Chapter 17 - The Shadow Over the Sanctuary
Thirty miles off the coast of Chicago,
shrouded in the thick maritime mist of Lake Michigan,
lay Iron Reef Island.
The private sanctuary had been built by Gideon’s grandfather during the height of the mid-century steel boom,
constructed entirely of reinforced granite stone,
ballistic steel,
and subterranean concrete bunkers.
A lone lighthouse stood on the highest cliff,
its sweeping beam cutting through the dense fog like a golden sword.
At midnight,
Gideon’s heavily armored luxury vessel docked silently inside the hidden underground slipway beneath the lighthouse.
Lucas and eight elite Crosswell soldiers escorted Clara,
Lily,
and Elena into the subterranean living quarters.
The interior was warm,
brightly lit,
and fortified with three-foot-thick titanium blast doors.
Clara held Lily’s hand tightly as they walked through the grand stone corridor,
her eyes taking in the antique wooden furnishings and security monitors.
"Is this place safe,
Daddy Gideon?"
Lily asked,
clutching her plush teddy bear against her chest.
Gideon knelt down beside her,
adjusting the collar of her warm coat.
"This fortress was built to withstand a hurricane,
little one,"
Gideon reassured her with a gentle smile.
"Nothing can hurt you here."
He looked up at Elena,
giving her a firm nod.
"Keep them in the lower command vault until the perimeter is clear."
Gideon walked up the spiral stone staircase to the observation deck of the lighthouse.
Lucas was standing near the long-range radar console,
his binoculars pointed out toward the black churning waters of the open lake.
"Radar picked up three unregistered high-speed motor vessels approaching from the north,"
Lucas reported,
his voice tense.
"They're running without navigational lights,
boss."
"They bypassed the outer harbor sensors by hugging the deep-water shipping lanes."
"Colonel Vance Sterling has arrived,"
Gideon said,
drawing his twin tactical handguns from his holsters.
Outside,
a sudden flash of red illumination flares cut through the fog,
lighting up the night sky above the rocky shore.
The heavy hum of twin turbine boat engines vibrated through the air,
followed by the sound of iron grappling hooks slamming onto the stone cliffs below.
"They're scaling the eastern ridge!"
a guard shouted from the lower balcony.
Gideon stepped out onto the cold stone catwalk of the lighthouse,
the freezing wind whipping his coat as he looked down at the rising shadows below.
Twenty elite mercenaries dressed in white winter camouflage were ascending the steep granite rocks,
their silent assault rifles raised toward the gun ports.
"Open fire!"
Gideon roared,
May you like
aiming his handgun down at the lead climbing line.
The silence of the lake was instantly shattered by the deafening thunder of heavy defense weapons.
