The Project 01 - White Jade

. Nick saw Johannsen relax a little . It was more than rare to see a woman on a special ops mission. Male chauvinism aside, everyone felt responsible for success, even when they didn ' t know what the mission was about. Johannsen would be lax in his duty if he weren ' t concerned. His job was to get everyone out of the plane safely. After that it was up to the three of them .
    They put on the chutes under Johannsen ' s direction. He checked each one, pulling the harness tight. When it was Selena ' s turn, he paused.
    " The harness is pretty tight. You might feel some pinching—umm—across your chest. "
    " Go for it. "
    He cinched it up and Selena gasped.
    " This is your main cord. This is your reserve cord, here. The chute is fully steerable. You ' ll have oxygen, here. "
    He attached oxygen dispensers to the chutes. Then he brought three devices that looked like wristwatches out of a compartment.
    " Put these on. This is the MA3-30 altimeter. It tells you everything you need to know. It ' s got a light switch and you adjust here and here. "
    Ronnie and Nick had used them before, but it was new for Selena.
    " Set your altitude before you jump and we ' ll get you onto the drop zone with airspeed and timing. Your vehicle goes first, then you three. We ' re going to drop you from 23,000 feet. That gives you around 8,000 feet before you hit the ground, so you won ' t be up too long. "
    " Piece of cake. "
    " That ' s right, Gunny. Give it five after you go out and pull, and you ' ll be floating down softer than a balloon at a kid ' s birthday party. You ' ll be on the ground in no time. Let ' s get your packs on. "
    They strapped on the packs, low in front. When he was satisfied with the rigging, Johannsen reached down into the compartment again and came up with masks and insulated gloves. The pilot was warming up the engines. Johannsen held his hand to his helmet for a moment.
    " Two minutes. Let ' s get you settled. "
    He led them toward the center of the aircraft. Strap benches lined the fuselage . T he four airmen were already seated on the port side. The team took seats starboard and strapped in. Johannsen strapped in across from them and said something into his mike. The roar of eight big GE turbofans increased and the plane began to move.
    P arty time.

Chapter Thirty- F ive

    Nick was dozing when Johannsen nudged him awake.
    " One hour , Colonel . Pre-breathing in fifteen minutes. "
    Ronnie sat quietly. Selena had packe d up her computer. Carter put his hand on her arm.
    " You ready for this? "
    " I guess so. I ' ve never jumped from this high before. "
    " It ' s the same but the air ' s thinner, you weigh more with that pack and you ' ll come down faster. The tricky part is compensating for wind speed and direction. But you know how to do that . W ith the GPS you ' re not going to miss the landing zone . Even though we start high, we end high too. That makes it simpler. Just stay loose and you ' ll be okay. "
    She nodded.
    " Free fall for five, then pull the cord. Remember to snap your chin to your chest once you're out and keep your hand on your reserve until your chute is deployed . Keep your legs tight together. The shock is pretty hard when the chute opens. Remember to land back from the balls of your feet."
    Carter looked at his watch. " We ' ll begin pre-breathing soon. "
    " Pre-breathing? "
    " This high, w e have to get the nitrogen out of our blood. If we go out there without pre-breathing, our own CO2 could knock us out and it ' s a long way down. Don ' t worry, this is standard drill. I ' ve been through it before. Besides, the oxygen makes you feel good. When we change over to the bottles we use in the jump, be careful not to breathe any cabin air. Only pure oxygen. Okay? "
    " Okay. "
    " Forty-five minutes. " Johannsen's voice sounded in her helmet. "Begin pre-breathing."
    They put o n the masks. Johannsen hooked up the plane ' s oxygen supply and they began pre-breathing. Carter felt the old pre-jump feeling come over him . He was always w ired before a big jump . He figured you could double that for jumping into the biggest, baddest, highest and coldest mountain range on the face of the earth. He saw the tension in Ronnie, but he ' d been through this before . He knew Ronnie was silently repeating the Blessing Way to himself, one of the Navajo ritual traditions. Carter wasn ' t worried about him. He put his hand on Selena ' s shoulder and felt her relax, just a bit.
    Another typical day in Special