A SHORT TIME LATER, A DISSOLVE,

and the line is gone. Mortati holds the chalice with all the

votes. He shakes it, chooses one---

MORTATI

Eligo in summum pontificem --

-- and reads an unfamiliar name.

He makes a note in a ledger, then raises a threaded needle and

pierces the ballot through the word "Eligo," sliding the ballot on

the thread.

A SHORT TIME LATER, ANOTHER DISSOLVE,

and there are a hundred and sixty-one ballots on the thread,

Mortati looks up from his ledger and speaks to the room.

MORTATI

The first ballot has failed.

He takes He thread carrying all the ballots and ties the ends

together to create a ring.

He lays the ring of ballots on a silver tray. Dusts the tray

heavily with a yellowish powder.

A DOOR OPENS

on a small incinerator. The ring of ballots is hurled inside and

bursts immediately into flame.

50.

A dark, brackish smoke billows up from the burning ballots, and we

follow the smoke up, up, into the chimney --

EXT ST. PETER'S SQUARE DUSK

--- and to the roof of the Sistine Chapel, where the black iUPke

puffs out into the early evening sky.

Below, a CROWD OF THOUSANDS GROANS in disappointment as the

message is sent --- no new pope yet.

But while they are all watching the smoke, we turn our attention?

to the opposite direction, to the east, across Rome, to where ---

CUT TO:

EXT PIAZZA DEL POPOLO DUSK

--- those black Alfa Romeos, four this time, glide silently to a

halt outside the church where Langdon just found the corpse. Swiss

Guard in black suits pour out of the vehicles and hurry into the

church, trying to attract as little attention as possible.

INT SANTA MARIA DEL POPOLO DUSK

The inside of the church is being sealed off as a crime scene.

Rocher, just arriving, takes charge as the plastic is RIPPED off

the Chigi Chapel.

ROCHER

Get that body out of there and search

the rest of the building.

Swiss Guardsmen drop into the demon's hole to remove the body.

ROCHER (cont'd)

(to another Guardsman)

Outside -- a perimeter. Secure but

invisible. No lights, no guns, no

one knows. Understood?

Langdon, lost in thought, drifts through the small chapel, studying

the intricate carvings and other artwork.

LANGDON

Earthly symbology... everywhere...

Rocher passes through his field of vision, livid:

ROCHER

Why the hell didn't you figure this

out in the first place?

51.

It was more a rhetorical question, but Langdon answers honestly,

still lost in thought, his voice soft.

LANGDON

I made a mistake.

He drifts toward a statue, of the highest quality white marble,

resting in a niche on the far side, out of the way of the mayhem.

Vittoria joins him.

VITTORIA

Is it Raphael?

LANGDON

The chapel is. But the sculptures

are Bernini.

(STUNNED)

The unknown Illuminati master was

Bernini.

VITTORIA

Didn't he work for the Church?

LANGDON

Almost exclusively. It means the

Illuminati even infiltrated the

Vatican. They hid in plain sight.

He steps closer to the statue. It's of two life-size human

figures, intertwined, one a regal, bearded man, the other a

cherub, floating overhead.

LANGDON (cont'd)

Habakkuk and the Angel.

VITTORIA

Habakkuk?

LANGDON

The prophet who predicted the

annihilation of the earth. This is

the first marker.

He steps closer, studying it carefully.

LANGDON (cont'd)

"Let angels guide you on your lofty

quest..."

His eyes move slowly over the statue, and ours do too, from the

angel's innocent face, down his arm, and to his right hand, which

is outstretched, one finger extended --

52.

-- pointing the way.

LANGDON (cont'd)

The Path is alive.

CUT TO:

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 704