blackness behind him, and continued to grow louder until he finally sensed that whoever it was, quite literally, was right behind him.
A wave of cold air rushed over Declan as he tried to gather himself, and he could feel the slow steady breathes on the back of his neck. With a rush of adrenaline, he whipped around to see the lifeless blank eyes of David Stanton only inches from his own in the darkness.
Declan shot up in bed, sweating and breathing hard, as if he’d just run a forty-yard sprint. He looked to his left to find Megan sleeping peacefully next to him.
Chapter 22
December 24 th
Declan got out of bed and tried to gather himself, to shake off the nightmare and the uneasy feeling that had been with him since seeing David Stanton out on the balcony earlier that evening. He was certain he and Megan had listened to, and witnessed, something extraordinarily evil, but was uncertain what. Unable to go back to sleep, Declan reached down beneath the headboard and removed a 9mm Glock 19, then went out to the living room.
He got his gun-cleaning kit out of the hall closet, sat down on the sofa, and began cleaning the Glock 19, which had belonged to his dad. His dad had named the gun “The Lone Ranger” after his favorite TV show when he was a kid. Declan couldn’t count the number of Lone Ranger reruns he’d watched with his dad and Evan growing up, or the number of times he and Evan had played Lone Ranger and Tonto with their own toy guns; going after bad guys and rescuing the townspeople, not to mention one another, when things went wrong. They’d vowed as “blood brothers” to always be there for each other.
“The Lone Ranger” was the only possession of his dad’s Declan had wanted when he died. His mom finally gave it to him on the day he’d graduated from the Academy, and he’d kept it in perfect condition. For whatever reason, holding it gave him a sense of calm and he often resorted to cleaning the gun when he felt out of sorts. As he cleaned “The Lone Ranger”, Declan turned on one of the cable news channels.
“The retaliatory strikes continue here in Israel as the situation here in the Middle East seems to be quickly spiraling out of control,” the reporter began. “It began earlier in the week when Israel unilaterally, and without provocation, struck Iranian nuclear facilities. Almost immediately, rocket and missile fire began coming from Gaza, Lebanon and the Syrian border. Syria then initiated prolonged missile fire into Israel, inflicting serious damage on outlying parts of Tel Aviv, and ISIS fighters based in Syria and Jordan began engaging in skirmishes with Israeli Defense Force troops along the borders. Reportedly, two Israeli soldiers have been taken captive in the fighting. With no end in sight to the ongoing Syrian civil war, some have speculated that the Assad regime saw an opportunity to deflect the attention and recent momentum of the various rebel groups, if only temporarily, and draw the Israelis into a wider regional conflict.”
“The Syrian government’s assault began when a series of Tishreen medium range missiles were fired from a location near Damascus into Israel. The initial missiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, but were quickly followed by other Tishreen’s and, reportedly Iranian made Shahab 3 medium range missiles, many of which reached parts of Tel Aviv and Hebron, inflicting some casualties and serious damage.”
“The Israelis have responded with precision air strikes on military targets in and around Damascus, which, instead of quelling the conflict, appear to have prompted quick retaliation in the form of numerous, apparently coordinated, rocket and missile attacks from Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and ISIS held areas in Jordan. The United States, the EU and Russia have all condemned Israel’s unprovoked attack against Iran.”
“As I stand here on the roof of my hotel, the rocket and missile barrage, seemingly from all
A wave of cold air rushed over Declan as he tried to gather himself, and he could feel the slow steady breathes on the back of his neck. With a rush of adrenaline, he whipped around to see the lifeless blank eyes of David Stanton only inches from his own in the darkness.
Declan shot up in bed, sweating and breathing hard, as if he’d just run a forty-yard sprint. He looked to his left to find Megan sleeping peacefully next to him.
Chapter 22
December 24 th
Declan got out of bed and tried to gather himself, to shake off the nightmare and the uneasy feeling that had been with him since seeing David Stanton out on the balcony earlier that evening. He was certain he and Megan had listened to, and witnessed, something extraordinarily evil, but was uncertain what. Unable to go back to sleep, Declan reached down beneath the headboard and removed a 9mm Glock 19, then went out to the living room.
He got his gun-cleaning kit out of the hall closet, sat down on the sofa, and began cleaning the Glock 19, which had belonged to his dad. His dad had named the gun “The Lone Ranger” after his favorite TV show when he was a kid. Declan couldn’t count the number of Lone Ranger reruns he’d watched with his dad and Evan growing up, or the number of times he and Evan had played Lone Ranger and Tonto with their own toy guns; going after bad guys and rescuing the townspeople, not to mention one another, when things went wrong. They’d vowed as “blood brothers” to always be there for each other.
“The Lone Ranger” was the only possession of his dad’s Declan had wanted when he died. His mom finally gave it to him on the day he’d graduated from the Academy, and he’d kept it in perfect condition. For whatever reason, holding it gave him a sense of calm and he often resorted to cleaning the gun when he felt out of sorts. As he cleaned “The Lone Ranger”, Declan turned on one of the cable news channels.
“The retaliatory strikes continue here in Israel as the situation here in the Middle East seems to be quickly spiraling out of control,” the reporter began. “It began earlier in the week when Israel unilaterally, and without provocation, struck Iranian nuclear facilities. Almost immediately, rocket and missile fire began coming from Gaza, Lebanon and the Syrian border. Syria then initiated prolonged missile fire into Israel, inflicting serious damage on outlying parts of Tel Aviv, and ISIS fighters based in Syria and Jordan began engaging in skirmishes with Israeli Defense Force troops along the borders. Reportedly, two Israeli soldiers have been taken captive in the fighting. With no end in sight to the ongoing Syrian civil war, some have speculated that the Assad regime saw an opportunity to deflect the attention and recent momentum of the various rebel groups, if only temporarily, and draw the Israelis into a wider regional conflict.”
“The Syrian government’s assault began when a series of Tishreen medium range missiles were fired from a location near Damascus into Israel. The initial missiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, but were quickly followed by other Tishreen’s and, reportedly Iranian made Shahab 3 medium range missiles, many of which reached parts of Tel Aviv and Hebron, inflicting some casualties and serious damage.”
“The Israelis have responded with precision air strikes on military targets in and around Damascus, which, instead of quelling the conflict, appear to have prompted quick retaliation in the form of numerous, apparently coordinated, rocket and missile attacks from Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and ISIS held areas in Jordan. The United States, the EU and Russia have all condemned Israel’s unprovoked attack against Iran.”
“As I stand here on the roof of my hotel, the rocket and missile barrage, seemingly from all
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