"I apologize, everyone. I didn't expect the police to arrive so quickly. When you first entered, the bank's security system automatically alerted them. Your wanted notices are in the system, and we can't remove them. Please follow me. You hold one of our bank's oldest accounts, which includes a clause guaranteeing the safe departure of clients from the bank."
As the night manager walked, he pushed open a door and led William and the other two towards an armored car. Langdon looked at the armored car with hesitation, not wanting to get in. He only boarded after William urged him.
The armored car drove out of the bank and was immediately stopped by the police for inspection. Fortunately, the night manager was very resourceful and managed to handle the police's questioning, driving William and the others out of Paris.
Inside the car, William looked at the wooden box in his hand. "The Holy Grail, a miraculous cup, the source of the God of Light's power on Earth."
"That's all nonsense," Sophie said, laughing along with William's teasing.
Langdon looked at William and Sophie, who were casually joking about the God of Light, and asked, "Don't you believe in the God of Light?"
Sophie smiled and shook her head. "I don't believe in any divine power falling from the sky. I only believe in people. Sometimes people are very kind."
William nodded in agreement: "I agree. I believe there are more good people than bad, but I believe even more that only by becoming strong yourself can you protect the things and people you want to protect."
William opened the wooden box to reveal a cryptex. Ha, it was very similar to the cryptex Henry had left him, though this one was much smaller than the one at his home.
Sophie took the cryptex from William's hand and said, "Oh, my, it's a cryptex, invented by Da Vinci."
Sophie carefully examined the cryptex in her hand and continued, "It's used to protect secrets. Inside, there's a glass vial filled with vinegar, and the message is rolled around the vial. If it's forced open, the vinegar vial will break, and the vinegar will corrode the writing, making the text disappear. With five sets of 26 English letters, there are twelve million possibilities. Without knowing the secret, no one can uncover what's inside."
Just then, the armored car began to slow down and stop. The door opened, and the night manager appeared, pointing a P226 at them and saying, "I've guarded this for 20 years, and I never expected to wait for three murderers. Hand it over."
"Hand what over?" William asked.
"Bang!" The manager didn't waste words, firing a shot directly into the armored car's compartment. A stray bullet nearly hit him. With a gun pointed at him, William slowly walked over and used his left hand to hand him the cryptex, while his right hand was behind his back. He planned to use the car's boxes for cover to secretly pull out his Glock 17 from his storage space and take down the manager as he took the cryptex.
"Wait, let me see the ring on your hand," the manager suddenly exclaimed.
William turned his left hand over. The manager's excitement grew as he clearly saw the ring on William's hand. "What's your name? Why is this ring on your hand?"
"William Devlinshire."
"The Devlinshire from England? What's your grandfather's name?"
William hesitated for a moment, then, seeing that the manager no longer had the P226 pointed at him, he said, "Henry Wynter Devlinshire."
The manager immediately became excited: "God, so that means Saunière wasn't killed by you all."
William, Langdon, and Sophie all looked at the manager in surprise. All three realized at that moment that the manager was also a member of the Priory of Sion; otherwise, he wouldn't have lowered his gun upon seeing William's fleur-de-lis ring.
After lowering his gun, the manager told the three, "Get out first."
After the three got out of the car, the manager said, "My name is André Vernet, and I am the guardian of this cryptex. I have guarded it for 20 years. I never expected Grand Master Saunière to die. So, he was killed by the Opus Dei."
Upon hearing this, Langdon quickly asked, "Opus Dei? Wasn't that organization disbanded?"
André said, "No, in fact, they were only officially disbanded by the Holy See of the God of Light, but these guys, like us, eventually went into hiding. They are hidden within the Holy See of the God of Light.
They secretly formed a committee specifically to search for the Holy Grail and our Priory. Over the years, many of our members have been assassinated by this Opus Dei. Including Grand Master Saunière, we have now lost three Elders and one Grand Master. The Priory is at its most dangerous moment."
After speaking, André pulled William aside and whispered, "William, the secret of the Holy Grail must never be known to the Opus Dei. You are now the Priory's only Elder. Find the Holy Grail and protect it."
"But Saunière was killed before he could tell me about the Holy Grail. I don't know how to find it now. André, do you have any information?" William asked.
"I'm sorry, William, I'm just a guardian. My mission is to protect this cryptex. I don't know much else," André said apologetically.
"I do know someone," Langdon said. "He has a very deep understanding of the Holy Grail. His name is Teabing, an Englishman who now lives in France. Finding him might help."
William had no better ideas now. He knew very little about European history, and consulting an expert might indeed reveal something.
William said, "Alright, let's go find him. What about you, André?"
"Don't worry, after I drop you off at Teabing's, I'll drive straight to Zurich. They won't find any dirt on me," André said.
After everyone got into the car, William and André sat in the cargo compartment of the armored car, while Langdon and Sophie drove in the cab. Neither of them knew what William and André discussed in the cargo compartment, but William looked serious after getting out of the car.
André told William that the Priory of Sion was now a mere shell of its former self. All four Elders were dead, and ordinary members, scared by the Opus Dei over the past decade, had all gone into hiding. After the four Elders died, most members lost their contacts.
The members of the Priory were mostly artists, scholars, professors, and the like, and the organization was too decentralized, making it easy for them to be picked off one by one.
Especially in the ten years since Henry's death, the Opus Dei had become increasingly despicable and shameless, even resorting to assassinations. André warned William to be careful and that the fact that he was the last Elder of the Priory must never get out, otherwise the Opus Dei would surely come after him.
These people were looking for the Holy Grail not to destroy it, as they claimed, but to extort the Church, much like the Knights Templar did 1000 years ago. These marginalized figures within the Church were vying for power and profit.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Fache received a report from his subordinates: the Swiss bank had reported that one of their armored cars in Paris had been driven out of the bank without notification. Staff at the Swiss headquarters suspected the car had been stolen.
The police officers initially didn't pay much attention, but after responding to the call, they saw Fache's team blocking off and searching the nearby streets. The two sides quickly realized something was amiss and requested GPS tracking from the Swiss bank.
The GPS tracking showed that the armored car had stopped at Château Villette for ten minutes before getting on the highway to Switzerland. The subordinate officers immediately suspected that Langdon might be going to see the owner of Château Villette, Leigh Teabing.
Fache was overjoyed upon hearing the phone call and immediately ordered his subordinates to drive over a dozen cars to Château Villette.
----------------------------------
I've already posted 30 new chapters on Patreon!
If you like the story and want to reaad more, please visit my patreon. Every support is very meaningful!
[patreon.com/Kazenova223]
Thank you very much!