André Vernet looked awkward with a pistol, but his eyes shone with a determination that Langdonsensed would be unwise to test.
"I'm afraid I must insist," Vernet said, training the weapon on the two of them in the back of theidling truck. "Set the box down."Sophie clutched the box to her chest. "You said you and my grandfather were friends.""I have a duty to protect your grandfather's assets," Vernet replied. "And that is exactly what I amdoing. Now set the box on the floor.""My grandfather entrusted1 this to me!" Sophie declared.
"Do it," Vernet commanded, raising the gun.
Sophie set the box at her feet.
Langdon watched the gun barrel swing now in his direction.
"Mr. Langdon," Vernet said, "you will bring the box over to me. And be aware that I'm asking youbecause you I would not hesitate to shoot."Langdon stared at the banker in disbelief. "Why are you doing this?""Why do you imagine?" Vernet snapped, his accented English terse2 now. "To protect my client'sassets.""We are your clients now," Sophie said.
Vernet's visage turned ice-cold, an eerie3 transformation4. "Mademoiselle Neveu, I don't know howyou got that key and account number tonight, but it seems obvious that foul5 play was involved.
Had I known the extent of your crimes, I would never have helped you leave the bank.""I told you," Sophie said, "we had nothing to do with my grandfather's death!"Vernet looked at Langdon. "And yet the radio claims you are wanted not only for the murder ofJacques Saunière but for those of three other men as well?""What!" Langdon was thunderstruck. Three more murders? The coincidental number hit himharder than the fact that he was the prime suspect. It seemed too unlikely to be a coincidence. Thethree sénéchaux? Langdon's eyes dropped to the rosewood box. If the sénéchaux were murdered,Saunière had no options. He had to transfer the keystone to someone.
"The police can sort that out when I turn you in," Vernet said. "I have gotten my bank involved toofar already."Sophie glared at Vernet. "You obviously have no intention of turning us in. You would have drivenus back to the bank. And instead you bring us out here and hold us at gunpoint?""Your grandfather hired me for one reason—to keep his possessions both safe and private.
Whatever this box contains, I have no intention of letting it become a piece of cataloged evidencein a police investigation6. Mr. Langdon, bring me the box."Sophie shook her head. "Don't do it."A gunshot roared, and a bullet tore into the wall above him. The reverberation7 shook the back ofthe truck as a spent shell clinked onto the cargo8 floor.
Shit! Langdon froze.
Vernet spoke9 more confidently now. "Mr. Langdon, pick up the box."Langdon lifted the box.
"Now bring it over to me." Vernet was taking dead aim, standing10 on the ground behind the rearbumper, his gun outstretched into the cargo hold now.
Box in hand, Langdon moved across the hold toward the open door.
I've got to do something! Langdon thought. I'm about to hand over the Priory keystone! AsLangdon moved toward the doorway12, his position of higher ground became more pronounced, andhe began wondering if he could somehow use it to his advantage. Vernet's gun, though raised, wasat Langdon's knee level. A well-placed kick perhaps? Unfortunately, as Langdon neared, Vernetseemed to sense the dangerous dynamic developing, and he took several steps back, repositioninghimself six feet away. Well out of reach.
Vernet commanded, "Place the box beside the door."Seeing no options, Langdon knelt down and set the rosewood box at the edge of the cargo hold,directly in front of the open doors.
"Now stand up."Langdon began to stand up but paused, spying the small, spent pistol shell on the floor beside thetruck's precision-crafted doorsill.
"Stand up, and step away from the box."Langdon paused a moment longer, eyeing the metal threshold. Then he stood. As he did, hediscreetly brushed the shell over the edge onto the narrow ledge13 that was the door's lower sill. Fullyupright now, Langdon stepped backward.
"Return to the back wall and turn around."Langdon obeyed.
Vernet could feel his own heart pounding. Aiming the gun with his right hand, he reached nowwith his left for the wooden box. He discovered that it was far too heavy. I need two hands.
Turning his eyes back to his captives, he calculated the risk. Both were a good fifteen feet away, atthe far end of the cargo hold, facing away from him. Vernet made up his mind. Quickly, he laiddown the gun on the bumper11, lifted the box with two hands, and set it on the ground, immediatelygrabbing the gun again and aiming it back into the hold. Neither of his prisoners had moved.
Perfect. Now all that remained was to close and lock the door. Leaving the box on the ground forthe moment, he grabbed the metal door and began to heave it closed. As the door swung past him,Vernet reached up to grab the single bolt that needed to be slid into place. The door closed with athud, and Vernet quickly grabbed the bolt, pulling it to the left. The bolt slid a few inches andcrunched to an unexpected halt, not lining14 up with its sleeve. What's going on? Vernet pulledagain, but the bolt wouldn't lock. The mechanism15 was not properly aligned16. The door isn't fullyclosed! Feeling a surge of panic, Vernet shoved hard against the outside of the door, but it refusedto budge17. Something is blocking it! Vernet turned to throw full shoulder into the door, but this timethe door exploded outward, striking Vernet in the face and sending him reeling backward onto theground, his nose shattering in pain. The gun flew as Vernet reached for his face and felt the warmblood running from his nose.
Robert Langdon hit the ground somewhere nearby, and Vernet tried to get up, but he couldn't see.
His vision blurred18 and he fell backward again. Sophie Neveu was shouting. Moments later, Vernetfelt a cloud of dirt and exhaust billowing over him. He heard the crunching19 of tires on gravel20 andsat up just in time to see the truck's wide wheelbase fail to navigate21 a turn. There was a crash as thefront bumper clipped a tree. The engine roared, and the tree bent22. Finally, it was the bumper thatgave, tearing half off. The armored car lurched away, its front bumper dragging. When the truckreached the paved access road, a shower of sparks lit up the night, trailing the truck as it sped away.
Vernet turned his eyes back to the ground where the truck had been parked. Even in the faintmoonlight he could see there was nothing there.
The wooden box was gone.
虽然安德烈。韦尔内拿着枪有些不自然，但目光坚定。因此，兰登觉得还是不要冒险试探为妙。
韦尔内从车后用枪指着他们，说道："恐怕我必须坚持要你们这样做。把盒子放下。"
索菲把盒子抱在胸前："你说过你和祖父是朋友。"
韦尔内回答："我有责任保护你祖父的财产。我正在这么做。现在，把盒子放在车上。"
索菲大声说道："可我祖父把这个委托给我保管了！"
韦尔内举枪，命令道："放下。"
索菲把盒子放在脚边。
韦尔内又把枪对准了兰登。
韦尔内说道："兰登先生，把盒子拿过来。注意，我让你拿，是因为我可以毫不犹豫地向你开枪。"兰登看着这位行长，简直不敢相信眼前的一切。"你为什么要这样做？"
韦尔内呵斥道："这还用问吗？"他用法国腔的英语简洁地说。"当然是保护客户的财产。"
索菲说："可我们现在也是你的客户呀。"
韦尔内的脸色骤然变得冷酷无情。"奈芙小姐，我不知道你今晚是如何得到钥匙和账号的，但这里面显然有肮脏的交易。如果我知道你们有这么大的罪过，我才不会带你们离开银行呢。"索菲说道："我告诉过你，我们跟祖父的死无关！"
韦尔内看了看兰登说："可是，为什么收音机里却说通缉你不仅是因为你杀死了雅克。索尼埃，还因为你杀死了其他三个人？"
"什么！"兰登觉得五雷轰顶。还有其他三宗谋杀？这个数字远比知道自己是嫌疑犯更令他震惊。这绝不可能是巧合。"三个人？"兰登看着那个紫檀木盒子，想道。"如果其他三个人也被谋杀了，雅克。索尼埃就别无选择了，他必须得把这个楔石传给别人。"韦尔内说道："我把你送进警察局之后，警察会弄明白的。我已经让我的银行陷得太深了。"索菲盯着韦尔内，说道："你显然没打算把我们送去警察局，否则你会把我们送回银行的。相反，你把我们带到这里，然后用枪指着我们。""你祖父雇佣我就是为了让我保证他的财产安全，并为他保密。因此，不管这个盒子里装的是什么，我都不想让警察拿去调查，成为他们登记在册的证据。兰登先生，把盒子拿过来。"索菲摇着头说道："别拿过去。"
一声枪响，子弹穿过兰登头上的车顶。一个弹壳"哨"的一声掉在了车厢里，回音萦绕着货舱。
"他妈的！"兰登吓得一动也不敢动。
韦尔内更坚定地说："兰登先生，拿起盒子。"
兰登拿起了盒子。
"现在，把盒子拿给我。"韦尔内站在车后，把枪伸进货舱，瞄准兰登的心脏。
兰登把盒子拿在手里，朝车门移动。
"我得做点什么！"兰登想。"眼看就要把隐修会的楔石交出去了！"兰登越朝门口移，他那居高临下的优越位置就越明显。他开始盘算着要怎样利用这个优势。虽然韦尔内举着枪，可是只能够到兰登的膝盖。"也许我可以飞起一脚把枪踢掉？"兰登想。然而，当兰登靠近车门时，韦尔内似乎感觉到了兰登的位置所带来的危险。他向后退了几步，站到了六英尺开外的地方。兰登根本就够不着他了。
韦尔内命令道："把盒子放在门边上。"
兰登已经别无选择，只好蹲下，把紫檀木盒子放在货舱的门口。
"现在，站起来。"
兰登慢慢起身。可是，他突然发现那个弹壳就落在车门边上。他停了下来。
"站起来，离开那个盒子。"
兰登盯着铁门槛，迟疑了一会儿。他慢慢地站了起来，小心地用手把子弹壳拨到了车门边。然后，他站直了身子，向后退去。
"回车厢后面去，脸对着里头！"
兰登照办。
韦尔内能感觉到自己的心脏在剧烈地跳动。他右手握枪，左手伸向那个木盒。可是他发现那个盒子实在太重了。得用两只手！看着他的两个俘虏，他估算了一下风险。他们都在十五英尺之外的货舱那头，而且脸都朝着里头。韦尔内做出了决定。他迅速地把枪放在保险杠上，用双手拿起那个木盒，放在地上，然后飞速地抓起枪，指着货舱里的两个人。
那两个俘虏一动不动。
太棒了。现在要做的只是关上车门，然后锁上。他向前一步，抓住车门，向里推去。
门"砰"的一声关上了。韦尔内迅速地抓住门闩，要把它闩上。门闩滑动了几英寸，突然停了下来。插不动了。怎么回事？韦尔内又向里推了一下，可是门闩就是插不进去。门关不上了。韦尔内慌了，他用力地将门从外往里推，可就是推不动。肯定是有东西把门卡住了！于是韦尔内再次用尽全力将门向里推，这时门却"砰"的一声向外弹开来，狠狠地打在他的脸上，把他击倒在地。他感到鼻子一阵剧痛。韦尔内扔掉枪，捂住脸，一股温热的鲜血从鼻子里汩汩地流了出来。
兰登跳到了韦尔内身旁。韦尔内挣扎着站起来，可是头晕目眩，眼前一片漆黑。"嘭"的一声又摔倒在地，只模模糊糊地听到索菲在喊叫。过了一会儿，他感到头上有尘土和废气在翻腾，听到轮胎轧在沙石上发出的"咔嚓咔嚓""的声响。他挣扎着坐了起来，刚好看到装甲车直直地向前开去。由于两轮之间的轴距太大，装甲车转起弯来特别困难。前保险杠猛的一下碰到了一棵树上，把树顶弯了。保险杠也被顶下了一半。装甲车拖着摇摇欲坠的保险杠向前开去，转上了公路。保险杠与地面摩擦着发出耀眼的火花。最后，装甲车消失在夜幕中。
韦尔内看着原先停车的地方。虽然月光微弱，但他知道那里已经空空如也。
木盒被他们带走了！
收听单词发音 |
1
entrusted
|
|
| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
terse
|
|
| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
eerie
|
|
| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
transformation
|
|
| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
foul
|
|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
investigation
|
|
| n.调查，调查研究 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
reverberation
|
|
| 反响； 回响； 反射； 反射物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
cargo
|
|
| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
bumper
|
|
| n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
ledge
|
|
| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
lining
|
|
| n.衬里，衬料 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
mechanism
|
|
| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
aligned
|
|
| adj.对齐的，均衡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
budge
|
|
| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
blurred
|
|
| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
crunching
|
|
| v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的现在分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
gravel
|
|
| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
navigate
|
|
| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |