Langdon and Vidal Escape the Museum

The assassination of Edmond Kirsch at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao triggers a desperate flight by Robert Langdon and Ambra Vidal. With the help of Kirsch's synthetic intelligence, Winston, the two escape the museum and make their way to Kirsch's private jet at Bilbao Airport, setting in motion a race to Barcelona to find the password that will unlock Kirsch's scientific discovery.

The Escape from the Dome

Immediately after Kirsch is shot, Langdon is tackled by a Guardia Real agent who suspects he had advance knowledge of the attack. While pinned to the artificial turf, Langdon receives a warning through his bone-conduction headset from Winston, who has identified the assassin as retired Spanish navy admiral Luis Ávila. When the lights in the dome go out on Winston's cue, Langdon and Ambra seize the opportunity. Rather than fleeing through the exit tunnel where the Guardia agents expect them, they double back inside the dome, find the slit in the fabric wall through which Agent Díaz had earlier pursued the shooter, and climb out into the scaffolding outside the domed theater. Ambra throws her phone into the darkened tunnel to mislead the agents, who find it and assume she has gone that way. Winston then poses as a museum security officer on the phone with the Guardia, directing them to a gallery at the far end of the building while Langdon and Ambra slip down a stairwell to the ground floor.

The Water Taxi and the River

Exiting through a metal door into a service alley, Langdon and Ambra find rosary beads scattered on the ground—a remnant of Ávila's escape. Winston's voice cuts out as the headset loses its connection to the museum's network. Following Winston's earlier instructions, they move to the walkway beneath La Salve Bridge on the Nervión River. A yellow water taxi, arranged and prepaid by Winston, arrives with no running lights. The disheveled captain, promised triple fare for "speed and discretion," helps them aboard. As the boat speeds westward along the river, Langdon sees the Guggenheim's giant black widow spider sculpture eerily illuminated by police lights and a news helicopter streaking toward the museum. Ambra, shivering in her evening dress, accepts Langdon's jacket. She tells him that she added Ávila's name to the guest list at the request of her fiancé, Prince Julián, and that she fears she is in danger. Langdon deciphers the code Edmond wrote on a business card—BIO-EC346—as the airport code for Bilbao Airport and the tail number of Kirsch's private jet.

The Airport and the Jet

The water taxi drops them at a small bridge called Puerto Bidea, where they climb a hill and cross a train track. Winston, now reachable through Edmond's smartphone, guides them through a hayfield toward the airport. The jet's pilot, Captain Josh Siegel, has been instructed by Winston to taxi to the far end of the access ramp and hold there. When Langdon and Ambra arrive at the perimeter fence, the jet's nose cone pushes against a steel support post, toppling it and creating an opening. They board the Gulfstream G550, and the pilot, after backing away from the sagging fence, takes off for Barcelona. Ambra, now aboard, tells Langdon that Edmond's presentation is stored on a secure off-site server and can only be triggered by a forty-seven-character password—a line of poetry that is Edmond's favorite. She believes the password may be found in Edmond's home in Barcelona, at Casa Milà.