DropZone

28

Ethan couldn’t help but notice that Luke was the natural leader. OK, so he had perhaps three or four years on most of the others, but there was also something else about him – a quiet confidence they all trusted utterly.

‘Right,’ he told them, ‘this is what we’re going to do. First we deal with those two x-rays up there. Then Ethan and Johnny head for the beach, secure it, sort out the canoes and contact the sub. Avoid the clear ground in front of the ruins. Go through the woods to the right of the helicopters, OK? And take some of the Claymores.’

Luke turned to Natalya and Kat. ‘You two will lay the diversionary explosives, draw attention away from what Sam’s got to do.’

‘Just a minute,’ said Johnny. ‘Don’t I get to blow stuff up too?’

‘No,’ said Luke, and ignored Johnny’s obvious disappointment. ‘The beach will need to be secure. That’s down to you and Ethan. You’ll have the Claymores anyway; just remember to point the damned things towards the enemy, OK? They’ll make a nasty mess of you if you get it wrong.’

‘But the explosives,’ said Johnny, doing his best to sound sad. ‘I’ll miss the pretty lights…’

‘Oh, you’ll still see them, I’m sure,’ said Kat. ‘Isn’t that right, Natalya?’

Natalya nodded, and Ethan saw a grin on her face.

‘Anyway,’ said Luke, ‘Natalya’s the queen of explosives. I trust her not to blow us all up in the process, whereas you might just get a little carried away.’

Johnny looked sorrowfully at Ethan. ‘I hate to admit it, but it’s a fair point,’ he said.

‘What about you?’ asked Ethan, looking at Luke. He wanted to know what everyone was doing, get all the details straight in his mind and understand his place in all of it.

‘Once Kat and Natalya have set everything off, I’ll turn my attention to the tent. I’ve enough flash bangs and smoke grenades to have them wandering around in a daze for hours.’

Ethan didn’t want to ask if that was a joke.

‘That way,’ Luke continued, ‘Sam – wherever he is right now – will have plenty of cover and confusion to find the disk and get out.’

‘Then we’re out of here, right?’ said Johnny.

‘Absolutely,’ agreed Luke. ‘We’ll paddle out from the beach and the sub will be waiting. Nice and simple. Questions?’

There was silence.

Then Johnny said, ‘Isn’t this the bit in the movie where somebody says something like “Let’s rock and roll”?’

And Ethan saw a glimmer of excitement on the face of the unshakable Luke. ‘Yes,’ he said, and turned to Natalya and Kat. ‘We need those x-rays out of the way. And it needs to be done silently. Let’s rock and roll.’

Natalya and Kat disappeared into the darkness between them and the castle, two black shapes slipping away through the long grass.

Luke turned to Ethan and handed him the binos. ‘Watch,’ he said.

Ethan focused the binoculars and brought the shadowy image of the castle ruins up nice and clear.

Nothing.

Then something: a faint blur of dark against more dark. He had them – the girls edging forward. He lifted the binos a little; spotted the two doormen outside the tent. He could see them quite clearly in the faint glow of light coming from inside. They were smoking, talking. One laughed, the other joined in.

Then they were gone.

Ethan scanned left, right, looked back. No. They had definitely gone. He lowered the binos and looked back at Johnny and Luke. ‘What the hell did they just do?’

‘Ask the girls yourself,’ said Luke. ‘Here they come now.’

Kat appeared at Ethan’s side. ‘Right,’ she said. ‘What’s next?’

Ethan looked at her and Natalya. Neither of them were out of breath. ‘What did you do – with the guards? Where are they?’

Natalya looked at him, cocked her head to one side. ‘They are asleep, Ethan,’ she said. ‘Like big babies. And how the fat one snores!’

Kat laughed, and Johnny and Luke joined in.

‘But they were armed,’ said Ethan. ‘You could’ve been shot.’

‘And I could’ve died if you hadn’t jumped out of the plane after me at FreeFall,’ said Kat. ‘Life’s just full of surprises, isn’t it?’

‘I guess so.’

‘The tent’s pretty full,’ Kat went on. ‘Lots of chatter, the chinking of glasses. They’re definitely not expecting visitors. The two guards were the only ones about outside. Everyone else is in the tent.’

‘Right,’ said Luke. ‘Watches. We meet at the beach in exactly thirty minutes – on my mark.’ He paused, then, ‘Three, two, one… mark.’

Everyone clicked their watches.

Johnny turned to Natalya. ‘Claymores,’ he said.

Ethan watched as she crouched down to allow Johnny access to the bergen on her back. He could see how it saved time doing it this way, and meant she was able to react swiftly if something happened, without having to pull the bergen back on if they had to bolt.

Johnny took what he needed and turned to Ethan. ‘Ready to go play?’

Together they ran quickly through the thick woodland, making for the path to the beach.

Ethan noticed that Johnny was weaving across the ground, dodging bushes, being careful to make no sound. Ethan did his best to step where Johnny stepped; he didn’t want to make mistakes, not now. Jumping from a plane was one thing; getting shot at was another matter entirely.

Odd shadows loomed ahead and Johnny slowed. Ethan peered through the trees and saw the helicopters.

‘Other than skydiving, a helicopter is the only way to fly,’ Johnny muttered, then set off again, weaving left and right.

The woodland eventually thinned, and Ethan could just make out the sound of the sea in the distance.

Johnny had stopped. ‘We’re here. There’s the path.’

Ethan looked and saw it stretching ahead – carved out of the cliff itself, at times dipping in under an overhang. It certainly wasn’t for the faint-hearted. He could hear waves slipping over pebbles somewhere far below.

Johnny led the way along the path, but stopped again a few minutes later.

‘What’s wrong?’ asked Ethan. ‘Did you hear something?’

‘No,’ said Johnny. ‘Just wait here, OK?’ And without another word, he disappeared, heading back in the direction of the helicopters.

Finding himself alone, Ethan quickly checked the landscape. The path didn’t exactly lend itself to playing hide-and-seek, but just a few metres on he spotted what looked like a landslide partly covering the track. He decided he’d be better off hiding in the shadows than standing out on a narrow cliff path, so he jogged on down to the landslide and made himself as invisible as possible.

For the first few minutes he focused on what he and Johnny had to do when they got to the beach. He was looking forward to seeing what the canoes were like and how a mine was laid – though he hoped he wouldn’t get to see one in action. But then, as the minutes ticked by, Ethan started to wonder what Johnny was up to – going off on his own had never been a part of the plan. What was he supposed to do if something went wrong and Johnny didn’t come back?

But just then he heard something further up the track. Ethan peered out from his hiding place, fully expecting to see Johnny heading his way. But it wasn’t Johnny: two men suddenly emerged from the shadows above him – and he had nowhere to go, nowhere at all.