Escape from the Guggenheim

The assassination of Edmond Kirsch at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao triggers a desperate flight by Robert Langdon and Ambra Vidal, who escape the building with the aid of Kirsch's synthetic intelligence, Winston, to evade both the assassin and the Guardia Real, setting in motion their race to release Kirsch's discovery to the world.

The Assassination and Immediate Aftermath

As Edmond Kirsch stood at the podium in the domed planetarium theater, receiving a wild ovation after his introductory video, an earsplitting crack echoed inside the dome and a red crater blossomed in his forehead. His body tipped to one side and plummeted toward the floor, his blood-spattered head bouncing hard on the artificial turf. Ambra Vidal, watching from the wings, was tackled to the ground by a Guardia agent as pandemonium erupted. Robert Langdon, who had been rushing toward the podium after receiving a warning from Winston, was immobilized by another agent who drove his shoulder into Langdon's sternum, sending him sailing backward through the air. The assassin, later identified as Admiral Luis Ávila, escaped through a slit in the fabric wall, using a rosary made of Vectran fiber to bind the exit doors shut, delaying his pursuers long enough to flee in a waiting Uber sedan.

Winston's Warning and the Decision to Flee

Langdon had been warned by Winston, Kirsch's synthetic docent, that a guest named Admiral Luis Ávila had been added to the guest list at the last minute and had abandoned his headset. Winston had flagged Ávila as a former Spanish navy admiral discharged for alcoholism and post-traumatic stress suffered in a terrorist attack. When Langdon relayed this information to Agent Fonseca, Ambra Vidal reacted with visible shock, and Winston privately informed Langdon that Ambra herself had added Ávila's name to the guest list. Ambra then confessed to Langdon that she had done so at the request of her fiancé, Prince Julián, who had called from the Royal Palace. She urged Langdon that they needed to escape to Kirsch's home in Barcelona to find a password that would unlock Kirsch's presentation. Langdon agreed, and with Winston's help, they devised a plan to evade the Guardia agents.

The Deception and Escape Through the Museum

On Langdon's cue, Winston killed the lights in the dome, plunging the theater into darkness. Langdon and Ambra, instead of entering the exit tunnel, doubled back along the inner wall and climbed through the torn opening in the fabric wall through which the Guardia agent had pursued the assassin. Ambra threw her phone into the darkened passageway to mislead the agents. Winston then posed as a museum security officer on the phone with the Guardia agents, misdirecting them to a gallery at the far end of the building. Langdon and Ambra made their way to an emergency exit stairwell, descended to ground level, and exited the museum into a service alley, where they found rosary beads scattered on the ground. Winston's voice guided them to the riverbank beneath La Salve Bridge, where a water taxi was waiting.

The Water Taxi and the Journey to the Airport

The disheveled captain of the water taxi told them that "your British man" had called and paid triple for speed and discretion. As the boat skimmed westward along the Nervión River, Langdon deciphered the code Edmond had written on a business card: BIO-EC346. BIO was the airport code for Bilbao Airport, and EC346 was the tail number of Edmond's private jet. The water taxi took them only part of the way, and they walked three hundred meters to a field beside the airport. Winston had instructed the pilots of Kirsch's Gulfstream G550 to hold at the end of the access ramp. The pilots, initially confused, were told by Winston that the same people who murdered Kirsch were now trying to kill Ambra and Langdon. The jet's nose cone was used to push over a fence post, creating an opening through which Langdon and Ambra climbed onto the tarmac and boarded the plane. The jet then took off for Barcelona, with Langdon and Ambra now committed to finding Kirsch's password and releasing his discovery to the world.