Page 200 - Demo

2030-JONE
left the helicopter with almost perfect jumping weather besides a few crosswind gusts the pilot had previously warned of.
“Glad some things are going our way,” Seige thought, know- ing it would be hell down below.
The team fell through space free from cares for a few seconds of exhilarating peace. A series of whooshing sounds broke the windy silence as the parachutes opened.
Concerned, Seige quickly counted the jumpers he spotted against the backdrop of lights.
“Thank God for no malfunctions,” he thought.
Actually, he felt relieved that his team was on time and so far on target. Caught up in the beauty of the moment, he noticed the team making turns to prevent missing the drop zone; he followed suit. And going away from the building to set up his final ap- proach, Seige turned on his final leg to see two flashes just before the first jumper landed. He immediately reached for his weapon as his anxiety level rose.
Just before landing, he was distracted by a dead man on the roof. Thinking of the unwary victim smoking on the roof almost caused him to over fly the target. Instantly, Seige pulled his toggles down hard to land, stopping a scant twelve feet from the corner of the building. Seige exhaled, standing on spaghetti legs and breathing hard from the near miss.
A wind gust grabbed his canopy and slammed him face first to the deck, sliding toward the edge. His hands were being lacerated as he tried desperately to flip on his back and cut away his main parachute. Finally he managed to flip onto his back and grab the metal releases as his head hit the edge of the building stopping him.
Click!
The release opened expelling air from his parachute. Seige sat up for a moment thinking about the gust of wind that had almost started him on another free fall.
“You okay?” Kevin asked, finally arriving to assist Seige. “For a minute there we thought you were about to fly with some other wings and a harp in your hands.”
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