Sam Witwicky listened to the radio as Bumblebee barreled down the road. NEST agents chattered about search formations, leads, all in code, asking whether they'd spotted "the hunter." Occasionally one would ask about "the busybody," and the familiar voice of Lennox would chide them he was running down his own leads.
"Bee, over there, take this exit," he snapped, pointing up at the sign.
The car changed lanes slowly, as if asking why.
"Just trust me; I have a feeling."
He reached into his pocket, thumbing the phone, thinking of the terse recording on his voicemail: "Give Prime a message: get his ass back here."
And he was trying. He'd tried everywhere he could think of at least once. Parks; Optimus liked kids well enough. Libraries for the bookworm. Every interesting outdoor thing he could think of. Half the universities. The science labs. Car washes. Truck stops. Every time they changed directions, Bumblebee complained with that obnoxious song with the truck driver gear shift at the end.
As they pulled toward the latest town, his phone buzzed, and he answered it without a thought.
"You haven't found him yet? I don't know what the hell I call you and Simmons for."
"I've looked everywhere! I've looked some places twice!" Sam spat at the phone. "I don't know what you want from me! Shouldn't you be harassing NEST?"
"They don't know him like you do. They don't think outside the box like you do." She took a breath. "My people are checking his records, but that takes time. You have a better chance of following him. Stop thinking and do it." The phone went silent.
"Stop thinking? How the hell am I supposed to stop thinking; Bee, she says I should stop thinking! Forget this! There's a drive-in outside of town here, we should just go, catch a movie. Forget NEST."
Bumblebee was silent, expectant.
"What? I don't mean that. I'm just sick of getting no respect."
The Camaro pulled into the center turn lane.
"What no, get out of there! We don't have time to see a movie! We have to find Optimus! Bee! What's wrong with you?"
The car pulled up to the ticket booth on his own, and Sam scrambled to dig out the cash for the ticket, stammering, He was just about to start swearing about the price when he saw him at the back of the field: a blue semi with red flames.
Bumblebee crawled up next to him, popping Sam's door and belt. Sam climbed out. "You have some explaining to do!"
There was a long silence before that deep voice answered, bemused, "Do I?"
"Why the hell didn't you tell anyone where you were going?"
Embarassment crept in. "So… the call dropped. I wondered why no one had joined me…"
"Everyone's wondering where you are... and you're watching movies! The hell, Optimus?"
"Berate me when the film is done, Sam. I want to know what is in the briefcase."