Ranger ~ Top Gun Maverick

Pick and Roll

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Maverick is running with nowhere to go - the barren trees providing little cover. He's a sitting duck. The Hind comes into view and her .50 cal rotary cannon opens fire, chewing into the ice and trees and snow with a hellstorm of lead. The angle is bad and the hind has to come around, buying Maverick precious seconds. He reaches a gnarled fallen tree at lake's edge. He tries to wedge himself behind it, if only to hide. Nothing out here will stop that cannon. Over Maverick, the Hind wheels slowly around, searching for him. It's only a matter of time. 

Maverick stays pressed behind the tree as the Hind approaches, flies overhead. Maverick isn't dying on his back. He leaps up, runs, as a stream of hot red tracers shred the log and follow him like a laser pointer, gaining on him until: BOOM. 

The Hind explodes in mid air. Maverick stops in his tracks. 

"What the-"

Ranger's F-18 flies overhead.

Ranger banks, looking down. He can see Mav's chute, but not Mav. Then an alarm blares. 

"Oh shit." Ranger curses.

A radar guided missile launcher, it's silhouette familiar to us by now, swivels around and lets fly with a SAM, traveling at MACH 5. 

Ranger throws flares, tries to evade, but he too is doomed. 

---

"Dagger three is hit." The comms crew say.

Cyclone pounds a fist on the panel. 

Phoenix is frozen.

"I repeat. Dagger three is hit." The comms crew says.

Her eyes well up with tears. The man she loves is gone and her teacher too.

"Dagger two, come in. Dagger Two, do you copy?"

"Dagger spare request permission to launch and fly air cover."

A painfully long wait. 

"Negative, spare..." 

Hangman hangs his head. 

---

Scrambling out of the rubble, Maverick sees Ranger's F-18 on fire and trailing heavy smoke, as Ranger ejects. His jet vanishes behind the ridge before slamming into the ground, sending up a plume of black smoke. Maverick immediately starts running, tracking the path of Ranger's parachute... 

Gripped with panic, Maverick sprints through the trees, seeing Ranger's chute disappear among them... 

He emerges in a patch of clearing where Ranger's on his knees, burying his parachute, still recovering from a brutal landing. Both men are pretty banged up, exhausted, but relieved to see one another. 

"You all right?" Mav asks.

"I'll manage." 

Then Maverick shoves him. 

"What the hell?" 

"What are you doing here?" 

"What am I doing here?" 

"You think I took that SAM so you could end up down here with me? You should be back on the carrier by now. 

"I saved your life."

"I saved your life. That was the whole point. What the hell where you even thinking?" He asks.

"You told me not to think!" Ranger replies.