Chapter 13:

He couldn't sleep, the closest thing he ever had to a son was out to fight in another war. He could only pray that he comes home safely. But he needs someone to hold, so, he pulls out his phone and calls Penny. She picks up and the second ring, "Mav, what's wrong, did something happen?".

"No, I just, I can't sleep. I am worried about him.".

Penny was silent for a second, but that second was killing him from the inside.

"Come over, just, be quiet, Amelia is asleep.".

"Thanks, I'll be there in a few.".

Ten minutes past before he got there, and she was waiting for him. He steps up to her and hugs her, he was in tears. Penny never saw him like this before, not since Iceman's funeral.

"I can't loose him too. I just can't.".

She hugs him there in the midnight air, she doesn't know what he must be feeling, but it was eating him alive. "Come inside, it's getting cold out here.". She drags him in, and makes sure he gets a proper goodnight sleep.

The squad wasn't taking it easy either.

Hangman was gulping down his fifth beer that night, along with a pack of Oreos beside him. He'll never admit it, but he missed the ol' grandpa style moustache pilot. He kinda misses his obvious mocking over Rooster, he's also kinda pissed that he was the last to learn that about Brad and Nat's relationship. Maybe a little jealous that Brad got the girl, he was too much of a wuss to say it, but Nat, was fuckin sexy as hell! Those sweet legs of hers, those gorgeous eyes, and her attitude towards him, if making her mad brings out that sexy badass tone of her, he'll burn in hell to hear it, but he's a man of honour, she with Brad, and respects it.

Bob in his barrack, fiddling with a Rubik's cube, he was stressed out as well. He has a feeling something bad is gonna happen to Bradley, he doesn't know what, but he just knows. He has no idea what Nat is going through, but she is like a sister to him, and he'll do anything for her, well, not anything, but he'll do whatever it takes to make her feel better. He knows that she loves Bradley, he noticed during their last deployment, how she watched Bradley, not even hiding it. He had a feeling she feels something for him, he noticed even before that, he likes the fact that he can sit right next to someone and not be noticed, as a matter of fact, when he saw them making out in the ocean, he was there before they arrived, when he saw them, he remained silent, he saw them holding hands, and playing in the ocean, but the make out made him yelled out loud, the shock was too much for him.

Payback and Fanboy were killing time at the nightclub, but they merely went for the drinks, the duo were friends since kindergarten, they shared the same admiration and loyalty towards Rooster, not just as a friend, but as a leader. But when they learnt about Nat having feelings for Brad, they thought it was ridiculous, Nat was too macho to crush on a guy like a fifth grader, but then again, they didn't know Phoenix up until she was assigned to the same squad as them a few years back. "How did we miss it?".

Coyote was visiting his Nanna, he was still fazed by the fact that Nat and Brad were together, he knew about Hangman's crush, but he always thought that Nat wasn't into pilots like other civilian women, but then again, Nat was no civilian, he laughs at the thought of Nat being a civilian, she'd probably be a wrestling couch or some shit.

Halo was pissed, she and Nat always bickered over Brad, both girls wanted him, but she guessed her constant flirting must've spooked, the guy off. He ticked all of her boxes, tall, intelligent, handsome, protective, and understanding. But yet, it was Nat who got him, as always, it was Nat. She got all the guys! She just wished she could get the guy for once!

Back on the USS Seahawk, Brad was running one last run for the mission, the enemy invaded one of their allies in order to lure the US troops out, if it's a war they want, then Brad was gonna bring them hell. He'll do whatever it takes to prevent another world scale bloodshed.

Captain Carter explained to him the landscape, the type of invasion he needs to prevent, his job was to block a ravine, if the enemy ground forces can't get through, it will be a setback for them, it might not be a permanent solution, but it's the best they can do.

Permanent or not, Brad was willing to do it. Anything to get him home, he swore an oath, and he sure as hell isn't gonna break it now. Taking a closer look, he spots a good spot for an ambush, he'll heed to check it out, but that wasn't all, there were a lot of blind spots, the ravine was about 368 feet wide, and 1 000 feet high. So, it's gonna be a tight one. But it's doable.

Captain Carter's last recommendation was to perform this mission at night. But something wasn't right, why not use normal explosives? Why use a multi-million-dollar aircraft and a missile? What is really going on? What aren't they telling him? What's their true intentions?