Keeper Of The Flame ━ pete mitchell [1] ✔

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛

CHAPTER ELEVEN
Classified Photographs

Kate threw her jean jacket back on after it being tied around her waist. She pulled into Viper's driveway, looking at Pete when she put it in park. Kate quickly glanced at the water near the house, it made it feel a little bit like home.

"Nice place." Pete mumbled.

Kate sighed, "come on, let's go." She told him, shutting the door to her truck.

Pete opened the door to Viper's house, and they both walked in. Mrs. Metcalf greeted them, then she wrapped Kate into a tight hug. "Hi, dear." Mrs. Metcalf said.

"Mrs. Metcalf." Kate responded, slowly letting go.

"What happened to your arm?" Mrs. Metcalf scolded, putting her hands on her hips, "and your face— your hands!" She continued, seeing stains of oil and grease.

Kate laughed. "I was fixing the truck again, and my arm got cut on the corner of a counter." She answered, then Mrs. Metcalf gave her another scolding look. "I'll go wash my hands." She promised, walking away from Pete for a minute.

She walked past Viper's kids, sending them a wave after they were excited to see her again. There were days when she wasn't doing a mission or flight sessions, so she'd babysit them when they were younger. She washed her hands, walking back out, and noticed Pete looking at the photos on the wall. She walked up beside him, seeing the one of her graduating class at TOPGUN.

Pete's eyes wandered to the photos on the table, one of them had Kate when she was around seventeen. He furrowed his brows, "you knew Viper when you were a kid?"

"Yeah, he was close with my mom. He kinda took me under his wing after she died. He did a better job than my actual dad." Kate told him, smiling at the photograph.

Then, a smaller one that was just resting on the table. They were at an Oilers game, they had just joined the NHL.

Pete then brought his attention to the framed photo on the wall that displayed Viper and Duke Mitchell. "I flew with your old man. VF-51, the Oriskany. You're a lot like he was. Only better... and worse. He was a natural heroic son of a bitch, that one." Viper told Pete, looking at his sunglasses, and caused both Pete and Kate to turn around and look at him.

"So he did do it right." Pete whispered.

Viper nodded, "yeah, he did it right." He responded, smiling.

The younger pilots followed Viper outside, both Kate and Viper put their baseball caps on. The only difference was that Viper's said 'TOPGUN', while Kate's was just plain.

"Is that why you fly the way you do? Trying to prove something? Yeah, your old man did it right. What I'm about to tell you is classified. It could end my career." Viper told Pete.

"I would have looked at it and told him." Kate said, putting her hands in the pockets of her jean jacket.

Viper sighed, "I know you would. We were in the worst dogfight I ever dreamed of. Bogies like fireflies all over the sky. His F-4 was hit, he was wounded, but he could've made it back. He stayed in it, saved three planes before he bought it." Viper explained.

"How come I never heard that before?" Pete asked.

"Well, that's not something the State Department tells dependents when the battle occurred over the wrong line on some map."

"So you were there?"

"I was there." Viper answered, sitting down. "What's on your mind?"

"My options, sir."

"Simple. First, you've acquired enough points to show up tomorrow and graduate with your TOPGUN class. Or you can quit. There'd be no disgrace. That spin was hell. It would've shook me up." Viper laid out the choices.

"So you think I should quit?" Pete questioned.

"I didn't say that. The simple fact is: you feel responsible for Goose, and you have a confidence problem. Now, I'm not gonna sit here and blow sunshine up your ass, Lieutenant. A good pilot is compelled to always evaluate what's happened. So he can apply what he's learned. Up there, we gotta push it. That's our job. It's your option, Lieutenant, all yours."

Pete looked around before responding. "Sorry to bother you on a Sunday, sir, but thank you very much for your time."

"No problem. Good luck. One minute, Captain." Pete walked off to the truck with the keys to start it.

"You've seemed out of it the past while." Viper noted.

Kate scoffed. "I'm fine."

"I'd believe you if I knew you weren't lying." Viper mused.

"I've just felt weird and off lately, but I'll be fine." Kate told him. "And thanks for talking to Pete."

Viper nodded, "that boy follows you around like a golden retriever, you know that, right?"

Kate just laughed, walking off. When she got in the truck, she got a weird feeling in her stomach, but ignored it, and they drove past Charlie's old house. Kate stopped the truck just before they got to the tarmac to watch the planes take off. One look and Kate knew that he couldn't give up flying.

Kate's been accepted into the Metcalf family

Mrs. Metcalf just scolds Kate for always being covered in dirt

Okay, bye!