Deception Point (64 page)

“I do,” he said, kissing her again. “You should see the jellyfish mating ritual. Incredibly erotic.”

Rachel maneuvered him onto his back on the horsehair mattress, easing her slender body down on top of his.

“And seahorses . . . ,” Tolland said, breathless as he savored her touch through the thin satin of his pajamas. “Seahorses perform . . . an unbelievably sensual dance of love.”

“Enough fish talk,” she whispered, unbuttoning his pajamas. “What can you tell me about the mating rituals of advanced primates?”

Tolland sighed. “I’m afraid I don’t really do primates.”

Rachel shed her football jersey. “Well, nature boy, I suggest you learn fast.”

T
he NASA transport jet banked high over the Atlantic.

Onboard, Administrator Lawrence Ekstrom took a last look at the huge charred rock in the cargo hold.
Back to the sea,
he thought.
Where they found you.

On Ekstrom’s command, the pilot opened the cargo doors and released the rock. They watched as the mammoth stone plummeted downward behind the plane, arcing across the sunlit ocean sky and disappearing beneath the waves in a pillar of silver spray.

The giant stone sank fast.

Underwater, at three hundred feet, barely enough light remained to reveal its tumbling silhouette. Passing five hundred feet, the rock plunged into total darkness.

Racing down.

Deeper.

It fell for almost twelve minutes.

Then, like a meteorite striking the dark side of the moon, the rock crashed into a vast plain of mud on the ocean floor, kicking up a cloud of silt. As the dust settled, one of the ocean’s thousands of unknown species swam over to inspect the odd newcomer.

Unimpressed, the creature moved on.

B
OOKS BY
D
AN
B
ROWN

The Da Vinci Code

Angels & Demons

Deception Point

Digital Fortress

Washington Square Press
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2001 by Dan Brown

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Washington Square Press, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

ISBN-10:     0-7434-9030-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-7434-9746-6 (Pbk)
ISBN-10:     0-7434-9746-5 (Pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-7434-7543-3 (eBook)

First Washington Square Press trade paperback printing May 2006

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