EXT PIAZZA DEL POPOLO DUSK

Langdon dashes down the stairs outside the church and into the

middle of the piazza. It's getting dark now, shadows streaking

the square.

LANGDON

Southwest... it points southwest...

He gets his bearings, looks to the southwest, sees nothing but

buildings in the way.

He runs back up the church steps, where Vittoria and Rocher are

just coming outside. Langdon's mind is racing.

LANGDON (cont'd)

Earth-air-fire-water, we're looking

for a Bernini sculpture having

something to do with air...

(to Rocher)

And the next church is southwest of

here.

ROCHER

You're sure this time?

LANGDON

I need a map. One that shows all

the churches in Rome.

Rocher just stares at him, studying him.

LANGDON (cont'd)

I could use it now.

Rocher starts down the steps toward his car.

LANGDON (cont'd)

And a compass!

He looks around, sees the rickety scaffolding outside the church,

and ---

53.

A MOMENT LATER,

--- he climbs into our view, now on the scaffolding. He's moving

upward, fast, toward ---

EXT CHURCH ROOF DUSK

--- the roof of the old church, also undergoing renovation. The

view of Rome is spectacular from up here, and Langdon rushes to

the western wall, looking intently off in that direction.

He sees something that makes him suck in his breath, hears a voice

from behind him ---

VITTORIA (O.S.)

Robert!

--- and turns as Vittoria tosses something small and black up to

him.

A compass. He catches it, holds it steady, and walks toward the

edge of the roof as the compass needle swivels and settles on SW.

Langdon looks up, following the line of the needle, up over the

rooftops of Rome, to a massive structure in the distance, exactly

in line with the compass needle.

A huge dome on the horizon blots out the setting sun.

ST. PETER'S BASILICA.

CUT TO:

INT CAR NIGHT

CLOSE ON a map of Rome, unfolded in the back seat of a racing car

and spread out over Langdon and Vittoria's laps. Langdon has a

pen and is drawing a line on the map, through --

LANGDON

The black rectangles with crosses are

churches, and none of them intersect

the line until it comes to an end,

right in the middle of St. Peter's

Square.

Night has fallen, and the four Alfa Romeos are now speeding across

Rome. No sirens, but lots of speed. Olivetti drives, Rocher

is in the passenger seat.

54.

ROCHER

Your theory doesn't hold up,

Professor. Michelangelo designed

St. Peter's, not Bernini.

LANGDON

The Basilica is Michelangelo, but the

square is Bernini. The second

marker must be a statue in the square.

VITTORIA

It's ten minutes till nine! Can we

go any faster?!

ROCHER

Not unless we want the full attention

of the world press.

She looks down, to two television screens mounted into the backs

of the front seats. Both are tuned to coverage of the papal

selection process, REPORTERS doing stand-ups from the middle of

crowded St. Peter's Square.

We move in on one of the images, then into the image, coming out -

CUT TO:

EXT ST. PETER'S SQUARE NIGHT

--- on a television monitor in St. Peter's Square. The Reporter, a

JAPANESE WOMAN, is giving a stand-up report on the progress so

far, gesturing to the chimney over the Sistine Chapel.

The crowd has grown, now four thousand, maybe five. FLASHBULBS

POP. A few PROTESTERS CHANT.

Almost silently, behind them all, half a dozen black Alfa Romeos

race in, too fast, and come to an abrupt halt.

IN ROCHER'S CAR,

they all get out, trying to avoid causing a panic.

Langdon walks into the square, eyes focused on an object in the

middle.

LANGDON

Another obelisk. We're close.

He looks up, at row after row of statues that ring the square from

atop the oval colonnades.

SHARPSHOOTERS scurry among the statuary, setting themselves up.

55.

In the crowd, Rocher MUTTERS into his radio and to undercover

SWISS GUARD scattered throughout. The crowd is unaware of them.

Langdon keeps walking, turning in circles, looking above him, to

the tops of the colonnades that border the square.

VITTORIA

There must be a hundred statues up

there, which one is it?

LANGDON

How in God's name would anyone make a

sculpture about air?

And indeed there are. Langdon looks at his watch. Two

minutes to nine.

And then he freezes. Staring down, not up.

He takes a step back. There is a fresco carved into the square

beneath his feet, or more accurately --

LANGDON (cont'd)

Bas relief!

He takes a step back, to look at the carving, as does Vittoria.

LANGDON (cont'd)

The other half of sculpture is bas

relief.

(to Vittoria)

Look for more! Something having to

do with air!

They move through the crowd, pushing people aside, causing a bit

of a ruckus as they try to uncover the elaborate carvings in the

stone of the square.

(IF WE ARE EAGLE-EYED, at this point we will see TWO ROBED MEN,

one helping the other, who carries a cross, as they pass through

the crowd behind Langdon.)

Remembering something, Langdon rushes forward, toward the center

of the square, uncharacteristically brusque with the crowd,

shoving his way through now.

He draws close to one carving in particular, slows to a stop, and

stares down at it, eyes wide.

It's a carving of an angel's face, cheeks billowing outward as it

blows a gust of wind, symbolized by five vertical streaks. Its

title is ---

56.

LANGDON (cont'd)

"West Ponente." The West Wind. An

angel's face and five streaks. Air!

So this is it, but now what? They look around frantically,

scanning the crowd. So does Rocher, so does Olivetti. The

BELLS of St. Peter's start to TOLL the hour.

NEARBY,

a LITTLE GIRL dances with a doll. Happily unaware of what's

going on.

ELSEWHERE,

some PROTESTERS tangle. Some believe one thing, others don't.

Swiss Guard and Vatican Police race in to break it up. But there's

no bloodshed.

CLOSE TO THAT,

a ROBED MAN carrying a small wooden cross falls to the ground.

Somebody near him SCREAMS.

NEARBY,

the Little Girl is jostled by a HOMELESS MAN, drops her doll.

THE ROBED MAN

is helped to his feet by the Police. He's fine. He wanders

away, holding his cross high.

And as he passes us, we catch just a glimpse of his face ---

--and recognize Mr. Gray.

THE LITTLE GIRL

bends down, picks up her doll, and sees --

-- IT'S COVERED IN BLOOD.

She looks down at the ground, sees a trail of blood, follows it

with her eyes to where ---

-- the Homeless Man, dressed in torn rags, leans against a

fountain, gasping for breath.

ACROSS THE CROWD,

57.

Vittoria and Langdon hear the SCREAMS. They're closest, and

they're at the fountain in just a few seconds.

Langdon drops to his knees, turns the Homeless Man over.

Through the man's torn shirt, he can see a black and red brand

burned into his chest.

Three letters, ornate script, reading the same front to back:

AIR.

Vittoria grabs his arm, feels for a pulse.

VITTORIA

He's still alive!

But the dying Cardinal is gasping for breath, his mouth opening

and closing like a fish on a dock.

She bends down, arches his neck, closes her mouth over his, and

blows air into his lungs.

Immediately, a fog of red mist BILLOWS from two puncture holes in

the man's chest, covering Langdon in blood --- his face, his

clothes.

VITTORIA (cont'd)

His chest! They punctured his lungs!

Langdon recoils in horror, overcome, completely out of his depth.

Rocher arrives, as does Olivetti, as do a DOZEN MORE SWISS GUARD

and VATICAN POLICE. Rocher looks around, defeated and enraged,

as the Cardinal expires and the Crowd panics, fleeing in all

directions.

He presses his radio to his lips and keys the mic.

ROCHER

Clear the square.

CUT TO:

INT BATHROOM NIGHT

Blood and water swirl down a drain. Langdon looks up from the

sink, water rushing from his face. He dries himself, looks in the

mirror. He holds up his hands. They're shaking.

He's standing in a lavish marble bathroom, now cleaned up and

changed into black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt. No

Roman collar, they don't just give you those, but clearly the

clothes of a priest. He steps out of the bathroom and into ---

58.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 634