«Outstanding!» the assistant exclaimed, sounding deeply relieved. He gave Langdon the jets tail number and various other information.
When Langdon finally hung up, he wondered if Peter Solomon had ever been told no.
Returning to his coffee preparation, Langdon scooped some additional beans into the grinder. A little extra caffeine this morning, he thought. Its going to be a long day.
CHAPTER 4
The U.S. capitol building stands regally at the eastern end of the national mall, on a raised plateau that city designer pierre lenfant described as «a pedestal waiting for a monument.» the capitols massive footprint measures more than 750 feet in length and 350 feet deep. housing more than sixteen acres of floor space, it contains an astonishing 541 rooms. the neoclassical architecture is meticulously designed to echo the grandeur of ancient rome, whose ideals were the inspiration for americas founders in establishing the laws and culture of the new republic.
The new security checkpoint for tourists entering the Capitol Building is located deep within the recently completed subterranean visitor center, beneath a magnificent glass skylight that frames the Capitol Dome. Newly hired security guard Alfonso Nuсez carefully studied the male visitor now approaching his checkpoint. The man had a shaved head and had been lingering in the lobby, completing a phone call before entering the building. His right arm was in a sling, and he moved with a slight limp. He was wearing a tattered army-navy surplus coat, which, combined with his shaved head, made Nuсez guess military. Those who had served in the U.S. armed forces were among the most common visitors to Washington.
«Good evening, sir,» Nuсez said, following the security protocol of verbally engaging any male visitor who entered alone.
«Hello,» the visitor said, glancing around at the nearly deserted entry. «Quiet night.»
«NFC play-offs,» Nuсez replied. «Everyones watching the Redskins tonight.» Nuсez wished he were, too, but this was his first month on the job, and hed drawn the short straw. «Metal objects in the dish, please.»
As the visitor fumbled to empty the pockets of his long coat with his one working hand, Nuсez watched him carefully. Human instinct made special allowances for the injured and handicapped, but it was an instinct Nuсez had been trained to override.
Nuсez waited while the visitor removed from his pockets the usual assortment of loose change, keys, and a couple of cell phones. «Sprain?» nuсez asked, eyeing the mans injured hand, which appeared to be wrapped in a series of thick ace bandages.
The bald man nodded. «Slipped on the ice. A week ago. Still hurts like hell.»
«Sorry to hear that. Walk through, please.»
The visitor limped through the detector, and the machine buzzed in protest.
The visitor frowned. «I was afraid of that. Im wearing a ring under these bandages. My finger was too swollen to get it off, so the doctors wrapped right over it.»
«No problem,» Nuсez said. «Ill use the wand.»
Nuсez ran the metal-detection wand over the visitors wrapped hand. As expected, the only metal he detected was a large lump on the mans injured ring finger. Nuсez took his time rubbing the metal detector over every inch of the mans sling and finger. He knew his supervisor was probably monitoring him on the closed circuit in the buildings security center, and Nuсez needed this job. Always better to be cautious. He carefully slid the wand up inside the mans sling.
The visitor winced in pain.
«Sorry.»
«Its okay,» the man said. «You cant be too careful these days.»
«Aint that the truth.» Nuсez liked this guy. Strangely, that counted for a lot around here. Human instinct was Americas first line of defense against terrorism. It was a proven fact that human intuition was a more accurate detector of danger than all the electronic gear in the world the gift of fear, as one of their security reference books termed it.
In this case, Nuсezs instincts sensed nothing that caused him any fear. The only oddity that he noticed, now that they were standing so close, was that this tough-looking guy appeared to have used some kind of self-tanner or concealer makeup on his face. Whatever. Everyone hates to be pale in the winter.
«Youre fine,» Nuсez said, completing his sweep and stowing the wand.
«Thanks.» The man started collecting his belongings from the tray.
As he did, Nuсez noticed that the two fingers protruding from his bandage each bore a tattoo; the tip of his index finger bore the image of a crown, and the tip of his thumb bore that of a star. Seems everyone has tattoos these days, Nuсez thought, although the pads of his fingertips seemed like painful spots to get them. «Those tats hurt?»
The man glanced down at his fingertips and chuckled. «Less than you might think.» «lucky,» nuсez said. «mine hurt a lot. i got a mermaid
on my back when i was in boot camp.»
«A mermaid?» The bald man chuckled.
«Yeah,» he said, feeling sheepish. «The mistakes we make in our youth.»