Chapter 111: Two Clumsy Operatives

William was abruptly awakened by the ringing of his phone. Groggily, he reached for it on the bedside table. "Hello?"

"William, it's Sophie. Were you asleep? Sorry to call so late," Sophie said.

"Damn it, what time is it? Can't this wait until tomorrow?" William grumbled.

"Sorry, but I'm at Edinburgh Airport. I need to talk to you. Can you come over?" Sophie's voice was trembling; she was scared.

"Edinburgh Airport?" William sat up in bed, fully awake now. "Sorry, I didn't hear you clearly. Where did you say you are?"

Sophie, frightened by William's tone, stammered, "I-I'm at Edinburgh Airport."

"Sophie Neveu, you are asking for trouble, do you know that? Didn't I tell you to stay out of this Holy Grail business? And now you're following me? Wait there," William said, then hung up.

Seeing Sophie trembling from William's intimidating tone, Langdon hugged her to comfort her. "It's alright, Sophie. Stay with the airport police. William won't dare harm you."

Sophie realized that Langdon was right and felt less scared. "Okay, Langdon. Let's go buy a camera, and when William arrives, you hide."

As the two prepared, William had already arrived at the airport. He wore a mask before entering to avoid being recognized, as he was quite famous in England, and many journalists wanted to interview him. People were curious about how much he had profited from the recent stock market crash, but he had been in France too quickly for reporters to catch him.

Seeing William enter with a mask, Langdon, who had been watching the entrance from the second floor, was startled. He worried that William might indeed intend harm to Sophie.

Seeing William look around and then head toward Sophie, Langdon panicked and started waving his arms, shouting, "Hey, I'm here! I'm here!"

The passengers and police in the airport hall turned to look at Langdon, and a few police officers on the second floor ran towards him.

Sophie, hearing Langdon's shouts, was puzzled by the deviation from their plan. She turned and noticed William with a mask, immediately running toward the police on the first floor.

William was stunned, then looked at Langdon on the second floor, who was excitedly talking to the police and pointing at him.

The radio on the shoulder of the first-floor police officer crackled to life with a message from the second-floor officers. "Detain the masked individual. A passenger reported him as a dangerous person."

"Understood."

William saw a few officers placing their hands on their holsters and running toward him, shouting, "Police! Don't move!"

Surrounded within seconds, William knew better than to resist. Airport police were different from regular police; any sudden movements could lead them to shoot.

Raising his hands, he said, "I'm William Devonshire, officers. May I reach into my pocket for my ID? I promise to move slowly, and my ID is in my coat pocket."

The officers scrutinized William, seeing that he wasn't heavily dressed and likely unarmed. One officer drew his weapon and said, "Slowly, no sudden movements, or I'll shoot. Understand?"

"Okay, I understand, officer. I'm slowly reaching into my pocket now," William thought angrily. He was determined to deal with Langdon and Sophie later.

The officer nodded. "Okay, you can take out your ID now."

William slowly reached into his coat pocket, retrieved his ID from his storage space, and held it up for the officers to see.

"Throw it over," one officer commanded.

William tossed the ID to the nearest officer, who picked it up and, after checking it, spoke into his radio.

A minute later, the radio confirmed William's identity, and the officer quickly holstered his gun and saluted. "Sorry, sir. Pete, lower your weapons."

He stepped forward, "Sir, you'll need to remove your mask so I can confirm your identity."

William removed his mask, and the officer compared his face with the ID before saluting again and handing the ID back.

Annoyed, William took his ID and said, "Detain those two who made the false report. I need a quiet room."

"Yes, sir," the officer saluted and then ordered, "Arrest those two for making a false report."

"What are you doing? I'm French. I'm a French police officer!" Sophie shouted as the police moved to detain her.

Hearing this, the airport police were less aggressive but still arrested Langdon, pinning him to the ground and handcuffing him.

"Your ID, ma'am. I need to see your ID," the airport officer said to Sophie.

But Sophie didn't have her ID; she had just been suspended.

Seeing she had no ID, the police handcuffed her too. William followed the police to the holding room, instructing them to leave once they were inside. He then mocked the detained Sophie and Langdon.

"Look who it is! The famous Professor Langdon, detained again. It seems you're not suited to leave the USA. First, you're wanted by the French police and now detained by Scottish police within 24 hours.

You're in big trouble this time, buddy. You too, Sophie."

"I'm sorry, William. I thought you wore a mask to capture Sophie, so I caused a scene to attract police attention," Langdon quickly explained.

William rolled his eyes. "How did you know I came to Edinburgh?"

Sophie explained how she had seen William board a plane and then used her contacts to investigate, recounting Langdon's analysis as well.

Impressed by Langdon's deductions from such scant evidence, William's gaze toward Langdon changed. He thought he had covered his tracks perfectly, but Langdon had found a flaw.

This displeased him. "You'll be locked here for 48 hours. After that, the police will release you. Good night."

As William turned to leave, Langdon shouted, "I know where you're going. You're heading to Rosslyn, right?"

"Damn it, shut up, Langdon," William snapped, irritated that his secret had been guessed. "Say another word, and I'll have you locked in a dark cell for life with those scumbags."

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