IN THE DARKENED LEFT AISLE

Olivetti creeps forward, gun at the ready, Vincenzo close behind

him.

They see a form on the floor in front of them and Olivetti bends

down -- it's the first Vatican Policeman.

Dead in a pool of his own blood.

80.

Vincenzo, standing behind Olivetti, looks down, horrified, and in

that moment of distraction, a figure creeps up behind him --

-- and twists his head 180 degrees with one smooth motion.

Olivetti whirls, but his gun comes around a split-second slower

than he does and in that split-second a shadow falls over him,

something SLASHES through the air and --

IN THE MAIN AISLE,

Langdon struggles to climb the pew that's leaned against the wall

as Vatican Cop 4 finds a long-handled candle snuffer and races

toward the edge of the fire with it.

Blinking back the intense heat, he manages to hook the Cardinals

manacled foot with it, he turns to Langdon--

-- who, stretched as far as he possibly can, just manages to

loose the wire from its cleat, holding tightly to it so as not to

let the Cardinal go into free-fall.

But the pew on which he's balanced starts to wobble, then- --

-- BLAM! BLAM!

Two gunshots THUD into the chests of Vatican Cops 2 & 3, who were

supporting the pew. They fall, the pew tips --

-- and Langdon, falling --

-- loses his grip on the chain.

The Cardinal falls toward the flames. Vatican Cop 4 tries to pull

him to safety, but doesn't have enough of WHIRRS through the

pulley until it reaches its the Cardinal to an abrupt stop, six

feet lower

-- and directly in the middle of the bonfire.

His SHRIEK of agony echoes through the burning church.

Langdon SLAMS to the floor just at the edge of the burning church

pews, maybe CRACKING a rib on the hard floor of the church.

A FIGURE steps out of the shadows, looming over him, Langdon looks

up, expecting a gunshot, but instead --

-- sees the bleeding figure of Olivetti, staggering toward him,

clutching his slit throat in his last moments of life.

NEARBY,

81.

Vatican Cop 4 is desperately trying to pull the Cardinal from the

flames, the end of the candle-snuffer is now hooked around the

Cardinal's foot, he pulls him closer, reaches out, can almost grab

his ankle --

-- until he is SHOT in the back. He falls to the floor,

drawing and dropping his gun in the process, losing his grip on

the long-handled pole as well.

On the ground, bleeding, he sees his gun, just a foot away from

his hand.

He reaches for it.

And a foot steps on his wrist, BREAKING it.

Mr. Gray stands over him, implacable.

FROM A DISTANCE,

we see Mr. Gray fire two shots into the ground where Cop 4 is

lying.

Then he turns toward us.

NEARBY,

Langdon, still on the ground, looks up at the sound of the shots.

Through the burning church pews he can see Mr. Gray, starting

toward him.

Langdon crawls, on all fours, through the outskirts of the

bonfire, toward a recessed part of the wall ten or fifteen feet

away.

Mr. Gray steps up behind him, raises his gun --

VOICE (O.S.)

Polizia!

-- and turns. TWO MORE COPS, Roman Carbinieri, have run into

the burning church and are making their way down the center aisle,

straight toward him.

Mr. Gray raises his left (non-gun holding) hand, displaying a

leather billfold with a badge in it.

MR. GRAY

(good Italian accent)

Gendarmeria Vaticano!

Recognizing the ID, the two Cops glance away for a second, to

search the rest of the church --

82.

-- and Mr. Gray BLASTS two shots into each of them.

They drop, dead, but one of them squeezes off a single round

before falling.

Mr. Gray looks down, at his right shoulder, where a dark red stain

is spreading on his suit. He touches it, more annoyed than

anything.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 545