Outrun the Future - G. Cleven

Ch 4

The group was quickly hauled off into interrogation, leaving little to no time to process what happened. It was the same routine with every mission, never deviating no matter the number of remaining pilots. Marley learned early on that she needed to turn off her emotions until after all the facts were given. There was no time for tears in the middle of a war.

The interrogation room was built for teams of men. With the B-17's holding 10 crew members, the tables had enough seats to accommodate them. So, when each P-51 pilot went to their own table, it showed the others how small they appeared. They often overlooked the fragileness fighter pilots can be when their planes prove to be some of the more superior ones in the sky. But seeing the individual pilots surrounded by no one but themselves, pity almost seemed to be thrown at them.

Bucky stood with his back against the wall, near the table his sister was at. None of them knew what their mission was, but clearly something went wrong for three pilots to not return. He needed to know why for a few reasons. One, to relay to the boys' changes from the enemy that could impact their future missions. And two, to know how bad it is when his sister gets sent off. The constant battle between Major and brother was soon becoming an issue.

He stayed close by as she started recalling the details of the mission, providing support while staying out of her way. She had made it clear this morning when leaving without informing him, that she was her own person who didn't need the support of her brother to get through tough situations. But he planned to be there in case the independence faltered.

Listening to the way Marley talked, it worried him with how different she was. Gone was the cheerful and free-spirited sister he had grown up with. In her place was a level-headed soldier who could recite facts about a mission that got three of her teammates taken or killed.

Before he could dwell on the change too long, she was done with her part of the interrogation and stood up to leave. If she was surprised to see her brother standing close enough to hear, she didn't show it. Instead, she had schooled her face into a look of indifference. Something that was bound to haunt her brother in his sleep.

Buck had waited for the Egan siblings outside, wanting to see for himself how the two of them were. Marley was the first one he saw step out of interrogation and the blank look on her face didn't tell him too much. He had only known her for a short time and while she seemed to be a carbon copy of John. He wasn't sure how she handled stress. Bucky threw jokes around and shots back, not wanting to feel anything. The nights starting to get more frequent where he had to help his friend back to their bunk safely.

But Marley at this moment looked void of any emotion. The tears from earlier were long gone and in their place was a face that wasn't going to falter.

Bucky stepped out close behind his sister, running a hand through his hair. Buck could easily see how much that situation got to him and wondered how bad it was.

"You okay, Marley?" Buck asked her while keeping his eyes on his friend. She nodded her head at him while Bucky shook his. He had a feeling things would play out like this, he just wasn't sure what to do about it.

"Why don't we get you somethin' to eat? Let you settle back down from this mornings run." Buck kept his tone light, not trying to seem like he was forcing the idea on her. He learned with Bucky that the second you demand something, he will do everything in his power to do the opposite. And if had to bet, Marley was going to be the same.

"I think I'm going to take a shower and get out of this flight gear before I do anything." Buck looked to her brother to see how he would react to that answer, but he didn't say a word.