"And here I thought we were special, Coyote," Hangman smirked as he walked over and sat on the edge of the pool table. "Turns out the invite went to anyone."
"Fellas," Phoenix sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest, "this here's Bagman."
"Hangman," he corrected.
"Whatever," she scoffed. "You're looking at the only naval aviator on active duty with a confirmed air-to-air kill."
"Stop," he smirked as he leaned forward.
"Mind you, the other guy was in a museum piece from the Korean War."
"Cold War," Coyote corrected.
"Different wars, same country," Payback shrugged.
"Not this one," Fanboy added.
"Who are your friends?" Coyote asked, pointing to the guys.
"Payback."
"Fanboy."
"Hey, Coyote," Phoenix said, turning toward him.
"Hey," he smiled at her.
"Who's he?" She asked, nodding her head toward the guy off to the side.
"Who's who?" Coyote asked. She turned, the boys following her eyes to a guy sitting on a stool. She raised her eyebrows as he wiped peanut shells off his lap.
"When did you get in?" Coyote asked.
"Oh, I've been here the whole time," the guy said with a cheeky smile.
"The man's a stealth pilot," Hangman chuckled.
"Literally," Coyote added.
"Weapons system officer, actually," the guy gently corrected.
"With no sense of humor," Hangman mumbled as he turned and handed Phoenix his pool cue.
"What do they call you?" Phoenix asked.
"Bob," he said, awkwardly clearing his throat.
"No," chuckled Payback, "your call sign."
"Uhh," he cleared his throat, "Bob."
"Bob Floyd," Phoenix said slowly. "You're my new backseater? From Lemoore?"
Fanboy and Payback chucled as Bob nodded and slightly cleared his throat. "Looks like it. Yeah."
Phoenix studied him for a second before handing Bob the cue Hangman had given her. "Nine-ball, Bob. Rack 'em."
Suddenly, the door opened, catching the attention of Phoenix.
"Bradshaw?" She called out. "Is that you?"
Rooster smirked as he walked over to the pool tables, never taking his eyes off Phoenix.
"This is how I find out you're stateside?" Phoenix challenged as he walked over to them, still playing pool.
"Yeah," Rooster chuckled, taking off his sunglasses, "I just thought I'd surprise you."
Phoenix rolled her eyes with a small 'hmm'. He was slightly behind her as she bent down and lined up her next shot. She "accidentally" pushed the pool cue too far back, hitting Rooster in the gut. She stood up and slowly turned around after the ball went in.
"I guess I surprised you back."
"It's good to see you," he said, slowly recovering.
"Good to see you too," she chuckled. Hangman returned from getting another round, a smirk permanently on his face.
"Bradshaw," he said slowly. "As I live and breathe."
"Hangman," Rooster sighed as Hangman took the cue from Bob. "You look. . . good."
"Well, I am good, Rooster," Hangman said, lining up the next shot. Still leaning over, he made eye contact with Rooster and shot the ball. "I'm very good. In fact, I am too good to be true."
"So," Payback said, slightly clearing his throat, "anybody know what this special detachment is all about?"
"No," Hangman said, pretending not to care, "mission's a mission. They don't confront me. What I want to know: who's gonna be team leader? And which one of y'all has what it takes to follow me?"
Rooster sighed, briefly looking away from Hangman's smirk. "Hangman," he said slowly, "the only place you'll lead anyone is an early grave."
Half of the group laughed while the other half held their breath. Hangman took a slow breath as he sat back up and walked over to Rooster. He sent Phoenix a look as he passed her.
"Well, anyone who follows you is just gonna run out of fuel. But that's just you, ain't it, Rooster? You're snug on that perch, waiting for just the right moment. . . that never comes."
Hangman walked away and smirked at his friends.
"Well," Phoenix sighed under her breath, "he hasn't changed."
"Nope," Rooster said, struggling to control his anger. "Sure hasn't."
Suddenly, the group got distracted by a group of other pilots walking into the bar.
"Check it out," Fanboy pointed out. "More patches."
Sherry doesn't usually like to linger in Treviso. She's always been desperate to leave. But, when her and the crew need to stock up in Antiva, Sherry finds herself once again roaming the streets, collecting bottles, and visiting an old cliffside full of broken glass, memories, and confessions swept in on an ocean breeze.
(Zevran/Saryi Tabris, Pre-Relationship Loghain Mac Tir/Saryi Tabris)
Soldier's Peak was hit by a blizzard when Saryi, Loghain, and Zevran went up to look over the repair efforts. Too cold to warm themselves, Zevran offers a solution.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
