Robert Langdon, #2
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
Contents
CHAPTER 81
Overview
Teabing’s risky plan at Biggin Hill succeeds: he manipulates airport procedure, legal ambiguity, and his own privileged status to evade an armed police trap. While the authorities search an empty plane, Langdon, Sophie, and the captive Silas are already hidden in Teabing’s limousine. The escape keeps the Grail quest alive and shifts the group’s next focus to solving the clue about the knight’s tomb.
Summary
At Biggin Hill Airport, Simon Edwards anxiously oversees preparations for Leigh Teabing’s arrival after French authorities request that Kent police detain the plane. Because Teabing is a wealthy and valued client, Edwards is uneasy about helping arrest him, but the police set a trap: the pilot is told to taxi to the terminal because of a fake gas leak, where armed officers will immobilize the aircraft and wait for French police.
The Hawker lands in the rain but ignores the terminal and rolls directly to Teabing’s private hangar. Police race after it, arriving as the jet finishes its normal turn inside the hangar. Teabing descends on crutches, acting baffled and irritated, while Rémy appears and says they are late, directing attention toward Teabing’s waiting limousine.
The Kent chief inspector orders Teabing and Rémy to remain on board, explaining that French police claim Teabing is transporting fugitives and possibly a hostage. Teabing denies it, insists only Teabing, Rémy, and the pilot are aboard, and offers to let Edwards inspect the plane. When the inspector refuses and demands to search personally, Teabing invokes private property and the lack of a warrant, then walks toward the limousine despite police threats.
The inspector, deciding that Bezu Fache’s warning is worth the legal risk, orders officers to stop Teabing and Rémy while the inspector boards the Hawker. The search reveals only the frightened pilot; the cabin, bathroom, seats, and luggage areas are empty. Embarrassed, the inspector releases Teabing, who threatens legal consequences and says the French police cannot be trusted before Rémy drives the limousine out of the hangar.
Inside the limousine, the deception is revealed. As the plane taxied into the hangar, Rémy had opened the hatch while the jet paused, allowing Langdon and Sophie to drag the bound and gagged Silas down the stairs and hide behind the limousine before the police arrived. Now safely away from the airport, Teabing congratulates Rémy, checks on Langdon and Sophie, and turns the group’s attention back to the clue about the knight’s tomb.
Who Appears
- Leigh TeabingBluffs police with privilege, legal threats, and misdirection to protect the group’s escape.
- RémyHelps execute the deception, opens the hatch, and drives the limousine away.
- Simon EdwardsBiggin Hill officer caught between police orders and loyalty to lucrative client Teabing.
- Kent chief inspectorLeads the armed detention attempt, searches the plane, and finds it empty.
- Robert LangdonEscapes the plane with Sophie and Silas, then continues toward the next clue.
- Sophie NeveuHelps move the captive Silas into hiding and escapes the airport with Langdon.
- SilasBound and gagged captive hidden in the limousine during the police search.
- Hawker pilotFlies Teabing’s jet and remains aboard as the only person found during the search.