Chapter 56 - Siege on the Iron Isle
Before I could process Arthur’s confession, a high-pitched electronic screech ripped through the bunker's communications array.
Marcus lunged across the room, hitting the master console. The exterior perimeter cameras—small optic sensors concealed among the granite rocks outside—flickered to life. Through the thermal lenses, the dark Atlantic shoreline was crawling with activity.
Three high-speed combat zodiacs were cutting through the surf, deploying twelve heavily armed operators dressed in black combat gear. Above them, hovering low under the radar floor with their navigation lights completely blacked out, was a stealth tactical helicopter.
"They didn't lose us," Marcus cursed, slamming a fresh magazine into his assault rifle. "They tracked the interceptor's thermal exhaust before the scrubbers engaged. We have less than three minutes before they breach the upper levels."
"Can we seal the blast doors?" I asked, rushing to Noah's side and picking up his carrier, locking him securely against my tactical vest once more.
"The blast doors will hold against small arms, but they brought shaped thermite charges," Marcus said, racking the bolt. "If they breach the ventilation shaft, they’ll gas this room in seconds. We can't stay trapped in this hole."
"Then we make them pay for every foot of concrete," I said, picking up the modified semi-automatic rifle Marcus had set on the prep table. The mother who had wept in the hospital room five months ago was dead. The woman standing in this bunker was a soldier, forged in the fires of betrayal.
Arthur cowered against the wall, clutching his wounded shoulder. "You're insane! That's the Vanguard strike unit! They’re ex-Tier One operators! They’ll butcher us!"
"Then stay behind me, Arthur," I said coldly, adjusting the optic scope on my rifle. "Because if a single stray bullet hits my son, I won't need the Syndicate to end your miserable life."
A concussive blast rocked the ceiling above us, showering concrete dust over the consoles. The lights flickered and died, replaced instantly by the eerie red glow of emergency battery lamps. Through the steel vents, the unmistakable sound of hydraulic cutters tearing through the reinforced service hatches echoed through the dark corridors.
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Marcus looked at me through the crimson light, his jaw set in stone. "Escape tunnel leads through the old fuel cisterns to the western cliffs. I have a secondary Zodiac hidden under camouflage netting in the sea cave."
"Lead the way," I said, thumbing the rifle's safety off. "I'll cover the rear."
