Page 32 of Out of the Shadows
COSMO
Any ideas that we’ll be spending the rest of the day tucked up inside are soon blown away, and needless to say it includes getting soaking wet. Again.
“Paintball.” The facilitator grins. “You’ll be divided into teams of two. The object of this exercise is to…”
There’s the fizz of excitement from the rest of my workmates. The idiots. Paintball. They really don’t know what they’re in for. Being blasted with paint pellets isn’t my idea of fun. And it bloody well hurts. I did it once, and vowed never to again. First sheep wrangling, and now this. I swear under my breath which isn’t as under my breath as I think, as I earn a sharp glare from Linda. All I know is that somebody up above is laughing at me.
We all march off to the outhouse where a load of grey-green all-in-one uniforms are hanging up. There are also big clumsy-looking boots, helmets and visors that make me think of something out of a disaster film. The two overly jolly outdoor centre employees get themselves kitted up, too, ready to run the show.
Next to me Fiona’s burbling about how excited she is but I ignore her because she hasn’t got a clue what’s coming.
“Guys, no need to put your helmets and visors on yet because it’s a short ride to the woods. Once we’re there I’ll explain the rules. But this is your exercise. Saffron and I will be around and about in the woods in case anybody needs help, such as first aid.”
The flow of enthusiastic chatter runs dry. Kyle’s grin suddenly looks very, very fixed. He knows he’s said the wrong thing.
Pillock.
“First aid? You mean this is dangerous?” Fiona’s no longer quite so keen.
“Not at all.” Daniel’s intervention earns him a relieved glance from Kyle. “The exercise is challenging, but not dangerous. The Kingsbury Group wouldn’t put its employees at risk.”
Daniel’s already kitted up and, bugger me, but he looks hot. I turn my gaze away, and pull up my zip with an irritated, hard tug. I really don’t want to think that, I don’t want to think anything like thatat all,but the problem is, it’s becoming harder and harder not to. I sit down on a bench to pull on my clumpy boots, and risk a glance through my fringe which has dropped over my eyes.
The rest of us might look like bulky sacks of spuds, but Daniel bucks the trend. The all-in-one suit on him isn’t baggy and formless, instead it draws attention to his broad shoulders, his slim waist and hips, and his long, lean legs. I swallow hard, and it seems so loud I’m surprised he doesn’t hear and look over at me through those intense blue eyes of his.
Uniforms. It’s an obvious and clichéd fantasy but it’s no less potent for that, and Daniel’s ticking every one of the boxes. He’s a soldier, pilot and firefighter all rolled into one. I blink hard, trying to dispel the image, but I can’t, just like I can’t look away. My fingers have stopped pretending to tie my boot laces, and I can only thank my lucky stars my all-in-one is loose, because my cock’s sitting up and taking way too much interest, and that’s something I can’t let happen. Daniel Russo, the boss I tell myself daily I detest, the boss who for now holds my career in the palm of his hand, the boss who once pulled the rug from under me… they’re all the reasons I can’t let that happen.
But it’s not the main one.
Straight guys. Yeah, another clichéd fantasy, but it didn’t stop me getting burnt when that fantasy stopped being make believe and blew up in my face.
Not going there again, no way…
I tug on my laces with so much force they burn my fingers.
Two small and very battered minibuses are waiting for us outside, and each one takes roughly half of us, and I follow Fiona and Tariq into the nearest. Daniel hops in last, and finds a seat near the front, and a moment later we’re on our way.
It’s not long before we reach the edge of the wood. We all tumble out of the minibuses like the sheep did earlier, and stand around waiting for the slaughter.
“The rules of the exercise are quite simple,” Linda says. “You’ll be put into teams of two and you have to work with your partner to eliminate all the other teams. You’ll have different coloured paint to identify yourselves. Once you’re hit by a paintball from an opposing team you’re officially marked as dead and you have to leave the field of action. Kyle and Saffron will be with you in the woods, for health and safety reasons. If they ask you to leave, please do so. This is an intense exercise about working in close proximity and close cooperation with your partner.”
There’s only one rule to this game as far as I’m concerned, and that’s to get splattered as quickly as possible. Being officially declared out of action is a fast exit to feet up in the back of the minibus. I’ve been battered and bruised before and I’m not looking to repeat the experience.
“Yellow team: Andy and Amy.”
“Green team: Tom and Mina.”
“Blue team: Tariq and Fiona.”
“Oh bloody hell,” Fiona mutters. “Laughing Boy’s the last person I want to be teamed up with.”
“Red team: Cosmo and Daniel.”
What?First I have to share a room with him, and now we’ve got to getintensetogether…
“Oh, you lucky bugger,” Fiona grumbles.
I sneak a look at Daniel, and our eyes meet for a second but his face is impassive, and I’ve no idea what he’s thinking. There’s only one way out and that’s to get covered in paint and declared officially dead as soon as possible.
Linda rattles off the rest of the team members, before we’re led deep into the wood by Saffron and Kyle. They run through how to use the paint guns we’ve been given. We’ve got two hours to kill as many of the enemy as possible. I intend to give it fifteen minutes before I make myself a target and am out of here.
“You’ve got ten minutes to scatter with your partner, then I’ll blow the whistle and it’s up to you guys.”
Kyle lifts a shiny whistle, hanging from a string around his neck. I know exactly what I’d like to do with it, and where I’d like to shove it.
Fifteen minutes that’s all, just fifteen minutes, then I’m out of here…
