Author Note
Hello once again. Today I got my results back from my tides exam, and just as I thought, I had failed it. It did pass the university mark, but I didn't meet the MCA requirements, so that £60 worth of beer money gone on a resit (sighs). Now I have to see if I passed my stability exam, I've been told half of the class failed, I'll know by the end of the week, so fingers crossed that I get my beloved pint of larger.
In reply to the review by Awesome- I already have plans for Vince so don't worry about you having to beat him. The idea of something like The A-team was amusing, but the back story to Michael is already that, sort of. I was thinking more along the lines of him being a vigilante working on his own, assisting those who are unable to help themselves. I have this idea of turning Michael into something like Robert McCall AKA The Equalizer (insert The Equalizer theme here), something which is a lot darker and grittier than The A-team. But I like the suggestion all the same.
While mentioning themes, I would like to suggest a theme for Michael, Pendulum- Out here, as it was the song I listened to time and time again while the concept of Michael came about. What do you think?
As ever please review.
Enjoy
The next day came round and the mood of the base was still as glum as ever. Michael was sleeping in Elita arms, he had suffered an emotional breakdown after learning that after four years of putting his life on the line for numerous people who needed his help and for his country, he was betrayed by his own country as he had been summoned to answer to everything he had ever done in a Home Office tribunal.
Optimus was the first to be seen as back to normal, but he was far from it. He was fuming inside that the British government were willing to burn Michael because he didn't follow orders in retrieving a file codenamed, Custodes terrae. Michael decided to destroy the file in front of Megatron's eyes to prove that he was serious about fighting the Decepticons and hunting down every human agent they had on their books. Optimus had admired Michael unrelenting bravery and self-sacrifice. As far as he was concerned, the British government shouldn't be grilling him for answers, they should be giving him a medal, or as Optimus recently discovered, a knighthood. But whatever he thought, it wouldn't change the situation. Michael's days were numbered, as much as he didn't want to believe it.
He watched his beloved held the young man in her arms, as he was wrapped up in a big duvet sleeping peacefully. It was hard to imagine that the man sleeping with the blank, peaceful looking face was one of the most deadly humans on the planet and was a massive force to be reckoned with, however a force for good. Optimus decided that he wouldn't be going on patrol today, so he could be there for Michael. The Autobots had become a family to him, a family he never had and right now Michael needed his family. If any other Autobot wanted to do the same, then that was fine with him. Today was all about Michael.
Optimus went back to monitoring on the computer, it was approaching eight in the morning and he knew that the children would be arriving on base within the hour so he thought best to get Elita to wake Michael up, so he could have time to sort himself out before the kids arrived. Optimus understood that Michael still wanted to be seen as the tough guy.
"Elita, I think it is time that Michael got up, he still needs to keep to a routine and I think he has had enough rest. Ratchet stills need to complete his maintenance on the energon fuel line and the busier Michael is the less likely he will think about this tribunal" Optimus and Elita smiled at each other, their love for each other was still as strong as it had been when they first met, but they were at war so those feelings had to be put to one side to focused on the battle ahead, but there were still brief moments for their affections for each other. Optimus was so glad that Elita was in his life again and he had Michael to thank for that, as Michael was the one who found Elita and freed her from her imprisonment by MECH and Arachnid.
Elita shook her arms slightly and Michael stirred from his slumber, groaning as he wanted more sleep. "C'mon wake up sweetheart, you need to get up" She said softly.
His eyes opened slowly and the first thing he saw was Elita face looking down on him lovingly "Morning" He groaned out.
"Time to get up, things to do" She raised him up to plant a kiss on his forehead, just as she always did, long and gentle. A mother's kiss.
She carried him over to his bedroom door, just slightly down one corridor and deposited him outside his door and removed the duvet around him as he stood on his bare feet. Once relieved on the duvet he took it off Elita and entered his room to sort himself out. Elita returned to the main control room and stood beside Optimus who looked down at her and placed an arm around her, giving a gentle reassuring squeeze.
"We will get through this Elita. Admiral Baines promised to do all he can for him. Michael will not be lost to us, I simply will not allow it" The great Prime said to his beloved. She leaned to his side. She wasn't taking it as well as Optimus. To her Michael was an adopted son and she had promised to take care of him in that time in the MECH base all those months ago.
They stood with each other until Michael came into the control room in quick time, his face had turned was cold and dark. He hated what was being done to him. Just like Optimus, he knew that someone was behind this. Only the Home Secretary could sanction such a tribunal but someone had persuaded him to do it, most likely trying to convince the Home Secretary that there were beneficial political reasons to do so. All of the unofficial missions Michael was asked to carry out were done under the previous government. If the current government could expose Michael and his actions then there would certainly be outcry in The Houses of Parliament, and the previous government would most likely never see power again. He knew that bigger games were being played and he was just a pawn in it all. No one had come to think of Michael as a person, he was just a killing machine with a person's name, ready to kill off someone that would be too sensitive to kill if done by the security services.
He went up the steps to the makeshift kitchen and prepared a breakfast for himself. He sat down to eat his breakfast which was scrambled egg on toast with a cup of tea. He had a first slurp of tea when his mobile went off. Elita and Optimus watched him take the call.
He answered it "Michael?" The person on the other side of the line asked.
"Control? You've got a lot of nerve to call me" He said with menace.
"I take it you heard then?"
"Oh, would you be referring to the tribunal I have to face in three weeks? Is that what you mean?"
"Michael, I never knew it was going to happen. Look, things have happened which were beyond my control. You've been marked as yellow, dangerous but tolerable"
"Tolerable? After everything, tolerable? Is that what I've become now?"
"Look, I don't like this as much as you do, but you have got to stay down for a while. I want to help, I'm your friend remember?"
"You're not my friend, you were just my handler. Nothing more. I don't want anything to do with you" He seethed.
"You can't just walk away from the service, no one can"
"Well, I changed the rules"
"Michael, don't do anything rash here" Control warned.
"You once told me something before, Control. You said that in this business you can't trust anybody but you must trust somebody… well you're not the one I trust. If you make one bad word about me in this tribunal… I will go active again and you will be number one on my list. Is that clear, Control" He said slowly, punctuating the important parts of his sentence. He hung up before Control could have a chance to answer.
Optimus and Elita couldn't believe what they just heard, Michael gave them a cold and dark look "If they want to burn me, then I will make them think otherwise. I don't get taken out that easily. Right now anyone who works at Thames house is my enemy"
The sound of the three Autobots came down the tunnel, into the control room and stopped to let the children vacate to allow them to transform. Elita watched the children come up the stairs while Optimus gave Michael a stern look which said: you should not have done that. But Michael glared back at the Prime which said in return: stay out of it and let me handle it myself.
The one thing the Autobots had yet to see was how Michael behaved when cornered. Most of those who had cornered Michael didn't live to regret it.
"Michael?" Jack asked with genuine concern. Michael turned around to face him.
Michael's cold and dark demeanour dissipated in an instant. He smiled at the boy "Morning, how you doing?" He asked Jack with no hint of the darkness in him moments ago.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"I'll live" Michael gave a vague answer.
"Want to do anything today?"
"Don't feel up to doing much. You do what you want" Jack just shrugged and moved along to the TV as Raff and Miko prepared to play video games.
"Michael" Optimus called. "A word" Optimus offered a hand for Michael to step onto. Michael didn't argue and stood on the Primes palm. Optimus lifted Michael up and carried him out of the room where they could speak in private.
"Michael, I understand that you feel betrayed, but you must ensure that you keep on top of your emotions. Making threats at people will only serve to put you in a darker light. You need to stay focused"
Michael squinted, almost snarling at Optimus but spoke to him in a quiet, chilling voice "Don't you dare tell me how to go about this. The whole reason it started was because of emotions. Besides this involves matters that you do not understand. Don't go about trying to think you understand me, Optimus, because you know very little about me. I've been fighting a war in the shadows long before I came flying through the Decepticons ground bridge. It is something that you will never truly understand, so don't medal in affairs you don't know"
Optimus eyes widened in shock of Michael icy cold persona. He crouched down and let Michael jump off his hand as the two walked back to the control room. Neither saying anything.
The two came back and everyone was looking in their direction. They didn't know what the two had said to each other but from the look on Michaels face they knew it wasn't pleasant. Michael walked back to his room to collect some course notes and equipment from his rucksack. He brought them back to the control room and dumped it all on a desk which was situated by the main computer. He got out a RADAR plotting sheet, brass divider, parallel rules, pencil, and a question paper and cracked on with the first question which Michael immediately identified as a target on a collision course as the bearings of the target never changed. Everybody had decided to let him be.
Within two hours Michael had completed seven question. He just didn't see the point of doing manual RADAR plotting. The last fully manual RADAR's went after the late eighties at least, all of them these days had ARPA. Maybe he reckoned it was so everyone knew how it was calculated. Whether he thought it was pointless or not the MCA was the body that would issue his certificate of competency, and if they said it needed to be learnt, then Michael would have to learn it.
As he cracked onto his eighth, an incoming call to the Autobot base came through. This time it was Fowler.
"PRIME!" Fowler warmly introduced himself in the politest way the man could achieve. Michael didn't like his tone, he felt that the man should show Optimus some respect. So before Optimus could answer Michael shouted out "YOU SPEAK TO HIM IN A MORE CIVILIZED MANNER YOU BASTARD!" Everybody looked at Michael, they knew he was feeling the pressure of this future tribunal and could tell what it was doing to him.
"My apologises. Prime, I have intel on a Decepticon human agent. Reports suggests that he is about to make a meet with Megatron himself. We don't know why but it could be serious. I would send the boys in to grab him but I fear that the Cons are going to make a show. I need you to bring him in"
"Of course agent Fowler. Provide coordinates, we will be there" Fowler did just that and cut the link.
"So where's it going down, Ratchet?" Bulkhead asked.
Ratchet looked at the coordinates and quickly found out what the place was called. "In a place called, the lake district in Cumbria, northern England"
Michael looked at the map closely and inspected it "Near to the south end of lake Windermere. Probably the biggest lake in Britain I think, and also very remote. Good place for a meet"
"What is the terrain like?" Optimus asked.
"Slightly hilly on the south end and mountainous to the north with woodland everywhere"
Optimus addressed the Autobots "If this agent is meeting with Megatron himself, then it is very likely to be for an important reason" He looked at Michael "Considering the human element in play here, we will require your assistance in apprehending this agent, but not until we are sure that it is safe for you to do so. I will not put you at risk to the Decepticons. Are we in agreement?"
Michael suddenly felt that sense of purpose and his bad temper seemed to die away slightly. The Autobots needed him to be focused and ready for this mission. All thoughts on the impending tribunal he put to one side. Michael stood up, walked to the edge staring up to Optimus, beaming out pride that once again he was called up to the line of duty "Yes Optimus, we are. You call when you have the place secure and I'll hunt down the agent" Optimus gave him a private brief smile and nodded.
"Ratchet, open the ground bridge" Ratchet entered the coordinates into the ground bridge console and pulled the lever down. The ground bridge cycled up as the swirling wall of light lit up the control room.
"Autobots! Transform and roll out!" The five Autobots transformed into their vehicle modes and gunned it through the ground bridge. Ratchet gave them time to get through then powered down the ground bridge.
Michael went back to his work and Ratchet monitored the events going on in the field. Michael looked at the question and started to write on a fresh RADAR plotting sheet. The question said that the observing vessel was on a course of zero one zero degrees, so he marked it on the circular scale and wrote by the mark the vessels speed of fifteen knots. He looked at the range and bearing of the target. The range was ten miles at a bearing of three three zero, and another six minutes later the range was eight miles with the bearing of three two seven, then another six minutes the range was six miles at a bearing of three two four. All of these positions he plotted and he drew a line going through all three plots and extending the line to give the relative line of approach. Using the observing vessels own course and speed, he constructed a triangle known as WOA triangle in order to work out the targets true course and speed. With all this he could work out which direction it was going, how fast and more importantly what was its CPA or closest point of approach was, and its TCPA which meant time to CPA. He could even work out the aspect of the target which this case was the starboard side so at night would see a green navigation light. As he went onto the next part of the question where the target changed its course, Michael noticed something.
"Ratchet, have you noticed that?" He asked swinging his chair around.
"I haven't noticed anything"
"No, listen" Michael said. The base was utterly silent apart from the main computer itself. They both looked to the general area of the TV and saw the children were missing. They both looked at each other and knew straight away why.
"Miko" They both said in unison.
All the way in Cumbria in Northern England, the Autobots were scoping the area where they had bridged to. Night had descended and a thin mist had descended on the area, coming from the lake as it was chilly because it was in the last part of the coldest part of the year. Ratchet called Optimus and the others "Optimus, the children are missing from base. I believe they might have followed you through the ground bridge"
"Understood" Optimus replied.
The Autobot did a thorough scan behind them and it came up with nothing. They widened their scans to all around but there was no sign of them. Perhaps they might not have followed after all.
"Autobots" Optimus addressed his troop "Split up and be on alert for any human presence. According to Michael there shouldn't be anyone here so be on guard. Also keep a lookout for the children and report the moment you find something" The Autobots nodded, accepting their orders and they all fanned out in different directions.
Hidden in the bushes nearby were Jack, Miko and Raff.
"Miko, for the millionth time, what were you thinking?" Jack scolded, once again having to take charge of the situation Miko had once again put them in. He was regretting not calling for Ratchet or Michael to stop her, but in his panic for her safety he forgot about them.
"And miss the opportunity to see another smack down with the Cons and with secret agents as well!" She yelled at him.
"I'm calling base for pick up" Jack pulled out his mobile phone and tried to call base, only to get static. "Oh, scrap"
"Jeez, doesn't this country have cell phone reception or what?" Miko complained.
"Miko, don't be silly. This is Britain we're talking about, not Africa. It's got to be the Cons jamming the signal" Jack replied.
Raff had a suggestion "If we could find a land line or a payphone we might be able to call the base"
"We can't use a payphone, unless you just happen to have British money on you? We need to find a house or a pub or something" Jack told the others.
The three got out from their hiding place and made their way heading east, away from Lake Windermere knowing that it was unlikely to find anything there. They walked through the woods, clinging onto each other as they didn't realize just how cold a British winter could be. They needed to find somewhere fast or they would get hypothermia.
After about half an hour of trudging through the cold they found themselves on a small tarmacked country lane.
"Well, which way to you won't to go? Left or right?" Jack asked the other two. Miko made the decision to go to the left, heading north leaving the boys behind. The two boys shrugged at each other and followed her down the lane. Hopefully for their sakes it led to somewhere quickly. As they walked down the lane they saw the headlights of an approaching vehicle and through the dark came an old battered out white British Ford Escort from the late nineties. The car slowed to a halt as the driver saw the three children walking down the road. The driver rolled his window down and the three came to the window. The man was in his late twenties, possibly older and he was very ordinary looking, brown hair, brown eyes and from what the children could see, was wearing a dark blue anorak.
The driver of the car called out to them "What the hell are you doing out here on your own?" He asked with a Manchester accent.
Jack spoke for the three of them "We were with our friends and now we've become lost and our cells phones don't work. Can you help us?"
"No problem, my mobile has been on the blink to. My house isn't far down the road. Get in, you can use my phone there and have a cuppa to warm you up"
"Thank you" Jack said.
Jack walked round and got in the front while the other two climbed in the back. Once their seatbelts were on the man drove on down the lane.
"So, what are your names?" The man asked.
"Jack"
"Miko"
"Raff"
"Well, nice to meet you three. My name is James" The man introduced himself.
"Thanks for the lift" Jack thanked him again so he wouldn't seem rude.
"Don't mention it, so why are you out here in the night anyway?" James asked.
Jack quickly thought up of a story "We were camping in the area and we went on a walk with friends who live in the local area, we soon lost them in the woods" Jack explained, even getting around of the fact of their foreign accents.
James nodded "Your face seems familiar, don't know why though?"
"We've been in the local pub with our friends a few times, maybe it was their?" Jack continued his lie. His on the feet thinking was vastly improving since having to make up stories to keep the Autobots a secret.
"Just a wild stab in the dark, but are you... Jack Darby?" The man said while slowly turning his head to Jack, grinning. They all knew something was seriously wrong. James locked the doors before the three could think about escaping. Jack decided to retaliate by attacking him, but stopped when James pulled out a pistol from the pouch in the driver's door and aimed it at Jack while he still drove the car.
"Jack Darby, Miko Nakadai and Raphael Esquivel. Now this is a pleasant surprise. I was informed that you three like to follow your Autobot friends though their ground bridge whenever something interesting happens. I knew you wouldn't resist at the prospect of spies and Decepticons all in one setting. My master is going to be so pleased with me. HAHAHAHAHAAA!" James laughed menacingly.
The three were terrified. The Autobots didn't know where they were. They were sure that James was the Decepticon agent and that his master was Megatron and that they were going to be taking to him. They were own their own, helpless, defenceless and extremely vulnerable.
The old battered out white Ford Escort drove off into the mist of the night, down the country lane, taking the children with it to their eventual doom.