I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t hear the footsteps coming behind me. ‘Emma, is that you?’ That voice, it couldn’t be. I turned... around and he was there, looking at me with a frown. ‘Ethan…’ I tried to say. He knelt down beside me, taking my face in his hands. ‘Emma, are you ok?’ I whipped away the tears from my face, and gave him a small smile. ‘Yeah, I’ll be fine, no worries, I got a little overwhelmed, that’s it.’ I wasn’t very convincing, and I wasn’t fooling anyone, he. Off-duty cops, in the matter of driving infractions, definitely live above the law. Don't ever let any of them tell you otherwise.Thanks to the alcohol consumed at these functions, quite an intimate rapport developed between the four of us. We could say things to each other that would have caused other invited couples to storm out of the house in outrage. For instance, I could say how nice Michelle's tits looked in her new sweater and then make a snide comment about how much I'd like to squeeze. The soldiers were startled by my sudden charge, but their training took over and they opened fire. The world turned blue about me as the amulet deflected another shot, and then I was on the first soldier. He rose, bracing himself as I slammed into him. He fell back hard, and I nearly lost my balance and fell with him. A second soldier leapt at me; we grappled.I was stronger than the soldier, more agile, but I lacked any training. I didn't know how to fight. The soldier did. I pushed him off of. " A few minutes later, I had nine."Okay, here's the drill. Everybody's doing five vaults today. You're all starting with handsprings." But I..." Susie started, and I noticed Kelly's mouth open to voice her own appeal.I leaned down until I was nose to nose with Susie. "I don't care what vault you competed before or what you think you're doing this year. Everybody's doing a handspring first, then I'll tell you what vault I want next. Any questions?"Susie shook her head, her nose bumping mine in.