Call It Freedom

Chapter 3 - Or You A Thief

Author's Note: Things are changing. ;)

~ Amina Gila

Crosshair waits until Hunter's back is turned to gesture to Echo and Wrecker, though he doesn't speak verbally. It's hard to communicate without Hunter overhearing them, given how good his enhanced senses are, so hand gestures it is. He doesn't say anything aloud until Hunter has disappeared into the cockpit, settling down in the co-pilot's seat to help Tech with the take-off. Only once the Marauder's engines have fired up, does Crosshair speak.

"Hunter is hiding things," he says, his normal drawl just barely above a whisper.

Echo glances to the cockpit before looking back at him and nodding. "Something is weighing heavily on him," he contributes. "I think we've all noticed it."

"Kind of hard not to," Crosshair answers sarcastically, thinking back to Hunter's seemingly unprompted breakdown. It's been years since Hunter has cried in front of them – or at all, if Crosshair had to guess, and it makes him worry. Hunter is their leader. He's always been the calm, unshakable one, level-headed where the rest of them are impulsive or irrational. It's... disconcerting, to say the least, to see him so shaken.

They've always been close, and when one of them hurts, they all do. This is no exception, and Crosshair doesn't understand why Hunter is choosing to keep them in the dark instead of offering any explanations. Even his current choice to help Tech pilot – that's become Echo's job, now that he can scomp in so well to things – is a diversion tactic.

Ever since Hunter woke up, Crosshair has been watching him, trying to read him and get an idea of what's wrong. One of the primary things he's been able to tell, thus far, is that Hunter is struggling. Badly. He's wrestling with something huge, something that's leaving the rest of them stumped, because what could it be, if they don't know about it? A dream? Please. They've all had their fair share of nightmares, some worse than others – it was the worst after Wrecker was so badly injured. Crosshair couldn't sleep alone for days after that, but Hunter never said anything when Crosshair crawled into his bunk at night, just to feel him close.

He'd been close enough to the cockpit to overhear the end of Hunter's exchange with Tech.

"You speak as though it was more than a dream, Hunter."

"It was. It was... so much more."

Hunter hadn't noticed him until later, but it was long enough for him to pick up on something. He just doesn't know how to explain it.

"He reacted to Tech and me when we were on the way here," Crosshair murmurs. Hunter had flinched when Tech spoke, explaining their mission to Kaller, and he's willing to bet that it wasn't because of the words so much as because of Tech's voice. But why? And why is he so... tense around him? Hunter might be pretending well, but Crosshair has still noticed, the small sidelong looks, the tenseness in his shoulders when Crosshair is close. Why? He's more confused than he is hurt because he has no idea what could suddenly have changed. Everything was fine only one rotation ago.

"I noticed," Echo answers, and Wrecker nods, unusually solemn.

"What'll we do?" Wrecker queries, his voice a little louder than theirs, probably enough for Hunter to pick up, and Crosshair shifts, throwing a look towards the cockpit, trying to catch a glimpse of their leader. He can just make out the back of Hunter's head – the rest of him is being blocked by his seat, so Crosshair can't really tell how he reacted to those words, if at all.

"I'll try talking to him," Echo decides, "See if he'll tell me anything. When... He responded best to me earlier."

"There's also the mystery of this... 'Omega'," Crosshair adds, sticking a toothpick in his mouth and nibbling on the end. Whoever it is, it's obvious that they're someone important to Hunter.