Ah, second chapter at last! First of all I really want to thank all these people who left comments on the prologue. They mean a lot to me! I dedicate this chapter to you and I hope you enjoy it although not much is happening in it.

Warning: I have no beta and my English is not that good...

What happens when one believes in something with a passion? Interesting question… Maybe it would be more practical to ponder this though: What happens when everything one's believed in with a passion proves to be wrong? Can they leave it behind and go on with their lives? Can they simply erase it? No. The mind does not let go so easily. This is the danger when it comes to strong beliefs and ideas. Religion too, being the strongest belief. This is why dogmas are dangerous. This is why she did not want to believe in God.

For Sophie religion had never been too big a deal. She considered herself lucky for this, in a way. But to some people, religion is the only genuine truth, the only certainty they can believe in. Religion is everything. Simple as that. And it can blind the hearts of men.

The albino monk was such a case, Sophie thought as she sipped her coffee. It was sad, very sad. She did not know much about him, but everything he'd done indicated blind faith. He'd killed her grand father – yes, Sauniere was still her family- and the three others, as she'd been informed by her department. He'd killed the Grand Master and his three Sénéchaux, as she knew. An old nun too had been found dead days ago at the church of Saint Sulpice. Murdered with a large stone object. The body had started to decompose. The thought made her nauseous; she did not like churches, temples. They were frightening, stone graves open to the public. God did not live there. God would not let a poor woman die so horribly in His house.

The phone rang, startled her. Sophie stood up. Her grandmother used to call her a lot lately; they'd meet quite often, almost daily and she'd be introduced to the "others", her "protectors". They were numerous and not only in France, no. She hadn't asked her grandmother just how many they were because she worried the number would shock her. And although they were there for her, it did not make her feel much safety. After all it wasn't them, but pure luck that saved her from the car accident. On second thought she'd rather not know those people. Every time she'd go out with her grandmother, she felt being watched, studied. It could be them, making sure that she was alright. Then again, it could be someone else, some shadow that would attack her, like Silas had done. And Teabing. And his battler.

So dark the con of man indeed, she thought as she picked up the phone.

"Mademoiselle Neveu?" a male voice inquired.

"Speaking."

"Sophie Neveu?" the man insisted.

"Who is this?" he asked quite alarmed. A strange voice on the phone could be nothing but bad news. She'd already suffered too many mysteries and conspiracies. As far as she was concerned a mere phone call could hurt her.

"You do not know me, but I know you," the voice gave a start, making her feel cold all of a sudden. "I am… this is not important," the man continued hesitantly. "Only my mission is, mademoiselle. And for this I need your help. It concerns your latest… adventure."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Sophie cut him. "How did you find my phone number in the first place?"

"It was easy," the voice replied. "Just like finding your address." A small pause followed but she did not break the silence. She needed time to think. He gave her none. "All I'm asking is that you meet me. In public," the voice finally said with a reassuring tone. "Only a meeting, nothing more. And then nobody will bother you again, you have my word on that."

She frowned. Right, one down, thousands to go. Could he promise her that the rest of humanity would leave her alone as well? Pulling herself together she realized it was unwise to deny his demand. She needed time and she couldn't have any more dark figures stalking her. Robert wasn't around to be her knight any more.

"All right," she agreed and picked a piece of paper to write down the meeting place.

She frowned; that was strange. A hospital's waiting room?

"Oh Robert," she sighed after hanging up. She had depended on him too much until then; didn't want to give him any more trouble. This was her problem after all, her heritage. She wouldn't call him, not if she could help it.

-----

Fache stared impatiently at the mechanical support by the bed. The man was breathing at least. Sort of… Technically the albino wasn't breathing, a machine was breathing for him. The detective sighed in frustration. All this waiting could be for nothing and the thought was wearing him. This was not the first time he'd waited by someone's bed for a confession. In such cases, of comatose criminals, he'd wait for hours at the hospital, hoping they'd wake up sooner or later and give him what he wanted. Sometimes it happened for minutes; they'd fall back in coma too soon, therefore time was precious. He absolutely had to be there when this man regained consciousness; especially since this was the most important case of his entire career.

Fache looked at him once again disapprovingly. Of all types of criminals, this one was the worst. The mentally unstable ones… They could toy with his nerves for hours, and they remained untouched by law in most cases. Nutcases, mentally disabled and, of course, the ones who heard voices. All sorts of voices, coming from executed serial killers, ghosts or even God. Fache had once stated that death was the only absolution for creatures like those. Institutions were just a waste of time and money. The others had laughed. They apparently thought it was a joke.

Fache never joked.

He shifted on his chair as he returned his attention to the albino. The man was white like marble. Fache shook his head, pitying the misfortunate creature… It was a mystery why such defective beings were brought to life. Pale as a ghost this Silas looked frightening and unnatural. When he'd heard gunfire, he'd run the back yard of the Opus Dei residence only to find a holy man lied next to a murderer, both in a blood pool. The sight of all this blood seemed unnatural; It was odd, seeing the albino's body bleeding; it was hard to accept that this creature was made of flesh like all men. Fache got there just in time to see the albino dropped on the ground, eyes wide open and a lost, frozen expression on his face. The detective had truly believed him dead;

Fache hadn't exactly lied to the Bishop, although hurting the man gave him a secret satisfaction afterwards. It wasn't until hours later that he was informed about the man's condition. The albino was still alive. Barely. But as long as life hadn't deserted this body, Fache was determined to do his job.

----

The fact was that they've been betrayed. The teacher had lied to them, leading them to a death trap. It was a miracle Silas was still alive. The conspiracy the man had put together was admirably complex and apparently it had been successful concerning Aringarosa's casualties at least. The Bishop knew only what he'd seen on the news, he could not know everything and he suspected there was more behind the scenes. But having lost an important ally, he had no eyes in police files anymore. The only thing that comforted him was that Silas was still alive. He could not find out in what state the monk was and he was now certain that Fache would not let him get away. Furthermore and although it sounded cynical enough, everyone had deserted them. The Catholic Church and Opus Dei. Nobody would come to their aid because nobody officially "existed" and the church was unwilling to be involved into any kind of scandal. All Aringarosa could think of though, was Silas. He had betrayed his naïve soldier and his conscience would not let him be, unless he did something to assist the monk.

Thanks to Fache, the Bishop had information on both Neveu and Langton, although he was sure the captain had regretted it now. But it did not matter.

Aringarosa had dared to return to the corridor twice since that night he overheard Fache's phone call. He could not find out in which room Silas was kept, or his condition, as the Bishop was in constant fear to come face to face with said Frenchman. They were not allies anymore and maybe Fache considered him an enemy. Aringarosa did not want to find out. He needed someone from the inside. Again.

Making an external call was not difficult. His nurses provided him with a device in his room and they gave him privacy, since the Bishop insisted he wanted to discuss official matters of the church. Aringarosa was pleased that his position had an effect with those people as well. However the phone call did not last long. By the time he'd hang up, he was optimistic again. She had been an easy case. Now the hard part would be to get to the hospital's lobby unnoticed.

To be continued...