Ocean Blue (Sea Lab Book 1)

CHAPTER 40

OCEAN BLUE HEADQUARTERS

The clouds blanketed Sydney like an intimidating shadow. Rain threatened the city, but the storm system remained on the outskirts, yet to unleash its energy on the landscape. Tony watched for lightning, but he hadn't seen the sky flash once, or heard the first thunderclap. Three hundred million volts of electricity would ruin his night, something he wanted to avoid at all costs 

The rumble of the single-engine plane filled his ears and brought a smile to his face. He tapped the pilot on the shoulder and held his thumb up. From the front seat, the Australian native returned the gesture and began their descent. In less than a minute, the plane broke through the cloud cover and leveled out. The gauges on the dashboard measured the airspeed at seventy miles per hour and altitude at five thousand feet, the perfect approach for tonight's jump.

As they flew over the city, the tops of the skyscrapers became visible through the fog. To sharpen his senses, Tony stuck his head out the side door and listened to the propeller buzzing on the nose of the plane.

Wind whipped through his hair and pelted his face.

Soon, they left the skyline behind and soared toward the single tower of the Ocean Blue headquarters building. Cat O'Donnell had set everything up. She had arranged the flight from Cairns to Sydney over the weekend and did the same for tonight. She had connections at an airport on the edge of town, and as expected, had no problems setting up the air drop.

As the plane neared the destination, Tony lowered a pair of night vision goggles over his eyes. Without the apparatus, he'd been able to discern a ring of spaced out lights on top of the high-rise, which was good since he needed a small amount of light to brighten the goggles' dark green view. Now, with the lenses strapped to his face, the dark night sky slid away and revealed the skyscraper's entire structure.

This was a one-shot deal. Although the building's square roof was large enough for a small parking lot, trying to parachute and nail a fixed landing grid with accuracy was serious business that required skill and precision. As an avid skydiver and as an Army paratrooper, he'd made many successful landings. But he'd never attempted to hit the top of a skyscraper, and that was the one thing that concerned him, hitting the high-rise and plummeting to his death.

If he missed the mark, he could glide past the structure and aim for a safe landing on the ground, but if he undershot the target and struck the building, that would end in a quick fall to a hard ground. Of course, if he overshot the rooftop and his chute collapsed, and he went over the edge, the mistake could be fatal too.

Tony cleared his mind and banged on the pilot's seat to get his attention. "Let's do this."

The Aussie replied with an okay hand signal.

Tony hoped the added weight of the two hundred foot winch wouldn't throw him off target either. He had the quarter-inch steel cable tucked away in a pack strapped to his chest. The added fifty pounds tipped him over the two hundred mark on the scales, but the intertwined wire itself could support much more than his body weight.

As he leaned over the threshold into the wind, the extra burden toppled him forward. Before he fell out of the plane too soon, he adjusted his stance to counter the load. The winds blew southeast at fifteen miles an hour, so the pilot swung the plane to the northwest, then cut back and fell in line with the current for a proper approach.

Tony steadied himself as the building drew near.

He hollered over the whine of the engines. "One... two... three!" And leaped from the plane.

In the free fall position with his limbs spread eagle, Tony rattled off, "One Mississippi, two Mississippi," and aimed his nose for the ground.

Tightening his profile, arms pinned at his side, legs clamped together, he became a slim projectile, accelerating like a rocket through the air. The roof top sped toward him and grew larger by the second. Halfway to touchdown, he widened his arms and legs, turned his body upright, and yanked the ripcord. His plummet whipped to a halt and began a controlled descent, destination in sight.

Tony used the navigation handles to manipulate the rectangle canopy. Several times, he made the adjustments to combat the stiff breezes that popped up and died down as he coursed through the air.

His pace quickened as he fell.

In the center of his target, a structure protruded from the rooftop. Through the night vision goggles, an outline within the square materialized as a doorway. Avoiding that area would push his landing zone closer to the edge. Tony grimaced and braced himself, the added weight of the steel winch coming into play.

He skimmed over the roof access.

His boots skidded across the rooftop and dug into a layer of pebbles covering the tar exterior. Momentum carried him forward as he scooted toward the edge. The distinct possibility of his own death squeezed his throat and sucked the breath from his lungs.

Then his feet left the ledge, welcomed by nothing but air.