Robert Langdon, #1
Angels & Demons
by Dan Brown
Contents
121
Overview
The camerlegno emerges from St. Peter’s with the antimatter and reveals his last desperate plan: take it into the sky by helicopter before it destroys Vatican City. Langdon first mistakes the act as madness, then understands the possible salvation and forces his way aboard to help.
The chapter shifts the crisis from a hidden search beneath the basilica to a public, airborne last chance with only three minutes left. The camerlegno’s desire to act alone clashes with Langdon’s practical intervention, binding their fates as the helicopter lifts off.
Summary
The camerlegno bursts out of St. Peter’s Basilica at 11:56 P.M., wounded and half-dressed, carrying the antimatter canister before the global media and the terrified crowd in the square. He believes God has helped him escape the Necropolis because Chartrand stopped Robert Langdon long enough for the camerlegno to keep possession of the canister.
Langdon follows into the square and initially fears the camerlegno is running the bomb toward the crowd. The camerlegno shouts that Satan’s work has no place in God’s house and urges everyone to look to the heavens, revealing that he is heading for the waiting helicopter rather than the people.
Langdon realizes the plan: the helicopter can carry the antimatter away from the Vatican before detonation. He considers possible drop sites, including the Mediterranean and deserted quarries, and races after the camerlegno with renewed hope.
The camerlegno orders the Swiss Guard pilot out of the helicopter, gives the canister to a guard while climbing into the cockpit, and prepares to fly. Before the canister can be returned, Langdon seizes it, jumps into the rear compartment, buckles in, and insists that the camerlegno fly while Langdon throws the canister.
The camerlegno is shaken because he believes he is meant to complete the act alone, but the timer’s three-minute warning forces him to act. The helicopter lifts off as Vittoria runs toward it, and Langdon sees her fall away beneath him as the craft rises.
Who Appears
- Carlo Ventresca, the camerlegnoCarries the antimatter to a helicopter, believing God chose him to save the Vatican.
- Robert LangdonRealizes the helicopter escape plan, takes the canister, and boards to help dispose of it.
- Vittoria VetraRuns after the helicopter and watches Langdon lift off with the antimatter.
- ChartrandEarlier delays Langdon out of faith in the camerlegno, enabling the escape to the square.
- Swiss Guard pilotVacates the helicopter and briefly holds the canister before Langdon takes it.