Jean boarded the bomber and found his gear quite quickly. There wasn't much on his backpack, but Jean found the most important thing: his Winchester Model 75 carbine. It was a prototype, shipped just a few weeks ago from some Winchester factory. It still was brand new and almost unused. For the past few weeks Jean had been testing it, and it had left him quite satisfied. It wasn't a pure sniper rifle, but more of a designated marksman rifle for medium ranges. A newly-developed cartridge was also a nice bonus.

There wasn't much space to move, but Jean took his stuff outside and started to put them on in a fashion he had found most useful during his parachutist training. First his combat harness, the pistol holster and ammunition, second his backpack, and lastly his parachute and carbine. He quickly checked the carbine's scope and set it for two hundred meters. Jean had a small notebook for the scope's different adjustments. It took a few minutes to check everything at least twice, and adjusted the straps and locks for his liking. He didn't want to meet the ground too violently. [i]First combat jump, and the Frenchman made a nice splash hitting the ground floor. Goodbye, it was nice knowing you.[/i]

Jean sighed. In few short hours he would be jumping back to France with strangers. The Spaniard seemed good enough fellow, but could he become a soldier? The siblings had something on them, and the rest were all wild cards. Maria seemed all right, but did she have a plan?

Jean took a last look at the airfield, and boarded the bomber again. [i]Bye, England. It was nice knowing you for a while.[/i]