The smoke alarm triggers museum staff to unbolt and enter the Baroque Library despite Lieutenant Pavel’s orders. As docents and employees with extinguishers rush in and struggle to access the concealed door to the stairwell, Pavel climbs his improvised ladder atop an exhibit case, determined to reach the balcony and kill Robert Langdon.

Near the top, Pavel assesses the smoke thinning under powerful ventilation and sees the trapdoor still open, believing he now has the high ground for a surprise shot. Just as he prepares to pull himself onto the balcony railing, an authoritative woman orders him to stop; Pavel is stunned to see she is accompanied by two armed U.S. Marines in embassy dress.

In the stairwell, Langdon ensures the fire is fully out and reflects on how he created the smoke: he used hand sanitizer from Katherine Solomon’s bag to ignite a tightly rolled page, then produced heavy smoke by melting a plastic water bottle onto the burning manuscript. The printer paper burned faster than expected, briefly risking a real disaster, but Langdon finishes extinguishing embers and prepares to leave, while Katherine, distraught, has already descended in silence after watching her manuscript burn.

Outside the hidden door, Marine Embassy Guard Morgan Dudley announces that Langdon is safe to exit, that Pavel has relinquished his weapon, and that the “Blue Alert” has been canceled. Langdon hesitates, fearing impersonation, until Dudley slides an official laminated credential under the door bearing an embossed American eagle.

In the library, Dana Daněk—dispatched on Ambassador Nagel’s urgent order—waits as ÚZSI fumes at the embassy’s intervention and is forced to issue an “Alert Retraction.” When the bookcase finally opens and Langdon emerges, Dana is relieved, but her surprise deepens when she sees the woman with him and instantly recognizes Katherine Solomon.