Even at a modest sixty kilometers an hour, the dangling front bumper of the armored truck gratedagainst the deserted suburban road with a grinding roar, spraying sparks up onto the hood.

　　We've got to get off the road, Langdon thought.

　　He could barely even see where they were headed. The truck's lone working headlight had beenknocked off-center and was casting a skewed sidelong beam into the woods beside the countryhighway. Apparently the armor in this "armored truck" referred only to the cargo hold and not thefront end.

　　Sophie sat in the passenger seat, staring blankly at the rosewood box on her lap.

　　"Are you okay?" Langdon asked.

　　Sophie looked shaken. "Do you believe him?""About the three additional murders? Absolutely. It answers a lot of questions—the issue of yourgrandfather's desperation to pass on the keystone, as well as the intensity with which Fache ishunting me.""No, I meant about Vernet trying to protect his bank."Langdon glanced over. "As opposed to?""Taking the keystone for himself."Langdon had not even considered it. "How would he even know what this box contains?""His bank stored it. He knew my grandfather. Maybe he knew things. He might have decided hewanted the Grail for himself."Langdon shook his head. Vernet hardly seemed the type. "In my experience, there are only tworeasons people seek the Grail. Either they are naive and believe they are searching for the long-lostCup of Christ...""Or?""Or they know the truth and are threatened by it. Many groups throughout history have sought todestroy the Grail."The silence between them accentuated the sound of the scraping bumper. They had driven a fewkilometers now, and as Langdon watched the cascade of sparks coming off the front of the truck,he wondered if it was dangerous. Either way, if they passed another car, it would certainly drawattention. Langdon made up his mind.

　　"I'm going to see if I can bend this bumper back."Pulling onto the shoulder, he brought the truck to a stop.

　　Silence at last.

　　As Langdon walked toward the front of the truck, he felt surprisingly alert. Staring into the barrelof yet another gun tonight had given him a second wind. He took a deep breath of nighttime air andtried to get his wits about him. Accompanying the gravity of being a hunted man, Langdon wasstarting to feel the ponderous weight of responsibility, the prospect that he and Sophie mightactually be holding an encrypted set of directions to one of the most enduring mysteries of all time.

　　As if this burden were not great enough, Langdon now realized that any possibility of finding away to return the keystone to the Priory had just evaporated. News of the three additional murdershad dire implications. The Priory has been infiltrated. They are compromised. The brotherhoodwas obviously being watched, or there was a mole within the ranks. It seemed to explain whySaunière might have transferred the keystone to Sophie and Langdon—people outside thebrotherhood, people he knew were not compromised. We can't very well give the keystone back tothe brotherhood. Even if Langdon had any idea how to find a Priory member, chances were goodthat whoever stepped forward to take the keystone could be the enemy himself. For the moment, atleast, it seemed the keystone was in Sophie and Langdon's hands, whether they wanted it or not.

　　The truck's front end looked worse than Langdon had imagined. The left headlight was gone, andthe right one looked like an eyeball dangling from its socket. Langdon straightened it, and itdislodged again. The only good news was that the front bumper had been torn almost clean off.

　　Langdon gave it a hard kick and sensed he might be able to break it off entirely.

　　As he repeatedly kicked the twisted metal, Langdon recalled his earlier conversation with Sophie.

　　My grandfather left me a phone message, Sophie had told him. He said he needed to tell me thetruth about my family. At the time it had meant nothing, but now, knowing the Priory of Sion wasinvolved, Langdon felt a startling new possibility emerge.

　　The bumper broke off suddenly with a crash. Langdon paused to catch his breath. At least the truckwould no longer look like a Fourth of July sparkler. He grabbed the bumper and began dragging itout of sight into the woods, wondering where they should go next. They had no idea how to openthe cryptex, or why Saunière had given it to them. Unfortunately, their survival tonight seemed todepend on getting answers to those very questions.

　　We need help, Langdon decided. Professional help.

　　In the world of the Holy Grail and the Priory of Sion, that meant only one man. The challenge, ofcourse, would be selling the idea to Sophie.

　　Inside the armored car, while Sophie waited for Langdon to return, she could feel the weight of therosewood box on her lap and resented it. Why did my grandfather give this to me? She had not theslightest idea what to do with it.

　　Think, Sophie! Use your head. Grand-père is trying to tell you something!

　　Opening the box, she eyed the cryptex's dials. A proof of merit. She could feel her grandfather'shand at work. The keystone is a map that can be followed only by the worthy. It sounded like hergrandfather to the core.

　　Lifting the cryptex out of the box, Sophie ran her fingers over the dials. Five letters. She rotated thedials one by one. The mechanism moved smoothly. She aligned the disks such that her chosenletters lined up between the cryptex's two brass alignment arrows on either end of the cylinder. Thedials now spelled a five-letter word that Sophie knew was absurdly obvious.

　　G-R-A-I-L.

　　Gently, she held the two ends of the cylinder and pulled, applying pressure slowly. The cryptexdidn't budge. She heard the vinegar inside gurgle and stopped pulling. Then she tried again.

　　V-I-N-C-IAgain, no movement.

　　V-O-U-T-ENothing. The cryptex remained locked solid.

　　Frowning, she replaced it in the rosewood box and closed the lid. Looking outside at Langdon,Sophie felt grateful he was with her tonight. P.S. Find Robert Langdon. Her grandfather's rationalefor including him was now clear. Sophie was not equipped to understand her grandfather'sintentions, and so he had assigned Robert Langdon as her guide. A tutor to oversee her education.

　　Unfortunately for Langdon, he had turned out to be far more than a tutor tonight. He had becomethe target of Bezu Fache... and some unseen force intent on possessing the Holy Grail.

　　Whatever the Grail turns out to be.

　　Sophie wondered if finding out was worth her life.

　　As the armored truck accelerated again, Langdon was pleased how much more smoo............