Hey guys sorry I haven't updated in ages and no I'm not dead just my high school life is taking a lot of my time but don't worry as I will have a lot more free time to write once my senior year ends this year. So to make up for the delay I will be posting the three chapters I have for this story as it is the only one currently that I have chapters for.

So enough of my rambling on with the story.

Chapter 15

(Natalie's POV)

When I landed at the checkpoint I was so excited to be in second as well as feeling the adrenaline in flying in the aftershock of the first Mach cone imploding but all of that excitement and happiness vanished when I saw Jet at the very edge of the airstrip being surrounded by emergency crews and the tire streaks and spent training rounds on the entire length of the airstrip. When I landed I instantly moved to head over to where Jet was but the emergency crew was towing him off the airstrip and I was instantly surrounded by the press.

"Did you see the wreck of the other jet?"

"are you armed as well?"

"is it true the two of you are seeing each other."

These questions and many more started to overwhelm me as I started to panic for Jet's safety. The presses' attention was instantly attracted by the sound of prop planes coming in for landing. I was grateful for the distraction as I slipped away from the press to go and find a racing official and ask him what exactly happened.

(An hour later)

Me as well as the rest of the racers waited impatiently as the race officials turned on the tv to show what had happened. The video started out with Jet coming in fast then the sound of two booms from the sound barrier being broken then the slight sound of metal bending then it showed him circling the airfield with his air-brakes visibly broken then to everyones horror his engine stopped as he ran out of fuel then the video showed that he was going to make a safe landing until a strong wind picked him up and knocked him off course scaring everyone then everyone got even more frightened when Jet opened fire until he landed. When the video showed him firing many racers who didn't know me scooted away from me in fear. The video continued as it showed him slamming on his breaks and going to fast towards the edge of the airstrip. At this point everyone was scared for Jet as it looked like he was going to crash head first hard then the resounding boom of the guns firing a single round startled everyone including me. We watched as the shot pushed him back from the edge and to a complete stop. This was where the video stopped as every single racer was either afraid that he was armed or the fact that he almost died in the crash. There was the sound of a tug clearing his throat as everyone turned to look at Frank.

"For those of you wondering. Jet will be ok and back in the race. Until then all racers are to go through a mandatory inspection to fix or replace any damaged parts as no one wants this kind of accident to happen again."

Many planes groaned at the inconvenience while others agreed with the decision of the officials. Frank then turned to me.

"Miss Natalie if you will kindly follow me I have something to speak to you about."

"um ok."

I followed Frank out of the main hanger hub and as he led I asked him the question I've been dying to know.

"Is Jet ok right now?"

Frank let a sigh before he glanced at me.

"He will be alright but right now the medics and mechanics are working with nearby military engineers to get his air-brakes fixed as well as any other damage he could have sustained from that last minute maneuver of his."

Frank chuckles lightly as he continued speaking, "He gave everyone a scare with that double sonic boom of his then those that weren't scared got scared when he reported that his air-brakes weren't working and he ran out of fuel and when everyone started to relax when he was almost on the ground then the wind decides to pick up and throw him off balance. Then everyone including the few that weren't scared freaked out when he started firing his gun and the single shot after startled everyone. You guys have very loud guns in my opinion."

"yeah well in a battle situation the noise is often drowned out by your engines."

"well no doubt people are going to want the two of you to get rid of your ammo but after what everyone witnessed with his rounds saving him from crashing there will no doubt be a big debate between whether you two should be allowed to keep your ammo or not."

"they might want to watch the video closely and the shell casings because it looked like Jet was only firing training rounds."

"training rounds?"

"yep non-explosive rounds that if you do get hit by them all you feel is something bumping into them."

"they will still debate on whether you two should keep your ammo even if it is only training rounds."

"I wouldn't put it past them."

"true. Well here we are."

I look up to see that while we had been talking Frank had led me to the medical hanger.

"go ahead and keep an eye on him and if he wakes up tell me and the medical staff immediately."

"Yes sir."

I watched as Frank left the medical hanger then once he was out of site I turned to enter the medical hanger. When I entered I was met with the sight of tugs replacing his wheels while other tugs in military coloring where attempting to fix his air-brakes. There were two tugs that were armed standing on either side of the door I came through. They only glanced at me before they returned to looking forward. I parked next to Jet and started the long wait to see if he will be ok or not.

(Several hours later)

(Jet's POV)

I slowly woke up to find my wings really sore as well as my wheels feeling different. I open my eyes only to see two military guards at the door in front of me. These weren't just any guards these were united states guards. Before I could wonder why there were two guards one of them noticed that I was awake.

"Sir. He's awake."

About a minute later a jeep with a generals insignia on his bumper entered the room.

"Leave us."

The guards and the few medic tugs I didn't notice left the room. It was at this time that I noticed that Natalie was in the room as well and was parked parallel to me. I looked back at the jeep and moved to salute but the soreness stopped me.

"Sir."

"at ease soldier. You should be resting after a stunt like that. No doubt your wings are going to be sore for a few hours."

"Yes sir."

"I only assume that you know that this isn't just a casual visit but a proposal for a mission."

"What kind of mission sir?"

"escort of a VIP through hostile territory."

"we would like to act as escort for a VIP. right Natalie.?"

"Right."

"alright. You two will be loaded up with fresh ammo and rearmed with various air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles as this is a very high profile VIP and we are pulling all of the stops to make sure that he or she is safe."

"Yes sir."

"Permission to speak sir?"

"Granted Natalie."

"What about the race?"

"the escort route follows the race route all the way back to the states and once you enter U.S. Airspace you will be relived of your escort detail by the VIP's original escort and be permitted to finish the race."

"Who is the VIP sir?"

"Follow me and you will see."

The jeep led the way through the doors as we followed him through the hallways then out onto the airstrip. We followed him until he stopped in front of a heavily guarded hanger that was triple the size of a standard hanger. I started to get a suspicious feeling that I knew who it was. When we entered we were greeted with the sight of air force one standing at attention for the slightest warning of needing to take off quickly. The general stopped in front of the big jetliner and turned to face us.

"As you can tell. The president is here in Germany for a confidential conference but your mission is not to transport him but to transport."

"Me."

Natalie and I turned to see an A-10 thunderbird with pink streaks going along its wings and body. When I saw the jet in question my military stature faltered as I recognized the jet.

"Why are you here Sarah?"

"Oh if it isn't my old friend Jet Jetstream."

At this point Air force one, the general, and Natalie had questioning looks on their faces and all three asked at the same time, "You two know each other?"

"Yeah. He was once on my personal security detail and when we were younger we would always play together. So basically we've known each other for our entire life then he got sent to that military base for some unknown reason and that was the last time I ever saw him."

Everyone looked at me questioningly and I just replied to their unspoken question, "Don't ask."

The general quickly recovered from his surprise and addressed the two of us.

"The two of you will be escorting Sarah and her little sister Virginia."

At the mention of her name a little white SUV drove through the door. When Natalie saw the little SUV she got a confused look on her face as she looked at Sarah for an explanation.

"How are the two of you sisters and isn't she the president's daughter?"

"Yes well before the president became president he adopted me when I was very little and just recently he was able to have a little girl of his own with his wife."

"Ooh."

"I hate to be the blunt one and you know I hate being blunt Sarah but how is she going to be escorted through the air?"

"That's why Air force one is here. He's going to be carrying her and you two will have to guard him and me."

"Are you riding in Air force One?"

"Nope. I'm flying with you guys."

"What happened to both of your personal escorts."

"That is confidential Jet."

"It's alright general they can know. You see in order to come here to the conference we had to cut down on the security personal we could bring with us so that they could fit in air force one here and the air escort needs to be on standby for the president and since there have been threats to his family he wants us to head back to the United States."

"makes sense. Hey Natalie when is the race scheduled to continue?"

"the day after tomorrow since they had to clean up the mess you made."

I lowered my head slightly in embarrassment as I was reminded of the near crash and the mess I left in my wake. The general seamed unfazed as he spoke again.

"In the meantime you two will be refitted with a full payload while you miss Sarah will only be fitted with standard rounds and air-to-air missiles."

"Yes sir."

"Well I will leave you to get acquainted with each other while in Jet's case get reacquainted with Sarah."

The general left us alone in a very quiet hanger. Virginia got bored just siting there so she went to see if any of the guards would play with her. As soon as she was gone Sarah gave me a death glare as she rolled up to me.

"What was the big idea disappearing like that and making me think you abandoned me!"

Now air force one and Natalie had curious looks on their faces.

"now I'm curious. What happened?"

"I still don't know to this day. Jet here is the only one that knows what happened on that day."

Everyone looked at me expectantly while Sarah was giving a look that suggested that I better start explaining.

"Alright I'll tell you three but what I'm about to say can not leave this hanger."

After everyone agreed I continued.

"It all started like any other day."

AN: Story Time next time.