Page 49 of Flyboy

They bumped fists, and Omar left.

Colton was left wondering how he could send Ivy on some errand into town tomorrow, anywhere she wouldn’t see him doing the same moves that her brother and Guido had been guilty of. Colton sat in the nearest chair. What was the difference between him and Alec? Besides the fact that Alec had messed up and the plane had gone into a tailspin, Colton hoped his own actions had been more merited. He hoped that he had flown the way he did at times with good reason, that he was the hero his medals said he was. But a part of him knew that he loved to see what the planes could do. Did he choose to use more reckless maneuvers when other ones would work fine or even better? Who knows? But one thing was certain. If he didn’t start delivering on some of the instructions for these more challenging options, Ace was going to start hearing some of the complaints Omar got. And maybe not just Ace. Word of mouth was everything in this business.

Besides all that, Colton hated letting them down. What were they saying? That he wasn’t all that they’d heard? That he flew scared? He shook his head. He’d stop that talk right in its tracks before it could go anywhere else.

And then hope that Ivy understood it needed to be done.

Chapter 18

Ivy watched Omar and Colton leave together with helmets on their hips. And she tried not to feel like she’d been replaced. Of course Omar would get to fly with Colton sometimes too. She’d just come to think of herself as his co-pilot. They were to watch the flight patterns and activity today. Colton wanted them to analyze what was happening in the air.

They turned on the monitors on the far wall. A large screen lit. When Colton’s face filled one half of it, she could only laugh at his expression.

The classroom quieted when Colton turned on his radio. “Hello, pilots. We are going to have some real dogfight action this morning. But unlike other in-flight training, these guys are going to stay in the air even if we get a tone.”

“So they’re gonna get hit over and over and over.” Antonio laughed, and the rest of the class joined in.

“If you pay attention, you just might be able to get a tone on us after we’re through here.” Ivy sat, facing the screens. It would be tougher for them with only the two planes, but it was possible. Especially after she and Omar and Colton left. They could work on the things they’d been taught, every day if they wanted.

They’d been flying for five minutes, Ivy explaining all the different things Colton was doing to evade Antonio. The more Ivy talked about him, pointing out his moves, the greater respect she had for him. “See that last move? He could have chosen any number of things to use to get away, but he chose the simplest, the safest.”

Two of the pilots rolled their eyes.

“Do you have a problem with safe and simple?”

“No, ma’am.” His words said one thing, but his smirk said something else entirely.

And for the first time since her flight with Guido, she was mildly tempted to show off a little. How easy it would be to put this pilot in his place. But she shook her head. “Look, Firebrand. Something we hope you learn with us is that there is a time and place for the more advanced moves. But if a simple one will suffice, then that is the better choice.”

Colton’s voice came on. Ivy turned up the volume. “So now you have probably heard us say that there is a time and place for the more advanced moves. Today is that time and place.”

The pilots clapped. “About time.” One of them held up his phone.

“No recording, please.” Ivy waved at his device.

He grumbled but put his phone back in his pocket.

The other plane came closer to Colton than was necessary, and Ivy cringed. But Colton responded immediately, of course. His reflexes were lightning fast. They dove away, with a triple sideways spin.

The pilots all around her cheered.

Then Colton took the plane straight up into the sky, something she herself had done their first day flying in Brazil. He continued his evasive techniques, getting tone over and over again on the other plane.

“Come on, boys. Let me see what you’ve got. See if you can shoot down the Fly.”

Ivy found herself half rooting for Colton and half for the other pilots. Usually, by the end of their training, at least one of the pilots could beat them in a dogfight. She thought it evidence of a truly superior program, and she was proud of that. But something about Colton’s challenge didn’t sit well, and Ivy hoped that it wouldn’t happen today.

Then the other pilots did one of Colton’s signature moves, his forward roll, but they weren’t able to pull out of it as quickly, and they free fell in a spin for a moment longer than they should have.

Ivy sucked in her breath. “Pull out, Antonio. Pull out.”

They did, but the room went quiet.

“That’s very lucky.” Ivy indicated Antonio’s image and his heavy breathing from the sound.

“That was something, Antonio.” Colton pulled up beside him. Ivy could see his plane next to Antonio’s in the air. “Maybe you were trying something like this?”

“No,” Ivy murmured under her breath.

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