'The Lost Symbol Chapter 62-66\r'

'CHAPTER 62\r\nIm under(a)(a) Second Street.\r\nLangdons eyeb every remained tightly exclude as the conveyor rumbled through the gentle toward the Adams Building. He did his shell non to kayoedline the tons of earth e veryplacehead and the set tube through which he was at unity condemnation traveling. He could hear Katherine breathing close to(prenominal) yards ahead of him, solely so far, she had non telled a word.\r\nShes in shock. Langdon was non aspect forward to telling her intimately her comrades severed hand. You establish to, Robert. She implys to k immediately.\r\nâ€Å"Katherine?” Langdon lastly verbalize, without granting his eyes. â€Å" atomic number 18 you okay?”\r\nA tremulous, disembodied junction replied s sw everyowlyw here(predicate) up ahead. â€Å"Robert, the benefit youre carrying. Its dents, isnt it?”\r\nâ€Å"Yes,” Langdon replied.\r\nA bulky dummy up followed. â€Å"I commemorate . . . that pr ofit is wherefore my mother was dispatch.”\r\nLangdon was well aw atomic number 18 that Isabel Solomon had been murdered ten long cartridge clip ago, besides he didnt k straightaway the details, and cock had neer menti onenessd eitherthing closely a benefit. â€Å"What are you talking or so?”\r\nKatherines voice filled with sense as she recounted the harrowing eventidets of that night, how the tat alsoed slice had broken into their estate. â€Å"It was a long time ago, plainly Ill never for conk out that he de military gayded a gain. He utter he hear slightly the pyramid in prison, from my nephew, Zachary . . . decline in the first place he killed him.”\r\nLangdon listened in amazement. The tragedy inside the Solomon family was almost beyond belief. Katherine continued, telling Langdon that she had incessantly believed the intruder was killed that night . . . that is, until this very(prenominal) populace had resurfaced today, posing as Pet ers psychiatrist and luring Katherine to his home. â€Å"He knew mystic things on the button about my brother, my mothers death, and even my work,” she state anxiously, â€Å"things he could altogether remove intimate from my brother. And so I trusted him . . . and thats how he got inside the Smithsonian Museum Support Center.” Katherine took a unintelligible breath and told Langdon she was nearly original the man had destroyed her lab tonight.\r\nLangdon listened in utter shock. For several moments, the two of them lay unitedly in silence on the pathetic conveyor. Langdon knew he had an obligation to share with Katherine the wait of tonights terrible news. He began slowly, and as softly as he possibly could he told her how her brother had entrusted him with a undersize humankind of ground familys earlier, how Langdon had been tricked into bringing this large bucks to capital letter tonight, and finally, about her brothers hand having been make up i n the Rotunda of the Capitol Building.\r\nKatherines reaction was deafening silence.\r\nLangdon could tell she was reeling, and he wished he could reach out and pull her, but lying determination to end in the narrow blackness make it impossible. â€Å"Peters okay,” he whispered. â€Å"Hes active, and well get him back.” Langdon tried to possess her hope. â€Å"Katherine, his captor promised me your brother would be re glum alive . . . as long as I decipher the pyramid for him.”\r\nStill Katherine express nonhing.\r\nLangdon kept talking. He told her about the mark pyramid, its masonic cipher, the sealed cap stone, and, of course, about Bellamys claims that this pyramid was in fact the masonic pyramid of legend . . . a map that go appearanceed the privacy place of a long handbuild stairway that led cryptical into the earth . . . d declare hundreds of feet to a mystical antiquated entertain that had been buried in capital letter long ago.\r\nKatheri ne finally spoke, but her voice was flat and emotionless. â€Å"Robert, open your eyes.”\r\nOpen my eyes? Langdon had no desire to have even the slightest glimpse of how cramped this quad genuinely was.\r\nâ€Å"Robert!” Katherine demanded, urgently instantly. â€Å"Open your eyes! Were here!”\r\nLangdons eyes flew open as his remains emerged through an opening similar to the one it had entered at the other end. Katherine was already move up mangle the conveyor belt. She lifted his day grip pip the belt as Langdon swung his legs oer the frame in and jumped down onto the tile floor equitable in time, before the conveyor turned the corner and headed back the way it came. The space around them was a circulation room a covey homogeneous the one they had arise from in the other building. A small point read ADAMS BUILDING: CIRCULATION ROOM 3. Langdon matte worry he had sound emerged from some kind of subterranean birth canal. born(p) again. He turne d immediately to Katherine. â€Å" atomic number 18 you okay?”\r\nHer eyes were red, and she had obviously been crying, but she nodded with a resolute stoicism. She picked up Langdons daybag and carried it crosswise the room without a word, setting it on a cluttered desk. She lit the desks halogen hug lamp, unzipped the bag, folded down the sides, and peered inside.\r\nThe granite pyramid looked almost knockout in the clean halogen light. Katherine ran her fingers over the sculptured masonic cipher, and Langdon sensed deep emotion churning indoors her. Slowly, she reached into the daybag and pulled out the cuboid package. She held it under the light, examining it closely.\r\nâ€Å"As you can see,” Langdon lightly give tongue to, â€Å"the wax seal is embossed with Peters masonic ring. He said this ring was apply to seal the package more than than a century ago.”\r\nKatherine said nothing.\r\nâ€Å"When your brother entrusted the package to me,” Lan gdon told her, â€Å"he said it would give me the causality to create mark out of chaos. Im not entirely sure what that means, but Ive got to require the capstone reveals something important, because Peter was insistent that it not fall into the wrong hands. Mr. Bellamy just told me the alike(p) thing, urging me to hide the pyramid and not let anyone open the package.”\r\nKatherine turned now, looking angry. â€Å"Bellamy told you not to open the package?”\r\nâ€Å"Yes. He was adamant.”\r\nKatherine looked incredulous. â€Å"But you said this capstone is the only way we can decipher the pyramid, castigate?”\r\nâ€Å"Probably, yes.”\r\nKatherines voice was rising now. â€Å"And you said deciphering the pyramid is what you were told to do. Its the only way we can get Peter back, overcompensate?”\r\nLangdon nodded.\r\nâ€Å" thusly, Robert, why wouldnt we open the package and decipher this thing right now?!”\r\nLangdon didnt know how to respond. â€Å"Katherine, I had the same exact reaction, and and Bellamy told me that keeping this pyramids unknown inviolate was more important than anything . . . including your brothers life.”\r\nKatherines middling features hardened, and she tucked a wisp of hair coffin nail her ears. When she spoke, her voice was resolved. â€Å"This stone pyramid, whatever it is, has equal me my entire family. First my nephew, Zachary, then my mother, and now my brother.And lets face it, Robert, if you hadnt called tonight to warn me . . .”\r\nLangdon could touch sensation himself trapped between Katherines logic and Bellamys sozzled urging.\r\nâ€Å"I may be a scientist,” she said, â€Å"but I also come from a family of well-known Masons. Believe me, Ive heard all the stories about the Masonic profit and its promise of some great treasure that will enlighten mankind. Honestly, I feel it hard to imagine such a thing exists. However, if it does exist . . . perhaps its time to unveil it.” Katherine slid a finger infra the old twine on the package.\r\nLangdon jumped. â€Å"Katherine, no! Wait!”\r\nShe pa employ, but her finger remained down the stairs the string. â€Å"Robert, Im not going to let my brother die for this. Whatever this capstone says . . . whatever lost treasures this engraving might reveal . . . those hole-and-corner(a)s end tonight.”\r\nWith that, Katherine yanked defiantly on the twine, and the brittle wax seal exploded.\r\nCHAPTER 63\r\nIn a quiet neighborhood just west of Embassy Row in Washington, on that point exists a medieval-style walled garden whose rises, it is said, spring from twelfth-century plants. The gardens Carderock summerhouseâ€known as Shadow endureâ€sits elegantly amid meandering pathways of stones dug from George Washingtons private quarry.\r\nTonight the silence of the gardens was broken by a young man who rush along through the wooden gate, shouting as he came .\r\nâ€Å"Hello?” he called out, spin to see in the moonlight. â€Å"Are you in here?”\r\nThe voice that replied was frail, barely audible. â€Å"In the gazebo . . . just taking some air.”\r\nThe young man found his shriveled superior seated on the stone bench beneath a blanket. The round- get uped old man was tiny, with elfin features. The years had bent him in two and stolen his eyesight, but his soul remained a force to be reckoned with.\r\nCatching his breath, the young man told him, â€Å"I just . . . took a call . . . from your colleague . . . Warren Bellamy.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh?” The old man perked up. â€Å" closely what?”\r\nâ€Å"He didnt say, but he sounded like he was in a big hurry. He told me he left you a message on your voice mail, which you need to listen to right away.”\r\nâ€Å"Thats all he said?”\r\nâ€Å" no. quite.” The young man paused. â€Å"He told me to ask you a question.” A very strange q uestion. â€Å"He said he needed your response right away.”\r\nThe old man leaned closer. â€Å"What question?”\r\nAs the young man spoke Mr. Bellamys question, the give way that crossed the old mans face was visual even in the moonlight. Immediately, he threw off his blanket and began struggling to his feet.\r\nâ€Å"Please answer me inside. Right away.”\r\nCHAPTER 64\r\nNo more orphics, thought Katherine Solomon.\r\nOn the table in front of her, the wax seal that had been intact for generations now lay in pieces. She done for(p) removing the worn brown paper from her brothers cute package. Beside her, Langdon looked decidedly uneasy.\r\nFrom at heart the paper, Katherine extracted a small package made of gray stone. Resembling a polished granite cube, the package had no hinges, no latch, and no apparent way inside. It reminded Katherine of a Chinese puzzle package.\r\nâ€Å"It looks like a solid block,” she said, running her fingers over the edges. â€Å"Are you sure the X- ray showed it was hollow? With a capstone inside?”\r\nâ€Å"It did,” Langdon said, moving side by side(p) to Katherine and scrutinizing the mysterious box. He and Katherine peered at the box from different angles, attempting to find a way in.\r\nâ€Å"Got it,” Katherine said as her fingernail located the privy slit along one of the boxs abstract edges. She set the box down on the desk and then carefully pried open the lid, which rose smoothly, like the top of a delightful jewelry box.\r\nWhen the lid fell back, Langdon and Katherine twain drew audible breaths. The interior of the box seemed to be glowing. The inside was shining with an almost supernatural effulgence. Katherine had never seen a piece of gold this large, and it took her an instant to realize that the strange metal was exclusively reflecting the radiance of the desk lamp.\r\nâ€Å"Its spectacular,” she whispered. scorn being sealed in a dark stone cub e for over a century, the capstone had not faded or tarnished in any way. coin resists the entropic laws of decay; thats one of the reasons the ancients considered it magical. Katherine felt her twinkling quicken as she leaned forward, peering down over the small golden point. â€Å"Theres an dedication.”\r\nLangdon moved closer, their shoulders now touching. His blue eyes flashed with curiosity. He had told Katherine about the ancient Greek practice of creating a symbolonâ€a code broken into splitâ€and how this capstone, long separated from the pyramid itself, would halt the key to deciphering the pyramid. Allegedly, this inscription, whatever it said, would bring order from this chaos.\r\nKatherine held the little box up to the light and peered straight down over the capstone.\r\nthough small, the inscription was perfectly visibleâ€a small bit of elegantly carve text on the face of one side. Katherine read the six simple dustup.\r\nthence she read them again .\r\nâ€Å"No!” she declared. â€Å"That cant be what it says!”\r\ncrosswise the street, Director Sato hurried up the long walkway outside the Capitol Building toward her get together point on First Street. The modify from her field team had been unacceptable. No Langdon. No pyramid. No capstone. Bellamy was in custody, but he was not telling them the truth. At least not yet.\r\nIll make him talk.\r\nShe glanced back over her shoulder at one of Washingtons newest vistasâ€the Capitol loft framed above the new visitant center. The illuminated dome only accentuated the substance of what was truly at stake tonight. on the hook(predicate) times.\r\nSato was relieved to hear her cell band ring and see her analysts ID on the screen.\r\nâ€Å"Nola,” Sato answered. â€Å"What have you got?”\r\nNola Kaye gave her the bad news. The roentgen ray of the capstones inscription was too faint to read, and the image-enhancing filters had not helped. Shit. Sato ch ewed at her lip. â€Å"How about the sixteen-letter gridiron?” â€Å"Im dumb trying,” Nola said, â€Å"but so far Ive found no vicarious encryption scheme thats applicable. Ive got a data processor reshuffling the letters in the grid and looking for anything identifiable, but there are over twenty trillion possibilities.”\r\nâ€Å" reside on it. Let me know.” Sato hung up, scowling. Her hopes of deciphering the pyramid employ only a photograph and X-ray were fading fast. I need that pyramid and capstone . . . and Im running out of time.\r\nSato arrived at First Street just as a black Escalade SUV with dark windows roared across the double yellow and skidded to a stop in front of her at their rendezvous point. A lone means got out.\r\nâ€Å"Any word yet on Langdon?” Sato demanded.\r\nâ€Å"Confidence is high,” the man said, emotionless. â€Å"Backup just arrived. All library exits are surrounded. We even have air support orgasm in. W ell flush him with tear gas, and hell have nowhere to run.”\r\nâ€Å"And Bellamy?”\r\nâ€Å"Tied up in the backseat.”\r\nGood. Her shoulder was still smarting.\r\nThe ingredient handed Sato a plastic Ziploc bag containing cell phone, keys, and wallet. â€Å"Bellamys effects.”\r\nâ€Å" zilch else?”\r\nâ€Å"No, maam. The pyramid and package must still be with Langdon.”\r\nâ€Å"Okay,” Sato said. â€Å"Bellamy knows plenty hes not telling. Id like to question him personally.”\r\nâ€Å"Yes, maam. To Langley, then?”\r\nSato took a deep breath and paced a moment beside the SUV. exact protocols governed the interrogation of U.S. civilians, and questioning Bellamy was highly iniquitous unless it was done at Langley on boob tube with witnesses, attorneys, blah, blah, blah . . . â€Å"Not Langley,” she said, trying to think of somewhere closer. And more private.\r\nThe agent said nothing, contributeing at attention be side the faineance SUV, waiting for orders.\r\nSato lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and gazed down at the Ziploc bag of Bellamys items. His key ring, she had noticed, included an electronic pull someones leg adorned with four lettersâ€USBG. Sato knew, of course, which governing building this fob accessed. The building was very close and, at this hour, very private. She smiled and pocketed the fob. Perfect.\r\nWhen she told the agent where she wanted to take Bellamy, she expected the man to look surprised, but he simply nodded and opened the passenger door for her, his nipping stare revealing nothing.\r\nSato loved professionals.\r\nLangdon stood in the basement of the Adams Building and stared in incredulity at the elegantly inscribed words on the face of the golden capstone.\r\nThats all it says?\r\nBeside him, Katherine held the capstone under the light and shake her head. â€Å"Theres got to be more,” she insisted, sounding cheated. â€Å"This is what my brother has been protect all these years?”\r\nLangdon had to admit he was mystified. According to Peter and Bellamy, this capstone was sibylline to help them decipher the stone pyramid. In light of those claims, Langdon had expected something illuminating and helpful. overmuch like obvious and useless. Once again, he read the six words exquisitely inscribed on the face of the capstone.\r\nThe\r\nsecret hides\r\nwithin The Order\r\nThe secret hides within The Order?\r\nAt first glance, the inscription appeared to be stating the obviousâ€that the letters on the pyramid were out of â€Å"order” and that their secret lay in finding their straight-laced sequence. This reading, however, in addition to being self-evident, seemed improbable for another reason. â€Å"The words the and order are capitalized,” Langdon said.\r\nKatherine nodded blankly. â€Å"I cut that.”\r\nThe secret hides within The Order. Langdon could think of only one dianoetic implication. ” `The Order must be referencing the Masonic Order.”\r\nâ€Å"I agree,” Katherine said, â€Å"but its still no help. It tells us nothing.”\r\nLangdon had to concur. by and byward all, the entire story of the Masonic Pyramid revolved around a secret hole-and-corner(a) within the Masonic Order.\r\nâ€Å"Robert, didnt my brother tell you this capstone would give you power to see order where others saw only chaos?”\r\nHe nodded in frustration. For the second time tonight, Robert Langdon was feeling unworthy.\r\nCHAPTER 65\r\nOnce Malakh had finished dealing with his unhoped visitorâ€a female security measures guard from Preferred Securityâ€he fixed the paint on the window through which she had glimpsed his sacred work space.\r\nNow, locomote out of the soft blue stupor of the basement, he emerged through a hidden doorway into his living room. Inside, he paused, admiring his spectacular painting of the Three Graces and savoring the known sme lls and sounds of his home.\r\nSoon I will be leaving forever. Malakh knew that after tonight he would be unable to return to this place. After tonight, he thought, smiling, I will have no need for this place.\r\nHe wondered if Robert Langdon yet understood the true power of the pyramid . . . or the importance of the role for which good deal had chosen him. Langdon has yet to call me, Malakh thought, after double-checking for messages on his disposable phone. It was now 10:02 P.M. He has less than two hours.\r\nMalakh went up the stairs to his Italian-marble bathroom and turned on the steam clean shower to let it heat up. Methodically, he stripped off his clothes, eager to demoralise his cleansing ritual.\r\nHe drank two supply of water to calm his starving stomach. Then he walked to the full-length mirror and canvas his naked body. His two days of desist had accentuated his musculature, and he could not help but admire that which he had become. By dawn, I will be so much mor e.\r\nCHAPTER 66\r\nâ€Å"We should get out of here,” Langdon said to Katherine. â€Å"Its only a matter of time before they figure out where we are.” He hoped Bellamy had managed to escape.\r\nKatherine still seemed fixated on the gold capstone, looking incredulous that the inscription was so unhelpful. She had interpreted the capstone out of the box, examined every side, and was now carefully spewting it back in the box.\r\nThe secret hides within The Order, Langdon thought. Big help.\r\nLangdon found himself wondering now if perhaps Peter had been misinformed about the contents of the box. This pyramid and capstone had been created long before Peter was born, and Peter was simply doing as his forefathers had told him, keeping a secret that was probably as much a mystery to him as it was to Langdon and Katherine.\r\nWhat did I expect? Langdon wondered. The more he lettered tonight about the Legend of the Masonic Pyramid, the less plausible it all seemed. Im probin g for a hidden spiral staircase covered by a considerable stone? Something told Langdon he was chasing shadows. Nonetheless, deciphering this pyramid seemed his best chance at saving Peter.\r\nâ€Å"Robert, does the year 1514 mean anything to you?”\r\nFifteen-fourteen? The question seemed apropos of nothing. Langdon shrugged. â€Å"No. Why?”\r\nKatherine handed him the stone box. â€Å"Look. The box is dated. Have a look under the light.”\r\nLangdon took a seat at the desk and analyze the cube-shaped box beneath the light. Katherine put a soft hand on his shoulder, leaning in to point out the tiny text she had found cut on the exterior of the box, near the screw corner of one side.\r\nâ€Å"Fifteen-fourteen A.D.,” she said, pointing into the box.\r\nSure enough, the newspaper clipping depicted the number 1514, followed by an unaccustomed stylization of the letters A and D.\r\nâ€Å"This date,” Katherine was saying, sounding suddenly hopeful, à ¢â‚¬Å"maybe its the link were wanting(p)? This dated cube looks a lot like a Masonic tail, so maybe its pointing to a real cornerstone? Maybe to a building construct in 1514 A.D.?”\r\nLangdon barely heard her.\r\nFifteen-fourteen A.D. is not a date.\r\nThe symbol , as any scholar of medieval art would recognize, was a well-known symbatureâ€a symbol used in place of a signature. many another(prenominal) of the early philosophers, artists, and authors signed their work with their own unique symbol or monogram kind of than their name. This practice added a mysterious allure to their work and also protected them from persecution should their belles-lettres or artwork be deemed counterestablishment.\r\nIn the case of this symbature, the letters A.D. did not stand for Anno Domini . . . they were German for something else entirely.\r\nLangdon instantly saw all the pieces fall into place. Within seconds, he was certain he knew exactly how to decipher the pyramid. â€Å"Kathe rine, you did it,” he said, packing up. â€Å"Thats all we needed. Lets go. Ill explain on the way.”\r\nKatherine looked amazed. â€Å"The date 1514 A.D. actually means something to you?”\r\nLangdon winked at her and headed for the door. â€Å"A.D. isnt a date, Katherine. Its a person.”\r\n'