I stand with my back to the door. The console beeps and the screen changes.Exit sequence not initiated. Sleeping agent deployed. Air Contamination 100%.
Good. I stand with my back to the wall, my left hand resting on the table. Jacob is not left-handed. I reach out with my right hand and fingerspell “Imelda.” Nothing happens. I try “Janice” like his Manhattan vault. Nothing.
What would his most secret of secrets be? The keys to his most private bunker?
I picture him saying the words I’d waited for. That he had once known a girl he could not forget.
And I don’t dare think that I know the secret word.
But I try it. I fingerspell the letters to Emerald.
I hear a faint click, and I’m not sure what makes my heart more full, the knowledge that I was correct or the concealed metal drawer that slides out just to the right of the door.
Inside is a handgun, a grenade, a dart gun with three darts, and a set of keys with an Aston Martin logo.
Bingo. Now to just find the car that goes with these keys.
