DropZone Part 21

'Guessed that with the change of planes,' said Luke, getting up from his seat to come and join them. 'What's going on?'

'You're talking about this like you half expected it to happen,' said Ethan curiously. He turned to Gabe. 'Who are you? I know you're something to do with FreeFall because I've seen you there. But what's the connection?'

Kat and Natalya came over, looked at Ethan. 'This is Gabe,' said Kat. 'He looks cute, but I wouldn't exactly take him home to meet the parents.'

'Thank you, Kat,' said Gabe. He looked back at the team. 'A job's come up,' he said. 'Top priority. We're sending you in. Everything's arranged.'

'What are you talking about?' asked Ethan. 'What job? What's been arranged?'

'My apologies,' said Gabe, turning to Ethan. 'We had planned to give you longer to settle in. We would not, by choice, have involved you in this so early, but the decision has been made for us. Sam's agreed it because your progress has been well, shall we say, unique?'

Ethan looked round at the rest of the team, his gaze finally settling on Johnny. 'So,' he said. 'What exactly exactly am I involved in?' am I involved in?'

For a few minutes while Gabe spoke privately with the rest of the team Ethan was left on his own to wonder what the h.e.l.l was going on. Looking back, he could see how certain things had been strange from the start. The free tandem jump had seemed a fantastic and unexpected perk of the job, but now he saw there was more to it than that. Had Sam actually used it to see just how he'd respond in the air? Had Sam been watching him, a.s.sessing him from the moment he'd walked in to take the job? Had he already been thinking about a replacement for Jake?

But a replacement for what what exactly? All Ethan knew was that Johnny and the rest were a skydiving team, but now he was sure they were more than that. For a start, it seemed pretty certain that it was Gabe who had funded his AFF no wonder Ethan had seen the man watching him at FreeFall. exactly? All Ethan knew was that Johnny and the rest were a skydiving team, but now he was sure they were more than that. For a start, it seemed pretty certain that it was Gabe who had funded his AFF no wonder Ethan had seen the man watching him at FreeFall.

And now here they all were, on a private flight, with Gabe talking about a 'top priority' job and 'sending' them in. It all sounded top secret, military. Was Sam still in the military in some way some top-secret, military intelligence top-secret, military intelligence kind of way? Or was that too far-fetched? kind of way? Or was that too far-fetched?

The huddle broke up and Gabe came over. 'Johnny will explain everything,' he said to Ethan. 'You can then decide if you're in.' And he made his way back to the front of the plane and disappeared; the door slid shut behind him with a faint hiss.

Johnny slipped into the seat next to Ethan. 'I've a confession,' he said.

'No s.h.i.t,' said Ethan.

'We're not your average skydiving team.'

Ethan wasn't in the mood for games. He wanted to know what was going on and he wanted to know now. He'd guessed much of it, but he needed to hear it for real. 'Forget the cryptic bulls.h.i.t, Johnny,' he said. 'I've already worked that out. Sam's not been training me up just so that I can have fun at a hundred and twenty mph so why don't you tell me what's happening, what Gabe's on about, what Sam's got to do with all this, and just what job it is we're being sent on?'

'First off,' said Johnny, 'I can tell you that we work for Sam and he needs our help.'

'I thought he was going to meet us at the compet.i.tion,' said Ethan.

'The compet.i.tion's a cover,' Johnny explained. 'It gave Sam a reason to be in France and us a reason to be around just in case.'

'Just in case of what?' asked Ethan.

Johnny leaned forward. 'Sam hasn't just been training us to skydive,' he said. 'And he hasn't just been giving you a nice bit of charity either.'

'He wants me to be part of the team,' said Ethan, voicing his own conclusion. 'I'm not stupid. I always thought it was odd that someone paid for me to do the AFF. It was Gabe, wasn't it? Sam told him about me, and Gabe somehow came up with the cash to put me through.'

Johnny's usual jokey persona disappeared completely. 'We're a freefall team,' he said, 'but that's also a cover story. The whole thing was Sam's idea. He used FreeFall as a way to find the people he wanted and he found us. We work for MI5. Gabe's our contact. He provides the cash and the s.e.xy equipment.'

'And it was Sam who put me up for this?'

Johnny nodded. 'You impressed him, and that's saying something. We've seen you skydive, and he's right, you're a natural. Your first solo dive was excellent, and you've improved with every jump since. Plus and this is a biggie you fit with the team.'

'Keep talking,' said Ethan.

'Look, let's just say we've had our eye on you from the start. From the moment you did your tandem jump, Sam had us watching you. All of us.'

'You've been spying on me?'

'Not spying,' said Johnny, 'but we have been keeping an eye on you to see if you'd fit in.'

'That makes me feel so much better.'

'And so it should,' snapped Johnny, the ice in his voice surprising Ethan. 'Jake didn't make the grade, and neither did the bloke before him. But then he just f.u.c.ked off into nowhere and we never heard from him again.'

'He disappeared?' said Ethan.

'Yeah though it didn't change the fact that he wasn't good enough. But that's another story.'

'You're not even past the first chapter of this one,' said Ethan. 'Tell me more about Gabe and MI5.'

'Can't,' said Johnny.

'You'd better.'

'Seriously, I can't. That's down to Sam and Gabe. I'm not at liberty to divulge that information.'

'You don't even understand some of the words you just used.' don't even understand some of the words you just used.'

'What gave it away?' Johnny laughed. 'Look, I've told you all I can. We're skydivers and we've been trained by Sam, the best in the business, to be a covert operations team for MI5. We get to do stuff people only ever see in the movies. The only other thing you need to know is that Sam's in trouble. We're now on a heading to get him out out of trouble. This will involve wearing lots of black, doing a HAHO jump, setting off explosives and generally causing a diversion. Interested?' of trouble. This will involve wearing lots of black, doing a HAHO jump, setting off explosives and generally causing a diversion. Interested?'

Ethan opened his mouth, shut it again. Then said, 'HAHO?'

'High Alt.i.tude, High Opening,' Johnny reminded him. 'Sometime pretty soon we're going to be leaving this plane at thirty-two thousand feet. This is just the sort of mission Sam's been training us for. He thinks and so do we that you should be our last team member. I can tell you nothing more than what I've already said until you decide whether you're in.' He paused, then sighed. 'I know it's not much to go on, mate, but you'll just have to trust me. I'm not making this up. And the stuff I'm not telling you what you could be doing with your life if you joined us well, it's pretty mind-blowing...'

'So I've a choice in this?' asked Ethan. He really didn't like the fact that so much had been going on behind his back. But at the same time he was psyched. Skydiving had changed his life, made him realize he could do something radically different to everyone else. And what Johnny was describing was even wilder. Joining some kind of secret military operation certainly sounded better than just sitting in an office or being a drunk like his loser dad, but he needed to know it was his own decision.

'You've always got a choice,' said Johnny. 'You decided to take up skydiving. decided to take up skydiving. You You decided to take on Jake when he killed the rigs. decided to take on Jake when he killed the rigs. You You decided to save Kat. You've been making the decisions all along. If anything, you've selected yourself.' decided to save Kat. You've been making the decisions all along. If anything, you've selected yourself.'

'I guess so. In a way...' said Ethan thoughtfully. 'But it's what I've selected myself for for that's the problem. I'm not sure I understand exactly what it is.' that's the problem. I'm not sure I understand exactly what it is.'

'I've told you everything I can,' said Johnny, 'but if you want a word of advice from a friend, forget thinking, forget trying to weigh up the pros and cons. Just go with what your gut tells you!'

Ethan sat back in his seat and, despite a strong urge to just say Count me in Count me in, decided to play devil's advocate. 'What if I say no? What then?'

'We drug you and you wake up back home, stinking of booze.'

Ethan frowned. He couldn't tell if Johnny was bulls.h.i.tting or not.

'Eth, mate,' said Johnny seriously, 'none of this is a joke. I we we are asking you to join us because we want you to be a part of the team. But if you want out, you've got that option.' are asking you to join us because we want you to be a part of the team. But if you want out, you've got that option.'

Ethan already knew he wanted to be involved. He wanted it more than anything he'd ever wanted in his whole life. But he needed to be sure he'd thought it over fully. What he decided now would change everything. This was no longer just a hobby; something fun to do that sounded cool and s.e.xy when you told girls about it. This was a career, a whole new life important, exciting and very, very dangerous.

'Ethan-' Johnny began.

And then the words were out before he had a chance to stop them. 'f.u.c.k it,' Ethan said. 'I'm in.'

CHAPTER 24

Johnny stood up. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new team member!'

Luke was the first to respond. 'Nice one, Eth,' he said. 'Glad to have someone on board who actually takes things seriously.' He looked at Johnny, and they both smiled.

'Cheers,' said Ethan; then he winked. 'But I'm only in it for the girls.'

Luke and Johnny laughed.

'You made the right decision all the same,' said Natalya. 'I am pleased you have joined us.'

For the first time Ethan saw a genuine smile on her face. It suited her, he thought.

'Don't think Jake could call you a rookie now,' said Kat. 'Pity we can't tell him it'd be worth it just to see the look on his face.'

'You're over him, then?' said Ethan.

'Was never on or even under him,' she joked.

'Enough of the emotional stuff,' said Johnny. 'Let's get down to business. Luke?'

Ethan listened up. So did everyone else.

'The situation is this,' Luke began: 'an encrypted hard disk has been stolen. It contains sensitive information that, were the encryption to be broken, could prove damaging to certain parties.'

'If it's encrypted, what's the problem?' asked Ethan, hoping he didn't sound like a total k.n.o.b. 'Isn't that supposed to mean no one can read it unless they're the right person with the right code or something?'

'Yup,' said Johnny. 'But Gabe reckons this was an inside job. Which means there probably is is someone with all that. Sam was sent in to recover the disk someone with all that. Sam was sent in to recover the disk before before the encryption could be broken and the info sold to the highest bidder.' the encryption could be broken and the info sold to the highest bidder.'

'So where's Sam now?' asked Kat. 'Why call us in?'

Luke went on, 'The person suspected of stealing the disk was tracked to a small island off the coast of France. Sam was HAHO'd in a few hours ago to get the disk back. But he's now communicated that the situation has changed and is critical. He needs urgent support to complete the mission.'

'Which is where we come in,' said Natalya. 'Right?'

Johnny nodded and looked at Ethan. 'Like I said, the skydiving compet.i.tion was the perfect cover for Sam to leave the country and for us to follow on in case it turned into a full-on s.h.i.t-storm which it has.'

'So eloquently put,' said Kat, shaking her head.

'So we were sent to the compet.i.tion just in case Sam needed us?' Ethan asked.

Luke nodded. 'No one would suspect a thing,' he said. 'Gabe got the communication from Sam as we left FreeFall. The jet was being held in reserve, just in case this kicked off.'

The more Ethan heard, the more unreal it all seemed. He'd just found out he was a member of a special ops team working for MI5. It was like something from the movies; something that only ever happened to good-looking actors on the big screen oh, and as it turned out, him! He felt himself grinning like an idiot and tried to focus. 'You've still not explained how we're involved,' he said. 'Or what's in the files on the disk.'

'The contents of the files are on a strictly need-to-know basis,' said Johnny. 'And Gabe doesn't want us to know. Which means none of us needs to ask. All we have to do is help Sam. He's arrived at the target destination but is unable to locate and extract the disk without being compromised.'

'Why?' asked Natalya. 'What has happened? Did Gabe not know the situation before he sent Sam in?'

'The situation's changed,' said Johnny. 'There are more x-rays on the ground than originally thought and it's now too risky for Sam to act without a diversion.' He looked at Ethan and grinned. 'Which is where we come in.'

'X-rays?' asked Ethan.

'Enemies,' explained Kat, then turned to Johnny. 'And by "compromised" you mean killed, don't you?'

Johnny nodded and looked at Ethan. 'You keeping up with this? It's a lot to take in.'

'Yeah,' said Ethan, smiling. 'It's not every day you become part of a covert ops team, is it?'

's.h.i.t happens,' Johnny said with a shrug.

The plane dropped suddenly and Ethan heard the engines squeal a little, felt his stomach flip. It had been doing that a lot in the past few minutes.

'This situation Sam's in...' he said. 'Does it mean we have to take guns with us?'

'For a start, we use the term weapon weapon rather than gun,' said Luke. 'And, no, we won't go in armed. We never do. The job of the team is always to try and slip in under the radar, not to go in and take people out. We need to be invisible. Weapons have a habit of making people very obvious indeed. But we will be taking in explosives to create a diversion.' rather than gun,' said Luke. 'And, no, we won't go in armed. We never do. The job of the team is always to try and slip in under the radar, not to go in and take people out. We need to be invisible. Weapons have a habit of making people very obvious indeed. But we will be taking in explosives to create a diversion.'

'He means we'll blow s.h.i.t up,' said Johnny.

'Sounds dangerous,' said Ethan.

'Comes with the territory,' Johnny replied, 'and it's all part of the fun. Anyway, who wants to live a life that's risk-free? Better to live as a lion for a day than a lamb for a year, right?'

'That's cheesy,' said Ethan.

'I know,' said Johnny. 'Can't believe I said it.'

'True though,' Kat put in quietly.

'If the op goes well, we'll still be going to the compet.i.tion,' Luke added. 'It's all part of the cover story.'

Ethan looked at the team his his team four people he now counted as the best friends he'd ever had. He was about to jump from a jet with them on a mission for MI5 to rescue the toughest bloke he'd ever met in his life. Just a few weeks ago he wouldn't have believed it was possible, wouldn't have believed he could have the skills for such a mission. But it was and he did. He was confident of that. Sam the team wouldn't have chosen him otherwise. All he had to do was stay sharp, stay focused, and remember everything he'd been taught. team four people he now counted as the best friends he'd ever had. He was about to jump from a jet with them on a mission for MI5 to rescue the toughest bloke he'd ever met in his life. Just a few weeks ago he wouldn't have believed it was possible, wouldn't have believed he could have the skills for such a mission. But it was and he did. He was confident of that. Sam the team wouldn't have chosen him otherwise. All he had to do was stay sharp, stay focused, and remember everything he'd been taught.

'OK,' he said, 'ignoring the lion/lamb thing, I do have one more question.'

'What's that?' said Johnny.

Ethan smiled. 'What's the pay like?'