In chapter 109, in St. Peter’s Square, the Swiss Guards try to push the crowds back to a safer distance. Inside the Sistine Chapel, Cardinal Mortati is restless. It is now past 11:15 and many cardinals were continuing to pray, but others had clustered around the exit. Some cardinals began pounding on the door with their fists. Outside the door, Lieutenant Chartrand hears the pounding and doesn’t know what to do. It was time, but Captain Rocher had given strict orders that the cardinals were not to be let out until he gave the word. Chartrand thinks that the captain has been acting very erratic since his mysterious phone call. He asks Rocher if he should open the Sistine. Rocher says, “Our guest is arriving shortly. Take a few men upstairs, and guard the door of the Pope’s office. The camerlengo is not to go anywhere.” Upstairs in the Office of the Pope, the camerlengo is in quiet meditation. He wonders if he will survive the night.
In chapter 110, it is 11:23. Langdon and Vittoria are on the balcony of Castle St. Angelo. Langdon tells her that he’s going back into the Vatican. He tells her about the Samaritan, and how it is a ploy – the Illuminati leader, a man named Janus, was actually coming himself to brand the camerlengo. He says that nobody in Vatican City knows and he has to warn the guards before they let him in. Just then, the balcony begins to shake. The crowd in St. Peter’s Square begins to cheer as the papal helicopter emerges from behind the tower. The media lights are all on the helicopter. As Rocher goes up to greet whoever is in the helicopter, Langdon pounds his fists on the banister and says that somebody has to warn them. He turns to go, but Vittoria catches his arm and says “Wait!” Fingers trembling, she points toward the chopper. Even from that distance, there is no mistaking. Descending from the helicopter is Maximilian Kohler.
In chapter 111, Rocher leads Kohler to the Office of the Pope. As he waits, Kohler remembers how it was the church’s fault that he became paralyzed as a child. He was terribly ill and his parents would not let the doctors give him any medication or pain relievers because they did not want the doctors to interfere with God’s master plan. They told Kohler to have faith and that God will protect him. At last, one of the doctors secretly gave him some new drug from England and told Kohler that “I will never forgive myself if I do not do this. I wish I had done it sooner.” When the doctor left, he told Kohler, “This will save your life. I have great faith in the power of medicine.” Kohler lived, but he was crippled for the rest of his life. When Kohler enters the Pope’s office, Camerlengo Ventresca is all alone, kneeling in prayer beside a dying fire. He says, “Mr. Kohler, have you come to make me a martyr?”
In chapter 112, Langdon and Vittoria race down Il Passetto towards Vatican City. They can’t believe that Kohler is actually Janus. When they reached the last door, they see that it has no handles, no knobs, no keyholes, and no hinges. Langdon feels a surge of panic. This rare kind of door is called a senza chiave, which is a one-way portal used for security and only operable from one side – the other side. He looks his watch and it is 11:29. They start pounding on the door.
In chapter 113, Lieutenant Chartrand thinks something is wrong. He thinks that someone should be present inside the meeting and he heard Kohler bolt the door after he entered. He also thinks it’s absolutely insane that the cardinals are still locked in the Sistine Chapel. The camerlengo had wanted them evacuated fifteen minutes ago, but Rocher had overruled the decision and not informed the camerlengo. Chartrand then hears a desperate banging coming from the Pope’s private library. He breaks into the library and finds the keys in the door’s massive locks. He opens the door sees Langdon and Vittoria stagger into the library. They all run to the Pope’s office and Rocher stops them. Langdon says, “The camerlengo is in danger! Open the door! Max Kohler is going to kill the camerlengo!” Vittoria says, “Open the door! Hurry!” but it is too late. From inside the Pope’s office, they hear a bloodcurdling scream. It was the camerlengo.
In chapter 114, the confrontation lasts only seconds. Chartrand stepped past Rocher and blew open the door of the Pope’s office. The guards dashed in and Langdon and Vittoria ran in behind them. The scene is staggering. Kohler is near the fireplace, standing awkwardly in front of his wheelchair with a pistol aimed at the camerlengo, who is laying on the floor at Kohler’s feet writhing in agony. Langdon can’t make out the symbol on the camerlengo’s chest from across the room, but a large, square brand is on the floor near Kohler. Two of the Swiss Guards acted without hesitation and opened fire on Kohler. He collapses into his wheelchair and his gun glides out of his hand, across the floor. The camerlengo, still twisting on the floor, points his index finger at Rocher and yells “ILLUMINATUS!” Rocher says while running at him, “You bastard! You sanctimonious bas–” This time, Chartrand reacts on instinct and fires three bullets in Rocher’s back. Chartrand and the guards dash immediately to the camerlengo. As Langdon studies the sixth brand, which he thinks looks like just a symmetrical square with meaningless squiggles, Kohler puts his hand on Langdon’s shoulder. Kohler pulls out a small device off the arm of his wheelchair and hands it to Langdon. His finals words are, “G-give…G-give this…to the m-media.” Kohler collapses and Langdon stares at the device. It is one of the new ultra-miniature palm-held camcorders. Langdon slips it into his deepest jacket pocket. The camerlengo asks about the cardinals. Chartrand tells him that they are still in the Sistine Chapel, as Captain Rocher ordered. The camerlengo tells him to evacuate everyone now. He grimaces in pain and says, “Helicopter…out front…get me to a hospital.”
In chapter 115, in St. Peter’s Square, there is less than twenty-five minutes left until midnight and the people are still packed together – some praying, some weeping for the church, others screaming obscenities and proclaiming that this was what the church deserved, still others chanting apocalyptic Bible verses. Inside the basilica, Langdon, Vittoria, and the two guards carry the camerlengo on a narrow table to the doors of the church.
In chapter 116, it is 11:39 when Langdon and the other step out of St. Peter’s Basilica. The media lights are so bright that the glare that hit his eyes was searing. The reporters come running to get a picture of the camerlengo. Just then, like a man awakening from a nightmare, the camerlengo’s eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright. Langdon and the others fumbled with the shifting weight and the camerlengo slides off the table. The camerlengo’s torn cassock slides off his shoulders down around his waist. The crowd gasps, cameras rolled, flashbulbs exploded. On media screens everywhere, the image of the camerlengo’s branded chest was projected. Langdon saw the symbol and it now made perfect sense. Langdon had forgotten that iron brands, just like rubber stamps, never looked like their imprints. They were in reverse. Langdon had been looking at the brand’s negative. As the chaos grew, an old Illuminati quote echoed with new meaning: “A flawless diamond, born of the ancient elements with such perfection that all those who saw it could only stare in wonder.” Langdon knew now the myth was true. Earth, Air, Fire, Water – The Illuminati Diamond.
Wow. I cannot believe that Kohler was Janus. I understand his hatred for the church comes from his traumatic childhood, but still I never thought he was that evil. I wonder what he recorded on the tape he gave Langdon. I wasn’t really surprised when Rocher turned out to be bad though. I always thought something was weird about him after Langdon was trapped in the Archives without oxygen and then after he got the phone call. I’m kind-of getting worried now though because they still have to find the antimatter and they only have a half hour or twenty minutes now.
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