killshot (bradley bradshaw)

XXVII

Jenna listened intently as the voices of Maverick and Comanche traded off over the radio. 

"Picture clean. Recommend Dagger continue." The female voice announced. 

She let out a heavy breath as Maverick followed instructions and reported the team would descend below radar. The radio was ghost silent except for the heavy breathing coming from the pilots in the air. Jenna loosed another breath as a comms officer reported that the F-18s had dropped off the radar and would now be viewed via E-2 picture. 

"Enemy territory is up ahead. 60 seconds to mark. Comanche, picture?" Mav requested.

"Picture is clean. Decision is yours."

"Copy." Maverick responded. After what felt like an eternity and a half, Maverick's voice came over the radio once more.

"Dagger attack." 

Jenna felt her heart stop as the a barrage of Tomahawk missiles launched from the carrier. Her eyes wide, she looked at Hangman from her open cockpit. He gave Jenna a tight lipped smile. From the look on his face, she could tell he was thinking the exact same as her: with the Tomahawks now in the air, there was no going back. 

Jenna heard Maverick command his team to move into attack formation. She imagined the scene in her head, seeing her dad, Phoenix and Bob, Rooster, and Payback and Fanboy glide perfectly into their positions. 

"Daggers set. Moving to target. 2 minutes and 30 seconds in 3, 2, 1." Maverick said, voice steady.

Jenna clenched her fists.

"Mark." 

"Two mark." Rooster's voice came over the radio for the first time, and Jenna's breath caught in her throat.

"Three mark." That was Phoenix.

"Four mark." Payback. 

"We're going in," Maverick's voice came over softly. Jenna stared at the radio as if she could see the view from Mav's F-18 through it. She went over the route in her head for the thousandth time, trying to picture exactly where they were in the canyon as time ticked down, down, down. 

"SAM sighting overhead," Maverick announced. 

"We look clear on radar, Mav" Phoenix replied. 

"Great. Let's use that advantage," Maverick responded to his teammate. 

A pause, and then Fanboy's voice came over the radio, shaking slightly, "SAMs, 3 o'clock high." 

Jenna's stomach dropped so far that if she looked down she was sure she'd see it on the floor of  her cockpit. One mistake and those SAMs would activate, blowing her friends' cover. Out-maneuvering those missiles in the canyon would be near impossible, and she prayed to whatever god was listening that the F-18s stayed below the radar as they raced against the clock.

As Bob announced that they had two minutes to target, Jenna blinked in surprise. The last thirty seconds had felt like thirty years. 

"We are a few seconds behind, Rooster." Payback alerted. "We gotta keep movin." 

Shit. Rooster was in trouble already. Jenna whipped her head back to face Hangman, terror etched across her features. 

"He's got it," Hangman spoke to her over their separate channel. "Trust him."

Words stuck in her throat, all Jenna could do was nod slightly and turn her attention back to the radio as another comms officer's voice announced an update on the Tomahawks.

"Thirty seconds to impact on enemy airstrip," the voice called out. 

A few seconds later, Comanche interrupted the silence. "Dagger, Comanche. Two bandits on radar. Single group, two contacts." 

"Where the fuck did they come from?" Jenna asked Hangman. He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"Un-fucking-believable," Hangman muttered.

"What's their heading?" Phoenix asked. Comanche replied with the bandits' location, but Jenna barely felt a reprieve when she heard Rooster announce that they were heading away from the group. She knew that as soon as the Tomahawks hit that airstrip, those bandits were going to move to defend the mission's target. 

Maverick repeated Jenna's exact thoughts on the radio and ordered an increase in speed. Phoenix confirmed that she'd be right behind him, but Jenna heard nothing from Rooster or Payback. She wondered if the second team was still behind schedule. 

"Tomahawk impact in 3, 2, 1." A pause. "Impact successful. Enemy airstrip has been destroyed." The male comm officer's voice announced. 

Jenna sat silently, and a few moments later the voice she knew was coming spoke, "Dagger, bandits are moving to defend the target." Comanche alerted. 

"Rooster, where are you?" Maverick asked.

"Let's go Rooster, bandits are inbound. We have to make up time now." Payback instructed. The only response on the radio was heavy breathing, which Jenna was assuming belonged to Rooster. 

"Heads up, Phoenix," Mav said. Another second ticked by.

"Whoa!" Bob cried out. Jenna sank back slightly in her seat. She didn't want to know. 

"Bandits are two minutes from target," the female comms officer announced. "Daggers are one minute from target." 

"Rooster we are falling behind. We gotta move!" Fanboy declared. There was no response from Rooster. 

"If we don't increase speed, we are gonna run right into those bandits!" Payback added. Still nothing. 

And then, almost too quietly for Jenna to hear:

"Talk to me, Dad." Bradley. Jenna's heart ached for him as she thought about how much Rooster had endured in losing his father and him hating her own for it.

"C'mon kid. Don't think, just do." Her father replied in Goose's place, encouraging the man he tried and failed to be there for. 

There was more silence over the radio, and Jenna held her breath.

"Christ, Rooster, not that fast!" Fanboy cried out, and Jenna released some of the tension she'd been holding as she realized that Rooster was reengaging.

"That's it kid, that's it," Maverick encouraged him. 

"Alright. Let's go," Rooster commanded. A few more seconds ticked by.

"Damn Rooster," Fanboy yelled. "Take it easy!" 

Jenna felt the a smile ghosting her face. There was the Bradley Bradshaw she knew. 

"We are thirty seconds to target. Bob, check your laser," Maverick commanded. Bob responded with the verified laser code. 

Fanboy let out a string of expletives and Jenna's heart began to pound impossibly harder. More chatter between Fanboy and Rooster came over the radio, confirming that everyone was okay. 

"Phoenix, standby for pop up strike," Maverick commanded. Phoenix confirmed her position to Mav over the radio.

Jenna closed her eyes.

"Popping in 3, 2, 1."

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AN: Hi! First of all, let me apologize for not updating in absolutely way too long. My life got very crazy very fast and I was dealing with a lot. I wanted to thank you all for sticking with me and being so understanding! I hope you like the update! Love you all!