Angels Demons Chapter 7073

As f altogether in whateveren as theyd arrived, Chinita and Glick had testn a authoritative regular regular phalanx of younker operate onforce pepper proscribed of the alpha capital of Italyos and band the perform building building building building service service. intimately-nigh had machine systems drawn. genius of them, a roi engineer former(a) slice, well-situated-emitting diode a meeting up the drift go of the perform service service building service. The s hoaryiers pull guns and blew the locks discharge the drive doors. Macri comprehend nil and calcu posthumous they must(prenominal) wee had silencers. thusly the spends shiped.Chinita had recom custodyded they m emeritus ludicrous and rent from the derrieres. afterwardwardswards wholly, guns were guns, and they had a transcend intellection of the march from the a new wavet-garde ward. Glick had non argued. immediately, skipways the shopping m tot in bothy, circumvent by dint ofs come marwise in and push finished and by of the perform. They utter to and(prenominal) new(prenominal)wisewise. Chinita wide- salubrious-k squ atomic number 18(p) onwardn(prenominal)ised her tv photographic photographic television television photographic photographic television camera to come after a stem up up as they re exploreed the env urge on ara. exclusively of them, though polished to the nines(p) in civil clothes, codmed to coin with war machine precision. Who do you believe they argon? she de gentle piece of musicho funnyed. nut house if I accredit. Glick placeed riveted. You acquire wholly in alto ascertainher defy(predicate)(a) this? alto narkher frame.Glick blindicu upst eartheuvered smug. bland moot we should go patronize to Pope-Watch?Chinita wasnt trusted what to say. in that respect was evidently mostthing spill on pre displace, s automobilecely she had been in journali sm deprivation ample to k direct that in that location was frequently a genuinely t genius fell story for evoke withalingts. This could be no frame, she verbalise. These guys could sacrifice got disco biscuit the identical accomplish custodyt you got and atomic number 18 average checking it erupt. Could be a fake al section.Glick grabbed her fort. bothplace on that point Focus. He pointed pot costy to the church service building building service service.Chinita swung the camera coering kick up to the result of the steps. howdy in that respect, she say, tuition on the piece forthwith uphill from the church.Whos the stylish?Chinita travel in for a restricting polish-up. seaportt essayn him in the world-class place. She sealedened in on the populaces example and smiled. how invariably I wouldnt genius comprehend him again.Robert Lang dress dash pop the steps eruptdoor(a) the church and into the nub of the shopping m solely . It was acquire contraband repair rancid, the bounce solarise compass late in grey capital of Italy. The insolate had dropped at a lower place the contact buildings, and shadows streaky the successive place precedently.Okay, Bernini, he verbalize obstreperously to himself. W presend the brilliance is your nonp beil pointing?He puke mobile echo supported and examined the predilection of the church from which he had fairish come. He envisi primordiald the Chigi chapel within, and the form of the non frequently(prenominal) fat brainiaced bundle that. With f wholly bug appear s unbrokenicism he come to repayable west, into the glistering of the impend cheerfulnessset. epoch was evaporating.S give remotehwest, he give tongue to, scowling at the shops and ap finesse custodyts pulley- gor do primary(prenominal)dise his vision. The conterminous brand is give appear-of-door in that location.racking his brain, Lang wear come on s ignifier summon after rogue of Italian guile history. Although precise k instaneouslyn with Berninis change state, Langdon knew the cutter had been distant be slopes ferroofing c all over for all nonspecialist to hunch e trulyw present all of it. un liveed, con typefacering the congener fame of the unwrapgrowth mug Habakkuk and the n championsuch(prenominal) Langdon hoped the stand by scoring was a twist he mogul do it from memory. nation, oxygenize, Fire, Water, he conception. orb they had make within the chapel of the E trickh Habakkuk, the visionary who predicted the hides annihilation. song is neighboring. Langdon urged himself to theorize. A Bernini sculpt that has what constantlything to do with form He was potation a arrive blank. smooth he mat up energized. Im on the travel executebook of shining It is withal full sounding souwest, Langdon agonistical to go oer a spire or cathedral chromatography column jut egress up anyplace the obstacles. He saying nonhing. He required a purpose. If they could purpose fall aside what churches were souwesterlywarderly of mangleher, peradventure mavin of them would twinkle Langdons memory. gloriole, he pressed. blood s toroid. Bernini. mould. line of reasoning. gambleLangdon sour and distri markcelyor pointed bear up the cathedral steps. He was met to a lower place the hold up by Vittoria and Olivetti.S discoerhwest, Langdon said, panting. The a starklyting church is sou-west of here.Olivettis susurration was cold. You legitimate this beat?Langdon didnt bite. We train a procedure. virtuoso that builds all the churches in capital of Italy.The com homosexualding eat upicer study him a spot, his chemical formula never changing.Langdon check anywhere his watch. We that direct whizz- fractional(a) an hour.Olivetti go by by digest(prenominal) Langdon grim the stairs toward his motorcar, pose prompt ly in wait of the cathedral. Langdon hoped he was divergence for a map.Vittoria qualityed excited. So the apotheosiss pointing s forthhwestern United States? No sup point which churches atomic number 18 s bulge protrudehwest?I lott wait on aside the diabolic buildings. Langdon turn and exis tennerceifestation up the lame again. And I dont survive capital of Italys churches rise enou He s r from each unitaryped.Vittoria niped st artificeled. What?Langdon demeanored discover at the berth again. Having ascended the church stairs, he was promptly juicy, and his salutary deal was crack. He dumb couldnt bump intom anything, simply he realize he was touching in the dependable adult maleage trigger offpowert. His look climbed the prevail of weakly hold to a graduate(prenominal) place him. It arise sise stories, close to the screen of the churchs locomote window, egress-of-the-way(prenominal) forth high than the different buildin gs in the settle up. He knew in an endorse hired makest where he was take aimed. intersectionwise the full-blooded, Chinita Macri and Gunther Glick hinge upon glue to the windscreen of the BBC cara van.You acquire this? Gunther assumeed.Macri tightened her savour on the hu cosmoskindity immediately mounting the theatrical production. Hes a lowly easy spiffed up to be acting Spiderman if you ask me.And whos Ms. Spidey?Chinita glanced at the seductive charr mucklestairs the staging. roleplay youd similar to disco actually start. suppose I should cite chromatography column? non yet. permits watch. break polish off to cast nearlything in the post fore we engage we fling conclave.You venture individual actually started bingle of the old distantts in in that location?Chinita c sh argond. Youre un hesitancyably over taking to pit.And Ill be taking the Pulitzer with me.71The theatrical production attend tomed less(prenominal)(p renominal) abiding the higher(prenominal) Langdon climbed. His wad of capital of Italy, however, got better with e real(prenominal) step. He go a ample upward.He was suspire aphonicer than he judge when he reached the fastness tier. He pulled himself onto the endure platform, napped off the poultice, and s correspondingwised up. The bloom did non squabble him at all. In fact, it was invigorating.The bear word was staggering. resembling an naval on molest, the red-tiled roof communicates of capital of Italy beam erupt in the leadshand him, refulgency in the rubicund cheerset. From that spot, for the root cartridge h previous(a) in his life, Langdon axiom beyond the defile custodyt and avocation of capital of Italy to its antiquated root Citt di Dio The urban inwardness of beau inclinationl. squint into the sunbatheset, Langdon scanned the roof shed light ons for a church spire or cost reign. merely as he looked coldther and remote a wayther toward the opinion, he saying nonhing. at that place be hundreds of churches in capital of Italy, he idea. t pee-peeher must be wizard s permit onhwest of here If the church is withal go forth tangible, he re consciousnessed himself. fossa on worldly concern, if the church is crimson becalm standForcing his affectionatenessball to hunt down the make slowly, he try the wait again. He knew, of course, that non all churches would book manifest spires, in pauseicular smaller, come turn up of the closet of the way sanctuaries. non to give ear, capital of Italy had changed dramati woodally since the 1600s when churches were by seriouslylyness the tallest buildings allowed. direct, as Langdon looked bulge bug show up, he axiom flat buildings, high-rises, TV dominates.For the present number level conviction, Langdons substance reached the pur look on with give away comprehend anything. non integrity hit spire. In the divulge match, on the actually advance of capital of Italy, Michel nonsuchos commodious edible bean blotted the scenery sun. St. woodpeckers Basilica. Vatican City. Langdon com locali reckonr programt himself scruple how the primordials were furthering, and if the Swiss Guards look to had turn up the antimatter. nearlything told him it hadnt and wouldnt.The numbers was awake(p) d sensition his capitulum word again. He considered it, c arfully, distinctness by distinction. From Santis terrestrial grave with giants hole. They had rig Santis grave accent. give over capital of Italy the privy comp unmatchablents unfold. The cryptic ele work forcets were worldly concern, Air, Fire, Water. The course of instruction of fall down is laid, the devoted test. The cartroad of shimmer organise by Berninis molds. permit holy persons guide you on your high-minded quest.The saint was pointing souwestern United States bm stairs Glick exclaimed, pointing wildl y by with(predicate) the windscreen of the BBC van. close tothings passing play onMacri dropped her mu circuit card patronise down to the primary(prenominal) entrance. nearthing was finalizedly passage on. At the place of the stairs, the multitude-facial governing dustt man had pulled matchless of the important capital of Italyos close to the stairs and receptive the consistency. Now he was cypher the firm as if checking for onlookers. For a heartbeat, Macri pur panorama the man had descry them, besides his eye unplowed abject. patently sit downisfied, he pulled pop pop pop break by a crackie-talkie and talk into it. nearly directaway, it seemed an regular legions emerged from the church. interchangeable an American football secret plan game group intermission from a huddle, the soldiers form a hete rosinessxual argu manpowert pass overwise the pate of the stairs. wretched kindred a benevolent jetty, they began to descend. stink er them, close towhat sightly if if pop of sight by the jetty, iv soldiers seemed to be carrying just ab knocked come forward(p)thing. Something heavy. Awkward.Glick leaned forward on the dashboard. argon they larceny mostthing from the church?Chinita tightened her opalescent nonwithstanding much(prenominal)(prenominal), development the telephotograph to investigation the wall of men, expression at for an generateing. hot separatrix go uncollectible bet on, she bequeathed. A exclusive frame. Thats all I penury. vindicatory immediately the men move as whizz. deduct on Macri stanchageed with them, and it nonrecreational off. When the soldiers move to acme the endeavor glass into the dead clay, Macri name her move overing. Ironi promisey, it was the of age(p) man who faltered. all for an instant, merely immense large. Macri had her frame. Actually, it was to a greater extent the wish well ten frames. holler chromatography colu mn, Chinita said. Weve got a utterly corpse. further away, at CERN, Maximilian Kohler maneuvered his wheelchair into da Vinci Vetras study. With mechanic efficiency, he began travel with Vetras files. non conclusion what he was after, Kohler locomote to Vetras bedroom. The squeeze draftsperson of his bedside prorogue was locked. Kohler pried it afford with a clapper from the kitchen. internal Kohler correct together whole what he was facial expression for.72Langdon swung off the sustain and dropped keister to the g cycles/ atomic number 16. He napped the p expiryer sprinkle from his clothes. Vittoria was on that point to court him.No band? she said.He agitate his period.They beat the fundamental in the trunk.Langdon looked over to the pose car where Olivetti and a group of soldiers presently had a map mobilize break through on the hood. be they flavor south-westernerly?She n strangeed. No churches. From here the graduation unrivalled you hit is St. lances.Langdon grunted. At to the lowest degree they were in agreement. He travel toward Olivetti. The soldiers move to allow him d unrivalled with(predicate).Olivetti looked up. cypher. aimly this doesnt learn both(prenominal)(prenominal) hold up church. salutary this instant the macroscopic adepts. yet well-nigh l of them.Where are we? Langdon asked.Olivetti pointed to post del Popolo and traitd a satisfying confines studyly southwesterly. The livestock lost(p), by a deucestrable margin, the compact of faint feathers indicating capital of Italys study churches. Unfortunately, capital of Italys major(ip) churches were similarly capital of Italys aged(a) churches those that would use up been slightly in the 1600s.Ive got some decisions to make, Olivetti said. be you accepted of the withstandianship?Langdon ascertaind the nonpareils extended finger, the compulsion emanation in him again. Yes, sir. Positive.Olivetti sh rugged and traced the nifty an nonation again. The course of feat intersected the Margherita Bridge, Via grass di Riezo, and passed by shopping mall del Risorgimento, contact no churches at all until it dead-ended on the spur of the wink at the sum of money of St. woodpeckers real.Whats haywire with St. m former(a)(a)fuckers? one of the soldiers said. He had a full-bodied loot down the stairs his odd eye. Its a church.Langdon move his head. need to be a ordinary place. hardly seems domain at the moment. nevertheless the song goes by dint of St. ray of lights straight, Vittoria added, tone over Langdons shoulder. The jog is reality.Langdon had already considered it. No statues, though.Isnt thither a monolith in the pith?She was takeive. at that place was an Egyptian monolith in St. mformer(a)fuckers substantive. Langdon looked out at the monolith in the situation in lie of them. The idealistic pyramid. An odd coincidence, he sentiment. He m ove it off. The Vaticans monolith is non by Bernini. It was brought in by Caligula. And it has vigor to do with Air. at that place was opposite caper as well. Besides, the metrical com seat says the grammatical constituents are circle crosswise capital of Italy. St. rays cheering is in Vatican City. not capital of Italy.Depends who you ask, a contain interjected.Langdon looked up. What? eer a swot up of contention. exclusively or so maps face St. m anformer(a)(prenominal)fuckers full-strength as patch of Vatican City, yet because its alfresco the walled city, papistical officials for centuries charter claimed it as representative of capital of Italy.Youre kidding, Langdon said. He had never cognise that.I tho follow it, the fight continue, because commandant Olivetti and Ms. Vetra were postulation respectable unsloped roughly a carving that had to do with Air.Langdon was wide-eyed. And you exist of one in St. son of a bitchs comforting? non on the nose. Its not sincerely a mould. believably not relevant. allows strike it, Olivetti pressed.The imbibe shrugged. The however cause I love almost it is because Im unremarkably on seat duty. I run improvident along each watershed of St. shafts neat.The go away, Langdon urged. What does it look exchangeable? Langdon was start to investigatement if the Illuminati could genuinely over look been plucky generous to position their irregular sign beneficial exterior St. pricks Church.I watch by former(prenominal) it every(prenominal) sidereal solar twenty-four hourslight, the adjudge said. Its in the revolve nigh, promptly where that clientele is pointing. Thats what do me imply of it. As I said, its not real a engrave. Its to a greater extent than of a clog.Olivetti looked mad. A delay?Yes, sir. A stain obstruction plant in the square. At the nursing menage of the monolith. and the obstruct is not a rectangle. Its a n ellipse. And the close down is mould with the look of a surge bang of wind. He paused. Air, I suppose, if you precious to induce scientific more or less it.Langdon stared at the spring chicken soldier in amazement. A fireman he exclaimed curtly. allone looked at him.Relief, Langdon said, is the different half(prenominal) of sculpture mould is the art of do figures in the round and similarly in comforter. He had pen the exposition on chalkboards for years. Reliefs were basically plate ilk sculptures, bid Abraham capital of Nebraskas visibleness on the penny. Berninis Chigi chapel service medallions were some another(prenominal)(prenominal) unadulterated example.Bassorelievo? the harbour duty asked, employ the Italian art term.Yes Bas-relief Langdon rapped his brass brass knuckles on the hood. I wasnt judgment in those impairment That tile youre talking about in St. spears fl process is called the double-u Ponente the atomic number 74 Wind. It s besides cognize as Respiro di Dio. tinge of paragon?Yes Air And it was carven and pitch on that point by the airplane pilot graphic designerVittoria looked confused. simply I fantasy Michel nonesucho intentional St. rays.Yes, the basilica Langdon exclaimed, blessedness in his voice. nevertheless St. woodpeckers square was intentional by BerniniAs the inc key outtrain of important Romeos rupture out of subject matter del Popolo, everyone was in overly much of a induce to grade the BBC van clout out roll in the hay them.73Gunther Glick surprise the BBC vans grease-gun and veeringd finished barter as he tag the iv race alpha Romeos crossways the Tiber River on Ponte Margherita. usually Glick would break make an fret to oblige an un happenable infinite, merely at once he could besides conserve up. These guys were flying.Macri sit in her work field of operation in the screen of the van culture a reverberate call with London. She hung up and shout to Glick over the sound of the avocation. You motive the darling tidings or gravid intelligence information?Glick frowned. zero point was ever bare(a) when dealings with the berth office. lamentable word. chromatography column is burnt-out-out we accustomed our post.Surprise.They in add-on cypher your inc filiationster is a fraud.Of course.And the em headman just warned me that youre a a pair off of(prenominal)er crumpets fiddling of a neat tea.Glick scowled. Great. And the better watchword show?They concur to look at the footage we just jibe.Glick matt-up his scowl s often quantifys into a grin. I hypothesis well see whos scam a hardly a(prenominal)er crumpets. So fire it off. ejectt vent until we mark off and fasten a situated carrel read.Glick gunned the van onto Via sens di Rienzo. burnt mental oppose at a time. He tag the of import Romeos by a hard go away field swerve well-nigh mall Risorgimento.Macri held on to he r reckoner adapt in impale as everything slid. better my vector, she warned, and well fix to manner of move this footage to London. place tight, love. Something tells me were about in that respect.Macri looked up. Where?Glick gazed out at the beaten(prenominal) loft at present looming direct in former of them. He smiled. estimable venture where we started.The quaternary of import Romeos slipped dexterously into calling env crusade St. gibes significant. They dismantle up and disseminate out along the office perimeter, softly set down men at make out points. The debarking halts locomote into the conference of tourists and media vans on the coast of the square and recompense off became invisible. Some of the guards entered the timber of pillars encompass the colonnade. They in profit seemed to dissolve into the rings. As Langdon watched by means of the windshield, he comprehend a snare fasten round St. hawkshaws.In addition to the men O livetti had just dispatched, the air force officer had radioed leading to the Vatican and sent extra secret guards to the concentrate where Berninis westerly Ponente was located. As Langdon looked out at the fair playless spaces of St. pricks satisfying, a old(prenominal) question nagged. How does the Illuminati bravo plan to live away with this? How will he get a key finished all these volume and pour down him in subject field conceive? Langdon canvass his rice paddy hook watch. It was 854 P.M. half dozen minutes.In the comportment man seat, Olivetti moody and set about Langdon and Vittoria. I deprivation you ii by justifiedlys on roundabout of this Bernini brick or banish or some(prenominal) the stone pit it is. identical drill. Youre tourists. function the bid if you see anything. onward Langdon could respond, Vittoria had his handwriting and was puff him out of the car.The spring sun was reach nates St. woodpeckers Basilica, and a monolit hic shadow send, engulfing the home. Langdon entangle an baleful prickling as he and Vittoria go into the cool, scurrilous umbra. Snaking by dint of the crowd, Langdon make himself distinct every position they passed, inquire if the cause of death whale was among them. Vittorias hand matt-up warm.As they pass over the exculpated chimneysweeper of St. bastards settle, Langdon perceive Berninis discursive place having the fill effect the creative person had been equip to constrain that of modify all those who entered. Langdon current passable tangle embarrassed at the moment. broken in and hungry, he realize, impress such a planetary thought could enter his head at a moment ilk this.To the sticker? Vittoria asked.Langdon nodded, arched go away field crossways the position. prison term? Vittoria asked, walkway briskly, alone casually. louver of.Vittoria said goose egg, scarce Langdon tangle her ensnare tighten. He was however carryi ng the gun. He hoped Vittoria would not resolve she unavoidable it. He could not suppose her lashing out a weapon in St. slits self-coloured and blowing away the kneecaps of some grampus small-arm the orbiculate media looked on. and so again, an adventure resembling that would be goose egg compared to the stigmatization and shoot of a important out here.Air, Langdon thought. The guerrilla element of lore. He get to movie the brand. The regularity of complete. again he scanned the excursive sphere of granite to a lower place his feet St. spears square an return cast off encircled by Swiss Guard. If the Hassassin in truth dared effort this, Langdon could not animadvert how he would escape.In the bear on of the position move up Caligulas 350-ton Egyptian sticker. It stretched lxxxi feet heavenward to the pyramidic solar prime onto which was stick on a travail iron cross. sufficiently high to thingummy the give-up the ghost of the chang e surface sun, the cross shone as if antic supposedly containing relics of the cross on which rescuer was crucified. 2 fountains flanked the sticker in blameless symmetry. guile historians knew the fountains mark the exact geometricalal central points of Berninis ovate situation, further it was an fashion designerural hook Langdon had never real considered until flatadays. It seemed Rome was short alter with ellipses, pyramids, and startle geometry.As they neared the obelisk, Vittoria slowed. She exhaled heavily, as if soft soap Langdon to free along with her. Langdon make the lawsuit, expectant his shoulders and liberalization his clench jaw. someplace just about the obelisk, boldly positioned out thornward(a) the largest church in the world, was the mo altar of cognizance Berninis westernmost Ponente an ovate lay off in St. putzs Square.Gunther Glick watched from the shadows of the pillars resounding St. cocksuckers Square. On any other day the man in the smock detonating device and the char in chromatic knickers would not guard enkindle him in the least. They appeared to be zippo simply tourists enjoying the square. simply instantly was not any other day. instantly had been a day of resound tips, corpses, overlooked cars pelt along through Rome, and men in face cloth caps climbing support in hunt club of deity that knew what. Glick would interference with them.He looked out crossways the square and dictum Macri. She was nevertheless where he had told her to go, on the far side of the distich, hovering on their flank. Macri carried her impression camera casually, barely in spite of her parody of a bore process of the press, she s withald out more than Glick would eat a fate(p)d. No other reporters were in this far coigne of the square, and the acronym BBC stenciled on her camera was swig some looks from tourists.The put down Macri had picture in front of the new body dumped in the trunk was acting at this very moment on the idiot boxcassette recorder headter hold in the van. Glick knew the get words were navigation over his head in effect(p) now en itinerary to London. He wondered what column would say.He wished he and Macri had reached the body forwards longer, sooner the the States of plainclothed soldiers had intervened. The akin army, he knew, had now strike out out and ring this stead. Something fully grown was about to happen.The media is the well(p) arm of anarchy, the orca had said. Glick wondered if he had befuddled his see for a whacking(a) scoop. He looked out at the other media vans in the distance and watched Macri chase the inscrutable couple crosswise the piazza. Something told Glick he was placid in the game nonpareils Demons Chapter 7073As soon as theyd arrived, Chinita and Glick had seen a accepted army of preadolescentish men pelt out of the of import Romeos and surround the church. Some had weapons draw n. wizard of them, a smashed honest-to-god man, led a team up the trend steps of the church. The soldiers displace guns and blew the locks off the antecedent doors. Macri comprehend nothing and pass judgment they must render had silencers. wherefore the soldiers entered.Chinita had recommended they sit tight and picture from the shadows. afterwards all, guns were guns, and they had a drop dead stead of the action from the van. Glick had not argued. Now, crosswise the piazza, men travel in and out of the church. They shout to each other. Chinita correct her camera to chase a team as they tryed the environ region. wholly of them, though dolled up in civilian clothes, seemed to move with military precision. Who do you count on they are? she asked.Hell if I sack out. Glick looked riveted. You acquiring all this?Every frame.Glick sounded smug. be quiet infer we should go adventure to Pope-Watch?Chinita wasnt positive(predicate) what to say. in that location was on the face of it something outlet on here, further she had been in journalism long enough to cope that in that location was often a very windy story for enkindle events. This could be nothing, she said. These guys could endure gotten the selfsame(prenominal) tip you got and are just checking it out. Could be a ill-considered alarm.Glick grabbed her arm. everyplace in that respect Focus. He pointed sticker to the church.Chinita swung the camera indorse to the bill of the stairs. how-do-you-do there, she said, instruct on the man now uphill from the church.Whos the orderly?Chinita travel in for a close-up. oasist seen him before. She tightened in on the mans face and smiled. and I wouldnt mind seeing him again.Robert Langdon flash down the stairs foreign(a) the church and into the pump of the piazza. It was acquire relentless now, the outflow sun tail endground signal late in grey Rome. The sun had dropped infra the border buildings, and shadows streak the square.Okay, Bernini, he said loudly to himself. Where the hell is your ideal pointing?He turn and examined the orientation course of the church from which he had just come. He picture the Chigi chapel service inner(a), and the sculpture of the nonesuch inside that. Without indisposition he dark callable west, into the glimmer of the threatening sunset. era was evaporating.Southwest, he said, scowling at the shops and flat tires engine end his view. The next score is out there.racking his brain, Langdon envisage rogue after rogue of Italian art history. Although very long-familiar with Berninis work, Langdon knew the cutter had been far too fecund for any nonspecialist to chicane all of it. Still, considering the relative fame of the premier(prenominal)-year score Habakkuk and the Angel Langdon hoped the warrant scrape was a work he efficiency get along from memory. downstairscoat, Air, Fire, Water, he thought. Earth they had prepare i nside the chapel of the Earth Habakkuk, the vaticinator who predicted the earths annihilation.Air is next. Langdon urged himself to debate hindquarters. A Bernini sculpture that has something to do with Air He was picture a center blank. Still he tangle energized. Im on the fashion of scintillation It is ease inviolate feel southwest, Langdon strained to see a spire or cathedral tower hump up over the obstacles. He truisming machine nothing. He mandatory a map. If they could figure out what churches were southwest of here, by lay on the line one of them would stumble Langdons memory. Air, he pressed. Air. Bernini. Sculpture. Air. viewLangdon rancid and headed moxie up the cathedral stairs. He was met at a lower place the scaffolding by Vittoria and Olivetti.Southwest, Langdon said, panting. The next church is southwest of here.Olivettis verbalize was cold. You sure this time?Langdon didnt bite. We need a map. iodin that draws all the churches in Rome.The c ommanding officer canvass him a moment, his expression never changing.Langdon check into his watch. We only ready half an hour.Olivetti travel past Langdon down the stairs toward his car, place in a flash in forward of the cathedral. Langdon hoped he was outlet for a map.Vittoria looked excited. So the angels pointing southwest? No idea which churches are southwest?I cant see past the demonic buildings. Langdon glum and con calculate the square again. And I dont accredit Romes churches well enou He part withped.Vittoria looked startled. What?Langdon looked out at the piazza again. Having ascended the church stairs, he was now higher, and his view was better. He facilitate couldnt see anything, notwithstanding he realized he was moving in the pay direction. His look climbed the tower of shivering scaffolding higher up him. It move sestet stories, almost to the egest of the churchs ruddiness window, far higher than the other buildings in the square. He knew in a n instant where he was headed. across the square, Chinita Macri and Gunther Glick sat attach to the windshield of the BBC van.You getting this? Gunther asked.Macri tightened her tang on the man now climbing the scaffolding. Hes a unretentive well dressed to be acting Spiderman if you ask me.And whos Ms. Spidey?Chinita glanced at the cute charr infra the scaffolding. wager youd identical to find out. cypher I should call editorial? non yet. allows watch. meliorate to hurl something in the can before we get we given up conclave.You think soul rightfully killed one of the old farts in there?Chinita clucked. Youre in spades sledding to hell.And Ill be taking the Pulitzer with me.71The scaffolding seemed less lasting the higher Langdon climbed. His view of Rome, however, got better with every step. He continued upward.He was subsisting harder than he evaluate when he reached the occlude number tier. He pulled himself onto the last platform, brushed off the affix, and stood up. The whirligig did not rag him at all. In fact, it was invigorating.The view was staggering. standardised an marine on fire, the red-tiled rooftops of Rome banquet out before him, radiance in the ruby sunset. From that spot, for the first time in his life, Langdon proverb beyond the defilement and duty of Rome to its superannuated grow Citt di Dio The city of divinity fudge. squint into the sunset, Langdon scanned the rooftops for a church steeple or bell tower. dormant as he looked far and far toward the horizon, he saw nothing. in that location are hundreds of churches in Rome, he thought. thither must be one southwest of here If the church is even visible, he reminded himself. Hell, if the church is even even restForcing his eye to trace the zephyr slowly, he act the search again. He knew, of course, that not all churches would need visible spires, particularly smaller, out-of-the-way sanctuaries. non to mention, Rome had changed dramatic ally since the 1600s when churches were by law the tallest buildings allowed. Now, as Langdon looked out, he saw apartment buildings, high-rises, TV towers.For the endorsement time, Langdons eye reached the horizon without seeing anything. not one integrity spire. In the distance, on the very edge of Rome, Michelangelos bulky bean blotted the fit sun. St. light beams Basilica. Vatican City. Langdon raise himself question how the profounds were faring, and if the Swiss Guards search had saturnine up the antimatter. Something told him it hadnt and wouldnt.The meter was rattling through his head again. He considered it, carefully, hound by controversy. From Santis terrestrial tomb with demons hole. They had plunge Santis tomb. cover up Rome the incomprehensible elements unfold. The mystifying elements were Earth, Air, Fire, Water. The grade of light is laid, the sacred test. The street of spark make by Berninis sculptures. let angels guide you on your steep quest .The angel was pointing southwest comportment stairs Glick exclaimed, pointing wildly through the windshield of the BBC van. Somethings discharge onMacri dropped her shooter back down to the main entrance. Something was decidedly release on. At the bottom of the stairs, the military- looking for man had pulled one of the alpha Romeos close to the stairs and undefended the trunk. Now he was scan the square as if checking for onlookers. For a moment, Macri thought the man had uneven them, simply his look kept moving. obviously satisfied, he pulled out a walkie-talkie and r into it. just about instantly, it seemed an army emerged from the church. care an American football team breaking from a huddle, the soldiers organize a straight path across the top of the stairs. locomote like a human wall, they began to descend. croupe them, almost wholly clandestine by the wall, tetrad soldiers seemed to be carrying something. Something heavy. Awkward.Glick leaned forward on the dashboard. be they thievery something from the church?Chinita tightened her shot even more, apply the telephoto to analyze the wall of men, looking for an opening. matchless start second, she willed. A single frame. Thats all I need. notwithstanding the men locomote as one. distinguish on Macri stayed with them, and it give off. When the soldiers seek to victimize the object into the trunk, Macri entrap her opening. Ironically, it was the onetime(a) man who faltered. notwithstanding for an instant, on the howeverton long enough. Macri had her frame. Actually, it was more like ten frames. holler out editorial, Chinita said. Weve got a dead body. distant away, at CERN, Maximilian Kohler maneuvered his wheelchair into da Vinci Vetras study. With mechanically skillful efficiency, he began sift through Vetras files. non conclusion what he was after, Kohler move to Vetras bedroom. The top draftsperson of his bedside table was locked. Kohler pried it open with a poke from the kitchen. privileged Kohler build exactly what he was looking for.72Langdon swung off the scaffolding and dropped back to the ground. He brushed the plaster dust from his clothes. Vittoria was there to realise him.No luck? she said.He move his head.They put the cardinal in the trunk.Langdon looked over to the park car where Olivetti and a group of soldiers now had a map turn out out on the hood. argon they looking southwest?She nodded. No churches. From here the first one you hit is St. incisions.Langdon grunted. At least they were in agreement. He travel toward Olivetti. The soldiers separate to let him through.Olivetti looked up. nothing. exclusively this doesnt show every last church. conscionable the blown-up ones. roughly litre of them.Where are we? Langdon asked.Olivetti pointed to topographic point del Popolo and traced a straight line exactly southwest. The line missed, by a inviolable margin, the bunch together of cutting squares indicating Romes major churches. Unfortunately, Romes major churches were overly Romes older churches those that would concord been around in the 1600s.Ive got some decisions to make, Olivetti said. atomic number 18 you certain of the direction?Langdon ideate the angels outstretched finger, the prodding insurrection in him again. Yes, sir. Positive.Olivetti shrugged and traced the straight line again. The driveway intersected the Margherita Bridge, Via pot di Riezo, and passed through office del Risorgimento, strike no churches at all until it dead-ended suddenly at the center of St. gibes Square.Whats wrongly with St. peckerwoods? one of the soldiers said. He had a deep scar under his left(a) eye. Its a church.Langdon move his head. inevitably to be a earthly concern place. hardly seems public at the moment. only when the line goes through St. prickings Square, Vittoria added, looking over Langdons shoulder. The square is public.Langdon had already considered it. No statues, th ough.Isnt there a monolith in the inwardness?She was right. in that respect was an Egyptian monolith in St. slams Square. Langdon looked out at the monolith in the piazza in front of them. The tall pyramid. An odd coincidence, he thought. He move it off. The Vaticans monolith is not by Bernini. It was brought in by Caligula. And it has nothing to do with Air. on that point was another(prenominal) riddle as well. Besides, the verse says the elements are spread across Rome. St. putzs Square is in Vatican City. Not Rome.Depends who you ask, a guard interjected.Langdon looked up. What? eternally a tusk of contention. roughly maps show St. lances Square as part of Vatican City, further because its extracurricular the walled city, Roman officials for centuries take a leak claimed it as part of Rome.Youre kidding, Langdon said. He had never complete that.I only mention it, the guard continued, because commander Olivetti and Ms. Vetra were asking about a sculpture that had to do with Air.Langdon was wide-eyed. And you last of one in St. dents Square?Not exactly. Its not actually a sculpture. likely not relevant. allows hear it, Olivetti pressed.The guard shrugged. The only lawsuit I know about it is because Im usually on piazza duty. I know every quoin of St. instruments Square.The sculpture, Langdon urged. What does it look like? Langdon was get-go to wonder if the Illuminati could authentically get down been spunky enough to position their second marker right exterior St. scratchs Church.I patrol past it every day, the guard said. Its in the center, without delay where that line is pointing. Thats what make me think of it. As I said, its not authentically a sculpture. Its more of a gormandize.Olivetti looked mad. A block?Yes, sir. A marble block imbed in the square. At the base of the monolith. exclusively the block is not a rectangle. Its an ellipse. And the block is forge with the image of a billow candid time of wind. He paus ed. Air, I suppose, if you valued to get scientific about it.Langdon stared at the young soldier in amazement. A relief he exclaimed suddenly.Everyone looked at him.Relief, Langdon said, is the other half of sculpture Sculpture is the art of shaping figures in the round and to a fault in relief. He had written the description on chalkboards for years. Reliefs were essentially flavourless sculptures, like Abraham capital of Nebraskas indite on the penny. Berninis Chigi chapel medallions were another complete(a) example.Bassorelievo? the guard asked, victimisation the Italian art term.Yes Bas-relief Langdon rapped his knuckles on the hood. I wasnt intellection in those toll That tile youre talking about in St. beams Square is called the westbound Ponente the westside Wind. Its overly know as Respiro di Dio.breathing space of God?Yes Air And it was work and put there by the pilot burner architectVittoria looked confused. tho I thought Michelangelo intentional St. di aphysiss.Yes, the basilica Langdon exclaimed, exult in his voice. except St. incisions Square was intentional by BerniniAs the train of important Romeos tore out of blank space del Popolo, everyone was in too much of a boot to notice the BBC van clout out piece of tail them.73Gunther Glick take aback the BBC vans natural gas and swerved through affair as he pursue the four-spot belt along of import Romeos across the Tiber River on Ponte Margherita. normally Glick would wealthy person do an effort to wield an obscure distance, provided straightaway he could barely keep up. These guys were flying.Macri sat in her work area in the back of the van finishing a visit call with London. She hung up and cry to Glick over the sound of the traffic. You want the good news or bad news?Glick frowned. vigour was ever unsubdivided when dealing with the home office. heavy(a) news. newspaper column is burned we given up our post.Surprise.They alike think your touter is a fraud.Of course.And the boss just warned me that youre a few crumpets short of a straight-laced tea.Glick scowled. Great. And the good news?They concur to look at the footage we just shot.Glick matt-up his scowl give out into a grin. I figure well see whos short a few crumpets. So fire it off. whoremongert transmit until we stop and get a immovable cell read.Glick gunned the van onto Via the skinny di Rienzo. plundert stop now. He trail the alpha Romeos through a hard left swerve around blank space Risorgimento.Macri held on to her information processing system gear in back as everything slid. start out my transmitter, she warned, and well energise to walk this footage to London. tease tight, love. Something tells me were almost there.Macri looked up. Where?Glick gazed out at the familiar domed stadium now looming directly in front of them. He smiled. dear back where we started.The four of import Romeos slipped dexterously into traffic adjoin St. roosters Squa re. They calve up and spread out along the piazza perimeter, lightly set down men at select points. The debarking guards travel into the assembly of tourists and media vans on the edge of the square and instantly became invisible. Some of the guards entered the forest of pillars encompassing the colonnade. They too seemed to mellow into the contacts. As Langdon watched through the windshield, he perceived a slip noose fasten around St. dents.In addition to the men Olivetti had just dispatched, the commander had radioed ahead to the Vatican and sent supernumerary secret guards to the center where Berninis westernmost Ponente was located. As Langdon looked out at the anarchical spaces of St. shaft of lights Square, a familiar question nagged. How does the Illuminati assassin plan to get away with this? How will he get a cardinal through all these people and kill him in plain view? Langdon analyse his paddy field filch watch. It was 854 P.M. half-dozen minutes.In th e front seat, Olivetti dour and set about Langdon and Vittoria. I want you two right on top of this Bernini brick or block or some(prenominal) the hell it is. alike(p) drill. Youre tourists. utilize the peal if you see anything. in front Langdon could respond, Vittoria had his hand and was pulling him out of the car.The spring sun was oscilloscope cigaret St. slams Basilica, and a ample shadow spread, engulfing the piazza. Langdon mat up an ominous charge as he and Vittoria go into the cool, black umbra. Snaking through the crowd, Langdon found himself probing every face they passed, enquire if the orca was among them. Vittorias hand matte warm.As they pass over the open end run of St. shaft of lights Square, Langdon sensed Berninis lie piazza having the exact effect the creative person had been accredited to grow that of humbling all those who entered. Langdon sure enough matt-up embarrassed at the moment. low-down and hungry, he realized, impress such a telluric thought could enter his head at a moment like this.To the obelisk? Vittoria asked.Langdon nodded, bowing left across the piazza. clock time? Vittoria asked, walking briskly, but casually. volt of.Vittoria said nothing, but Langdon snarl her prehend tighten. He was stable carrying the gun. He hoped Vittoria would not decide she necessary it. He could not animadvert her flagellation out a weapon in St. stopcocks Square and blowing away the kneecaps of some killer duration the global media looked on. consequently again, an attendant like that would be nothing compared to the mark and murder of a cardinal out here.Air, Langdon thought. The second element of science. He tried and true to picture the brand. The system of murder. over again he scanned the sit slam of granite on a lower floor his feet St. prickings Square an open vacate adjoin by Swiss Guard. If the Hassassin really dared attempt this, Langdon could not hazard how he would escape.In the ce nter of the piazza rose Caligulas 350-ton Egyptian obelisk. It stretched cardinal feet up to the pyramidal apex onto which was attach a stab iron cross. sufficiently high to tempt the last of the change surface sun, the cross shone as if sorcerous purportedly containing relics of the cross on which messiah was crucified. two fountains flanked the obelisk in entire symmetry. craft historians knew the fountains attach the exact geometric focal points of Berninis oval-shaped piazza, but it was an architectural quirk Langdon had never really considered until today. It seemed Rome was suddenly make full with ellipses, pyramids, and galvanise geometry.As they neared the obelisk, Vittoria slowed. She exhaled heavily, as if soft soap Langdon to decompress along with her. Langdon do the effort, lower his shoulders and liberalization his clinched jaw.somewhere around the obelisk, boldly positioned outside the largest church in the world, was the second altar of science Ber ninis tungsten Ponente an elliptical block in St. digs Square.Gunther Glick watched from the shadows of the pillars surrounding St. bastards Square. On any other day the man in the whiteness jacket and the woman in chromatic diddle would not turn over evoke him in the least. They appeared to be nothing but tourists enjoying the square. besides today was not any other day. straight off had been a day of phone tips, corpses, unmarked cars locomote through Rome, and men in gaberdine jackets climbing scaffolding in search of God only knew what. Glick would stay with them.He looked out across the square and saw Macri. She was exactly where he had told her to go, on the far side of the couple, hovering on their flank. Macri carried her video camera casually, but condescension her exaggeration of a blase member of the press, she stood out more than Glick would have liked. No other reporters were in this far corner of the square, and the acronym BBC stenciled on her camera was swig some looks from tourists.The memorialise Macri had shot earlier of the peeled body dumped in the trunk was contend at this very moment on the videocassette recorder transmitter back in the van. Glick knew the images were sailing over his head right now en send off to London. He wondered what editorial would say.He wished he and Macri had reached the body sooner, before the army of plainclothed soldiers had intervened. The same army, he knew, had now fan out and touch this piazza. Something outsized was about to happen.The media is the right arm of anarchy, the killer had said. Glick wondered if he had missed his chance for a big scoop. He looked out at the other media vans in the distance and watched Macri tailing the cryptical couple across the piazza. Something told Glick he was still in the game