‘You’re on a good heading,’ said Johnny. ‘Stay on that line and I’ll meet you in the field, OK?’

‘No worries,’ said Ethan.

‘OK. Just remember to turn into the wind and flare as you come in, just to slow yourself down. Not too much, though; I don’t want you collapsing your canopy and breaking a leg on your first jump.’

Ethan looked down. He could see Johnny waving up at him, walking from the DZ to the field. And it was getting closer. He was amazed by how the Earth could seem so far away, and then, in seconds, come racing up to meet him. He let the wind take him. The field was clearly visible, and with the occasional adjustment he was dead on course. Following Johnny’s instructions to the letter, he turned into the wind for his final approach.

He felt the wind slow him down. Then he pulled the toggles together, felt the canopy buck a little – and he was down.

His first landing. His first solo landing.

Bloody hell…

Johnny strolled over.

‘Ready to go again?’

Ethan didn’t even need to reply.

‘Recap,’ said Sam, eyes hard. ‘You’re up to level five now. What have you covered?’

Johnny had just gone to grab a drink and Ethan was alone with Sam in the hangar. It was the third day of his AFF and his feet had, quite literally, hardly touched the ground.

Ethan felt like his brain had hardwired itself to anything and everything to do with skydiving. He went through all that Sam and Johnny had taught him, demonstrated hand signals, body positions, used correct terminology. Everything he’d learned had stuck. No detail was missing. Ethan felt that skydiving was as much second nature to him now as walking and breathing.

Sam nodded when he finished. ‘You learn quick,’ he said. ‘But don’t get complacent. Remember, heights don’t kill, the ground does. And that will only kill you if you forget your drills, lose concentration, or try to show off. Remember the seven Ps: Perfect Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.’

Ethan remembered. But then Sam had a habit of repeating everything until whatever he’d taught you became instinctive. Ethan also remembered what had happened to Jake; how close he’d been to bouncing, as skydivers called it – landing at an unsurvivable speed.

Johnny came back into the hangar, and handed Sam and Ethan a bottle of water each. Then Sam let Johnny kick off with what they were doing next.

‘The three-sixty-degree turns were excellent, Eth; nicely done,’ Johnny said. ‘Level six is more fun though – it’s front-loop time!’

Ethan looked at him. ‘Front loop?’

‘Mid-air somersault,’ explained Johnny. ‘You flip yourself over while you’re in freefall, then stabilize.’

‘You’ll be doing some tracking too,’ said Sam. ‘That’s what we call it when we zip forward through the air, rather than just freefalling. You use it if you’re trying to put distance between yourself and other skydivers. Or if you just like going fast.’

‘What’s after that, then?’ asked Ethan. ‘If this is level six, what’s left?’

‘Level seven is where you’ll put the whole lot together,’ said Sam. ‘You’ll do your damnedest to pull off a decent exit from the aircraft, follow our hand signals, do a front loop, stabilize, turn three hundred and sixty degrees left and right, then track away and deploy your canopy.’

‘And level eight,’ said Johnny with a big smile, ‘is hop ’n’ pop. You’re on your own from exit to landing.’

‘And that’s it?’ said Ethan. ‘Qualified?’

‘Ten more consolidation jumps, and you’re certified,’ Sam told him.

Ethan felt even more excited now that he was so close to finishing. Was his life really becoming this cool? Apparently it was, and he was loving it!

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. ‘You keeping on top of it all? You seem to be.’

Ethan stared back. What could he say? That for the first time in his life he felt like he was doing something really worthwhile, something he was good at, perhaps even better than good? That he loved the sensation of freedom you got when jumping, of being right out there at the very edge of what life was about?

Say any of that and I’ll sound like a total prick, he thought. So, ‘It’s great,’ he said. ‘I’m loving it. You think I’m doing OK?’

Sam nodded. ‘Yes.’ Then he pointed at Johnny. ‘You check we’re on for another jump.’ He turned back to Ethan. ‘You go wait outside. I’ll join you in a minute. I just need to make a phone call. When I come out, I’ll be asking questions, and I won’t be impressed by anything other than the correct answers. Got it?’

Johnny was out the door sharpish. Ethan followed.

‘Who’s that?’ asked Ethan as he and Johnny headed for the plane for his level seven jump that afternoon. He’d completed his level six just before lunch. The weather was still holding out. If it stayed this good, he’d be able to do his level eight tomorrow. Fantastic!

He pointed over to the car park, where a man in a suit was standing beside a nondescript black saloon car. Ethan instantly recognized him as the guy he’d seen shaking hands with Sam the day he’d done his tandem. Today he was holding a pair of binos in his left hand.

Johnny glanced over, following Ethan’s gaze. ‘That’s Gabe, Sam’s friend,’ he said. ‘Though he’s not very sociable. Why?’

Ethan wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling that the man was watching them. ‘I’ve seen him before,’ he said. ‘He was here when I did my tandem. And I think he’s watching us.’ The words sounded so stupid once they were out that he immediately wished he’d kept his mouth shut.

‘That explains it,’ said Johnny, a smirk sliding effortlessly onto his face.

‘It does?’

‘Absolutely! My fans come in all shapes and sizes.’

Laughing, they climbed into the plane. Ethan glanced back at the man. His binoculars were raised now and trained on the aircraft. Joking aside, thought Ethan, it was odd. But he soon forgot about the stranger, not least because of who was waiting for him in the plane. Along one side sat the rest of Johnny’s team, all rigged up in matching kit: Luke, Natalya and Kat.

Kat looked up at Johnny, then shot Ethan an electrifying smile. ‘We’ve been hearing so much about Sam’s new golden boy that we figured we should come and check out his progress.’ She leaned back against the inside of the plane, checked her ponytail. ‘Apparently you’re on your level seven – and ahead of schedule too. Perhaps all the good things we’ve been hearing are true?’

Ethan didn’t quite know how to take Kat’s words. He hadn’t seen her since Sam had bollocked Jake, and she hadn’t seemed too happy with him then. Now she was smiling, beaming almost, but he couldn’t help noticing an edge – not so much to her voice, but to her words. Golden boy? What the hell was that about? He was in no way Sam’s golden boy – doubted anyone was. Kat’s probably still pissed at me about Jake, he thought.

Johnny rested a hand on Ethan’s shoulder as they sat down. ‘He’s a natural, aren’t you, mate?’ he said. ‘Born to it, I reckon. Like me.’

Kat laughed. ‘The only thing you’re born to is self-appreciation.’

Again that edge, Ethan noticed. What was her problem? Was this really about Jake? Ethan wondered if he was just imagining things, reading something into what Kat was saying that just wasn’t there. He decided to ignore it, and focused on Natalya and Luke instead.

Luke was staring at his altimeter. He looked like he was convinced it wasn’t working; or that if he stopped looking at it, it would stop working, just to piss him off.

Natalya, though, gazed right back at Ethan.

Ethan nodded and gave her a smile.

Natalya nodded back, but said nothing. She didn’t need to, he thought. It was her eyes that did all the talking. They seemed to stare right through him, like she was sizing him up, looking for flaws. He looked away, but found himself glancing back at her a few times. And each time, he found her still staring at – no, into – him. It unnerved him. What the hell was she thinking? If I were Johnny, thought Ethan, I’d be convinced she fancied me. The thought brought a smile to his face that finally made Natalya turn and look elsewhere.