Keep Your Eyes On Me

- 15 -

Pete watched as the plane behind them exploded.

"Good afternoon, this is your savior speaking!" the familiar, cocky voice of Hangman rang through the comms. The two pilots laughed in exhilaration as they had been saved. "Please fasten your seatbelts, return your tray tables to their locked and upright positions, and prepare for landing," Jake said, coming to be right next to Mav.

"Couldn't have come any sooner?" Rooster said with a laugh.

"You can thank Ghost for getting me out here at all," Jake said with a mad grin before pausing.

"Ghost, come in," Maverick called over the comms, only to get no answer.

"Ghost, do you copy?" Rooster called out now. There was no way they would have survived with three fighters chasing them if it wasn't for her leading one way.

"Overwatch to Dagger squad, report back to the carrier," they all heard over their comms.

The two jets did as they were told. Once on the carrier, they climbed out of their planes as groups of people celebrated their safe return. But where was Elizabeth? Pete looked around frantically for her before looking up and spotted Warlock and Cyclone. His blood ran cold when both gave him the same look, their faces pale.

—--------

"We lost contact with Dagger Spare two minutes after she called out she was coming to your aid. Her coms went dead," Warlock explained as the group was being debriefed.

Pete's world was slowly crashing as he stared at the picture of where she was on the map. She was right there. They could have turned around to help her. Except they couldn't have. They had no ammo left to give.

"Is there any way we can get search and rescue out there? Maybe they survived," Javy expressed.

"There is no hope of finding them at this time," Cyclone jumped in.

Maverick had to believe she was still alive. She's Army. She has survived in the wilderness before. She survived enemy capture before. She knew what to do. So did John. His eyes looked over to Bradley whose eyes were spewing tears while Jake tried his best to keep it together. He sucked in a shaky breath.

"Our next course of action will be to get into contact with the Russian government. If they have our pilots, I'm sure we can come to an understanding," Pete said, voice trembling lightly. He had to hold out hope.

"We just blew up their base and you think they are going to just give them back?" Bradley spoke up, his voice dangerously low as he glared lightly at Cyclone and Warlock.

"Bradley, that is the only thing we can hope to do."

"If you would have let Hangman and Ghost deploy when they had wanted to, none of this would have happened!" Bradley said, beginning to shout.

"Bradley," Pete called out, making the tall man stop. "The best thing for us to move forward is to act as if Ghost and Junior are Prisoners of War."

"You all did great work today," Warlock comforted. "You're dismissed."

—----------

Pete stood in front of the doorway. His eyes were bloodshot, much like the man next to him. He told Jake he didn't have to come. But the man insisted, expressing his hand in what had happened. Pete wore his dress blues in a place he didn't realize he would ever have to. The simple sounds of ranch life going on as the door slowly opened.

"Pete," the old man spat, seeing the man that he deemed to have defiled his only daughter. He was too busy staring at Pete to notice the taller man beside him. His face fell when he realized. His face contorted from hatred to despair. "Oh no," he breathed out. "No no no, not again," he said, beginning to sob.