106

At 11:07 P.M., Robert Langdon races along the Tiber toward Castel Sant'Angelo, now convinced it is the Illuminati lair. When he tries to take the Bridge of Angels, he crashes into the pedestrian barricade, abandons the damaged car, and runs across the bridge beneath Bernini's angel statues toward the fortress.

Langdon finds the castle apparently deserted and reflects on its history as a Vatican fortress, prison, museum, and likely network of hidden passages. The main doors are sealed, and a second drawbridge entrance is also shut, leaving him unable to enter by ordinary means.

Looking up, Langdon sees a faint light and movement on a high balcony beneath the angel statue, making him suspect someone is inside, possibly Vittoria. He searches for help and approaches a nearby media truck, where an Australian cameraman says the phones are jammed and mentions that a black van has been entering and leaving the castle all night.

The cameraman also reports that someone called the Swiss Guard claiming to have vital information and is flying in, which confuses Langdon because the situation seems suspicious and urgent. Langdon then notices the truck's telescoping satellite arm and bargains with the cameraman: if the man helps him scale the outer wall, Langdon will provide a major news tip.

Using the raised satellite arm as a makeshift ladder, Langdon reaches the top of the outer bulwark and drops into the lower bastion. In exchange, he tells the cameraman that the dead assassin is in the fountain at Piazza Navona, prompting the reporter to rush away for the scoop.

Meanwhile, in a chamber high above Rome, the Hassassin tends his injured toe and turns his attention to Vittoria. Vittoria is bound, gagged, and lying on a divan, but she is awake and defiant; the Hassassin expects her fear to come soon.