DropZone

by Unknown

  ‘Sorted,’ said Johnny. ‘Now here’s what we’re gonna do.’

  Ethan drew closer; he wasn’t going to miss a chance to learn something from his friend.

  ‘Kat and I are going to peg it over to the antenna. Then we’ll climb as quickly as we can to the highest point and jump. Dude, you’re on filming duty. Ethan – you keep a watch out. If we get spotted, we’re in the shit.’

  Ethan nodded.

  Johnny pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to him. ‘Two-way radio,’ he explained. ‘If there’s a problem, you tell us and we bolt. Right?’

  Ethan nodded again. It was a skill he’d mastered since turning up at FreeFall.

  ‘It’s just a simple press-’n’-talk job,’ Johnny told him, pointing at the large black button on the side of the radio. ‘It’s quicker than a mobile. Saves time if you don’t have to tap in a phone number.’ He turned to Kat. ‘A ladder leads up the antenna, but it starts about seven metres off the ground. We’ll use this to get up to that point . . .’

  He opened a rucksack and revealed a thick knotted rope with a three-pronged grappling hook attached to the end of it. Ethan wondered where he’d found the hook – it looked pretty deadly.

  ‘The ladder is enclosed all the way up to a small platform. You go first, Kat, and I’ll follow. OK?’

  Kat nodded, and Ethan saw her shift from foot to foot.

  ‘When you jump, you know what to do. We’ve practised this plenty of times.’

  ‘Is it different from jumping out of a plane?’ asked Ethan.

  ‘You jump from a plane at speed,’ said Johnny, ‘so your canopy grabs air immediately. BASE jumping’s different. You’re starting from a stationary position and your canopy won’t grab enough air until you’ve picked up speed.’

  He turned to Kat. ‘We’ll be fine with this. We’re jumping from one of the highest points in the country. Just make sure that when you jump, you get yourself far enough away from the antenna for your canopy to deploy safely. And throw your drogue chute out straight away; it needs to pull your canopy out asap.’

  ‘Isn’t the drogue chute packed with the canopy?’ said Ethan. ‘I thought it came out when you pulled the ripcord.’

  ‘Not when you’re BASE jumping,’ said Johnny. ‘Do that and the delay would have you bouncing before the main canopy had even been fully deployed. For this, you have it in your hand and chuck it out as soon as you jump. That way it pulls the canopy out straight away.’

  ‘Makes sense,’ said Ethan. ‘As much as jumping off a huge aerial can ever make sense,’ he added.

  He glanced over at Kat. ‘Are you sure about this?’ he asked her. ‘I mean, it’s not like I’m there to jump out after you and pull your reserve.’

  Kat smiled. ‘Totally,’ she said. ‘And I can’t expect you to be there every time I jump, can I? You’re not Superman!’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Ethan, hiding a smile.

  ‘Anyway,’ said Kat, ‘Johnny knows what he’s doing and so do I. Nothing will go wrong.’

  ‘I know,’ said Ethan. ‘Johnny’s the best there is.’

  ‘I’m pretty damned good myself, Ethan.’

  ‘Sorry, I wasn’t . . . I mean . . . Look . . .’

  Kat laughed at his discomfort. ‘It’s fine. Don’t worry. I’ll be golden. Johnny’s done so many BASE jumps he’s lost count, and we’ve practised loads. OK?’

  Ethan nodded.

  ‘Thanks for the concern though,’ she said, and winked.

  Ethan turned and saw that The Dude had switched on the video camera. ‘Eth,’ he said, ‘you’re on film, man! Is this a rush or what?’

  Ethan grinned. OK, so he was just watching, but the atmosphere was electric, like the air was crackling with the energy of what was about to happen.

  ‘Dude? Eth? See you in a few minutes,’ said Johnny. ‘Kat – let’s do this thing!’

  Ethan watched Johnny and Kat march off into the dark towards the antenna; he was still thinking about what Johnny had said. He’d never given the whole issue of grabbing air much thought before. He’d always figured BASE jumping was much like skydiving – just from much closer to earth. But now he realized it really didn’t allow any room for error. If Kat didn’t pick up enough speed in those first few seconds, if she didn’t grab enough air, then that was it.

  Game over.

  21

  ‘Everything OK?’

  Ethan put the radio to his mouth, pressed the button. ‘Yeah, Johnny,’ he said. ‘All quiet down here. You?’

  ‘We’re at the antenna,’ said Johnny, his voice crackly on the radio. ‘Kat’s looking nervous though. Don’t know if she’s up for this. Might spew.’

  Ethan heard the distinct sound of someone being punched.

  ‘Scratch that,’ said Johnny. ‘She’s fine.’

  Ethan laughed. ‘You’re both nuts – you know that, don’t you?’

  ‘You love it,’ said Johnny. ‘Cutting radio contact now. I’m going to throw the rope up. If all goes well, we’ll be grabbing air in less than ten minutes.’

  ‘Good luck,’ said Ethan, but Johnny was gone. He turned to The Dude. ‘Got any binos?’

  The Dude reached into his pocket. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘You’ll just be able to make them out against the night sky as it’s so clear.’

  Ethan put the binos to his eyes. For a moment he saw nothing, just a blur of shadows as he tried to find the antenna. Then he found it, tracked up the ladder and soon spotted Johnny and Kat. ‘These are amazing,’ he said, stunned by how much he could see in the dark.

  ‘They’ve got some kind of special night-vision system or coating or something,’ said The Dude. ‘Johnny gave them to me.’

  ‘Where’d he get them?’

  ‘Sam, I think. Pretty cool, huh?’

  Ethan nodded. They were very cool indeed. He kept the binos trained on Johnny and Kat. They had now reached the tiny platform Johnny had mentioned. Ethan had no idea how high they were, but he did know it was high enough to kill them if something went wrong.

  ‘You see them?’ asked The Dude.

  ‘At the platform,’ said Ethan. ‘Camera not making them out?’

  ‘Too dark,’ said The Dude. ‘Should be able to get something when they jump, though. They’ll be visible against the sky then. At the moment they’re just blurs against the antenna.’

  Ethan kept watching. He could see Kat now; she was at the edge of the platform. Johnny looked like he was giving her a final prep talk. Ethan wondered what he was saying, how Kat was feeling. He loved the adrenaline of skydiving, but he knew that it was pretty safe – that he had a reserve canopy if necessary. Hell, it had already saved him once! But BASE jumping didn’t have that. And yet, in spite of all the danger – or maybe because of it – he couldn’t help wanting to try it for himself.

  He watched as Kat turned away from Johnny – and jumped.

  ‘Kat’s gone!’ he said. ‘She’s—’ He broke off as he heard the distinctive crack of a canopy grabbing air. ‘Bloody hell! She’s done it!’

  ‘Awesome!’ yelled The Dude.

  Ethan heard a whoop that took him straight back to the first time he’d seen Johnny BASE jumping. He pulled his binos from Kat, spotted Johnny, went back to Kat. She was coming in to land now. Ethan watched her touch down, heard her scream, saw her punch the air – and felt a little jealous . . .

  The Dude was still filming Johnny, who’d just touched down near Kat.

  ‘They’re on their way,’ Ethan told him. ‘Look pretty happy with themselves, don’t they?’

  ‘Totally,’ said The Dude. ‘Unreal.’

  Ethan lowered his binos as Johnny and Kat jogged over, carrying their canopies. He could see a wildness in their eyes – Kat was babbling in excitement.

  ‘What did it look like?’ she was asking Johnny. ‘I thought I’d messed up, but then the canopy opened, and next thing I was just gliding down. It was un-bloody-believable! Eth, you’ve got to do it! You just have to!’

>   ‘You know, I think she enjoyed it,’ said Ethan, smiling.

  ‘It’s the effect I have on women,’ said Johnny. ‘It’s a burden, but I deal with it.’

  Kat leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

  ‘No time for that,’ said The Dude. ‘Need to go.’ And he turned back towards the van, started jogging.

  Ethan looked at Johnny and Kat. ‘You two need a hand with anything?’

  ‘We’re fine,’ said Kat. ‘More than fine. I just want to get back and see what it all looked like on film! Come on!’

  Ethan watched her head off after The Dude.

  ‘What have I done?’ asked Johnny, shaking his head.

  ‘Created a monster, I think,’ said Ethan with a laugh.

  They jogged back to the van. Ethan and Kat piled into the back while Johnny and The Dude climbed into the front.

  ‘Always thought you’d fit in,’ Johnny told Ethan. ‘The team feels right with you in it.’

  ‘I’m not sure I’m part of the team yet,’ said Ethan. ‘Not till I can jump in formation with you.’

  ‘Oh, you’re part of the team all right,’ said Johnny. ‘Otherwise you wouldn’t be here. It was Kat who suggested it.’

  ‘Really?’

  Kat nodded. ‘You’re in, Ethan. No doubt about it.’

  Ethan beamed. He couldn’t help it. The grin spread across his face and refused to leave.

  ‘You OK with that?’ asked Johnny. ‘I only ask because you don’t look too sure.’

  Everybody laughed.

  Suddenly there was a flash of headlights and Ethan saw a Porsche come speeding round the bend. Then he heard the police sirens.

  They all did.

  22

  ‘Said we were being followed,’ hissed The Dude. He stamped on the accelerator, wheel-spinning out of the lay-by, throwing Ethan onto his back.

  ‘It’s Jake,’ said Kat. ‘I’d know his car anywhere. The bastard shopped us.’

  ‘But that car earlier wasn’t a Porsche!’ Ethan yelled over the roar of the van’s engine.

  ‘It was probably being driven by his minions,’ said Johnny. ‘I bet Jake’s been keeping an eye on us for weeks, just so he could do this.’

  The Dude swung the van hard to the right and catapulted Ethan into Kat.

  ‘Sorry,’ Ethan said, pushing himself away. ‘I thought you said this wasn’t illegal!’

  ‘It isn’t,’ Johnny shouted back. ‘But climbing that antenna was.’

  ‘Thanks for letting me know,’ said Ethan, rolling his eyes. It was one thing getting involved in something that was risky. But getting chased by the police wasn’t exactly something he’d include as part of a fun night out. ‘What now?’

  ‘Toolbox in the back there somewhere,’ said Johnny. ‘Need it.’

  ‘What the hell for?’ said Ethan, turning to look at the piles of kit The Dude had scattered in the back of the van.

  ‘Just find it,’ shouted Johnny.

  Ethan could hear the sirens getting closer. With a shrug he started to search through what seemed to be bits and bobs of The Dude’s life. There was a sleeping bag, a couple of tents, rucksacks of all shapes and sizes, ropes and climbing kit, a camping stove.

  He looked over at Kat; she’d pinned herself into a corner of the van, bracing herself against the sides with her feet and hands. ‘Toolbox?’ he said, raising a hand in the air in frustration.

  Kat looked around, shook her head. ‘Must be your side, Eth.’

  Ethan turned round for another look.

  ‘Ethan?’ said Johnny. ‘We’re going to need it very soon . . .’

  ‘You sure it’s here?’ he asked. Through the windscreen he could see city lights ahead; at least they were nearing home.

  ‘It’s there all right,’ said The Dude.

  ‘Yeah, and so’s everything else,’ hissed Ethan, and had another rummage, digging through The Dude’s stuff like a mole through earth. Then his hands found a box. He pulled it out. ‘This it?’

  Johnny turned, nodded. ‘Open it.’

  Inside there wasn’t a single tool. Instead, Ethan was looking at a pile of number plates. He looked up and saw the grin on his friend’s face.

  ‘Done this before,’ said Johnny with a wink. ‘They’re all sorted into pairs, so just grab one, OK?’

  The van suddenly braked hard, but Ethan braced himself against the side, pulled out a pair of number plates and snapped the toolbox shut. ‘Here,’ he said, passing the plates to Kat, who handed them to Johnny. ‘What next?’

  Johnny laughed. ‘Look and learn, Eth.’

  Ethan hung on as The Dude accelerated again, spun down some side streets and pulled over.

  ‘Out!’ shouted Johnny.

  Ethan and Kat tumbled out into the street.

  ‘Make like you’re walking back from town,’ said Johnny. ‘You’re a couple and you’ve had a great night. Make it look good.’

  Ethan saw The Dude quickly swap the number plates on the van as Kat slipped her arm round his waist and pulled him away. They walked round a corner into the main street.

  Ethan heard the sirens, and instinct told him to run – especially when the police cars turned onto their street, lights flashing. But Kat pushed him up against a wall and snuggled in, her body warm and soft against him.

  ‘What are you doing?’ he asked.

  ‘Saving our arses,’ Kat hissed.

  The police cars sped past, disappeared.

  Ethan didn’t move; didn’t really want to.

  Kat spoke first. ‘OK, we’re in the clear.’ She pushed herself away.

  ‘Well, that was all very cloak-and-dagger,’ said Ethan. ‘Done this before?’

  Kat just smiled. ‘See you at FreeFall tomorrow?’

  ‘Just a minute,’ said Ethan. ‘How are you getting home?’ He didn’t like the idea of leaving Kat to her own devices. It was late and dark.

  Kat pulled out her phone. ‘Taxi,’ she said. ‘Need a lift?’

  In the shop the next morning, Ethan was finding it difficult to concentrate. He’d already narrowly avoided making a couple of errors with takings at the till. The events of the night before were still buzzing in his head. The BASE jump had been exciting enough, but being chased by the police had added an edge to the proceedings. As had the brief moment when Kat had pressed herself against him – even if it had only been an act to avoid the police.

  ‘Good morning, Ethan.’

  Ethan looked up. Natalya, face serious as ever, was waiting at the counter. He nodded, said, ‘Hi.’

  ‘I have heard that you had an interesting evening last night.’

  Ethan wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a faint smile on her face. He shrugged.

  ‘Such secrecy,’ said Natalya. ‘A pity Jake called a few people to tell them about Kat’s BASE jump.’

  Ethan sighed. He was beginning to wonder if the whole world knew about that.

  ‘You should be more careful,’ Natalya told him. ‘Sam does not like his team taking too many risks.’

  ‘Sam knows?’

  Natalya shrugged. ‘Perhaps. Probably. Sam knows most things.’

  ‘What have you heard?’ Ethan asked her. He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. So why was he nervous?

  ‘Nothing much,’ said Natalya. ‘I have not seen Sam today so I cannot say for sure what he does or does not know.’

  ‘Why would Sam care anyway? It was Kat’s decision. She didn’t need his permission.’

  ‘Maybe not. But the team is more important to Sam than you could possibly know.’

  ‘You make it sound like he’s their dad!’

  ‘In many ways he is,’ Natalya said simply.

  And that answer really worried Ethan. It suddenly felt like there was something mysterious about ‘the team’. Something going on that he didn’t know about. And he didn’t like that at all.

  ‘Anyway, I just came in to see if you were around all day. We are having a little meeting later about the competition,’ Natalya tol
d him.

  Ethan wanted to ask her more questions, but he couldn’t think of any that made sense. So he just said, ‘What time?’

  ‘One, I think. In the hangar. Luke would like to do a quick check to make sure we are all prepared.’

  Ethan wasn’t surprised. Luke had been given responsibility for looking after the accommodation and flight details. And Luke, as Ethan now knew well, was obsessed with detail. They all made fun of it, but they respected it. After all, no one would want Johnny in charge of getting everyone to the airport on time.

  ‘I will see you then,’ said Natalya as she left the shop.

  For the first time that morning, the shop was empty. Ethan found the silence deafening. It had been bad enough being chased by the police for trespassing, but now he had Sam to worry about. He didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his fury. After all, Sam had kicked Jake out for taking a risk that jeopardized the team. What was to stop him doing the same to someone else?

  ‘Ethan!’

  A cheer from Johnny greeted Ethan when he arrived at the hangar. Johnny and Kat were the only ones there.

  ‘Hey, Johnny,’ said Ethan, but he was unable to disguise the worry in his voice.

  Kat came over. ‘What’s up?’ she asked.

  ‘Everyone knows,’ said Ethan. ‘About last night. Jake shopped us, and I think Sam has probably found out about it. But does that matter? I mean, would Sam be bothered?’

  Ethan saw a nervous glance flick between Kat and Johnny.

  ‘Yeah, he might be,’ said Johnny, none too reassuringly. ‘Ah, well, I guess we should’ve expected it. Who gave you the heads up?’

  ‘Natalya,’ Ethan told him. ‘She came into the shop this morning to let me know about the meeting.’

  ‘Nothing we can do about it now,’ said Kat. ‘You jumping today?’

  Ethan ignored the question. ‘So what if Sam does know?’

  Kat was just opening her mouth to say something when the hangar door opened and Ethan turned to see Luke and Natalya. He wanted an answer to his question but wasn’t given a chance to press any harder as Luke came over.

  ‘This is going to be quick,’ said Luke. ‘I’m not going to give out tickets just in case someone loses theirs.’