The Razgriz Aces [Book 2]

Demons of Razgriz

"Legends are not born- they're created."
~Ricky Pierce

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Demons of Razgriz

Blaze

Chopper and I left for Sand Island on the twelfth.  I couldn't believe I was engaged!  Engaged!  Chopper and I decided on the way back to base that we wouldn't breathe a word about our engagement to anybody to avoid anyone backlash from our superiors. Relationships amongst coworkers were frowned upon, let alone a relationship between a captain and her wingman. Still, we would tell my squadron and Pops. They were the only ones we trusted, but we had to find the right time.

When we arrived at Sand Island, Genette, Nagase, Grimm, and Cassie were already there, waiting for us on the tarmac.  Chopper and I beamed as we greeted our friends. My brother's eyes instantly went to my left hand. His eyes widened at the sight of the diamond, and he practically vibrated from excitement. When he hugged me, Genette whispered, "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," I whispered back, squeezing him a little tighter, for I knew he'd given Chopper permission to marry me. This wouldn't have happened without him.

We headed back inside quickly after to get out of the cold. I planned on unpacking, but the moment I set my suitcase down in my room, Hamilton immediately sent us up to patrol for hours. It gave me little to shower, dry my hair, and unpack my suitcase, but I somehow managed. Of course, I swear I woke up as soon as I fell asleep because Hamilton woke me up at six to send us back into the air again, and that wouldn't be the only time. I'd barely gotten my wits, bearings, and lunch after landing before Hamilton instructed us to return to the skies on patrol.

"There's got to be some other squadrons available," Chopper muttered as we walked back to the hangars. "This feels personal."

"It's probably High Command trying to wear us out," Nagase said, rolling her eyes. "Maybe they think we'll confess to our nonexistent crims if we're exhausted."

"Jokes on them, we have nothing to confess," Grimm added.

I glanced over my shoulder, noticing Hamilton and the Base Commander watching us. "Maybe. It's certainly purposeful. I think they're hoping they'll exhaust us to the point that we either make a mistake that we can't come back from, or we get ourselves shot down in the next battle."

"Oh. That's comforting."

"Don't worry, Grimm. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll confront them before I let us wear ourselves out more than we already are." My wingman smiled trustingly at me, and a pang of guilt struck me. How could I make a promise like that? I couldn't protect all my wingmen at the same time. I was only one person, and there were three of them. I wasn't the Demon Lord, who could protect dozens of allies at a time. I wasn't the Ribbon Fighter, who could inspire hope when all was lost. I was the captain of a disgraced fighter squadron in the middle of an investigation.