Danger Zone • Top Gun: Maverick

• Chapter Nine •

The next team up in the air was Jake, Natasha, and Bob - and both Emerson and Skye knew that this round would be interesting  as the cocky pilot had one confirmed air-to-air kill.

"Say Phoenix, now how's about we tell everybody that 'Bob' stands for something, other than 'Robert', I mean." Jake's smooth, arrogant voice echoed over the radio.

"Don't take the bait, Bob." Natasha warned her WSO. "Wanna know why we call him 'Hangman'?"

"No, no, wait, I got it. Baby On Board." The cocky pilot continued his taunting and released a laugh before he exclaimed in shock. "Shit!"

"Thank you, Uncle Pete." Skye muttered in relief and rolled her eyes, clearly exhausted from Jake's never-ending arrogance.

"Where's he going?" Bob quizzed.

"That's why we call him 'Hangman'." Natasha replied. "He'll always hang you out to dry."

The pilots and WSOs present in the break room listened to the exercise continue on and it wasn't long before Pete had got Natasha and Bob in missile lock, the dark-haired pilot muttering in frustration as her wingman had left her hanging.

Although, the pilot in question was taken down not too soon after as he had appeared to have been blinded by the sun.

Javy, Neil 'Omaha' Vikander and Callie 'Halo' Bassett were up next and suffered the same fate as the first three teams and it was finally Emerson and Skye's turn.

They were going up with Jake, neither of the aviators having said a word to each other yet.

"You up for this one, Cap?" Emerson quizzed, instantly reminding Pete of his days back at Top Gun with Tom.

"Show me what you've got." He answered.

Emerson knew her father had like to appear out of nowhere, which seemed to have become a bit of a habit of his.

"Get me eyes on Maverick." She instructed as her brown gaze flittered around the sky for any trace of her father before she had spotted a glimpse of a wing just below her jet. "Below us, break right!"

Following her instruction, Jake had proceeded to break right which had surprised Skye.

"Wow, I'm actually surprised that you can follow instructions from others." She commented and glanced behind her, out of the canopy. "Hangman, he's on your tail."

Clearly, Pete had thought Jake would be the easiest target to take down first, and his thoughts had been proven correct as the cocky pilot had been caught in missile lock yet again.

Now, it was just Emerson and Skye against Pete.

"Talk to me, Siren." Emerson said.

"He's closing in." Skye stated as she peered out of the canopy behind their jet.

With that, the brunette increased her speed and pulled the F18 up into a tight-diametered loop, effectively getting her behind her father. She smirked slightly and glanced at her HUD, getting her missile lock ready while silently thanking Aunt Kara for teaching her and Skye the Kulbat Maneuver.

Suddenly, her father's jet had pulled up and took off towards the direction of the sun.

"I am not falling for that trick." She muttered and opted against following after him as that would easily get her and Skye 'killed' although she soon regretted that decision as both her and her WSO had lost sight of the Captain.

"Shit!" The brunette muttered. "Siren, try and get me eyes on Maverick." She instructed as her eyes darted around for any trace of the sneaky pilot. 

"I got him, right above us." Skye announced as she caught sight of the shadow of her Uncle's plane flying above them.

Glancing up, Emerson jerked the joystick upwards in pursuit of her father, pulling the F18 into a fierce Split-S maneuver and  attempted to roll right to get underneath him but her father had quickly hit the brake and pulled his plane up and over, allowing them to fly right past him and ultimately put him back on the offensive.

Within a matter of seconds, the constant ringing of them being caught in missile lock had echoed throughout the cockpit.

"Son of a bitch!" Emerson gritted out in frustration and pulled off her mask while Skye released a frustrated sigh of her own.

"Nicely done." Pete complimented his daughter and 'niece'. "Return to base and see Hondo about your push-ups."

Emerson huffed softly and glanced over at her father's plane as he leveled out beside them, offering her a small smile of which she did not return.

She stared at him for a moment before pulling her plane into a slight dive and flew back in the direction of the base, leaving Pete to sigh to himself softly as he watched after his daughter