Casey rolled on to his back and twisted to face the depths of woods. A bush rattled when his leg hit its branches.

He could not talk; the actors were too close.

Gunfire had come immediately after his conversation with the men by the saucer. The distinctive sound of suppressed fire had defied a direction, the noise scattered by the woods, but he reasoned it had to come from the men by the saucer. He needed to know what was happening, but until he cleared the vicinity of the civilians, he could not call for a report.

Taking a glance toward the house, Casey saw the actors were standing in the middle of the yard. He wormed his way further into the woods, moving faster than was proper for a surveillance operation, and chafing against the necessity.

The idea of an accidental weapon discharge was ridiculous. The men would only have fired their weapons in an emergency and given there was no warning of an attack, Casey suspected his men were fighting or most likely dead.

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He took cover under the bulk of a fallen tree, hidden by the thick tangle of branches. “Report.”

Six of the eight men on the team quickly broadcast their number, their voices falling in rapid sequence with a noticeable gap. The two men who had gone to check the saucer did not report.

He decided without hesitation. Turner might have a few choice words to say when communications returned, but for now, Casey knew to react by protecting the actors and regaining security of the area surrounding the house.

“All units converge on the gully. Watch for the civilians and protect them without compromising security.”

Peering out from under the tree, Casey could see the yard through a screen of brush. The actors were still standing in the middle of the yard. It seemed they had turned to stone, lifeless statues frozen in mid stride. The best place for him to monitor the situation was here under the tree. Though his need for action screamed for movement, Casey knew that maintaining control of the situation was more important; he had to let his men do the fighting and try not to think he was cowering under the tree.

He settled into frustrated silence and waited for his men to report from the gully.