Thirteen
Coffee Nights
"So the hunt didn't go well at all?" Tyrone asked curiously as Alexis pushed open the glass door to one of the more hidden coffee shops in the capital. The nice thing about was that the café was more of a secret in the military because it was here that the soldiers could unwind without the worry of civilians listening in to less-than-fully-censured stories.
"No! Bringing Stryker along was extremely counterproductive; he was more interested in talking about the personnel instead of hunting for Starscream!" Ari hissed irritably as she slipped into a tall chair at her favorite table near the back of the room. "He even was against dismantling the jets!" she added crossly as Alexis took the seat across from her and Tyrone settled in next to Alexis. "I figured, 'hey, he's destroyed a hangar wall and a rickety old barracks, so what's a few adjustments to the jets to him?' Apparently that bugs him a heck of a lot more than destroying buildings," she said as she accepted one of the three small menus from the harried looking waitress.
"So you two spent more time arguing than working?" Tyrone asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Actually, I managed to gimmick Major Cromwell's jet when Stryker was distracted with Lexi, so I guess it wasn't a total loss," Ari said grudgingly as she laid the menu flat on the table. "Question: do you have anything that's absolutely disgusting?" she asked the waitress, who raised an eyebrow at the inquiry.
"Define 'disgusting'," the waitress finally replied hesitantly.
"Disgusting as in I'm totally going to regret eating it later," Ari replied, looking up hopefully at the waitress.
"Just watch," Tyrone muttered to Alexis, who nodded. "She eats that junk, and then Mareski will give them all a physical tomorrow. KIA." He raised an eyebrow as Ari ordered a few junk items, and then said, "I'll have whatever she's having," while gesturing to Alexis, who had ordered before Ari.
"Give me a couple minutes then," the waitress replied exhaustedly before walking away.
"You think the physical would kill Ari? 'Killed In Action'?" Alexis asked, turning back to Tyrone. "She's not that out of shape."
" 'Karma In Action'," Tyrone clarified as he watched Ari take a sip from one of the three glasses of water the waitress had left behind. "Where did you ever find her?" he asked, looking at Alexis.
"She actually found me on the same day she got back together with Tyler. The pair of them hadn't seen each other in years then," Alexis explained quietly. "They were looking for somewhere to hide, I had gotten stuck in a maintenance closet by accident earlier that day. Worked out for everybody in the end."
Tyrone startled everyone by erupting in laughter. Alexis scowled and punched him in the shoulder playfully while Ari rolled her eyes. "Guess where you're going if you don't shut up," Ari warned.
"How the heck did you get locked in a closet?" Tyrone asked, still grinning broadly.
"Accident," Alexis replied, smiling. She swatted away Tyrone's hand before he could get his own punch in. She turned back to Ari and asked, "How did Stryker treat you despite your argument?"
"Usual. What started the argument was that I told him that I dismantled Cromwell's jet a bit. He got all bent out of shape, and then I called him a suck-up and bootlicker, and then he said that I was a clueless idiot. So I punched him… or at least tried to; he easily dodged," Ari said, frowning towards the end. "This is where it got weird; instead of punching back, he reminded me that we shared a common enemy. Then, instead of clarifying what the heck he meant by that, he began asking about your wonderful flight exercise!" she snapped as the waitress reappeared with their drinks. Three coffees, three waters.
"Your food is coming out in a moment hon," the waitress said before turning to head back into the kitchen.
"When people call me 'hon', I feel like a little kid again," Ari said thoughtfully to the waitress's retreating back.
"Is that a good feeling?" Tyrone asked.
"I don't know. Kids can get away with just about anything except murder," Ari said as she sipped her coffee. "Why did I order water?" she asked suddenly, inspecting the glass.
"Because I did, and I had wanted something cool to wash the aftertaste out, plus it's refreshing," Alexis replied. She looked at Ari and asked, "Back to Stryker. What did you two do after your little tiff?" She glanced around to make sure that none of the other patrons, which consisted of military personnel, were listening to their conversation.
"After the flight exercise conversation, we talked about Starscream," Ari replied, and Alexis wished she'd been there to see Starscream's side of the conversation. "I told him that Starscream was a coward to be hiding like this, and he said that cowards are usually the survivors. Then I told him that Starscream was a pretty dumb survivor since he came here to hide from his boss. Then we found the only F-22 that dried salt all over it, and I told him I had found the right F-22."
"What made you think it was his?" Tyrone asked curiously.
"Think about it. A jet goes missing for a while, then reappears all covered in ocean salt. Since I have yet to hear of rumors of an F-22 Raptor taking the plunge in US waters, and I think it's safe to assume that since he doesn't like being cooped for long, went far away the other night, got into a tussle, and then came back in ocean water which dried long before I found it. Besides, how many pilots do you know would go near enough the ocean to get wet?" Ari replied simply.
"Dare I ask what you did about it?" Alexis asked.
"Go ahead. I dismantled the inner workings so that I'm confident he won't come and hunt me down anytime soon for it. That way, he's helpless when the professionals come in to deal with him," Ari said, leaning back into her chair. "I didn't fix the other jets though, just in case I'm wrong and the seawater jet is the innocent one.
"There are professionals?" Tyrone asked.
"Heck yeah. But I haven't called them yet, I was going to do so in the morning. I didn't tell Stryker that," Ari said, nodding in a way that indicated she was to be taken seriously this time.
"Don't you think Stryker would want to know?" Tyrone asked warily as though he no longer trusted any kind of plan Ari had.
"Duh, why do you think I didn't tell him? He may be Lexi's boss, but I'm sure as hell that he's not mine. I don't have to report everything I do to him," Ari replied, snorting in laughter.
"I don't like this control that Stryker is exerting over the two of you. Someone should put him back in his right place… maybe I could do something," Tyrone said thoughtfully.
Alexis made a pfft sound. "It's your life," she warned.
"Yeah… who are they?" Ari suddenly asked, jerking with her chin to a few people who had just walked into the café.
Tyrone and Alexis turned to see a small knot of people of varying heights walking together and careful not to look at the main crowd. Ari snarled softly at the sight of a person with a slightly nodding gait. "I think I know that loser…is that Jackson? Tobias Jackson?" she asked, leaning forward in her seat.
"I don't know… I don't remember how he walks," Alexis replied, glancing up at the figure in question. "The last time I really saw him, he and Stryker were getting chummy before we crashed the old barracks,"
"Here's a way to tell if it's Toby or not," Ari suggested, fishing around in her glass for an ice cube. She held it with three fingers and said, "If the guy turns and starts yelling at me, then it's Toby. If he doesn't turn around, well, um, I hope that doesn't happen because that would be really awkward."
"For me and you," Alexis added as Ari carefully aimed. "Maybe you shouldn't throw…"
The man let out a yelp of surprise as the ice cube ricocheted off of the side of his head. No one in the café took much notice because temper flares amongst the soldiers were somewhat common. The hired bouncer only tackled the severe fights because age and strength usually worked against him and it wasn't even worth the effort sometimes.
"Nope, not Tobias," Alexis said as the waitress returned with Ari's food. "What are you going to do now?"
"Crawl underneath the bedcovers and hide," Ari growled as she began attacking the unlucky pastry. Tyrone rolled his eyes at Ari's violent nature and continued to work on the coffee.
Their assumptions were incorrect. Tobias Jackson hadn't reacted because he already had a good idea who had thrown the ice cube and didn't want to start anything. Besides, he wasn't 'officially' in DC until the morning, when he would be permitted to take meals with the rest of the personnel.
"Does that happen normally?" Rose asked, safe in the shadow of Ratchet's hologram as the pair of them walked on Tobias's other side.
"I wouldn't know since I haven't been here in a while, but considering the welcome I got from her when she dropped by Diego Garcia the last two times, I suppose that this is normal for her," Tobias said, glancing at Ari from the corner of his eye. She had already forgotten about him and was laughing at something either Captain Preston or the unfamiliar man had said. "See? She's already forgotten about me. I'm still trying to figure out how such a clueless person made it into the military."
"I'm sure she knows," Lucas volunteered behind Tobias. "Why don't you ask her tomorrow morning?" he suggested loud enough for Tobias to hear.
"And get my head ripped off first thing? In your dreams Roxbury," Tobias shot back as they reached the door that led to the backroom of the café. He tried to restrain his temper; out of all of them, the Autobots had had the best chance for sleep. Twitch had reappeared during the voyage aboard the Navy ship, easing Galloway's fears of a crazy criminal loose on Diego Garcia. Twitch had still been bent on walking away with at least Sideswipe. Twitch ended up getting pushed back into the crate again. A few NEST personnel from both America and Great Britain had volunteered to remain behind and vamp up the base's security in hopes that the Decepticons decided it was in their best interest to stay away and NEST would remain in operation. Thayer nor the Secretary of Defense wasted any time when they'd arrived because an officer informed them in the harbor that the two men wanted to see the team responsible for taking the unauthorized trip as well as a few Autobots and NEST representatives.
The officer had just specified the time. Lucas and Tobias were still in on the loop to know that the location was the only coffee place in the city where privacy was more or less guaranteed.
The backroom was just the right size, with comfy chairs and a few low tables. It was just Galloway, Tobias, Lucas, Kina, Rose, and Stanton from the humans, and Optimus and Ratchet from the Autobots. Lucas nodded respectfully to Thayer, who cracked a small grin at the sight of a former pilot. Johnson, the current Secretary of Defense, gestured for them to take a seat, all the while grinning slightly. "It is an honor to meet you at last, Optimus Prime," he finally said graciously to the tall hologram.
"I hope that we can have a better understanding than with Mr. Galloway," Optimus replied, politely declining the offered seat.
"Yes, I was wondering about that too, Galloway," Thayer said, raising an eyebrow in Galloway's direction.
"It's a good story, I wouldn't worry," Stanton said from her corner, offering an innocent smile when Thayer made eye contact with her. She was careful to avoid Johnson's eye; her relationship with the Secretary of Defense had been somewhat rocky of late.
"I hope so, because after maintaining a long silence with us like that, I was inclined to send a legitimate task force after him," Johnson replied calmly as a waitress appeared and left a tray of full coffee cups on the center table. "But we'll get to that in a minute. Colonel, it's been two or so years since you've been here. We've never spoken in person to each other, and based on what Keller told me, I think you're taking this meeting awfully calmly."
"I think I've learned my lesson well, that's all," Stanton replied sweetly, folding her hands on her lap.
"Very well," Johnson replied, unsure of what to make of Stanton's response. A quick glance to Thayer revealed that the man's expression was curiously blank. Then Johnson said, "Chief Thayer, I believe there was a person you wanted to speak to…"
"Yes. General Skye, I have a rule that states that I need some kind of warning from you if you're about to go off somewhere on an unauthorized mission. That way, I don't waste time panicking, my staff doesn't waste energy scrambling around to get a fix on your location, and my staff and I all save our eardrums from Wilson losing his temper with us," Thayer explained calmly, and Kina nodded in acknowledgement. "I made the error of accusing Wilson of aiding you when he was in the middle of helping a wounded pilot; the man knows how to cuss."
"Yes sir," Kina replied calmly, and then turned to face Lucas when Lucas began choking on his coffee. "Something wrong, Roxbury?"
"You were the missing CO? A general?" Lucas sputtered after Tobias had whacked him on the back. "A general on a unauthorized mission? And you didn't think to, oh, I don't know, let me know?" Lucas demanded once the liquid was completely out his throat. "How did you get past Wilson?"
"Why do you think I wanted Mark to shut up with the 'we're going to get arrested' warnings?" Kina shot back. "As for Tom, he's not able to access everybody's profiles! Besides, I wanted in. The mission sounded like fun."
"That's beside the point," Johnson cut in. He glanced at Optimus and said, "Once word about Jordan had come through and after Galloway passed along your message recently, the president had amended his orders concerning NEST. Now he wants to know if there's a way to stop the Decepticons at the source."
"It will be difficult to stop them now since they have used the time given to gather forces," Optimus replied. "We need to find them first."
"It also may explain why they were able to find Diego Garcia, or compromise the satellite images on our end during Jordan," Thayer added, glancing at Johnson.
"They will be even harder to stop than before. Megatron is once again in charge and Starscream is by his side once again. They were fighting together at Diego Garcia, and alone they are formidable, but them together is more of a challenge," Ratchet warned from where he was standing at Optimus's side.
"Is there a way to split them up?" Thayer asked. "Any old arguments or wedge to use against them?"
"Everyone knows that Starscream has always wanted Megatron's position as Decepticon leader, and will do anything to get it. He tried to make his move when Megatron was still in the Laurentian Abyss, but not all Decepticons obeyed him then," Optimus said.
"Even if we did find something, how would you use it against them?" Stanton asked from her corner. "Neither them are someone you can easily call up on the cell or ask the operator for a number."
"We could try to draw them out of hiding. Find some bait that's to irresistible, set up a trap, and then jump them when they're occupied," Stanton suggested before returning to her coffee. "Question: how does the purple Starscream-wannabe factor into all of this, or is he an unnecessary addition?"
" 'Purple Starscream-wannabe'?" Ratchet repeated, frowning.
"A purple-painted F-22 tried to pass himself off as Starscream, but Stanton caught onto the ruse," Thayer explained.
Ratchet groaned while Optimus sighed. "I hope that isn't Skywarp you're describing; the twins cause enough trouble without him," Ratchet grumbled, glancing at Stanton. "I can't tell you how many times they've tried to bring him down and wound up in the medical bay instead…"
"Skywarp is perhaps the less stable of Starscream's two compatriots," Optimus explained quietly. "Unlike the other compatriot, Thundercracker, Skywarp has the ability to teleport at a moment's notice and will probably find the human race to be an object of curiosity instead of an immediate threat."
"In other words, he'd probably suck at trying to pass off as one of us. Okay folks, everyone start looking for that one human who isn't acting like a human," Tobias said, his eyes now closed. "I'll cover the northeast, Stanton can have the Midwest, Skye can have the southeast, Connelly, if she wants, can cover the southwest, and Galloway can look in the northwest. The SecDef can look in the place I missed, if there are any. Okay, let's go."
"What about Thundercracker?" Johnson asked. "Will he prove to be a problem?"
"Depends. There is some suspicion that he is not as fully committed to the Decepticon cause as Starscream," Optimus replied. "Nevertheless, he is still lethal and not to be underestimated."
"We'll need all the personnel we can get then," Galloway said grimly. He glanced at Tobias and asked, "What happened to Major Lennox and Master Sergeant Epps? We need to muster all available personnel for this, and they are, uh, more persuasive when it comes to rallying NEST soldiers."
"I have absolutely no idea sir," Tobias deadpanned. He ignored Stanton's raised eyebrow off to the side.
A soft knock interrupted the conversation. The door opened without invitation and a waitress stuck her head in. "Gentlemen, I apologize for the interruption, but you had an eavesdropper a few minutes ago. We already evicted them out of the building, but I thought you would want to know."
"Who?" Thayer asked wearily.
"An Air Force lieutenant. We already tossed her out, but she was insistent on figuring out the identity of a man she had accidentally thrown an ice cube at earlier," the waitress explained, rolling her eyes in annoyance before leaving the room again.
"I don't know about you guys, but everything with Ari is an accident," Tobias muttered darkly as Kina pretended to gasp.
"Tobias! How could you say such a thing about an angel?" she asked, winking at him as Lucas bit back a laugh at Tobias's shocked expression.
"Obviously you haven't seen what a little devil she's become lately," Tobias shot back.
"Knock it off you two," Thayer interrupted. "Now, it is at least past ten, possibly later. You all must be worn out and further interrogation is not going to do the trick. General Skye, I want a full report of your trip to Diego Garcia on my desk by 1200 hours tomorrow. That way we can all say the trip was authorized and no one has to deal with the consequences. Jackson and Stanton, you're both going to lay low amongst the other personnel until we can get together again to plan our next move. Miss Connelly, whether you like it or not you're going to be staying in DC until further notice," he said, looking at each person in turn.
"Galloway, I want a full explanation on my desk at some point tomorrow," Johnson added, scowling at the man. "I am more than ready to settle the issue of rank with the president if necessary. You agreed to be a liaison between NEST and the federal governments. NEST technically falls under the Defense Department, my department, and so I want to be included with whatever goes on between the government and NEST." He turned to face Optimus. "We can secure a safe place for you and your comrades to stay in during your stay here in DC."
"The south hangars in Andrews are empty as far as I know," Thayer volunteered. "Unless you have another place in mind…"
"We will discuss it with our comrades first," Optimus said calmly. "We also wish to discuss the future of NEST with Galloway present."
"Of course," Johnson agreed, standing up with Thayer. As they began to leave, Stanton left her corner and sidled up to Galloway, getting in between him and Johnson.
"What are you going to tell him?" she asked as they left the backroom. The café was now empty, the closing hours having passed a while ago.
"Everything I told you. Why, want me to edit something out?" he asked sarcastically as they both took their coats from the hangers near the entrance.
"No. Actually, yes," Stanton replied, earning an odd look from Galloway. Tobias, recognizing Stanton's manipulation trick forming, moved in behind the pair of them for the impending intervention. Unaware of her audience, Stanton continued, "Reconfigure the story so that it sounds like it was a group of people who coerced you into keeping silence. Thayer will be smart enough to catch on to what you're really saying without you actually saying it. That way, if Starscream magically reappears, you can honestly say you didn't say anything…"
"Mixing up lies and truth is your department, Antonia. I can do this without help," Galloway interrupted, and then continued walking towards the car while Stanton and Tobias remained on the sidewalk.
"That makes us both members of the same department unless politicians became one hundred percent honest while I was away," Stanton remarked.
"I will see you tomorrow, Colonel. Better hope that it's going to be sunny with no psychotic sentient jets popping up," Galloway replied simply as he got into the car.
"What about the proposed victims?" Stanton asked as the car sped off into the dark. "How are you going to sleep at night with three deaths on your conscience?"
"Apparently fine… for now," Tobias said, moving so that he was standing next to her. "Did he ever specify the victims?"
"Nope, just Captain Preston. It can't be her though because you and I know that Starscream used to care for her," Stanton replied calmly. She glanced at him and asked, "You do know where Major Lennox went don't you?"
"Actually, I don't. There is only one person in the world right now who knows their exact location and she's in no position to tell it because she's probably forgotten all about it by now," Tobias replied, looking at Stanton. "I want to put ten bucks on that."
"That sure?"
"Ma'am, she threw a freaking ice cube at my head an hour ago. I think she's forgotten. Kind of hard to remember things anyway when you've got the memory and attention span of a goldfish," Tobias said.
"Then she must be a pretty lethal goldfish if she remembers far back enough to remember when you rattled Starscream with the whole 'backstabber' spiel, and still hate you for it," Stanton replied, buttoning up her coat to keep out the chilly air.
"I distinctly remember you telling me to say anything to rattle them all up," Tobias reminded her.
There was a moment of silence between the pair. "Tell me how many personnel you're hiding," Stanton calmly ordered, using her rank to her advantage.
"Four, ma'am. Not enough to be a threat. Two soldiers and two pilots," Tobias said.
"We might need them since they are trained to handle scenarios like this. Talk to your 'goldfish' later and find out where they are," Stanton said before she started walking towards the base.
"The 'goldfish' is going to rip my head off but who cares? No one apparently," Tobias grumbled as he followed her down the street into darkness.
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A/N: Weekly updates in the immediate future. :D