Mayhem || B. Bradshaw

Chapter 12

     BRADLEY FELL SILENT, AND LIZBETH could see that Maverick didn't realize what he had said before a second passed.

     "There's more than one way to fly this mission," Bradley answered, and Lizbeth felt her heart break at the sound of his trembling voice. She cast her eyes away, clenching her jaw as the memory of the last time Bradley spoke with the pain of betrayal flashed before her eyes.

     I'm sorry, Bradley. I'm sorry that I messed it up.

     Lizbeth swallowed, but shook the flashbacks away as she refocused on the hurting man a few rows up, her eyes drawn to him like a moth to a flame. He was swallowing hard, gaze frozen on the man who set him back, who had been his Dad's best friend. A man that had been his father figure, but now seemed to doubt his abilities.

     "You really don't get it," Hangman sighed with a smirk on his face. The mere sound of his voice reminded Lizbeth that he was still here, and the fact that he had the audacity to start speaking in a conversation he had no business meddling in, made anger fume inside her. She had to control herself to not verbally lash out on him. Couldn't he just shut up for once?

     "On this mission, a man flies like Maverick here, or a man does not come back." He threw a look at Phoenix. "No offense intended."

     "Yet somehow, you always manage," Bob commented.

     Lizbeth clenched her jaw, keeping herself from doing anything rash towards Hangman, but it was difficult. She was fed up with his immature attitude.

     "Look, I don't mean to criticize." He turned towards Bradley again. "You're conservative, that's all."

     "Lieutenant," Maverick warned him, and Lizbeth noticed the growing discomfort Hangman's words gave him.

     Do something, Mav. Don't let him act as if he owns the place.

     "We're going into combat, son," Hangman continued, ignoring Maverick, "on a level no living pilot's ever seen." He turned towards Maverick. "Not even him."

     "That's no time to be thinking about the past."

     Lizbeth's heart dropped. She sat forward in her seat, looking past the others and saw Hangman's smirking face. She paled.

     He knows. How does he know?

     "What's that supposed to mean?" Bradley asked, and Lizbeth bit her lip, waiting for Maverick to put a stopper to the conversation.

     "Rooster," Maverick sent another warning, but it didn't help.

      "I can't be the only one that knows that Maverick flew with his old man." Hangman started to push buttons he had no right to push, and Lizbeth gripped the armrests of her seat, prepared to get over there and shut him up.

     "That's enough," Maverick said, but Hangman didn't listen. Lizbeth looked over at Bradley, and saw him breathe heavily as Hangman continued to spit out everything he didn't want people to know.

     "–or that Maverick was flying when his old man–" Hangman didn't get any longer before Bradley shot out of his seat.

     "Hey!" She shouted, rushing to the front to get a hold of Bradley and keep him from attacking Hangman. Luckily, she wasn't the only one with that mindset, and got help from both Bob and Payback to hold Bradley back while he burnt out his pent up anger.

     "That's enough!" Maverick shouted and stepped in-between them, breaking up what could've evolved into something much worse.

     "I'm cool. I'm cool," Hangman laughed, and Lizbeth couldn't help but glare at him taking it so lightly. He didn't know the trauma behind Bradley's wounds. "Hey, hey, hey, hey."