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Kate found her scream cut short by shouting from behind. In the split second before the gun fired, Dave Marsden had hurled himself forward, and was now lying on top of Ethan, blood was staining the ground. There was a scramble of activity, and suddenly Ethan was standing upright again, Dave on the ground, and the smell of blood in the air. Kate was on her feet in an instant. The men were frozen in their places, completely taken aback. Their orders hadn't included anything like this. Kate made a move towards Jake.
"Stop."
He said it so calmly and quietly that Kate froze in spite herself. The entire clearing was still, and Kate became aware of the fact that Ethan had the rifle trained on her. Everything seemed to hang in tense silence for long moments, until crashing from the undergrowth distracted the men around them. Jake and Dave were still lying on the ground, and Kate and Ethan never moved from their positions. Their eyes were locked, and Kate's face betrayed not a flicker of her emotions when she saw Tony run from behind and tackle Ethan to the ground.
Ooo, the tension! ;)