Page 78 of The Apprentice
I turned right, then left through the labyrinth, doing my best to avoid any of the other players. As I made another left, I froze when I came face-to-face with a young boy, but he showed me his green vest. We laughed before we went on our way.
I moved as swiftly as I could, ducking behind a half wall as a young woman passed on the other side. Once she had her back to me, I rose and rested my elbows on the half wall before I whistled. She spun and her red vest was all I needed to see before I shot at her chest. Her vest beeped and went dark, and she groaned.
“Damn it.” She pouted.
“Better luck next time.” I laughed as I crouched again and snuck forward.
I rounded a corner and shot another guy, and he cursed me, then grinned.
“Good job, man.”
I winked at him, a bolt of pride firing through me. The atmosphere was intoxicating, the dimmed lights and thrumming rock music working its way into my system. For the first time in forever, I felt free. There wasn’t any pressure bearing down on me and no fear of failure.
I managed to get three more people before I rounded the corner to a little girl, no older than eight, sitting on the ground with her face in her hands. She hiccupped with a small sob. The vest she wore was lit up red and it reflected around her, almost like a warning sign.
I hesitated, a primal part of my brain whispering it was a trap, before my empathy won out. I walked over to her and crouched. “Are you okay? Do you want me to find someone for you, sweetheart?”
She glanced up, and I immediately zeroed in on her smile.
“Damn it.” I stood and turned but was met with Daire, who raised his gun and shot. My vest beeped and it went dark. “What the hell, Daddy?”
The little girl giggled and jumped to her feet. She clapped her hands. “That was awesome.” Then, she held out her palm to Daire. “Pay up, mister.”
I gaped at him. “You paid a little girl to trap me?”
Daire’s grin took up his entire face as he tugged out a couple fifties from his pocket and passed them over to her. She skipped away, clearly happy with her score. What a little terror. I bet she would succeed in her future.
He booped me on the nose when I glared at him. “Always be prepared for the unexpected, boy. Just because she’s a little girl doesn’t mean she won’t be the end of you.”
“This was a lesson?” I paused as my vest lit up again, and Daire raised his gun. “Wait!”
He shot me again and the vest went dark. “And don’t stick around to BS with your enemy.” Cupping my cheek, he stroked a thumb across my lips before he leaned in to steal a kiss. “Run because I’m going to chase you.”
My instincts kicked in before my brain did, and I spun on my heel, running as fast as I could. I passed a few of my teammates, but I ignored them as my heart hammered so fast it felt like my whole chest was rattling.
I turned a corner and froze as I came face-to-face with Zed—his gun pointed at me. I swallowed before he winked and nodded down at his vest, and relief washed through me when I realized he was a teammate. It wasn’t even a real game, yet tensionswarmed me like a hive of bees, and I couldn’t stand still. I needed to keep going and return the favor to Daire.
I gave him a sharp nod before I was off again. Goose bumps prickled on the back of my neck, and I could tell he was watching me, yet I didn’t stop.
I managed to shoot three more people before I glanced at the timer on the screen above us, the countdown finally reaching a minute left. Fuck. At this rate, I wasn’t going to find Daire again.
If Sloan had been here, he would’ve told me that was plenty of time. With that in mind, I took a deep breath and raised the gun, focusing on the path ahead of me. I kept close to the walls, sneaking around corners and shooting anyone on the opposing team before they could get me in return. As thirty seconds flashed on the screen, I finally found Daire.
He had his back to me, pointing his laser gun at Zed, who grinned in return at him. Zed glanced over Daire’s shoulder at me, and even though it was difficult to see in the dark, he raised his palm to Daire as if he was giving up, but something about the way he flicked a glance in my direction told me what he was doing. He was sacrificing himself. It was almost as if he knew I wanted to shoot Daire at least once.
I gave him a small nod in thanks before I snuck up behind Daire. “Hey, Daddy.”
Daire spun around, gun raised, but I was faster, shooting him straight in the chest. His vest went dark, and I whooped as a loud buzzer echoed around the arena, signaling the end of the game.
“You’re not the only one who can use a distraction.” I stuck my tongue out at him, and Zed laughed, slapping Daire on the back.
“You’ve got a lot to teach him,” Zed said.
Daire snorted. “You’re telling me something I already know.”
I gazed between them. “What? I did exactly what you did. I used a distraction to kill my prey.”
“You were already dead. Twice.” He held up two fingers to me, lips pursed, though amusement flickered in his eyes. “Can’t kill me if you’re already six feet under, boy.”
