chapter thirteen you take the outside ladder down the side of the island to the flight deck and stand on the flight deck and watch a cobra helicopter wind its engines on the number four spot directly across the deck , and the skinny helos wide blades begin to turn slowly and then speed up , whipping around faster until they blur , and you can feel the downdraft tugging at your foul weather jacket and your face and see the pilot turn his black helmet , red in the deck edge lights , left and right and watch the front-seat gunner tweak his nasty little gatling gun around and see the lso look left and right and the chocks and chains guys run underneath the spinning blades crouching to the landing gear where they grab the release levers and wait .