“Commander Finch left his direst warning against our team trying to interfere in their operation.”
“What operations? They’re doing something?”
“Exactly. No, they’re not. So I thanked him for his time.”
“You did not.”
“Okay. No gratitude was expressed. I should have been more polite. But either way, I sent him off.”
“Duly noted. We’ve pissed off the US government.”
Ridley, AKA Bear, stepped into Dex’s office. “I thought we did that last month.”
“And the month before.“ Amanda, the final member of their management team, slipped a large duffle off her shoulder and let it drop to the ground.
“Mustang, good to see you. Bear, you too.” Dex waved for them to sit. “How’s your little girl?”
“She’s great. Not so little any more.”
“Happy to hear it.” Dex thought the world of Ridley. He was one call act and trying to raise a daughter on his own at the same time.
“Right. Let’s get this meeting going.” He pulled a file out of his desk drawer. “Our next job.”
“Where is it?”
“Panau, the Pacific Alliance specifically.”
They studied him for a full ten seconds before anyone said anything. He had a history there. They all knew it.
“So, you’re taking this one.” Colton waved his hand.
“Yeah. I’m taking point. I’ll gather a team.” He pulled out three other folders. “And here are the top three other requests we’ve received so far. Take a look and fight amongst yourselves for who gets what.”
They settled into their chairs while Dex went through the agenda. He tried not to think about his last mission in Panau. He had been out on assignment with a small team, one of the last things he’d done as an active Air Force pilot. The kids they’d left behind never left his mind. He closed his eyes.
“Hey, you okay man?” Ridley studied his face.
“Yeah. Just distracted.”
“You sure you’re the man for the Panau mission?” Amanda narrowed her eyes. “Things might get personal.”
“They’re personal. But I don’t see that as a bad thing.”
She pressed her lips together. “We’re not going to tell you what mission to take.”
He studied her. And then looked at the others. “I’ve got this.”
“Of course you do. We’re with you. Just call if we need to talk you down.” Colton winked, and Dex knew he thought himself the king of comedy. But at the moment Dex wasn’t as amused as usual.
Things were getting under his skin. He’d gotten a weird Facebook memory reminder this morning. A picture of him and Gianna. He’d been off-center all day because of it. The planes this morning were meant to get his head back in the right place. But it was still bothering him. He hadn’t heard from her in a couple years. Last he knew, she was travelling to different countries to set up orphanages and safe houses for children.
“Time to pick our teams.” He clicked a remote and the lights dimmed when he clicked play on the slideshow.
The first guy popped up on the screen. “Omar Santori. These are in order of my preference for this training team. We need the best of the best. He’s twenty-two, a hot head, but one hundred percent on board. If I tell him to do something, he does it.”
“Yeah, unless he’s mad about something else.” Ridley pointed to his bio underneath. “His emotional rating is highly inconsistent.”
“True. I want him on my team because”—he clicked to the next guy—“I want to bring this guy, Jed Sanchez. He’s a huge sloth. The most accurate fighter ever, but he just can’t get moving unless someone lights a fire under him. I want these two to work together teaching dogfighting.”
Ridley nodded. “Nice.”
He pulled up the next one. “Ivy Hatfield. Graduated top of her class. High marks in everything. Precise, obedient, driven. This woman is out for blood.”
“And she’s a woman. Let’s talk again about why we need to hire more women.” Amanda smiled. “If you don’t take her, I will. I’ve seen her charts. She’s amazing.”
“I was thinking I’d give her a go. It will be her first mission.” He looked to Clinton, who hadn’t said much. “Flyboy?”
Whenever anyone used their call signs, they snapped to attention.
“What? Oh, sure. She’s great.”
“Have you met her?”
“Oh. No. Not yet. I just mean she looks great, on paper, or whatever.” He glanced at Amanda.
Ace pulled up a few more guys, and the team okayed them all. They did the same for each of their missions and then wrapped things up. Before they left, he stood to shake hands. “This is working. We’re going places. We’ve got the best group of pilots I’ve ever heard of to choose from, and we keep getting more every day. Thanks for being here.”
“Yup.” Clinton shoulder-hugged him.
The other three filed out, between the four of them they made up the executive board. Top Flight was about to have four more successful training programs and a heap more money in the bank. He sat back at his desk, proud of what they’d started. The Homeland Security people took outside consulting jobs all the time. The other branches of government found ways to keep making money from their military skills after retirement. He figured it was high time pilots did the same. And when he’d sent out feelers, it turned out much of the world agreed with him. Pilot training and mission training were in high demand all over the globe. And he and his team were happy to oblige, for a price, a hefty one.
Once he’d picked the members of his team and sent them a message, he headed home to Virginia. Senator Callison had requested his presence stat. Dex could have ignored him, not because he didn’t respect the office, but because this particular senator was his father. But he got the impression it was important. So he’d arranged for a day in Virginia. He could do that since he flew his own jet. He smiled as he left the hangar, pitying every other human who ever flew commercial.
He pulled into his father’s large drive through towering trees. The beautiful Virginia spring flowers were out everywhere he looked. And his mother had planted more azaleas. The pillars along the front of the house, the strong neat lines, made him smile and reminded him very much of his father. He parked his Infiniti in the circular drive, slung his rucksack over his shoulder, and made his way to the front door.
The door slipped open and Chester tore out, nearly knocking Dex down with his front paws. Before Dex could stop him, the enormous Newfoundland licked his face. He laughed. “Whoa, Chester, down boy.” He rubbed the dog’s ears like crazy and ran his hands up and down his back. “Should we go inside? Let’s go see Dad!”
His mother stood at the door watching, her eyes misty. He reached out his arms. “Mom! So good to see you.”
She squeezed him tightly, but her strength was less than last time. He looked her over. She seemed healthy. Her smile just kept on growing. “You look well. You eating?”
“Yes, I’m eating. But nothing I ever eat out there is half as good as what you make right here at home. How are you?”