need for speed [r. x b.b.]

Chapter Four

You gasped quietly, surprise overriding your perfect posture and stony silence. Bradley grinned at you, but before either of you could say anything, Cyclone, Warlock, and a man you'd never seen before walked up to the front of the room, immediately silencing all conversations. The briefing was starting.

"Welcome trainees. My name is Warlock, this is Cyclone, and that man is Hondo. You have been chosen to spend the next two months training for a mission. I won't say anything more, I'll let your instructor go over the mission details with you." He pointed down the middle of the chairs at Maverick, who was walking up the middle, ever the drama queen. He briefly locked eyes with Bradley. Mav looked away quickly, while Bradley rolled his eyes, trying to look unbothered, but clearly shaken up. He crossed his arms and legs and leant back, tipping off of the front of the chair, so all of his weight was on the back two legs. Hangman also responded to Maverick's presence, making a sort of sputtering noise and coughing to try and cover it up. Clearly, he was surprised and a little embarrassed that the man he had thrown out of a bar 8 hours previously was his instructor. The rest of the students who had been at the bar shifted uncomfortably. You peeked glances at Bradley throughout the meeting, but he never opened up his posture. He clearly had some serious issue with Maverick.

During the briefing, Maverick essentially told you all that you had to destroy a uranium enrichment facility in Russia. But it was going to be hard. The facility was located within a hole at the end of a canyon and defended by missiles and an airbase with fifth-generation fighters; this means that you would need a high-speed, close to the ground approach through the canyon beneath the radars to reach the facility, pushing the jets beyond their limits. He recommended a strike formation of four jets in pairs - a Captain, a Wingman, and two sets of Pilots and their Weapons System Operators. The first pair would destroy the facility's entrance, then the second pair would destroy the facility itself. You tried to wrap your head around what this would mean; the rest of the trainees seemed worried - they clearly didn't think it could be done. As the briefing wrapped up, everyone was growing restless. Bob was sweating buckets, periodically pushing his falling glasses back up his nose, while Payback fiddled with his fingers. Maverick made a couple of closing remarks, then told you all to go outside to begin flight exercises. Bradley shot up immediately, already out the door by the time anyone else had time to stand up. You arched an eyebrow at Maverick, who shook his head and packed up his things. The rest of the crew left the outdoor classroom, with Maverick in tow. As you all walked through the hangar, you sped up a little to catch up with Coyote.

"So. The guy from the bar last night is a trainee?"

"Yup. I guess no one told you?"

"No. But he seemed surprised to see me, so I don't think anyone told him that I was too."

"Yeah, he wouldn't have flirted with you if he knew who you were." He smiled slyly. You felt your cheeks warm a little, but tried to ignore the implications of what Coyote had just said.

By the time you all got to the jets, Bradley was leaning against one near the front. Now that he was standing, you could see that his chest read Rooster. You made your way over to him, wanting to ask him about the night before, but stopped short when you saw Maverick heading in the same direction in your peripheral vision. Instead, you wandered over to an empty jet. As you got in the front, you watched Rooster and Mav argue over something. They both looked upset.

You moved your focus over to the controls in front of you. This was a pretty advanced jet, not the most advanced on the market, but more advanced than anything you had ever flown before. You strapped on your helmet, that familiar thrill rushing through you again. You were about to be in the air again, and you couldn't wait. As you pulled your windshield down, you glanced at Rooster's jet again. Maverick had left, and Rooster was getting into his plane. He had anger written all over his face, and determination. As you put your earpiece in, you heard Maverick's voice. He was explaining the exercise to you all. It would be your job to position the jet so that you could shoot him down, before he could shoot you down. First up were Payback and Fanboy, joined by Hangman, followed by Phoenix and Bob. After they finished their runs, Coyote and Omaha, Fritz and Halo, and yourself and Rooster would be up. You sat in your plane as Payback and Fanboy took off, Hangman on their heels. Over the comms, you heard Payback's voice crackle to life.