don’t have enough members to make up a skydiving team.’ He leaned over the table and raised a glass. ‘Here’s to Jake – who ruined everything by being a tit.’
9
It was late afternoon. After the incident with Jake the day before, Ethan was happy it had all been fairly quiet. He was just getting onto his bike to head home when the sound of footsteps on gravel made him turn. A man wearing sunglasses and an expensive-looking dark suit had emerged from a black saloon car and was striding towards the café. He was younger than Sam, older than Luke – probably mid thirties. And his blond hair was swept back. He looked like an accountant, albeit one with a sense of style.
Sam came out of the café and shook the man’s hand, then turned and spotted Ethan. Sam said something to the man, nodded, then came over.
‘Ethan,’ he said. ‘Good day?’
Ethan nodded, and noticed that the man in the suit was still looking at him.
‘Excellent,’ said Sam. ‘And it’s about to get a whole lot better. You jump today.’
Ethan hesitated. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel up to it; it had just taken him by surprise. He shook his head a little to clear his mind, to think about what Sam had just said.
‘Having second thoughts?’
Ethan shook his head again, realizing Sam had misinterpreted his hesitation. ‘No,’ he said. No way was he backing out. He wanted to be like Johnny and the rest of the team. He wanted to be that good. And it was the first time in his life he’d felt this strongly about anything.
‘Then follow me.’ Sam headed off towards the hangar without another word.
As Ethan followed him, he noticed that the man in the suit was still looking at him, his sunglasses revealing nothing but reflected sky. Then Ethan was through the hangar doors and any thoughts as to who the man in the suit was were gone. This was it: he was about to skydive.
No one else was around. The last group to jump were now waiting outside for the minibus to take them to the plane.
‘Sit. Watch,’ said Sam, pointing at the TV in front of a row of plastic chairs. The screen flickered and Ethan sat down. He’d spent every day since taking the job watching people skydive. He’d heard them talk about it, scream about it, cry about it. He’d even caught bits of the DVD he was about to watch. From first jumpers to seasoned skydivers, they’d all passed through the café, the reception, the shop. And there was one thing he’d realized above all else: skydiving was ninety-five per cent waiting and five per cent adrenaline. If the conditions weren’t right, no one jumped.
Today the conditions were right.
The TV was showing a tandem jump. Over a thumping rock soundtrack, the camera panned out from the buckle on a parachute harness to reveal an excited twenty-something girl. She gave a thumbs-up. The scene cut to the interior of a plane, the girl sitting quietly, seriously, between the legs of her instructor – who was smiling and acting very relaxed. Next scene they were sitting at the open door of the plane, feet dangling out, 12,000 feet up in the air. The girl was still sitting between the legs of her instructor and had her head back. He nodded at the camera, and then they jumped. The camera turned blue, spun, then focused on the girl. Ethan couldn’t work out if she was actually smiling or if the wind was just pushing her face into an impression of The Joker. Finally the instructor looked at the camera, crossed his arms, then pulled a cable and disappeared. The film finished with the girl on the ground, leaping around and screaming.
‘Simple, really,’ said Sam as the film ended. ‘You’ll love it. Trust me.’
Ethan glanced up at him. He looked as imposing as ever, but Ethan could see that he meant every word. Not just about loving the tandem he was about to do, but about trusting him.
‘How many times have you jumped?’ Ethan asked.
‘I’ve lost count,’ said Sam. ‘I went over the four thousand mark years ago.’
There was no bragging in what he said. It was just simple fact. Ethan was in the presence of a man utterly unlike anyone he’d ever met before. Sam seemed scary at first, but Ethan had come to realize that there was a lot more to him than the rough, tough exterior. He really cared about