“Oh, shit!” It’s amazing how fast the brain processes context. The hundreds of thousands of hours that I had trained had ingrained in me not only habits but also judgment, and at that very instant of seeing this insurgent out of my peripheral vision, I knew that I could not swing my muzzle over to him, acquire, aim, fire, and kill him faster than he could kill me. My muscle memory knew its capabilities, and I knew that if I tried then I would lose and I would be dead. As I tried to tuck back behind the doorframe, the unknown figure blasted off a short burst from his AK and I immediately felt
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