Danger Zone • Top Gun: Maverick

• Chapter Six •

Hopping out of Bradley's Bronco, the three Naval Aviators made their way inside the Hard Deck which was beginning to become crowded with fellow pilots and civilians.

"Bradshaw!" A female voice called out, grabbing the attention of the Bradley and the girls. "Is that you?"

Bradley smiled and led the girls over towards the pool table at the corner of the bar - none the wiser to the pair of eyes that trailed after the brunette and tall pilot.

"This is how I find out you're state-side?" A female with a slim build and her black hair pulled back into a neat military-styled bun said as she approached the trio, her dark brown eyes focused on Bradley. She stood at roughly 5'7" in height and wore the tan uniform, her name tag displaying her last name of 'Trace'.

"Yeah, I just thought I'd surprise you." Bradley responded, and he removed his aviators and hooked them onto his tank top once more, nodding at a few fellow aviators that they knew.

The dark haired female had bent over and took her shot in the game of pool, only for the back of the pool cue to hit Bradley in the gut, which made him grunt and bend over.

Skye smirked in amusement as Emerson tried to hold back her laughter as she rubbed her best friend's back.

"Guess I surprised you back." The female said as she turned around to face the man that she had hit.

Bradley looked up at her with a smile, recovering from the pain. "It's good to see you." He said.

"It's good to see you too." She responded before a smile graced her lips at the sight of the two girls standing behind him. "Emerson, Skye."

"Hey Nat." The girls responded in unison, returning her smile before they gave her a hug.

"Who's he?" Emerson quizzed, nodding her head towards a young man with glasses, him too sporting the tan uniform - his name tag reading 'Floyd'.

"Bob." Natasha answered and quickly caught onto their follow-up question. "Just Bob. He's my new backseater from Lemoore."

"Hmm.." The brunette pilot hummed as she nodded her head slightly as she assessed the man. He had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes and stood at 6 feet in height but seemed slightly timid and shy.

The trio proceeded to greet the remainder of their fellow aviators that were present: Lieutenants Reuben 'Payback' Fitch, Mickey 'Fanboy' Garcia and Javy 'Coyote' Machado.

Conversation had broke out amongst them as they caught up on life since they had all last seen each other, although the conversation was short-lived when a voice called out to Bradley.

"Bradshaw, as I live and breathe." A smooth voice called out, a smirk clearly evident in his tone as he approached the pool table.

He was about 6 feet in height with light brown hair, striking green eyes, and had a sharp jawline with an athletic build. Just as the rest of his fellow aviators, apart from Emerson, Skye, and Bradley, he was sporting the tan uniform - his name badge reading 'Seresin'.

"Hangman." Bradley responded coolly. "You look good." 

Both him and the pilot seemed to have constantly butted heads together with each other. As known by his callsign of Hangman, Jake Seresin was a pilot who took risks and had a tendency of leaving his wingmen hanging - hence the callsign as given by Bradley, himself. Bradley didn't like the pilot because of that very reason.

As for Jake, he found Bradley too slow and too careful when up in the air - like a rooster waiting for the sun to rise - hence his callsign. 

And that was one way to get yourself killed up in the air.