Page 21 of Keeping Amanda
Mandy chuckled from behind him. “Yeah. The thing is, being down here, interacting with these kids…it gave me my love of teaching back. They’re all so eager to learn, they soak up every scrap of info you give them, and they have so much love in their hearts. There’s nothing better than being greeted at the door with a huge hug and a ‘good morning, Miss Mandy!’ If nothing else, it made me realize that when I go home, I want to update my teaching certificate so I can get a job with younger kids. There’s nothing wrong with middle school, but I think my passion is teaching kids of a younger age.”
“That’s great,” Buck said.
“Yeah. Your turn. Tell me about you. About your copilot, the one who lovesStar Wars. How exactly did you end up flying a helicopter to South America to rescue a bunch of kids?”
“Apparently the vice president has ties to Guyana. He worked down here after college with the Peace Corps. When word got to the White House about the kidnapping of a bunch of orphans, he pushed for something to be done. And me and Obi-Wan were that something. We volunteered, while the rest of our team went to Mexico to help with recovery after the hurricane.”
“There was a hurricane?” Mandy asked. “Jeez, I love beingdown here, but I feel so out of the loop. The break from social media has been great, I don’t miss it, per se, but I do feel as if I’m not as informed as I should be. How many other pilots do you work with?”
“There’re six of us. Casper and Pyro usually fly together, as do Chaos and Edge.”
“I’ve always wanted a badass nickname like that,” Mandy said with a sigh.
“Trust me, they’re usually not as cool as they might sound. You already know how I got mine.”
“I know, but it still sounds impressive, and that’s what counts, right? I mean, if a dog’s name is Fluffy, that gives a very different impression than if its name is Killer, even if it wouldn’t hurt a flea.”
Buck chuckled. “True. So, what would you pick? As a nickname?”
“I don’t know. Viper? Shadow? Storm?”
“Rebel,” Buck blurted, not sure where it came from, but as soon as the word left his lips, he realized how well it fit. “You defy expectations, fight back against the odds, and you do what you want, even when it goes against what society thinks is normal or proper.”
When he looked back at Mandy, he saw she was smiling.
“Rebel. I like it. Tell me more about your friends.”
“Casper is our team leader. He has a twin who’s a Navy SEAL. He and our mechanic, Laryn, recently realized they were perfect for each other.”
“Oh, that’s cool.”
“It is. Because Laryn’s awesome. Not only is she the best helicopter mechanic in the country, she’s now tied to our unit because of Casper. So she’s not going anywhere.”
“You know how awful that sounds, right?” Mandy asked with a chuckle.
“Yup. But seriously, the woman has skills. And becauseCasper has recently destroyed two helicopters, she’s been kept very busy.”
Mandy inhaled sharply. “Two?”
Time went by quickly as Buck explained the circumstances behind his team leader’s two chopper incidents. He then went on to tell her all about his other teammates.
When he got to Obi-Wan, he did his best to explain his relationship with the man he trusted with his life on a daily basis. “When you’re in the cockpit, in the middle of an op, it’s pitch-dark outside, you only have the instruments in front of you to know where to fly and what’s going on, so it’s vital that you trust the person sitting next to you. Obi-Wan, he’s…he’s like my brother. We clicked the first time we met, when we were assigned to our new unit. There’s no one I trust more.”
“Is he going to be pissed that you’re here now? That you didn’t leave with him?” Mandy asked quietly.
Buck hesitated, but ultimately decided to be honest. She’d been through hell and deserved that much. “Here’s the thing—we aren’t supposed to leave our chopper. Underanycircumstances. Casper did that on the mission I was telling you about before, and he’ll kick his own ass for it for the rest of his life, because it allowed Laryn to be taken.”
“But he saved those SEALs. Right?”
Buck nodded. “Yeah. He did. Which is why he did it. It’s not in our DNA to literally sit by and let someone on our watch get hurt or die. You asked if Obi-Wan would be upset that I came after you, and the answer is no. He’d probably bemorepissed if I’d gotten back in that chopper and left you out here alone. I had no doubts about his ability to fly the kids and those special forces soldiers back across the border. Further, I know that even now, he’s doing everything in his power to try to come back for us.”
“But it’s not that easy,” Mandy surmised.
“It’s not that easy,” Buck confirmed. “But Obi-Wan won’t bepissed that I came after you. That I can guarantee. My boss? He might be a different story.”
Mandy tugged on his backpack, making him stop walking and turn to look at her.
“What? Are you okay?”
