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Sure, no problem.
But when Panther strode back toward me with his helmet in hand and his Aviators in place, the pressure of having such precious cargo in my jet with me began to weigh a little heavier upon my shoulders.
Plastering a cocky smile on my face, I shoved aside the slight niggling doubt and reminded myself I was one of the best—if not the best—pilot in this course. If anyone could make Panther fall back in love with flying, it was gonna be me.
“Ready, lieutenant?”
Panther’s lips twitched as he gave a clipped nod. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
I shoved off the wall, and as I turned to head to the door with him, I clapped him on the back. “Now there’s the spirit.”
“Yeah, well, let’s hope my spirit stays in my body this time.”
I stopped in the hall and grabbed at Panther’s arm, and when he came to a standstill, I looked him up and down and said in my most serious tone, “Here’s hoping. You don’t want to be reissued your call sign. I hear ‘vomit’ and ‘hurl’ are still up for grabs. Gucci says they’re all yours if you want them.”
Panther shoved me in the arm and pointed toward the doors that led to the hangar, and I laughed.
As we pushed through them and out into the blistering summer sun, the runway under our feet was radiating so much heat that I swore if you cracked an egg on it, it would fry in seconds.
I snatched my Aviators out of my pocket and slipped them on as we headed to the F/A-18F Hornet we’d be flying in today. After we’d run through the pre-check, I came around to find Panther waiting by the steps that led up to the cockpit.
“Everything good?” I asked.
Panther worried his lower lip with his teeth, and then looked back to me and nodded. “Yep.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay, then.”
I was just about to head up the stairs when Panther grabbed my arm. “I trust you.”
An arrogant grin curled my lips, the slight nerves from minutes ago fading with those three words. “Good. Then get in and buckle up. I’m about to take you on the ride of your fucking life.”
21 Panther
OH GOD, HERE we go.
As Solo taxied out to the runway, I sat in the rear seat of the Hornet, scanning over the screens and dials that I would use to navigate the mission—well, if we had a mission. As it was, Levy had basically given Solo permission to take me on a joy ride, and that alone should’ve scared me shitless. Who knew what the hell a pilot like Solo would be like without any rules?
Jesus. I could feel my hands sweating through my gloves, my heart rate kicking up a notch, though not nearly as fast as when I’d been the one in control.
“You ready to do this?” Solo said through the comm. I could hear how pumped he was, and I wished I felt the same. But all I could focus on besides my job was the way my stomach twisted into fucking knots.
“Yeah.” I couldn’t manage more than that, because as soon as the word was out of my mouth, Solo gunned it. He wasted no time getting to speed, but when he lifted up horizontally instead of at an angle, I groaned, knowing exactly what he was about to do.
Seconds later, he turned us ninety degrees to lift off, the jet going straight up into the sky, a show-off stunt only the best of the best could pull off. Under normal circumstances, I lived for the adrenaline of that takeoff, but it wasn’t exactly easing me back into flying, the motherfucker. I was beginning to think this was punishment, not a way to help me out.
Solo whooped as we sped into the blue, my anxiety skyrocketing along with his excitement. It was a good thing he was the one flying, because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get us off the ground.
“How’s it feel, bein’ back?” Solo said as he straightened us out, keeping to an invisible line for the moment. It gave my stomach time to settle.
“Shut up.”
“We can talk. We’re the only ones up here.”
“I don’t want to talk.”
There was a pause. “You’re not feeling it, are you?”
“Just fly the fucking plane.”
That was the wrong thing to say, because Solo chuckled and then went vertical again, swooping up and over as if moving in on a target. I focused on keeping my breathing steady, even as my eyes darted up at the canopy, like I was waiting for air to seep through.
It’s not gonna happen. Just chill the hell out.
As Solo went into a series of barrel rolls, I reminded myself that I’d done this hundreds of times. I didn’t need to think about all the things that could go wrong; I needed to stay in the moment.
