CHAPTER 45

André Vernet returns to the waiting room and reports that police are blocking the street, making escape difficult. He sees that Sophie Neveu and Robert Langdon have successfully accessed Jacques Saunière’s account and are examining the wooden rose-inlaid box, which makes Vernet realize the situation has become far more serious.

Sophie tells Vernet that they must take the item with them rather than return it to the vault. Vernet instructs Langdon to wrap the box in his jacket so no one else sees it, sends the empty plastic crate back down the conveyor system, returns the gold key to Sophie, and leads the pair toward the rear loading dock.

At the loading dock, Vernet decides to use one of the bank’s armored transport trucks to get Sophie and Langdon past the police. Vernet puts them in the cargo hold, then retrieves the truck keys, disguises himself in a driver’s uniform, and arms himself with a pistol under the jacket before locking Sophie, Langdon, and the hidden box inside.

Vernet drives the armored truck up the ramp, passing through the bank’s security gates, but finds Lieutenant Jérôme Collet and multiple police cars blocking the exit. Pretending to be a crude delivery driver, Vernet claims ignorance of the bank’s clients and insists that the cargo hold was sealed by overseers and that he has only the ignition key.

Collet questions Vernet and shows him Langdon’s passport photo, but Vernet maintains the lie. Collet grows suspicious when he notices Vernet’s expensive Rolex, but Vernet improvises by claiming it is a cheap street-vendor knockoff. Collet finally lets the truck pass, and Vernet escapes the blockade with Sophie and Langdon hidden inside, only to face the new problem of deciding where to take them.