The Gauntlet by Lindsay McKenna

like your thinking. And you’re right—no one can take away what you know.” Cam grinned, liking the way she was applying her knowledge to support her argument for her program.
    Molly colored fiercely beneath his praise. “Do you think Lieutenant Norton will go along with my idea?”
    Cam shrugged and sipped his coffee. “I don’t know. Give him a gung-ho presentation. We’ll just have to see.” Chuckling to himself, Cam thought how much he would enjoy seeing Martin’s face when that same test program was flown to perfection by another pilot. There were a lot of ifs in Molly’s plan, but it was feasible. A good feeling threaded through him at the feisty quality he saw in Molly’s green eyes. He hadn’t seen it there before, and it pleased him to think maybe he’d had something to do with putting it there. For the first time in a long time, Cam felt happy. Truly happy.

Chapter Six
    “C am, you got a minute?”
    “Yeah, what is it, Vic?” Cam stopped at the instructor’s office.
    “Come in and shut the door.”
    Doing as he was asked, he saw the troubled expression on his friend’s triangular face. “Problems?” It was only 1000 on Monday morning. Cam wondered if Molly had seen Vic about her plan.
    “Look at this request from Ensign Rutledge.”
    Cam feigned no prior knowledge and read the neatly typed flight-report suggestion. “Looks fine to me.”
    “It’s the same one she used last week.”
    Cam handed it back to him. “So?”
    “It was blown last Friday.”
    “By her or Martin?”
    Vic scowled. “What do you mean?”
    “Are you so sure Martin followed the parameters of her flight test?”
    “Well…no. But Rutledge just sat like a bump on a log in debrief. What was I to think? Martin’s a veteran pilot. She’s fresh out of the academy. He’s got more air experience, and I believed him.”
    “But she’s got a degree in aeronautical engineering.”
    “I suppose…” He tapped the desk with his long fingers. “This is really an unusual request, Cam.”
    “But not an illegal one. Look at it this way, Vic. If Dalton, who’s assigned to Rutledge this Friday, flies this test well, then it turns the heat on to Martin, not her. Right?”
    “Yes, it would.” Vic got up, shaking his head. “What’s she trying to prove, then? If her test was good, why the hell didn’t she stand up for it in debrief? She acted as if she didn’t care one way or another if I viewed the video. And Martin was hotter than a Fourth-of-July firecracker.”
    Cam sat down. “Maybe we’re just too used to a man’s way of doing things, Vic.”
    “Say that again.”
    “Women, at least in my experience, aren’t hard-nosed and challenging, like men. They’re more tactful and diplomatic. Maybe this is Rutledge’s way of trying to set the record straight. What would it hurt? If Dalton flies that test perfectly, then you have some reassessing of her capabilities to do, that’s all. And it would also shed some light on Martin and his tactics, which would become my responsibility to contend with.”
    Rubbing his jaw, Vic nodded. “I like her, Cam, but she’s too soft. Too laid-back. Martin took her head off in there last Friday.”
    Cam said nothing. If Molly had been his student, he’d have handled the scenario differently, but that was water under the bridge. Besides, he had no business trying to tell Vic how to instruct. “Well, I say give the lady a second chance. Won’t hurt anything, will it?”
    “No,” Vic groused. “Except she won’t be learning anything new this week.”
    “Have her work on another test flight, then, for the coming week,” Cam suggested.
    Brightening, Vic smiled. “Thanks for the input. It’s hell being an instructor here. I’m glad you’ve got a couple of years of experience or I’d be lost sometimes.”
    Easing out of the chair, Cam nodded. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with Rutledge. She’s adjusting to a lot of