Chapter 28 - The Confession at Gunpoint
Julian kicked open the door to the ranger station, carrying Emily inside and laying her down on the heavy wooden cot near the cold iron stove.
Helena went straight to work with lethal efficiency. She primed the diesel generator, bringing the small cabin’s heating elements to life, and began boiling water from the emergency stores.
"Daniel..." Emily whispered through gritted teeth as another agonizing contraction tore through her abdomen. "Julian... Daniel stayed behind. We have to know if he..."
"Daniel knew the risks, sweetheart," Helena said gently, wrapping a warm, sanitized blanket around Emily’s trembling legs. Her hands were steady, but the pain in her eyes was unmistakable. "My son died doing what a Vance was born to do: protecting the innocent. Now you have to focus on bringing this child into the world."
Julian held Emily’s hand tightly, brushing the damp curls away from her forehead. "I'm right here, Emily. Look at me. Breathe. Just breathe with me."
"It hurts, Julian... God, it hurts so much!" she cried out, arching her back as the labor progressed with terrifying speed, accelerated by the hours of adrenaline and physical trauma.
Suddenly, a loud thump echoed against the cabin’s outer porch.
Helena’s shotgun was raised before the sound had even faded. She moved like a shadow to the frosted window, wiping away the condensation with the back of her gloved hand.
On the porch, a figure collapsed against the timber railing.
Julian reached for the service pistol tucked in his belt, stepping between the door and the cot where Emily lay. "Who is it?"
Helena unlocked the door, keeping her weapon leveled at chest height, and kicked it outward.
A man tumbled across the threshold, groaning in agony. His tactical jacket was shredded, his right arm hung uselessly at his side, dislocated at the shoulder, and his face was black with soot and caked with dried blood.
"Danny!" Helena dropped the shotgun and fell to her knees beside her son.
Daniel groaned, spitting a mouthful of red into the dust, but a weak, battered grin cracked across his frostbitten lips. "Told you... I was... tough to kill."
"How did you survive the blast?!" Julian asked, staring in absolute disbelief at the bruised, battered soldier.
"Sub-level drainage chute..." Daniel wheezed, groaning as Helena expertly grabbed his dislocated shoulder and popped it back into the socket with a sickening *thump*. Daniel screamed into his sleeve, then took a ragged, deep breath. "Slid half a mile down the mountain... before the foundation blew. Walked... the rest of the way."
Emily let out a tearful, exhausted laugh from the cot. "You stubborn idiot..."
"Hey," Daniel murmured, struggling to sit up and leaning against the log wall, his eyes warming as he looked at Emily. "I promised I'd be the godfather. I don't break promises."
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Another scream tore from Emily’s throat, sharper and more urgent than before.
Helena immediately turned, her clinical focus snapping back into place. "Julian, hold her shoulders! Daniel, get more towels from the locker! Emily, push! Now!"
