DropZone

31

Ethan wasn’t given a chance to argue: Johnny simply sprinted off, and he had to try and keep up.

They followed a wide arc around the ruins to the watchtower behind. Another explosion tore the air, and the light from it brought the castle into sharp focus. Ethan could see that the diversion was having the desired effect. Whoever had stolen the disk was now convinced they were under attack. Ethan could see that the way the explosions had been laid gave the impression that someone was firing explosive rounds at the ruins from the other side of the island – and getting progressively closer as they homed in on their target. X-rays were milling about, firing wildly in the direction they believed the explosions were coming from. They had no idea that they were just charges going off at set intervals.

The air was filled with the smell of burning and cordite and the sound of weapons’ fire and shouting. Ethan hoped the diversion had given Sam enough time to do what he had to do.

Then, as the flat ground disappeared and the ruins loomed up on their left, a man wearing an expensive leather jacket and carrying a weapon ran out through a gap in the walls and barged straight into Johnny. They both went down.

Ethan watched them tumble to the ground, rolling away from the ruins and towards the bushes that led to the cliffs. He heard the man’s gun clatter on some rocks and hoped that he’d dropped it, but then saw that he’d managed to keep hold of it despite the fall. The man scrambled to his feet, raised the weapon and took aim at Johnny.

Instinct kicked in and Ethan launched himself, feet first, at the man’s hand. Whether it was the sensible thing to do or not, he didn’t care; if he didn’t do something, he knew Johnny would be dead.

He heard bones smash as his foot connected with the man’s hand and sent the gun spinning off into the dark. There was a shrill scream. Ethan’s unexpected attack had given Johnny enough time to get to his feet and launch an attack of his own. But the man was quick, dodging to the right and catching Johnny, throwing him over and onto his back. Johnny cried out, briefly winded, and Ethan went in again with his other boot, this time to the man’s stomach. The guy doubled over and retched – just as something smacked into the side of his head with a dull thud. He fell backwards and hit the ground.

Ethan stared down at him, ready for another attack, but he wasn’t moving; blood was pooling beneath his head, leaking into the grass.

Johnny was on his feet again, looking quickly left and right. ‘Move it,’ he said, and grabbed Ethan’s arm to pull him on.

‘What happened?’ asked Ethan.

‘Stray bullet,’ said Johnny. ‘He was probably shot accidentally by one of his mates. But we have to get out of here. We don’t want to get caught in the crossfire either.’

‘It wasn’t a stray,’ said a voice from the ruins, and both Ethan and Johnny turned to see a large, familiar figure emerge from the darkness.

‘Sam,’ said Johnny.

Ethan spotted the machine gun in Sam’s hands. He even recognized what it was: an MP5 – as used by the SAS. Sam looked terrifying. Like the rest of the team, he was head to toe in black, his face streaked with grey and white camouflage, like bits of the night had snagged on him. His knuckles were bloodied. He was also wearing a small backpack that Ethan recognized as a BASE rig. He’d come prepared for every eventuality.

‘No time for pleasantries,’ he said. ‘We need to get to the watchtower now. Move it!’

Ethan felt Sam grab his shoulder and drag him away from the body. ‘Come on, Eth,’ he said. ‘Nothing you can do for him. Let’s go.’

Ethan forced his legs to move and fell into step behind Johnny. They ran round the castle ruins and soon reached the watchtower. Luke, Natalya and Kat were waiting for them.

‘What happened?’ asked Luke.

‘Must be another way to the beach,’ said Johnny. ‘Path was clear – we sorted the boats – then we were being shot at. Claymore took care of two x-rays. Two more chased us up the path. Then they ran into another Claymore. What about you?’

Luke made to speak, but then another explosion slammed across the island. Ethan was stunned by the sound of this one; it was the biggest of the night so far and thundered around them, the initial blast followed by a rumble of other smaller explosions. Everyone in the team ducked, half expecting to be covered in debris.

‘What the hell was that?’ asked Kat.

‘Wasn’t one of mine,’ Luke told her.

‘It wouldn’t be,’ said Johnny.

Everyone turned.

‘Let’s just say that they won’t be able to leave the island in a hurry,’ Johnny said smugly.

‘The helicopters!’ said Ethan. ‘ That’s where you went!’

Johnny nodded. ‘I took the P4 and some detonators from Nat just in case an opportunity presented itself. And the helicopters were a pretty big opportunity. Couldn’t resist it.’

The explosions continued to rattle on as the helicopters slowly disintegrated, ribbons of fire leaping into the air like dancers at a night-time rave.

‘Right,’ said Sam. ‘Time to go. Johnny? Luke?’

Ethan watched as Johnny and Luke slipped off their bergens and opened them, pulling out the BASE rigs and life-jackets and handing them to the rest of the team. As Ethan took his, he saw Sam pull a lifejacket of his own from a pouch on his belt.

‘The lifejackets will inflate on impact with the water,’ said Sam. ‘Each one has a beacon. When you hit the water, get out of your rig, locate the rest of the team and get into a circle. Luke, contact the sub and tell them what’s happening. They need to know we’re coming from the cliff, not the beach.’ He turned back to the others. ‘Ready?’

Ethan pulled on his rig and lifejacket. He double-checked every clip, holding the drogue chute in his hand. The last time he’d worn a canopy this small was when he’d flown a Raider. He remembered then how Johnny had described them – fast and scary. Much like what I’m doing now, he thought.

‘Let me,’ said Kat, and checked him over. ‘It’s not as difficult as it looks,’ she told him. ‘And these cliffs are way higher than the antenna Johnny and I jumped from. You’ll be fine.’

‘That makes me feel so much better,’ said Ethan with a nod, face deadly serious. He didn’t know whether to believe her or not. But it didn’t matter; he had no choice. If he didn’t jump from the cliff, he was dead. It was a no-brainer.

He turned, saw Sam looking at him.

‘So, Ethan, you ready for your first BASE jump?’

Ethan was about to answer when shots rang out, cutting him off. He turned, spotted a group of men charging towards them from the castle.

‘Move it!’ yelled Sam.

Johnny looked at Ethan. ‘Life’s too short not to!’ he said, turned and charged towards the cliff edge. He disappeared without a sound, then a loud whoop and the crack of the canopy opening told Ethan he was fine.

Kat went next, quickly followed by Luke and Natalya. Ethan heard each canopy grab air as they threw out their drogue chutes.

‘It’s a piece of piss,’ said Sam, looking at him. ‘Just run like hell, jump as far as you can, and throw out your drogue chute. Now go!’

Ethan remembered what Johnny had told him when he’d watched him and Kat do their BASE jump. He visualized it, did his best to recall what he’d seen through the binos as Kat had leaped into nothing. Suddenly shots peppered the ground near his feet. He didn’t think any more; he ran.

Then he was at the cliff edge and jumping into the darkness, chucking his drogue chute out as hard as he could. He expected to feel it grab air instantly, pull out his main canopy.

It didn’t.

It threw him head over arse. And now he was piling towards whatever rocks lay below him, head-first. This was nothing like a skydive.

He tumbled, tried to stabilize, but it didn’t feel right. He was falling too slowly. It felt like he’d fallen off a diving board. When the hell was he going to pick up enough speed to allow his drogue to grab air and pull out his main canopy?

Panic burst in Ethan’s skull. He forced himself to ignore it. He could hear the windrush getting faster – he was picking up speed.

But the increased speed still wasn’t enough: he still wasn’t stable.

Shit…

He ran through everything he’d done, from clipping the rig on, to jumping far enough from the cliff, to throwing out the chute. He’d done it to the letter. No detail missed. Not a goddamned thing.

I’m dead…

Then the canopy blasted open above him. He looked up, checked everything, steered himself away from the cliff. For a split second he forgot what he was doing and pulled a steering toggle too hard. He nearly turned himself back into the cliff. But his reactions were so sharp now that he pulled away in time. Moments later, he had the canopy under control and was zipping through the dark, the cold sea air clammy on his skin, leaving salt on his lips.

Above him, Ethan heard Sam’s canopy grab air. It was soon followed by the sound of gunfire from the clifftop. But there was nothing he could do about that now; he just had to get into the ocean and hope the sub found them all.

Ahead he spotted the rest of the team. The night was dying now and light was spilling over the horizon, making the sea visible below.

Another sound chugged into the air, and Ethan spotted the tiny dot of a boat heading out from the island. It was still a fair distance away, but the men were shooting anyway. They had obviously seen the team jump from the clifftop and were now heading directly for them.

More gunfire cracked through the air. Ethan could see that the boat was zigzagging across the water, and he guessed it was searching for them. He realized they couldn’t be seen – not yet anyway. But that didn’t stop him feeling helpless. Like the rest of the team, he had no choice but to keep on gliding until he touched down in the sea. Then he had to hope that the x-rays in the boat wouldn’t be able to find them before the sub arrived – and that the ones on the cliff couldn’t see them well enough to pick them off like fat geese.

Ethan heard a splash, quickly followed by three more. That meant that the only ones left in the air were him and Sam.

The boat was clearer now, no longer a dot, and he could make out two men in it. They had stopped zigzagging and were heading straight for the point where Ethan had heard the team drop into the water; they must have heard them too. They were on a collision course.

Without hesitation, Ethan pulled hard on his steering lines, altered course. He knew there was no point just piling into the water with the rest of the team. The men in the boat would be on them in a moment, and then they’d all be dead. He had to intercept the boat before it reached them. If he could get to it first and put it out of action, they’d have a chance of surviving till the sub arrived. It would be a gamble; he’d have to time it just right, come in fast enough to slam into the two x-rays and take them out of the equation. Perhaps it wouldn’t work. Perhaps they’d see him coming in and shoot him, but he figured it was better to die trying than to wait in the sea like a sitting duck. His friends were depending on him. That was all that mattered.

He gritted his teeth, focused on the boat, increased his speed, and felt the acceleration push him down into his rig. He could see that one man was armed and firing ahead, but the bouncing of the boat on the waves was sending his aim all over the place, and in spite of the crazy thing Ethan was about to do – or perhaps because of it – this brought a smile to his face.

Besides, flying at night across open water made him feel like he was a part of the wind itself. The slightest change and he could react to it immediately, feeling everything through the canopy and steering lines. He was flying instinctively now, everything was second nature, the canopy as much a part of him as his own body. That was enough to make anyone smile.

The boat was just ahead of him. He was coming in from the side – and he was low, real low. Swooping. He could see the waves below him. The x-rays hadn’t spotted him, not yet. One was driving, one firing, his rounds spraying across the water.

Ethan drew closer, lower, the sea only metres away. Then the man with the gun turned to reload his weapon – and spotted Ethan. Their eyes locked. They both knew one of them was going to come out of this badly. It was all a matter of timing.

Ethan pulled his feet up, played with the steering lines to pick up any extra speed he could from the wind. He had a split second to adjust his course and get himself on target. He realized he was too low; the sea was so close now he could practically tiptoe across the waves.

The man in the boat pulled out his magazine, snapped a new one into place.

Ethan sensed the wind through the steering lines, pulled the tiniest bit, and flicked himself up just enough to skim over the edge of the boat.

The man raised the gun, but Ethan’s boots slammed into his head just as he pulled the trigger. Ethan heard the bullets zip past him and felt the man’s head give way under his feet. There was a sickening crunch and the guy was thrown backwards off the boat and into the sea.

Ethan didn’t have time to think about what he’d done; the sea rose up and he was in it, the cold of the water pulling the air from his lungs. Then the lifesaver exploded, and his head popped up above the waves. As quickly as he could, he ripped off his rig.

‘Ethan!’

He looked up, salt stinging his eyes, and saw Johnny swimming over.

‘You OK?’

Ethan nodded.

‘That was unbelievable!’ said Johnny. ‘How the hell did you ride in so accurately? Swoop of the fucking century, mate! Unreal!’

Ethan said nothing, still unable to speak after the shock of hitting the cold water.

More shots rang out. Ethan turned to see Sam coming in. The one remaining man on the boat looked up, but Sam already had him in his sights. He opened fire and sent the guy tumbling over his seat to hang over the side of the boat like a marionette with its strings cut.

Then Sam was in the water.

‘What about the bloke I hit?’ said Ethan. ‘Where is he?’

Johnny pointed out to sea. ‘Fish food,’ he said. ‘With the speed you were doing, you probably broke his neck. Are you sure you’re OK?’

Ethan nodded, unable to find his voice, then saw Sam pull himself out of the water and into the boat. Sam tipped the body into the sea. ‘May as well make use of the boat and get out of the water till the sub arrives,’ he shouted.

Ethan and Johnny swam over, and Sam helped them out of the water – then picked up Luke, Kat and Natalya.

‘Well done, Ethan,’ said Sam, sitting down in the boat. ‘You probably just saved all our lives. That was quite something.’

Ethan didn’t say anything; couldn’t. All he could think about was the bloke he’d smashed into.

The bloke he’d killed.

He hadn’t intended to kill him. He’d just acted instinctively to save the lives of his friends. But the sobering fact of the man’s death chilled him more than the sea. Ethan didn’t know what to feel except cold and numb.

A hand fell on his shoulder. ‘Sam’s right. You saved everyone’s lives,’ said Johnny. ‘If you hadn’t done what you did, we’d all be dead. Even you. Remember that. It was him or everyone else.’

‘But I killed him,’ said Ethan, the thought making him feel sick. He put his head over the side of the boat and threw up.

Sam came up behind him. ‘You had no choice – you know that, don’t you?’

Ethan nodded.

‘There’s no such thing as a good death, but sometimes, when your hand is forced, tough decisions have to be made. And you made the right one.’

‘If I’d known I was going to end up killing someone…’ said Ethan, but his voice drifted away. He didn’t know what to say.

‘Our aim is always to leave as clean as we go in,’ said Sam. ‘We’re not about charging in, guns blazing. To be frank, this went tits up. But you, Ethan… well, you saved it from becoming a total screw-up. You should be proud. Not happy, but proud. It’s different.’

Ethan looked at him. The man talked sense and he didn’t piss around trying to make you feel better just for the sake of it. He liked that. ‘I just hope something like that never happens again,’ he said.

‘We all do,’ said Sam. ‘But we also need to be ready in case it does.’

Luke looked over at Ethan. ‘They’d have probably run us down first before shooting us. Either way, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. You did the right thing.’

‘You think so?’

‘Know so,’ said Sam. ‘Feeling better?’

Ethan nodded.

Sam turned and pushed the throttle forward, taking them further out to sea.

Ahead, Ethan could see something breaking through the surface of the waves: a large grey shape pushing through the water like a whale.

The sub.