Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers: just my OC's & the plot.
THE DOMINOES FALL
Prologue
London, 5:35pm:
As she stared out of the window, her hackles raised in dread and deep concern, she put the phone back on the receiver, and let go of her breath, as a deep sigh escaped her lips.
"Well?" of the gentlemen in the room pressed her anxiously,
"...Our worst fears have been confirmed," she replied: though her voice betrayed her anxiety, she remained professional and steadfast: "They did murder him"
The other people assembled in the room all glanced at one another; this was gravely alarming, and they all knew the ramifications that were likely to follow...
"So it's confirmed" one of the gentlemen surmised in a grim voice, "Prometheus is going to make its final move"
"It would appear so" she frowned, "Have the 'loose ends' been tied up?"
"Finley called right before Moshower did: he got to the Waineright's ten minutes before Broadsword did," one of the other gentlemen replied, "They should be on the plane with the others by now: ETA should be one forty five tomorrow morning"
"Good: that means Prometheus won't have anything to bait the children with," she sighed with relief,
"What are your orders now ma'am?" one of the older gentlemen asked,
"We lay the ground work for the next phase of the operation," she got up from her chair to address the room, "Contact Whitehall and tell them we're ready to move to stage three: I don't want the wrong officials getting wind of this development, so keep all information pertaining to this classed as delta-10. In the meantime send out the code red, get all our people in the field back here now, and inform our contacts of what's happened. We need to make sure everyone gets out alive"
"What about Moshower and Miss Madsen?" a younger woman fretted
"Our friends are already taking care of them...Hopefully, they'll get out by tonight"
Somewhere in Maryland, North America, sometime later:
It was amazing he didn't get pulled over, considering how fast he'd been driving
Moshower hadn't stopped for anything as he drove out into the countryside: leaving civilization behind, and heading deep into the wilder areas of the state. Maryland (being the small state that it is) may not have been renowned for vast, near-endless unspoiled areas of wilderness, but like the rest of North America, it had its secret places that were seldom visited by people.
And right now, he and his passenger needed a secret place in which to hide...
After driving some distance into a fairly large area of forest, and confident they hadn't been followed: Moshower pulled into a lay-by, where he allowed himself to catch his breath, and try to think what to do next...
"Why have we stopped?" Maggie fretted,
"I need to think..." Moshower sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "I don't know how long we'll have before they realize you peeked at their files; for all we know, they may already be chasing us?"
She tried to remain composed and professional, but Moshower could see the dread in her eyes; trying to hold back the fear that threatened to consume her: "I didn't think-..." she stammered, "I knew, taking on this assignment: there would be some things that would come to light. Someone's personal agenda that might be exposed...But I didn't think, anything like this was possible?" she worried, as she hugged the files she'd been carrying. In all the time they'd been driving, she never once let them go. She knew the information contained within them carried a lot of implications...
Implications that could either save or cost many lives, depending on who got their hands on the files. Hence: Maggie was terrified to let them go, for fear of the wrong people getting their hands on them, and making sure they never saw the light of day again...
"Neither did I..." Moshower confessed,
He hadn't risen to the rank of General for nothing: he'd seen the ugly side of humanity in its many forms and guises, and knew how best to counter their efforts; but this? This was a whole other breed of evil, one he never thought anyone could have the audacity, persistence and patience to undertake...
He looked her in the eye, and stated confidently ", But I promise you, we will get the word out. They're not going to get away with this"
"How? You saw how deep this runs: even the CIA is compromised"
"I've been in the military a long, long time Miss Madsen: enough time to make as many friends as I have enemies; hopefully where we're going, one of them will help us out" he stated as he turned the key in the ignition, "If we're lucky, we should reach his place by nightfall..." and before Maggie could say anything else, he pulled out of the lay-by and drove off, heading deeper into the forest.
As the rev of the engine disappeared into the trees: the sounds of the forest came back to fill the air with the chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects: leaves rustled on their branches as a slow steady breeze blew through the valley, and on the side of the road, a large white tailed buck cautiously ventured near the asphalt: sniffing around for any last-of-the-season greenery amid the leaf litter.
All was quiet and peaceful...Until the sound of tires screeching and metal crashing at high speed, echoed through the forest. Grabbing the buck's attention, as he attuned his ears to the direction of the sound...
Some distance up the road, Moshower's car had crashed head-on into a large oak tree; the front end was completely crushed: both the hood, driver's and front passenger's seat were completely caved in, while flames began to climb up out of the base of the hood, and petrol was leaking out of the tank and trickling under the chassis. It was such a tangled mess, that at a casual glance one would not be able to make out the occupants inside: the blood splatter covering the inside the shattered windscreen, being the only indicator as to how mangled the bodies were...
Then, a spark from the fire dropped down, and made contact with the petrol,
The whole vehicle exploded in a fireball, sending a wave of burning heat out into the surrounding trees, and setting the base of the oak tree on fire. As the flames grew in heat and size, everything inside the mashed up car was burnt to cinders, leaving virtually nothing intact...
Some distance away, a figure dressed head to toe in black, silently watched the burning wreckage, making no attempt the alert the authorities; glancing down at the duffle bag by his feet, he saw the spike strip folded up inside, and contemplated on how easy it had been to deploy, and fold up again...
As the flames continued to burn, all around, the forest remained silent: no other cars came by, no one was flying any aircraft overhead, and the nearest town was over fifteen minutes away.
No one knew what had happened, except for the stranger, who was now silently moving through the trees. Disappearing like a ghost...
Just a quick heads up: I don't expect this story to turn into an Attack on Titan-style gore fest or a curse-word connoisseur's buffet, but shit IS going to get real thunderdome over the course of this particular story, so it's going to be an M rating again, with reader discretion advised...Okay? let's do this B)