Heaven in Your Eyes || Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw

Chapter 3 - Training for the Mission

Emily's POV
I sighed as I sat down next to Hangman. He smirked, arching his eyebrows up and down. I rolled my eyes.

Rooster was sitting behind me and he rolled his eyes as I looked back at him, just as annoyed with Hangman as I was.

"Attention on deck!" The admiral shouted. I stood up along with everyone else out of habit.

We sat down when the admiral instructed us to and the admiral began to look around at everyone who was here.

"I'm Admiral Bates. You're all Top Gun graduates. The best of the best," he said. He then continued. "The enemy's new fifth generation fighter levels the playing field. We have very few details, we don't have the technological advantage anymore. Success, now more than ever, comes down to the man or woman in the box."

Hangman smiled, thinking that he was the best pilot here. I rolled my eyes. In my opinion, there were much better pilots than Hangman. Me being one of them.

"Half of you will make the cut. Only one of you will be made mission leader, and the other half will remain in reserve." Admiral Bates explained. Hangman looked back at Bradley at Bate's words and Bradley just ignored him.

"Your instructor is a Top Gun graduate who has real world experience, in every aspect you will be asked to learn and master. His exploits are legendary and what he has to teach may very well be the difference between life and death," Admiral Bates replied.

Just then, my dad walked over to us. I sighed. I knew there had to be a reason why he was at that bar yesterday. After years of trying to avoid him, he was now my trainer for a very dangerous mission. I noticed a look of resentment on Bradley's face when my father walked in.

Hangman put his head in his hands in embarrassment. Yesterday, Hangman had thrown my dad out of the bar with the help of Coyote and Payback.

"I give you Captain Pete Mitchell, call sign Maverick." The admiral said before giving my father the floor.

"Good morning," my dad says with a smile. He then holds the F-18 instruction manual up in the air. "This book contains everything they want you to know about your aircraft. I'm assuming you know this book inside and out,"

"Of course we do," Hangman whispered from beside me. I rolled my eyes.

Suddenly, my dad throws the instruction manual in the trash can next to him.

"So does the enemy," my dad says. I frowned. This was gonna be interesting.

"But what the enemy doesn't know, is your limits, and I intend to find those limits. Test them and push them beyond. So today, we'll start with what you think you know." He explains. My dad then dismissed the class and we began to get ready to fly.

Rooster and I walked next to each other to our planes, not saying a word to each other. My father was following after us.

"Rooster!" He calls. Bradley ignores my father's call, not exactly interested in speaking to my father. My dad called to him again. "Bradley! Lieutenant Bradshaw!"

This time, Bradley responded and stopped to talk to my father. I kept walking, not caring much about what the nature of their conversation was.

As I was getting ready to strap into my cockpit, my dad climbed up the ladder to talk to me.

"Emily, please be careful, okay?" He said. I sighed.

"I will, Maverick. I know what I'm doing even though you think I don't." I muttered. My dad frowned.

"I don't know why you have to call me Maverick. I'm your dad,"

"You may be my dad, but I don't consider you to be my dad." I snapped. My dad sighed, looking deep into my eyes.