down?’ said Ethan, and realized as the words left his mouth how crazy they sounded. He’d not worked for Sam that long, but it was already obvious that he was not the kind of person to go back on a decision.
‘He won’t,’ said Luke, confirming Ethan’s thoughts. ‘When Sam draws a line under something, he makes it clear exactly where it is. You cross it and you’re out. No appeal. Nothing. Sam’s word is law.’
Ethan looked at Kat. She was just sitting there shaking her head.
‘Jake didn’t want to talk about it,’ she said. ‘Not even to me.’ Then she turned to Ethan and he could see just how upset she was. ‘Why didn’t you just keep quiet? Why did you have to go and tell Sam about it?’
‘I told you – I didn’t,’ said Ethan. ‘Sam was there with me. He told me it was Jake. I didn’t know what was happening.’
But Kat wasn’t really listening. ‘You’ve ruined everything,’ she said, standing up and pushing her chair away. It skidded for a minute, caught a hole in the floor, flipped.
‘Don’t talk crap,’ said Johnny. ‘Jake did this to himself. You know he’s a liability.’
‘Whatever,’ said Kat.
‘It’s true, Kat. He’s more bothered about how he looks up there – whether I’ve got his good side on camera – than anything to do with safety. We’ve all thought it, so don’t kid yourself.’
‘Looking good?’ said Kat, turning on Johnny. ‘You of all people should know about that being a major priority!’
‘I look good because up there I do everything by the letter,’ said Johnny, sounding serious for once. ‘I certainly don’t put you guys at risk. Ever.’
Kat started to say something, but then just turned and walked out. The café door slammed behind her as she left.
‘I thought that all went rather well,’ said Johnny, grimacing. ‘Pity we’re now utterly screwed.’
‘How’s that then?’ asked Ethan.
Johnny sighed, and Ethan looked over at Luke, who just shrugged. Everyone seemed very downbeat.
‘Can’t believe the same thing’s happened again,’ said Johnny. ‘Do you think we’ll ever make a full team?’
‘It is not quite the same this time, though, is it?’ said Natalya. ‘Jake did not just disappear without trace.’
Ethan rested his tray on the table and stared at Natalya. ‘What do you mean? Who disappeared?’ He saw Johnny and Luke glance at her.
Johnny leaned forward, folded his hands, looked serious (serious didn’t really suit him, thought Ethan). ‘It’s nothing,’ he said. ‘We lost a member of our crew a few months back. Jake was trying out as the replacement.’
‘So what happened to him?’ asked Ethan. ‘Why did he disappear?’
Natalya opened her mouth to speak, but Luke got in first.
‘Nothing that mysterious,’ he said. ‘It just didn’t work out. One day he was here, the next he wasn’t.’
‘And we’ve never heard anything from him since,’ finished Johnny. He grinned. ‘I think he was intimidated by my amazing talent.’
Something about Natalya’s expression told Ethan he wasn’t getting the whole story. She had a distant look, like she was staring through Johnny, rather than at him, but she didn’t argue. And Ethan didn’t see any point in prying further. Hell, if Jake was their second team member to go, they were allowed to be a bit pissed off and weird about it.
It was a few moments before anyone said anything more. The silence felt awkward, and Ethan didn’t fancy being the one to spark a conversation, so he cleared and cleaned a couple of empty tables.
At last Natalya spoke. ‘We will just have to deal with it,’ she said. ‘It is not the end of the world.’
‘Not for you maybe,’ said Johnny.
‘Not for any of us,’ replied Natalya. ‘Jake was not safe, he took risks – we all knew that. Now he is gone and that is a good thing.’
Johnny and Luke were silent.
‘Sam really does rule this place, doesn’t he?’ said Ethan.
‘Totally,’ said Luke. ‘He’ll never see Jake as reliable now. And on a team you have to be. It’s vital. Everyone’s depending on you up there. It’s not a place to get complacent. Mess up in a formation or a stack? That’s what kills skydivers. It’s never the equipment. It’s always human error.’
‘Or stupidity,’ said Johnny.
Silence.
But it was so loud, it was deafening.
‘It is down to Sam,’ said Natalya, finally breaking the silence. ‘It is his call. We have to trust his decision. We all know that.’
‘But that’s just it, isn’t it?’ said Johnny. ‘We do trust his decision. Which means we’re screwed because we now