Free Adrenaline by Bill Eidson

pounds dropping on one line. Who knows if the protection will hold? But if it does, I’m going to need some help.”
    Harrison cried out again. Geoff stood back from the belaying line and pulled out his binoculars. He ignored the guide who was yelling, “I need you back on this rope, mister.”
    Harrison’s legs were visibly trembling.
    Above him was the final obstacle, a subtle out swelling of rock that required a layback to pull it off. Tough stuff for a newcomer. But even where Geoff was standing, he could see a small crevice within a foot of Harrison’s right hand. A solid grip there. Geoff could see the moves, easily enough. Nothing that would have given Geoff a moment’s pause—or even Harrison if he were well rested, and five feet from the ground—but from the way Harrison’s legs were jiggling, the way his head was turning frantically one way and the next, Geoff could see he was just about played out.
    Geoff sighed. He hadn’t planned on being a coach, but maybe when all was said and done it would help his cause. After all, Steve was certainly making himself look the hero, climbing after the guy.
    Geoff stepped back further from the rock and cupped his hands to his face. “Harrison, listen to me. Calm down. You’re almost done. Just above you to the right is a great handhold. Man, you could spend the afternoon on that grip. You’ve got to put your right foot forward, catch that little nub and trust the grip you’ve got on the right. Put your left palm down against the rock and climb.”
    Harrison seemed to be listening. His head stopped that foolish swiveling, in any case. He started moving up the rockface again.
    Geoff exhaled. Dern was getting too damn close for comfort.
    Geena moved beside Geoff. She said, “Keep talking. You got him into this, please help him.”
    “He’s doing just fine himself.”
    Dern was alongside Harrison now and the tension Geoff had been holding in rein seeped into his belly. The fucking Boy Scout was going to ruin everything. He saw that Dern had a good grip himself with his left hand and was getting ready to snap a carabiner with the rope onto Harrison’s climbing harness. Even if Harrison finished after that, the victory would be Dern’s for making it safe.
    Geoff cupped his hands together again. “Harrison—you’ve got somebody trying to steal your thunder—and my offer—right beside you. I want you to do this on your own.”
    Harrison’s wife gasped.
    “You’re going too far,” Jansten snapped.
    Geoff ignored them, focusing instead upon Lisa. She strode over from the base and said, “You listen to me, you son of a bitch. I don’t know what you promised that man, but if he falls, my husband very likely will go down with him. So shut your mouth.”
    “Or what?”
    She cracked him across the face, shocking no one more than Geoff.
    It was a hard blow, leaving a red mark on Geoff’s face.
    Everyone went silent.
    It took everything Geoff had to restrain himself. Jansten put his hand on Geoff’s wrist and said, “Back away.”
    Geoff was flush with the knowledge that had they been alone, he would have killed Lisa Dern. He would have broken her neck. He would have wrapped his arm around her head, grasped her jaw, and twisted until her neck popped. “Keep her away from me,” he said, hoarsely.
    “Go on,” Jansten said to Lisa. “Go back and help them with that rope.”
    Up above, Harrison’s voice was desperate. “Don’t. Don’t snap it on. I’m going to finish this. I’m going to do it now.”
    Geoff wiped his mouth as he watched Lisa go back to the belay line. He closed his eyes briefly, centering himself, and then said to Geena, in a voice loud enough for all of them to hear, “You’re going to like Michael’s new job. He’ll be more than tripling his salary.”
    He saw her look back at him, then back up at her husband. He was within reach of the top now. A weak smile crossed her face, and Geoff laughed inwardly. Already trying to recover from