Wild Heart - Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell

1. Old and New Friends

When Fin checked her phone following the buzz, she was pleasantly surprised to see a text from Bradley Bradshaw.

Brad: Hey! Guess where I am?

Fin: Hey stranger! Tell me!

Brad: San Diego!

Fin: No way!

Brad: Yeah way! For work. 

Fin: Yeah I kinda guessed that.

Bradley: Haha.  I'm meeting my flight buddies at the Hard Deck bar tomorrow night before training starts. Would love too see you/for you to meet them, but only if you want to.

Bless Bradley, he knew her comfort zones, especially when it had to do with crowds of people and those she didn't know.

Fin: Sounds like fun. Let's do it!

Brad: :D great!

Fin: :)

So  six-thirty the following evening, after a good solid hour of marking exams, found Fin out on her front step waiting for Bradley. A jeep came around the corner and pulled to a stop in front of her house and a familiar tall figure emerged.

"Hey Fin! How are you?"

"Good! You?"

"Good! How are your folks?"

"You know, same old. Still want me back home." She looked up at him.  "Have you gotten taller? I think you've gotten taller."

"Maybe you've gotten shorter." Bradley and all his tallness enveloped her in a hug. Bradley always gave the best hugs.

"So who am I meeting tonight?" she asked as they drove on towards the Hard Deck. She'd never been there before. 

"Not sure, entirely. Some of us have been called back for special stuff."

"You mean special secret pilot stuff."

"Yeah, that."

"Okay, well then I guess it'll be a surprise for both of us."

Arriving at the bar, they found many people in uniform.

"There's your people," Fin said and they waded through the crowd towards them.

"Hey Bradshaw!" called a woman in uniform.

"Hey Phoenix."

"I didn't know you'd be here."

"Yeah I thought I'd surprise you."

"Huh." She leaned over the pool table and used the cue to bump him behind her.  "Seems like I surprised you back. Nice to see you."

"You too. This is my friend Finley. Finley, this is Natasha, 'Phoenix'."

"Nice to meet you," Natasha said. She nodded to the three young men playing pool with her.  "Reuben, Mikey, Bob. Payback, Fanboy, Bob."

 "Bradley Bradshaw, as I live and breathe." A tall blond guy who had been playing pool addressed Bradley.

"Hey, you look good."

"I am good. In fact, I'm too good to be true." The guy's eyes landed on Fin.  "And who do we have here?"

"This is Bagman," Natasha introduced.

"Finley, nice to meet you," she told him. There were some chuckles from the group.  "What?"

"It's Hangman," the guy corrected, clearly unimpressed.

"Whatever." Natasha winked at Fin. 

There was also Javy, or Coyote, Hangman, or Jake's, friend. The group seemed tight-knit and friendly already.