Angels & Demons

All friendliness disappeared from the guard’s face. The scar under his eye twitched. The guard stared, looking suddenly a lot like Olivetti himself.

"I apologize," Langdon said, regretting the comment. "It’s just… I could use some help."

The guard did not blink. "I am trained to follow orders. Not debate them. When you find what you are looking for, contact the commander immediately."

Langdon was flustered. "But where will he be?"

The guard removed his walkie-talkie and set it on a nearby table. "Cha

81

The television in the Office of the Pope was an oversized Hitachi hidden in a recessed cabinet opposite his desk. The doors to the cabinet were now open, and everyone gathered around. Vittoria moved in close. As the screen warmed up, a young female reporter came into view. She was a doe-eyed brunette.

"For MSNBC news," she a

"You’re not live," Rocher snapped. "That’s stock footage! The lights in the basilica are out."

Olivetti silenced him with a hiss.

The reporter continued, sounding tense. "Shocking developments in the Vatican elections this evening. We have reports that two members of the College of Cardinals have been brutally murdered in Rome."

Olivetti swore under his breath.

As the reporter continued, a guard appeared at the door, breathless. "Commander, the central switchboard reports every line lit. They’re requesting our official position on—"

"Disco

The guard looked uncertain. "But, commander—"

"Go!"

The guard ran off.

Vittoria sensed the camerlegno had wanted to say something but had stopped himself. Instead, the man stared long and hard at Olivetti before turning back to the television.

MSNBC was now ru

"Who the hell shot this footage?" Olivetti demanded.

The MSNBC reporter kept talking. "This is believed to be the body of Cardinal Ebner of Frankfurt, Germany. The men removing his body from the church are believed to be Vatican Swiss Guard." The reporter looked like she was making every effort to appear appropriately moved. They closed in on her face, and she became even more somber. "At this time, MSNBC would like to issue our viewers a discretionary warning. The images we are about to show are exceptionally vivid and may not be suitable for all audiences."

Vittoria grunted at the station’s feigned concern for viewer sensibility, recognizing the warning as exactly what it was—the ultimate media "teaser line." Nobody ever changed cha

The reporter drove it home. "Again, this footage may be shocking to some viewers."

"What footage?" Olivetti demanded. "You just showed—"

The shot that filled the screen was of a couple in St. Peter’s Square, moving through the crowd. Vittoria instantly recognized the two people as Robert and herself. In the corner of the screen was a text overlay: Courtesy of the BBC. A bell was tolling.

"Oh, no," Vittoria said aloud. "Oh… no."

The camerlegno looked confused. He turned to Olivetti. "I thought you said you confiscated this tape!"

Suddenly, on television, a child was screaming. The image pa

Everyone in the Pope’s office stared in horrified silence as the drama unfolded before them. The cardinal’s body fell face first onto the pavement. Vittoria appeared and called orders. There was blood. A brand. A ghastly, failed attempt to administer CPR.

"This astonishing footage," the reporter was saying, "was shot only minutes ago outside the Vatican. Our sources tell us this is the body of Cardinal Lamassé from France. How he came to be dressed this way and why he was not in conclave remain a mystery. So far, the Vatican has refused to comment." The tape began to roll again.

"Refused comment?" Rocher said. "Give us a damn minute!"

The reporter was still talking, her eyebrows furrowing with intensity. "Although MSNBC has yet to confirm a motive for the attack, our sources tell us that responsibility for the murders has been claimed by a group calling themselves the Illuminati."

Olivetti exploded. "What!"

"… find out more about the Illuminati by visiting our website at—"

"Non é posibile!" Olivetti declared. He switched cha

This station had a Hispanic male reporter.

"—a satanic cult known as the Illuminati, who some historians believe—"

Olivetti began pressing the remote wildly. Every cha

"—Swiss Guards removing a body from a church earlier this evening. The body is believed to be that of Cardinal—"

"—lights in the basilica and museums are extinguished leaving speculation—"

"—will be speaking with conspiracy theorist Tyler Tingley, about this shocking resurgence—"

"—rumors of two more assassinations pla

"—questioning now whether papal hopeful Cardinal Baggia is among the missing—"

Vittoria turned away. Everything was happening so fast. Outside the window, in the settling dark, the raw magnetism of human tragedy seemed to be sucking people toward Vatican City. The crowd in the square thickened almost by the instant. Pedestrians streamed toward them while a new batch of media perso

Olivetti set down the remote control and turned to the camerlegno. "Signore, I ca

The camerlegno looked momentarily too stu

Nobody said a word. The Swiss Guards stood rigid at attention.

"It appears," the camerlegno said finally, sounding too devastated to be angry, "that we have not contained this crisis as well as I was led to believe." He looked out the window at the gathering masses. "I need to make an address."

Olivetti shook his head. "No, signore. That is exactly what the Illuminati want you to do—confirm them, empower them. We must remain silent."

"And these people?" The camerlegno pointed out the window. "There will be tens of thousands shortly. Then hundreds of thousands. Continuing this charade only puts them in danger. I need to warn them. Then we need to evacuate our College of Cardinals."

"There is still time. Let Captain Rocher find the antimatter."

The camerlegno turned. "Are you attempting to give me an order?"

"No, I am giving you advice. If you are concerned about the people outside, we can a

"Commander, I will only say this once. I will not use this office as a pulpit to lie to the world. If I a

"The truth? That Vatican City is threatened to be destroyed by satanic terrorists? It only weakens our position."

The camerlegno glared. "How much weaker could our position be?"

Rocher shouted suddenly, grabbing the remote and increasing the volume on the television. Everyone turned.