He felt like he was in a movie. That was the only actual way to explain it.

"So just to make sure I understand this," Bryan said. "We've been able to figure out where he eats his weekly lunch, just not what building they're working in?" He looked across the table to Kasey who was looking at a menu, she simply nodded.

"That's the truth. The part that really sucks here is that even now that we know he eats here, it is within a short trip of our two known buildings. So we'll have to follow him back, without attracting attention…" She looked up at him, scowling. "Will you take off this stupid sun glasses?" She hissed, looking back at her menu. "Stupid Tom Cruise reject."

"That hurt." Bryan pouted, smiling at the waitress when she brought him his drink. "Besides, I like my sun glasses."

"Damn it Bryan," Kasey sighed. "It's raining out, why are you wearing sun glasses?"

He just grinned at her. She glared at him. "Knock it off, you're acting childish."

He stuck his tongue out at her. "My mommy says I can be whatever I want to be." He replied, chuckling to himself. "Seriously Kasey, lighten up. You're acting like he knows our faces. Look around this place, it's pack with tourists. He'll never spot us."

Kasey rolled her eyes at him. "So much for being professional." She lowered her voice a little. "Status check everyone."

"Teresa here, I haven't seen him. Are you sure we're in the right place?"

"I am one hundred percent positive." Came Ratchet's voice. "Your city's own traffic camera system confirms it. Unfortunately, they are only active around the town's square, so I am unable to tell where he goes or where he is coming from."

"I've been watching the cameras for a while now. If he's going to show, it's going to be soon." Ironhide stated.

The Autobot's had spread out. Ratchet parked outside the nearest Hospital, and Ironhide a few blocks away in a parking garage. Optimus, being the most obvious out of the bunch, was parked at a truck stop a little under a mile out of the town, though still within range of communications. Tyler, Sam and Mikeala were still at the base and Lennox was home with his family, though not more than a phone call away.

Teresa had parked herself and her Expedition at the town center's green. She could see the restaurant that Bryan and Kasey were in and had a complete visible view of all the roads leading to and from the town's green. She sighed, staring out her windshield. It had been a while since her last stake out.

"For the record." She heard Bryan's voice come over the radio. "I love the work you did on these communication devices, Ratchet, but I can't shake the feeling that they're going to give me Caner."

"I assure you they are completely safe." Ratchet replied, completely unaware of the sarcasm in Bryan's comment. She expected a reply, but heard Ironhide instead.

"I've got a blue vehicle that just went past the south camera. I ran the vehicle identification number, your department of motor vehicles says it's a government issue vehicle. Think it's him?"

Back in the restaurant, Bryan looked up from his menu. "It's possible." He said, looking at Kasey. "Well, yah, it's entire possible." She rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, what are the chances."

"My, my. You're just a regular pain in the ass today aren't you. Didn't have your morning coffee?" He asked, grinning at her.

"No." She replied sharply. "Sideswipe just kept tightening the seatbelt across my breasts the entire ride here."

"Sorry!" Came the laughed reply from Sideswipe, the Autobot parked in a parking garage behind the restaurant. "I just wanted you to be safe. Safety first!"

Kasey grumbled. "See how safe you are when I pay Ratchet to clean out your exhaust system everyday for a year."

"You wouldn't have to pay me much." Ratchet replied.

"You guys are no fair." Sideswipe whined. Kasey rolled her eyes.

"Don't forget about us guys!" Maya said over the radio. Kasey looked out the window near them to see Sunstreaker pull to a stop behind Teresa's car and flash his high beams.

"We're in position." Mei added. Kasey watched Barricade roll to a stop on the other side of the green.

"Hail, hail, the gangs all here." Bryan chuckled, looking at Kasey. "Stop pouting. You should be happy the car felt you up." He was about to say more, but Kasey gripped the steak knife at the table, just as Simmons entered the restaurant. She glared at Bryan. "You say something hunny?" She hissed.

"Nothing dear." He gulped a little, taking a quick drink of his soda.

"The birds in the café." Maya said over the radio.

"What bird?" Sunstreaker asked.

"I didn't see a bird enter the restaurant. Did you, Barricade?" Sideswipe added. The former Decepticon just huffed over the radio. "Muffles yourselves."

"Harsh." Came Maya, giggling over the radio. "We're all set here Anna. Do you have a visual?"

Somewhere on the roof of the building directly across from the restaurant, a miserable Maria and Anna sat, soaking in the cold rain.

"I have a visual." Anna sighed. "Someone explain to us again why we get all the shit jobs?!"

"Because," Mei replied quickly. "Rank has privilege."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Stay sharp guys, it looks like Simmons is meeting with someone."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Simmons smiled as he saw his partner enter the restaurant, quickly spotting him in the corner booth by the window. The man sat down, setting his umbrella by his feet.

"So, what's good here?" He asked, looking from the menu to Simmons.

Simmons just shrugged. "Anything is good. Try the Tuna."

The older man just chuckled. "So, how are things moving? Are we on schedule?"

Simmons nodded. "Right on, sir. In fact-"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bryan grimaced seeing who was sitting across the table from Simmons. "Ah, shit… this is a lot deeper than we thought."

"What's wrong? I can't see who he's meeting with." Teresa said quickly, Bryan could tell she was anxious.

"It's Jeffery Duffer. He's a high ranking military official involved in testing advanced weaponry." Kasey said, keeping her voice down.

"Are you saying that the military is aware of what's going on?" Optimus spoke for the first time during the stakeout.

"We cannot say that for sure. There are some less than clean people in our military. We've been trying to smoke them out for years." Bryan replied, watching as Jeffery chatted away with Simmons before placing a twenty dollar bill on the table, nodding his goodbye before heading outside.

"I've got a visual." Mei reported from Barricade. "Want me to tail him?"

"Negative." Teresa came back. "If he's working for Simmons he'll recognize Barricade on his tail. I've got him." Bryan heard her say as he saw her car pull away from the curb. Doing an extremely illegal u-turn before pulling behind Jeffery's car. "I'll follow him a few blocks and then pull a traffic stop. Lets see what the Major has in his car, hmm?"

Bryan shook his head, looking at Kasey. "Ready?"

She nodded, getting up. He followed her as they weaved their way through the crowded bar area before coming to the other side of the dining section. Without so much as a word they both sat a Simmons's table.

The former Sector Seven agent looked up at the two who had just sat at his table.

"I think you're lost." He stated, glaring at the two.

"I don't think so. Do you?" Kasey asked, looking at Bryan who shrugged. "See?" She asked, looking back at him. "We're right were we want to be."

Simmons shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself." He said, starting to stand. Bryan stood first, gripping his shoulder. "Please, sit, Mr. Simmons, stay a while."

"Let. Me. Go." Simmons growled, trying harder to stand up. Bryan just pushed him down in his seat. "Sit." He simply said.

"What do you want?" Simmons growled at Kasey before looking back at Bryan. When he had looked away, Bryan had placed his hands on his hips, letting his jacket slip back a little, showing off the Colt 1911 in it's holster. A calculated move.

"You're going to shoot a man in a public place?" Simmons laughed a little. "What makes you think you'll make it out of here?"

Kasey shrugged. "We're just that damn good?" She asked, looking to Bryan, who nodded. "Yup, that damn good." She confirmed, looking back at Simmons. "We want what you have."

"If you want my sandwich that badly, here, take it." He said, pushing the plate to her. She pushed it back, smiling evilly at him. "Not that. See, we've been tracking your movements for about a month now. And today confirmed what we thought. We know you're up to some high-grade hacking stuff. My guess is that it would be on those robots who attacked Mission City? Yah, judging by the look in your eyes, that's it." She looked to Bryan with a grin, clearly enjoying herself. "We want a piece of that action. We want to know what you know, and we want some of your money."

"And if I refuse?" Simmons glared at Kasey who simply shrugged.

"Well you won't refuse if you like keeping your head on your shoulders. A very good friend of ours is sitting on a building out there with a sniper rifle. Silenced and all that. She's very, very good at hitting moving targets. It would only take one," She said, holding up a single finger. "phone call to end your life."

Simmons was now visibly shaken, Kasey grinned a little more. "I see I have your attention."

Bryan took over. "Bring us in on your deal, and everyone is happy. Screw us over, and we know how to find you." He leaned forward, picking up the twenty that Jeffery had left on the table, slipping it into his coat pocket. "A sign of good faith, yes?"

Simmons nodded. "Fine, fine. How do I contact you when I'm ready to deal?"

Kasey shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We'll contact you when we are ready." She stood up. "Enjoy your lunch Mr. Simmons. And remember," She called over her shoulder. "We'll be watching."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I think he actually pissed himself." Mei said to herself, hearing the entire situation from her earpiece.

"Why would he piss himself?" Barricade questioned. "She didn't sound that scary to me."

Mei just grinned. "It's not just in the voice. It's all in the body language. If she grins, winks, even sits a certain way. He picked up on it. He knows they mean business." She said, watching Bryan and Kasey make way for the parking garage.

"Ready for part two guys?" She asked into her ear piece.

"More than I'll ever be." Maya replied. When Simmons's car went past Sunstreaker, the Autobot waited for another car to pass before pulling out, following Simmons's car at a distance. "Remember," Mei began. "if you think you've been made, call us and we'll have Barricade here pull you over."

"Good to know we covered all the bases. Maria, Anna, you guys are all set, pack up and head back to base." Bryan said over the comm. link. "See you guys back at the base."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam hadn't spoke much over the past few hours. in fact, the only words that Mikeala, Maggie, Glen, or Tyler heard from his mouth was when he dropped his water bottle on his foot.

Mikeala had never seen him like this before. Though she knew that Bumblebee had been Sam's best friend. Thick or thin, the Autobot was the first one there for him, every single time.

She knew that Sam felt horrible about not being able to help his friend. She also knew, that if things kept up, Sam wouldn't be getting better any time soon.

She looked at the three techs who were busy trying to figure out how to sever the link between Simmons's and Megatron's comm. device, as well as figure out how to bring Bee back online.

So far, it had been a losing battle.

She looked up hopefully hearing a revving engine outside the hanger, Bryan and Kasey walking in.

"We did it. He knows we're here and that we want a piece of his pie." Bryan said, rolling his eyes when Glen looked up. "And thanks to Maya and Sunstreaker, we now know where his base of operations is. Now it's just a matter of tearing it apart piece by piece."

Kasey nodded, continuing. "And thanks to Teresa, we now have his military contact in custody. She's bring him back here for a little interrogation. Needless to say, he's been relived of duty, thanks to a certain USAF Captain."

Bryan looked over at Sam who hadn't moved from the same chair since they had all left, he sighed a little. Trying to think of something comforting to say to the boy. Instead he found himself sitting across from him, un-holstering his gun, starting to clean it like he always had. He knew that Kasey thought it was a compulsive thing. And even when he tried to deny it to himself, it was true. But he knew that a clean pistol, was a working one. Simple as that.

He looked up hearing something heavy hit the ground and Teresa sigh. The handcuffed form of Jeffery Duffer wiggling around on the ground. She lifted him by the handcuffs, sitting him in a chair. "Ladies, Gentlemen, and Autobots alike," She said, "I give you the man of this god forsaken hour, Jeffery Duffer."

Bryan put his gun down on the table before turning around to look at Jeffery and then to Kasey. "What do you think? Should we wait for everyone else to get back before we start?"

Kasey nodded, and was about to say something when Sam sprung from his chair, grabbing Bryan's gun off the table and quickly moving to Jeffery before anyone could grab him.

In all the time Mikeala had known Sam, she had never, once, seen him become as violent as he was now.

Sam was shaking as he held up the black pistol. Aiming right between Jeffery's eyes.

Bryan had his hands held out in front of him, try to talk Sam out of what he was thinking. Teresa and Kasey had, on instinct, placed their hands on their own weapons.

No one in the room dared to breathe.

"Sam? Sam! Listen to me." Bryan began, keeping his voice leveled and even. "You don't want to do that. Come on, Sam, just put it down. We can fix what's been done, but you need to trust us."

Sam was still shaking, tears in his eyes as he glared at the handcuffed figure before him. No one dared to move towards the grieving teen, yet alone attempt to disarm him.

"Sam? Are you listening? Hey, look at me." Bryan didn't raise his voice. Sam shakily turned his head towards the cop. "Listen carefully to what I have to say. If you shoot him, chances are in your state you will pull that trigger way more than once. If you kill him it will be that much harder for us to fix what he has done. We need him alive, Sam."

It seemed like Sam was actually listening to him, so he continued.

"Think if the roles were reversed and you were in a coma. You and I both know that Bee wouldn't rest until you were awake and well again. But we also both know he wouldn't go around just killing the small timers. He would look for the bigger guys, those who know how to fix what's been done. But to do that he would need the small fish."

Bryan was about to say more, but he found himself looking down the barrel of his own gun. Now Kasey and Teresa had pulled their weapons, aiming at Sam. "Whoa! Hey! Lowers those right now!" Bryan yelled at them. "Sam, don't do this."

"Don't you dare." Sam shuddered as he spoke. "Don't you dare talk about Bumblebee like he was your best friend. Do not act like you've known him for nearly as long as I have."

Jeffery knew that after all was said and done, he would be better off dead. He took his chances. "Don't listen to him boy! Shoot me! Go ahead! Do it! I tried to kill your friend! That dumb ass yellow Camaro of yours! I made him shoot you and then himself! Go ahead, kill me!"

And just like that, Sam turned, pulling the trigger once.

"Sam!" Bryan yelled, watching Jeffery flinch a little before opening his eyes, looking down. A fresh bullet hole in his chair, right between his legs.

Bryan stepped in, grabbing the gun just as Sam let it dangle from his hands. He shuddered a little before taking a sobbing breath. "You need him alive." Sam repeated slowly, taking a step and sitting on a bench. "That is the only reason."

Mikeala was at his side. "I know Sam, I know."