Late Summer 1972
67th Fighter Weapons Squadron
US Air Force Fighter Weapons School
Nellis AFB
Las Vegas Nevada
Audrey's classes were going well. In her current class. all 8 Witches were Liberion, and all seemed to be in awe of her, as she spoke of her tours in Vietnam. They were about to begin the block on Close Air Support operations and what a "typical" close air support mission would be like. Audrey had gone to Major Erickson, the 66th Squadron's operations officer, and had requested an instructor who had experience as a FAC to teach the class, from the viewpoint of a forward air controller. She was a little nervous, especially the way Major Erickson had smiled and said he had the perfect instructor for her.
Captain "Danger" William Robinson strode into the classroom, introduced himself and shook Audrey's hand. He was tall and lanky, with close cropped dark hair and dark eyes with unmeasured depths. He spoke with a slow Southern drawl, as unhurried as molasses in winter. He looked to be some 8 years older than Audrey, having flown F-100Ds in Nam first as a strike pilot, before volunteering for duty as a FAC. After his last Nam tour, he came to Fighter Weapons as an instructor.
Audrey felt uneasy in Danger's presence. Something about him tugged at her memory, but she couldn't figure what it was. It was frustrating, because the details seemed beyond her reach. Even so, he was polite, respectful and Audrey quickly discovered his deep, thoughtful, wide ranging intellect, which he kept hidden behind an "aw-shucks, just-off-the-truck country boy" image.
She had to admit he was a very good instructor, instantly commanding the class's respect and attention. He started by explaining what a FAC was and what they did. He then drew out a flow chart on a FAC mission and then went into detail on each action and decision point. Then he gestured to Audrey to join him in front of the class and going through the radio exchanges between a FAC and a Strike Witch.
"This is what you'll hear as the initial call from a FAC" he drawled. Putting his hand over his left ear, he said, "Angel-1, this is Raven 1-6. I have Neuroi walkers coming through the trees at grid 65442715, Request Snakes and Nape. We have friendlies set up on the east side of the road. Will mark target position with white smoke. Over." He smiled and pointed to Audrey.
Audrey clapped her hands over her mouth in shocked recognition. NO WAY! she thought. Most of Audrey's missions during her second Nam tour were flying close air support for the Montagnard tribesmen in central and northern Laos waging a guerrilla campaign against the Neuroi. During those missions, her designation was Angel -1. These strikes were directed by the Forward Air controllers designated as Raven. They were fighter strike pilots flying light aircraft, equipped with nothing more than smoke rockets, an M16 and a radio. The one she had worked with the most was designated Raven1-6. It was HIM! That's where she remembered him from, especially that slow unhurried Southern drawl!
Danger just smiled at Audrey, and with his hand over his ear, said, "Angel-1, do you copy?"
Audrey shook her head, put her hand to her left ear and said "Raven 1-6, this is Angel-1 acknowledged. Target Grid 65442715, Friendlies on the east side of the road. Mark targets with white smoke. Standing by."
"Then I'd fire smoke rockets at the treeline in front of the walkers, and then I'd call the Witch with the bomb load and say, 'Angel-1 this is Raven 1-6. Target marked with white smoke, They're all yours, honey'" Danger smiled slowly. . "And then the Witch would respond..." he drawled as he gestured to Audrey.
Audrey replied with "I see white smoke marking target. Rolling in hot. Request BDA."
Danger continued. "After the initial attack run, the FAC does an assessment on the effectiveness of the bombing rum. If it's successful, he tells the Witch and thanks her for her prompt support. If not, he sets up another attack run and the process starts all over again, until the FAC is satisfied the target is neutralized or it's not necessary due to changes in the tactical situation on the ground. Any questions?"
The class continued, with questions coming from the students that both Danger and Audrey providing answers. As class was about to end, Danger stood up to make some final remarks for the day.
"Ah want y'all to listen up, 'cause what I got ta say is important." Danger drawled. "Ah know there's been a lot of talk how the Air Force is "forced" to do CAS, that the air-to-air folks call us 'mud-movers', that the we're nothin' more than the orphan stepchild of air combat. Ah take it y'all heard all that kind of stuff." He paused, seeing the reluctant nods from all the girls. "Ah just want to tell you all that's nothin' but a planeload 'o rubber dogshit!" he exclaimed, as everyone flinched.
Danger continued on, his passion evident."Air to air combat wins you recognition and bragging rights! Close Air Support wins you battles, which win you wars! You want to know how important close air support is? Just ask any soldier, Marine or Ground Witch. Those that have seen combat will know how important it is, knowing the Air Force is right there, backing them up, coming to their aid when they call for us! We are the ones who bring down God's Own Thunder on the heads of the Neuroi! It is our honor and duty to do so! And you are the ones who are going to do it!
The students all stood to applaud and cheer. Audrey just stood there, stunned again. Never before had she heard someone echo what CAS mission meant to her.
As the students filed out of the classroom, Audrey grabbed Danger's arm and hissed, "You son-of-a-bitch! You knew who I was before I requested a FAC to help teach this class! That's why Major Erickson knew the 'perfect' instructor to help me out!"
Danger smiled innocently. "Ah don' know what y'all talkin' about. Ah just happened to be between classes and available." he slowly drawled. He leaned in closer to Audrey and smiled, his tone becoming more persuasive . "Tell y'all what, Cap'n Gains, how 'bout we discuss this over dinner? It's steak night at the O club, and Ah'll treat." Seeing Audrey's skeptical look, Danger said, "This here'll be a working dinner. We can go over your lesson plan and work on what kinda exercises we want the students to go through for this block. How about we all meet at the O club 'bot 1800?"
Audrey had to admit he was charming, polite, respectful and smooth talking. On top of it all, she wanted to know more about Danger. He had always been a mystery, behind that unhurried Southern drawl. "Okay, dinner it is. 1800 you said?" she asked. A bold idea came to Audrey. "Civilian dress, okay? We stick to business." sh declared.
Danger's smile widened. "Civilian dress it is." He turned to leave, but stopped and turned back to Audrey. By the way, what's your name and nickname? I can't keep on callin' you Angel-1." he said with big grin.
Audrey blushed furiously, hating her nickname all the more. She raised her chin, looking Danger in the eye. "My real name is Audrey, but most people call me Boing Boing, or Boings, for short." Danger opened his mouth, but Audrey raised her hand and said flatly, "Don't ask. But what about you? How did you get a nickname like Danger?"
Danger sighed. He said, "My real name is William. Most folks used to call me Will. At least until "Lost in Space" came on TV. Remember the robot? What he did he do when something bad was about to happen? He'd wave his arms and announce 'Danger, Will Robinson, Danger" and the rest is history." He sighed again. In a friendly, almost conspiratorial tone he said, "Tell y'all what. How about I call you Audrey, at least off duty? Y'all can call me Will, and we'll leave our nicknames behind. How's that?"
Audrey smiled. Not only was he charming, polite, respectful and smooth talking, but thoughtful as well. She had to keep on reminding herself that his "country bumpkin" mannerisms were a smokescreen to hide his intelligence and perception. "Sounds like a winner to me, Will, See you at the O club at 1800." She left the classroom and drove back to the BOQ.
Audrey rushed into her room. She only had an hour to get ready. She stripped and went in to take a quick shower. After drying off, she threw open her wall locker and surveyed her civilian clothes. She decided to go simple and pulled out a white long sleeve blouse and a green knee length skirt. She dressed quickly, also pulling on a pair of shoes with modest 2 inch heels. She didn't think Will would mind, especially since he seemed to be at least 3 inches taller than her.
Audrey put in her pearl stud earrings but decided against wearing the necklace. She spent the next few minutes brushing out her hair, and deciding how she wanted to wear it. A ponytail was too boring, and a braid would take too long. She decided to comb back the hair hanging on the sides of her face and clip them to the back of her head,
Looking in the mirror, Audrey tried different approaches to her makeup. The one non-negotiable was the mascara. Her lashes were almost translucent and made her look like a ghost. Mascara emphasized the green in her eyes. Audrey put on some foundation to conceal her freckles and almost immediately wiped it off. It made her feel like a clown. She sighed. Forget the foundation, she thought, if he doesn't like my freckles, he doesn't like them. She was sick and tired of always trying to hide them anyway. She just put on a light layer of moisturizer, since the sun was drying out her skin. A light touch of lipstick and she was done. She dabbed a little Shalimar behind her ears, on her wrists and her throat. She put on her flight chronometer, stuffed her keys, ID and wallet into her purse and headed out.
Arriving at the O club, Audrey checked her chronometer, and discovered she was some 10 minutes early. She took a seat in the lobby to wait for Will, feeling only slightly anxious. She wasn't overly nervous, as other Witches she'd known would have had been. Audrey had frustrated her mother by being alternately, cute, feminine and girly and then being active, rowdy, and rambunctious. Before she was joined the Air Force, she often ran around with the McIntyre brothers who lived across the street, of which there were 9. The oldest brother, Matthew, took Audrey under his wing, teasing her (but never about her red hair or freckles), told her dirty jokes when she was old enough to understand, and explained many things that weren't taught in school. Janet was outraged at her friendship with Matthew, but Tim thought it was good for Audrey. As such, Audrey related much better to a male presence than most other Witches.
Will came into the lobby of the O club a few ticks before 1800. He was dressed in a dark jacket and slacks, black shoes and a white shirt, His movements and stance exuded an air of mystery and controlled intense power that intrigued Audrey, He had something in his hands. Were those flowers he had? No, it was a corsage! Audrey's mouth dropped open in shock and she barely had the presence of mind to cover it with her hand. No one had ever brought her a corsage before!
Will smiled as he came up to Audrey. "Y'all look lovely tonight." he drawled. He lifted the corsage. "Ah brought you a little something that Ah thought would enhance your loveliness tonight." He opened the plastic box and looked at Audrey. "May I?" he asked.
For one of the few times in her life, Audrey was at a loss for words. She nodded, blushing furiously and Will carefully pinned the corsage to the left side of her blouse. She looked down at it, entranced by its pink edged white flowers and the white ribbon edged in green. She inhaled and the intoxicating fragrance of the orchid blossoms filled her nose, eclipsing her perfume. It was beautiful and she was blushing at the thoughtfulness of it. She looked up at Will and whispered, "Thank you, Will. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Will's smile broadened and it lit up his normally serious expression with genuine delight. He extended his arm for her, which she took, as they proceeded to dinner.
For Audrey, dinner was mostly a blur. She didn't remember anything about the food, and vaguely remembered only having coffee to drink. While Audrey could be charming, witty and flirt with the best of them, she wanted to be direct with Will. It was important that he see her as a real person, and not some silly, flighty and flirty girl. When she asked him about himself, Audrey did her best to focus on what he said and commit it to memory.
It turns out Will was from South Haven, Tennessee, a small town to the southeast of Memphis. Will talked about riding his bike to downtown Memphis to BB King's club on Beale Street and just listening to the music from the outside. He also mentioned that Elvis was a neighbor, since Graceland was just a few miles up the road. He talked about going to Memphis State on the AFROTC, and being sent to accelerated flight training right after graduation.
Will's expression and voice became serious, as he spoke of his tour in Nam as a Super Sabre pilot flying CAS. He became more animated as he talked about volunteering to be a Raven forward air controller and of his many adventures and narrow escapes, lapsing into what Audrey knew as the "There-I-Was" mode of storytelling. He spoke of coming to Fighter Weapons, and his first meeting with General Selfridge and General Jablonski.
Will then talked about his parents, his younger brother and sister, and his father's parents, how his minister grandfather had the best barbecue sauce in western Tennessee, and how his grandmother was the local healing Witch. He talked about his best friend from high school, and how they both went to college on an ROTC scholarship, went to flight school together, and did three consecutive tours in Nam together, and ending up at Fighter Weapons together, living off base as roommates.
When Will asked Audrey about how she got to Fighter Weapons, she started at the very beginning, with that camping trip when she was seven in the Olympic National Forest that summer. She spoke about encountering a red fox who recognized and connected to her and agreed to become her familiar and share her magic power and knowledge. Will was very curious about magic and Witches, since his grandmother never talked about it with him. He asked a lot of questions and Audrey had to keep from laughing at some of the misconceptions he had. Apparently, other than his grandmother, he never had the chance to interact with any Witches before Vietnam. She patiently explained the truth and gently corrected his misconceptions.
Will was saddened to hear about Audrey's estrangement from her youngest sister because of magic. Audrey spoke quietly about her own fading magic, how it affects a Strike Witch, and the stark choices facing her. She spoke of her desire to keep flying and how this was her only real path, how she was taking a chance and hoping for the future.
Before either of them realized it, the waitress informed them that the dining room was closing and that they were free to continue using the bar.. Checking her chronometer, Audrey realized it was late and she needed to go to sleep soon. Audrey pushed back her chair and stood up. Will did the same.
Audrey didn't want the evening to end, but she had to be up early. She extended her hand and said, "Thank you for a wonderful evening, Will. I hope we can do this again soon."
Will's smile looked it would split his face. He took Audrey's hand, shook it and drawled, "Well, we just might. We never did get to the lesson plan or exercises. Let's get together soon and we can work on that, for real." As he said that, Audrey felt her heart lurch a little.
"I would like that very much." Audrey said, trying to keep the stammer out of her voice, and she blushed as a rush of warmth went through her. What was going on? No one had affected her like this before!
As they left the O club, Will extended his left arm, and asked, "May I escort you to your quarters, Audrey?" Audrey felt her heart lurch again as he said her name.
Audrey took his arm, leaned her head against his shoulder, and said, "Of course you can." while sighing contentedly.
The walk back to the BOQ was only a few blocks, but Audrey didn't want it to end. She drank in Will's strength and steadiness, as an unfamiliar but welcome warmth suffused her being. Arriving at the BOQ, she let go of his arm and turned to face him.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening. I enjoyed myself very much." she said, blushing furiously.
Will smiled slowly, "Thank y'all for coming out with me tonight." he said. He hesitated for a moment, as if he was considering something. He straightened up and looked Audrey in the eye. "Audrey Gains, you are a most amazing woman. Beautiful, charming, intelligent and a warrior, all in one. I definitely want to see you more and get to know you better." he declared. "We'll get together and work more on the lesson plan and the exercises soon." he said, softly. To Audrey's surprise, he bent down and brushed her cheek with a light kiss. "See you soon." he said, as he turned and left.
Audrey walked back to her room in a daze. Will and everything about tonight was totally unexpected. She didn't remember unlocking and opening her room, so she was a little taken aback to find herself standing by her desk. She carefully unpinned the corsage, pausing to bury her nose in it to inhale its fragrance. She found a glass, filled it with water and stuck the corsage in it.
Audrey got undressed, taking off her shoes and carefully hanging her blouse and skirt. As she finished getting undressed, she kept thinking about Will and that unfamiliar warm feeling spreading through her body as she unclipped her hair. She set her alarm clock, and laid down. Her last thoughts before falling asleep were of Will.
The next day wasn't a good one for Audrey. First, she got up barely in time to get dressed, let alone run or get breakfast. Fortunately, someone brought in doughnuts this morning. Unfortunately, she dropped chocolate frosting on her uniform shirt and burned her hand when she spilled some coffee, trying to clean it up. She was scattered, anxious, and absent-minded during class, having forgotten what part of the CAS operations block they were on, and what material had already been covered. By lunchtime, she was frazzled, frustrated and on the verge of tears. Lunchtime didn't come soon enough, and she almost ran down the hallway to the instructor's lounge.
"Yo, Boings!" That chirpy high pitched voice calling out to her could only be Squeaky. Audrey turned around to see Squeaky marching up to her. "There's a package in the lounge for you.."she said, she headed out the building for lunch with Sandra "Sandy" Miller, another instructor.
As Audrey headed to the instructor's lounge, she wondered who had sent her a package. It couldn't be her family, since her birthday was still a couple of months away.. It might be Juggs, but Juggs was TDY in Brittania now, and promised to send souvenirs when she got back. Thinking of who might have sent the package, Audrey went into the instructor's lounge.
And she groaned inwardly at the music playing as she opened the door. It was The Eagles and "Witchy Woman". How cliche', Audrey thought, sourly. The song had quickly become a staple in the instructor's lounge during lunchtime. Audrey ground her teeth. To her, the song seemed to highlight every negative stereotype about Witches. We're not evil, wicked, seductive creatures! she thought furiously. We're just simply girls who have different abilities, like painting, or singing or baton twirling. Audrey's grumpy mood was further deepened by the music.
"Yo Boings!" Gunner waved to Audrey from the table, where there was a large vase that wasn't there this morning. The vase was tall and broad, holding an arrangement that consisted of daisies, carnations and ferns around the rim, and a single rose stuck in the middle. This wasn't an ordinary rose; the stem was almost as long as her arm and as thick as her index finger. The single vividly deep red blossom was almost the size of her fist. It was a spectacular arrangement like she'd never seen before.
"Who's the secret admirer, Boings?" Gunner asked in a teasing tone. "I made sure I didn't open the card" she said, handing it to Audrey.
Audrey opened the card, her curiosity shifting into high gear. The card itself was plain, with no design on the front. On the inside, written in careful block letters, was "Audrey, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" with only a cursive W at the end. It had to be Will. One of the things they discovered last night, was their mutual love of Bogart movies. Will counted "Casablanca" as his favorite, while Audrey loved "Key Largo".
Audrey leaned over the table to smell the rose. The fragrance was totally different, but just as intoxicating as the orchid was last night. Her mood changed instantly, and suddenly, the day didn't seem so bad after all.
Captain Judy "J.J." Johnson exclaimed, "Boings' got a boyfriend! Who is he?"and all the other instructors chimed in with teasing questions, wild guesses, and congratulations.
Audrey just smiled, and said, "Really J.J., do I look like the kind of girl who kisses and tells?"
"Kisses?!" J.J. exclaimed. "Details, Boings! We want details!" she cried.
Audrey smiled even more broadly as she giggled. "I'm going to let this develop and we'll see where it goes. When the time is right, I'll let you all know."
Audrey floated through the rest of the day, counting the time before seeing Will again.