In Manhattan at 2 a.m., editor Jonas Faukman stares out his office window, fearing something sinister after learning that only Katherine Solomon’s corporate server partition was affected. He considers calling Katherine in Prague but hesitates, not wanting to deliver devastating news in the early morning.

Faukman locks his office and retrieves a key hidden inside a coffee mug gifted by Robert Langdon. In a locked desk drawer, he finds his printed editorial copy of Katherine’s untitled manuscript—481 pages—confirming at least one version still exists because he works on paper.

Faukman decides to create a digital backup using OCR but refuses to use Random House’s networked scanners and copiers, worried the same hackers could access them. He chooses instead to go to a nearby 24-hour FedEx Office to scan and copy the manuscript anonymously, then seals the pages in a padded envelope and leaves the building with it in his backpack.

In the lobby, Faukman exchanges pleasantries with the night watchman, Mark, and heads out into the frigid, empty streets, focused on protecting the manuscript. Unnoticed by Faukman, a black van trails him from a block behind.

Back inside Random House Tower, PRH security technician Alex Conan confirms that every trace of Katherine’s manuscript and research folders has been scrubbed and is irretrievable. With no intrusion alerts or forensic traces of exploited vulnerabilities, Alex is alarmed by the hackers’ sophistication; when Alex calls Jonas and learns from Mark that Jonas has left the building, Alex resolves to do damage control and try to identify—and possibly counterhack—the attackers.