Robert Langdon, #2
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Contents
CHAPTER 75
Overview
Aringarosa, alarmed by Fache’s latest update, redirects his flight to London in a desperate attempt to intervene in the unfolding disaster. To persuade the pilot, Aringarosa sacrifices his valuable bishop’s ring, symbolically showing how far his authority and certainty have deteriorated.
The chapter shifts Aringarosa from distant conspirator to desperate participant, revealing that his supposedly holy plan has escaped his control and now threatens both him and Silas.
Summary
As Bishop Aringarosa’s chartered turboprop passes over Monaco, Aringarosa ends another call with Fache and is left shaken by the latest news. The update convinces Aringarosa that the night’s plan has gone disastrously wrong, and Aringarosa fears for both Silas and himself.
Driven by urgency, Aringarosa goes to the cockpit and tells the pilot he must change course for London immediately. The pilot resists, explaining that a charter flight cannot simply be redirected and that money is not the only issue.
Aringarosa offers ten thousand euros, first in the form of a Vatican Bank bearer bond, but the pilot refuses to accept it as cash. When Aringarosa insists the situation is life or death, the pilot notices Aringarosa’s diamond ring and suggests it as payment.
Aringarosa initially refuses because the ring symbolizes his office and identity, but he realizes that everything it represents may soon be lost anyway. Aringarosa gives the ring to the pilot, who then banks the plane north toward London.
Alone again, Aringarosa recognizes that what began for him as a holy and carefully designed mission is collapsing. The chapter leaves Aringarosa desperate, exposed, and moving toward the center of the crisis in London.
Who Appears
- Bishop Aringarosadesperate and shaken; redirects his flight to London by surrendering his bishop’s ring.
- The pilotcharter pilot who resists changing course until Aringarosa offers valuable payment.
- Captain Facheprovides alarming updates by phone, pushing Aringarosa toward urgent action.
- Silasabsent but central to Aringarosa’s guilt and fear over the failed plan.