She fired up her jet getting clearance to fly. It was an odd feeling being in an f-18 again. Her hands shook violently against the controls. It seems her husband saw her fear a ran in front of her jet. The canopy opened and her masked unclipped.
"What the hell are you doing!" She seethes.
He climbed up the wing meeting her eye. "Listen, you have to let go of the past for this. If you don't you could burn in up there."
She sighs reaching out to grab his hand. "I know, it's just hard to forget what happened." Bob squeezes her hand. He loosens his grip pulling to back of her hand to his lips. "Thank you for caring."
"Always. You got this."
Bob jumps off the wing scurrying across the tarmac. The canopy closes once more. She closes her eyes leaning her head back. Don't think, just do. She doesn't know exactly where that phrase came from buts it's helped her through all the dark times.
Her mind slips into nothing, freeing herself of her fears. When she's given the all-clear she's let off into the sky. The duo and single hers were already in the air waiting for her. She stays low watching the jets above her.
"Good morning, aviators. This is your captain speaking," she says smugly, "welcome to basic fighter maneuvers. As briefed, today's exercise is dog fighting. Guns only, no missiles. We do not go below the hard deck of 5,000 feet. Working as a team, you have to shoot me down, or else."
"Or else what, ma'am?"
"Or else I shoot back. If you've heard anything about me then you should know I will not go easy on you. If I shoot either one of you down, you both lose."
"What you say we put some skin in the game?" Asks Payback. She was aware of the connection between half the team. Finley knows Reuben Fitch is a good guy.
She looks up spitting their jet. "What do you have in mind?"
"Whoever gets shot down first has to do 200 push-ups."
She can already envision Roosters look of disapproval. He knows how she flies. "Guys." The short warning goes ignored by the two other men but Fin smiles.
Finley whistles. "That's a lot of push-ups."
"They don't call it an exercise for nothing, ma'am."
She laughs gripping the handle in front of her. "I have a better idea. The team who gets shot down the most by the end of the day owes a round for all the aviators at the Hard Deck."
"Today or tomorrow?"
She thinks about it shrugging her shoulders. "Up to you."
"You got a deal, ma'am. Tomorrow night it is."
"Fight's on. Let's turn and burn."
"Fanboy, you see her?" She hears Rooster say over the comms as she shoots upward.
"Nothing on radar up ahead. She must be somewhere behind us." Just then she cuts in underneath them stealing the show.
A chorus of "damn it!" and "what the hell?" Rooster had exclaimed "Shit!" veering off one way while Payback and Fanboy went the other. She laughs loudly at their fear.
"Okay, Moonlight. Let's try not to get someone killed on the first day," she whispers to herself.
"Tally, tally, tally! Moonlight's coming in! Break left!"
"Breaking left."
Swooping in, cutting close to getting a lock on, she smiles as she says, "Payback, where's your wingman?"
"Rooster, where are you?"
"I got your back. I'm coming. Hang in there. Hang in there."
"Hurry up, man! Hurry up!"
She kept swinging side to side attempting to get a lock on. To be entirely honest she had an idea of how to get them but she was waiting for Rooster to do something stupid. She was getting tired of waiting until Rooster came up in between the two.
"Payback, break right."
"Breaking right!"
She smirked having the opportunity to mess with him. "Rooster just saved your life, fellas. But it's gonna cost him."
"Not this time, little sister!"
Audible gasps were heard from the other two men. So maybe Rooster didn't exploit their relationship. She turns in trying to get him lower. "I'm not giving any special treatment to you Roost. Drop your socks and grab your crocs we're getting low on this ride."
"Rooster, you're too low! Pull up! You're hitting the hard deck!"
She looked at her altitude hearing it scream at her. She can assume it did the same for Bradley.
"Oh, shit!"
He pulled up the second he did but that cost him. He came right in her line of sight allowing her to make her mark. He was caught in the middle, missile lock in place.
"That's a kill."
The following rounds were of Yale, Omaha, Coyote, etc. Each round includes each team with someone new.
Finley is kind of excited for this next one. She's been waiting for this moment. It's her last flight of the day before going through another round the next day. Phoenix, Bob, and Hangman are next in line.
She lets them talk to each other while she plans her next attack. "Say, Phoenix. How about we tell everybody 'Bob' stands for something? Other than Robert, I mean."
Phoenix and Finley have similar thinking. Although she doesn't speak, Phoenix does it for her. "Don't take the bait, Bob. Want to know why we call him Hangman?"
"I got it. 'Baby on board.'" Hangman laughs like it's the funniest thing in the world. She won't deny he is a bit humorous.
When Hangman's at his highest point she swoops in gliding vertically between them. "Shit!"
"Greetings, aviators. The fight's on."
"All right, Phoenix, let's take this girl out!"
She can almost hear the lie in his voice. "Break right!"
"Breaking right."
"Where's he going?" Her husband asks over the comms.
"That's why we call him Hangman. He'll always hang you out to dry."
Her eyes widen as she slows down. She doesn't mean to let it get to her, she doesn't want to show any sign of weakness. She doesn't want him to have the satisfaction of knowing he can beat her. Yet a part of her screams for help. A part of her freezes sending her back into a flashback. Unknowingly she's stuck in a memory, hyperventilating, she doesn't hear the voices around her as she lowers her altitude reaching the hard deck.
"Fin! Fuck, Phoenix put a missile lock on her!"
"What? Why?"
"She can't hear us. She's having a panic attack and she needs to wake up. Do it!"
Phoenix has never in the mere hours she's known the man heard Bob speak with so much let alone with much concern. She shakes her head speeding up and passing Hangman along the way.
"So what's going on?"
They both ignore him as they watch for Fin as she decelerates. Phoenix gets a missile lock on her. An irritating buzzing fills Finley's ears shaking her out of her memory, more of a nightmare.
She pulls up on the lever leveling out her plane. Phoenix strides up next to her seeing her stare at the floor of the cockpit. Finley is breathing heavily as she unhooks her mask.
"Are you alright, Captain?"
She nods to her. She looks back at Bob who is signaling for her to take deeper breaths to steady herself. "Y-yeah. I-I'm fine. I'll meet you back on deck."
They simultaneously fly back to the tarmac landing one at a time. When she's put into her place she runs out of there. Bradley watches from above as she runs into the building most likely going for the showers.
Knowing her like the back of his hand has its perks. He dashes after she ignores the protests of his fellow members. He fights Maverick trying to hold him back, thankfully Maverick doesn't put up much of a fight.
He hits the girl's locker room. After looking around him cautiously he steps inside. He locks the doors behind him following her trail. Her tactical gear is thrown to one side while her helmet is thrown to the other.
He takes a moment to admire the helmet. Iceman had it made for her. It had similar lines to Maverick but instead of red, they were white. The helmet was decorated with white and yellow stars. The name itself had a shooting star in place of the letter "i."
Her nickname was rather unique. It doesn't particularly fit the person she's become today but it was fitting at the time. It was fitting for someone gentle, sensitive, and intuitive. She was much kinder and carefree before she became a Seal. Though she wouldn't change the person she's become. She's stronger, smarter, and frankly hotter. She likes the new her.
Bradley navigates his way through the locker room trying to find the bathroom. His head perks up at the sound of a shower running. While taking the direction of the sound he slowly veers around the corner. He stops pulling the curtain. He frowns seeing her body slumped to the ground, her back pressed against the wall, her head in her hands as steaming hot water falls onto her clothing. She doesn't seem to care so much that her clothes are wet.
He takes off his top layers walking in beside her. His boots soak in the water as he takes a spot beside her.
Her heart races knowing someone else is in the room. His arm wraps lovingly around her pulling her into him. His frame is larger but is familiar. With the support of his tough hand around her... she knows who it is. She falls willingly into his side.
She doesn't lift her head, he doesn't even watch her. Neither speaks as they are comfortable in the silence.