I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry! My dear readers, it took me ages to post another part because of RL. I was changing jobs, curing myself and my family and generaly suffering from lack of time. It can be some time untill i'll be able to post anoher part of anything so please forgive me.
Thank you for all comments, favourites and allerts. You make my writing seem worthwile :*
When Sam returned, Barricade felt with amazing clarity that the boy had been changed, he had been altered. His signature was radiating a constant Cybertronian energy, although he stayed human. And there was something about his presence that 'Cade couldn't help but feel respect for.
All of that slowly faded as the days went by but it didn't completely disappear. He sensed, almost palpably, that the boy was grown and matured. He wondered about what happened to that young human while in Africa.
The ex-Decepticon realized that while Starscream, Megatron, and Soundwave were still alive – and hiding - it was very improbable that they would be attacking anytime soon. Anyway, he didn't want to waste his time. He wanted to meet Sam in person again only this time without raging hatred and thirsting blood.
He wanted to know how the boy smelled while not afraid. He wanted to know what gave that tiny fleshy creature such strength. His logic didn't allow him to do it, though, it was unwise and possibly deadly to approach without any care. He had no idea what possessed him only days earlier to meet Sam, especially when humans had a perfect substitution for face to face contact, the Internet and its various instant messengers.
The anonymity of the Internet and its accessibility - it was the perfect vehicle with which to approach the boy!
The scout traced the human's ID easily; it was a wonder that nobody bothered to change his e-bay page, but, his guardians were Autobots, so bouts of stupidity might be expected.
Back when 'Cade was stalking Sam, after the battle for the Allspark, he found the time to take advantage of the fact he was virtually a walking computer. He installed a few programs into his memory; it was easy, painless and enlightening and so Barricade ended up with multiple e-mail clients, messengers, browsers, along with pop-up blockers – a necessity as his own internal programming was unable to block them - annoying little things being like, he compared it now, insect-bites against his core.
He onlined and waited. It wasn't hard catching the human; it was, however, hard to talk with the boy as he was quite resistant to a stranger trying to contact and chatting with him. He knew he was being stubborn and illogical but he simply wanted to know the boy and the human just ignored him. The scout was determined to find a way to contact Sam.
Eventually, shortly after one of the visits Mikaela paid Sam, 'Cade registered a move: the human entered an on-line dating site and refreshed his profile. The mech registered too as 'Robert' and entered completely random information about himself except interests: he matched those with Sam's since it was important to show something in common to lower any possible suspicion.
Sam listed comics as an interest and Barricade swiftly referenced it with the World Wide Web. He found most of the titles downloadable so he read them. He couldn't understand what humans got out of reading pictures with captions but it was a good way to start talking with the boy. The mech swallowed his pride and it paid off.
They talked, first via email then through IM, and Barricade slowly realized that Sam wasn't anything but ordinary. However, he looked at what the boy wrote through every possible point of view, as if to decode a secret. But the boy said nothing that indicated he possessed superpowers, extraordinary courage or strength, or anything like that.
'Cade tried to start a talk about how nice it would be to have superpowers. He saw billions of such discussions at websites and forums but Sam was less than thrilled about it. Instead the human talked about responsibilities and consequences, words that Barricade wouldn't have considered.
Being a Decepticon, there was nothing to be responsible about, Megatron gave orders and soldiers complied. There was another difficult word that he usually ignored - consequences – although it was something that eventually was going to catch up to him. Barricade was reminded of that when Sam wrote the word.
Maybe the boy was a bit wiser after all?
Then, in the middle of a chat, Sam asked a question that surprised Barricade.
womanizer8616: Listen, we met on a dating site, so it makes me wonder if you're trying to pick me up or something.
badass_cop13: ?
womanizer8616: Well, sorry...I'm just curious...
badass_cop13: I only want to know you.
womanizer8616: To know me? O_o
badass_cop13: Yes, what kind of person you are, how you think.
womanizer8616: LOL! You are strange :P
badass_cop13: You are not far from the truth.
womanizer8616: But you're not gay, right? You're straight?
badass_cop13: ?
womanizer8616: Seriously.... - - You dig guys or chicks?
Barricade couldn't respond without referencing the terms with the aid of a few on-line dictionaries. Sam was asking about his sexuality and it was such an alien concept to him that he responded without thinking.
badass_cop13: I do not know.
It was just like that, the reply, because to a robot without male or female sex it was impossible to understand the attraction between people - to a mech the pleasure of 'sex' was attainable with any other mech.
womanizer8616: How don't you know?
Maybe he was giving too much away....
badass_cop13: I did not consider it but does it matter who you are attracted to? You are attracted or not attracted. Period.
womanizer8616: ...Right. Anyway, considering you're not attracted to me (if I understand correctly) want to meet some time?
badass_cop13: NO!
Barricade cut the connection immediately, panicked, while his processor almost overloaded with questions.
Did he realize it? Did he know he was alien? Why did he suddenly want to meet?
Without realizing exactly how, the conversation derailed, it was bad and he needed to control himself.
He considered coming back online to keep talking but his logic advised him that in such situations with humans it was better to wait. Yes, wait, he needed to work on his impulses. Living amongst humans made him so much more prone to illogical, impulsive behavior.
Megatron was coded with paranoia built into his programming. Barricade, though, was usually a steady and cool-headed mech. Level-headed. And no human was going to destroy it; not even the one who killed Megatron.
Calming his processes, the scout thought about the boy and what he learned – and what he didn't know yet – about him. Barricade wanted to know what happened when Sam was off to Africa. Unless he kept talking, he wouldn't be able to learn anything about that, especially about the peculiar change of his signature.
The next day Sam's guardian Bumblebee arrived and together they left the range of Barricade's sensors; as long as Sam was with his yellow autobot guardian he would be safe.
For the next several days Barricade tried to get a hold of Sam online but the boy just wasn't there. It might have been something to do with the fact he was away from college. Barricade couldn't deny he was curious about where the human was but there was no way to know unless he kept talking and maybe someday Sam would be able to tell him everything.
When the boy finally got online again, he acted as if nothing happened, the topic of meeting didn't resurface immediately. Instead, they talked like earlier, about what humans thought were insubstantial things. Barricade felt his fear of being discovered dissipate little by little after their talks. Sam didn't suspect anything.
It was like that until one evening when Sam started the chat with a few choice words of the filthiest vocabulary Barricade knew.
womanizer8616: (*^%&^&^#*&^ fucking whore!
badass_cop13: Your girlfriend?
womanizer8616: It's scary that you know who I'm talking about.
badass_cop13: What happened?
womanizer8616: She broke up with me...AGAIN!
badass_cop13: Why do you allow her to treat you like that?
womanizer8616: I don't know... she's pretty....
badass_cop13: ...
womanizer8616: And good in bed....
badass_cop13: ...
womanizer8616: Alright…she's INTERESTED!
badass_cop13: You are pathetic.
womanizer8616: Wow, thanks for enlightening me! Believe me I KNOW.
A pause followed; Barricade waited until Sam was ready to say more because Sam should have more to say about it. And Sam did say something but not exactly what the Cybertronian expected.
womanizer8616: I'd give anything to be able to talk with you face to face. Get drunk and forget. I know you are a complete NO to meeting but...I don't understand it!
Barricade thought about it. The boy didn't suspect anything, he knew that now, so why was he against meeting? Really. Why? Obviously it needed a bit of trust and he didn't trust the boy yet. Not enough at least to be sure he didn't bring any Autobot with him. If the boy realized THEN that he was Decepticon, even ex-Decepticon, that would be the end.
But maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to let the boy know something now. He was impossible to pinpoint except via Internet. He made sure of that.
badass_cop13: I am not exactly who you think I am.
Yes - let the boy figure it out for himself. If he got something wrong Barricade wouldn't have to lie to him; not that he was against lying; it was just funnier this way as humans tended to come to conclusions easily and act on it.
womanizer8616: You're a student at the college I....
badass_cop13: Really... no.
womanizer8616: Liar! OK, but then you are from here, right?
badass_cop13: ...
womanizer8616: Oh, yeah, I need to figure that out myself. Now you got my interest and you are not going to get yourself out of it easy. I can play your game.
badass_cop13: You can try.
Barricade was smug; it was going to be fun.
womanizer8616: If you're not a student, and you didn't tell me, you might be afraid that I'll react badly or that you'll run into problems.
badass_cop13: ...
womanizer8616: Okay, so that makes you one of my professors! It fits both explanations, actually, but then you'd either be stupid or oblivious.
badass_cop13: Insulting me is not going to take you anywhere else than to your grave.
womanizer8616: Bingo! You aren't my professors, you wouldn't threaten me like that!
badass_cop13: Your reasoning is pathetic.
womanizer8616: But it works :P Now... let me think who could be against meeting face to face, threatening me for insulting you, insulting me himself and does not use emoticons...
Does not use emoticons? What the pit was wrong with that? Those stupid little pictures hat supposedly expressed emotions - illogical and useless human crap!
womanizer8616: Oh fucking hell. You are one of THEM!
badass_cop13: That would be what?
womanizer8616: Are you ALIEN?
What a stupid thing to ask! Barricade groaned, though taking into consideration that it was asked via internet, it might be considered a joke if Sam was speaking to another human.
badass_cop13: I might be.
womanizer8616: Shit! That's rich! Okay, is prime your leader?
Prime... written with small cases...crafty. Let's help him with that.
badass_cop13: Primus forbid.
womanizer8616: Okay... now that made things easier, you are Decepticon.
Barricade groaned.
badass_cop13: As a guy, so deep into Cybertronian affairs on earth, you are really ignorant. Not every mech has to be either a slagging stupid Autobot or good for nothing crazed Decepticon. I'm NEUTRAL, Sam.
Annoying, annoying, annoying, and helpful.
womanizer8616: That's a relief! And I'm sorry. To me it seems like there's constant fights between the good ones and the bad ones. Why didn't you tell Optimus that you arrived?
Did the boy misspell that?
badass_cop13: Optimus? As Optimus Prime?
womanizer8616: Well, yes... why?
badass_cop13: Was he not offlined?
Sam paused and didn't write, probably thinking about what to say.
womanizer8616: He was...but he was brought back.
Just like Megatron. Brought back.
badass_cop13: With the shard.
womanizer8616: You seem to know an awful lot and you don't know about Optimus? Just who are you?
The boy was getting suspicious; Barricade needed to offer up a bit of information to fix that.
badass_cop13: I mostly know what happened in North America. I do not know what happened in Africa.
womanizer8616: Oh! Okay. So you can't be the bad one... But I still don't understand why you don't want to meet with the others.
badass_cop13: I am not a mech who would be welcomed with open arms.
womanizer8616: Why won't you meet with me?
badass_cop13: You are either stupid or reckless.
womanizer8616: I prefer brave and trusting.
badass_cop13: It does not rule out the first two possibilities. If I were a Decepticon, I could be using the occasion to get you and kill you.
womanizer8616: Are you?
badass_cop13: Whatever I say it does not really matter because I could always be lying.
womanizer8616: Oh, please, like you wouldn't jump the first possible occasion if you were a Decepticon!
badass_cop13: You are way too trusting.
womanizer8616: Okay... add to that pathetic, stupid, ignorant, and I should be so disconnecting right now. Ok, now I know the reason I can stop pushing to meet you… for now, anyway, but maybe you can tell me something about yourself.
Sam was amusing with rather sharp wits and, even though there were bouts of stupidity and annoyance included, Barricade found himself enjoying their talks especially now that they both knew about each other. They shared inconsequential information. Sam was careful of what he told Barricade. Barricade kept Sam interested through equally trivial information about himself.
Even though Barricade insisted that they shouldn't meet, he wasn't completely against the idea, he just wanted the boy to be unaware of their meeting. He searched for a place where their paths could have crossed. And it presented itself shortly after.