Page 69 of The Diamond Thief
26
Jade
Once I have the key fob in my hand, I walk out into the bright Pennsylvania sunshine to find the car that goes with it.
But outside there’s nothing but a dirt road and trees. The only part of the bunker that’s actually visible is the rusty metal electrical shed. Everything else is buried in the hillside.
But somewhere there has to be a car. Unless he took it.
I walk back into the shed and step through the hole. The screen on the wall indicates that the air contamination is still 100%. Good. The last thing I need is those guys waking up while I’m trying to find a dang car.
I feel certain one is here. If Antony got Jacob to leave, then it wasn’t by choice. He didn’t just drive off. Somewhere is a hidden garage.
I walk through the rooms in the bunker, clicking the button. Nothing, nothing, nothing.
Think. Where would he put his car?
I mentally picture the structure of the bunker. The shed leads to the hillside, and directly behind it is this living area. The control room is at the same level to the left. The fake hotel is higher than the control room, because you slide down to get to it.
That leaves a space beneath the hotel room.
Is there a way into it?
The wall beeps.Sleeping agent complete.
Dang it. I’m out of time.
I hurry to the control room, where the men are still out on the floor. I take all the weapons I can find and toss them inside the cage, slamming the door shut so they can’t get to them. This will buy me more time.
I examine the wall. The metal has seams at the corners but no door I can find. I click and click on the fob, but still nothing.
The console beeps in the other room. I rush out to check the situation.
Air contamination. 90%.
Crap. Where could this car be?
I go back outside the shed, pulling the gas mask off. I don’t intend to go back in there. If I can’t find the car in the next ninety seconds, I have to take off running. I grimace down at my flats. Not the best shoes for it. But I have no choice.
If the garage space is in this hillside, there has to be a mega-exit for it to drive out of.
I walk around the shed, clicking the key fob over and over again. The hill is covered in brush, broken rock, and trees.
I walk through it, clicking madly.
Then I spot something.
It’s a strange outcropping of rock covered in vines and foliage, but it’s a different variety than I see everywhere else.
They were planted here later as something that would grow thicker than the native vegetation.
To conceal.
I click the key fob again. Nothing happens. There has to be a way into this thing.
The space is big enough for a car. I know it is. I feel like I’ve found it.
I find an actual piece of rock and scrape my finger across it. It’s not real rock. It doesn’t crumble properly. It’s some sort of combination of concrete and gravel. I take a deep breath and think.
