Carson heard movement behind him.He dropped down to one knee and spun around as someone came out from behind a structure.They aimed at him.He pulled the trigger and hit them in the sternum.He smirked hearing the groan of pain.Well, that person should have been wearing better protection.
Carson spun back around, his eyes scanning for his next target.He sniped out several others and moved throughout the course, looking for his main target.Allie.He was determined to win this bet.Not because he wanted her to pay for lunch.Even if she won, he still wasn’t going to let her pay.That would be ungentlemanly of him.
It was the competitiveness in him.He wanted to prove, even just to himself, that he was still in fighting shape.
Carson turned a corner, his blood pumping full of adrenaline.This wasn’t the type of battlefield he was used to, but the surge of energy came all the same.There was his target.
Allie was twenty feet ahead of him.He knew it was her with certainty even though he couldn’t see her face because of the goggles and helmet.He knew her shape as she squatted down behind a structure and aimed at someone on a high perch.
They thought they had the advantage up there, and in some ways they did.On the ground though, there were lots of hidey holes for people to sneak up on you.Allie knew that and was using that knowledge to her advantage as she fired off a shot and hit the person square in the chest.
He was impressed by her aim.He couldn’t lie and say that it didn’t get him a little excited.Too bad he was going to have to take her out.He aimed for her back.It wasn’t very sporty, but winning was winning.He was about to pull the trigger when she was on the move again.
Carson followed suit, not wanting to lose her.He heardmovement to his right.He dropped to a knee and took aim but it was too late.Several shots were fired, and he felt the quick sting of paintballs hitting his armor-covered chest and bare arms.Then he felt it against his back.He was being attacked on all sides.Adolescents about middle school age popped around structures giggling at him.
Carson was too shocked to react at first.He’d been taken down by kids.Pre-teens but kids, nonetheless.He was a SEAL, dammit.Well, ex-SEAL, but still.It was insulting.He had hundreds of recon and recovery missions under his belt.Sure, he’d been hit by bullets and other weapons over the years, but never had he been taken down by kids.
A smirking Allie walked up behind the group of three to his right.She’d removed her helmet and goggles to reveal her unruly red hair and bright, expressive blue eyes.She held a red flag in her hands.When the kids didn’t attack her, he realized she had conspired with them.So, not only had she won the game,she had beaten him.
“You cheated,” he accused her, though there was no heat behind his words.He was competitive, sure, but the look of joy on her face was worth a little humiliation.
Allie raised an eyebrow at him.“How did I cheat?”
“You used the kids to do your dirty work.”
“Who you callin’ kid?”one of the kids snarled at him.He held his gun up as if to tell Carson that if he said the wrong thing, he might get shot again.
“Sorry,” Carson said, though he wasn’t sorry.He was still a kid in Carson’s eyes since he was pushing his mid-thirties, and they were obviously still in school.
“When it comes to war, there are no rules.I formed an alliance, that’s true,” she admitted as she handed off the flag to one of the kids and walked toward him.“That doesn’t make itcheating.We’re all supposed to be on the same side after all, not one against all, Carson.You’re not going to be a sore loser, are you?”she asked, holding out a hand.In peace offering or to help him up, Carson wasn’t sure.
No, he wouldn’t.It just galled him that he’d lost, but she’d still won regardless.“No, I’m not,” he confirmed, taking her proffered hand and rising to his feet.He looked down at himself.There were so many splatter spots on his chest plate, he could hardly see the black armor underneath.He took off his goggles to get a better look at the damage the kids had caused.“You guys annihilated me.”It was six against one, so the odds had been in their favor.
“Dude, what’s wrong with your face?”one of the boys gasped in horror.
Carson dropped his gaze to the ground.All his good humor fled.
“Hey, what’s wrong with your manners?”Allie scolded him.“You should be ashamed of yourself for asking such a question.”The boys look chastened.“Ready for some food?Or have you changed your mind?”Allie asked Carson apprehensively.
“I’m ready,” he assured her.He was ready to leave this place.
She looked down at his chest as he took off his chest plate.Now that the game was over, there was no point in wearing it.Carson grimaced feeling the growing bruises along his forearms.“Do we need to stop at your house for a change of clothes?”There were a few splatter spots on his shirt, but the chest plate had prevented worse damage.
Carson shook his head, still not meeting Allie’s gaze.He didn’t want to see pity in her eyes; it would slay him faster than those kids taking him out.“No, I have some in my truck.”He hadn’t planned on needing them, but he always kept an extra change of clothes in the back of his truck.Old habits were hard to kick.Sometimes he’d been called on last-minute missions, so he always kept a bag in case of emergencies.
“You’re not mad at me for recruiting those kids, are you?”she asked softly as they left the course side by side.
“No,” he glanced at her and smiled, giving her more reassurance, “It was pretty ingenious.”If he hadn’t been so focused on winning, he would have thought about doing the same thing.
“Thanks.Though now I’m regretting it after their behavior.Sorry about that.”
“You don’t need to apologize for others.”
“No, I did involve them in our competition.Speakingof, you looked pretty good out there.How long ago did you get out?”
“Three years.”
“Well, it looks like you haven’t lost any moves.I mean skills.I mean…” She started blushing as she kept trying to find the words.It was cute watching her bumble her way through an explanation that didn’t sound like a double meaning.“You know what I mean,” she sputtered, refusing to look at him as they walked back to his truck.
