… BANG! A gunshot. Sudden and deafening, breaks the center staged drama between Erica & Jack. Instantly freezing everyone in their place as they watch, mesmerized, Erica's tiny frame collapses to the floor of the extravagant Chandler Mansion.
Instantly, two more shots fire in rapid succession, breaking everyone from their awestruck halt and sends the room into a screaming frenzy. The strong smell of gun smoke only adds to the panic as the party guests struggle to escape danger.
In the panic, primal instinct engages, as Tad and Jesse hurl their bodies like human shields into their wives' pulling them away from unknown danger. Neither man ever willing to lose what is most dear to them, again.
David, ducking to avoid another possible shot; kneels at Erica's side, examining her unconscious, but breathing, motionless form.
"Oh my god..." he mutters under his breath, "Call an ambulance!"
Erica's warm blood begins to seep through her black and silver sequenced evening gown, onto the hardwood floor of the mansion's ballroom.
Jack, having just opened the mansion's front door, hears the three quick shots ring out. He turns on his heel and runs back to find the room in panic. Pushing his way past the hysterical party guests, he sees Erica lying in the middle of the floor like a broken champagne glass, with David tending to her, assisted by Cara. Jack falls to the floor in front of Erica, cradles her head in his arms and begs her not to die.
As the party's guests exit the room, a few stay pinned to the floor by their protective heroes. Tad & Jesse, seeing that their wives are unharmed move their eyes about the room in hopes of locating a shooter. Scanning the hands of those standing in the room they see no smoking gun.
As Brot pushes himself from the floor, where he used his body to cover Natalia – he instantly reverted back to his war training. As he looks at her face, ready to ask to her condition, he notices that she has a far off stare in her eyes – a stare that this hardened war veteran has seen too many times before – he pushes back panic, but he recognizes it all too well and realizes that his beloved Natalia has been instantly killed by some unknown shooter.
Even though he knows she is gone to him, he calls out for help before steeling himself into combat mode.
Jake & Joe, hearing Brot's cry for help; crawl along the floor, quickly making their way across a mine field of broken glass, over-turned end tables and high heels racing from the room to see to Natalia's condition. Keeping their heads low incase more gunfire should ensue.
Brot, followed by Jesse, squat tight to the floor and draw their weapons. Like bloodhounds on the trail of fresh blood, they search the room for their murderer. Their senses locking in on every movement, every sound and every smell in the area.
"Help!" Bianca's voice screams out, causing David's attention to abruptly shift from Erica. Lifting his head, he sees Marissa leaning against Bianca as they stumble to the floor. "She's hurt!" Bianca's voice heavy with concern.
"Keep pressure," he orders Cara, before leaping to his feet and dashing across the room to his daughter.
"Damn it." Marissa heard someone curse. "David?" She mumbles as the pain slowly began to spread through her body like a spider's web.
"I'm here, just try to stay awake for me." He tells her.
She feels his hands move over her, but jerks suddenly as he touches her shoulder, causing a new, more agonizing wave of pain to clutch at her. "Don't!"
"I have to stop the bleeding. Don't move." David said gently, but authoritive as he applied pressure to her wounded shoulder.
She wanted to ask, 'Just what the hell happened?', but she could feel the energy draining from her. She rested her head back, onto Bianca's lap, and tried to keep her eyes open.
JR, feeling the rush of adrenaline from his shooting and the heat of whisky pulsing in his veins, stumbles through the dark catacombs of the mansion's respiratory system. His constant playground as a child, he knows the paths well, but alcohol and excitement have blurred his mind. He bumps into walls, stumbles, nearly falls, and drops his .38 caliber weapon somewhere in the darkness of the dirty floor. He searches for a moment and then decides to leave it, knowing that he might miss his private jet or be discovered on the expansive grounds of the Chandler Estate if he delays any longer with his escape.