DropZone

‘My office. Now.’

Jake opened his mouth to reply.

‘Now, Jake,’ said Sam. ‘ Now.’

And seeing the look on Sam’s face – even though he wasn’t the one being called into his office – Ethan felt sick.

When Jake had left with Sam, Joh

No one argued.

8

Ethan heard Jake before he saw him. The crack of Sam’s office door slamming split the air.

Ethan turned, saw Jake storming towards him.

‘Rookie!’

Kat stood up and tried to stop him, but he pushed her out of the way and walked straight up to Ethan.

Ethan didn’t flinch. He’d never been one for backing down from anyone. It had got him knocked around a few times at school, but he didn’t care. Ru

Jake shoved Ethan in the chest. ‘I’m going to make you pay for this, Rookie…’

Ethan said nothing, did nothing. He just stood there, waiting to see what Jake would do next.

‘You hear me?’ said Jake as Kat tried to pull him away. ‘You did this. All you had to do was keep your stupid mouth shut – that’s all! You prick!’

Joh

‘That’s it,’ said Joh

Jake turned on Joh

Luke stepped in. ‘Jake, just do what Joh

Ethan nodded and turned back towards the counter. He figured it made more sense to let this one lie than help things get out of hand. He wanted the job and he wanted the tandem, and he knew Sam wouldn’t look kindly on a fight at FreeFall.

Joh

Joh

‘But I didn’t do anything,’ protested Ethan. ‘And what was all that about? What happened? What’s Sam done?’

Joh

‘The only thing he can do,’ she said. ‘If someone makes a stupid mistake like that out on the DZ, then they are grounded until they’ve learned better. With Jake, it should have happened sooner. I have never trusted him. He is too wild. Too obsessed with himself. Even more so than Joh

‘Oh, you hurt me with your words,’ Joh

‘What do you mean, grounded?’ said Ethan. ‘Kept inside for a week and not allowed to see his friends? Sam’s not your dad!’

‘No, he’s not,’ said Luke, ‘but what he says goes. Jake won’t be allowed to jump for a few weeks.’

‘You serious?’

‘Sam is always serious about this kind of thing,’ said Natalya. ‘Being grounded will give Jake time to sort himself out, get his priorities straight. And it will keep him out of the air while he is still considered a liability.’

‘Yeah,’ Joh

‘There would be no complaints from me,’ said Natalya. ‘I still ca

Joh

Natalya shot him one of her steely looks, but he just winked again and added a very large smile, all teeth.

‘Here’s Kat,’ said Luke, looking over at the door.

Her face was pale. She walked over, sat down, said nothing.

Natalya leaned over, concern etched on her face. ‘Kat?’

Nothing.

‘Come on, Kat,’ said Joh

Kat leaned back in her chair, hands on her head. ‘Sam’s not only grounded Jake for three months,’ she said, ‘he’s kicked him off the team. He’s out. Permanently.’

At this, Ethan heard everyone swear. Everyone but Natalya. She simply sat back in her chair, folded her arms and shook her head. But her eyes never left Kat, and Ethan could see she was concerned for her friend.

‘Great,’ said Joh

‘What if Sam changes his mind when he calms down?’ said Ethan, and realized as the words left his mouth how crazy they sounded. He’d not worked for Sam that long, but it was already obvious that he was not the kind of person to go back on a decision.

‘He won’t,’ said Luke, confirming Ethan’s thoughts. ‘When Sam draws a line under something, he makes it clear exactly where it is. You cross it and you’re out. No appeal. Nothing. Sam’s word is law.’

Ethan looked at Kat. She was just sitting there shaking her head.

‘Jake didn’t want to talk about it,’ she said. ‘Not even to me.’ Then she turned to Ethan and he could see just how upset she was. ‘Why didn’t you just keep quiet? Why did you have to go and tell Sam about it?’

‘I told you – I didn’t,’ said Ethan. ‘Sam was there with me. He told me it was Jake. I didn’t know what was happening.’

But Kat wasn’t really listening. ‘You’ve ruined everything,’ she said, standing up and pushing her chair away. It skidded for a minute, caught a hole in the floor, flipped.

‘Don’t talk crap,’ said Joh

‘Whatever,’ said Kat.

‘It’s true, Kat. He’s more bothered about how he looks up there – whether I’ve got his good side on camera – than anything to do with safety. We’ve all thought it, so don’t kid yourself.’

‘Looking good?’ said Kat, turning on Joh

‘I look good because up there I do everything by the letter,’ said Joh

Kat started to say something, but then just turned and walked out. The café door slammed behind her as she left.

‘I thought that all went rather well,’ said Joh

‘How’s that then?’ asked Ethan.

Joh

‘Can’t believe the same thing’s happened again,’ said Joh

‘It is not quite the same this time, though, is it?’ said Natalya. ‘Jake did not just disappear without trace.’

Ethan rested his tray on the table and stared at Natalya. ‘What do you mean? Who disappeared?’ He saw Joh

Joh

‘So what happened to him?’ asked Ethan. ‘Why did he disappear?’

Natalya opened her mouth to speak, but Luke got in first.

‘Nothing that mysterious,’ he said. ‘It just didn’t work out. One day he was here, the next he wasn’t.’

‘And we’ve never heard anything from him since,’ finished Joh

Something about Natalya’s expression told Ethan he wasn’t getting the whole story. She had a distant look, like she was staring through Joh