Chapter 47 Chapter Forty-Five

"The police are blocking the street," André Vernet said, entering the room. "It will be difficult to let you out." After closing the door, he found the sturdy plastic box on the conveyor belt.God! Did they find Saunière's account? Sophie and Langdon were huddled around the table looking at a large wooden jewelry box.Sophie closed the lid, looked up and said, "We finally found the account number." Vernet said nothing.Everything changed for it.He looked away from the box in awe, planning his next move. "I have to get them out of the bank!" With the police already setting up roadblocks, Vernet could only think of a way to get them out. "Miss Neveu, if I can get you all safely out of the bank, are you going to take this thing with you, or put it back in the vault before you go?"

Sophie glanced at Langdon and said to Vernet, "We have to take it away." Vernet nodded and said, "Okay. Well, then, whatever it is, I suggest you wrap your jackets over it as you walk through the aisle. I don't want anyone to see it." Langdon took off his jacket, Vernet hurried to the conveyor belt to close the empty box, and typed a few simple commands.So the conveyor belt started turning again, carrying the plastic box back to the vault.He pulled the key from the electronics and handed it to Sophie. "This way. Quick!" When they reached the loading dock, Vernet could see the flashing police lights from the underground garage.He frowned.They may be blocking the ramp.Can I get them out successfully? He's breaking out in a cold sweat.

He walked to one of the bank's small armored vehicles.Secure shipping is another service offered by Savings Bank Zurich. "Get into the cargo hold." He opened the heavy rear door and said, pointing to the shiny iron compartment, "I'll be right back." Sophie and Langdon crawled into the car while Vernet hurried across the loading bay, into the office beyond, picked up a bunch of keys, found a chauffeur's work jacket and a top hat.He took off his suit jacket and tie, and put on the driver's jacket.On second thought, he put on the holster again under his uniform.When he came out, he grabbed a driver's pistol from the luggage rack, loaded it, holstered it, and buttoned his uniform.He walked back to the armored car, lowered the brim of his hat, and looked at Sophie and Langdon standing in the empty iron carriage.

"You guys need to turn this on," Vernet said, reaching into the cargo hold and flipping a switch on the wall, turning on the overhead light. "You'd better sit down. Don't make any noise when you go out the door." Sophie and Langdon sat on the metal floor of the cargo hold.Langdon held the baby wrapped in a tweed jacket.Vernet slammed the big iron door shut and locked them inside.Then, he got behind the wheel and started the armored vehicle. Vernet felt the sweat in his hat as the armored car rumbled up the ramp.There are far more warning lights ahead than imagined.As the armored vehicle accelerated up the ramp, the first door opened inward.Vernet drove past.The door closed behind the car.He continued to drive the car to the second door.The second door also opened.You can go out in no time.Unless the police car seals off the ramp.

Vernet wiped the sweat from his brow lightly and moved on. A tall, lanky policeman stepped forward and waved him over to the barricade.Four patrol cars were parked a little further ahead. Vernet stopped the car.He lowered the brim of his hat, tried his best to conceal his usual gentle demeanor, and pretended to be rough and cruel.He pushed open the car door, sat behind the steering wheel and looked down at the livid-faced policeman. "Isn't this our own passage?" asked Vernet roughly. "I'm Collet, Police Lieutenant," said the policeman.He pointed to the cargo compartment of the armored vehicle and asked, "What's in here?"

Vernet replied in rude French: "Damn it! How would I know what it was. I'm just a driver." Collet remained calm and continued, "We are looking for two criminals." Vernet laughed out loud. "Then you've come to the right place. The bastards I hired to drive are so rich they must be criminals." The policeman produced a passport photo of Robert Langdon and asked, "Is this man at your bank tonight?" Vernet shrugged and said, "No idea. I'm just a little mouse on the loading dock. They don't let us near customers. You should go in and ask the front desk."

"The bank had to show us a search warrant to let us in." Vernet showed a bored expression, "Don't scare people with officials." "Please open the compartment." Collet pointed to the cargo compartment. Vernet glared at him and smirked. "Open the car? Do you think I have the key? Do you think they trust us so much? Fuck it, just look at the little salary I get." The policeman tilted his head, obviously not believing his words. "You said you didn't have the keys to your car?" Vernet shook his head, "There is no key for the cargo compartment. Only for driving. After the foreman locked the cargo compartment in the loading area, he let the car wait there, and then sent someone to open the car and hand over the key to the consignee. We got a call here saying the consignee had the keys before the car could go. Not even a second early. Fuck, I never knew what I was pulling.”

"When was this car locked?" "It must have been a few hours ago. I'm driving all the way to St. Cyril tonight, and the cargo key is already there." The policeman didn't say anything, just stared at him, as if trying to read his mind. A bead of sweat was about to slide down Vernet's nose. "You don't mind driving it away?" He wiped his nose with his sleeve, pointed at the police car blocking the road and said, "I'm in a hurry." "Do all drivers wear Rolex watches?" the policeman asked, pointing to Vernet's wrist. Looking down, Vernet saw his expensive, shiny watch poking out from under the sleeve of his jacket. "Damn it, is this thing? I bought it from a Taiwanese peddler for 20 euros when I was in Saint-Serry. If you want it, I'll sell it to you for 40 yuan." The policeman hesitated, but finally let it go. "No, thank you. Be careful on the road."

After driving the car for a full 50 meters, Vernet let out a sigh of relief.Now, he has another problem to face -- his cargo.Where shall I send them?