DropZone

‘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 Joh

‘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, ‘Joh

‘I know,’ said Ethan. ‘Joh

‘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. Joh

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 gri

‘Dude? Eth? See you in a few minutes,’ said Joh

Ethan watched Joh

Game over.

21

‘Everything OK?’

Ethan put the radio to his mouth, pressed the button. ‘Yeah, Joh

‘We’re at the ante

Ethan heard the distinct sound of someone being punched.

‘Scratch that,’ said Joh

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

‘You love it,’ said Joh

‘Good luck,’ said Ethan, but Joh

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 ante

‘They’ve got some kind of special night-vision system or coating or something,’ said The Dude. ‘Joh

‘Where’d he get them?’

‘Sam, I think. Pretty cool, huh?’

Ethan nodded. They were very cool indeed. He kept the binos trained on Joh

‘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 ante

Ethan kept watching. He could see Kat now; she was at the edge of the platform. Joh

He watched as Kat turned away from Joh

‘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 Joh

The Dude was still filming Joh

‘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 Joh

‘What did it look like?’ she was asking Joh

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

‘It’s the effect I have on women,’ said Joh

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 Joh

‘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 Joh

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

They jogged back to the van. Ethan and Kat piled into the back while Joh

‘Always thought you’d fit in,’ Joh

‘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 Joh

‘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 Joh

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.