Safety Net 》Reuban Finch

Chapter 6

Despite the slight respite the group of aviators got while visiting Jia at her shoot, the tensions returned the minute training resumed the next day.

Team after team went up and failed. Team after team had to listen to Maverick ask why they died. What had gone wrong. How they would tell families of the failure.

No one was able to complete it on time or with the entire team. Someone would ‘hit’ the canyon wall, break the hard deck, or fly away from their wingman. (Looking at you, Hangman)

But Rooster and his team were the last up for the day. They had made it, but long after the time limit.

"Why are you dead?" Maverick asks Rooster. "You're team leader up there. Why are you, why is your team dead?"

"Sir, he's the only one that made it to the target," Phoenix defends her friend. And he was. No one else, not even Hangman, had actually made it to the target.

"A minute late, he gave enemy aircraft time to shoot him down," Maverick shoots back. "He is dead."

"You don't know that," Rooster defends himself.

"You're not flying fast enough," Hangman says. "You don't have a second to waste."

"We made it to the target," Rooster continues to defend.

"And superior enemy aircraft intercepted you on your way out," Maverick starts to get angry.

"Then it's a dog fight," Rooster fires back at him. The others are starting to notice the animosity between the two men. It was beginning to get suffocating for those around them.

"Against fifth generation fighters?" Maverick questions angrily.

"Yea, we still have a chance," Rooster says

Phoenix looks down, and Hangman looks smug, like he knows something no one else does.

"In an F-18," Maverick stresses

"It's not the plane, sir. It's the pilot," Rooster says, somewhat arrogantly but also making a point. These pilots were the best of the best. But even they had their limits.

"Exactly," Maverick says, straight to his face in front of everyone.

Rooster looks pissed and upset, not believing Maverick just said that.

"There's more than one way to fly this mission," Rooster says

"You really don't get it," Hangman starts. "On this mission, a man flies like Maverick here, or man does not come back. No offense intended," directed at Phoenix.

"Yet somehow you always manage," Bob defends Phoenix instantly.

"Hey, I don't mean to criticize," Hangman continues, "you're conservative, that's all."

"Lieutenant," Maverick tries to stop Hangman, failing miserably.

"We're going into combat son, on a level no living pilots' ever seen, not even him," looking straight at Maverick, who has a distressed look on his face. "That's no time to be thinking of the past," he says smugly.

"What's that supposed to mean," Rooster asks, looking pissed off.

"Lieutenants," Maverick tries again before everything blows out of proportion.

"I can't be the only one that knows Maverick flew with his old man," Maverick keeps trying to get Hangman to shut up, “That's enough."

"Or that Maverick was flying when his old man," and before he can finish, Rooster is on him.