Compromise-Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw-

Chapter two

Hex and I arrived at the local beach bar. An old friend, Penny, had bought it three years ago, and she had done a marvellous job with it. We knew it as a very popular spot, filling quickly almost every night.

I parked my car, a 1967 Ford gt500 Mustang. I'd inherited it after Crane died. He had bought it when we were teenagers, and before joining the Navy, he worked on it in his free time, tirelessly, until it was restored enough to drive. After joining the navy however, he didn't have time to work on the cosmetics. But I knew what he wanted done with it, I had listened to him talk about it for hours. When it had become mine, the first thing I did was finish the restoration in his image.

"Going to be a busy night." Hex pointed out, noticing the loud clammer of voices as soon as the roar from the engine stopped. I nodded, agreeing, ducking out of my car. My dark brown wavy hair, which I had taken out of its bun, fell passed my face as I did. I had my green suit unzipped, revealing the black tank top I had under, and a thin silver chained necklace that tucked itself between my breasts.

We didn't get changed before coming, but most who came didn't. When we walked in, we were welcomed with the booming excitement inside. Everyone was cheering as Penny had just rung her bell. Everyone's next round was on a man sitting at the bar. We walked up, leaning against the bar beside the man.

"Hey Sadie." Penny greeted, smiling at us. "Hi Isaac." She added, looking at Hex. He bowed his head slightly in response.

"Hey Penny, two beers please." I said, holding up two fingers, she nodded. I looked at the man beside us.

"This is my friend Pete." She introduced as she opened the first beer. I nodded, holding my hand out.

"Sadie." I greeted, he nodded.

"Stitch right?" He asked, I paused, but nodded. Most people I met couldn't put a face to the call sign. I had purposely avoided meeting the alpha teams for that reason. "Maverick." He added, i scrunched my eye brows, trying to recall why I knew that name. "Iceman has told me lots about you. You've got quite the reputation." He added. Iceman, that's why I knew his name. They had been wing men to each other.

"Thank you sir." I said, almost unsure. "Iceman has told me lots about you too." I added. It wasn't a lie. Ice had taken Crane and I in to personally train. While we did, he often spoke about his wing man Maverick, going as far as showing us his flight patterns and letting us use him to study. Maverick was a very skilled flyer. He nodded, smiling.

"I'm going to go talk to those lassies over there." Hex said, nodding towards two women about his age at the other end of the bar. "I think that's your new squadron, you should go introduce yourself." He added. I looked where he pointed and seen a group of lieutenants in tan uniforms around a pool table. I went to protest, but hex had already walked off. I turned, so my back was against the bar and watched the pool table for a moment. Just as I was about go over, someone walked in with a big presence. He was wearing an open tan button up, with a white tank under it. He took off his aviator glasses as he went straight for the group playing pool, being greeted with a hug, bro shake and a groan from another man.

I watched again for a minute, seeing the tension between him and the other man who groaned. They were arguing, but I couldn't hear about what. Finally, I decided to walk over, catching the tail end of the conversation.

"Admiral said there would be 12 of us." A woman, who I recognized as Phoenix said. I'd met her a couple times, mostly by accident. "But there's only 11 here." She added, looking over the faces.

"It's not mandatory for everyone to meet here." The man who'd groaned said. I recognized him, but only because I'd seen him at the bar a couple of times. His eyes landed on me, as I was close enough to be part of their group.