Just a quick note; the movies don't introduce the Arcee triplets as separate femmes, it's more like they have a collective 'hive' mind for the three components (also seen in some of the books). I know the Hasbro toy line named the components as Arcee, Elita-1 and Chromia, but I a lot of fics I've read have them bigger than motorcycles, and I tend to agree with that, so here Arcee is one femme with three components.
Also, blatantly 'borrowed' from a Leverage con towards the end of the chapter. It's one of my favourites!
Thanks to Starseeded, who beta'd!!
Chapter 4
"Um…hi?" Parker said, waving up at the Autobots that towered above her. One had a whirling thing that looked like a canon pointed at her.
"Ooh, I bet my C4's better than that." She stated, staring into its blue light.
"Femme, what are you doing? And how did you get in here?" The one with the cannon growled at her.
"Right, right. I'm with the rescue party. I came through the vents."
All eleven beings just stared at her.
"Really, I am, and Nate and Eliot should be here by now." The sound of a door sliding open caused everyone to spin around.
Nate stood there in his army fatigues, a large canvas bag at his feet and Eliot right behind him, who did not looking happy at how nervous Parker appeared to be. Moving towards the largest Autobot, he took charge. "Optimus Prime? We've been sent here by William Lennox and Samuel Witwicky to get you guys out of here. I don't know if you're aware, but it's been several months since Theodore Galloway gave orders to place you in cryostasis and disbanded NEST."
He then turned to Ironhide, who had one cannon pointed at them and the other at Parker. "And you. Put those away before Parker over there decides to see how her C4 works against your armour. If you upset her, you'll regret it. And Sophie will kill me." He muttered. Unfortunately, it was loud enough that both Sophie and the Autobots could hear.
Mudflap and Skids sniggered, while Ironhide shut down the cannons reluctantly after voiced his opinion. "Agreed, Ironhide. If they are here to help, then it would be best not to annoy them."
Parker, now safe from immediate danger, moved over to Eliot who was still stood near the door, ad observed the Autobots, still slightly uncomfortable around them.
The Prime bent down so he was face to face with Nate. "Human, is it possible to talk to William Lennox to confirm the situation?"
Nate took out his earpiece and lifted it up. "You think you can tap the frequency? Lennox and Witwicky are in a safe location, no communication devices except one of the comm.'s for safety."
Clearly, it was possible, because a moment later the tall Mech was conversing with Will, confirming what Nate had just said.
"Welcome back big guy. Look, we don't have time to explain everything now, so go along with what Nate and his team tell you. If anyone can get you out of there, it's them. Then we'll meet up and brief you on what's happened while you've been detained. Say hi to the others for me, and Sam wants me to say that's he's glad you're all okay, and for you to tell 'Bee that he's fine."
"If you trust these people, William Lennox, then we shall trust them too. Nate, if that was your name, what do you need us to do?"
"Hardison, have you emailed the specs to my phone?" Nate asked the hacker.
"Yeah, man, all ready to go. You have another twelve minutes before the next patrol, so hurry it up."
Nate looked up at the Autobots. "You guys are too conspicuous in the alt modes you've got. Uploaded in my phone are the specs for a few vehicles that are less obvious, which will help us sneak you off base. Will told me you'd sort it out among yourselves."
"Of course, if it will help us leave." Optimus agreed, and quickly chose the only alt mode that would fit a Mech his size. The others followed suit and were quickly unrecognisable from their previous forms.
"I don't see why we need their help" Sideswipe muttered to Jolt, mourning the loss of his corvette alt mode. "Now we're all unfrozen, we could just blast our way out"
Jolt rolled his optics. "Do you understand the word inconspicuous? The humans want to get us out of here without anyone knowing. Gives us a bigger head start"
"They couldn't catch me anyway." Sideswipe boasted.
"Stop talking that blah, blah, blah" Bumblebee's radio crackled as he moved closer to them, before cobbling together a few more words. "Shh...message from Starfleet, Captain"
"Bee's right. Shut up, Sides', we need to listen."
While the Mechs had been talking, Nate had been running through their next move with the others.
"Right, we've got Hardison running loops on the security cameras so we have just over ten minutes to get you guys close enough to the exit to make a run for it. It'll be easier for us to split into staggered groups, so two fives and a four."
There was a bit of a shuffle as the Autobots split into groups: Nate and Bumblebee, Jolt and Sideswipe were group one, Eliot, the Arcee triplets and Ratchet were another and Parker, Optimus, Ironhide and the twins were the third.
Nate's group went first, followed by Eliot's three minutes later, and Parkers after that.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Three cars approached the booth to get out. Two were the same cars which had entered earlier. The third was new.
Captain Hadley approached the lead car and saw the gruff face of the same Major that he'd let in earlier. In the car behind was the man's aide. He waved them on through, giving a sharp salute to the Major. It was the third car that made him pause.
The driver was one of their scientists. He could swear that he'd seen her leave earlier, but if she was here, he must be mistaken. He waved her on through anyway and made his way back to the booth, scratching his head in confusion.
"Same Major, huh?" One of his comrades smirked; it wasn't him getting reported.
"Yeah. You know, I think I'm losing it. I swear I saw this scientist leave a few hours ago, but she just drove out. You know - the brunette with the legs a mile long."
"Lisa? Yeah, she left a while ago. I only remember 'cause she gave me her number. You sure it wasn't someone else, mate?"
"No, it was Lisa. You don't forget someone with legs like that, bro." He tapped something into the computer. "See, she signed out nine pm sharp."
"Well if that wasn't Lisa, then who was it?"
"Shit! Get someone to check the NBEs. Galloway said they could do things like that! Nobody gets in or out of the Dam!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Back on the trail, Sophie rushed out the back doors to the van and into the driver's seat. The engine was barely on when she wrenched it into gear and stomped on the accelerator, throwing Hardison from his seat in the back while he struggled to keep his laptop on the table.
"Yo, slow down Sophie!"
"Sorry Hardison, but our plan's been found out. We need to get out of here." Sophie apologised as she shifted it up a gear, speeding along the bumpy trail. If they followed the current path, they could rejoin the main road in a few miles, which, to the casual observer, would make it look like it was just a coincidence that they were on the same road as 'escaping NBE's'.
"Just keep an eye on the laptop and help Parker and Eliot. Nate, we'll meet you at Industrial road in Boulder City," She spoke into her comm.
"Sophie? What's going on?" Will's voice spoke in her ear. He had been almost silent the whole time, just listening to what was going on as he understood the need for concentration.
"They may have just realised that some Autobots could have escaped. We're retreating for the moment"
"We can't just leave them there!" Sam, panicking, joined the conversation. Loudly.
"We're not going to Sam," Sophie coolly informed him. "We've got people still in there too. Nate will have a backup plan. He always does."
In the back, Hardison found himself going slightly cross-eyed as he tried to keep his eyes on the laptop despite bouncing around as the van crossed the uneven trail.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Three cars pulled up, each coming from a different direction. The road was clear of people at this time of night, with the exception of a black van.
Nate got out of the cherry red Lamborghini Reventon, the newest alt mode of Sideswipe, who had changed it only a few minutes prior, as had Jolt (now a blue-grey Corvette ZR-1) and Bumblebee (a black and yellow Chevy Camaro SS)
Walking the short distance to the van, he pulled open the back doors to reveal Hardison lying on the floor, an empty Orange Jones bottle lying in a puddle of the sticky drink, salad leaves and bits of chicken scattered everywhere and Sophie, who was sat comfortably in the driver's seat.
Ignoring all of this, Nate pulled a bag out from beneath the temporary table and pulled out a change of clothes for himself. It was part of the original plan, though he wasn't sure how much longer that would pan out..
"Hardison, how's it looking for Parker and Eliot?" He asked as he got changed.
"I've got the security feed on a loop still, so no one knows where they are, but they're on to us. Hadley realised that it was a break out just after you guys got out, and the patrols have already started"
"Alright, Parker, go for the injury scam, if nothing else, that should help you surprise them" Nate ordered, looking at the security feeds, "You've got three minutes before they're onto you"
"Ok, Nate" Parkers voice came over the comm.'s
Nate straightened the collar of his suit, reached into his pocket and pulled out two rings. He tossed one in front to Sophie, and slid the other onto his own finger.
"Alright, Hardison, when they get out, you're going to drive the van. Sophie, you'll come with me and Sideswipe, we're a wealthy couple heading home from a night out in Vegas." He turned to face the Autobots who had been silently observing what went on. "Jolt, 'Bee, you two should stick together. I want you to head on over to where Will and Sam are - Hardison will send you their location – and drive straight to Box Springs mountain park, in Riverside. If we're not there by eight AM, take them somewhere else, understand?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" came from 'Bee's radio and the two roared off, leaving the others behind.
"Need me to do anything, Nate?" Sideswipe asked.
"At the moment? Just sit there and look pretty"
"I'm always pretty- I mean handsome. I'm always handsome. Not pretty." The Lamborghini hastily corrected himself.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"The NBE chamber is empty, sir! We found most of the patrol for this floor unconscious."
Panic was an emotion Captain Hadley was familiar with thanks to his years in the army. The cold sweat forming on his face and palms, the unsettled stomach, rush of thoughts could be overwhelming, but he hadn't got to his position by giving into it. Keeping his voice steady, he spoke into the radio.
"Call in the patrols and do a sweep. Arm yourselves with heavy duty weapons. We cannot allow them to escape"
"Yes, sir!"
Hadley let the radio drop onto the table in the security lodge. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before picking it up again and switching to a different station.
"We have a breach by the NBEs! Back up requested. Repeat, breach by the NBEs, back up requested for support!"
The radio crackled in silence before hissing to life, "Back up en-route. ETA ten minutes."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Almost before Nate finished speaking Parker grabbed the bag she had left with one of the twins, produced a skirt suit and stripped off her clothes. Optimus and Ironhide instantly looked away (Ironhide had once walked past the Lennox home while Sarah was getting changed, passing her window, and received a lamp to the head – Optimus was just a gentleman), while the twins wolf-whistled.
"Yo Skids, this human don't mind showing it off, do she?" Mudflap elbowed his brother.
Parker ignored them and pulled on the skirt (which had a larger than normal slit in the back to allow for better movement) and white dress shirt. Just as she was putting the suit jacket on, Eliot rounded the corner with Ratchet and the Arcee triplets.
"Is there anything we can do?" Ratchet asked them, as he observed their flurry of activity. "You have done a lot for us and we wish to help."
Parker was currently strapping on a leg brace, while Eliot had pulled some make up out the bag and brushing a spectacular bruise onto her jaw line. He had no real need to change, already wearing a suit.
Looking away from his mini masterpiece, Eliot said, "Best thing for you to do for the moment is move out of sight. We're pulling the injury con so that we can get close enough to them to gain the advantage. Plus, Will told us you don't harm humans."
"If that is your wish. But if you need help, we will be here." Optimus conceded, and they moved out of sight surprisingly quickly for beings their size.
Rummaging through the bag, Parker withdrew a shortened crutch. She had only just extended and moved the bag out of the way when the first soldier came around the corner. Pretending not to notice, she took a wobbly step forward, Eliot at her elbow pretending to help.
"Excuse me, Ma'am, I need to see some I.D." The man asked, taking in the massive bruising, leg brace and pain the woman's face was expressing.
"Could you stare any harder? What's wrong with you?" Eliot spat, taking the man's attention away from Parker as they moved closer.
"It's alright, he didn't mean to, Greg," Parker wailed
"It's not alright. Have some respect, will you!" Eliot spat.
The soldier stuttered out apologies, and moved backwards a few paces. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I really do need to see some I.D from the pair of you."
"Oh, I've got it somewhere. I'm sorry about this, ever since the accident, I've been forgetting things," Parker said in a slightly distressed voice, pretending to search through her pockets with one hand. "Ah, here it is!"
Her other hand tightened around the handle of the crutch, and when the man moved forward to take her I.D she swung it at his head, knocking him out. Immediately after, she used the crutch as a balance as she kicked the guy next to him in the stomach, sending him staggering back into the wall.
To her right she could see Eliot dealing with some soldiers of his own, but doing spectacularly as usual. He pulled one of the soldiers gun away with a growl. "I don't like guns."
It wasn't as if they would have used them anyway. In the crowded corridor, bullets could rebound against their own men.
Parker paid for her brief moment of inattention with a punch to the face. Ironically, it was in the same place Eliot had painted a bruise.
From their position, the Autobots could see everything going on. Six of the soldiers were down but, more were waiting. In fact, six of the soldiers were trying to circle the pair. Moving swiftly, all two of the Arcee components plucked the men from the fight and bashed their heads together hard enough to knock them out instantly before throwing them to their third component who put them in a nearby room. The two they hadn't managed to get were quickly distracted from Eliot and Parker by the two nine foot femmes who had taken their companions.
Despite knowing that this breach in Optimus' rules about not harming humans would lead to disciplinary action, she would not stand by as their rescuers were overwhelmed.
It was still ten to two, until Ironhide and Ratchet rounded the corner, massive saw and cannons whirring for effect. One of the soldiers actually fainted at the sight.
Mimicking Arcee's actions, they scooped more soldiers out of the fight, and tossed the men back to the twins, who shut them in a nearby room with the ones Arcee had dispatched.
That left five soldiers. Three surrounded Eliot, leaving two to Parker who still had the crutch in hand and using it for extra reach. Holding it firmly with both hands, Park raised it to eye level and jabbed it at the men either side of her, catching one in the shoulder, and, from the sound of it, breaking the others nose.
In her ear, Hardison groaned suddenly. "Man, this is not good. They're setting up a blockade and some road spikes. And the soldiers up there have some big-ass guns. Guys, you ain't gonna be getting out that way. Nate, we need a new plan."
Parker rolled her eyes, and punched a different soldier. Apparently, they had attracted the attention of part of another patrol. "Saying that is a bit distracting Hardison."
"Nate," Eliot snarled impatiently between punches, "We need to get out of here. Hurry up with that plan."