‘Follow me,’ said Johnny.
The Dude locked the van and they trailed off into the dark.
‘We’re here,’ Johnny said after a hard ten-minute climb.
Ethan stopped. ‘Where’s here exactly?’
Johnny pointed at the view. It was fantastic. Rolling hills stretched away beneath them, dotted with specks of light. And stretching up into the sky above, just a couple of hundred metres from where they were standing, stood an enormous antenna.
‘You’re kidding,’ said Ethan. ‘You’re crazy.’
‘Right,’ said Johnny. ‘Kat? You ready?’
Ethan looked at Kat, saw her nod nervously. It was the first time he’d ever seen her look even slightly unsure of herself.
‘First we check each other’s rigs,’ said Johnny.
‘I know that,’ Kat told him.
‘I know you know,’ he said. ‘But we’ll be doing everything by the letter tonight. There’s no second chance with this. OK?’
Kat nodded and started to check Johnny’s rig.
Ethan noticed that the rigs were much smaller than those he’d used. They were more like the size of a Raider.
‘What’s the difference between these rigs and the ones I’m used to?’ he asked, always keen to learn something new about the sport that had taken over his life.
‘These are BASE-specific rigs,’ said Johnny. ‘You can use converted rigs, but these are better.’
‘They look no bigger than a Raider,’ said Ethan.
‘They’re not,’ said Johnny, ‘but the difference is that these are low-aspect-ratio canopies – technical term which means they’re bloody reliable in the opening and stable in flight. Last thing you need on a BASE jump is some highly manoeuvrable canopy above you – it’ll swing you into a cliff before you know it.’
‘Right,’ said Ethan, and realized he had never seen Johnny so serious before. It was reassuring, but it didn’t quite make him wish he was Kat.
‘Sorted,’ said Johnny. ‘Now here’s what we’re gonna do.’
Ethan drew closer; he wasn’t going to miss a chance to learn something from his friend.
‘Kat and I are going to peg it over to the antenna. Then we’ll climb as quickly as we can to the highest point and jump. Dude, you’re on filming duty. Ethan – you keep a watch out. If we get spotted, we’re in the shit.’
Ethan nodded.
Johnny pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to him. ‘Two-way radio,’ he explained. ‘If there’s a problem, you tell us and we bolt. Right?’
Ethan nodded again. It was a skill he’d mastered since turning up at FreeFall.
‘It’s just a simple press-’n’-talk job,’ Johnny told him, pointing at the large black button on the side of the radio. ‘It’s quicker than a mobile. Saves time if you don’t have to tap in a phone number.’ He turned to Kat. ‘A ladder leads up the antenna, but it starts about seven metres off the ground. We’ll use this to get up to that point…’
He opened a rucksack and revealed a thick knotted rope with a three-pronged grappling hook attached to the end of it. Ethan wondered where he’d found the hook – it looked pretty deadly.
‘The ladder is enclosed all the way up to a small platform. You go first, Kat, and I’ll follow. OK?’
Kat nodded, and Ethan saw her shift from foot to foot.
‘When you jump, you know what to do. We’ve practised this plenty of times.’
‘Is it different from jumping out of a plane?’ asked Ethan.
‘You jump from a plane at speed,’ said Johnny, ‘so your canopy grabs air immediately. BASE jumping’s different. You’re starting from a stationary position and your canopy won’t grab enough air until you’ve picked up speed.’
He turned to Kat. ‘We’ll be fine with this. We’re jumping from one of the highest points in the country. Just make sure that when you jump, you get yourself far enough away from the antenna for your canopy to deploy safely. And throw your drogue chute out straight away; it needs to pull your canopy out asap.’
‘Isn’t the drogue chute packed with the canopy?’ said Ethan. ‘I thought it came out when you pulled the ripcord.’
‘Not when you’re BASE jumping,’ said Johnny. ‘Do that and the delay would have you bouncing before the main canopy had even been fully deployed. For this, you have it in your hand and chuck it out as soon as you jump. That way it pulls the canopy out straight away.’
‘Makes sense,’ said Ethan. ‘As much as jumping off a huge aerial can ever make sense,’ he added.
He glanced over at Kat. ‘Are you sure about this?’ he asked her. ‘I mean, it’s not like I’m there to jump out after you and pull your reserve.’
Kat smiled. ‘Totally,’ she said. ‘And I can’t expect you to be there every time I jump, can I? You’re not Superman!’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Ethan, hiding a smile.
‘Anyway,’ said Kat, ‘Johnny knows what he’s doing and so do I. Nothing will go wrong.’
‘I know,’ said Ethan. ‘Johnny’s the best there is.’
‘I’m pretty damned good myself, Ethan.’
‘Sorry, I wasn’t… I mean… Look…’
Kat laughed at his discomfort. ‘It’s fine. Don’t worry. I’ll be golden. Johnny’s done so many BASE jumps he’s lost count, and we’ve practised loads. OK?’
Ethan nodded.
‘Thanks for the concern though,’ she said, and winked.
Ethan turned and saw that The Dude had switched on the video camera. ‘Eth,’ he said, ‘you’re on film, man! Is this a rush or what?’
Ethan grinned. OK, so he was just watching, but the atmosphere was electric, like the air was crackling with the energy of what was about to happen.
‘Dude? Eth? See you in a few minutes,’ said Johnny. ‘Kat – let’s do this thing!’
Ethan watched Johnny and Kat march off into the dark towards the antenna; he was still thinking about what Johnny had said. He’d never given the whole issue of grabbing air much thought before. He’d always figured BASE jumping was much like skydiving – just from much closer to earth. But now he realized it really didn’t allow any room for error. If Kat didn’t pick up enough speed in those first few seconds, if she didn’t grab enough air, then that was it.
Game over.
21
‘Everything OK?’
Ethan put the radio to his mouth, pressed the button. ‘Yeah, Johnny,’ he said. ‘All quiet down here. You?’
‘We’re at the antenna,’ said Johnny, his voice crackly on the radio. ‘Kat’s looking nervous though. Don’t know if she’s up for this. Might spew.’
Ethan heard the distinct sound of someone being punched.
‘Scratch that,’ said Johnny. ‘She’s fine.’
Ethan laughed. ‘You’re both nuts – you know that, don’t you?’
‘You love it,’ said Johnny. ‘Cutting radio contact now. I’m going to throw the rope up. If all goes well, we’ll be grabbing air in less than ten minutes.’
‘Good luck,’ said Ethan, but Johnny was gone. He turned to The Dude. ‘Got any binos?’
The Dude reached into his pocket. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘You’ll just be able to make them out against the night sky as it’s so clear.’
Ethan put the binos to his eyes. For a moment he saw nothing, just a blur of shadows as he tried to find the antenna. Then he found it, tracked up the ladder and soon spotted Johnny and Kat. ‘These are amazing,’ he said, stunned by how much he could see in the dark.
‘They’ve got some kind of special night-vision system or coating or something,’ said The Dude. ‘Johnny gave them to me.’
‘Where’d he get them?’
‘Sam, I think. Pretty cool, huh?’
Ethan nodded. They were very cool indeed. He kept the binos trained on Johnny and Kat. They had now reached the tiny platform Johnny had mentioned. Ethan had no idea how high they were, but he did know it was high enough to kill them if something went wrong.
‘You see them?’ asked The Dude.