Robert Langdon, #1
Angels & Demons
by Dan Brown
Contents
103
Overview
Langdon’s fight with the Hassassin in the Fountain of the Four Rivers turns catastrophic: Cardinal Baggia drowns, and the Hassassin believes he has also killed Langdon. The assassin leaves the scene injured but triumphant, shifting his focus to the captive Vittoria.
Vittoria wakes bound in an ancient stone chamber with a view of the Vatican, revealing that she is still alive and close to the center of the Illuminati threat. The chapter deepens the apparent losses while moving the danger toward Vittoria and the hidden lair.
Summary
Robert Langdon fights the Hassassin underwater in Bernini’s fountain, drawing on his water polo experience but quickly realizing the struggle is no sport. The Hassassin has the advantage of standing on solid ground and repeatedly forces Langdon below the surface, intent on killing him.
Langdon changes tactics by swimming sideways instead of upward, briefly breaking the Hassassin’s grip and reaching the surface for one breath. The Hassassin immediately bears down on him again, knocks his legs out from under him, and drives him back underwater. Langdon searches desperately for Olivetti’s gun, but what he grabs is only a rubber fountain bubbler.
Nearby, Cardinal Baggia remains pinned underwater. In agony but spiritually prepared, Baggia thinks of Christ’s suffering, grieves that the man who tried to save him may also die, releases his final breath, inhales water, and dies.
The Hassassin continues holding Langdon beneath the fountain until Langdon’s body stiffens, shakes, then goes limp. Believing Langdon is dead, the Hassassin keeps him submerged a little longer before letting him sink. After discovering his toe has been badly injured, the Hassassin staunches the bleeding, gets into his van, and turns his thoughts toward Vittoria as his promised reward.
Across Rome, Vittoria Vetra wakes in pain with her hands tied behind her back. She finds herself in a torchlit stone chamber furnished like an ancient meeting hall. Through open doors leading to a balcony, she sees what appears to be the Vatican, confirming she is captive in a significant location near the heart of the crisis.
Who Appears
- Robert LangdonFights the Hassassin underwater and is left for dead in the fountain.
- The HassassinDrowns Baggia, believes Langdon is dead, and heads toward captive Vittoria.
- Cardinal BaggiaFinal kidnapped cardinal; dies by drowning while accepting his fate spiritually.
- Vittoria VetraWakes bound and injured in a torchlit chamber overlooking the Vatican.