he was sure to break something. But Nipper and Newton were there, braced and ready to absorb
much of Sam’s momentum. As his runner struck Nipper’s, Sam’s knees swung up so high with the deceleration that they almost touched the wire above. His arms threatened to wrench
from his shoulder sockets with the force of it. Even as he slowed, Newton caught him round the waist, taking his weight and allowing him to let go of the runner.
‘Ow!’ he muttered, rubbing at his shoulders.
‘You OK?’ Sherri asked.
‘Fine,’ he replied through gritted teeth. ‘But I think I’m going to feel that tomorrow.’
She gave him an encouraging grin and a wink. ‘Look out,’ she warned. ‘Equipment inbound.’
The final runner was zipping towards them with a heavy bag attached. It made the transit safely and no sooner had Nipper detached it from the runner than he and Newton were moving across the
roof and away towards the opposite side of the building. Sherri beckoned Sam to follow. Before he did, Sam took one final look back up at the rooftop that he had just come from. He could just make
out his mum and friend waving. Raising a hand in brief salute, he turned to follow the others.
This is it, he thought. It gets serious from here on in.
Trying to step lightly, Sam followed Sherri’s lead across the rooftop. The two raptors had already reached the far edge and Newton was directing Nipper with a series of low clicks, grunts
and lots of gestures. Although Sam was far from being an expert on raptor body language, it was clear that Nipper had a good deal of respect for the raptor scientist, doing everything Newton
directed without so much as a shadow of a question. As Sam had come to trust Nipper’s judgement, his estimation of Newton began to rise rapidly.
From the heavy bag of equipment, Newton pulled out four harnesses and tossed them to Sherri. She quickly sorted them into size order and showed Sam how to buckle himself into his. Meanwhile,
Newton attached a rubbing strip to the edge of the building and then, with a device that looked like an oversized drill, he made easy work of slicing four small holes into the rooftop in a precise
line, each about a metre apart. The machine made a barely audible hiss as it cut through the dense surface material of the building, leaving Sam wondering how on earth it worked.
Next out of the bag came what looked like four small plastic wheel cases. Newton studied each one before placing it next to one of the holes he had made. Then, using his curved claw, he hooked
something from inside the first case and forced it down into the hole he’d made for it. There was a soft, satisfying clunk as it locked into place. One by one, he did the same with the
others before beckoning Sherri forward. She checked his work and nodded to him.
Newton pointed at Sherri and then at the first case. Again, she nodded. Bending down, she picked it up and attached it to her harness with what looked like a classic carabiner clip – a
metal loop with a sprung gate that rock climbers and abseilers used. She signalled Sam forward to the second case.
‘Now remember what I said earlier,’ she warned softly, connecting Sam to his case. ‘This first switch setting on the casing will allow the inertia reel to lower you down to the
right height. If you mess with it and click it too far, you’ll simply descend all the way to the ground and you’ll be of no use to us at all. It won’t pull you back up if you go
past. Only click it to the second setting as you swing through the open panel into his room.’
‘Got it.’
‘OK, here goes. Good luck, Sam.’
‘You too.’
Sam watched as she twisted the lever on the side of the casing until it clicked once. Nipper and Newton were still getting into their harnesses as Sherri took two paces and leapt off the top of
the building. There was a fizzing noise not unlike the sound of the runner across the zip wire earlier and Sherri dropped from view.
If
much of Sam’s momentum. As his runner struck Nipper’s, Sam’s knees swung up so high with the deceleration that they almost touched the wire above. His arms threatened to wrench
from his shoulder sockets with the force of it. Even as he slowed, Newton caught him round the waist, taking his weight and allowing him to let go of the runner.
‘Ow!’ he muttered, rubbing at his shoulders.
‘You OK?’ Sherri asked.
‘Fine,’ he replied through gritted teeth. ‘But I think I’m going to feel that tomorrow.’
She gave him an encouraging grin and a wink. ‘Look out,’ she warned. ‘Equipment inbound.’
The final runner was zipping towards them with a heavy bag attached. It made the transit safely and no sooner had Nipper detached it from the runner than he and Newton were moving across the
roof and away towards the opposite side of the building. Sherri beckoned Sam to follow. Before he did, Sam took one final look back up at the rooftop that he had just come from. He could just make
out his mum and friend waving. Raising a hand in brief salute, he turned to follow the others.
This is it, he thought. It gets serious from here on in.
Trying to step lightly, Sam followed Sherri’s lead across the rooftop. The two raptors had already reached the far edge and Newton was directing Nipper with a series of low clicks, grunts
and lots of gestures. Although Sam was far from being an expert on raptor body language, it was clear that Nipper had a good deal of respect for the raptor scientist, doing everything Newton
directed without so much as a shadow of a question. As Sam had come to trust Nipper’s judgement, his estimation of Newton began to rise rapidly.
From the heavy bag of equipment, Newton pulled out four harnesses and tossed them to Sherri. She quickly sorted them into size order and showed Sam how to buckle himself into his. Meanwhile,
Newton attached a rubbing strip to the edge of the building and then, with a device that looked like an oversized drill, he made easy work of slicing four small holes into the rooftop in a precise
line, each about a metre apart. The machine made a barely audible hiss as it cut through the dense surface material of the building, leaving Sam wondering how on earth it worked.
Next out of the bag came what looked like four small plastic wheel cases. Newton studied each one before placing it next to one of the holes he had made. Then, using his curved claw, he hooked
something from inside the first case and forced it down into the hole he’d made for it. There was a soft, satisfying clunk as it locked into place. One by one, he did the same with the
others before beckoning Sherri forward. She checked his work and nodded to him.
Newton pointed at Sherri and then at the first case. Again, she nodded. Bending down, she picked it up and attached it to her harness with what looked like a classic carabiner clip – a
metal loop with a sprung gate that rock climbers and abseilers used. She signalled Sam forward to the second case.
‘Now remember what I said earlier,’ she warned softly, connecting Sam to his case. ‘This first switch setting on the casing will allow the inertia reel to lower you down to the
right height. If you mess with it and click it too far, you’ll simply descend all the way to the ground and you’ll be of no use to us at all. It won’t pull you back up if you go
past. Only click it to the second setting as you swing through the open panel into his room.’
‘Got it.’
‘OK, here goes. Good luck, Sam.’
‘You too.’
Sam watched as she twisted the lever on the side of the casing until it clicked once. Nipper and Newton were still getting into their harnesses as Sherri took two paces and leapt off the top of
the building. There was a fizzing noise not unlike the sound of the runner across the zip wire earlier and Sherri dropped from view.
If
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