Chapter 15 - The Ambush on the Cliff
The mud pulled at Daniel’s boots as he supported his grandmother, running along the cliffside path toward the main house. Rain blinded them; the Atlantic Ocean roared three hundred feet below, crashing violently against the jagged black reefs.
Suddenly, two figures stepped out from the darkness of the rose garden, their tactical rifles raised directly at Daniel’s chest.
"Freeze!" a voice commanded over the howling wind. "Hands behind your head!"
Arthur fired from thirty yards behind, dropping one of the operators, but the second turned and fired a burst directly at the old butler. Arthur let out a choked cry, tumbling into the mud, his weapon sliding across the wet flagstones.
"Arthur!" Daniel screamed, lunging forward, but Margaret seized Daniel's collar with a strength that defied her ninety-one years.
"Run, Daniel! Do not waste his sacrifice!"
Before Daniel could make a choice, the remaining operative turned his rifle toward Margaret. Daniel threw his entire body weight forward, tackling the mercenary into the sodden grass. They slammed against the edge of the stone balustrade overlooking the abyss.
Daniel grabbed the barrel of the rifle, forcing it upward as deafening rounds ripped into the stormy sky. He threw an elbow into the attacker's jaw, feeling cartilage snap beneath the blow. The operative gasped, dropping the weapon, and reached for a combat blade at his chest.
With a surge of adrenaline he didn't know he possessed, Daniel gripped the man’s tactical vest, pivoted on his heels, and leveraged the attacker’s own momentum. With a guttural roar, Daniel launched the operative over the balustrade. The man vanished into the blackness, his scream swallowed by the roar of the surf below.
Daniel collapsed against the stone railing, heaving for breath, rain washing the sweat and blood from his eyes.
He crawled back to Arthur. The butler was clutching his shoulder, blood pooling through his fingers, but he was breathing. "Go..." Arthur groaned. "Get her... to the Manhattan vault. The codes... are in her ring."
Margaret knelt beside Arthur, pressing a kiss against his weathered forehead. "Thank you, old friend. You have served with honor."
May you like
She stood, turning to Daniel. Her silver hair was plastered to her skull by the rain, her eyes glowing with absolute, cold fury. "The seaside sanctuary is compromised, Daniel. We take the underground tunnel to the mainland. We go to New York. It is time to face the devil where he sleeps."
---
