Page 57 of Ace

“And what of the villagers?”

Every eye turned to Gianna.

Dex groaned.

“What of the civilians? The island is small. You could destroy the whole thing in a couple flybys.”

“That is why Mantuk chose such a place.”

“Well, they were smart in counting on the fact that they are fighting against a moral people, one who cares about the individual as well as the group.”

“With all due respect”—Commander Wilkins looked at her with little respect—“We, out of all the world, are the most aware of the potential danger to our citizens.” He stared her down, but she didn’t flinch.

“I hope that is the case. I would not want those lives on my hands.”

“Gianna.” Dex’s voice was soft, but she knew she was about to be kicked from the room.

He cleared his throat. “We will do what we can in our training. I promise to deliver what we agreed on, and that is a fully trained team of pilots, some of the best in the world. What I cannot promise is a war with Mantuk.”

The more he talked about it, the more he knew the facility had to be bombed, but not by air. By ground.

They talked more of the particular pilots they’d been working with in the Pacific Alliance, their recommendation for the Top Flight first-in-class, and the plans for tomorrow. Then Commander Wilkins left.

Gianna walked to the window while Dex and his team continued talking.

He leaned closer. “We can’t be the reason the world is thrown into an international incident.”

“We know, Dex.” Jed toyed with his pen. “We’re the ones who have been here.”

“Oh yeah, well, I’ve been in Washington DC, meeting with the secretary of defense.” He lowered his voice. “He is this close to bombing the whole island. They discovered evidence of some components needed to build larger weapons. They won’t let that happen.”

“So you’re saying the international incident might happen no matter what we do? That’s comforting.” Omar grimaced.

“The way I see it, it’s out of our hands,” Ivy said. “Stepping into our client’s battles is strictly forbidden by our own rules—rules which formed the reason I joined in the first place. We train pilots. We don’t entangle ourselves in their issues or their country’s issues.” She vocalized what Dex knew would be the problem with his own partners and many of the pilots in the Top Flight training program.

“Understood. Top Flight is not going to fund some kind of rogue mission.”

Gianna turned to him. And Dex tried to ignore the penetrating gaze she was sending his way.

“We obviously can’t control what they decide to do with their own planes and pilots. And that could come back to haunt us.” He cleared his throat, shifting his body so that Gi stood more behind him. “But Top Flight is not going to launch an attack on another country.”

Gianna’s breath left her body in relief. He could see it in his peripheral vision. And he knew it was coming.

He, Ivy, Jed, and Omar talked about some other issues. He heard more about the personalities of the pilots and their needs as they continued with the Top Flight training. In any other situation, he’d be filled with great satisfaction that their training program was working so well. But now all he could think of was that Commander Wilkins would feel unsatisfied no matter what happened unless Dex jumped in and fought his wars, which he could never do. Except how could he desert the people of Panau…again? How could he ignore Gianna’s insistence that they do something to protect the villagers? He couldn’t. He knew it. He just didn’t know what he should do next.

They took a break for lunch.

Dex’s worries were amped up. His stress levels were high. His heart clenched and his throat felt tight. He reminded himself of an old guy. “I need to go for a run or something.”

“I’m with you.” Ivy raised a hand.

“Let’s all go. It will be good for us.” He headed out the door, the others following. “Gianna, you coming?”

“Yeah. Let me change.”

They met out in front of the facility. The guys stripped down to their shorts immediately. The sun beat down. The air felt thick.

“This is nothing ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the beautiful humid air of the Pacific Islands.” Gianna lifted her t-shirt, and Dex was gifted with a view of her abs, flat and strong. He wanted his hand at her hip again, wanted to pull her into his arms. But he didn’t say anything. He wasn’t even sure if she noticed him at all. He raised his arms over his head in a stretch and then did several lunges. “Where are we running?”

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