Miles Away From Yesterday

Chapter 4 - Running With My Eyes Closed

Author's Note: Thoughts or suggestions anyone? :)

~ Amina Gila

Tarkin told them to leave early in the morning, which gives them a few hours of rest before they need to depart. Hunter collapses onto his bunk and is asleep almost immediately. He wakes up earlier than the others, his arm throbbing. His body aches, from the training session and the electrocution, and a dull headache is pounding in the back of his skull. But he gets himself up because it's what needs to be done. He wakes his brothers, and they get ready to head out, but Hunter stops them before they leave.

"Echo," he says, feeling dread curl within him at the mere thought of having to start up an extended conversation with him which will devolve into an argument. He doesn't want to fight with Echo – ever – but he won't back down. Can't. "Are you good for this mission or do you need to sit it out?"

Echo gives him a sharp, almost annoyed, look. "I'm fine," he answers. "I'm not compromised."

Hunter could leave it at that, but he can't. He's responsible for all of them, and it falls on him to protect them. If they fail, that's on him. "You'll follow orders even if you don't like them?"

His face tightens, and Hunter can see the anger. He's still upset. Echo holds grudges like no one else, and Hunter still has not figured out how to handle it. He thought they'd have some downtime, that he could get some rest and figure it out in the morning, but they're already shipping back out. He has to address it before it gets too out of hand. If he doesn't, it'll show up at the worst possible moment.

"I'll follow them if they're not wrong," Echo replies, and the one thing Hunter admires about Echo is that he doesn't shy away from the fight. He'll tell the truth, even if it hurts to hear, even if it leads to conflict. The Batch aren't like that, or at least it's different for them. They do argue, sometimes, of course, but it's always more subdued, and their disagreements include just as much nonverbal communication as verbal. Crosshair never flinches away from speaking the truth, blunt and harsh, but he's never unkind about it, and Hunter trusts that he'll follow, regardless of whether or not he disagrees.

Echo is not like that, and Hunter might admire that about him, but it's also a liability.

"That isn't a choice you have the luxury of deciding," Hunter snaps because if, in the thick of battle, Echo decides to opt out, someone could be hurt or killed, and it would be Hunter's fault. "If I can't trust you to follow orders, you're staying here."

Echo's eyes harden. "I'm not the one who's compromised, Hunter."

Hunter hates that they're fighting, hates that they're doing it in front of the others. He knows it makes them uncomfortable. Why can't Echo just listen? Saying that he is compromised is a step too far. It's absurd. "I'm not the one refusing to follow orders and putting everyone else in jeopardy," he answers, deadly calm, eyes narrowed.

"What? You're gonna kill kids now, Hunter?" Echo demands harshly.

Hunter jerks back, stung. "We aren't being sent after kids, Echo. You're being ridiculous." He straightens. "If you can't follow orders, you'll put every single one of us at risk, and that's not a chance I can take. Either follow orders or sit the mission out, the choice is yours."

Echo looks like he wants to argue, but to his credit, he simply glares before looking away. "I'm coming."

Hunter can only hope it won't be a mistake.

***

"I don't know what to do about Hunter," Echo says, frustrated. Wrecker and Crosshair are getting supplies from the armory, while Hunter is elsewhere, leaving him and Tech alone at the Marauder. "You know something isn't right with him."