"Why are you so interested in me?" Starscream asked.
"Because I think you can do better", Kayla answered. She had abandoned her seat on her guitar case and was casually pacing about, talking up in his general direction, "I mean, think about it; you're taking orders from a guy who's alternate form is a gun. Shouldn't the more powerful jet be running the show?"
The human had certainly started an interesting conversation, and the Decepticon rubbed hi s chin in thought. She did have a point; who was he to take orders from a giant gun that needed to be handled in battle half the time?
"Without you, he's nothing", the teen continued, "And he knows it, which is why he's becoming too bossy for his own good. Besides, isn't it time for some younger blood to be on that throne? Someone who's a little more everyone's speed?"
The girl sat back down and the mech narrowed his optics at her, "You're just trying to trick me."
Kayla shrugged, "I'm just stating the facts."
Starscream stared at her in silence, mentally scolding himself. He shouldn't have spoken to her in the first place; it's never a good idea to make small talk with a prisoner. Still…he couldn't shake the feeling that this human was actually right; maybe it was time for him to take action.
At that moment, Megatron entered the brig. Before he got too close, Kayla whispered to the jet, "Think about it." After giving her one last look, Starscream turned around to face his leader, who still seemed to be in a sour mood. The dictator started to open his mouth, but then shot his prisoner a suspicious glance; that fleshling was causing them enough trouble; best for her to not hear their conversation. With a silent flick of his hand, he waved the wanna-be leader a bit farther from the cage, and the two villains discussed among hushed voices.
The receding footsteps and low, unintelligible walla signaled the teen that her captors must have stepped further away from her prison; maybe this was the chance she was waiting for. She sat back down on her guitar case and very slowly, she turned around so her back was to the 'Cons. Then, as quietly, and discretely as she could, she pulled the communicator that Jazz gave her out of her pocket.
"Jus' flip da' thing open, an' it'll put ya' through ta' us."
"Let's hope the Jazzman was right about that statement", Kayla prayed to herself. True, she could've tried while Thunderhead and Skyjerk were having their little tussle, but then she would've had to shout over all the ruckus, and that was defiantly not good. Just as her friend instructed, the girl snapped open the Autobot insignia-shaped red box, and held it to her ear. "Hello…hello?" she whispered. After about a second of silence, the sound that answered her back made all the color drain from her face, and her hopeful look turned to one of horror.
Static. All that came back…was static.
"Oh Lord…please…no…" was all she could muster out, realizing that it wouldn't have mattered when she used it, because it didn't work. Her only chance of escape; gone. Slowly, she lowered her arm in dismay.
Suddenly, everything went up in smoke when Starscream yelled out, "Hey! What's that?!"
Again, being it was human instinct, she whipped her head around and gasped, "Busted…!"
Sure enough, Megatron stormed over and, after shutting off the electric barrier, opened the cage; grabbing her rather roughly. She knew what he wanted, and this time, she didn't put up a fight. It was pointless to run around the prison and try to dodge him; there was nowhere to run, and he wouldn't have stopped until he caught her. She wasn't a coward, but she wasn't stupid either. The leader pried the communicator out of her hands, then threw her back in the jail. It took her a minute to shake off the pain of the fall, but when she finally rose, she heard him discussing the blocky cell phone he discovered.
"So…" he said in a sly tone as he examined the communicator, "It would appear that your friend gave you a parting gift. Excellent…"
"What do you mean?" Starscream asked.
Megatron shot him a look of annoyance, "Don't you see?! I told you, I've been planning to hold the fleshling for ransom. Why spend months trying to make the device when we can have it ready and hand-delivered to us?" He pointed a finger at him, "That's what you never understand; the Autobots care; you must attack their spark first."
"What does that have to do with the communicator?" the wanna-be leader asked.
"In my haste to capture the human, I over looked the problem of trying to deliver the message to them", the tyrant explained, "But now, I have my answer." He held the red box up as if he were showing off a trophy.
"The human in exchange for the device, huh?" the red and blue jet quipped, "You don't really think the Autobots will simply do this, do you?"
The leader sneered at him, "Of course not! The whole thing will be a distraction. When we get to location, I'll have the girl and appear as myself, but all of you will be holographically projected next to me, so the Autobots will stay together."
"And the real us?" Starscream interjected.
"While the exchange is going on, all of you will surround the enemy", the dictator explained, "When the deal is sealed, you all will ambush the 'Bots."
"And just how do ya' plan on callin' em'?" Kayla barked from her seat, "When I tried, all I heard was static."
Megatron let out a hideous chuckle, "Apparently, you've never heard of a jamming frequency. We placed one in the headquarters so no one could hack our computers." He then turned to address his lackey, "Starscream; lower the EMP shield and open a channel." The jet's optics darted back and forth between his leader and the girl. A moment later, he hesitantly walked over to a neighboring control panel and carried out the command.
As the mech typed away in silence, it gave Kayla time to think. So, the whole thing was nothing but a set up? Somehow, she wasn't surprised. Judging by all the arguments she overheard earlier, the Decepticons were nothing but dirty, double-crossers. And now, the Autobots were being led right into a trap. But she wasn't prepared to sit there like a bump on a log; she wasn't about to be the helpless blind girl everyone thought she was. There had to be something she could do. Whatever this device was they were talking about, it must have committed a doosey of an overhaul if the 'Cons wanted it so badly, but anything in the hands of a 'Con spelt trouble. Her hands clenched into fists as she screamed at herself for being so afraid earlier; it didn't matter what happened to her; the whole world was in danger if the 'Cons could pull this off. There had to be some way she could warn the Autobots of the impending danger. If she couldn't tell them what was going on, then at the very least, she could convince them to stay away.
At first, she considered to just blurt it out, but then realized that, in the long run, it wouldn't work. Megatron would have to change his tactics, then there'd be no way for her to try and tell her friends of the difference in plans. There had to be another way; something along the lines of Pig Latin or Morse Code; a language that her friends would understand so her captors weren't aware of her heads up. But what?
Sitting on her makeshift chair, she ran her hands across the black, leather case, and suddenly, the teen was struck with an idea. Wasn't music a universal language? Just then, her memories shifted back to that day in City Park.
"Anything involved wit' music gets ma' attention. Classical, blues, rock n' roll, country, ya' name it!"
Jazz's words rang true; he had a whole archive of music; he was an expert…and on that day, he met an expert player…
"EMP shield down; channel open, " Starscream said from his place at the computer.
"At last…" Megatron hissed as he flipped open the blocky cell phone.
Immediately, Kayla shifted her seat to the floor, and she opened the gold latches on her case with practiced swiftness. For the first time since being captured, the cherry red guitar with the pearlish-silver strings showed itself. After a quick tune up, she got into position and waited for the tyrant to begin speaking. Suddenly, the disaster of the captor finding the communicator wasn't so bad after all…
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AN: Hmmm...sounds like Kayla's got a plan...
