatican! Enough games! We lose!
Langdon suddenly realized that all of the catalysts that had been driving him - helping to save Vatican City, rescuing the four cardinals, coming face to face with the brotherhood he had studied for years - all of these things had evaporated from his mind. The war was lost. A new compulsion had ignited within him. It was simple. Stark. Primal.
Find Vittoria.
He felt an unexpected emptiness inside. Langdon had often heard that intense situations could unite two people in ways that decades together often did not. He now believed it. In Vittoria's absence he felt something he had not felt in years. Loneliness. The pain gave him strength.
Pushing all else from his mind, Langdon mustered his concentration. He prayed that the Hassassin would take care of business before pleasure. Otherwise, Langdon knew he was already too late. No, he told himself, you have time. Vittoria's captor still had work to do. He had to surface one last time before disappearing forever.
The last altar of science, Langdon thought. The killer had one final task. Earth. Air. Fire. Water.
He looked at his watch. Thirty minutes. Langdon moved past the firemen toward Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa. This time, as he stared at Bernini's marker, Langdon had no doubt what he was looking for.
Let angels guide you on your lofty quest...
Directly over the recumbent saint, against a backdrop of gilded flame, hovered Bernini's angel. The angel's hand clutched a pointed spear of fire. Langdon's eyes followed the direction of the shaft, arching toward the right side of the church. His eyes hit the wall. He scanned the spot where the spear was pointing. There was nothing there. Langdon knew, of course, the spear was pointing far beyond the wall, into the night, somewhere across Rome.
"What direction is that?" Langdon asked, turning and addressing the chief with a newfound determination.
"Direction?" The chief glanced where Langdon was pointing. He sounded confused. "I don't know... west, I think."
"What churches are in that direction?"
