Page 70 of The Diamond Thief

What would Jacob do? He clearly intended for me to get out of the bunker. He had enough faith that I would get this far. What would he do with this key fob that I would know? All I can do is push this button over and over again.

Wait.

Morse code.

I start clicking. E-M-E-R-A-L-D.

An engine starts. The ground rumbles.

Oh my gosh. I started a car. A hidden car.

How do I get it out? Does it know how to get out on its own? Or is that a totally different trigger? Dang it, Jacob. Did you have to make this so complicated?

I click the sequence again. The engine stops. Okay. It’s like a power on/off.

I run the letters one more time. The engine starts. How do I get to it? I walk along the edge of the rock. And then I remember. Jacob always puts in a delay. Always. So I stand perfectly still and wait for a count of thirty.

The engine revs, and suddenly the rock parts, and the sleek gray Aston Martin roars forward.

I want to squeal. I did it. It’s here!

It slams to a stop just outside the hillside. I open the door. When I sit on the seat, a gentle female voice inside the car says, “Driver not recognized.”

God. Surely he’s not going to gas me in the car.

I take a deep breath and hold it. The car continues talking. “Please state your name.”

What do I tell it? I certainly can’t give it my real name. That will register as an enemy instantly.

I decide to continue on the theme.

“Emerald.”

The voice says, “Emerald is not a registered driver.” The engine kills.

“Wait!” I say. “Imelda. Imelda Holt.”

The voice is soothing as it tells me, “Imelda Holt passed away on May 16, 2016. However, you have initiated the guest pass.”

The engine fires up again.

“Where did Jacob get this car?” I ask.

“That’s classified information,” the woman says kindly. It’s so odd, like I’m having a conversation.

“Oh, you can tell me, woman to woman,” I say.

“I am not actually a woman. I am a digitally created voice in the higher spectrum of the human range of vocalization.”

“You’re spoiling the magic.”

She has no response to that.

It doesn’t matter. I know exactly where Jacob got this car. The Vigilantes. Only they have cars like this. But how did he get it? He isn’t a Vigilante. This I know for sure.

“What name should I call you?” the car asks.

I think about this. I still can’t tell it my real name. Emerald didn’t work. And Marissa is what the Den gave me.