“He’s bluffing,” Tommy said.
“Am I?”
Tommy and the others glanced around at each other. Red dots danced on their foreheads.
Sean scanned the buildings across the street for the shooters but couldn’t immediately see any of them. He doubted they’d be in buildings with closed windows. More likely, they were hiding in some of the trees or bushes.
“Leave the McElroys out of this. They’re just doing their jobs,” Sean said. “They don’t know what that codex means.” He didn’t let on that none of them really knew. Not yet, at least.
“Whether they know or not doesn’t matter to me. You are involved with something more powerful than you could ever imagine. We cannot allow that.”
“I’m sorry,” Sean said, “but you know our names. We still haven’t caught yours. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we know something about you. Just not who you are. You look like a Billy.” Sean turned to Tommy. “Wouldn’t you say that’s about right, Schultzie? Billy. Or maybe Steve?”
“I don’t know, Sean. He strikes me as one of those with a gender-neutral name like Chris or Kelly.”
“Your sense of humor won’t get you out of this. This is your last chance to walk away.”
“Wait,” Adriana interrupted. “You just want us to walk away?”
“We are not here to kill you,” the blond man said.
“Sorry if I’m a little skeptical of that statement seeing as you have guns pointed at our heads,” Sean said.
“Consider this your last warning, Mr. Wyatt. Leave this place. Let go of this quest. It will only end in death.”
“And our friends in France? I guess you’re going to let them off with a warning, too?”
“Your excavation site, along with the artifacts, will be destroyed. Your friends will be unharmed, provided they do as we say.”
“So what happens if we leave and then decide to come back around?”
The blond took his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms. “Then we won’t be so forgiving.”
Sean noticed the spotter loitering by a black sedan on the other side of the street. The man had a bandage wrapped around his head.
“Is that your friend over there? Last time I saw him he was out cold on his back.” Sean waved emphatically to the guy. “Hey over there! How’s the head?”
The man shifted uncomfortably and then stiffened, visibly irritated.
Sean turned his attention back to the blond. “He always this friendly?”
“Leave Germany, now, Mr. Wyatt.”
“Yeah, you keep saying that, but I’m not sure we’re going anywhere. We’re here on vacation, and there’s nothing you can do about that. Besides, we kicked your tail before. We can do it again. And just like before, you and your men in the trees and bushes aren’t going to kill four Americans in public. Well, I mean she’s a dual citizen,” he pointed at Adriana. “But you probably knew that. Anyway, there are too many witnesses here. Seriously, you really need to pick better spots to threaten us. Maybe somewhere isolated. I don’t know, like a wooded meadow out in the country or something?”
The man started to respond, but Sean cut him off.
“And I have to ask, how did you guys get hooked up with the North Koreans? You don’t really look like Dear Leader’s type. I mean, maybe that’s your thing.”
The puzzled expression on the man’s face told Sean all he needed to know. These guys weren’t working with the North Koreans. They knew about the murder, surely. And they were well aware of the folder containing the DNA testing results. But they had no idea who was behind the murder of the research scientist.
“He has no idea what you’re talking about,” Tommy said. “You know, for a group of bullies with matching tattoos, you guys aren’t very good at whatever it is you’re supposed to be doing.”
Before the blond could retort, four figures appeared behind the Americans. Their sunglasses concealed their eyes. Their hair was black and short, all cut in a similar fashion.
Sean felt the men approach from behind and immediately sensed the danger. The blond’s expression changed to one of immediate concern.
The way Sean saw it, there was only one way to play this rock-and-a-hard-place situation. “They’re standing right behind us, aren’t they?”
One of the men reached out and grabbed June by the arms. She shrieked, and the result was a gloved hand clapped across her mouth.
Tommy spun around to defend her, but another man leveled a gun at his chest and waved a warning finger.
One of the four North Koreans stepped forward. He was slightly taller than the others, with broad, strong shoulders and a thick neck. “Give us the medallion,” he said in an even tone.
“Funny you should ask for that,” Sean said. “We actually left it in our hotel room. If you’ll wait here, I can run back and get it real quick. Won’t take long.”
“You don’t have a hotel room,” the man said. “We followed you here from Aachen. This was the first place you came. Now, medallion.” He held out his palm. “Or we shoot her in the head right here in front of you.”
His English was good, good enough that Sean wondered if he’d been educated somewhere in the States.
“No,” Tommy started to step forward, but the man aiming a gun at him brandished it menacingly.
“Take it easy, buddy,” Sean said. “Fight another day.”
Sean reached in his pocket and produced the medallion.
“It’s okay,” Sean went on. “These idiots don’t know what to do with it.”
“You’re interfering with something you cannot comprehend,” the blond said to the North Koreans. “Leave here now, or we will be forced to take you down.”
Sean gave a nod of the head toward the blond. “He likes to talk about their little group. Honestly, I’d listen to him. They’ve got guns pointed at all of us at this very moment.”
The leader of the North Koreans glanced down at his jacket and saw the red laser dot flickering on his chest. He looked back up with only a mild twinge of concern in his eyes.
“It would appear we are in a stalemate,” he said.
“Sure would,” Sean said. “So if you guys want to walk out of here in one piece, put down your weapons and play nice.”
“Please,” Tommy said with more desperation in his voice. “Do what he says. Let’s talk about this.”
Sean knew better. There would be no talking it out with the North Koreans. They were here to get what they wanted or die trying. It was the way they worked. He’d seen it once on a mission for Axis. They were relentless. If these four died, they’d be replaced by eight more the next day.
The only question was, why were they here and what did they want with the sword of Peter?
No one said a word for nearly a minute. Eyes flashed from one person to another. Tommy looked around nervously. Sean and Adriana kept their cool, sizing up the closest man to them in case things went hand to hand.
June didn’t struggle much, but Sean could see the desperation in her eyes. At least he thought it was desperation.
A bicycle bell rang from across the plaza. The noise caused the man with the gun to waver momentarily, his gaze shifting ever so slightly.
June saw the movement and seized the opportunity. She opened her mouth and bit down on her captor’s hand. He screamed as her teeth sank through the leather glove, gnashing all the way to bone.
The gunman spun around to face her.
She jerked her elbow back into the man’s face, crushing his nose, and then dropped to the ground as the guy with the gun fired. The bullet smashed into the rathaus wall, missing her by inches. Tommy charged forward and clotheslined the shooter with his forearm. The force of the attack was so strong, it took the gunman’s feet off the ground and flipped him over, sending him crashing face-first into the floor.