Chapter 8
Barricade's engine rumbled slightly as they drove around the rather large town of Las Vegas in mostly silence. They had been doing this for the last week, trying to come up with a plan that had been avoiding their minds and causing nothing but frustration. As they would drive to loosen the stress, Evelyn would see a land mark and instantly she would be sharing stories of her younger years growing up. Barricade would comment very little and this worried Evelyn greatly about the alien's condition. Even his insults, which when they had first met had streamed from him like a river now had died down.
Barricade was exhausted; Evelyn knew this. Being without precious energon for so long was starting to take its toll on the police mech and she could see the pain it was causing him. His transformations alone now were slow and Evelyn could visually see that they caused him agony but he never commented on this and neither did she. Weakness was something that Barricade was never going to admit and in away, Evelyn greatly respected the alien for his tenacity and stubborn nature.
She smiled as gently as she could, patting the dashboard like she had come to do whenever she felt the frame of the mustang tense. "We'll think of something." Evelyn stated, her tone soft and comforting; something that Barricade would not have appreciated if he was in full health. He grumbled something that Evelyn could not make out as he sped past a red light that had refused to change despite the distinct lack of any traffic on either side. Evelyn shook her head; it was a good thing he was in the form of a police cruiser less they get pulled over. She could imagine the conversation… Honestly officer, I wasn't the one driving.
Evelyn smiled as they drove past a man made "wash" that was created for the sole purpose of preventing flash floods on the rare occasions when it would rain. Unlike the one on the opposite side of the street, the fence was lined with deadly barbed wire, with signs that said "no trespassing, violators will be shot." And another one that read, "patrolled by dog team." Giving a shake of her head, she chuckled.
"When I was younger, well a few years ago actually" She began pointing to the drainage ditch. "I used to believe that this wash was hiding some government facility filled with aliens." She stopped with a chuckle. "One time I even saw a black SUV with tinted windows driving through there. Talk about conspiracy theory." Evelyn felt the mustang shiver once before screeching to a stop that sent her flailing, slamming into dashboard with a pained yelp, instantly regretting not wearing her seatbelt. "The hell?" She cursed, glaring at the dashboard while simultaneously rubbing her pained forehead while other cars swerved around the police cruiser.
"Energon." He replied sounding generally surprised. Evelyn gawked, turning to look at the wash with a smug grin.
"In there? You have to be shitting me! There really is a government facility in there, isn't there?" Evelyn chimed in sounding a little too excited.
"Yes." He paused and Evelyn felt him scanning again. "and it appears to be heavily guarded by an squad of pathetic insects." Evelyn threw her head back with a triumphant laugh.
"I bloody well knew it! Conspiracy theory my ass! Oh, if I could see the look on that bastard's face that called me crazy." What Barricade thought on the matter of Evelyn's enthusiasm at suspicions being found correct, he didn't share as he lurched forward continuing his drive much to the relief of the flustered drivers behind him. His lights flashed on and his sirens followed shortly after as he sped away.
"So what's the plan than? Scope out the place than go in guns blazin'? I've got a friend that owns a personal armory. He so owes me for hacking into that bank." Evelyn paused rubbing her chin with a grin. "That was really fun though; difficult but fun none the less. I can probably convince him to loan me a few kick ass guns. I mean he has some kick,"
"Female!" Barricade interrupted before she could fly off on one of her tangents. She stopped, looking surprisingly guilty as she sat with one finger in the air, mouth still open in preparation to continue her story.
"Yes?"
"Silence. Sometimes I fear you will talk my processor into glitching!" Evelyn glared at the dashboard with hatred practically seething out of her eyes but before she could say anything, Barricade continued. "It would be wise to act upon your favor and arm yourself, considering you fleshlings are inadequate at defending yourselves without weaponry." Evelyn snarled briefly, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
"When a stray bullet from my gun hits you in the ass, you cocky son of a bitch; don't be surprised." He seemed to find amusement in this statement as a snort came from the radio before full blown laughter. It wasn't Barricade's usually sadistic leer that was so commonly used by him but instead it was a happy rolling laugh that spewed from his radio freely; a sound that Evelyn had never heard nor believe she would. It surprised her when she joined him in his amusement, and started to laugh herself. It became so bad that Barricade had to pull over on the side of the road, his mustang frame shaking from with his mirth as Evelyn rolled over in her seat, clutching her side as she fought for breath. They didn't even remember what was so funny in the first place but for the strangest reason they didn't care. It took five minutes for the two to calm down and as soon as they did, Evelyn looked at the dashboard and the two started all over again, fighting to stop but not succeeding. It had been so long since the two had actually laughed so hard and so genuinely.
Xxxxxxxxxx
"Hey, can you pull over here?" Evelyn stated as she spied a small gas station. "This fleshy has the need to lubricate." She informed biting her lip to hide a smile as Barricade grunted, sounding considerably not amused. She knew he absolutely hated when she used his terminology but sometimes she couldn't resist the temptation. Barricade complied without a verbal reply as he turned into the small gas station that was surprisingly busy. The windows rolled down as she slid to the driver's side. "Be back in a jiffy." She stated as she stepped out of the cruiser, gently shutting the door.
When Evelyn returned, she carried a large water and upon seeing this, when she approached the passenger side, the locks on the two door slammed down with an audible click. She raised an eyebrow at the mustang before muttering some unintelligible insult about Barricade's leather seats. Evelyn gave a chuckle as she leaned her weight against the door, taking a long drink. As she drank, almost out of nowhere a strong gust of wind hit her, her hair whipping around wildly as she leaned her weight against Barricade to prevent herself from falling, successfully spilling water on herself. Almost as random as the wind, Barricade's radio snapped out, playing a very popular song, loudly.
"I'm bringing sexy back…. You see these shackles baby I'm your slave, I'll let you whip me if I misbehave..." Evelyn snorted, choking on the little water that she had managed to drink before Barricade's sudden found humor. She shot the cruiser and incredulous glare as she playfully swatted at the door, fighting back the laughter.
"She certainly is." A man stated quietly, leaning casually against the door of a not so subtle Mercedes McLaren that was directly out of the sight of both Barricade and Evelyn. The man stretched his considerably muscular arms with a smile as he studied the woman.
"The femme is attractive?" The Mercedes asked and the man only gave a chuckle and a nod.
"Never thought I say this about a cop, but damn! And is that a Saleen?" He said raking his eyes over both the woman and the vehicle before stopping bluntly at the familiar white lettering. He read it over several times before grunting in agitation. He frowned slightly.
"Isn't that…?" He began but the Mercedes finished for him with a snarl that put lions to shame.
"Barricade!" He hissed low enough for the woman and the mustang not to hear. "I thought that pit spawned slagger was dead!"
"Yeah." The man agreed. "He hasn't been seen in a couple of years and is he actually with a chick? Like a real living human chick and not killing her? I have to check this shit out, Stealth." The Mercedes grunted once before releasing a very mechanical sigh.
"Be careful Chris." Stealth cautioned. "As you know, Barricade is a particularly cruel mech. I will update Optimus on this recent development."
"Will do. Make sure to keep yourself out of sight. I'd hate to find out firsthand what he would do if he feels threatened." Chris stated as he pulled his body off of Stealth, giving his friend a loving pat as he walked away towards the police woman.
Evelyn continued to chuckle to herself as she finally managed to convince Barricade to shut off the radio with the threat of pouring the entire bottle of water on his fancy leather seats. Evelyn smacked the mustang again when his form started to shake with uncharacteristic laughter. As she did so, her eyes caught sight of a man approaching, his eyes obviously on her. She stuttered, slightly as her eyes fell on his mocha colored skin and his muscled body that he did little to hide in his flatteringly tight black tank top and camouflage pants. Evelyn tore her eyes from the very attractive man as she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Instead she took another sip of her water to gain some form of composer, expecting the man to walk past her. When he didn't she looked up, meeting his friendly brown eyes that made her feel considerably awkward.
"Officer." He greeted with a friendly smile. Evelyn fought for words briefly before going with the professional response.
"Can I help you?" She said attempting to sound friendly, not trusting herself to say anything else. He gave her a wide grin that complimented his facial features greatly.
"I just wanted to say," The man began with a gentle chuckle. "that I have never seen such a beautiful woman both graced and complimented by a such a powerful machine." He stated and Evelyn practically could have fainted at his use of words and how poetic he sounded. Evelyn smiled, using her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Thank you, I'm flattered." He smiled and walked around the still form of Barricade, running the tips of his fingers along the smooth metal, stopping at the white lettering. Evelyn could tell how uncomfortable Barricade was at the mere touch of the man as the mustang struggled against the urge to tense.
"I don't think I've ever seen a Saleen cruiser before. Such a beautiful car." He continued and something in his tone made Evelyn narrow her eyes, stepping broadly between the man and Barricade. All flirting aside, there was something not right in this new man's intentions.
"My cruiser is a rare on." She stated defensively and the man gave a low chuckle, meeting his brown eyes with her blue ones.
"I'm sure he is." Evelyn couldn't stop the expression of shock that was slapped across her feature but instantly she corrected, retaining her calm façade. The man gave a coy grin and she knew he had caught her. She cursed inwardly. He took a step back with an easy shrug, his hand still resting on Barricade's frame, trapping her against him and the mustang. "I remember when my dad used to take me to watch new officers training for high speed pursuits. My favorite was, oh what's it called?" He muttered tapping his free hand on his chin.
"I wouldn't know." She hissed, her hand slowly inching closer to the berretta 9mm on her hip. He smiled seemingly remembering the name.
"The Barricade maneuver!" He stated, enunciating the mustang's name and Evelyn could not hide the look of both fear and alarm that graced her features. At the mere mention of his name, Barricade flinched, his engine giving off a deadly snarl as it revved on its own. The man removed his hand and took a step back but retained his smug grin. Despite the new found breathing room, Evelyn still pressed her body closer to Barricade, feeling the rumble of his engine and the heat he radiated.
"Attention all available units, this is dispatch requesting assistance on a high-speed chase on MLK and Alexander." The police radio that Evelyn had no clue even existed, cut in before anyone could say anything. Thankful for the distraction, she reached in through Barricade's open window, grabbing the radio and pulling it to her lips.
"Dispatch, this is cruiser 643 responding, we will be en-route shortly." Evelyn faked basing off her response on the cop movies she used to watch as a kid. She knew that the call was a creative fabrication from Barricade but it was best to make it seem as realistic as possible.
"Thank you 643, I will be sending coordinates to you now." Placing the radio back into the car, she turned to the man who had been watching the entire time, and gave him a hasty smile.
"Got a call?" He asked with an unbelieving grin. She gave a smile, quickly entering Barricade.
"Yep." She stated and he observed the sirens turn on by themselves. As she began the process of swinging the mustang around, the man yelled out.
"See ya around." He said with a wave. It sounded more like a promise than anything else and that frightened Evelyn.
Chris's smile faded as he watched the Saleen cruiser take off at alarming speed. He could feel the hateful glare of Barricade leave him as the mustang turned, going the opposite direction of where the radio had directed to go.
"That went well." A voice said and Chris shot around only to find the familiar Mercedes stopped to the left of him with his door open, inviting him in. He released a breath, gladly climbing into the racecar-like vehicle.
"I will never get use to you doing that!" Chris stated with a huff. A small chuckle escaped the beige car.
"There is a reason I go by Stealth." He mentioned before adding. "We have a mission from Optimus. We are to pursue them but not interfere. Apparently this is the second sighting of that Decepticon with a human woman. It has us curious. Barricade is not known for his kindness towards humans and Optimus is concerned of a potential hostage situation."
"Most willing hostage I've ever seen. Damn, that woman even stepped between me and Barricade as if she was going to protect that Decepticon piece of shit." He gave a shake of his head. "There something off about this, Optimus is right; we need to see what we're dealing with."
Xxxxxxxxxxx
The second Barricade was free from the city limits; he went from going 160mph to 300mph in what felt like seconds. Evelyn yelped at the sudden acceleration, gripping onto the leather seats, forgetting the panic that had been running though her mind, momentarily. Neither she, nor Barricade seemed to notice the odd blur that followed behind them at a reasonable distance. Barricade turned into a dirt road that swerved into large rocky hills, going at the same frightening speed.
When Barricade deemed it to be safe enough, he transformed while still driving at an incredible speed. Evelyn screamed as she suddenly found her body flying through the air in what she assumed to be a deadly speed. Before she could slam into the harsh highway ground, she found herself suddenly impacting with something else, snatched from the air harshly by Barricade's clawed hand. She felt the pain as the air was practically crushed from her system but she was still alive, given the circumstances.
Barricade jogged a few paces to ease the momentum from his sudden transformation before stopping and placing the woman as gently as he could on the rough desert dirt. Despite this, Evelyn's legs refused to remain standing and she crumpled to the floor in an undignified heap. In less than a second, she managed to get her arms under her body, gasping for air as she did so.
"What the HELL!" Evelyn spat, pulling her already aching body off of the ground. Barricade, who was looking off in the direction of where they had just come from turned, a snarl erupting from his fanged mouth as his eyes glowed a dangerous crimson. "Don't you dare snarl at me after pulling a stunt li-" Before she could finish, Barricade slammed both of his fist down on either side of her, sending dirt and rocks flying as he snarled again, face only inches away from her body.
"I could crush you, female!" Barricade snarled and a very nervous Stealth tensed hidden by a near perfect cloak. He prepared himself to transform if the Decepticon so much as made to harm the police officer. To everyone's surprise, mostly Barricade's, Evelyn took a step forward, causing the police mech to jerk his head back slightly in shock as she pointed a finger in his face.
"You insufferable pile of rusted scrap metal!" She hissed, walking even closer. "Don't pull that 'superior alien bullshit' on me or so help me I'll shoot you in your shiny ass!" He snorted, in either anger or amusement, both Evelyn and Stealth were unsure of.
"Putrid fleshling." He grumbled.
"Blasted machine." She retorted placing a hand on her hip as he pulled back, letting his large frame fall back into a sitting position, almost causing Evelyn to tumble from the ground shaking. He vented harshly and she joined him in sitting across from him, looking up expectantly. He ignored her and she grumbled. "So… That man a friend of yours?"
"No." He snapped, anger radiating from his tone.
"Then who the hell was that and how did he know you?" She frowned. "Is he a Decepticon?" Barricade snorted.
"Unlikely, female. Decepticons don't keep humans around, alive at least. I assume he is an ally of the Autobots,"
"Which either way would be bad for us." Evelyn finished, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "I highly doubt your old pals would take too kindly with you leaving and I'm sure the Autobots won't be forgiving you either." At the mention of this, the hidden Mercedes pulled closer on silent wheels, still hidden by the cloak. Chris who sat silently in the driver's seat let his mouth hang open before mouthing the phrase, what?
"Exactly." Barricade grumbled.
"and we can't leave Vegas till we get what we need." Evelyn paused giving a tired groan. "Which means I need to get in touch with my contact."
"And soon. I assume more Autobots will be coming here." Giving a sarcastic laugh, Evelyn shook her head.
"So much for hiding out and playing dead. All that work of us putting false information into the police data base was pointless. I guess nothing is ever that easy." Barricade nodded slightly and Evelyn watched his tired movements and with a sympathetic yawn she stretched out, stood, and walked over to his side before plopping down, resting her half on his hip. He flinched with a warning snarl but she snorted in response. "oh, get over yourself! We both need rest and I'm only here for necessity sake. It would be stupid to be far away from each other in case we need to make a run for it." At the logic of it Barricade eased back down to a lying position, allowing Evelyn to curl up beside him, her back pressed against his warm metal.
"Filthy insect." He mumbled and Evelyn only rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well sleeping next to you isn't my idea of a good time." She retorted half asleep. Both Stealth and Chris watched this silently in confusion, waiting for the two to be asleep before pulling away, reporting thier findings to Optimus through a direct link.
Author's Note: I couldn't imagine sleeping next to an 18 foot tall giant robot to be comforting. What happens if he rolls over on you? Being a people pancake doesn't sound like fun to me. Though, Barricade doesn't sound too pleased either…. Anyways Thanks for the reviews, much love! =)
