79

In the Office of the Pope, Vittoria Vetra tries to steady herself while Captain Rocher, Commander Olivetti, and the Swiss Guards assess the crisis. Robert Langdon, discouraged after the second failed intervention, accepts food from Vittoria as Camerlegno Ventresca enters looking devastated.

Olivetti reports that Cardinal Ebner was found suffocated and branded with the Earth ambigram, and Cardinal Lamassé was killed in St. Peter’s Square with chest wounds and the Air brand. Olivetti argues that the Vatican has still prevented the Illuminati from achieving a public spectacle, while Rocher says the search for the antimatter is progressing because he believes the canister is hidden in a public-access “white zone.”

The camerlegno challenges Rocher’s logic, especially because the missing cardinals suggest a deeper breach, but Rocher maintains that the stolen camera and the cardinals’ movements point to public areas such as the museums or basilica. The camerlegno asks Olivetti about evacuation plans, but Olivetti says they are still being formalized and expresses confidence that Rocher will find the canister.

A scarred guard brings Langdon the map information he requested about the West Ponente marker. Its central breath points east from St. Peter’s Square across Rome, but the line passes near roughly twenty churches, giving Langdon too many possibilities for the next altar. Langdon considers whether obelisks might mark the path, since the first two sites had them, but the guard finds none along the line.

Vittoria urges Langdon to think of Bernini works connected to fire, the next element, but Langdon cannot immediately identify a suitable sculpture. Vittoria suggests consulting an index of Bernini’s works, and Olivetti reveals there is another reference source related to Bernini’s Vatican career. He quietly instructs the guard to take Langdon there, while Olivetti keeps Vittoria behind for a private word.

Before Olivetti can speak with Vittoria, his walkie-talkie interrupts. A grim voice tells him to turn on the television, signaling that the media threat the Vatican thought it had contained may have broken open.