“Or in the hall. Or in the cockpit,” Snake griped good-naturedly. She took her shoulder-length, straight brown hair and expertly wrapped it up into a chignon at the base of her neck as she usually did before she put on her helmet, to keep her hair from getting in the way.
“I know,” Cam sighed. She sat back in the chair and smiled up at her friend. “How are you doing in this mess? I haven’t really gotten to talk with you one-on-one since you arrived.”
Hitching a hip on the edge of Cam’s desk, Vickey nodded and pursed her full lips. “I know. I was talkin’ to Wild Woman last night.” Her mouth curved in a feral smile. “We went carousin’ around TJ last night in that rental car we got at the civilian airport where we landed. Some dude told us Club Flamingo was a good place to drink and dance.”
“Was it?” Cam asked, smiling more widely. She was glad to see that they could cut loose and enjoy themselves despite the stresses they were under here.
“You’d better believe it.” Vickey waved her right hand as if she’d touched something that burned her. “I gotta tell you, doin’ the tango with these Latino dudes who know what they’re doin’ is awesome!” She laughed heartily.
Joining her laughter, Cam said, “Kinda nice to have guys around, isn’t it?”
“Well,” Snake growled, “Some guys. Not those two nose-outta-joint student pilots we have to play kindergarten in the sky with. But yeah, the guys we hooked up with last night were terrific.” Vickey rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “We’re gonna meet them there tonight for some more rousin’ rounds of dancing.”
“No hangover?” Cam inquired politely. She saw Snake’s smile grow.
“Ah, maybe a touch. You know, we don’t do much drinkin’ and dancin’ back at BJS. It’s not the same. Here…” Vickey waved her arm “…you got a real city, close to the good ole U.S. of A., and it’s like being back home, almost.”
Hearing the homesickness in Vickey’s tone, Cam lost her smile. “Yeah, it’s been a long time since any of us have seen home.”
Becoming more serious, Vickey tilted her head and gave Cam an intense look. “Maya is now giving us thirty days a year starting this year. That’s as good as it gets.”
“I know. I’m not blaming anyone,” Cam murmured. “But we’ve been putting in three unrelenting, drug-busting years down there and it’s getting old for all of us.”
“Maya included,” Vickey agreed. “I think we’re all pining for ‘home’ one way or another.”
Nodding, Cam said, “I don’t know how Maya is going to overcome that. We can’t stay down there forever, flying combat without a change of tour. I know the army’s pressuring her right now to get more male pilots rotated down there to give us relief.”
“Yeah,” Vickey chortled, “and I heard that Maya’s telling them to get her more women Apache pilots down there, instead.”
Cam chuckled. “Good for her. Women work well together.”
“Yeah, we do,” she agreed. Moving her long, graceful hand down the right thigh of her uniform to smooth out the wrinkles, Vickey continued, “I dropped by to see how you were doin’. Wild Woman and I can see you’re in over your head with this rotten situation. Talk about bein’ handed crap.” She shook her head, scowling.
“A bag of worms, for sure,” Cam agreed. She laced her fingers across her stomach and leaned back in the chair. “But it’s not all bad, Vic. I have Gus, and he’s been a great help and support.”
“Ah, Gus…” She gave Cam an evil grin.
“What’s that look for?”
“Don’t you know? Geez, Cam, both of us saw it the moment we walked into your briefing.”
Frowning, Cam muttered, “Saw what?”
Snake rolled her eyes. “Are you blind, deaf and dumb, girl? Or just pretending with me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Wanna spell it out to this dummy?” Cam said with a laugh. Her friend’s face glowed with humor, and Cam liked the dancing, elfin expression in Vickey’s dark green eyes. Usually Snake was very quiet and said little to anyone. She was a Scorpio, and fit that zodiac profile well, in Cam’s opinion. Normally, she was a highly private person, an introvert, and never said what was on her mind unless someone pried it out of her. Today she seemed just the opposite. It must have been the tango and tequila last night, Cam surmised, with an inward smile.
“You really don’t see it, do you?”
“I must not. Wanna come clean and tell me what you two divas see that I don’t?”
Grinning, Vickey leaned across the desk and in a hushed, dramatic voice whispered, “Gus Morales. That’s who, dummy!”
Blinking, Cam said, “Gus? What about him?”
Sitting up, Vickey shook her head. “You really deserve the name Tree Trimmer, Cam. You got sawdust for brains on this one. And generally you’re sharp as the razor edge of a sword.”
Seeing the smirk on her friend’s face, Cam sat up. When Snake wriggled her eyebrows, which was something she did when she was up to no good, Cam got it. “Oh!”
“Yeah, no kidding. Oh. Now you see where we’re going with this little collective observation of ours.”
Heat swept up Cam’s neck and into her cheeks, and she avoided Vickey’s prying look.
“Now you’re blushin’, Tree Trimmer. That confirms what we thought.”
“You two,” Cam managed to choke out in defense, “have nothing better to do than—”
Holding up her hands, Vickey slid off the corner of the desk and grinned hugely, flashing her even white teeth.
“Whoa, girl, whoa! I’m just tellin’ you what Wild Woman and I see goin’ on. Gus likes you. Don’t you know that? We thought you did, but I can see you don’t. The guy has eyes for you, Cam. He’s like a puppy mooning over you every time he thinks no one’s noticing.” Snake gave an evil laugh. “But we don’t miss a thing, Wild Woman and I. These dudes don’t realize how sharp and alert we really are. Combat-honed alertness makes us look at every teeny, tiny detail.”
Groaning, Cam sat back and covered her eyes with her hand while Vickey chortled delightedly.
“You like him, Cam?”
Hearing the serious tone in Vickey’s voice once more, Cam removed her hand from her eyes and looked across the desk at her friend. She had her helmet beneath her left arm once again and was standing there expectantly, a warm look on her face. Vickey could be a merciless tease at times, which was typical of her Scorpio nature, but in the end, Cam knew, she cared deeply for the friendship that had built between them over the years down at BJS.
“Where do I begin on this one?” Cam muttered, more to herself than to Snake.
“So there is something? Wild Woman thought so. I said no, that you’re too busy runnin’ this squadron to have a personal life right now. Looks like I was wrong and I owe her a hot fudge sundae. That was our bet, and that’s why I came to see you before the fireworks began again today—to see if Wild Woman was right. Damn, I shouldn’t bet with her. I always lose.”
“You owe her the hot fudge sundae, Snake,” Cam said unhappily.
“Why so glum? The dude has got some things goin’ for him.” She grinned suddenly and then looked at her watch. It was time to go. “Hey, you have our seal of approval on him, if you’re interested. We think he’s a cool dude. Gotta rock ’n roll. See you later….”
Waving her hand, Cam regretted that they’d run out of this precious, private time with one another. “It’s a long story, Snake. Yeah, later…”
Snake hesitated at the open door and turned back. “Well, when you want a night outta this evolving nightmare, come and tango with us and these hot Latino dudes over at Club Flamingo. Maybe then we can talk more?”
Right now, Cam didn’t feel like partying. She was beginning to understand in earnest the difference between being a pilot and being a C.O. “No, dancing isn’t my thing. But you two go ahead and enjoy yourselves. You certainly deserve a diversion from Luis and Antonio, that’s for sure.”
Snorting, Vickey sai
d, “Ain’t that the truth! I’ve never seen such sniveling, immature Apache pilots in my life. The army ought to be ashamed for even passing Dominguez. I guess Wild Woman is about ready to pitch her student out through the front cockpit Plexiglas.” The front Plexiglas on an Apache was hardened to the point where it could take a direct hit from a twenty millimeter cannon and not crack.
Cam nodded. “Stay on ’em. Don’t give them any breathing room at all,” she growled. “They’re either gonna shape up or ship out.”
“Ha! I hope it’s the latter,” Snake crowed. “We’re doin’ our best to crowd these two ego-bustin’ rich boys and break ’em down so we can cobble them back together and make real pilots out of ’em. But I don’t know that they’re gonna break, Cam.”
“I don’t, either, Vic. Just stay on them. Keep up the pressure.”
“Well,” Snake said with satisfaction, “last night Dominguez was nearly in tears, his hands shaking because he hadn’t gotten to smoke at all. He’s going into real nicotine deprivation today, I’m sure, and he’s gonna be a grouchy bear in the cockpit because of it. He probably spent half his night trying to buy cigs off the people here in the barracks after you had Gus go confiscate his stash in his quarters.”
“Well, if any of us catch him smoking, he knows he’s out of here—permanently.”
“Yeah, he knows that. But he’s a sneaky bastard. My gut tells me he’ll manipulate others, pay lots of pesos to some poor enlisted guy to provide ’em.”
“If he does that, then it’s one more mark against him. He has no morals and doesn’t respect the military system.”
“Like we didn’t know that already. Hey, I gotta turn and burn. Have to walk my prize student around the lady out there.”
Nodding, Cam lifted her hand. “Yeah, okay. Five hours of flight ought to reduce these two to puddles by this afternoon.”
Chuckling, Vickey said, “I sure hope so. Have those transfer orders ready to be signed when we get back.”
After Snake left, Cam felt lonely. How much she missed the chatter between herself and her sister pilots! Talking with Gus was always a high, but after last night’s admission from him, Cam felt as if ice water had been thrown on her. Telling herself that honesty was always the best policy, she decided to tuck away her feelings and work with Gus on a less personal level because that’s what he wanted. Besides, Cam told herself sternly, her experience in male relationships was less than stellar. So why would she want to put herself through that kind of horrendous pain and humiliation again? She didn’t. Not ever.
Sighing, Cam grabbed another report and began to fill it out. Gus was due to drop by in thirty minutes, and they’d begin their mission flight for today. Just thinking about it made her inexplicably happy.
“Well done, Gus,” Cam said into the mike positioned near her lips. She scribbled intently on the clipboard resting on her thighs. The shaking and shuddering of the Apache surrounded her like a lover’s caress. It also played hell on her ability to write legibly.
“Thanks,” he called out. “Want me to head back to base now?”
“Yeah,” Cam murmured, finishing up the totals on each of his flight demand columns for the day. Sunlight poured into the cockpit, making her squint. It was 1300—1:00 p.m.—and they’d just put in five grueling hours of maneuvers over their stay-and-play area in the mountains south of Tijuana. From time to time Cam had eavesdropped on Wild Woman’s and Snake’s communications with their students. Things weren’t going well at all, it seemed. But to give the two male pilots credit, they were trying today, so that was a hopeful sign. Emotionally, Cam had to gird herself for facing Luis and Antonio when they got back to the base. Things were coming to a head and she knew it. Would they stay or leave? Did they have the strength to gut it out? She wasn’t sure.
Gus looked around, as he’d been trained to, from left to right, and then down to the two HUDs on the instrument panel in front of him. Feeling euphoric, he knew he’d excelled at the demanding flight tests, and he grinned.
“Has anyone ever told you how good a teacher you are? I think you missed your calling. They should have had the smarts to pull you back to Fort Rucker, to be an IP and teach students the ropes there.”
With a laugh, Cam said, “The only thing they ever wanted to do with the first all-woman Apache Training class was get them through and out of there, Gus. Out of sight, out of mind was the army’s motto.”
“But you’ve shown them that they were wrong about women pilots in a combat gunship,” he argued.
“Yeah, that was three, nearly four years ago now,” Cam murmured. How she looked forward to talking with Gus personally. It was one of the few rewards of her day.
“Your stats speak for themselves,” Gus said. “I was talking with Wild Woman and Snake yesterday and they told me a lot about BJS. I’m really impressed. Major Stevenson is way ahead of her time, a real visionary.”
“And the army doesn’t like visionaries, believe me,” Cam growled. “She was a woman with an idea. A good one. If her father, an army general, hadn’t been there to make sure it got instituted, Maya’s dream of BJS would have gone unnoticed.”
“Sometimes,” Gus said as he eased the Apache into a banking turn toward the blue of the Pacific, “it’s not what you know, but who you know.”
“Unfortunately. That’s one of my many gripes with the army. Creativity and ingenuity aren’t always welcomed with open arms. If you don’t happen to be male, or of the proper rank, and have no political strings to pull, you aren’t going to be listened to.”
“You’ll be ignored,” Gus agreed. The ocean glittered beneath them, with sunlight dappling its rough surface. White, cottony clouds surrounded them. A front was coming through today, and the winds were a lot stronger from the west. The turbulence had been rougher than normal, and it had taken all of Gus’s skills to do as well as he had on the flight tests. When the weather worked against a pilot, it was harder to fly at specific altitudes and aim electronic “missiles” at stationary targets on the ground and accurately hit them. But he had. Gus felt proud of his abilities. He liked showing Cam that he had the right stuff to be an Apache pilot like her. Any pilot who had seen combat was usually set upon a pedestal and worshipped by the others. For a pilot, experience counted for everything. Gus held all three women pilots in high esteem. They had not only gutted it out for three years in combat mode, they had survived. And there was a lot he could learn from them, he knew.
As the Apache bounced and bobbled, hitting an invisible air pocket at five thousand feet, Gus steadied the machine with his feet and hands. The Baja coast grew small behind them as he flew the required five miles out to sea.
“Hey, on a personal topic, how would you like to leave this coming Saturday night open for something special?” His heart beat a little harder in his chest as he asked the question. He was afraid Cam would say no. Hand tightening momentarily around the cyclic, Gus held his breath as he waited for her response.
Lifting her head from her work, Cam said, “What?”
“Saturday. You know, that’s two days away? I thought…well, we always meet every night in the grove, on the picnic table for an hour or two. I thought that I’d like to take you someplace else.”
Cam felt a frisson of fear. And then joy. She tried to ignore both feelings. “Not a date.” Remembering Gus’s words, she wanted to be clear about this request and have no illusions about it. Still, she wished it would be a date.
“Er…why, no. Business. Just like always,” he mumbled. “You know how we sit on the picnic table and talk over the day’s events? C.O. to X.O.?”
“Yeah…” Cam’s hand stilled over the clipboard, her pen poised. His stubbornness made her feel sad. Still, it was a chance to be with Gus, and Cam wasn’t going to cut him out of her life. Somehow she was going to have to learn how to turn desire for him into friendship. That was a tall order and something she’d never attempted before.
A trickle of sweat ran down Gus’s left temple. He had the wi
ld urge to push it away. Setting the collective, he did just that, shoving his index finger up beneath the dark green visor that protected his eyes from the harsh sunlight. He tried to gage Cam’s tone of voice because he wasn’t sure she was happy with the idea.
“I know a sweet little spot in Puerto Nuevo. In fact, I can point it out to you on the way home today. One of the bays where Mexican trawlers come in and sell their goods, Puerto Nuevo is known for its lobster. I know a great restaurant there, Café Flor, which has the best seafood in town. It’s small but it’s clean. I’d like to buy you dinner.”
Cam loved lobster. In fact, after being at BJS for so long, she’d almost forgotten how much she loved seafood. It was rare to get anything but local trout from the Urubamba River in their chow hall.
With a slight grin, she asked, “How did you know I love seafood?”
Gus heard the joy in her tone. It made him suddenly feel lighter. Happier. “Just a hunch. Besides,” he replied, “as X.O., I need to take care of my C.O. You need a break. I heard from Wild Woman and Snake that they’re having a high old time at Club Flamingo in TJ. They, at least, are getting away from this heavy energy and drama Luis and Antonio stir up. I think you should, too.”
“I see. A little R and R—rest and relaxation?”
“Sure,” Gus coaxed enthusiastically. “I have my car. I drove it down here from Fort Rucker, so we got wheels. Interested?”
Was she? Cam pursed her lips and stared at his helmeted head below her. The thumping of the blades soothed some of her fear.
“Just business. Right?”
“I promise,” Gus told her fervently. “Just pretend we’re in the grove, that it’s dark and we’re on our picnic table, and I’m strumming on my guitar from time to time as we talk over the day’s events. Okay?”
Thrilled and yet wary, Cam said, “Okay…”
“Great! I can hardly wait. You’ll love Puerto Nuevo. You’ll love the lobster.”
There was that word love, Cam thought darkly. Placing her gloved hands over the clipboard, she looked out the cockpit window, unsure of how to feel. Still, as she sat there mulling it over in her heart, a thread of happiness wound through her. Suddenly she felt like a teenage girl who had just been asked to the prom by the boy she had a wild crush on.
An Honorable Woman Page 11
