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Chapter 6
Langdon and Venghram stood waiting for their luggage in the Cairo International Airport. The aroma of Egyptian Musk surrounded them with a warm welcome. He felt himself coming back into his own, being in this atmosphere.
The people around them were sparse. After all, it was only 6:23 in the morning. Langdon spotted his luggage, and walked closer to the moving belt to pick it up. It was a single leather bag, filled with the essentials. Nothing more, nothing less.
"The Ramses Hilton?" asked Venghram as they exited the airport, and found the nearest driver.
"Well, it's near the museum," said Langdon, putting his bag in the trunk. He then took Venghram's and did the same.
"May I ask you something, Mr. Langdon?" said Venghram, as they sat in the back seat of the car. His eyes were fixated on the seat in front of him.
"Please, call me Robert," Langdon replied.
Venghram turned and looked at him. "Have you ever heard of the Atlantis Ring?"
"Yes, a few times," said Langdon. He tried to keep himself from talking much about it in class. There was always a student who felt it had ties to 'The Lord of the Rings', and then felt like they had the duty to explain the whole story to the class.
The Atlantis Ring was founded by French Egyptologist Marquis d'Argain, while he was in the Valley of the Kings. The ring, several thousand years old, was adorned with geometric ornaments which were placed and balanced according to some very special arrangement. According to d'Argain, the ring originated in the ancient city of Atlantis. He later handed it down to fellow Egyptologist Howard Carter. Howard Carter was the only person who didn't die after excavating Tutankhamen's tomb. And he just happened to be wearing that ring at the time. It is written that the ring will protect all of those who have it in their possession, from danger and peril. It's whereabouts to this day are unknown.
"It is mysterious is it not?" Venghram continued. "I mean, or course, people will remark that it is just a ring, but..." he paused. "It has a history."
Langdon watched the expression on Venghram become puzzled, and he couldn't understand why. Twenty minutes ago the man was telling Langdon that they might get killed, and now he was talking about magical rings. It was just an odd conversational transition. Maybe I should just stick to your writing and not you personally, Langdon thought.
For the rest of the ride, Langdon tried to bring up conversation, but it seemed the once talkative Venghram had switched places with someone while he wasn't looking. So Langdon gave up, and instead gazed out the window at the beautiful city passing by. In the far distance he could see the very top of the Pyramid of Giza. It was almost like West meets East, when it came to technology meets history. He knew that would be one topic Dr. Hawass would discuss reverently in the conference today. The Egyptologist had always disagreed with putting things like hotels so close to the Pyramids. He said it was, "like dropping salt into water. It would soon dissolve and be lost forever."
They had arrived at the hotel in quick time. The two men split the cost of the drive, and made their way to the check-in desk, where Langdon did his best to understand the girl behind the counter.
"S'you are een rum tea far e to," she said, handing him the key.
"Excuse me?" Langdon said, hoping he didn't sound rude. It was, after all, her country. She didn't have to speak English.
"Tea far e to," she said, her smile widened in assurance.
"I'm sorry," said Langdon. "Could you repeat that one more time?"
"K, go bye," she smiled again, and leaned to the side to see the person behind him. "Nest?"
"Um," Langdon stood their for a few moments.
"It's on the card," said Venghram, pointing to the piece of plastic in Langdon's hands.
"Thanks," he said, reading the numbers 342, clearly written in bold print. "I was about to ask where the tea room is."
"I thought I was going to be sleeping 8 ft under in the swimming pool the way she put it," said Venghram, with a hardy laugh.
Langdon sat quietly on the imprinted sheets of the bed in his room of the Ramses Hilton. He was holding in his hands a sheet of paper containing the home number of Dr. Zahi Hawass. They had planned to meet when Langdon arrived. He was a bit hesitant to call, seeing as it was only 6:54.
"What the heck," said Langdon, aloud to himself. He picked up the phone and dialed the number. It rang two times, and...
"Hello," said a voice at the other end.
"Hello," Robert said back. "I hope I-"
"Robert?" Dr. Hawass' voice rang through the phone. "Good, I'm glad its you. I was hoping you'd call early."
"I didn't wake you?" asked Robert.
"Oh no," said Dr. Hawass, his voice emitted kindness. "I wake with the sun, just like the kings. So, Discovered anything good lately."
"No," he said. Just a few more grey hairs. "When do you want to meet?"
"That is why I'm glad you called early," said Dr. Hawass. He heard a distinct sigh. "It looks like I'll have to cancel. We can meet later, after the conference of course. It's just that a man called from the British Museum yesterday evening, and he asked to meet with me this morning. I would rather speak with you in private, than in the company of others. I hope you don't mind."
"It's alright," said Langdon. He probably needed the sleep anyway.
"I will see you at the conference then," said Dr. Hawass. "We can make our plans after."
They said their good-byes and Robert hung up the phone. He then picked up the alarm clock on the night stand and adjusted it to go off at 8:00.
As Langdon's back hit the softness of the bed, he could feel the tension roll off him. He didn't bother to take off his clothes, although he'd probably regret it later. But that wasn't on his mind right now. He had at least an hour of sleep ahead of him. Sweet...peaceful...sleep...
There was a soft pounding at the door. Zahi had just ended his conversation with Robert Langdon. I can always tell him later, he thought.
Zahi walked to the door and clasped the knob. He pulled it open and stepped back. "Hello."
"Hello, Dr. Hawass, I am Bradley Ruckford," said the man. "We spoke on the phone."
"Ah, yes," said Zahi. "Come in. I didn't expect-"
What happened next was a surprise to Zahi. As he turned to let Mr. Ruckford in, an enormous hand came in contact with his face. He saw a bright white light, and felt his knees hit the floor. The bright light turned to darkness, and he slipped into unconsciousness.
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