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“Do you think Hunter’s going to be mad?”
“Why would he be mad? He’s coming to bail us out of holding. I’m sure that this is at the top of his bucket list, right next to having a migraine.”
“Your sarcasm is not helpful.”
“Wrecker asking dumb questions isn’t helpful.”
Echo stops pacing the cell to loom over the three commandos sitting on the narrow bench. “ None of you are being helpful,” he tells them. “None of you have been helpful all night!”
“Are you implying that this is our fault?” Tech asks, adjusting his goggles and glaring up at Echo through the tinted lens. “Because if my memory serves correctly, and it does, it was you that escalated the situation exponentially.”
“That’s what I remember too,” Crosshair says, smirking.
Wrecker nods. “Me too.”
Echo gapes at them. “Oh, no. You are not telling Hunter that this is my fault.”
“And you are not telling Hunter that it was ours,” Tech says primly, crossing his arms.
“Well, it’s somebody’s fault,” Echo declares. “And I know for a fact it wasn’t mine.”
“Maybe it was none of our faults,” Wrecker suggests.
“Because that’s believable.”
Wrecker frowns. “Why does everything have to be our fault? Why can’t we ever just be in the wrong place at the wrong time?”
Crosshair scoffs, “Have you met us? No one’s going to believe that kark.”
“Your black eye certainly does not help matters,” Tech agrees.
“Oh, and your split lip does?” Crosshair shoots back.
Echo groans. “Okay, enough. We need to come up with a cohesive explanation for what happened.”
“But we don’t even know what happened!” Wrecker cries. “Not really.”
“ I know what happened,” Tech says.
“I am not taking the fall!” Echo reiterates. “Stop trying to throw me under the speeder.”
“Why not? Hunter won’t be as mad at you.” Wrecker picks at the dried blood on his knuckles. “This is only the first time you’ve been arrested for anything.”
“The worst you’ll get is the look ,” Crosshair says.
Tech adds, “And a heavy sigh.”
“Oh, wow, how benevolent of you,” Echo retorts, crossing his arms. A beat of silence. “Wait. How many times have you been arrested?”
“Irrelevant,” Tech says. “Although I am merely guilty by association on all occasions.”
Crosshair and Wrecker sputter protests in unison, a mixture of, “You are such a kriffing liar,” and “That ain’t even close to true!”
“Forget I asked,” Echo groans.
**
“Seems it was a misunderstanding,” the officer says after reviewing the footage with Hunter. “Your guys weren’t at fault.”
“That woulda been good of you to figure out before I came all the way down here,” Hunter says.
The officer shifts uncomfortably from one boot to the other. “Yes, sir, apologies for the inconvenience. I’ll go get your boys out of lockup right now.”
Hunter smiles at him with a show of teeth that is anything but friendly. “I’d appreciate it.”
The officer disappears, and Hunter takes a steadying breath and closes his eyes. His head is killing him, and he’d gotten the call about his idiot brothers right after he’d finally managed to doze off. They might not be at fault , but they always seemed to be in the middle of trouble. Naively, he’d thought that Echo would be a voice of reason during their shore leave while Hunter was incapacitated.
He hears his brothers coming from the back of the station before he sees them, their rowdy voices already aggravating his migraine from afar. When they come through the door, they all go quiet, watching him watching them. He can tell they are trying to decipher to what degree he is upset with them. He gives them a look. “Fun night?” he asks.
They exchange glances.
“Not particularly,” Tech admits.
“It wasn’t our fault, boss,” Wrecker pleads.
Hunter sighs. “Alright, c’mon,” he grumbles, turning to lead the way out. Once they’ve reached the street, he checks his chrono. “Night cycle’s still young. Get out of here. But if I get another call from the station, I’m leaving you there to rot until morning, got it? I don’t care who’s fault it was.”
The four looks of utter surprise he receives almost makes the trip down worth it.
“Really, sir?” Echo asks. “You’re not angry?”
“Oh, I’m angry,” Hunter corrects him. “Just not at any of you…yet. Please don’t make me regret this.”
His brothers don’t wait for him to change his mind.
Even after they disappear from sight, his senses follow their distinct, excited voices amongst the noise of the streets a moment longer. Part of him wishes he could join them, but mostly, he looks forward to a few more hours of having the Marauder quietly to himself.
And he trusts they'll at least try to behave themselves.