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Trapped in the powerless Secret Archives, Robert Langdon panics as the revolving door refuses to move and the sealed glass vault leaves him with dwindling air. He tries brute force first, using an aluminum ladder as a battering ram, but the thick glass does not break. Langdon then remembers that Commander Olivetti took his gun and that the guard’s walkie-talkie is outside the vault, leaving him isolated.

Langdon forces himself to lie down, slow his breathing, and think through his options. After rejecting the idea of moving heavy furniture or file cabinets, Langdon realizes the narrow aisles and tall book stacks might help him create enough force to break the glass.

Langdon climbs a shelf, braces his feet against the glass wall, and uses his body like a lever to rock the stack forward. After repeated pushes, the stack tips, striking the next one and setting off a domino effect through the archive shelves. The final stack hits the glass wall, but at first the glass holds, leaving Langdon near unconsciousness.

After a tense delay, the stressed glass finally fractures and explodes outward, letting air rush into the vault. Bleeding but alive, Langdon reaches a walkie-talkie and contacts the Vatican guards.

In the Vatican Grottoes, Vittoria Vetra hears Langdon’s voice over a guard’s radio while she stands near the Pope’s corpse. Langdon demands to speak with Camerlegno Ventresca rather than Rocher, says someone tried to kill him, and reveals that he knows where the next murder will occur. Before Langdon can explain, Commander Olivetti cuts in and orders him not to say another word.