Part 23 (1/2)

'Yes,' Johnny said, his expression serious and businesslike. 'The throat mic is the product of choice both on and off the battlefield. Thank you, Luke.'

Ethan laughed.

'Anyway' Luke ignored Johnny as best he could 'you've probably seen plenty of these things being used in bad action movies by macho actors.'

'You know the ones that look like me,' said Johnny, checking Ethan had put the thing on properly.

'We'll be on a chat-net,' said Luke. 'It means everyone can speak at the same time.'

'So don't go telling Kat you think Luke's a d.i.c.k,' said Johnny, 'because he'll hear you.'

'We'll be tumbling out of the plane in close formation, one after the other,' Luke continued. 'Aim is to get out, find s.p.a.ce and pull the canopy quickly. Once we all know where we are, we'll head off.'

'So how do we know where we're going?' asked Ethan. 'And how do we keep close when we're jumping in the dark?'

Johnny began to answer, but the call came through from the pilot.

'No time for any more explanations,' said Luke. 'We're good to go.'

CHAPTER 26

Luke called everyone over, and Ethan followed Kat, who leaned closer and said, 'We may take the p.i.s.s, but Luke's generally our reason for staying alive. If he doesn't check it, don't use it. OK?'

Ethan stood with everyone else as Luke did his rounds. And after what Kat had just said, he looked at Luke in a new light. He knew from experience that he was into the detail, but to know he was so vital to everything the team did made him listen all the harder. After all, Ethan was pretty keen on staying alive. He was amazed at just how thorough Luke was. Nothing got missed. He pulled Johnny up for a pocket left undone. The pocket was empty, Johnny had protested, but that didn't matter, not to Luke. He even checked Kat and Natalya's hair.

'When are you two going to cut this off?' he asked. 'It's always a tangle risk, you know that.'

'So's Johnny's,' said Kat.

'Seriously though long hair and this kind of activity don't mix too well.'

'We tie it up well,' Natalya pointed out. 'And you are forgetting that our cover relies on the fact that we do not look like the kind of people who would do what we are about to do.'

'Hmm...' Luke sounded unconvinced. He glanced at Ethan. 'OK?'

'Fine,' said Ethan as Luke checked him over carefully.

'Remember about the oxygen. Don't gulp it. Breathe normally. It may feel weird, sound weird, and it doesn't taste great either, but it's fine.'

'Got it,' said Ethan.

'Good,' said Luke, and clapped him on the shoulders with both hands. 'You're part of the team now, Ethan.'

Ethan nodded and smiled. He knew he couldn't back out now he didn't want to.

Gabe appeared through a door at the rear of the hold. 'We depressurize in a few minutes,' he said, 'so I'm going to be brief...'

Ethan listened closely. He didn't want to miss anything. Whatever it was they were about to do, whatever it was he'd agreed to be involved in, he wanted to be clear on every last detail. He knew it was dangerous that much was obvious. All the more reason to make sure he didn't let everyone else down or make a t.i.t of himself.

'Right, you all know what you're taking with you, but I'm going to run through it again partly for Ethan's sake, and also to make sure you don't get your faces shot off because I didn't tell you everything.' Gabe crouched down beside the two large black holdalls they were jumping with. Luke would carry one, Johnny the other. Each holdall contained two black bergens. Gabe explained that, on landing, Luke, Johnny, Natalya and Ethan would take a bergen each. Kat got off lightly for this mission only four bergens were needed, so she wouldn't be carrying.

Gabe turned to Johnny and Luke. 'Your bergens contain the BASE rigs. Everything checked?'

Johnny and Luke nodded.

'Good,' said Gabe. 'Lose those, and your emergency exit is screwed... Natalya,' he continued, 'your bergen contains everything you'll need for the diversion P4 explosive, detonators and Claymores. Has it all been checked?'

Natalya nodded. 'The equipment is all OK,' she said, 'but I am not happy about our lack of protection. What are we to do if they shoot?'

'Make sure they don't see you,' said Gabe. Then he turned to Ethan. 'Your bergen will contain the two inflatable canoes.'

'OK,' Ethan replied. 'But what about Sam? Don't we need to know where he is?'

'All you need to do is focus on the mission,' said Gabe. 'Sam's more than capable of looking after himself. He's made a career out of it. Just provide the diversion he needs and get the h.e.l.l out. Right?'

The pilot buzzed through with the final call.

'OK, we're about to depressurize,' said Gabe. 'Everyone to oxygen. Now.'

'Ethan, put this on,' said Kat, handing him a face mask.

'But it's not connected,' Ethan pointed out.

'And it won't be until we know the oxygen in the bottle is flowing. And we need to check the seal on your mask, OK? Can't have the thing leaking when we're outside the plane.'

She reached over, blocked the hole where the tube attached with her hand. 'Can you breathe?'

Ethan shook his head. He didn't like the sensation.

'Good,' said Kat. She did the same with her own mask before grabbing the bottle, turning it on and staring at the dial. Then she took the tube attached to the bottle and put it up to her eye.

Ethan was about to ask what she was doing, but Kat got in first. 'This way we can feel if the oxygen is flowing,' she told him. 'Just because the dial gives a reading doesn't mean it isn't defective.'

'Oh, right...' Ethan was stunned by the attention to detail. It almost made him feel safe. Almost.

'If we put these on and the oxygen flow is screwed, then when the cabin depressurizes we'll be in a state of hypoxia within a minute, dead in two.'

Ethan didn't say a thing. Dead in two minutes?

'And don't worry about the farting,' added Kat.

He looked at her, not sure if he'd heard her right. Farting? What the h.e.l.l did that have to do with anything?

'Once this thing's unpressurized, all gases expand,' Kat explained with a grin; 'even oxygen under a tooth filling causes it to explode. You're lucky; we checked you out no fillings. Must be all that flossing.'

Kat attached the tubes to the face masks and nodded.