Page 94 of The Secret of Secrets (Robert Langdon #6)

Langdon pulled the SUV to a stop and set the emergency brake. He gathered himself before climbing out of the vehicle with Katherine, well aware that he would know momentarily if his plan would lead them to success—or disaster.

The wind on the high ridge had picked up, rustling through the woods beneath them.

Langdon paused a moment. He gazed down at the snow-covered expanse that lay beyond the trees—Folimanka Park—which stretched eastward away from the ridgeline.

This entire place feels different now, he thought, turning his attention to the building before them.

Crucifix Bastion looked ghostly. The structure stood as a stark silhouette against the darkening afternoon sky. As he strode with Katherine toward the main entrance, Langdon felt a shadow of uncertainty, and he quickly reminded himself what had led him back here.

Rational logic.

The truth had dawned on him at the abandoned swimming pool in the ambassadorial residence.

The ambassador had torn up the NDAs, called Finch on speakerphone, and convincingly lied that Finch’s wishes had been carried out.

Then, to Langdon’s surprise, Finch had ordered Nagel to send a Marine security detail up to Crucifix Bastion to secure the perimeter.

Finch’s priority is to secure an isolated Czech lab? Why?

As Langdon considered it, a second thought occurred.

Earlier today, Janá?ek had told Langdon that Prague’s surveillance system could not confirm that Katherine had arrived at the bastion, because—much to the captain’s chagrin—the all-seeing camera system appeared to be hampered by an unprecedented blind spot that blacked out the area around Gessner’s lab.

Prague’s camera system is the Echelon surveillance network…run by the CIA.

Now the wheels were turning, and Langdon found himself questioning the statistical improbability of Gessner’s private lab being perched on a ridge directly overlooking Threshold—the secret project that employed her.

Unless they’re somehow connected…

The rationale for hiding a covert intelligence facility beneath Folimanka Park made sense to Langdon—natural camouflage, access to supplies, existing infrastructure—and yet he was having trouble accepting that Threshold was built with a sole access point…

only one way in or out. The design would be a death trap in a fire or emergency, which seemed an incongruous risk for an agency built on strategy, contingency, and planning ahead.

Even the Vatican has secret escape routes!

It was then that the ambassador revealed an unexpected twist: The entity that had quietly acquired the bastion on behalf of Gessner was none other than Q.

The investment firm had offered Gessner the building as part of the neuroscientist’s recruitment package to the CIA, luring her in with the irresistible cachet of running her institute from such a unique and historic location.

That’s not the real reason, Langdon surmised, sharing his growing suspicion that Finch had secured the bastion not as enticement for Gessner…but rather as something far more valuable.

Another access for Threshold.

Most medieval bastions included a unique architectural feature known as a poterne. From the Latin “posterior”—a poterne was a literal “back door”—a secret passageway used for emergency escapes.

The ancient Estonian bastion in Tallinn, he told them, had a poterne carved four stories underground that stretched more than a mile away to the basement of a nearby monastery.

The Slovenian mountaintop castle Predjama was rumored to have a six-story vertical shaft with a rudimentary pulley system “elevator” for restocking supplies, livestock, and troops.

Crucifix Bastion, Langdon thought, was likely to have a poterne too. And considering the recent construction in Folimanka Park and the vast scope of the Threshold project, it made logical sense that a vertical shaft might exist beneath the bastion.

Earlier, in the SUV, Langdon had quickly shown Katherine and Nagel on a map that a modern-day poterne —whether it existed previously or was drilled recently by construction crews—would descend directly to the edges of Folimanka Park and could potentially extend to the walls of the existing bomb shelter.

The location of the bastion could not have been more perfect. Remote and discreet, Gessner’s lab offered a flawless cover story—plausible deniability for any personnel who came and went: they were simply working at the Gessner Institute.

Let’s hope I’m right, Langdon now thought as he guided Katherine toward the bastion’s shattered entrance.

This is a science lab?

Katherine Solomon could scarcely believe her eyes as she followed Langdon down the luxurious, pink marble hallway into a lavish atrium with sumptuous couches, striking art, and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the skyline of Prague.

Maybe I should work for the CIA, she thought, estimating that Gessner’s “waiting room” could have housed the entire IONS staff.

Even so, Katherine felt a foreboding air about this space. If Langdon’s suspicions were correct, then this opulent “Gessner Institute” was actually camouflaging a darker purpose—a secret entrance to Threshold.

Langdon strode to the far end of the space and went immediately to a ponderous wall sculpture made of welded metal blocks, stopping only inches away from it.

What in the world is he doing?

To Katherine’s surprise, Langdon grabbed the sculpture, heaved it to one side, and the sculpture slid silently along the wall to reveal a large alcove behind it. In the dim light beyond, she could see an elevator door.

Why am I not surprised? she mused, hurrying across the room toward Langdon, who was holding the sliding artwork aside for her. As she arrived beside him, however, she noticed Langdon was staring at something behind her.

“What is it?” she asked, glancing back over her shoulder.

“That couch on the far wall…it’s cockeyed.”

Katherine eyed the couch. Seriously, Robert? One edge of the long white couch was pulled at a slight angle away from the wall.

“It was straight this morning when I sat on it,” he said, still staring at the couch. “I don’t know if I missed that, or if it was moved, or—”

“Or if you forgot your OCD meds?”

Langdon returned his attention to her. “Sorry,” he said, shaking it off. “Eidetic memories can be distracting.”

“Apparently,” she said with a smile. “Shall we correct this feng shui emergency, or shall we try to find this facility and save our lives?”

“Right.” Langdon guided her into the dimly lit alcove.

Inside, Katherine spotted an illuminated touch pad next to the elevator door.

“This keypad is for Brigita’s use only,” Langdon said. “It’s the way she would access her private lab one floor below us.”

“But you think there’s a separate entrance to Threshold hidden somewhere here ?” Katherine asked.

“Yes, in fact, I think it’s right in front of us.” He motioned to the elevator. “If I’m correct, this elevator shaft goes much deeper—but to descend all the way to Threshold, you’d need an RFID key card like we saw in Gessner’s briefcase.”

He pointed to a sleek, round pad of black glass mounted on the wall just above the keypad. Katherine hadn’t seen it.

An RFID reader.

“I noticed the reader this morning, but when we were at the ambassador’s residence, I realized what it was.

It dawned on me why Gessner might have two authorization methods for the same elevator.

If I’m right, then all we need is the key card from her briefcase, which I saw earlier in her lab downstairs. ”

Langdon was already typing a passcode into the keypad.

“So you really solved the code?” Katherine asked. “An Arabic tribute to an ancient Greek…with a lemon twist?”

“ Latin twist,” he corrected with a smile. “You were drunk.”

He finished typing the passcode, and the elevator whirred to life.

Impressive, Katherine thought. He can explain it to me later.

The elevator seemed to take a long time to arrive, but when it did, Katherine noted that the compartment itself was oversized, surprisingly large for Gessner’s private use.

Perhaps more suited to carrying personnel and equipment.

So far, Langdon’s logic seemed sound.

They stepped inside and descended a single floor.

When the elevator opened, Katherine was looking down a long hallway with rock walls, polished inlaid floors, and modern spot lighting. It gave the impression that the Old and New Worlds had come to some kind of awkward compromise.

As they exited the lift, Langdon pointed out another RFID reader on the wall, and Katherine nodded in acknowledgment.

They began walking. She was not eager to see the macabre scene ahead—which Langdon had described to her in detail—but she was feeling increasingly confident that Langdon’s theory might be correct.

If so, the plan was simple: as soon as they had Gessner’s access card, they would descend to Threshold.

They progressed down the hall, passing a small office suite for Gessner and Sasha, an MRI imaging lab, and a door with an icon of someone in VR goggles.

Her virtual reality lab, Katherine thought, recalling Gessner mentioning VR last night at dinner.

At the time, Katherine had not given it much thought, but now, after the conversation about Sasha’s epilepsy and out-of-body experiences, she wondered if virtual reality might be relevant in a unique way.

Like an artificial out-of-body experience…

“Brigita’s briefcase…” Langdon said, his voice halting. “Is in the room at the end of the hall. Along with…her body.”

Katherine glanced at Langdon, who looked suddenly pale. “Are you okay?”

He gave a grim nod. “Thanks. I’d just rather not see her corpse again. This morning, when I first saw it, I thought it was you. ”

Katherine wrapped an arm around his waist as they walked, recalling her own harrowing fears earlier that Langdon had drowned. She had witnessed a lot of death in her research, but it was always peaceful, anticipated, and clinically detached. This was something different—violent and disturbing.

“I try to think of a body as an empty shell,” Katherine said. “Not a person anymore. A lifeless mannequin.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied, looking no less apprehensive.

“If you think about it, as a species we tend to be entirely irrational about corpses. Even with no trace of our loved one left in the body, we embalm, dress, and entomb it, and then make regular visits! Many of us even purchase luxurious, cushioned caskets to ensure a body will be ‘comfortable.’?”

Langdon managed a weak smile. “I would venture that the practice is more for the living than the dead.”

“Yes, but in reality, the documentation of near-death experiences clearly shows that humans who die are relieved to abandon their aged, injured, or sick bodies. According to all accounts, the deceased care as much about what happens to their corpses after death as they do about what happens to the old cars they used to drive. Not at all.”

I love a woman who can explain life and death with a used car analogy, Langdon thought as they reached the cluttered workroom where he had discovered Gessner’s body in the EPR pod earlier today.

“Maybe wait here?” he suggested, hoping to spare Katherine the blow of seeing the corpse. “I’ll be right back.”

Leaving Katherine in the doorway, Langdon hurried inside, intentionally averting his eyes from the pod and heading instead for the worktable at the far side of the room.

Gessner’s leather briefcase, as expected, was sitting exactly where he had seen it earlier. He had assumed the case was probably locked and would require force to open, but when he arrived and examined it, he found something totally unexpected.

The case’s latches were already pried open…its lock shattered.

Oh no…

Langdon seized the case and yanked open the lid, finding all the items from last night—documents, folders, phone, pens.

The entire contents appeared to be intact…

except for the one item they required. Gessner’s RFID key card was no longer in its protective sheath.

Panicked, Langdon dug his finger into the sheath, hoping the card had slipped down, but there was nothing there.

After dumping out the case and rummaging through the contents twice, he accepted the devastating truth.

Our access to Threshold is gone.

“It doesn’t matter,” Katherine said somberly, her voice closer than expected.

Langdon turned and saw that Katherine was no longer in the doorway. She had entered the room and was crouched beside the EPR pod, gazing down at Gessner’s body.

“Brigita’s key card wouldn’t have helped us,” Katherine whispered, raising her eyes to him. “It was biometric. ”

“I’m sorry?” Langdon moved toward her.

“Her card doesn’t work unless it detects her fingerprint.”

“Why do you say that?”

Katherine pointed to an object lying on the floor near the pod—a pair of wire cutters whose blades were smeared with blood. “Because whoever took Brigita’s card…took her thumb too.”