Chapter Seven: Chapter Four

AN: Same as before. Enjoy!

'Four,' Carlos read.

'Robert Langdon's Saab 900S tore out of the Callahan Tunnel and emerged on the east side of Boston Harbor near the entrance to Logan Airport. Checking his directions Langdon found Aviation Road and turned left past the old Eastern Airlines Building. Three hundred yards down the access road a hangar loomed in the darkness. A large number "4" was painted on it. He pulled into the parking lot and got out of his car. A round-faced man in a blue flight suit emerged from behind the building. "Robert Langdon?" he called. The man's voice was friendly. He had an accent Langdon couldn't place.
"That's me," Langdon said, locking his car. "Perfect timing," the man said. "I've just landed. Follow me, please."
As they circled the building, Langdon felt tense. He was not accustomed to cryptic phone calls and secret rendezvous with strangers. Not knowing what to expect he had donned his usual classroom attire-a pair of chinos, a turtleneck, and a Harris tweed suit jacket. As they walked, he thought about the fax in his jacket pocket, still unable to believe the image it depicted.
The pilot seemed to sense Langdon's anxiety. "Flying's not a problem for you, is it, sir?"

Gustavo, Kelly, Jennifer, Katie, Kalyn, James, Rachel, Carlos, Mary-Grace, Kendall, and Courtney all looked at Logan, who was looking at the bookshelves while saying, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Courtney turned to Vittoria, Sophie, Robert, Mike, and Peter and said, "Every time we have to get on a plane, we have to give Logan something to knock him out for the full flight so he doesn't wake up on the plane and freak out."
"I just don't like planes, alright," Logan said. "Kendall doesn't like spiders-"
"Yes," Kendall said, "but, I actually know the reason why I don't and where I got the fear from."
"Do you like any closed-in spaces?" Robert asked Logan.
Before he could answer, the other teens said, "No."
"Claustrophobia," Robert said simply.
"Huh?" Carlos said.
"It means the fear of closed-in spaces, basically," Robert said. "Don't worry I have it, too."
"But it has to stem from something, doesn't it?" Courtney asked.
"True," Robert conceded and turned to Logan.
"I've had it for as long as I can remember," Logan said to the unasked question that was on everyone's mind. "Carlos, just read."
"Not until-"
"Carlos," Logan growled.
"Okay! Calm down!"

'"Not at all," Langdon replied. Branded corpses are a problem for me. Flying I can handle.
The man led Langdon through the length of the hangar. They rounded the corner onto the runway.
Langdon stopped dead in his tracks and gaped at the aircraft parked on the tarmac. "We're riding in that?"
The man grinned. "Like it?"
Langdon stared a long moment. "Like it? What the beep is it?"'

"I don't cuss either," Carlos said. "Logan, you okay?"
Logan had his eyes closed and was gripping Courtney's hand so hard his knuckles were white. She rubbed her thumb over his hand as he said, "Just trying not to think about it."

'The craft before them was enormous. It was vaguely reminiscent of the space shuttle except that the top had been shaved off, leaving it perfectly flat. Parked there on the runway, it resembled a colossal wedge.'

"Should I just stop with the description of this thing?" Carlos asked.
"No, why?" Kalyn asked.
Carlos pointed at Logan and Courtney, the latter of whom was glaring at them to say yes.
"We only have, like, five sentences left of the description," Carlos said.
Everyone looked at Logan and nodded.
"Oops," Carlos said. "There's actually another paragraph about it, you want me to skip it, too?"
Everyone agreed.
"Two more paragraphs, sorry," Carlos said.
"Just start reading where it doesn't mention it," Mary-Grace said.

'Langdon looked up warily at the craft. "I think I'd prefer a conventional jet." The pilot motioned up the gangplank. "This way, please, Mr. Langdon. Watch your step."
Minuets later, Langdon was seated inside the empty cabin. The pilot buckled him into the front row and disappeared toward the front of the aircraft. The cabin itself looked surprisingly like a wide-body commercial airliner. The only exception was that it had no windows, which made Langdon uneasy. He had been haunted his whole life by a mild case of claustrophobia-the vestige of a childhood incident he had never quite overcome.
Langdon's aversion to closed spaces was by no means debilitating, but it had always frustrated him. It manifested itself in subtle ways. He avoided enclosed sports like racquetball or squash, and he had gladly paid a small fortune for his airy, high-ceilinged Victorian home even though economical faculty housing was readily available. Langdon often suspected his attraction to the art world as a young boy sprang from his love of museum's wide-open spaces.'

Logan opened his eyes and immediately looked at Courtney, who was still rubbing her thumb across his knuckles. He smiled apologetically but she just shook her head with a small smile and gave his hand a slight squeeze.

'The engines roared to life beneath him, sending a deep shudder through the hull. Langdon swallowed hard and waited. He felt the plane start taxiing. Piped-in country music began playing quietly overhead. A phone on the wall beside him beeped twice. Langdon lifted the receiver. "Hello?"
"Comfortable, Mr. Langdon?"
"Not at all."
"Just relax. We'll be there in an hour."
"And where exactly is there?" Langdon asked, realizing he had no idea where he was headed.
"Geneva," the pilot replied, revving the engines. "The lab's in Geneva."
"Geneva," Langdon repeated, feeling a little better. "Upstate New York. I've actually got family near Seneca Lake. I wasn't aware Geneva had a physics lab."
The pilot laughed. "Not Geneva, New York, Mr. Langdon. Geneva, Switzerland."
The word took a long moment to register. "Switzerland?" Langdon felt his pulse surge. "I thought you said the lab was only an hour away!"
"It is, Mr. Langdon." The pilot chuckled. "This plane goes Mach fifteen."'

"That's it," Carlos said.
"Finally, no more plane," Logan said as Carlos handed the book to Mary-Grace.