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Machado was good Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday and Bat Masterson would have been proud of him His shot struck the intruder square in the center of the chest

With older bulletproof vests, the pure force behind the blow could snap a rib or stop a heart The vests worn by the SOF men, however, were the latest state of the art They could even stop a 308 NATO round and distribute the impact so it left only a bruse

Dillenger shuddered slightly froer of his Heckler & Koch, all in the same motion

Machado wore a vest too, but the older h and riddled his chest His spine arched like a tightly strung bow and he staggered backward, falling against the Captain's chair before dropping to the deck '

The Mexican guard raised his arms and shouted, "Don't fire! I am unarmed-"

Dillenger's short burst into the throat cut off the Mexican's plea, knocking hi suspended like a li doll

"Don't er said belatedly

Sergeant Foster stepped around the Major and looked down at the dead terrorist "He's dead, sir"

"I warned hier said casually as he slipped another clip into his weapon

Foster kicked the body over on its sto bayonet knife slipped out of a sheath below the collar and rattled on the deck "Intuition, Major?" asked Foster

"I never trust a man who says he's unarmed-"

Suddenly Dillenger stopped and listened Both men heard it at the same time and looked at each other, puzzled

"What in hell is that?" asked Foster,

"They were a good thirty years before my time, but I'd swear that's a whistle from an old steam locomotive"

"Sounds like it's co down the mountain from the old mine"