“It’s not. Press the trigger for a second or two at most. It has a very high rate of fire. Very hard to control if you don’t brace it against something. And don’t forget about the safety. It’s a button right about where your thumb rests. You have to push it from the other side with your index finger to take it off safe. And make sure to fire very short bursts.”

“Shouldn’t you be worried about taking off?” asked Devin, taking a seat with the machine gun pointed toward the forest.

“The Bell 429 kind of flies itself,” said Marnie.

“I’m willing to bet it doesn’t,” said Devin.

His radio squawked. “Marnie. How long until takeoff? We have company coming in from the east.”

She plopped down in the pilot’s seat. “Rotor speed is still building, but it’s starting to level off. Fifteen to twenty seconds max.”

“Copy. We’re on our way back. It’s going to be a close call,” said Rich. “Devin. I need you on that 249. The moment we jump on board, start hosing down the tree line where we pop out. You should be able to see us—right about now.”

Devin looked up and caught the two of them emerging from the forest and sprinting toward the helicopter. Jesus. Here we go. He quickly located the safety button on the right side of the trigger grip and pressed it. Rich and Alex piled into the helicopter moments later, nearly knocking him over.

“Hit the tree line!” said Rich, slapping him on the shoulder. “Marnie. Get us the fuck out of here!”

Devin braced the M249 against the doorframe and aimed at the point where they had emerged, pressing the trigger briefly. The machine gun pounded his shoulder, rattling off a short burst. Marnie hadn’t been kidding. The gun was a beast. He pressed the trigger again, holding it for a full second. The machine gun wasn’t as hard to control now that he knew what to expect. Devin repeated the process six more times before the magazine drum emptied—methodically shifting his aim along a twenty-yard stretch of tree line. The helicopter lurched skyward as he fired the last burst.

CHAPTER 52

CHAPTER 52

Felix Orlov knew they were running out of time when he heard the two suppressed gunshots. His only hope of preventing a catastrophic mission failure lay in reaching the landing zone and surprising the hostile force before they could either take off or put the machine gun to use against the group that had chased them to the helicopters. The race would be extremely close. The helicopter sounded as though it was ready for takeoff.