Blue Sapphire | Bob Floyd

Chapter three

- From Pretty Bird

Where are you? You were supposed to meet me at the Bar 10 minutes ago.

- To Pretty Bird

Sorry, I wanted to see the sunset, so I went to the beach. I'll be there in 2 minutes

In a way, it's true. I went to see the sunset on the beach. Just not because I wanted to. Simply because Robbie and I know that we can't enter in the Hard Deck at the same time. We decided he would go in first. I would wait 15 minutes and then join the group inside.

Of course, I walked around the beach for more than 15 minutes. Now, I have two minutes to reach the Hard Deck, or Natasha will beat my ass. She terrifies me so much, that I am willing to run in the sand to avoid her wrath. My shoes will probably be full of sand for the rest of the night, but at least, my ass will be safe from the crazy bird.

When I arrive, I am surprised to see that Nat is not alone. I immediately recognize one of the men and take him in my arms

"If it ain't Payback! How are you, man? It's been a while since I've seen you"

"Sapphire! It's good to see you. I'm great, thanks!" we split from each other, and he introduces me to his friend. "This is Mickey Garcia, AKA Fanboy. Don't know if you know him since he was stationed at Oceana. Fanboy, this is Maddison Simpson, callsign Sapphire"

"Pretty nice callsign. Is there a special meaning behind it?" Fanboy asks me as we shake hands. "No special meaning. Sapphire just happens to be my birthstone. Added to the fact that blue is my favorite color, I thought it was a good choice"

"It fits also perfectly with your blue eyes" Nat says from beside us.

"Yeah, that's true. So, who is ready to meet the other pilots called for this mission? Someone wants to place some bets on who will be in there?" I ask my three companions.

Nat bets 20$ that a certain Hangman will already be inside playing pool. "No way. They wouldn't have called Hangman for this mission. This dude doesn't know who to fly as a team" Payback protests.

Fanboy and I just watch them argue. Somehow, Nat convinced Payback to raise the bet to 50$. Curious to know the winner, I interrupt their argument by pulling Natasha by the arm. We walk in, Payback and Fanboy in our footsteps.

When I hear an "Ah fuck" coming from Payback seconds later, I know that Natasha won. Rule number one. Never bet against her. She always wins. I was saluting Penny that was behind the bar when Nat gets called by a man near the pool tables.

"Here I thought we were special, Coyote. Turns out, they would invite anyone." Considering the pool stick in the hands of the blonde, I presume he is the famous Hangman that made Natasha 50$ richer. Behind him was a man in an identical uniform to ours. I guess that's Coyote.

"Fellas, this here is Bagman" My best friend says as she crosses her arms.

Ah? So, we call him Bagman just to piss him off? Ok, I'm in.

"You are looking at the only naval aviator with a confirmed air-to-air kill"

I stop listening to the presentations when I notice my boyfriend on the side. He sees me too and gives me one of his beautiful smiles that I love so much. I discreetly point to his pants with my finder. He seems confused at first, but when he lowers his stare, he realizes that I was trying to orient his attention on the peanuts' crumbs that had fallen on his lap. He proceeds to get them off him when we are both brought back to the conversation between Natasha and Coyote.