Chapter 2
“Did you knowingly disobey orders, Joe?” Dr. Thaddeus Keane asked the Falcon.
The entire team was now standing in Dr. Keane’s office at Global Security Council Headquarters, where they often underwent debriefings from their missions. Despite wearing the more informal, civilian versions of their uniforms, the Eagle Riders were all rigid from the tension filling the room.
“I felt the circumstances were justified.” Joe replied.
“You felt it was justified to fire upon a craft that you knew would explode upon contact with a Bird Missile, when your Commander was aboard?” Hunter demanded angrily. The Hawk shoved his face into that of the Falcon, who sneered contemptuously in return.
“I explained that already.” Joe growled, frustration seeping into his voice. “Ollie wasn’t able to keep dodging the Vorak laser fire, and they hit us with some kind of sonic beam that set the Armory on fire and nearly destroyed us. The mecha was shooting at civilians and was about to attack the orphanage. We had no idea where you were, and you had already changed the plan by not returning to the Ultra Eagle with Kelly.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to change my orders!” Hunter shouted. Kelly, Mickey and Ollie cringed. They couldn’t recall ever seeing Hunter this enraged before. “Ever since you’ve returned, Joe, you’ve been running off without telling us where you’re going, and showing up again when you feel like it! And now, even when you’re with the Team, you’re acting like you’re the one in charge!”
“Maybe that’s just because you’re not up to the job!” Joe retorted angrily, raising his fist menacingly.
“Hunter! Joe! That is enough!” said Dr. Keane sternly. The two angry young men stepped back slightly, still glaring at each other.
“Does anyone else have anything to add?” Dr. Keane asked, doing his best to ignore the barely controlled rage emanating in waves from the Hawk and the Falcon.
Ollie and Mickey shuffled their feet nervously, staring at the ground.
“I… I do.” Kelly said quietly.
Everyone turned to look at the Dove, and five pairs of eyes stared intently at the young woman as she began to speak.
“What Joe is saying is correct.” Kelly’s eyes shot over toward the Falcon, whose visage softened for the briefest of moments. “There was no way we could take another hit. We were going to either have to attack the mecha, or retreat and let it destroy the orphanage.”
Kelly took a deep breath, knowing that whatever she said now, she would be choosing sides, and someone would never forgive her.
She just prayed that she could live with that.
“In my opinion, Joe made the right choice.”
Hunter exploded, rounding on Joe again.
“And now you’re corrupting my officers!” he accused the Falcon.
“Your officers?” Joe snorted, seemingly nonplussed by the Hawk’s enraged tone. “And here I thought we were a ‘team’.”
“A team whose unity you undermine every time you are with us!” Hunter spat. “I’m sick of turning around to find that you have gone off on some other secret mission that not even Dr. Keane knows about! I’ve had it up to here with your tendency to ignore my orders whenever it suits you! I’m not going to stand for your insolent attitude anymore!”
Kelly, Mickey and Ollie gasped as Joe’s fist drew back.
“Going to hit me, are you?” Hunter smirked. “Isn’t that what you usually do, when you don’t agree with me, Joe? You punch me in the gut and then go on with whatever you wanted to do anyway.”
“Hunter is right.” Dr. Keane added, physically stepping between the two young men. “There have been too many occasions in the past few months where you have hit your Commander, Joe. This kind of behavior cannot be allowed to continue.”
Rather than accepting the Doctor’s admonishing statement, Joe only grew angrier.
“You are the ones who begged me to come back and rejoin the team!” he reminded everyone. “I was ready to go off again on my own, but it was you, Hunter, who told me that it would be better if I were a part of the team.”
“Maybe I was wrong.”
Hunter’s words hung in the air, as everyone’s jaws dropped to the floor.
“If that’s how you feel about it, then I quit.” Joe said quietly, removing his bracelet and dropping it on Dr. Keane’s desk.
Before anyone could react, the Falcon had stalked out of the room.
The moment Joe had left, Kelly whirled to face Hunter.
“I can’t believe you said that!” she cried. “You call him back and apologize, right now, Hunter!”
“I can’t do that, Kelly.” Hunter said coldly, turning away from the Dove.
Another quiet thunk came from Dr. Keane’s desk, and the Hawk looked back to see that there were now two bracelets lying there.
Kelly was gone.