" I didn't think the Air Force let enlisted men fly," Jon commented."They don't," Will told him. "But they do have flying clubs with instruction and e...erything, and those are open to enlisted men at a real good rate. Miz Swift taught me years ago just how useful a plane can be around a ranch, so I've been picking it up."It still took a while to get Songbird pre-flighted in the low light of the end of the day; while Will and Jennlynn were doing that, Jon and Tanisha took the time to have a word. I’ve just been seeing a few friends and getting a few things behind me. I’ll explain it later.”“Uh, huh.”“Grim!”“Whatever. I’ll see you at fifteen-hundred hours Friday,” I told her.She laughed. “No, Grim, I’ll see you at three o’clock in the afternoon!” She hung up still laughing.The rehearsal went well, but as soon as it was over, Kelly and her bridesmaids headed out. I didn’t get a lot of sleep Friday night. It was almost impossible for me to believe that it was happening. I was going to. Strong hands caught her under the arms, grating her flesh from beneath her arms in painful amounts. She staggered backwards, eyes wild and frightened, scanning her surroundings for a way out, an escape route of some sort. At each angle she was confronted with a face, large, hideously malformed, small black eyes peered at her from beneath folds of pulpy gray flesh and wide, slash-knifed mouths grinned showing her small sharp teeth the color of sap.She darted her gaze from one face to the next,. “Yeah, those, too,” I agreed, “though as a nurse, I’m torn. I can’t help but think of all of the pain, all the death, the maimed soldiers who will be lame for life. The rest of me thinks, ‘nah, they’re Kluckers, so fuck ‘em.’ That’s the inner conflict inside me.”“Still, that’s some mother’s son, some sister’s brother, some daughter’s father, some wife’s husband, some girlfriend’s boyfriend. I know that the women are likely every bit as racist as the menfolk, but still. It does pain me at times.