"We'll be easy targets if we do that," Steiner protested.
Sean pushed the button on the side of his gun's grip and watched the empty magazine slide out and fall to the grass. In an instant, he'd retrieved a full one from the carrier attached to his holster strap and smacked it into place. He pulled back the slide and stared hard at the old man.
"When I start shooting, you go as fast as you can. Get over the hill and out the back. I'll be right behind you."
Steiner frowned. "How many of those bullets do you have?"
"Don't worry about that, Herr Steiner. Just go. Stay low, and use the headstones for cover."
The older man seemed reluctant, but there was no time to argue.
"Ready?" Sean asked. The question was rhetorical. He crouched behind the headstone and fired a shot straight at the man forty feet away who was poking his head around the edge and trying to line up a shot. Sean's round pinged off the other gravestone in a small dust cloud, but it did the job, sending the attacker reeling for cover once more.
He turned left again, ready to fire, but the man on that side was still behind cover. A bullet ripped through the edge of Sean's shoulder from the backside. The searing hot pain instantly called his attention to the right flank. The man who'd shot tucked back against the tree, but this time left the front of a black boot exposed. Sean lined up the foot carefully and squeezed the trigger.
The foot popped in an eruption of red and black, causing the man to bend forward involuntarily to grab at the destroyed appendage. The move was a fatal mistake, and Sean sent two more rounds at him, the first missing narrowly behind the target, the second going through the man's neck.
Sean didn't wait to see the man collapse to the ground. He'd already returned his attention to the left flank and the man in the center. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Steiner working his way back through the headstones, attempting to stay as low as he could. Sean squeezed off another shot at the man to the left and started slinking backward, ducking behind a headstone each time he reached one. With the guy still on the left, the farther back in the cemetery they went, the clearer the shot from that flank would be. Sean knew he needed to put himself between the shooter and Steiner if the older man was to have a chance of escaping.
He shifted to the left and fired another shot down the center column. The attacker in the middle ducked out of the way but reappeared and fired several shots of his own. The bullets bounced off the stones around Sean, but he realized the men were pressing now. The one on the left moved up the side, taking three shots to cover himself before he sprinted to the next tree. Sean watched as the man repeated the process a second time, trying to cut off the angle Sean was hurrying to protect.
Sean saw the gun stick out from behind an ancient oak, pointing in Steiner's direction. From the deliberateness of the movement, Sean knew he was lining up the weapon to take the perfect shot at the old man.
Sean crouched on one knee and wielded his weapon, snapping off three more shots, each one missing the target and sinking into the trunk's thick wood. He saw the barrel fire four times, puffing a thin waft of smoke and flame from the tip. Sean glanced back and saw Steiner drop to the ground behind a tall, narrow headstone. Clenching his teeth, Sean rose from his cover and sent three shots at the man in the center, who had stood up and was charging toward him. The volley sent him diving out of the way, one of the rounds barely missing his legs, instead striking the dirt just beyond. Sean sprinted toward the oak and caught the man just as he'd stepped out to fire into the middle.
The attacker's eyes went wide with surprise for a moment, not realizing Sean had abandoned the safety of the headstones. The American launched into the air, leading with the barrel of his gun, and squeezed the trigger repeatedly until it clicked again.
Three hollow points found their mark squarely in the man's chest. He fell backward, firing one harmless shot into the air before hitting a cluster of tangled tree roots on the ground. The body shivered for a few seconds and then went limp.
More bullets screamed through the air at Sean's position, and he pressed up against the tree for a second to shield himself from the onslaught. Unconsciously, he hit the release button on his gun. The empty magazine dropped to the ground and he mechanically inserted the last full clip he had. He looked down at the body and had an idea. The man was strong, but thin, probably about the same height and weight as Sean.
He stepped over to the dead man, careful to keep out of the last attacker's line of sight, and grabbed the body by the back of the collar. He jerked it up, and quickly removed the man's jacket, then dropped the body to the ground and returned to the tree. Sean swallowed hard and took a deep breath. He gave another look back to where Steiner had fallen, but from what he could tell, the man wasn't moving. He took another breath and poked the jacket out from the right side of the tree trunk.
The other attacker's weapon popped several times, ripping through the right half of the coat. Sean kept his grip on the collar of the decoy, making it appear as though whoever was there was still standing against the tree. Then he wrapped his right arm around the tree and lined up the man in the center. He pulled the trigger, and the target on the other end of his sight shuddered for a second before falling prostrate to the ground.
Sean dropped the jacket and hurried back into the rows of graves. He kept his weapon at the ready, checking various trees and monuments he thought could be threatening positions of attack as he made his way over to where Steiner had fallen.
He reached the older man and immediately saw Steiner was bleeding through his sweater vest. Two bullets had found their mark in his side. Even though Sean knew they were mortal wounds, he tried to encourage the man.
Sean cradled the man's head as he spoke, staring into nearly vacant eyes. "Stay with me, Herr Steiner. Everything's going to be okay. I'm calling an ambulance right now."
Steiner coughed and smiled through a grimace. He shook his head. "An ambulance won't help me now, young man. We both know that. Just leave me be."
"I can't do that," Sean said with determination. "I don't leave friends behind."
"I…" Steiner winced again. "I appreciate the sentiment, Sean. But I have a feeling I'm going to have the answers you seek before you do." The insinuation wasn't lost on Sean, and he swallowed back the pain.
Inside, he cursed himself for bringing the older man into the fray. He'd put Steiner in harm's way and been unable to protect him.
Steiner could see the conflict and pain in Sean's eyes. "Do not blame yourself," he said in a whisper. "I've lived a good life. I am ready."
He smiled again even though he was in tremendous agony.
"I'll see my father soon. It is okay, Sean. I am at peace. Continue your quest." He gasped for another breath. The words were more difficult now. "Protect the innocent. This…die Glocke must not…fall…into the wrong…hands." Steiner's lips quivered, and the last breath of air escaped from his lungs. His eyes went still, staring at the sky. The head became heavier in Sean's hands as it went limp.
A tear welled in Sean's right eye, but he fought it back and clenched his teeth. He laid Steiner's head down on the ground gently, crossed the man's hands over his chest, and pulled the eyelids closed.
Moments like this were harder than any others in the line of duty. Sean knew he had to move fast. If there were three men on his heels, there would likely be more. He needed to find out who was after him. On top of that, he had to find where that U-boat went. There was nothing he could do to help Steiner now. And despite the fact that his death was tragic, Sean knew he had to focus on the living.