Robert Langdon, #2
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Contents
CHAPTER 50
Overview
Bishop Aringarosa travels from Castel Gandolfo toward Rome with twenty million euros in bearer bonds, expecting an imminent exchange with the Teacher. The lack of contact from the Teacher unsettles him, especially once Aringarosa realizes poor cell service may have made him unreachable.
The chapter shifts attention to Aringarosa’s dependence on the Teacher and reveals his fear that any communication failure could be interpreted as betrayal. His anxiety raises the stakes around the money and the unseen plan driving the murders and pursuit.
Summary
Bishop Aringarosa leaves Castel Gandolfo in an unmarked Fiat, riding down from the Alban Hills toward Rome. In the back seat, he holds a briefcase filled with twenty million euros in bearer bonds and thinks about the exchange he expects to make with the Teacher.
Aringarosa sees the money not merely as wealth but as a means to gain power of much greater value. However, the Teacher has not contacted him, and Aringarosa begins to worry that the silence may signal a problem.
When Aringarosa checks his phone, the signal is weak. The driver explains that cell service is unreliable in the mountains but should improve once they leave the hills, which makes Aringarosa fear that the Teacher may have been trying to reach him unsuccessfully.
Aringarosa checks his voicemail and finds nothing, then remembers that the Teacher would never leave a recorded message because of his strict caution with communications. Since the Teacher alone controls contact and gave Aringarosa no number to call, Aringarosa becomes increasingly anxious that the Teacher may believe the bishop failed to get the bonds or, worse, stole the money and fled.
Who Appears
- Bishop Aringarosacarries twenty million euros in bonds and worries the Teacher may suspect betrayal.
- The Teacherunseen contact whose strict communication rules leave Aringarosa unable to call him.
- Driverdrives Aringarosa from Castel Gandolfo and explains the weak mountain cell service.