Chapter 23
MITCHELL
“Number Four is on the ground safe and sound,” Honcho’s voice came through the headset. “Let’s put on a good show for our audience.”
I was glad to hear Medusa was okay. The moment she left the formation, I knew something was wrong.
I happened to be behind her and saw the smoke barreling out of her engine.
I didn’t get scared much, if ever. But when I saw that smoke and the jet obviously losing power, I felt real fear.
I knew she was a damn good pilot, but none of us had any idea what happened.
Her communication had been spotty. We all knew how to handle a situation like this.
Not panicking was the first and most important thing to remember.
I slid into her spot for a few of the maneuvers just to make sure the people down below got a good show. “Permission to do the hammerhead, sir,” I asked calmly.
“Clear the air for Number Five,” Honcho replied.
He had actually given me the all-clear. I wasn’t expecting him to agree to it. “Thanks, sir.”
“Keep it clean. Keep it safe. Nothing fancy.”
I only smiled as I dropped in altitude. Honcho communicated to the announcer about what I was going to do.
I gave the crowd a flyover before positioning myself for the steep maneuver.
I pulled back, climbing in altitude at a speed so fast the G’s were pounding my body.
I was seconds from stalling the engines.
I waited and then let it drop. This was dropping the hammer in a very different way.
The jet started to freefall with the nose still pointing up to the sky.
I held control, keeping it from spinning.
“Pull up,” Honcho said.
I wasn’t ready to pull up just yet. I was having too much fun. “Just a few hundred more feet.”
“Pull up now, Dice.” His voice was firm and there was no missing the anger.
I waited, going just past the typical level before I pulled back, evened out the jet, and took off with a few rolls.
I couldn’t hear the cheers, but I imagined they were screaming loudly.
I hoped they were. We went through the rest of the show before taking it down.
I was feeling pretty damn good. It had been a great show. I was expecting lots of adulation.
We landed and waited until we got the signal before opening our canopies in unison. We climbed out and quickly got into line to start our walk toward the crowd. We waved, posed, and went through the usual routine before heading over to the hangar we were using.
Honcho was talking to Medusa. I was anxious to find out what happened as well.
He looked my way and his whole demeanor changed.
He wasn’t happy. He wasn’t going to congratulate me on a job well done.
I was about to get my ass handed to me—again.
I could almost predict what he was going to say. I prepared my defense.
“Dice!” His voice boomed across the distance between us.
Yep, I was in trouble. He should be thanking me for saving the show. They would have been hobbling along had I not stepped in and gave the audience a few maneuvers to get excited about.
“Yes, sir,” I muttered.
I was almost to where he stood alone, since Medusa tucked tail and ran, when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. “You idiot!” Sam shouted in my face.
I stepped back. “What?”
“What the hell were you thinking?” Her hands were on her hips and her eyes were flashing fire.
“What?”
I probably should have said something else, but she caught me off guard. The way she was looking at me was throwing me off. I didn’t know what else to say.
“That was stupid. Reckless and foolish!” She was really pissed. “What would have happened if you couldn’t get out of that? Would you have smashed into the earth? Would you have killed yourself?”
“I didn’t fall out of the sky,” I said. “It’s a maneuver I’ve practiced over and over. I knew what I was doing.”
“Not like that! You should have pulled up way sooner. You risked not being able to pull out of that. There’s a reason it’s designed to pull up sooner.
The engine could cut out. You could get caught in a wind gust. You could have been passed out in there!
We didn’t know what was happening. I thought you were falling out of the sky! ”
“Sam, it was a move,” I said slowly. “You know we do those things all the time. You’ve seen us practice.”
“Not like that,” she snapped. “You were showing off. You had to be the star of the show. You have to have everyone looking at you and praising you. Showboat!”
“Sam, I’m a trained pilot,” I said calmly. “A damn good one at that. I know what I’m doing.”
“I don’t believe you do,” she spat. “From where I stand, you looked like a damn fool.”
“You’re an inspector,” I growled. “You inspect the jet I fly. You know all the little details about the engine and the wings and all that shit. I know everything there is to know about keeping that damn thing in the air no matter what the conditions are. You don’t think they hand out credentials for flying one of those things to just anybody, do you? ”
“There you go again, being all cocky and arrogant,” she said with disgust.
“I’m doing my job,” I said tightly. “Why don’t you let me worry about my job and you worry about your job? I fly. You inspect. Stay in your lane.”
Her eyes narrowed and I thought for sure she was going to knock me on my ass. “You damn fool. I don’t know why I ever thought you would have any kind of self-preservations skills. You ran into a burning plane!”
She spun on her heel and walked away just as fast as she had come at me. I felt like I had been caught in a tornado. It swept me up and then spit me out just as fast. The earth was still spinning when Honcho stepped in front of me.
“Everything she said is exactly what I was going to say,” he said. “Although I had a few more adjectives. Pull that shit again, and I swear, I will ground you. I’m dead serious.”
I barely heard him. I searched for Sam. She was rushing away with Medusa chasing after her. What in the hell had just happened? Honcho was still standing in front of me. “I was in total control the whole time,” I said.
“I don’t care,” he shot back. “I’ve warned you about putting everything at risk.
It isn’t just you. That was stupid. You can still put on a good show without jeopardizing the lives of us as well as the people that have come to see us.
Pull your head out of your ass or I will make this a five-man crew. I will not tolerate that shit.”
He walked away and there I stood with my mind still whirring. I had no idea what I was supposed to think.
Watch Dog slapped me on the shoulder. “One of these days, you’re going to take a dicey move one step too far.”
“I was in control,” I said.
“You were in control, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t have lost control in the blink of an eye,” he said. “I’m afraid I have to agree with Honcho and that spitfire that just filleted your backside. She was really pissed. I thought you said you guys were in a good place.”
“I thought we were,” I said. “I really thought things were good between us. I don’t know what happened.”
“I think she laid it all out on the line for you.” He laughed. “She laid out a lot of things. You’re lucky she didn’t lay you out.”
“I’m a pilot,” I said. “She acts like I have a death wish. I don’t. I do shit I know I can handle. I would never put anyone’s life at risk.”
“Except your own,” he said.
“Since when did you guys all become little girls?” I frowned.
“We’re not trying to die. We’re not trying to watch you die either.”
“Speaking of, what happened to Medusa?” I asked.
“Birds.” He laughed.
“Birds?” I asked with surprise. “What the hell?”
“I guess she managed to find the one flock. They only got her. She’s lucky we don’t have a show tomorrow. There’s no way she’d be going up.”
“Damn.”
“Took out her engine, but you know her,” he said. “She pulled off the landing with ease.”
“Did Sam lay into her?” I complained. “What Medusa did was far more dangerous than what I did.”
“Medusa managed a situation she had no control over,” he said. “You created a situation that you almost lost control in.”
“Whatever,” I said. “We better get into the debrief before I get in trouble again. I think I’d like to keep the remaining flesh I have.”
After the debriefing, which was quite enthusiastic, I headed back to the hotel.
I did try and track Sam down, but Medusa warned me it was best I steered clear.
She was testy with me as well. I seemed to have rubbed everyone the wrong way.
It was a little disappointing. I thought I put on a damn good show.
One of these days, someone was going to recognize my talent.
Sam had looked a little crazy when she’d been shouting at me.
I didn’t understand why she’d been so wild.
She’d treated me like I was a child running into a busy street.
She needed to remember I was a pilot. She was an inspector.
She’d never even been up in one of our jets.
To me, it seemed like she had a lot of nerve lecturing me about what I could and couldn’t do up there.
I tried to keep myself occupied but I could not keep my mind off her.
Everyone else was going out for beer and chicken wings.
I didn’t feel like going out after the day I had.
They were just going to talk shit about the maneuver.
I slipped on my shoes and walked down the hall to her room.
I knocked and waited. I heard nothing and assumed she was out for the evening.
Feeling deflated, I walked back to my room and ordered some dinner.
I flipped on the TV and tried to find something to watch.
I grabbed my phone and texted Watch Dog.
I wanted to know if she was out with them.
He quickly replied. She was not with them.
Apparently, she and Medusa had decided to go out for a real dinner.
I guessed I should be happy she was with Medusa and not out at the bar looking to pick up a man. Taking a chance, I quickly texted her.
Can we talk?
My dinner arrived and she still had not texted back.
Please come by my room when you’re back at the hotel. We need to talk. Please.
It was up to her now. If she didn’t want to talk to me, there was nothing I could do about it.
I wasn’t going to grovel, especially when I had done nothing wrong.
If this was the game she wanted to play, she was on her own.
I didn’t do games. I didn’t have the time or energy to play games.
It just wasn’t my thing. Never had been. Life was too short for drama.