Langdon said, feeling excited to see the huge complex of the Roland Garros tennis stadium looming ahead.
Sophie snaked her way toward the stadium. After several passes, they located the intersection of Rue Haxo and turned onto it, driving in the direction of the lower numbers. The road became more industrial, lined with businesses.
We need number twenty-four, Langdon told himself, realizing he was secretly scanning the horizon for the spires of a church. Don't be ridiculous.A forgotten Templar church in this neighborhood?
"There it is," Sophie exclaimed, pointing. Langdon's eyes followed to the structure ahead. What in the world?The building was modern. A squat citadel with a giant, neon equal-armed cross emblazoned a top its facade. Beneath the cross were the words:
DEPOSITORY BANK OF ZURICH
Langdon was thankful not to have shared his Templar church hopes with Sophie. A career hazard of symbologists was a tendency to extract hidden meaning from situations that had none. In this case, Langdon had entirely forgotten that the peaceful, equal-armed cross had been adopted as the perfect symbol for the flag of neutral Switzerland.
At least the mystery was solved.
Sophie and Langdon were holding the key to a Swiss bank deposit box.
CHAPTER 41
Outside Castel Gandolfo, an updraft of mountain air gushed over the top of the cliff and across the high bluff, sending a chill through Bishop Aringarosa as he stepped from the Fiat. I should haveworn more than this cassock, he thought, fighting the reflex to shiver. The last thing he needed to appear tonight was weak or fearful.
The castle was dark save the windows at the very top of the building, which glowed ominously. The library, Aringarosa thought. They are awake and waiting.He ducked his head against the wind and continued on without so much as a glance toward the observatory domes.
The priest who greeted him at the door looked sleepy. He was the same priest who had greeted Aringarosa five months ago, albeit tonight he did so with much less hospitality. "We were worried about you, Bishop," the priest said, checking his watch and looking more perturbed than worried.
"My apologies. Airlines are so unreliable these days."
The priest mumbled something inaudible and then said," They are waiting upstairs. I will escort you up."
The library was a vast square room with dark wood from floor to ceiling. On all sides, towering bookcases burgeoned with volumes. The floor was amber marble with black basalt trim, a handsome reminder that this building had once been a palace.
"Welcome, Bishop," a man's voice said from across the room.
Aringarosa tried to see who had spoken, but the lights were ridiculously low - much lower than they had been on his first visit, when everything was ablaze. The night of stark awakening. Tonight, these men sat in the shadows, as if they were somehow ashamed of what was about to transpire.
Aringarosa entered slowly, regally even. He could see the shapes of three men at a long table on the far side of the room. The silhouette of the man in the middle was immediately recognizable - the obese Secretariat Vaticana, overlord of all legal matters within Vatican City. The other two were high-ranking Italian cardinals.
Aringarosa crossed the library toward them. "My humble apologies for the hour. We're on different time zones. You must be tired."
"Not at all," the secretariat said, his hands folded on his enormous belly. "We are grateful you have come so far. The least we can do is be awake to meet you. Can we offer you some coffee or refreshments?"
"I'd prefer we don't pretend this is a social visit. I have another plane to catch. Shall we get to business?"
"Of course," the secretariat said. "You have acted more quickly than we imagined." "Have I?" "You still have a month."
"You made your concerns known five months ago," Aringarosa said. "Why should I wait?" "Indeed. We are very pleased with your expediency." Aringarosa's eyes traveled the length of the long table to a large black briefcase. "Is that what I requested?"
"It is." The secretariat sounded uneasy. "Although, I must admit, we are concerned with the request. It seems quite..."
"Dangerous," one of the cardinals finished. "Are you certain we cannot wire it to you somewhere? The sum is exorbitant."
Freedom is expensive. "I have no concerns for my own safety. God is with me." The men actually looked doubtful." The funds are exactly as I requested?"
The secretariat nodded. "Large-denomination bearer bonds drawn on the Vatican Bank. Negotiable as cash anywhere in the world."
Aringarosa walked to the end of the table and opened the