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.
32
Inside the sub it was warm and dry. Ethan couldn’t believe the size of the thing: it was like a small town. The captain had welcomed them on board as though they were about to set off on a cruise, all smiles and how-do-you-dos. They were taken to dry off, and given a change of clothes. Kat and Natalya had their own cabin to change in, but now all the team members were back together, drinking steaming hot mugs of sweet tea.
Ethan was still in a state of shock. The whole experience had been so extreme that he just didn’t know how to deal with it. It had been the most insane day of his life.
‘You did well,’ Sam told him. ‘All of you did.’
‘So the mission was a success then?’ asked Ethan.
Sam nodded. ‘Totally.’
‘What about a debrief?’ asked Luke.
‘We’ll do that after,’ said Sam, sipping his tea.
‘After what?’ asked Ethan.
Sam grinned. ‘The competition.’
‘You serious?’ said Kat.
‘Never more so,’ Sam replied. ‘We need you there, or people will start asking why you disappeared en route to France.’
‘But we’re in a sub,’ said Ethan. ‘At sea. How can we get to the competition now?’
‘It’s all arranged with the captain,’ said Sam. ‘We’re headed for a naval base just a few miles up the coast. You’ll be picked up there and then driven to the competition. You should arrive at about the same time as your luggage. You’ll be in good time.’
To Ethan it felt like days had passed since they had left the airport, but he realized that, in reality, it was just a matter of hours – the most intense hours of his entire life. He thought back over it all with excitement and regret. He had no idea if he’d ever get over what had happened to the man on the boat, or if he really wanted to. It was the kind of thing that stayed with you. In that short time he’d done a lot of stuff that he’d never forget – a lot of stuff he would never have thought he could do. But he’d survived it all, and that was saying something. And now he had to get his head round the skydiving competition. The mission was over.
‘One more thing,’ said Sam. ‘You need a team name. Can’t have you turning up at a skydiving competition without one, can we? Any ideas?’
Before anyone else had a chance to speak, Ethan said, ‘What about “The Raiders”?’
Everyone looked at him.
‘Fast and scary, like the canopy,’ he said. ‘Makes sense to me, anyway.’
‘Nice one, Eth,’ said Johnny, and everyone nodded.
Even Sam