"You want some coffee?" Langdon asked. He and Silas were standing in BWI, waiting to board a flight that would take them to London, and, presumptively, to Teabing.
"No," the monk replied. He seemed to be lost in his own little world.
It must have something to do with being albino and all that, Langdon thought as he started off to find coffee.
He returned a few minutes later with a cup of hot coffee in hand. Silas was right where he had left him; it did not look as if he had even moved a muscle during the time Langdon had been absent.
Checking his Mickey Mouse watch, he said, "We've got about twenty minutes before we have to board the plane."
Silas made no response. God, sometimes I wonder if he's even still alive, Langdon mused.
Twenty minutes later, Langdon prepared himself for the discomfort that was about to come. He strongly disliked flying, even if it was in a roomy plane.
He and Silas sat down in the middle of the plane. After a while, a flight attendant came over with drinks for them. Langdon accepted his gratefully; it was ginger ale, something that, he hoped, would make his stomach feel less like a creature was hopping around inside of it.
It was a quick flight from BWI to London. Langdon was grateful to get off of the plane, and Silas seemed equally was pleased.
"Where do we go from here?" Silas asked.
"I'm not sure," Langdon replied, "I've got it in my bag somewhere…"
You'd better have it, Silas thought, or Teabing isn't the only one I'm going to kill…
"We're heading to Gatehouse Prison," Langdon said, looking at a piece of paper, "But we'll have to get a cab. It would be a bit of a walk."
"What's going on?" Silas asked. They had just reached Gatehouse Prison to find what looked like all of the police officers in London crowed around it.
Langdon walked over to an officer and asked him the same question.
"Sir, there's been a prisoner escape. I'm afraid you'll have to leave the area."
"May I inquire about a prisoner that was being held here?" he asked.
The officer glanced at him, then at Silas, and back to Langdon. "Which one?" he sighed.
"His name was Leigh Teabing," Langdon said, "Is he still in the prison? He was quite old, and used crutches."
The officer consulted a list in his hands, and said, "I'm sorry to inform you that he was one of the men who escaped this morning."
"You've got to be kidding," Langdon said, more to himself than anyone, "Teabing out there again? This means trouble."
He walked back over to Silas. The monk raised his head, and asked, "So?"
"Um," Langdon started. He wasn't exactly sure how to tell Silas this. "Well, there's been a massive prisoner escape this morning…"
"Don't tell me," Silas said, "He's not there. Right?"
"Uh, yeah," Langdon said sheepishly, "I don't know who far he could have gotten by now. He's still using the crutches, after all…"
"No," Silas replied, "He could be in Australia for all we know. He knows how to get around. Those crutches won't hinder him in the least bit."
"Great," Langdon said flatly, "This is going to turn into a massive manhunt. Where do we start?"
