Page 129 of Silent Damage

The lights go out.

“I’ll take the lead,” I whisper to the other two recruits.

We hug the wall, stepping lightly to the maze’s main space. My eyes trail right, then left, trying to spot irregularities in the space. The dungeon is dark, but the emergency lights are still on, which casts shadows and…

Silhouettes.

I spot the outline of a body in the rafters above the main area.

My eyes narrow—

I squeeze the trigger.

“Ow! Motherfucker,” the guy yells just before a smattering of paintballs rains down on either side of us.

The three of us hit the ground, paint splattering just overhead.

We backtrack down the corridor and huddle up. “I hit the one in the rafter, but there are definitely more fuckers out there ready to clobber us.”

“Any cover in the main area?” one asks.

“No, we gotta dart across in the open,” I explain.

They both curse.

“I’m gonna try to get the guy at 3 o’clock. One of you cover me.”

We creep to the opening, staying low for concealment.

One of the recruits slides up beside me just far enough off my shoulder that we’re not in each other’s way. I slice the corner, exposing only my shoulder and one eye. I fire off a round and conceal myself again.

A burst of paint slams into the wall from our nine o’clock.

“I’ve got him in sight,” my teammate says, and he fires off a round, nailing a dude perched on top of the maze divider to the left side of the main area.

“Fuck yeah,” I say, and he gives me a nod with a smile.

The third guy in our group closes in. “How are we gonna get across? There’s nowhere to take cover.”

I think for a moment, trying to assess how we can get the shooter to our right.

I eye my partner's jacket. “Gimme your jacket,” I whisper.

He hands it over without question, and I toss it around a blind corner, and the paintballs go off. I slice the corner, get a view of my target, and just let it rip.

“I’m out,” he says in a disappointed tone.

This is actually kind of fun.

There’s no way to be sure, but I’m almost positive only three men were patrolling the main area, so I decide to brave it and race across to the other side and duck behind the wall.

No shots fired.

The others dart across, just as the emergency lights go out.

Fuck.

It’s completely dark—I can’t see six inches in front of me.