I would hate me too, believe me. Sorry for the shorter chapter, but enjoy all the same. Please review and let me know what you think!

Bartholomew- The Silent Comedy

3/3/10

The clouds in the sky above her had seemed to turn darker as Alise drove to the parking deck, but the impending weather did nothing to her current mood. The smile on her face was unmatchable, and a little rain wasn't going to be the end of her elation, she quickly decided. In her mind, even if she had got a bit wet, she would still be outside in the fresh air, away from NEST. She chuckled to herself a bit, finding it a comical that a mundane task such as grocery shopping in the rain was making her so excited.

The interpreter planned to walk to the supermarket that was only a few buildings away from the lot, one she had frequently patroned when she was still able to go out on her own. She only needed some simple things to fill her kitchen in the loft; she was running dangerously low on basic cooking supplies, and she had been living on rice and canned chicken noodle soup for the past few days. Her refrigerator was also looking pretty bare, and to her it was simply wasting energy if there was nothing in it to keep cool.

Alise checked her watch. She had exactly 42 minutes to shop, buy her groceries, and return home before Will blew a circuit. That wouldn't be much of a task, thankfully; the store wasn't very large, and even if she took her time, she'd get through the entire market in a matter of 20 minutes. She'd probably even be home earlier than necessary, coupled with the way traffic was looking for the day; light and not very foreboding.

As she traveled the ramp to the second floor of the mostly empty deck, she drove past a few unoccupied spaces before parking, wanting to stay away from the first couple of open spots and the other car that was stationed on the opposite side of the deck. She then parked Bugs in spot B13, quickly exiting the vehicle and locking up before heading towards the staircase.

As she her feet began to carry her down the stairs and onto the ground level, she was unaware that another vehicle had entered the deck she had just exited, and that it was keeping a close watch on her.

:This is Soundwave. I have a lock on the female. I will wait to intercept.

"Major, we have a problem."

These weren't the words Lennox wanted to ever hear but typically did, especially in his line of work. Problems could be classified on a large spectrum of items to the man and his troops, and he's dealt with all of them. On one end, a problem could be the a computer went down, a semi-automatic wasn't firing correctly, the coffee machine was broken. On the other, it could be that a Decepticon had been spotted in a largely populated area in a middle eastern country and they had to be on a carrier in less than 20 minutes. He always hoped for the easier, more manageable end of this line, but too often it wasn't.

Alise had been gone now for about half an hour, and Lennox had been keeping an eye on the wall clock and the watch on his wrist like a hawk. During the time she had been off base, he would often look up at the clock, and get lost in his thoughts, not necessarily about Alise, but of the other parts of his life that captured his mind; the battalion, battle plans or upcoming missions, his family he missed dearly… He would be lost in his own thoughts until someone would remove him from them, bringing him back to the current problem and reality.

He turned to face the woman who called his name, walking over to the tech station she was seated at, looking at a screen.

"What is it, Daniels?" he inquired, looking to the computer she was in front of.

"Sir, I had a hunch I ran with," she answered him quickly. "About how the Decepticons have been able to disappear before the Autobots arrive, stay right out of their reach. So I ran a diagnostic on some of security camera lines that run through the city. I came up with almost nothing until a minute ago. I found an anomaly in the lines, and when I tried to prove it a firewall came up, with almost the exact same coding we documented when the Decepticons took over the television signals last year."

The Major paused for a moment, letting the information sink in.

"What does this mean?" Lennox asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"Basically, the Decepticons tapped into some of the security videos."

Will felt his blood run cold. His mind was already racing a mile a minute. What did this mean for them? How were they going to resolve this? Were they comprised, in immediate danger?

"Some? How many?" he asked quickly, leaning over the desk to get a better look at the screen.

"I don't have an exact number, but none are in this immediate area, those were the first ones I checked," Daniels contined. "However, the one I did find is along this major route." She traced the road on her screen with her fingertip, highlighting where the route was being monitored. "That could be how they stayed out of reach. If they've done this to other camera lines, they could see the Autobots coming."

The hypothesis made sense to the Major. If the cons had gotten a hold of the cameras, they could see them coming from miles away, giving them enough time to disappear, get out of the city undetected. At least the very least this discovery gave them an idea of how they were making it happen, and now NEST wasn't in the dark so much anymore.

"Good work, Daniels," Lennox firmly told the woman. "Alright, I want you get Greene and Malone working with you. Keep searching for other compromised video feeds in the city, and log their locations, but don't try and shut them down. We may have the upper hand for the moment if they don't know we know about the cameras. I'll check back with you in an hour or so. If they're any major developments, come and find me." Daniels gave the Major a quick "Yes, sir," before rising from her seat in search of the two other tech officers.

Lennox also left the area, in search of Epps to relay the news to him. He also wanted to get a hold of one of the Autobots, preferably Optimus, to share the new findings with him. He knew the Autobots would be better equipped to deal with the problem. The humans didn't have a hope of breaking through the firewalls set up by Cybertronians. However, the Autobots could probably manage better, and know what to do. Not only could they destroy the feeds, but maybe they could somehow use them to their advantage, possibly track the cons down if they were able.

The Prime wasn't the first bot he came across, however. Instead it was Ironhide, who was speaking with Epps at the moment as the human stood on the guardrail and the Autobot on the ground so they were eye level. Epps was laughing heartily at the moment, and 'Hide had a look of amusement on his face as well, a tell tale sign that whatever they were discussing obviously wasn't work related, which he was glad about. It was good to see the men smiling again after the stressful month they had, which was why he hated to ruin their moment. However, he found himself having no other choice, as he climbed the platform where Epps was standing, walking up to the duo.

As they saw him approaching, their moods changed almost immediately upon seeing the urgent and apologetic look on his face.

"What's up?" Epps asked him as he approached, both of the soldiers' attentions on him now. The Major nodded.

"I just got back from the tech area," he told the two. "One of the techmen found an incepted security camera line on one of the main streets in the city. It looks like Decepticon work." He saw both of the expressions change in front of him, Epps's looking alarmed while 'Hide's turned angry. "It could be how they were able to get out of the city without us catching them; they were probably watching the entire time, able to see us coming."

"Are there any more?" Epps inquired.

"So far they've only found one, but none are in our area. I had a team begin looking for any others, but until then, we're not sure." The Major then turned slightly, directly facing the Autobot in the trio. "Would one of the Autobots be able to disconnect the signal? Or maybe track the signal back to its source and locate the Decepticons?"

The weapon's specialist firmly nodded once. "Destroying the feed will be simple. Tracing the source of its origin without detection, however, will prove to be more difficult. I will need Ratchet's assistance. Together we may be able to hack the lines without their knowledge."

Will nodded, pleased with the answer. For a moment, he felt better about the situation, confident that they would be able to fix the problem relatively quickly, and maybe even gain the upper hand for the first time in what seemed like a long time. He actually could say he felt… secure, if that was the right word. His blood seemed to finally be flowing at a reasonable speed.

Abruptly, his watch beeped twice, marking the thirty minute mark of the current hour as it usually did. He then glanced its way, just out of habit turning to view the digital numbers on the small screen. But as he did, a feeling of deja vu watched over him, confusing him momentarily. Did he look at his watch recently? Yes, he reminded himself, not too long ago. But why? He never was really one to watch the clock unless there was a reason to.

Unexpectedly, Lennox's blood went cold, and he felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck.

Alise was off base, and the Decepticons had eyes in the city.

With great speed and urgency, Will began to fumble in his pocket to take out his phone. He needed to talk to Alise immediately. There was no way of telling if she had already been spotted, and either way she needed to get to a secure location as quickly as possible, somewhere they had cleared as unwatched.

His sudden movements and abrupt, frantic dialing alarmed the other two in front of him. The Autobot and the Master Sergeant shared a confused look before Epps spoke up.

"Will?" Epps cautiously inquired. "What's wron-"

"Alise is off base," he cut him off, holding the phone to his ear as he listened to the ringing over the line. Epps's eyes widened and Ironhide's optics brightened slightly at his statement. "She asked for a leave for an hour and I gave it to her." He said this with a bitter edge to his voice. His friend didn't have to read his mind to know what he was thinking; this was his fault. If something happened, it was on him.

But before Epps could break through to the Major's thoughts, the ringing cut off, and a pre-recorded voice met Lennox's ears instead; This is Alise, leave a message.

"Dammit," Will hissed. He disconnected the line immediately, not waiting to leave a message before calling her once more, again met with the ringing. "If she doesn't pick up, someone'll have to go and get her," Lennox sharply told the two before him, the phone still glued to his ear. He had this bad feeling in his stomach; something wasn't right.

"I have her location," 'Hide replied immediately, his voice a calm with traces of mild concern, but still even. "Bumblebee and I can locate her and return her to base. She is-"

He stopped.

Ironhide's head then abruptly snapped up from the two, cutting himself off as his optics seemed to fix into the air in front of him, an alarmed look on his face. Epps and Lennox, suddenly very worried and confused, shared a glance before turning back to him.

"Ironhi-"

"Alise's tracking signal has been disconnected," Ironhide stated, his calm voice now very much alarmed, causing the other soldiers' eyes widen in horror. "Bumblebee and I can no longer locate her."

Alise still had twenty minutes give or take before she had to be back at base, which meant she was ahead of schedule as she had predicted. The girl began her climb the stairs back to her car, her hands filled with heavy plastic bags weighing her arms down as she tried to walk with the extra weight. The simple climb felt more like a journey now, and she had to catch her breathe as she made it up the second level of the lot. But eventually she made it, and she spotted the Bugatti close by as she began towards it.

But Alise paused mid step. Something wasn't right.

As if to confirm her suspicions, the hair on the back of her neck abruptly stood up. A chill overtook her as she stood alone on the deck, no signs of life in front of her except for another vehicle in the lot. Alise whipped around, her eyes scanning for anyone or anything on the stairs behind her or further down the aisle. But again, there wasn't a soul in sight. She felt like prey out in the open with an unknown predator watching her.

Was she just imaging it? the interpreter asked herself, continuing to look over her shoulder as she slowly walked to the car, keys in hand, still incredibly uncomfortable with her surroundings. She couldn't shake the feeling. She just didn't feel… safe.

So when her phone began to go off, the sudden noise startled her so much she jumped nearly a foot in the air, dropping one of her bags as her hand flew towards her heart.

"Ugh!" she cried to herself, mostly because of her reaction, but also because she was afraid the bag she just dropped had her recently purchased eggs in them. Even though the sound surprised her, she was almost grateful for the interruption in the silence; annoyance was a much more welcomed emotion than fear.

She began to cumbersomely put all her bags down in front of her, trying to get to her purse on her shoulder where the mobile was. As she began to rummage through her purse, the ringing stopped, which only made her try and get to it faster; the only people who had her number were those on base, and she know it was probably Lennox checking in on her. As her hand dug in, she glanced upward for just a moment, which was long enough for something to catch her eye.

She paused.

Alise's head cocked to the side in her state of confusion, staring at the vehicle.

The Bugatti in front of her was parked in spot B2.

...

But she had parked in B13.

She didn't, couldn't, move. It was as if her body had shut down from the bewilderment she was feeling as she stared down the car in front of her, and nothing happened. What in the hell…?

Finally the interpreter was able to take a step back and observe the area, looking around as to see if this was some practical joke, if Epps or Lennox were going to appear at any moment. But something was telling her this wasn't going to be the case. Then, as her mind came to these conclusions, she more clearly observed, truly looked at the other vehicle a few spaces away from the car before her; it was the Bugatti, presumably the Bugatti, the one that was truly hers being that it was still in spot B13 where she left it.

Her phone began to ring again, and everything fell into place.

"Holy shit," she whispered, and in a single motion she had turned her body around to rush away from the vehicle, trying to move as fast as her feet would carry her.

But there was already a holoform was behind her.

Alise was suddenly grabbed from behind, practically having ran right into the largely built holoform, whose arms quickly wrapped her in a steely cage. A scream escaped her as she finally began to grasp the severity of her situation, thrashing in the hold of the holoform as the massive brute began to try and move her towards the fake Bugatti, which she now knew was just the vehicle form belonging to whichever Decepticon was trying to take her.

Alise knew that if she was put in that car, she was never getting out of it.

"NO!" she shrieked as the pair of arms continued to force her forward. She hoped, prayed anyone would hear her, come to help, or at least be witness to what was happening, someone who would go to the police, where the news would somehow get back to base.

The holoform placed his hand around her neck, perhaps, Alise thought, to try and choke her into unconsciousness, make her easier to transport. However, when his fingers felt the metal of the charm on her neck, he paused. His form could feel something was different about this item she wore, so with a swift hand he snapped off the necklace, and examined the insect shaped charm as he continued to struggle with the girl in his other arm. He scanned the charm, and with a hint of surprise discovered it was a tracking device, engraved with the Autobot insignia on the other side. Wrinkling his artificial face in disgust, she crushed the charm in his hand, breaking the connection between her and the Autobots.

The interpreter then interrupted his task and screamed once more, the sound irritating him.

"Fragging, pest," the holoform hissed down at her, the false Bugatti revving in agreement as the Decepticon's emotions showed through both of the forms. "Humans make everything so difficult. Primus, comply."

Alise was not about to do this.

Luckily for her, her muscle memory began to kick in before her sense did, and before she knew it her elbow, backed by her body weight, had come into contact with the sensitive pectoral area of the holoform, where the artificial spark resided. The moment there was contact, a loud grunt of pain and surprise sounded from the holoform as he relinquished some of his hold on her, allowing her to deliver swift blow to his groin area. 'Hide had reminded her that the holoforms feel everything a human would, and any male in that form, true human or Cybertronian, would be reeling from a blow in that area. As usual, he was correct, because the holoform reeled back, allowing her to escape.

And she ran, leaving all her possessions behind.

Alise ran like hell.