“Should we bring one of these along?” asked Oksana. “The firepower might come in handy.”
He thought about it for a moment. The light machine gun’s high rate of fire would certainly pack a punch, but nobody on the team had much experience on the M249. Nearly all their operational time had been spent behind the gunsights of Russian-made weapons or similar knockoffs, which was most likely why the arsenal in Pennsylvania contained several AK variants. Everyone on the team, except for their sniper, had chosen a compact version of the AK-12 assault rifle.
“How many times have you fired one of these?” asked Felix.
“A few times. It’s not the easiest weapon to handle. The rate of fire is extremely high.”
He shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was throw a wrench in the works at the last minute. Especially if their opponents were as skilled as Pichugin’s proxy had suggested. If their mission changed and they needed the firepower to dislodge the hostiles from the camp, he could send a team back to grab them.
“Let’s stick with what we know,” said Felix.
“Thirty seconds!” said the pilot.
Thirty seconds until they hit the ground running—literally. The landing zone and SITE ZERO were nearly equidistant from the ambush site—a race he had no intention of losing if the hostile team retreated faster than Pichugin’s planners had anticipated. Second place was an unceremonious death in the Ozark Mountains.
CHAPTER 46
Devin checked the cabin door, surprised to discover that the doorknob turned. They’d moved through twelve sets of cabins while working their way toward the center of camp, finding all of them securely locked. He’d taken a step closer to the door to push it inward when a hand clamped down on his arm. Mike shook his head and motioned for him to stand back, which suddenly struck Devin as a more sensible course of action. Was he really moments from pushing in the only open door they’d found out of the thirty-odd they’d checked? Marnie must have been shaking her head.
Mike crouched and pointed his rifle at the door. “Rich. We found an unlocked door.”
“Be right there.”
Devin backed up next to Marnie, who knelt in the recently cut weeds several feet behind Mike, her rifle pointed down the long, empty gap between rows that extended all the way to the center of the camp. Unlike the dirt path, several trees grew right up in the middle of the gap, mostly obscuring their view of the buildings. Devin raised his rifle and covered their flank, not that they expected any trouble from the forest.
Rich patted his shoulder as he passed by, quickly joining Mike near the door. The two of them conversed for a moment before Rich very gently turned the knob and opened the door far enough for Mike to take a quick peek inside. He nodded at Rick before disappearing into the cabin, his head poking out a few seconds later.
“It’s clear,” he said.
Rich turned to Devin and Marnie. “The moment of truth. If this is a two-family cabin, we’re defaulting to WWKD.”
A two-family cabin meant they were potentially looking at twelve hundred sleepers instead of six hundred. If that turned out to be the case, Devin might have to reconsider his position regarding the building break-in scenario, consequences be damned, whether they pulled the rabbit or the tiger. He got the feeling Marnie would agree.
They followed Rich inside, Devin instantly relieved to see a full bed frame on one side and a bunk bed on the other. A single-family arrangement. Aside from the beds, the dank-smelling cabin contained a nightstand between the beds, wooden chests at the foot of the beds, and a small table and chair set for four near the window. He didn’t see any electrical outlets or overhead lights.
“Pretty sparse,” whispered Rich.
“That’s what I was thinking,” said Devin. “Camp Stalin looks more like a gulag than a future training ground for sleepers.”
“My guess is that the main buildings are a little more luxurious,” said Rich. “The gulags didn’t have swimming pools.”
“They probably use the pool exclusively for swim training,” said Marnie. “This place has a very deprived, utilitarian feel.”
“On purpose,” said Devin.
“Like a cult,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire camp looked like this.”
“We’ll find out later tonight,” said Rich. “I’m thinking we work our way up the rows, until we’re five or so cabins away from the center, then hunker down until the camp goes night night. Move up to the cabins closest to the center and give it another hour before we send a few people out to scout the buildings.”