Fly With Me // Bradley Bradshaw

Chapter Seventeen

Sophie looks down at the ocean that was just below them. It was a foggy day, ideal for their current situation; it would make it much harder for any enemy to spot them. Her nerves were running sky-high, but she stayed calm and collected on the outside. The only sounds were Maverick's commands and the sounds of their jets.

Razor glances above her as the tomahawks fly past them and toward the enemy's runway. Once they had been launched, everyone moves into attack formation before entering the valley. Razor swiftly moves their jet so it's positioned behind and slightly above Roosters. He would be leading them into the valley and Rebound would be guiding his bomb into the target.

As everyone entered the mountain ridge, they marked their timer for two minutes and thirty seconds. The race against time began now.

Rebound looked around at the scenery while Razor stayed focused on the tight turns and low altitude they were enduring. Snow was surrounding them against the mountain tops and the water was undisturbed until they flew by it. It would almost be a beautiful sight if it weren't for them flying a mission where they could be dead in a matter of minutes.

The only thing that can be heard between the aviators is heavy breathing as they fight against the g-force. The silence is broken when the first SAM comes into view. Razor's breath hitches in her throat and she stares up at it. It's, even more, intimidating in person than it was talking about it in the classroom. Getting out of here was going to be a shit show, but it gave her even more of a reason to buckle down and focus on her flying.

Rooster is going slightly slower than Maverick and Phoenix but still stays close enough. Rebound keeps a close eye on the timer and their radar as they approached the two-minute mark. "Thirty seconds in; we need to increase speed a bit," he makes it known to their wingman.

As much as everyone told him not to think, it was impossible. A thousand thoughts ran through Rooster's mind as they flew through enemy territory. One kept him going and fighting; he was coming back to Sophie.

When Comanche picked up on two bandits flying nearby, the air changed between the pilots. The nerves that had once been settled in and dormant were now coming out for some of the pilots. They knew that not only would they have to fight for their lives against the SAMs, but there would almost definitely be dog fighting against fifth-generation fighters. It was critical to get to the target in the allotted time range, now more than ever.

"They're heading away from us. They don't know we're here," Rooster tries to keep spirits high for the team.

Mav quickly interjects, "The second those tomahawks hit the air base, those bandits are going to move to defend the target. We need to get there before they do. Increase speed."

Razor has her hand on the throttle ready to match Maverick's speed but holds off due to Rooster lagging behind. She can hear his heavy breathing through the comms as the tomahawks make contact with the runway, successfully destroying it. C'mon Rooster. Now is not the time to be holding back, she thinks to herself. Her finger taps nervously against the side of their jet as she looks over at the timer. It was quickly ticking down and they needed to make up time now.

Maverick checks in with Rooster while Rebound asks to increase speed again and reminds him about the bandits that will be waiting if they don't. He ignores all the outside noises, stuck inside of his own head. He wanted to keep his team safe, but he also wanted to complete this mission. He didn't know if he'd be able to do both. With the weight of the world closing in on him, he does the only thing he knows will give him the strength to get this done. He looks for comfort from above, "Talk to me, dad."

Razor hears and knows that he needs a confidence boost. She knew that he could do this; he just needed to clear his mind and fly like she knew he could. He needed to believe in himself.