39 Solo
THAT DIRTY FUCKER, I thought as I watched Panther walk away from me for the second time this morning. It was a killer view to go along with the words that had just come out of his mouth, and I found myself grinning as he disappeared from view and I finally dragged myself into the viewing room. Three-hundred-and-sixty-degree glass walls and a glass ceiling that gave us a full view of what was happening in the sky, only with the comfort of air conditioning instead of standing out in the blazing California sun for hours.
I grabbed a chair that faced the runway, and in the distance I could see Panther doing checks on his plane. Something told me he wouldn’t be playing nice against Commander Levy today, and I couldn’t wait to see him take down our instructor like I knew he had it in him to do.
“We placing bets today, ladies?” Gucci said, grabbing the spot beside me. “Twenty on Levy?”
“I’m sure you meant that as a joke, lieutenant, since gambling on base is not only illegal, but grounds for dismissal,” Commander Heinz said from where she stood cross-armed by the door.
“Oh, uh, Commander Heinz. Didn’t see you there.” Gucci shot me a look that said shiiit and then plastered a smile on his mug. “Course it was a joke. I don’t have a pocket big enough for my large wad of cash.”
“Careful, lieutenant,” she replied, narrowing her eyes. Then she flipped on the switch that allowed us to hear what, if anything, was being said in the air. More useful when there were teams, but also a safety precaution in case there was an issue. There were also two TVs set up in the corner, each showing the camera that was trained on each pilot.
I leaned over to Gucci. “My money’s on Panther, and I’ll raise you another twenty.”
He smirked. “Deal.”
Panther was already turning his jet toward the runway, and I imagined his nerves and adrenaline colliding as he prepared for takeoff. A few seconds later he began to move, faster and faster as he charged down the runway and lifted off. Commander Levy was already up there in the clouds, but the sun was bright behind them, and I had to grab my Aviators to keep from squinting.
Just as I thought, Panther wasn’t fooling around today. When he reached hop altitude and spotted Levy, he instantly went on the attack, and I waited to hear a curse fly out of the commander’s mouth, but he stayed dead silent and laser-focused. Panther wasn’t one for idle chitchat either, not even to himself, and somehow the silence between the two amped things up even more as they engaged, weaving in and out of the clouds.
“Shit,” Gucci said, and then whistled. “Panther came to play.”
Hell yes he did, I thought, as he went vertical and then swooped around, upside down, to move in directly behind Levy. It was a sweet move, and gasps rang out across the room.
“Oh my God, he’s got him,” Whiplash said.
But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Levy pulled a hard right and gunned it, getting himself out of Panther’s line of fire before he could get a lock on.
The battle continued, neither side giving an inch, neither of them saying a damn thing, which frustrated me to no end. If it were me, I’d be giving my classmates a play-by-play, letting them know exactly how I was dominating my opponent.
But no. Not Panther. That same strong, silent type that left me exasperated but also turned me on. And even without saying a word, his flying right now was a serious fucking turn-on.
“There he goes again,” Houdini called out. “I think this is it.”
No one breathed as Panther zoomed in on Levy from seemingly out of nowhere, and just when I thought he was ready to call it, words I never expected to hear out of his mouth echoed across the room.
“Air in the cockpit,” Panther said, his tone clipped, still in control, but with an edge of panic in his voice. “Ready to eject.”
Holy fuck…what? I jumped to my feet, my heart practically stopping as I ran toward the glass. Then Panther’s voice came through the speakers again.
“Altitude dropping. Controls lost.”
Fuck. Fuck. This couldn’t be happening. It had to be some kind of mistake. But as I stared out the windows alongside everyone else, we watched in horror as Panther’s plane began to plummet to the earth.
The silence in the room was no longer rife with tension and excitement, but horror and dread, as the Hornet dropped ten thousand feet in a matter of seconds.
It was like watching your worst nightmare, but if you looked away or even blinked, you might lose sight, it was falling so fast. As I stood there helpless to do anything but pray that Panther had time to get himself in position, my gut twisted around on itself until I wanted to vomit.