William Lennox walked into a crowded barn with his partner walking closely by his side. He wore casual clothing instead of his uniform, to look like every other thug in the barn. The people's attention was all directed towards the hexagon shaped ring a couple feet below them. They were all leaning over the metal gate around the ring, shouting as loud as they could. Lennox looked down into the ring. An American bulldog and an English mastiff were about to fighting to the death. The American bulldog had quick jaws, but the English mastiff was heavier and stronger. The owners held their dogs back by the collars and beat their dogs to get them riled up for the fight. Lennox's partner, a bulky heavily muscled Rottweiler, looked up at him and then he looked across the ring. Lennox followed the dog's gaze and saw his men on the other side.
"C'mon. We've got work to do." Lennox said, pulling roughly on the dog's short leash. But the dog didn't mind. He knew it was all for show so that they could blend in with the other dogs and their brutal masters. As Lennox and his dog pushed through the tight crowd around the ring, the Rottweiler watched the humans let their dogs loose in the ring. The American bulldog ran at the mastiff with jaws wide open and going for the throat. The mastiff turned defensively and then bit into the American bulldog's forehead. He jerked the American bulldog's head around and took several bites at its ears. The American bulldog never showed any pain as he struggled against the mastiff. Both dogs were completely mad. The Rottweiler felt sick, watching them. It was just down right wrong! The Rottweiler was caught off guard when he felt a body knock against his side. He lost his temper and lashed out at a passing by human. The Rottweiler gave a tremendously loud bark and showed off his terrifying teeth, inches away from the human's leg. Lennox pulled the Rottweiler back to his side quickly before anything got out of hand. He looked at the man his dog just about mauled. To Lennox's surprise, the man was smiling.
"Whoa! That's a mean dog you've got there." He said to Lennox. The man seemed impressed. "What's his name?" He asked.
"Ironhide." Lennox answered. He patted his dog's shoulder. But Ironhide ignored it and kept growling at the other man.
"Is he fighting tonight?"
"No. Not tonight."
"Too bad. I'd pay big money to see him in the ring." the man said. He walked around Lennox and looked back down at Ironhide. "I'll be sure to watch where I'm going next time." He said to Ironhide, and then disappeared in the moving crowd. Lennox glared at the Rottweiler.
"Prime said to keep a low profile, Ironhide." Lennox scolded. Ironhide made a grunting noise in his throat and pulled Lennox through the crowd. Lennox held onto the leash, shaking his head at his stubborn friend. Finally, Lennox and Ironhide made it through to the other side of the ring where they met up with Lennox's men and more Autobots in disguise. Robert Epps, who was standing with a boxer, was the first to greet Lennox. Epps' boxer, along with the two other boxers, was totally absorbed in the bloody brawl going on in the ring. The three boxers sat quietly at their master's feet, watching the dog fight. Occasionally the boxers would stand up and start madly barking at the ring. Epps wasn't sure what the boxers were saying. He hoped they were protesting the fight, but knowing how savage those three could be, it was a possibility they were encouraging the fighting dogs. While Lennox and his men discussed their progress so far, Ironhide walked around the three boxers and sat down at the feet of Lennox's First Sergeant, Donelly. Donelly chose Jolt to be his partner in 'the dog house.' Ironhide looked behind Donelly's legs to see Jolt's canine holoform, shying away from all the action. Ironhide stood next to Jolt, who was in the form of a white Akita. Jolt sat behind Donelly's legs with his ears slightly drooped and head bowed low.
:I take it you're not a fan of this sport either.: Ironhide said to Jolt. He used private comm links so no humans would suspect a talking dog. Jolt looked up at Ironhide. His blue optics were overshadowed by the holoform's brown eyes. Jolt's Akita eyes still had a tint of blue in them instead of brown.
:I hate it here, Ironhide. I just can't bear to watch any of it.: Jolt responded.
:Lennox did warn us that we'd see the worst of humanity and their canine companions in this situation.:
:I don't think I'm meant to be here.:
:We chose our canine holoforms by what we thought suited us. Humans chose a select few of us who could complete the mission in these new forms. You portray a popular breed in this sport.:
:Well I wouldn't have chosen it if I knew what this would be like. I knew humans could be cruel, but this is much worse than I imagined.: Jolt cringed at the sound of the American bulldog's pained cry. He didn't need to look to know that the mastiff won. The crowd roared. The three boxers started howling. Jolt stood up and narrowed his eyes at them. :Can you believe those Wreckers?: Jolt said with disgust. :Cheering like that! They're no better than the mindless animals in that ring!:
:Which is exactly why they were assigned for this mission.: Ironhide agreed. :Have the twins arrived yet? Either set?:
:I'm not certain if Skids and Mudflap are coming. They scanned pit bull terriers, but their mini bot frames caused the pit bull form to be significantly smaller than most dogs of that breed. Optimus Prime was worried if they were caught in a situation with the real dogs here, they wouldn't be capable of defending themselves.:
:Due to their small size?:
:Yes. But Sunstreaker will be here for sure.:
:And Sideswipe?:
:Well that's another thing Prime was worried about. According to Sunstreaker, when they competed in the Gladiatorial Games on Cybertron, Sideswipe became madly obsessed with the sport. Sunstreaker told Prime he didn't want Sideswipe coming back to that and turning into...: Jolt trailed off when he peaked around Donelly's legs and saw the mastiff's next challenger. The challenging Dogo Argentino was trying to charge at the mastiff the minute it entered the ring. The owner struggled to handle the dog and keep it back. It had its neck stretched as far out as it could go. Its vicious barking taunted the mastiff, who was also being held back tightly. The dogs' minds were set on one thing and one thing only. Kill! And Ironhide could see it in their eyes.
:That?: Ironhide continued. Jolt nodded.
:Exactly that.:
:That shouldn't be a problem for Sideswipe or for any of us. Lennox has ensured our safety against the fighting dogs. None of us will be fighting tonight unless we find a Decepticon in all this Pit.:
:But that was the purpose of coming here right? Finding a Decepticon?:
:Not entirely. The energy signature of energon was confirmed. The spark signature of a Decepticon was not. Which would make the objective very simple. Find the energon, protect it, and get out.: Jolt peaked out at the sick violence thrashing around in the ring.
:I still don't understand why we have to let this continue.:
:We don't. As soon as the energon is secure, the local authorities will take care of the rest. We'll just have to keep a low profile for now. If we expose ourselves, then the possible Decepticons will scatter and so will the humans.:
Just then the barn doors swung open again. Two more NEST soldiers in disguise walked in with their dogs. Both soldiers had two dogs on leashes. The first soldier, walked in with two Siberian huskies. One was had a silvery gray coat with a white face and belly. He had a gray line down his face that came down to his nose and a white 'v neck' pattern on his chest over his white belly. The husky next to him had a blonde coat with the exact same husky markings as the other. They both walked side by side with their heads held high. They paid no attention to the dog fight, and kept looking straight ahead.
:Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.: Ironhide assumed. They both walked over to Ironhide and nodded their heads. Ironhide found the seriousness coming from the twins to be seriously awkward. But he ignored it. He figured whatever the reason was for their different behavior, had something to do with their past in the Gladiatorial Games. Then there was the NEST soldier just behind them. His dogs were giving him a hard time by not following Sideswipe's and Sunstreaker's example to a T. These rowdy little pit bulls ran circles around the undercover soldier that walked them. (More like they walked him.) As soon as they saw the ring, they pressed their noses through the barred fence around the ring, and started growling and barking at the fighting dogs! What was worse was, not only were they barking at, but mocking and threatening the dogs in the ring! As the soldier tried to pull them away, the dogs kept pulling back to insult the Dogo Argentino. Sideswipe turned around and watched their verbal squabble with the Dogo Argentino through the bars.
"Sunstreaker. Look at this." Sideswipe laughed through their twin bond. He was watching the younger twins. Sunstreaker turned around and smiled deviously.
"They're going to get what's coming to them if they're not careful." Sunstreaker said. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, bro?"
"Friends...would go over there and talk them out of it." Sideswipe stated.
"But best friends..." Sunstreaker continued. "..would stand back and let them learn their lesson." At that moment, just as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker predicted, the Dogo Argentino turned his back on his opponent in the ring, lunged at the barred fence, and nipped at Skids' nose! Skids and Mudflap jumped back in surprise, and ran for the others. They bolted behind their human allies to hide from the laughing crowd. Skids was okay except for a small bloody scratch over his nose. He still seemed a little jumpy though.
"Whoa." Skids exclaimed. "Dis place's intense!" Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were still snickering to each other. The rest of the disguised NEST soldiers gathered around Lennox with their dogs. Lennox spoke loud enough for his team to hear the serious tone of his voice, but quiet enough for only his team to hear him.
"Okay guys. The barn's small and really crowded, but there's a lot of property out back too. Check in frequently. Nobody draws any unnecessary attention to themselves." Lennox explained. He looked directly at the humans of his team. "There will be no gambling, no dog fights featuring the Autobots under any circumstances. No one leaves an Autobot unattended, to ensure that a stranger won't throw them in the ring! Keep them safe at all costs. Now move out!"
The NEST soldiers separated and went off to investigate the property with the Autobots. Lennox and Ironhide headed deeper into the crowd to find a safe hiding place for harvested energon. They couldn't bring in any energon detecting devices without blowing their cover. So Ironhide relied on senses to find the energon. He mostly used his new nose for tracking down the distinct scent of energon. He could smell it, but he couldn't track it. Ironhide sent Lennox a text message from his super computer brain.
Captain, I've caught the scent of energon.
"Good Ironhide. Where is it?" Lennox said out loud.
It appears to be everywhere. As if the energon was vaporized into thin air. The scent is particularly strong inside the ring.
"Inside the ring?"
Yes.
"You're not thinking about going in there are you?"
Absolutely not. Still, we have to retrieve that energon somehow.
"Or else the Decepticons take it first. Even if it's just a few cubes, they'll be just a few cubes stronger. And we can't afford to let that happen."
You are absolutely right Captain.