Chapter 8 - The Falling Iron
Madeline let out a shriek, grabbing a heavy glass radio tube from the workbench and throwing it with all her small strength straight at Eleanor’s face.
The glass tube shattered against Eleanor’s cheek, cutting her skin and causing her to flinch, her gunshot veering wild.
The bullet slammed into the shortwave radio console, sending a shower of bright electrical sparks exploding across the small room.
In that fraction of a second, Nora lunged forward.
She didn't target Eleanor. She grabbed the heavy brass emergency fire extinguisher mounted beside the door and slammed it down onto the security contractor’s rifle barrel, forcing the weapon downward as a burst of automatic fire chewed through the wooden floorboards.
Nora kicked the contractor in the knee with all her weight. The man lost his footing on the slick floor, falling backward down the steep spiral stairs, taking Eleanor with him in a tangle of limbs and weapons.
The revolver clattered down the iron steps, disappearing into the dark depth of the tower below.
Nora slammed the heavy brass cabin door shut, shoving the broken steel desk against it to wedge it firmly against the frame.
She rushed back to the radio console.
The unit was sparking, smoke pouring from the shattered casing, but the broadcast light was still blinking red.
"Blackwood Lighthouse caller!" the Coast Guard operator’s voice boomed through the speaker, clear and thunderous. "We have localized your signal! Two tactical helicopter units and three state police marine vessels are landing on your position in two minutes! Hold your ground!"
From outside the high lantern room windows, the deafening thrum of heavy helicopter rotor blades suddenly cut through the howling wind.
Massive, blinding white searchlights swept through the broken glass of the lantern room, illuminating the dark interior with the brightness of noon.
A loudspeaker boomed from the sky, shaking the very foundation of the stone lighthouse:
"THIS IS THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD AND MAINE STATE POLICE! ALL ARMED PERSONNEL ON THE GROUND, DROP YOUR WEAPONS IMMEDIATELY AND SURRENDER! YOU ARE SURROUNDED!"
Down on the spiral stairs, the sound of mercenaries throwing down their weapons and raising their hands echoed up through the iron tower.
Eleanor Vance’s desperate, furious screams were swallowed whole by the roaring engines of the law above.
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Nora fell to her knees on the floor, dragging Madeline into her arms, weeping hysterically as the bright searchlights washed over them in a warm, protective mantle of white light.
It was over.
