High Altitude

Chapter 8

"Rooster we need to pick up speed man." Fan Boy encouraged.

"Speed is good" Rooster defied. He wasn't going to push his speed. He couldn't. He was frozen by the fear watching the SAMs as he passed through the canyon. He couldn't make a mistake. His mind immediately went to an image of you waiting by the radio to hear if he had died or not. He couldn't give you that type of pain. He made a sharp turn following the canyon guides.

"Come on kid you can do this." Mavericks voice came across comms.

Rooster centered himself, "don't think just do." He reminded himself. "Talk to me dad." He wished. As if on cue he received a huge surge of adrenaline within his body. With a sharp inhale he moved the throttle forward and launched himself back into the time parameters of the mission. He had to make up some time.

"Jesus Rooster not that fast!" Payback complained.

"Your mission has been moved a week." Vice Admiral Simpson stated. The room fell silent as the weight of his words fell on everyone's ears. Your heart nearly stopped as you listened in. "The Uranium will be delivered ahead of schedule. You'll be shipping out tomorrow." No one wanted to speak. No one wanted to even think. No one even felt ready. But Maverick was team leader. That meant they couldn't fail. At least that's what you had to believe. You must've been lost in your thoughts because before you knew it, Maverick was standing by you.

"Are you guys still coming over tonight?" He wondered. You had planned a few days ago to spend the last night together. Little did you know that day would come so soon.

"Rooster said he was still planning on it." You told him as you walked down the hall. The hours passed by in a limbo like state. Your mind filled with racing thoughts and feelings all throughout dinner leaving you exhausted. You climbed into Mavericks hammock and stared at the stars above you. It always worked for him maybe it would work for you. The hammock wrapped you in a warm feeling as you let the alcohol ease your mind. You were finally in a state of somewhat controlled happiness. You listened lazily as Rooster and Maverick were talking a few feet from you. Penny came to join with a fresh glass of wine. You closed your eyes enjoying the fact that this would be last time you'd be together before shipping out in a few hours. You were far from drunk, everyone had to keep a clear mind but you were trying to take in the last moments you had. You were glad to see the two of them finally getting along and just in time. There couldn't be any doubt that you could trust the person next to you while in combat. Slowly you began to drift away. Fifteen minutes had passed by as Mav and Rooster continued to joke with each other. Rooster heard you sigh and instinctively let his eyes wander in your direction. He found you perfectly asleep. Quickly he put his drink down and walked over to your body. He smiled as he took in your slightly parted lips. Gently he began to tug at your eyelash line expertly removing your lashes. He had done this a time or two by now. He walked back inside to find your purse. In the same pocket it always was in, he found the case to store them. After stashing them away, Rooster returned to see an expectant expression on Pennys face. She knew what that really meant. "What? She always tells me to take them off." Rooster shrugged.

"Smoke in the air! Smoke in the air!" You heard rooster announce loudly. "Shit I'm out of flares!" He continued to respond. Moments later a voice came through.

"Dagger two has been hit! I repeat Dagger two has been hit!" Payback reported from the sky as the mission continued. Your blood ran cold instantly. Without thinking you were on your feet in a rage. Nothing made sense. All you knew was you had to get to Rooster and now. Your helmet stared back at you with its blood red color. The name Duchess haunting you. Within seconds the helmet was in your hand as you rushed the top of the flight deck. Your F-18 with your name was a few feet away. Your blurry vision made it seem like it was miles ahead of you.