The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) - PDF File
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Prologue
Louvre Museum, Paris 10:46 P.M.
Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand
Gallery. He lunged for the nearest painting he could see, a Caravaggio. Grabbing the gilded frame,
the seventy-six-year-old man heaved the masterpiece toward himself until it tore from the wall and
Saunière collapsed backward in a heap beneath the canvas.
As he had anticipated, a thundering iron gate fell nearby, barricading the entrance to the suite. The
parquet floor shook. Far off, an alarm began to ring.
The curator lay a moment, gasping for breath, taking stock. I am still alive. He crawled out from
under the canvas and scanned the cavernous space for someplace to hide.
A voice spoke, chillingly close. "Do not move."
On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly.
Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared
through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His
Louvre Museum, Paris 10:46 P.M.
Renowned curator Jacques Saunière staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand
Gallery. He lunged for the nearest painting he could see, a Caravaggio. Grabbing the gilded frame,
the seventy-six-year-old man heaved the masterpiece toward himself until it tore from the wall and
Saunière collapsed backward in a heap beneath the canvas.
As he had anticipated, a thundering iron gate fell nearby, barricading the entrance to the suite. The
parquet floor shook. Far off, an alarm began to ring.
The curator lay a moment, gasping for breath, taking stock. I am still alive. He crawled out from
under the canvas and scanned the cavernous space for someplace to hide.
A voice spoke, chillingly close. "Do not move."
On his hands and knees, the curator froze, turning his head slowly.
Only fifteen feet away, outside the sealed gate, the mountainous silhouette of his attacker stared
through the iron bars. He was broad and tall, with ghost-pale skin and thinning white hair. His