20 DAYS UNTIL MISSION
Jenna walked into the locker room the next afternoon and noticed that it was empty except for Phoenix. She figured that the other pilots must have been assigned earlier time slots for today's exercise. Jenna made a beeline for Phoenix, eager to ask her about last night.
"So Phoenix," She started. "Did you have a good night last night?"
"Oh yeah, the bar was great! I'm so glad you got to meet everyone," Phoenix replied, not meeting Jenna's eyes.
"You left a little earlier than I thought you would," Jenna said.
"Yeah I wanted to get a good night's sleep," Phoenix explains.
"I also noticed that Hangman seemed to disappear right around the same time you did." Jenna said slowly, trying to get her to fess up.
Phoenix froze and turned to look at her, face bright red.
"Busted!" Jenna yelled out, laughing.
"Okay, okay, you got me," Phoenix laughed along with her. "Don't judge me, okay?"
"No judgement here, but I seriously thought you guys hated each other," Jenna prodded
"We'll we do. But its that fact that we feel something towards each other," Phoenix explained. "It's been so long that it's kinda starting to turn into something else."
"Well that makes sense," Jenna agreed with her.
"Plus, he's really good in bed," Phoenix teased.
"Okay EW!" Jenna covered her ears. "I did not need to hear that."
They both laughed and started getting on their flightsuits. Grabbing their helmets, they headed out into the hangar and started towards their planes on the tarmac.
Phoenix turned the questioning back to Jenna. "What about you and Bradshaw? You two looked cozy on the beach last night."
"Thanks for that picture, by the way." Jenna said, blushing and covering her face with her free hand. "I don't know, really. He's flirty with me one minute but then seems really closed up the next. There might be something there, but I don't know how to get to it."
"Well Rooster does have a few skeletons in his closet that I know of," Phoenix said. "But it's not my story to tell. As for last night, he was literally glued to your side, so I think we can easily guess where his heads at."
"Well, any way this turns out, it's gonna be a challenge," Jenna grimaced. Only a few of them would get picked for this mission, and any of them could not come back from it.
"Take it slow," Phoenix reassured Jenna. "He's one of my best friends and I love him dearly, but he doesn't open up easily. He puts up a wall in front of most people. Show him that you're there for him, and he'll show you who he really is."
Jenna thanked Phoenix for her advice as they arrived at her plane. Bob was already there, making final checks on their aircraft. Jenna waved hello to Bob and walked across the tarmac to her plane.
After making her own final checks, Jenna climbed up into the cockpit and got ready for the day's exercise. She called to the tower, requesting takeoff. When she got the go ahead, Jenna moved her plane into position and pushed down the runway, lifting off into the sky. A few minutes later, she heard Phoenix on the radio preparing for takeoff, and soon they were both up in the air.
"Phoenix, Bob, Killshot," Maverick's voice came over the radio. "Same game as yesterday, same punishment for the losers. Fight as a team to shoot me down, before I shoot you first."
"Yes sir," all three of the pilots responded.
"Fantastic. Let's have a little fun today," Maverick said. "Fights on!"
Jenna started looking around for Maverick, but she couldn't catch sight of him.
"Got anything, Phoenix?" she asked.
"Nope, nothing yet," Phoenix responded. Suddenly the radar started beeping and Jenna frantically started looking over her shoulder for Maverick.
"He's not behind us, and he's not above us. Where the hell is he?" Bob asked.
"Oh shit," Jenna said, looking in front of her as a dark speck moves towards them. "He's on our nose! We gotta go!"
Before they could do anything, Maverick shot right by them on the left side.
"Oh fuck!" Phoenix said. They both start flying their planes forwards, trying to put some distance between themselves and Maverick.
Jenna radioed over to Phoenix and Bob, "Okay here's what we are going to do. Let's keep flying straight. Right before Mav gets a shot lined up, I'll hit the brakes, you break away, and he'll fly right by."
"Sounds good Killshot, let's try that!" Phoenix agreed.
Soon enough, Maverick was right behind them. Jenna tried her best to lure him into a sense of security by just barely evading him as he followed. Maverick seemed to have his sights set on Jenna, getting closer to lining up his shot as the seconds ticked by.
"Now!" Jenna yelled into the radio and Phoenix broke to the right as Jenna dropped her speed and altitude. Luckily, Maverick wasn't expecting the move and he shot right above her.
"Nice job, Maverick," he mumbled to himself over the radio. Jenna pulled her aircraft back up, easily lined her shot up and got tone on Captain Mitchell.
"And that's a killshot," Jenna said, grinning widely. Phoenix and Bob cheered over the radio. They were the only team to beat Maverick so far.
"That's one of my favorite moves right there," Mav said. "Dangerous, but genius."
"Thank you, sir," Jenna responded. "That's 200 pushups for you!"
"Careful, Lieutenant," Maverick warned, but Jenna could hear the smile in his voice. "I'll take care of my punishment at the end of the day. Head back down and send the next group up."
"Oh, and Killshot," Maverick continued. "Nice work."
"Thank you sir," Jenna replied and steered her plane back towards the base. She landed easily and climbed out of her cockpit, spotting Phoenix and Bob doing the same. She pumped her fist in the air in celebration, and the other two pilots copied her movement. On the tarmac, Hondo was waiting for them
"So," he started. "Someone finally got Mav. And with his signature move, no less."
"Yes sir!" They responded, grinning.
"I can't wait to count his pushups. I am never gonna let him hear the end of this," Hondo laughed.
The three pilots were dismissed by Hondo and started walking back to the locker rooms, celebrating their victory. Phoenix and Jenna split off to the women's locker room, and quickly took off their gear. Heading up to the radio room, they were greeted by some of the pilots with congratulations and silence from others. Jenna looked around the room for Rooster, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Did you spot Hangman anywhere before we came in?" Phoenix asked Jenna. Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
"Oh no," Jenna said in almost a whisper.
"What?" Phoenix asked, concerned.
"They're the next team," Jenna said. Phoenix swore under her breath. For the short time Jenna has known both Rooster and Hangman, she could tell that they hate each other. Hate with a capital H.
As if on cue, Hangman's voice came over the radio.
"Rooster, you mind if I ask you a personal question?" He asked, almost innocently.
"It probably wouldn't matter if I did," Rooster responded, sounding annoyed with his wingman.
"What's going on between you and Maverick?" Hangman prodded.
"It's none of your business," Rooster said, ending the conversation. "Now where is he?"
The radio went quiet for a moment, and then Maverick's voice broke the silence. "I've been here the whole time," he says.
"Holy shit," Rooster responded. Jenna wondered what move Mav was pulling. It had to be good.
"Uh Rooster?" Jenna heard Hangman say, sounding confused.
"Alright, let's get this over with kid." Mav said. Rooster and Mav must be engaged with each other right now, Jenna figured.
Suddenly, a female automated voice came over the radio, repeating the word 'altitude' over and over.
Jenna turned to Phoenix, terrified.
"Oh fuck," Phoenix whispered, confirming what Jenna already knew. Rooster and Maverick were headed below the hard deck.
The two pilots continued to bicker with each other on the radio until Hangman interrupted. "You guys are running out of room!".
"You got us into this, kid. Now get yourself out." Maverick said. Suddenly, another female voice came over the radio.
"Pull up, pull up! Pull up, pull up!" the automated voice yelled. The radio went silent for what felt like eternity to Jenna.
When Maverick spoke again, the whole room exhaled as one. "Alright Rooster, you're up. Don't think, just do."
"Come on Rooster. You've got him, get tone," Hangman said, trying in his own way to encourage his wingman. Jenna waited to hear tone over the radio, but nothing happened.
"Too late," Maverick said. "You had your chance."
The beeping tone came over the radio, accompanied by a string of curse words from Rooster. Maverick won.
Phoenix and Jenna waited by the window until they saw Hangman and Rooster land their planes. They both got out, ignored each other, and completed their pushups. Once they had finished, Hangman walked off down the tarmac. Rooster stayed seated on ground, staring off at the sun that's just beginning to set.
"Let's go talk to him," Phoenix said. Jenna followed her silently out of the room and down to the tarmac. They walked up behind Rooster quietly, and Phoenix was the first to speak.
"Bradley," she said, getting his attention. "You broke the hard deck and almost got yourself and Maverick killed. What's going on?"
"Don't worry about it," Rooster said quickly.
"Look," Phoenix said, gesturing to Jenna and herself. "We are going on this mission. If you continue on this path, we are gonna be stuck with Hangman."
Rooster looked up at the girls, and then hung his head. "He pulled my papers."
"Who did what?" Jenna asked, confused.
"Maverick pulled my papers for the academy," Rooster said angrily.
"Well he must've had a reason," Phoenix said.
"Yeah well I can't imagine anything that would be a good enough explanation for setting me back four years," Rooster responded, then stared back at the sunset.
Jenna stood there, her mind racing. There was obviously some sort of history between Maverick and Rooster for him to pull the papers, and it seemed like Phoenix was clued in to some of it. The pieces were slowly coming together, but she knew she was missing a big part of the story.
"Well," Jenna started, "you can't fly so recklessly, no matter what Mav says or does. What are we supposed to tell your family if something happens to you? That your instructor pissed you off, so you ignored the hard deck and died out of spite?
Rooster looked up at Jenna. "I don't have any family left," he said bitterly. Jenna froze and decided not to push the issue any further.
Phoenix and Jenna waited for Rooster to say something else. He didn't. Jenna looked over at Phoenix and nodded her head in his direction. She walked a few steps forward to him and sat down on the pavement to his right. Phoenix followed her lead and sat down on his left. Tentatively, they both leaned their heads on his shoulders. Rooster relaxed a little bit, and the three of them sat there watching as the sun painted the sky a brilliant orange.
Phoenix was the first to speak, and she did so quietly. "We're your family, Bradshaw. You still have us."
Rooster inhaled deeply and let out a shaky breath. He squeezed Phoenix's arm, and laid his head on top of Jenna's. The three pilots sat there together until the sun sank below the horizon.
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AN: Fav trio right here plus soft Bradley moment! As always, thanks for reading!
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