In a rubbish-strewn alley very close to Temple Church, Rémy Legaludec pulled the Jaguarlimousine to a stop behind a row of industrial waste bins. Killing the engine, he checked the area.
Deserted. He got out of the car, walked toward the rear, and climbed back into the limousine's maincabin where the monk was.
Sensing Rémy's presence, the monk in the back emerged from a prayer-like trance, his red eyeslooking more curious than fearful. All evening Rémy had been impressed with this trussed man'sability to stay calm. After some initial struggles in the Range Rover, the monk seemed to haveaccepted his plight and given over his fate to a higher power.
Loosening his bow tie, Rémy unbuttoned his high, starched, wing-tipped collar and felt as if hecould breathe for the first time in years. He went to the limousine's wet bar, where he pouredhimself a Smirnoff vodka. He drank it in a single swallow and followed it with a second.
Soon I will be a man of leisure.
Searching the bar, Rémy found a standard service wine-opener and flicked open the sharp blade.
The knife was usually employed to slice the lead foil from corks on fine bottles of wine, but itwould serve a far more dramatic purpose this morning. Rémy turned and faced Silas, holding upthe glimmering blade.
Now those red eyes flashed fear.
Rémy smiled and moved toward the back of the limousine. The monk recoiled, struggling againsthis bonds.
"Be still," Rémy whispered, raising the blade.
Silas could not believe that God had forsaken him. Even the physical pain of being bound Silas hadturned into a spiritual exercise, asking the throb of his blood-starved muscles to remind him of thepain Christ endured. I have been praying all night for liberation. Now, as the knife descended,Silas clenched his eyes shut.
A slash of pain tore through his shoulder blades. He cried out, unable to believe he was going todie here in the back of this limousine, unable to defend himself. I was doing God's work. TheTeacher said he would protect me.
Silas felt the biting warmth spreading across his back and shoulders and could picture his ownblood, spilling out over his flesh. A piercing pain cut through his thighs now, and he felt the onsetof that familiar undertow of disorientation—the body's defense mechanism against the pain.
As the biting heat tore through all of his muscles now, Silas clenched his eyes tighter, determinedthat the final image of his life would not be of his own killer. Instead he pictured a younger BishopAringarosa, standing before the small church in Spain... the church that he and Silas had built withtheir own hands. The beginning of my life.
Silas felt as if his body were on fire.
"Take a drink," the tuxedoed man whispered, his accent French. "It will help with yourcirculation."Silas's eyes flew open in surprise. A blurry image was leaning over him, offering a glass of liquid.
A mound of shredded duct tape lay on the floor beside the bloodless knife.
"Drink this," he repeated. "The pain you feel is the blood rushing into your muscles."Silas felt the fiery throb transforming now to a prickling sting. The vodka tasted terrible, but hedrank it, feeling grateful. Fate had dealt Silas a healthy share of bad luck tonight, but God hadsolved it all with one miraculous twist.
God has not forsaken me.
Silas knew what Bishop Aringarosa would call it.
Divine intervention.
"I had wanted to free you earlier," the servant apologized, "but it was impossible. With the policearriving at Chateau Villette, and then at Biggin Hill airport, this was the first possible moment. Youunderstand, don't you, Silas?"Silas recoiled, startled. "You know my name?"The servant smiled.
Silas sat up now, rubbing his stiff muscles, his emotions a torrent of incredulity, appreciation, andconfusion. "Are you... the Teacher?"Rémy shook his head, laughing at the proposition. "I wish I had that kind of power. No, I am notthe Teacher. Like you, I serve him. But the Teacher speaks highly of you. My name is Rémy."Silas was amazed. "I don't understand. If you work for the Teacher, why did Langdon bring thekeystone to your home?""Not my home. The home of the world's foremost Grail historian, Sir Leigh Teabing.""But you live there. The odds..."Rémy smiled, seeming to have no trouble with the apparent coincidence of Langdon's chosenrefuge. "It was all utterly predictable. Robert Langdon was in possession of the keystone, and heneeded help. What more logical place to run than to the home of Leigh Teabing? That I happen tolive there is why the Teacher approached me in the first place." He paused. "How do you think theTeacher knows so much about the Grail?"Now it dawned, and Silas was stunned. The Teacher had recruited a servant who had access to allof Sir Leigh Teabing's research. It was brilliant.
"There is much I have to tell you," Rémy said, handing Silas the loaded Heckler Koch pistol. Thenhe reached through the open partition and retrieved a small, palm-sized revolver from the glovebox. "But first, you and I have a job to do."Captain Fache descended from his transport plane at Biggin Hill and listened in disbelief to theKent chief inspector's account of what had happened in Teabing's hangar.
"I searched the plane myself," the inspector insisted, "and there was no one inside." His tone turnedhaughty. "And I should add that if Sir Leigh Teabing presses charges against me, I will—""Did you interrogate the pilot?""Of course not. He is French, and our jurisdiction requires—""Take me to the plane."Arriving at the hangar, Fache needed only sixty seconds to locate an anomalous smear of blood onthe pavement near where the limousine had been parked. Fache walked up to the plane and rappedloudly on the fuselage.
"This is the captain of the French Judicial Police. Open the door!"The terrified pilot opened the hatch and lowered the stairs.
Fache ascended. Three minutes later, with the help of his sidearm, he had a full confession,including a description of the bound albino monk. In addition, he learned that the pilot sawLangdon and Sophie leave something behind in Teabing's safe, a wooden box of some sort.
Although the pilot denied knowing what was in the box, he admitted it had been the focus ofLangdon's full attention during the flight to London.
"Open the safe," Fache demanded.
The pilot looked terrified. "I don't know the combination!""That's too bad. I was going to offer to let you keep your pilot's license."The pilot wrung his hands. "I know some men in maintenance here. Maybe they could drill it?""You have half an hour."The pilot leapt for his radio.
Fache strode to the back of the plane and poured himself a hard drink. It was early, but he had notyet slept, so this hardly counted as drinking before noon. Sitting in a plush bucket seat, he closedhis eyes, trying to sort out what was going on. The Kent police's blunder could cost me dearly.
Everyone was now on the lookout for a black Jaguar limousine.
Fache's phone rang, and he wished for a moment's peace. "Allo?""I'm en route to London." It was Bishop Aringarosa. "I'll be arriving in an hour."Fache sat up. "I thought you were going to Paris.""I am deeply concerned. I have changed my plans.""You should not have.""Do you have Silas?""No. His captors eluded the local police before I landed."Aringarosa's anger rang sharply. "You assured me you would stop that plane!"Fache lowered his voice. "Bishop, considering your situation, I recommend you not test mypatience today. I will find Silas and the others as soon as possible. Where are you landing?""One moment." Aringarosa covered the receiver and then came back. "The pilot is trying to getclearance at Heathrow. I'm his only passenger, but our redirect was unscheduled.""Tell him to come to Biggin Hill Executive Airport in Kent. I'll get him clearance. If I'm not herewhen you land, I'll have a car waiting for you.""Thank you.""As I expressed when we first spoke, Bishop, you would do well to remember that you are not theonly man on the verge of losing everything."
在离圣殿教堂很近的一条堆满垃圾的巷子里，雷米。莱格鲁德将那辆"美洲虎"豪华轿车停在一排工业垃圾箱后面。他关掉马达，查看周围的动静。巷子里空无一人。他这才踱出车门，向车的尾部走去，然后钻进乘客室，那位修道士就被捆在那里。
当被绑在车子后面的修道士察觉雷米出现在身边时，他仿佛刚从痴迷的祈祷中惊醒过来。他红色的眼睛充满了好奇，而不是恐惧。整个晚上，雷米对这位修道士竟能够如此安之若素留下深刻的印象。一开始，这位修道士在"陆虎揽胜"车里还挣扎了几下，然而此刻，他似乎已经接受了命运的安排，变得听天由命起来了。
雷米松开衣领上的蝴蝶结，解开了高而浆硬的翼状领，感觉仿佛多年来第一次能够如此自由地呼吸。他走到豪华轿车里的吧台，给自己倒了一杯"司木露"牌伏特加酒。他一口气干了一杯，接着又喝了第二杯。
很快我就可以成为有钱的闲人了。
雷米在吧台的橱柜里搜寻了一通，发现了一把用于标准服务的开酒瓶道具，便"啪"的弹出其锋利的刀刃。这种刀具，通常是被用来切开粘贴在高级酒瓶木塞上的金箔片的，但今天早上，它可以用来发挥更大的作用。雷米转过身，面向塞拉斯，将闪烁着寒光的刀刃举起来。
那双红色的眼睛，即刻闪过了一丝恐惧。
雷米微笑着朝车子后面移去。修道士畏缩着，企图挣脱身上的束缚。
"别动。"雷米举起刀，低声地说。
塞拉斯不敢相信上帝对他竟然如此的残忍。尽管在肉体上，他正遭受着被捆绑的痛苦，但他却能将它当成一次精神上的考验。他告诫自己，只要他遭受磨难的脉搏还在跳动，就不能忘记耶稣基督曾经遭受过的苦难。整个晚上他一直在祈祷自由。然而现在，当那把刀就要砍下来时，他不由得紧紧地闭上了眼睛。
钻心的痛苦即刻穿透了他的肩胛骨。他大声哭起来，无法相信自己会死在这辆豪华轿车的后面，却无法保护自己。"我在为上帝效劳。教主曾说过上帝会保护我哩。"
塞拉斯感觉一股使他倍感疼痛的热气正从他的后背与肩膀出弥漫开来，他想象自己鲜血流遍全身的样子。这时，他的膝盖又像被撕裂般的疼起来。他觉得这种熟悉的、能使知觉趋于麻木的痛苦--这是身体抵抗痛苦时产生的自我防御机制--又发作了。
那股令人痛彻心肺的热气此刻已经弥漫了塞拉斯的全身。他将眼睛闭得更紧了，他不愿意在临死之前，看到要杀死自己的凶手。他想到了更加年轻的阿林加洛沙主教，他站在西班牙的小教堂前……那座教堂是他和塞拉斯亲手建造的。那是我生命的起点。
塞拉斯感觉身体像着了火一般。
"喝点什么吧。"这位身着晚礼服的男人操着法国口音低声说道："这有助于改善你的血液循环。"塞拉斯惊讶地睁开了眼睛。他模糊地看到，有人俯过身，递给他一杯液体。地上的刀片并无血迹，旁边躺着一堆被撕得粉碎的电缆线。
"把这个喝了吧。"那人又说了一遍。"你觉得痛，是因为血液都流到你的肌肉里去了。"
塞拉斯觉得自己的身体不再像先前那样剧烈地跳动，只是像被什么东西蜇了一般地疼痛。伏特加的味道实在是不敢恭维，但他还是把它喝了。他的心里充满了感激。命运给了今晚遭受厄运的塞拉斯一个眷顾，但上帝只要舞动他惯于创造奇迹的双手，就能将问题全部解决了。
还好上帝没忘记我呢。
塞拉斯知道，阿林加洛沙主教或许会说："这是上帝在干预啊。"
"我早就想放你走了。"雷米充满歉意地说："但你知道这是不可能的。先是警察来到了维莱特庄园，接着我们又飞到了比金山机场。直到现在，我才有机会把你放了。塞拉斯，你明白吗？"
塞拉斯畏缩了一下，很是惊讶："你认识我？"
仆人笑了。
塞拉斯坐起来，摩挲着僵硬的肌肉，他的情感如翻江倒海一般，其中有难以置信，有感激，也有迷惘。"你--你是教主吧？"
雷米摇摇头，听他这样说，不禁笑起来："我倒希望自己有那般神通。不，我不是。我跟你一样，也在为他效劳。教主经常夸你哩。我叫雷米。"塞拉斯大吃一惊："我不明白，如果你在为教主做事，那兰登为什么要将拱心石带到你家来呢？"
"那不是我的家，是研究圣杯历史、世界最著名的历史学家雷。提彬爵士的家。"
"但你住在那里呀。是不是--"
雷米笑了笑，似乎对兰登躲到提彬爵士家里这种明显的巧合，并不感到有什么为难。
"这完全是可以猜到的。罗伯特。兰登有拱心石，而他又需要别人帮助，于是他跑到雷。提彬爵士家里来，还有什么比这更合情合理的解释吗？我恰好住那里，所以教主才会先来找我。
"他停了停："你怎么知道教主清楚圣杯的来历？"
天色渐渐亮了，而塞拉斯头也有点晕。教主竟找了一位对雷。提彬爵士的行踪了如指掌的仆人。真是聪明过人。
"我还有很多没跟你说。"雷米把那支装满子弹的德国黑克勒暨科赫公司生产的手枪递给了他，然后走进敞开着的隔离间，从手套箱里找出一把小小的、巴掌大的左轮手枪。"不过首先，我们还有许多事情得去做呢。"法希上尉从停泊在比金山机场的运输机里走了下来，他仔细聆听肯特警察局的检查官讲述刚才在提彬的停机库里发生的事情，却是满腹狐疑。
"我亲自到飞机上查过了。"长官辩解道："里面什么人也没有。"他的语调变得专横起来。
"我要再说几句，如果雷。提彬爵士起诉我，那我--"
"那你问过那个驾驶员没有？"
"当然没有，他是个法国人，而我们的权限要求--"
"带我到飞机上去。"
法希来到停机库，不消一分钟，他就在那辆豪华轿车停过的附近过道上找到了一滩可疑的血迹。他走到飞机的旁边，用力地拍打它的机身。
"开门，我是法国警察署的上尉。"
那名受惊的驾驶员慌忙打开机舱，将舷梯放了下去。
法希登上飞机。三分钟以后，他借助手中的武器，终于迫使驾驶员全招认了，其中还提到被绑起来的修道士，即那位白化病患者。此外，他也知道驾驶员看到兰登和索菲把什么东西--好像是木盒子之类的东西--放进了提彬的保险箱。尽管驾驶员说不知道盒子里放了什么，但他承认，这只盒子在从法国飞往伦敦的途中，一直是兰登注目的焦点。
"把保险箱打开。"法希命令道。
驾驶员吓坏了："可我不知道密码啊。"
"那我就帮不了了，我本来还想让你保留驾驶飞机的执照呢！"
驾驶员绞缠着双手："我在这里认识一些维修工。说不定他们可以在上面钻个洞呢。"
"那我给你半小时的时间。"
驾驶员一个箭步跑去找无线电设备。
法希大步走到机舱后，给自己倒了一杯酒。天色尚早，然而他还没有睡个好觉，所以这杯酒很难让他熬到中午。他坐到高级靠背椅上，闭上眼睛，试图将眼下发生的事情理出个头绪来。肯特郡警察局犯下的大错也许会让他付出昂贵的代价。现在，大家都在注意一辆黑色的"美洲虎"豪华车。
法希的电话响了起来，而他是多么希望能有片刻的清静。"喂？"
"我在飞往伦敦的路上。"阿林加洛沙主教说道："一小时后就到。"
法希坐起来："我还以为你是去巴黎呢。"
"我放心不下，所以才改变了计划。"
"你不应该这样的。"
"你找到塞拉斯没有？"
"还没有。绑架他的那些人在我到来之前就骗过了当地警察，跑了。"
阿林加洛沙主教火气腾地冒了上来："可你向我保证，说你会截住那架飞机呐。"
法希压低嗓门："主教，考虑考虑你眼前的处境吧，我告诉你，你今天不要来考验我的耐心。我会尽快找到塞拉斯和其他人的。你在哪里下的飞机？"
"稍等一会。"阿林加洛沙捂住话筒，然后又跑了回来："驾驶员打算通过在伦敦希思罗机场的检查。我是他唯一的乘客，但我们重新改变航向并没列入原来的飞行计划。""那你叫他飞到肯特郡的比金山机场来，我会让他通过检查。如果你着陆时我不在，我会派车去接你。""谢谢。"
"主教，照我刚才说得去做准没错，记住，并不是只有你在冒着失去一切的风险。这样，事情就好办了。"