to kill for it."
Forty feet away, peering out from the annex pews near the archway, Remy Legaludec felt a rising alarm. The maneuver had not gone as planned, and even from here, he could see Silas was uncertain how to handle the situation. At the Teacher's orders, Remy had forbidden Silas to fire his gun.
"Let them go," Langdon again demanded, holding the cryptex high over his head and staring into Silas's gun.
The monk's red eyes filled with anger and frustration, and Remy tightened with fear that Silas might actually shoot Langdon while he was holding the cryptex. The cryptex cannot fall!
The cryptex was to be Remy's ticket to freedom and wealth. A little over a year ago, he was simply a fifty-five-year-old manservant living within the walls of Chateau Villette, catering to the whims of the insufferable cripple Sir Leigh Teabing. Then he was approached with an extraordinary proposition. Remy's association with Sir Leigh Teabing - the preeminent Grail historian on earth - was going to bring Remy everything he had ever dreamed of in life. Since then, every moment he had spent inside Chateau Villette had been leading him to this very instant.
I am so close, Remy told himself, gazing into the sanctuary of the Temple Church and the keystone in Robert Langdon's hand. If Langdon dropped it, all would be lost.
Am I willing to show my face? It was something the Teacher had strictly forbidden. Remy was the only one who knew the Teacher's identity.
"Are you certain you want Silas to carry out this task?" Remy had asked the Teacher less than half an hour ago, upon getting orders to steal the keystone. "I myself am capable."
The Teacher was resolute. "Silas served us well with the four Priory members. He will recover the keystone. You must remain anonymous. If others see you, they will need to be eliminated, and there has been enough killing already. Do not reveal your face."
My face will change, Remy thought. With what you've promised to pay me, I will become an entirely new man.Surgery could even change his fingerprints, the Teacher had told him. Soon he would be free - another unrecognizable, beautiful face soaking up the sun on the beach. "Understood," Remy said. "I will assist Silas from the shadows."
"For your own knowledge, Remy," the Teacher had told him," the tomb in question is not in the Temple Church. So have no fear. They are looking in the wrong place." Remy was stunned. "And you know where the tomb is?" "Of course. Later, I will tell you. For the moment, you must act quickly. If the others figure out the true location of the tomb and leave the church before you take the cryptex, we could lose the Grail forever."
Remy didn't give a damn about the Grail, except that the Teacher refused to pay him until it was found. Remy felt giddy every time he thought of the money he soon would have. One third oftwenty million euro.Plenty to disappear forever.Remy had pictured the beach towns on the Côte d'Azur, where he planned to live out his days basking in the sun and letting others serve him for a change.
Now, however, here in the Temple Church, with Langdon threatening to break the keystone, Remy's future was at risk. Unable to bear the thought of coming this close only to lose it all, Remy made the decision to take bold action. The gun in his hand was a concealable, small-caliber, J-frame Medusa, but it would be plenty deadly at close range.
Stepping from the shadows, Remy marched into the circular chamber and aimed the gun directly at Teabing's head. "Old man, I've been waiting a long time to do this."
Sir Leigh Teabing's heart practically stalled to see Remy aiming a gun at him. What is he doing! Teabing recognized the tiny Medusa revolver as his own, the one he kept locked in the limousine glove box for safety.
"Remy?" Teabing sputtered in shock. "What is going on?" Langdon and Sophie looked equally dumbstruck.
Remy circled behind Teabing and rammed the pistol barrel into his back, high and on the left, directly behind his heart.
Teabing felt his muscles seize with terror. "Remy, I don't - "
"I'll make it simple," Remy snapped, eyeing Langdon over Teabing's shoulder. "Set down the keystone, or I pull the trigger."
Langdon seemed momentarily paralyzed. "The keystone is worthless to you," he stammered. "You cannot possibly open it."
"Arrogant fools," Remy sneered. "Have you not noticed that I have been listening tonight as you discussed