Ashes in the Darkness

Aces

           
Getting behind the controls of a helicopter was like being baptized in the Jordan river and feeling the grace of God himself rinse over my body. Everything came back to me like I never taken a break from it. Jackie was even impressed by how easily I controlled the cyclic. I had to calm my heart as I heard the first couple of wurrrrrrrrsss of the engine starting and magnificent sound of the blades beginning to chop at the air.

"Just like old fucking times," I heard Jackie say through my headphones. I smirked over at her and raised my hand for a fist bump, my signature moves before every flight we had taken together. I went over the checklist of buttons, checking the elevation gages, the pressure gages, taking note of the fuel I had among several other equipment checks.

Once off the ground I couldn't help myself, it felt so good to do what I had missed doing so much. Jackie pulled out a paper and showed it to me quickly, "list of maneuvers we'll practice, but let's get out dodge here first." I could see Soap's mohawk begin to scuttle in the air of the blades, as he gave me a thumbs up to begin my lift, entering the car and beginning to drive toward the gate of the base.

I nodded. "Does he know where we are going?" Jackie asked as she saw the white truck race out in front of us.

"I doubt he can miss a helicopter in the middle of the Mexican Desert," I said over the loud sound of the blades.

"My man," she sighed before beginning her own checks as co-pilot.

I flew through the maneuvers that Jackie gave to me. First it was basic movement, ascending and descending, turning, landing, and lifting. Then it was evasions and quick escapes, it was like I had never left the military for a day. Even stone-cold Jackie was impressed by the way I flew after three years, "you still got it, bitch," she said from the seat next to me. I couldn't help but smile.

I moved onto more tactical movements, with target locking systems and ground fire simulations. I had to try a couple of times to get the chopper to lock, but it didn't take long for me to perfect the movement of my hands on the trigger. Before I knew it Jackie was checking off all the items on the checklist. Occasionally, I would see the dust of Soap's white truck maneuvering on the ground around me, most likely watching me and taking his notes. I bet that he had horrendous handwriting.

"Should we give him something to talk about, Cassidy?" I asked with a smirk. At first, she frowned, only for that frown to turn to a smile, nodding in confirmation.

Taking the cyclic into my hands, I pushed forward ever so slightly to make it look like I was simply moving in the direction of the truck, but I pushed and turned the nose of my helicopter downward. Picking up speed quickly, I could feel the adrenaline moving through me with every swift pump of blood in my heart. The truck was beginning to get closer; I could see Sergeant MacTavish standing outside of the passenger seat. I picked up a little more speed as I dropped the elevation enough to be twenty feet off the ground, plenty of room for me to miss the truck, but it would make even the strongest of men hit the deck.

Soap was already covering his head as I picked up just a little more speed, beginning to take cover as the blades the helicopter began to shake his car. I passed just above his vehicle, and watched as his knees buckled and covered his ears. Jackie released a chuckle and I couldn't help but crack a distinct smile. "That was good," she said with a taunting glow to her face, "let's head back to base and have the earful of it then."

"I needed that," I said as the void in my heart seemed to close just a little bit. It was comforting to have someone I knew on base with me. Even if I did have a lot of explaining to do with her, and most likely quite a few apologies to give, that would come with time. But her smiling face and genuine sympathy for what I had been through before I fled was something I needed to have. I suddenly remembered what Laswell had said: I disappear, I let him win.