JD sprang into the jungle, a blur of motion. He didn't know where the gunman was, so he started in a circle around the group. Fortunately, he came upon the man before he even finished the first half of the circumference.<br/><br/>He was crouching low, concealed by foliage, and holding a semi-automatic rifle aimed at JD's comrades. The guy was grinning like he had the whole world in his sights, and it took just a nanosecond for JD to have the weapon in his own hands. The thug's grin lingered for a moment longer before he realized he held nothing but air in his palms.<br/><br/>Athena kept talking to the first thug, but the moment was growing thin, and they could both feel the tension. He stared back at her, looking eye to eye, and for a moment neither one said a thing. Then he hastily reached behind himself and Athena knew he was going for a gun. She was on him in an instant, gripping his shoulder and preparing to take him down. His right arm came back, sure enough holding a firearm. He cried out as he pulled the trigger, and Athena felt herself take a hit in her thigh, not enough to bring her down. She tried to immobilize his weapon arm, and the two danced for a moment, the gun going off a second time. Finally, Athena shoved her elbow into the guy's face. His head jerked back, his nose blossoming in a brilliantly bloody display as he fell backward to the jungle floor.<br/><br/>Two shots had been fired, the birds were still flapping in the trees. If the guy had any buddies nearby, they would certainly have heard.<br/><br/>Athena looked down to see that she had been shot twice in the leg, but she could already feel her body pushing the lead back to the surface.