Always Interrupted | Bradley Bradshaw

Chapter 11

The next days of training were full of dogfighting and running the course over and over again. The aviators made sure they knew the course by heart and were able to navigate it successfully and quickly. Dog fighting was also essential, you never know if someone is going to need backup.

The news that Maverick would be flying the mission as team leader had been delivered to the aviators and now, the competition was even higher. Free-bird would be fine with either her or Rooster flying the mission with Mav. As long as Hangman didn't fly, she would be happy.

If her dad ended up flying with Hangman, in her mind, it would be a death sentence. There was too much teamwork and cooperation needed for Hangman to be on this mission. He would end up killing someone if he flew as Mav's wingman.

At the moment, Rooster seemed to be on top of the pile, his only conflict being his relationship with Maverick. The same problem was happening with Free-bird. She was performing extremely well, but she was the daughter of the team leader which had its own set of problems. They were in the main competition to be Maverick's wingman. The two-seaters were basically already decided: Bob and Phoenix and Fanboy and Payback.

After their last training session, the aviators packed up their things and moved to the aircraft carrier. When they arrived, everyone was given their living arrangements. They would be paired up and staying in actual rooms rather than barracks. Free-bird and Phoenix were staying together, Rooster was staying with Bob and Fanboy and Payback were rooming together. Everyone assigned to the mission was staying in the same hallway which was equally a blessing and a curse.

Free-bird and Phoenix were settled in by 6:00 pm so they went to get dinner in the cafeteria. As they were eating, Fanboy, Payback, Rooster and Bob all walked in together. Rooster spotted them first and waved before the boys walked away and got their food. They pulled chairs over and sat down to eat with them.

"When was the last time you guys were on a carrier?" Payback asked as he sat down next to Phoenix, Fanboy sitting next to him. Rooster was on Free-birds right and Bob was on her left.

"Jeez, it's been a while for me. Maybe 5 years ago?" Fanboy said.

"I've been working in tech a lot recently so it's been a while for me too," Bob said.

"Last time I was on a carrier was with you Rooster," Free-bird said.

"When we did the attack on Changjin?" He asked.

"Yea. So that was, 10 months ago."

"Same for me then, 10 months."

"What about you Phoenix?" Free-bird asked.

"Right before this one, actually. Payback and I flew together," They nodded at each other.

"Yea, just basic scouting but still enough to make me seasick." Payback added.

"Your in the Navy and you get seasick?" Fanboy laughed. Payback playfully punched his arm as everyone chuckled. There was a beat of comfortable silence before Free-bird spoke.

"Are you guys ready for tomorrow?" They all thought for a moment.

"Yea, I am." Phoenix said with a smirk. "The last week of training was solid. I think we got it."

"Is it bad to say I'm excited?" Bob asked. "It's been so long since I've actually flown." Everyone laughed and continued discussing the mission. Anne couldn't help but notice how anxious Bradley was.

Ever since they were kids, whenever Bradley would get nervous or anxious, he would fidget. Either with his shirt or hair or whatever he had in his hands, he would fidget like there was no tomorrow. In this case, he kept turning his dog tags over in his hands. As the others got lost in conversation, Anne put her hand on Bradley's bicep and gave him a concerned look. He looked at her and smiled.