Maverick had already left, having been dismissed by the time Cyclone allowed Brandi to leave. The door slammed behind her and she sighed, things hadn't gone the way she hoped, but they hadn't taken a turn for the worse . . .
A little way down the hall were Phoenix, Jake, and Bradley. They talked in hushed tones with lowered heads and crossed arms. When they heard the click of the door handle, their heads shot up and over to her. All had a worry in their eyes, but it was Jake's gaze she caught, there was a different emotion hidden in his icy stare.
"Did they discharge you?" he asked, meeting her halfway.
She shook her head.
Jake's brow furrowed. "Are you benched?"
Not exactly. Cyclone made me an advisor, I'm not flying on this mission anymore."
"Shit!" he swore. "Don't get me wrong, darlin', I'm beyond glad you're sticking round, but Cyclone just made us lose our most skilled pilot."
Brandi blushed. "Well, I wouldn't say-"
Phoenix placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook it. "Hooker, you're good, time to accept that."
The four slipped into silence, pondering their next move. Suddenly, Bradley's voice cut through the deafening quiet. "What were you thinking? Risking your entire career like that?" he snapped.
The blonde didn't appreciate his tone. "I wasn't. That's the whole point. I had a thought, I executed said idea, end of story."
"And all the risks? You could have gotten hurt, or worse, and then what?"
"Then I'd go down a fucking badass!" Brandi inwardly cringed, she heard it now. Maybe Cyclone was right about the psych evaluation, she wasn't one hundred percent herself.
Bradley took a step back, disbelief written on his face plainly like a picture book. "You were never his reckless, what happened?"
Brandi threw her hands up in exasperation. "Look around you, Bradley, things are changing. Either you catch up or get left behind."
"Easy for you to say, you never had to worry about such things. Daddy was always there to catch you when you messed up. You had everything handed to you!"
