Chapter Four - Promotion and Promises
November 28 1938
Over the carelessly scattered clouds, in the blue sky, soared a squadron of P-40s in an immaculate V-shaped formation. Rafe was in the lead plane, and Danny, as usual, was at his wing, to the right.
From the ground, through a pair of binoculars, watched Captain Connor. The pair of Tennessee boys had exceeded his wildest expectations. How anyone could be so blessed with natural talent was beyond him. It constituted an unfair advantage, surely. But as long as Rafe and Danny kept up their excellent showing and continued working for the U.S. Army Air Corps, Connor was not about to complain about them.
He stood back and observed as the planes came in and landed. All were in...no, two were missing. Exasperated, Connor raised his binoculars to his eyes again and scanned the sky. Sure enough, two planes remained ungrounded. He flicked on his radio.
"Look," he said. "Whoever you are in those planes, get them down NOW!"
The unmistakeable voice of Rafe McCawley drifted back over his radio. Although it had faded somewhat, his Tennessee accent was still very much distinguishable. Rafe had an enthusiastic ring to his voice almost all the time. Danny's voice held the same accent, but it was more serious. "This is McCawley, sir, and Danny and I, we're practising some..." Rafe paused, and Danny filled it in.
"Manoeuvres, sir, we're doing something useful." Danny tried to sound convincing and solemn.
"I don't care what you're doing!" Connor nearly roared. The pilots around him were watching the scene unfold in amusement. "Come down n — oh God, McCawley, what the hell — "
Rafe, with tremendous self-control, contained his laughter. He was whirling round in a whole series of inside loops, something he had always enjoyed doing. To a casual observer, it might have looked like an aviation stunt show. To the pilots on the ground, it looked like good entertainment from the best pilot in their unit. To Connor, it looked like a recipe for disaster. But then Connor had always tended to be a worrier, especially when it came to cocky pilots like Rafe.
Danny, meanwhile, had just done a barrel roll after soaring around a little and was obediently steering the plane to the ground. He landed, and hopped out of the cockpit expecting to hear a tirade from Captain Connor. But to his surprise, Connor seemed not to notice his landing. His binoculars were fixed on Rafe's whirling plane, and his mouth was set in a decidedly irritated expression.
Rafe, done at last, glided smoothly in to the applause of his watching friends. He jumped out of the plane and saluted Captain Connor, who was heading towards him with a resigned look on his face. "What do you suggest I do with you, McCawley?" he asked with deceptive calm.
Rafe grinned playfully. "Why, whatever you like, sir."
Connor's lip curled in a half-smile that made Rafe think he was enjoying this. "Come to my office, McCawley." He turned and fixed his gaze on Danny. "You too, Walker."
Danny and Rafe exchanged glances. Rafe raised his eyebrows and shot a look at Connor's back that said plainly to Danny, What's he up to now?
Danny spread his hands and shrugged. I don't know, but we can guess.
Wordlessly, they followed Connor. Rafe wasn't sure if this was meant to be funny or serious. He was torn between cracking a joke and maintaining the stony silence. Whatever it was, though, it was the first time he and Danny had entered Captain Connor's office since they first came. He looked at Danny and narrowed his eyes. This don't look good.
Danny's eyes flicked momentarily to Connor, and he shook his head briefly. No time for wondering. We better just keep quiet and follow.
Behind them, the other pilots were huddled together, watching Rafe and Danny as they walked behind Connor. They, too, were half-worrying and half-curious. "Poor bastards," Anthony whispered to Billy and Red.
***
Once they stepped into Captain Connor's office, the mask of serenity that had been their captain twisted into a whirlwind of rage and exasperation.
"What am I gonna do about you two?" he barked. "For the love of God, stop those stunts! Cadets are NOT supposed to do stunts! No, McCawley, not even the very basic inside loop, and no barrel rolls, Walker!"
Danny kept his eyes fixed on Connor's face. Maybe we've pushed things too far for once, it occurred to him. He didn't say a word. Rafe usually did the talking in situations like this.
Sure enough, Rafe began speaking in a somewhat serious tone for him. "But, sir, why not?"
Danny looked over at Rafe with disbelief. Ten thousand excuses he could make up, and he has to talk back?
Connor seemed to be struggling between outright amazement and shock. "Why not, McCawley? Why not? Because you're gonna wreck the hell out of my planes and yourself, that's why not! Our — planes — are — not — toys," he said slowly, emphasizing every word, as if he was trying to explain something to a small child.
"Yes, sir, I understand that, I was trying to — perk the men up, sir."
Danny almost laughed out loud. Perk the men up?
"You see, today was particularly...uh, grueling. Formations are tricky, sir, especially when you're new to them. And maybe you didn't notice, but we were all tired — "
Connor cut him off. "Okay, okay, McCawley, stop it already. If you're gonna stand here and stuff me with your incredible story for the next hour, I shall dismiss you now. But I want to make one thing very clear. No more stunts, until you are out of cadet school. That would be one year from now. Walker, do you hear me?"
Danny jumped a little. "Yes, sir," he responded immediately, straightening his spine.
"Understood, sir," said Rafe, looking relieved that he could stop the bluffing already.
"And one more thing, McCawley." Connor said suddenly. "If I catch you two at your stunts again while you are still cadets, or if I catch you performing especially dangerous stunts even after promotion — "
"Yes?" said Rafe expectantly.
"Save your bullshit for Colonel Doolittle."
***
December 7 1939
It had been two full years since Rafe and Danny had bid the McCawleys, and their old life, goodbye at the train station.
Goodbye is such a final word, Danny often thought. But he was sure that their life as boys who didn't know better was a thing of the past. Danny had no regrets at all. He would sometimes lie in bed, pinch himself, and wonder if this wonderful existence he was leading now was a dream. But it was real.
"Do you realize, Danny, what this day means to us?" Rafe, next to him, was straightening his tie and glancing at Danny through his reflection in the mirror. They were gathered in the locker room, preparing for their promotion ceremony. All the cadets in their unit were to be promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. It was a day of celebration.
Rafe didn't wait for Danny to answer. "After today," he said grandly, "Connor's not gonna breathe down my neck for doin' an inside loop anymore."
"That's all?" asked Danny disbelievingly. "After two long years of cadet school, that's all you got to say?"
Rafe shook his head, smoothing out his uniform. "You know what, Danny?," he said, serious now. "We've come a long way in two years."
Danny nodded. "You got that right, Rafe," he said under his breath, twisting his cap on just so. Their eyes met in the mirror, and they smiled at the same time. There was so much to be said now, at the dawn of the biggest moment in their young lives yet, that neither of them knew where to begin.
"Behave yourself in front of Doolittle, Rafe," Danny reminded Rafe, breaking the silence.
Rafe laughed. "Yessir, Danny," he said, saluting exaggeratedly.
They surveyed their reflections in the mirror. "Lookin' good, McCawley," Rafe hummed.
Danny flicked some strands of hair away from his face, and finally smiled in approval. "I think we're ready, Rafe."
"Yo, everyone!" Anthony yelled, sticking his head in the door. "Get out to the field in thirty seconds!"
Rafe patted Danny on the back, almost protectively. "Land of the Free."
"Home of the Brave," said Danny.
***
Rafe stood, unmoving, a ramrod straight mannequin heading the row of pilots. Next to him was Danny, similarly still. Colonel Doolittle himself, commander of Hayden Field, was standing before them, finishing up his speech.
"...We must never forget our duty to America, as pilots of the Army Air Corps. Live to serve." He paused for effect, letting his words sink in. "Remember your mission, and you will do well. Once again, gentlemen, my heartiest congratulations on your promotion. May you find a second home in the Army Air Corps, for now, and for always."
There was a generous smattering of applause. Connor moved towards Doolittle. "May I present to you the graduating cadets, sir."
Led by Connor, Doolittle walked closer to the row of pilots. Connor strode down the row, and stopped in front of Rafe. Rafe knew his cue. He saluted smartly. "Cadet Rafe McCawley, Sir."
Doolittle studied him and nodded. "I hear you're first in class, cadet. Well done." He put out a hand. Rafe took it. They shook hands firmly. Doolittle smiled briefly, then moved on to Danny.
Rafe hardly noticed as Connor and Doolittle progressed down the row. He was too busy daydreaming. In that one handshake with his idol, Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, Rafe had felt his destiny beckon, louder than it had ever done before. Lieutenant Rafe McCawley, he thought to himself, turning it over in his mind. Sounds good.
His eyes flickered over to the distant hangar, where they kept the shiniest and newest P-40s, only used by the best and most senior pilots. He felt a surge of ambition well up in him. Someday, Lieutenant, you're gonna be flying those, he said to himself. Someday...
***
The night had long settled in on Hayden Field, but the jubilant new lieutenants were still making merry, with the exception of a few. Danny was one of them.
Tired out from the wild bash they had had at the local bar, he was sprawled out on his bed with a pen in his hand and his journal before him. Rafe, still exuberant, had not yet returned. Danny however had felt an urge to write. It was the soulful poet in him struggling to free itself. Especially with the stirring of emotions he had experienced today.
Danny felt overwhelmed. He was dizzy with joy, bubbling with hopes and dreams. The promotion ceremony...it would mark his passing from a cadet to a lieutenant. His passing from a tender young sprout to a man.
He chewed absently on his pen for a while, then finally set it down to the paper.
December 7 1939
Today, we had our promotion ceremony.
I'm not sure where I ought to start. I don't even know what the name is for what I'm feeling. There's pride, in myself, in Rafe, in the Army Air Corps. There's happiness. But it's so much more than just "happiness". It's as if nothing could stop me now. Nothing can stop me now!
When I was standing in the row of pilots, waiting for Doolittle to shake my hand, I made myself a promise. One day, I'll be like him. I'll be the one to lead and inspire pilots just like myself now. It feels so amazing to have actually shaken hands with Doolittle. The most I can do now, I guess, is to make a difference. But one day, I'll be like him.
Danny shut his journal and glanced out of the window. The words had flowed from his hand like water. But there was so much to say, he didn't know how to continue.
Just then Rafe opened the door and came in. He shook his head a few times as if to clear it, and grinned woozily at Danny. "What a party you missed!" he said.
Danny eyed Rafe with curiosity. From the look of it, Danny would probably have had fun at the party. But, he contemplated, writing it all out in peace had done a lot of good. "There'll be other parties."
"True," Rafe agreed. He seemed more sober now. Throwing himself down on his bed, he looked over at Danny, who was gazing aimlessly into space, his journal in his hand. "You know something, Danny?"
"Yeah?" Danny asked.
"After I shook Doolittle's hand, I looked over at the good P-40s in Hangar One, and I told myself one day I'm gonna fly one of those," Rafe said, the old enthusiasm creeping back into his voice.
Danny nodded. "Well Rafe, I promised myself that one day I'd be like Doolittle. An inspiration."
Rafe was silent for a while. Then suddenly, he spoke. "Let's keep our promises."
Danny smiled. "I will. Promise you will too."
Rafe reached out, and Danny took his hand. They shook on their promises, in a moment that would go down in their memories for a long time to come.
***
Author's Note: I hoped you liked this! I have no idea how an official promotion thing should go, so I made it up - do forgive! Next chapter will be an epilogue, and the final chapter. Thank you to all my great reviewers! Special note to Sara - I threw in another mention of Nov 28 just for you! Special note to Lindsay — you are welcome to use my fics on your site, just tell me first. Special note to Dauphin - yes the last chapter of HS was a little rushed, but I see you've updated it, so I guess this isn't relevant any more! Sorry the chapters are taking a long time to come out: I've got a ton of schoolwork and major exams coming up.