“I’ve found you, Bauer. There is no escape now,” Messner whispered, his Schmeisser pistol ready, advancing silently, eyes fixed on the uniform ahead. This business of pursuing Bauer had taken far too long, and he would be glad to conclude it once and for all.
As he crept within arm’s reach, he expected to savor Bauer’s shock before pulling the trigger — but he stepped into the clearing to find only an empty coat, nothing more than a decoy propped up by a branch.
Confusion reigned as trampled snow obscured Bauer’s escape route.
Messner was not left wondering for long. From behind a log, Bauer stuck up his head, pistol aimed at Messner’s heart. Messner reacted, but Bauer’s shot rang out first. The bullet’s impact never registered with Messner.
His finger hooked over the trigger as he died, sending a volley of fire from the submachine gun spewing harmlessly into the forest canopy overhead.
Satisfied that Messner had been alone, Bauer left his hiding place. He stood over the Hauptmann and shot him in the head for good measure.
Down the trail, Cole registered the solitary gunshot — a promising sign that one threat was neutralized. However, that had instantly been followed by a burst of automatic fire. It was hard to know what that meant. Had Bauer missed his chance and been gunned down? A final, single pistol shot signaled otherwise. He knew a coup de grâce when he heard one.
Now the final contest fell to him. Cole pressed on, aimless yet determined, as late-afternoon shadows began to claim the forest. He preferred to conclude this chase with daylight as his ally. Otherwise the two snipers would be playing a deadly game of blindman’s bluff. How close was the German sniper on his heels?
Cole was certain the German would follow, because a challenge was irresistible to a man like him. After all, Cole understood the Jaeger, as it was like looking in the mirror. Pressing forward, he discovered a landscape feature that could turn the tables — a ravine, sharply cut into the hillside, almost as if by design rather than by nature. He entered, leaving conspicuous tracks, but it was a deliberate ploy. He wanted to leave no doubt where he had gone.
The ravine, narrow with rocky sides and a dusting of snow, resembled a cattle chute. He had the unsettling thought that it was how cattle were funneled into the slaughterhouse.
Emerging on the other side, Cole saw how the trees had fallen away to create a clearing, because the ground was paved with smooth rock where tree roots could find no purchase. Clearly the same natural forces that had been at work in carving the ravine had also been responsible for this clearing.
Unfortunately, there was no cover to speak of. Cole hoofed it across the rocky space, breaking into a run, feeling exposed at every step. He could almost imagine the German sniper coming out of the ravine, his crosshairs fixing between Cole’s shoulder blades.
He said a silent prayer.
He reached a ring of trees on the other side of the clearing and got under cover.
Now or never.
Cole rested his rifle across a log to steady it and willed his heart rate to slow down. He wouldn’t be able to shoot worth a damn if he was shaking this much. A minute went by, then another, and he felt steadier.
Putting the scope to his eye, he saw the ravine spring closer, knowing that it was exactly where the German sniper would emerge. There was nothing to do now but wait. He supposed that the German couldn’t be more than a few minutes behind him, but the minutes stretched out longer than they should have.
Cole was puzzled about what was taking the man so long. He took his eye away from the scope and studied the bigger picture of the woods across from him.
That was when he spotted the movement at the top of the ravine.
It was the Jaeger.
Cole’s cold lips formed a grin. You had to hand it to that Kraut. The German had nearly outmaneuvered him, scaling the ravine’s wall to avoid emerging right into Cole’s firing zone.
But Cole was ready, and the German was in his sights, about thirty yards away.
It would be easy enough just to pull the trigger.
But first Cole wanted the man to know that he was about to die.
Cole shouted, “Hey!”
The German had been crab-walking across the top of the ravine, trying to get in position while also keeping an eye out for his target. He froze when he heard Cole’s shout. It was an old trick that hunters used to get a clear shot when an animal wouldn’t stop moving, but the German didn’t freeze for long.
In fact, Cole’s ploy almost cost him the fight.
The Jaeger swung his rifle up and fired, faster than Cole expected.
Something supersonic and angry hissed nearby. Cole didn’t know where the bullet had gone, and he didn’t much care as long as it hadn’t hit him.
The Jaeger had fired too quickly to aim accurately. The man worked the bolt of his own rifle desperately.
