Dad hasn't yet decided if we're going with him on a trip,
so I may or may not be leaving next week for who knows how long.
I'd rather not go.
Long chapter today. I'll try to get another up Friday or Saturday.
Enjoy!
"Bumblebee, reporting in. Still no sign of Katrina or Morse. Did you tell the Secretary of Defense about Megatron?"
"Yes. He was not pleased, nor can he help us at this time."
"Does he want us to confront Megatron?"
"If necessary. I also told him about Katrina."
"What? Why? The government'll lock her up again."
"He wanted to know how Megatron came back. Calm down, Jazz, they won't lock her up."
"They better not, or the White House'll become the Smoke House."
Chapter Twenty One
Standing on the sidewalk in front of Simmons's house, Katrina was not impressed. Unlike the houses on either side, its lawn was unmowed, two shutters were ready to fall off, the paint was peeling and the shingles were loose. Overgrown shrubbery threatened to engulf the front door.
"I can't believe this is his house," she muttered. "Piece of cake."
No. Morse's reply to her audacity was firm. Lasers.
"You can tell?"
Yes.
Katrina swallowed. Shorting out the lasers would be easy if she could use her strange power, but it was not responding. She and Morse would have to do it alone.
"Morse, maybe you should stay in the car-I mean, with Barricade." She glanced over her shoulder. The police car was sitting quietly next to the curb, but she was sure that if she tried running, she'd get shot in the back.
The spider shook its head. Come. It jumped off her shoulder, landed on the pavement with a click, then scuttled down the driveway, slowly. It stopped, then did hopped a foot in the air.
He's jumping the laser beams, Katrina realized. She stepped onto the driveway, freezing for a second, then followed the spider's movements exactly, stepping over any places he jumped and avoiding the places he avoided. At one point, Morse let out a harsh hissing sound, and Katrina stopped moving. The spider scuttled back and jumped again, showing her that the laser was three inches closer than she had thought.
After what seemed like an eternity, thanks to several more near-misses, they reached the front door. The sound of a revving engine came from the road, and Katrina glanced over her shoulder, then turned and gave Barricade two thumbs up before looking to Morse for the next move.
Hard. The spider's head swiveled as it looked from the door to the windows to the bushes next to the house.
"Which way, Morse?" Katrina's eyes darted to the nearby houses. I hope the neighbors aren't home. "We have to hurry."
Handle hot. Wait. After tapping the lengthy message, Morse climbed up the wall and scuttled through an open window, almost flat.
More lasers, I bet. Katrina rolled her eyes. You'd think he was hiding something. A slight smile spread across the girl's face. Maybe he is.
Some clicking noises came from the doorknob's area on the door, then a muffled, Come.
Katrina gave the door a tentative push, and it swung open. Morse had his head in the house alarm, red and blue lights blinking on his back. The girl stepped in, shut the door, then waited for her friend to finish.
Deact, Morse said, withdrawing his head and jumping to Katrina's shoulder. Clear.
"Well done, Morse." The girl grinned as she headed for the living room. "Bested by a girl and a little 'insect'. I might just leave a note."
No.
"You're right, that would probably be a bad idea. He might be able to track you."
"Good guess," Simmons said, walking out of the living room. He was holding a gun that was pointed straight at Katrina. "Hands in the air, please. Any weapons?"
"No." I don't have a license, the girl thought, deciding that rolling her eyes would not be a good idea.
"Stand against the wall and set that insect down. If it moves a leg I'll shoot it."
Katrina gritted her teeth, but followed the orders. "If you would let me explain-"
"Shut up. I'm calling the police."
"Wait!"
"Don't give me orders, kid, you've got a loaded gun pointed at you."
"If you shoot me, Barricade's going to destroy this place."
"Who, your little friend? I thought its name was Morse. It couldn't destroy a pencil."
"No, Barricade's the-ow!" Katrina's hands dropped to clutch her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, grimacing against the headache that had suddenly started, threatening to split her head in two. The whining sound returned, almost immediately becoming words.
"Barricade, report! You were supposed to be here hours ago. This insolence will not go unpunished."
"My humble apologies, Lord Megatron. Do you require information?"
"What have you done with the human?"
"Killed her."
"Then return at once."
"Understood."
The headache vanished with the voices, but Katrina stayed curled up on the floor, shaking.
What's going on? "Morse?" she whispered, her mouth dry.
"What's going on?" demanded Simmons, unknowingly voicing the question that was sitting at the front of Katrina's mind. "Why is a police car parked outside my house?"
"That's Barricade." The girl swallowed. "Can I have a drink?"
Simmons muttered something under his breath, but set the gun on a nearby table and headed for the kitchen.
No smart, Morse tapped, causing Katrina to laugh.
"Why are you here?" Simmons asked, returning with a glass of water. He withheld the glass when Katrina reached for it, shaking his head. "Information first."
"Barricade wants to bring Frenzy back. His sidekick. He saved me from Megatron. Brought me here so I could get the head."
"That's my battle trophy."
"If I don't have the head, I can't bring Frenzy back, and Morse will die." Katrina grabbed for the glass, but the man put it behind his back. Something had clicked in his mind.
"Megatron? NBE1? He was destroyed."
Katrina mumbled something.
"What did you say?"
"I brought him back," she admitted. "I didn't want to, but they were going to kill Morse."
"Instead they're going to kill Earth, you stupid kid!"
"Morse is the only friend I have," snapped Katrina, jumping to her feet. She scooped up Morse on the way and tucked him into her jacket. "Besides, the Autobots can handle the Decepticons."
Simmons began pacing the floor, shaking his head. "I've been keeping an eye on both groups. Not a single good guy has revealed himself, other than those already here. However, the bad guys..."
Katrina remembered how many Decepticons she'd seen, and what Megatron had said about having more forces than the Autobots. There's only five Autobots against those guys? "The government will help, though, right?"
"The government is busy keeping your friends hidden from the public, and not even doing a good job. Sector Seven did that job until they fired all of us." Simmons scowled. "If they hadn't, we wouldn't be in this mess."
The girl bristled. "Look, you don't have to do anything! Just give me the head and I'll leave, and you can sit here and be mad with the government until the world gets destroyed."
A horn honked outside, and Katrina flinched. "He's getting impatient. Please give me the head!"
"Take this." Simmons thrust the glass into her hands, then stalked into the living room. He returned a moment later carrying a spiky thing that barely resembled a head, but was made of the same material as the pieces Barricade had. Katrina set down the empty glass and took the head, then started for the door.
The man frowned for a moment, thinking, then said, "Hey, kid-"
The door slammed.
Simmons shook his head, then picked up the phone and dialed a number from memory. While the phone was ringing, he noticed that the gun that had been sitting on the table was gone, and started to laugh.
***
"I've got the head." Katrina sat down and dropped the thing on the seat beside her. "Let's go before a real cop shows up."
Tires squealing, the police car shot down the road. "Is that a gun?"
The girl nodded and started to check for bullets. Instead of bullets falling out, water was dumped on her lap. Katrina cried out and dropped the gun as if it was hot.
"What the..." She rubbed a finger against her soaked pants, then stared at the white foam. "He fooled me."
"From the looks of things, that wouldn't take much. A toy?"
"It looked real." Katrina weighed it in her hand. "Even feels real. Why would he have something like this?"
"I don't know and don't care. You're going to fix Frenzy while I meet with Megatron, understand? Don't try to run."
Katrina opened her mouth to mention the strange headache with the voices, then decided that was information she should keep at the moment, if the Decepticon didn't already know. It won't take me long to fix Frenzy. Morse and I could hide in the desert until dark, then make it back to the city by morning.
As if reading her mind, Barricade added, "I'm taking the insect with me."
"What? No! Morse stays with me, or I won't fix Frenzy."
"Don't argue with me, human."
"It's Katrina!" The girl yelled, sheer frustration outweighing common sense. "Don't call me human! I'm sick of it! Everyone's always calling me kid or girl or experiment or human, and I hate it!"
"If Frenzy didn't need to be fixed, I'd shoot you right now," Barricade growled. "You don't give me orders."
Katrina squeezed her eyes shut. I have to behave like a soldier, she told herself.Like they taught me. Forget everything I learned from living with the Witwickys. She could almost feel gears switching positions in her mind, reverting her back to her old self. The girl waited a moment longer, then opened her eyes, her face a calm, blank mask.
"Morse can go with you," she said quietly, giving her friend a gentle squeeze to keep him from saying anything, "if you won't harm him. I'll fix Frenzy." Katrina took a deep breath and added, a sour taste in her mouth, "I'm sorry for yelling." She leaned back and closed her eyes, in desperate need of rest.
Barricade was silent for a long time, until the girl had fallen asleep and Morse had shut down. No one but himself heard the Decepticon say, "Apology accepted."