Chapter 8 - Fire Watchtower
The old wooden fire watchtower loomed out of the swirling mountain fog like a skeletal sentinel, its rusted metal stairs groaning under the fierce November wind.
Natalie, holding Liam tightly by the hand, followed closely behind Dante as they crested the ridge. Goliath trotted heavily beside them, his massive form unfazed by the bitter cold. The rain had finally slowed to a persistent, heavy mist, coating the trees in a shimmering layer of ice.
"We're almost there," Dante panted, his hand pressed against his bandaged ribs as he climbed the rocky slope. Despite the pain, he kept the hunting rifle raised, scanning the tree line for any sign of Marcus's scouts.
They reached the clearing at the base of the watchtower just as a distant, rhythmic thump-thump-thump echoed through the heavy mountain air.
A sleek, unmarked twin-engine federal surveillance helicopter broke through the gray fog, its landing lights cutting blinding beams through the mist as it hovered smoothly above the clearing, lowering its skids onto the muddy grass.
The cabin door slid open, and two armed federal agents in tactical gear jumped out, securing the perimeter while a third motioned frantically for them to board.
"Move, move, move!" Agent Miller yelled over the deafening roar of the rotor blades, stepping down from the cabin to meet them. He was a tall, sharp-featured man in a federal windbreaker, his eyes widening slightly as he saw Dante leaning heavily against the rock face, bleeding through his clothes.
"You look like hell, Vance," Miller shouted, grabbing Dante's arm to help him toward the chopper.
"Save the commentary, Miller," Dante grunted, guiding Natalie and Liam toward the open cabin door. "Get the boy and the nurse inside. They're priority one."
Natalie lifted Liam into the warm interior of the helicopter, strapping him safely into a jump seat before climbing in beside him. Goliath scrambled up behind them, taking up half the cabin floor with his massive, rumbling frame.
Dante turned to climb aboard last, his foot already on the metal skid, when a sharp, high-pitched whistle cut through the roar of the rotors.
Crack!
A bullet punched through the metal housing of the helicopter's tail rotor, sending a shower of sparks flying into the mist.
"Ambush!" Miller roared, drawing his sidearm and dropping into a tactical crouch behind the landing skid.
From the treeline fifty yards away, three syndicate gunmen emerged from the fog, automatic weapons raised, laying down a devastating wall of suppressing fire toward the watchtower clearing.
"Get in! Now!" Dante yelled, shoving Miller toward the cabin door while raising his hunting rifle to return fire.
Natalie screamed as a round shattered the helicopter's exterior window glass, showering the cabin in glittering shards. Liam buried his face in her lap, crying out in terror.
"Dante! Grab my hand!" Natalie yelled over the deafening gunfire, reaching out from the cabin door.
Dante fired twice into the treeline, dropping one of the advancing gunmen, but as he turned to leap onto the helicopter skid, a round struck him squarely in the shoulder, spinning him around and knocking him down into the mud.
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"No!" Natalie cried, unbuckling her seatbelt with reckless abandon, ready to jump out after him.
Before she could move, Goliath lunged past her with an explosive roar, leaping out of the open cabin door like a gray cannonball straight into the mist toward the remaining gunmen.
