For an AK, and just about every semi-auto and auto rifle and handgun, one needs Xray vision to see if a round is chambered. There's a reason why one has to pull the charging handle and look at an angle into the breech in order to "clear" such a weapon.
As far as the safety, I know that an M-16 safety is a small, black 3-position rotary switch on the "face" side for a right-handed shooter, which would hardly be visible at any distance, especially if the rifle is shouldered.
the writer really needs to get a few more gun skills before they try to "finesse" such a scene. (I also write - mostly unpublished thus far - and it always bugs me when someone starts making stuff up that defies common sense)
See my post #11. He is in his 60's; former Navy and a retired Omaha cop. He is one of our published authors so everyone looks to him for gun information. I'm kind of a thorn in his side, since I do some shooting. Not that I'm any kind of expert in gun handling.