Part 21 (1/2)

'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.