The Edge Read Free

but she pulled it away. He spread his arms and began speaking, but Jake wasn’t close enough to hear. She shook her head, and the man said something to his friend. All three started laughing, and he reached again, this time grabbing the top of her arm and pulling her towards the car. Veronika jerked free.
    Tan arrived at Jake’s side.
    ‘Veronika’s got trouble,’ Jake said.
    As they watched, Veronika unleashed a vicious slap across the man’s face. All three stopped laughing. Jake expected them to retaliate, but nothing happened. The man smiled and spoke again. He pulled open his jacket, which Jake thought was an odd gesture until he caught a glimmer of gun-metal inside.

3
    A s quickly as he’d flashed the weapon, he covered it again. How had they got past security? Olympic Advantage had armed guards at the gates.
    Veronika didn’t seem impressed, and cocked her chin.
    Jake strode over with Tan in tow. ‘Follow my lead,’ Jake muttered, then called out: ‘Hi, Veronika, you coming to get that pizza?’
    Veronika’s face creased in confusion. The three men stared at Jake with a complete lack of interest.
    ‘What pizza?’ she said. ‘We’re not allowed
pizza.’
    Jake paused. Is she naturally difficult, or just dumb?
    ‘Y’know,’ said Jake. ‘That high-protein, slow-burn carb one the nutritionist was going on about.’ He tapped his watch. ‘It’s ready, like,
now.’
    ‘Too good to miss!’ Tan added, playing his part to perfection.
    Veronika’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second. ‘Oh,yes! Right.’ She brushed past the man at her side, and he said something in a language Jake didn’t recognise.
    ‘Don’t count on it,’ Veronika replied.
    The guys climbed back into the 4x4 and drove away at a crawl.
    ‘Who was that?’ Jake asked.
    ‘Mind your own business,’ Veronika said, stalking off.
    ‘Hey!’ Jake called. ‘How about a thanks for the save?’
    She spun round, walking backwards and flashing a smile. ‘I don’t need saving.’
    A few hours later, Jake stood in a tiny bathroom cubicle, wondering if humiliation was part of the Olympic Advantage experience. A guy was waiting for him on the other side of the door.
    Trouble was, knowing this made it even harder to go.
    ‘You all right in there?’ said the guy, his accent American. ‘There’s a line, y’know.’
    ‘All right, all right,’ Jake said. ‘Just give me a minute . . .’
    He heard the next in line tapping his foot, and closed his eyes.
Think of water. Gushing rivers. Waves. Floods.
    At last, Jake managed to go, half-filling the plastic cup. Then he flushed and turned to the basin where he washed his hands.
    Outside the toilet, he passed another athlete – a long-distance runner called Matt – who was waiting with a cup in his hand.
    Dr Chow was sitting at the desk in her office, scribbling something in a file.
    ‘Erm . . . where do you want this?’ Jake asked, feeling a bit weird presenting another person with a pot of his urine.
    Dr Chow looked up for the briefest of moments and pointed to a tray on one of the counters. ‘Over there with the others,’ she said. ‘Then hop up on the examination table.’
    Jake did as she said. ‘Is this really necessary? I mean, every day?’
    ‘I’m afraid so,’ said the doctor, still scribbling. ‘If we’re to establish the progress levels, then we need to know exactly what you guys are putting into your bodies. No unapproved beverages, no supplements, no drugs. Not even paracetamol, got it?’
    Jake nodded, even though the doctor wasn’t looking at him. ‘I read the brochure.’
    ‘Make a fist,’ she said, brandishing a syringe. He did as she asked, and she slid the needle into the bulging vein in the crook of his arm. It didn’t hurt a bit. He smiled to himself when he thought of how afraid his dad was ofneedles. He used to hate away matches in exotic locations.
    ‘Something funny?’ the doctor asked, as she drew blood into the syringe.
    ‘Just thinking about