Chapter 24 - The Hunt in the Iron Spire
The high-caliber rotary cannon mounted beneath the helicopter’s chin spun up with a terrifying, mechanical whine.
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTT!*
A storm of armor-piercing rounds shredded through the lighthouse cupola. Brick exploded into dust, iron railings were severed like twigs, and the radio consoles burst into fountains of sparks and shattered plastic.
Ethan threw himself down the spiral stairwell, shielding Lily beneath his chest as rounds punched through the roof above them, raining molten shards of copper and glass.
Lily screamed, burying her face into Ethan’s neck. "Daddy! Big noise! Daddy!"
"Keep your eyes shut, Lily! Keep them shut!" Ethan growled through clenched teeth.
He didn't run downward. If they went to the ground floor, they would be trapped like rats in a barrel when the helicopter brought the structure down.
Instead, Ethan kicked open an intermediate maintenance hatch leading onto the lighthouse’s mid-level exterior gallery—a rusted iron catwalk circling the tower sixty feet above the jagged rocks.
The storm wind hit him like a physical blow. The searchlight of the helicopter wheeled around, slicing through the rain, hunting for them.
Inside the cockpit of the chopper, two mercenary operators wearing night-vision goggles scanned the tower walls. "Target located on the mid-catwalk. Take the father out. Secure the package."
A sniper leaned out of the helicopter’s side door, raising a suppressed semi-automatic rifle equipped with a laser sight. The red dot danced across the wet brickwork, moving inexorably toward Ethan’s chest.
Ethan saw the red dot. He looked down at the platform beneath his feet.
Sitting against the brickwork were three massive, industrial propane tanks used to power the emergency heat and auxiliary beacon generators. The regulator valve was rusted, but intact.
Ethan dropped his wrench, pulled the flare gun strapped to the wall near the emergency locker, and cracked the seal.
He had one shot. One second.
He looked at Lily. "Hold on to Daddy with both arms. Do not let go!"
Lily wrapped her small arms around his neck, locking her fingers together with all the strength in her tiny body.
The sniper squeezed the trigger.
*THWIP!*
The round took a chunk of flesh from Ethan’s shoulder, tearing through his trapezius muscle. Pain white-hot and blinding flared through his nervous system, but Ethan didn't flinch. He used the recoil of the hit to spin, kicking the main valve off the largest propane cylinder.
Pressurized gas hissed violently into the freezing air, forming an invisible cloud directly between the catwalk and the hovering helicopter.
May you like
Ethan raised the flare gun and fired directly into the vapor.
***
