Crucifix Bastion, a medieval fortification built by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV on a ridge above Prague, has been modernized into the Gessner Institute. An ÚZSI sedan brings Robert Langdon there, and Langdon studies the imposing structure, realizing this is Brigita Gessner’s private lab and worrying about Katherine Solomon’s whereabouts.

Captain Oldrich Janáček hustles Langdon through falling snow toward the entrance. Langdon notices footprints in the fresh dusting, likely including Katherine’s, and grows more anxious when they reach a reinforced, frosted-glass door that will not open.

Janáček tries to gain entry by rapping on the glass and using a call box with a biometric finger scanner and intercom. With no response, Langdon wonders why a lab Gessner claimed was secured by an “ingeniously clever passcode” has no keypad, and why no one inside is answering.

Janáček calls Katherine Solomon’s cell phone on speaker, but it goes straight to voicemail, raising concerns about connectivity or Katherine’s situation inside. Frustrated, Janáček orders his driver, Lieutenant Pavel, to shoot the door; Pavel fires six shots into a tight cluster, then kicks through the weakened panel until the reinforced glass collapses inward.

Shocked that Janáček risked firing into an occupied entryway, Langdon refuses to stay behind. With Pavel signaling the way is clear, Janáček pushes Langdon forward, and Langdon steps through the shattered doorway into the institute, determined not to leave Katherine alone with them.