1929
"Now tell me, how the hell did you write for the Army, get discharged, then come all the way back for Navy?" Lieutenant Kyle Angelo asked me as we walked back with our flight gear. I rolled my eyes and smiled. The little 25 year old pilot was hilarious.
"That story is too long to tell in a 20 foot walk." I looked over at the boy. He smiled.
"Can we talk about it over dinner?" He asked, putting his flight gear up. I rolled my eyes.
"You're my student." He shrugged.
"So?"
"So I won't get dinner with somebody 14 years younger than me." I said while we walked into my office. He grinned and sat down across from my desk as I grabbed his piloting papers.
"Cmon Colonel. You're the more fascinating girl I know. I'd like to know about me, maybe write a book about you." He said. I smiled. A book about me does sound pretty good. "I'll pay?"
"Where do you want to go?" I asked him. He smiled.
"Aunt Connie's?" He asked, referring to a Texan barbecue place where I haven't been in a very long time.
"19:00 Sharp, Angelo." I said as I handed him his piloting papers. His eyebrows furrowed.
"What's this?" Oh this boy is not going to make it in the Navy.
"You're licensed as a fighter pilot now. You are dismissed, Lieutenant." I waved him out of my office. Once he shut the door, he walked like a dancing lunatic down the hallway. I rolled my eyes as I grabbed my payout papers and went to the sergeants office.
I walked in and shut the door, setting my papers down on his desk. He turned around and looked at them, then At me.
"You waited until your Lieutenant was finished with his work?" Sergeant Pickering asked me.
"Yes sir." I answered.
He sighed and stamped the papers. He handed them back to me in an envelope. "Even though you were the only woman on this base, I enjoyed your work. You're a tough woman." He looked up at me. "You're one of the few Colonels that enforced the rules while having my respect."
"Thank you sir." I thanked him.
"At ease, take a seat." He leaned back in his chair. I sat down across from him, watching every movement. "What do you plan on doing? Once you leave, I may ask."
"Load my horse and dog on a boat and go back to England." I told him. He nodded with a small smile.
"I wish you luck, Colonel. Dismissed." I've never gotten up from a chair so fast.
I checked my watch to see it was 18:30 and I had that dumbass dinner tonight. No way I was walking home, changing, then coming back. That's just stupid. I don't even have any extra clothes that are clean. Just a ball gown I was going to wear to the Naval Ball. I didn't go.
The stables were about a quarter mile from the restaurant, so I stopped there and saw my horse. Tomorrow morning I would walk it over to the doc and load it up with Johnny, along with my dog. Midas and Maverick.
He was waiting at the table for me. I was right on time. His boyish smile was plastered on his face as I took a seat in front of him. There was a whiskey glass in front of me that was half filled.
"You seemed like you drank Whiskey." He told me.
"The only liquor I drink. I don't have it very often." I sipped at it. I put the glass down. "It's not as good as England's."
"What did you do in England anyway? You were there for three years." He asked.
"Six years." I mumbled, leaning back in my seat. "I did a lot."
"Like what?"
I leaned closer to him, whispering. "I shouldn't be telling you shit. You have to swear to me that this is between us." He nodded.
"I worked with an Irish Gangster, Thomas Shelby. I worked as a spy and a hitman. I was still in the Army at the time, but I was just a lousy writer. They didn't pay attention to what I did, so I signed payout papers." I told him. He nodded and smiled.
"Did you kill anyone?" He asked. I took another swig of my drink.
"Too many."
His eyebrows furrowed. "You don't seem like the type. Every person who I've met from the war says all the deaths live on their conscience." He told me.
"I guess I came from hell." I told him. I looked at my watch, showing that I've been her for half an hour.
"Got somewhere to be?" He asked.
"In half an hour, yes." I replied, finishing off the whiskey.
"Don't let me keep you." He told me.
"I'm going back to Birmingham tomorrow. I will get on the boat tonight." I elaborated, putting my watch behind my sleeve.
"Why?" He asked.
"Lover." I kind of laughed at that. The thought of Thomas hearing me call him my lover just made me smile. He would probably call it the most embarrassing phrase ever, but he wasn't here right now.
"You have a relationship and you thought it was ok to have dinner with another man?" He asked.
"You said it was just dinner, right?" I used his own words against him. I smiled as I got up, laying a ten dollar bill down for the drinks. "That nurse that runs bed four talks about how good looking you are all the time. I'd talk to her. Not me." I gave him a small pat on the shoulder as I left. I felt a little shitty for leaving, but I didn't like putting my information out there.
It was dark once I got to my three room house. Maverick jumped on me as I entered the house, his copper face smiling as I ran my wingers through his fur. I was already packed. All I had to do was leave.
I put my holsters over my button up shirt and then placed my Navy Blazer over them. I forgot how fun it feels to carry guns with you. I haven't done it in four years.
Maverick walked about ten feet in front of me at all times. His white feet were covered in dirt once we got to the stables. Luke was getting my horse ready for transport. He put the western saddle on, then a blanket over the horse to keep him warm.
Midas was named after the Greek god of gold. He was the most golden palomino gelding with for white stockings and a blaze down his face. He was a 16 hand quarter horse. He was what I spent my first year of paychecks on. My second year was tack.
"He is all ready to go. Ms. Cruz." Luke, the stable boy said. I smiled, grabbing the leather bridal from him and hanging it on the saddle horn. I lead the horse out of his stall and made my way towards the loading docks. I spent my fifth year paychecks paying for animal transport.
I led the horse into a stall on the boat, locking the door. Maverick followed me to my room. It was a crappy rook that didn't cost much. Plus it was only a minuets walk to the stables.
Going back to Birmingham was surreal. I was going back to the way of life I enjoyed. Don't get me wrong, I loved being in the Navy and teaching kids how to fly planes, but something about the thrill Thomas gave me. I missed my trigger happy fingers.
Since the Navy doesn't pay shit, I put in more hours for extra uniforms. I was stupid to leave all my clothes in England. I hope Odessa took care of them like she told me in her letters.
I think Thomas sent me the most letter out of everyone. I got two letters a week from him. It didn't matter if they were about business or just his family in general. It didn't matter what he wrote about, it always brought a fucking smile to my face. That's what mattered.
I wrote to him a month ago, saying that I was coming back. It probably just got there. I couldn't pay for the fast postal service like he could. I couldn't risk using blood money for it. I sent the blood money to Odessa.
The bed was warm. A warm bed was always something I looked forward to when I got home, but that never happened. New York is always so fucking cold and nasty.
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EAGLE EYES // Thomas Shelby
Fanfiction"Who even are you?" That was a great question.
