Thank you for reviewing, ArmoredSoul, LyricaBelachium, TheBigMystery, autobotgirl12328, whitedino, MaraGen, 2GrayBoys, Fourth Remnant, Riku's Music Lover, and Anasazi Darkmoon!

LyricaBelachium-- *waves* Hello, fellow member of deviantART's Autobot-club! XD

Anasazi Darkmoon-- You have just given me an idea for a prank the twins could pull on Prowl in the planned third story of this series! XD Lots and lots of signs saying "Don't Glitch!" posted all over Diego Garcia . . . Prowl would want to throttle them. :-P

*points to story* Buwahahahaha!! You are probably going to hate me more than ever, now. XD And we finally have something to call the bad guy besides crude words I would never even write down! XD You can let it loose with the Cybertronian ones, though . . . :-P

Chapter Twenty-Six – From One Fire to The Next

"Optimus to Jazz. Status report."

Jazz frowned as he stared down the road in the direction of the fleeing Decepticon and the pursuing twins. Something wasn't quite right about this. "This is Jazz," he answered. "A Decepticon drove by in a hurry, and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are in pursuit. Prowl and Bluestreak are here with us."

"I see. Welcome to Earth, Prowl, Bluestreak. It is good to know you're alive. Jazz, keep me posted on the twins' situation. How's Katherine?"

"She's in the gas station. Let me che-" Mid-scan, Jazz froze. "Oh, Pit and Primus," he whispered in horror. "She's gone . . ." Quickly, as his companions' attention was diverted to the store, Jazz told their commander. "Optimus, she's gone! That Con must have driven by as a distraction. Oh, slag it all . . ."

Prowl's voice was tense as he spoke, the black-and-white well aware of the implications of this. "Accessing the human security system. Cameras show a human male wearing a black hooded garment grabbing Katherine. Outside cameras show the vehicle, a black SUV of the Mercedes manufacturing, driving away in the opposite direction as the Decepticon."

"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, drop back and let the Decepticon think he's lost you. Better yet, change directions quickly and drive away, then shadow him to his base of operations. He could be a lead on Katherine's location. Jazz, two more Autobots landed while you were driving north. One is Hound, and he'll be flying ahead with Bumblebee to aid you in tracking the kidnappers. The other will come with the rest of us after the humans are ready."

"Yes, sir. Who's the other Autobot?"

Optimus told him, and Jazz smiled grimly. When they found her, maybe they could rescue her without her getting caught in any crossfire, after all.

I just hope she's all right . . .

........

Kate wasn't all right, needless to say. Not all right at all.

Her kidnapper seized her hair and pulled her head back to make her look at him again, and she faintly remembered what he had once called himself. Keres.

She pressed her lips together, refusing to cry out in pain. Oh, but that yank had hurt . . .

Keres sneered at her. "You think you're clever, don't you? Escaping clear across the county to hide from me. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but there's nowhere that you can hide that I won't find you."

Kate bit back a whimper, a familiar helpless feeling washing over her. There were no words from Vor that could be comforting, and she knew she was in deep trouble. Keres wasn't giving up, and she didn't know if she could take any more torture.

Thankfully, Keres released her and pushed her against the seat. "Bind her hands, blind and gag her," he instructed his men, and the terrified girl could give only paltry resistance. She sat quietly for the rest of the trip, which seemed to last for eternity, and as a last-ditch effort to gather information, listened closely to the jeering conversation among her captors. There wasn't much useful to her, only that they were headed for an airstrip two hours to the west. That, and it would be a little while before they could take off.

Not long after those two hours had elapsed, she found herself stiffening as the vehicle slowed and soon after came to a halt. A door opened, and her arm was taken hold of, the unknown man half-dragging her as she struggled to keep up, shoe-clad feet slapping on concrete after she was pulled unceremoniously from the vehicle. Several minutes later, she was shoved forward, and she hit a wall with a pained groan. A door slammed shut, and something made of metal clicked outside.

Now Kate really did whimper. They had taken her backpack, so Clap wasn't here, and she was shut up in darkness. It wasn't like the room she had been held in during her last two stays in Keres' "care," in that this was quite a bit smaller. Based on the dimensions she judged from moving around a little, she figured she was in a large supply closet, emptied of brooms and tools in order to imprison her. Voices echoed in the room on the other side of the metal door, and she tried to listen closely while struggling ineffectually against her bonds, but that endeavor failed. She couldn't make out any words, and so she was doomed to just sit there, waiting.

That wasn't a happy prospect.

Eventually, she sighed, slumping against the wall. Was this how it was going to end for her? She didn't think Keres was going to be patient with her this time around. She had no doubt that he would kill her if she refused one too many times.

Her thoughts turned to those she knew. How would they take her death? Jazz was sure to beat himself up about it. She wasn't sure any of them would be able to hold to never harming humans if they met these creeps.

And then there was Gene. She had left a message, telling him she was okay, and now she might never see him again. What was he doing today? What were any of her fellow gamers doing, or her aunt? Did they still hate her?

Wait . . . Did they ever hate her?

Images flashed by in a heartbeat, sights reevaluated in a moment from her newfound perspective on things. Expressions thought over, words deliberated. And in that moment, she realized what a complete and utter fool she had been.

I mistook sympathy for contempt. Caution was thought to be hate. Oh, Vor, what have I done? As good as I've become at reading people, my perception was so twisted. I thought fear for me was fear of me. I pushed others away, not knowing what they really felt. I felt abandoned, despised, when really it was all in my mind. I really am insane!

And the All Spark, faithful Vor, her voice of reason, calmed her. She had a chance to correct all that. You simply need to escape.

Escape? How? Vor, I'm in a closet, tied up, unable to hear properly because of this danged door and unable to see at all! How the heck am I supposed to get out of here?

Help is coming.

Help? Seriously? Kate wondered pessimistically how the Autobots could have tracked them. And then she remembered . . . Clap! The kidnappers didn't know about him, didn't know to keep her laptop locked up.

All had gone silent outside, save for a very annoying cricket nearby. The air had chilled, indicating evening or night, and she shivered slightly. Regardless, she struggled to the door, pressing an ear against it, and was able to hear faint clicking.

Hope soared. Clap wouldn't transform unless he was alone; she had told him that whatever he did, he couldn't be seen or heard. He would hold to that, newborn though he was. And if he was alone, then that meant no one was watching. And if no one was watching, and Clap managed to cut through the lock, then they had a chance of getting out of there.

Looks like we're back in business.

........

The car rolled silently up to the nearly-empty hangar beside the silent airstrip, its dark finish blending well with the shadows. His target was here, and he could sense her moving around inside. All he had to do was wait a little bit, grab her, and go, and none of these humans, gathered around an aircraft on the runway, would be the wiser. True, he wouldn't have minded if they did see him, as scaring them half to death would have been so much fun, but secrecy and urgency was in high order here. It was best to lay low and let these organics think the girl had escaped on her own.

Speaking of, he mused, activating his holoform and stepping around the corner to bring himself into the human femme's line of sight, I do believe that's her right there . . .

........

Kate hadn't known that Clap had any form of cutting implements, but she didn't think too hard on that. The little Nokia-bot had come to life with miniature rockets and a rail gun, so why not a cutting torch? She wasn't worried about his identity as he cut through the lock from the outside, as his sparkling-speak was instantly recognizable and translated by Vor. Getting you out of there, Mama. Bad men gone, not hurt you more.

Kate smiled against the gag, a swell of gratefulness and love for the sparkling rising in her heart. Mama . . .

The lock fell free, a soft ping the only giveaway that the little lapbot had caught it instead of letting it drop to the concrete. It was set aside, and she heard a faint, frustrated sound as the sparkling grabbed for the door handle. It was just within his reach, and Kate soon felt a wave of chilly air as her stuffy confines were invaded.

A presence hovered to her right as she leaned away from the opening door to keep from falling over. Shnick, went a blade, and Kate's gag and blindfold soon fell away to free her senses. She took a deep breath, spacing her hands apart as much as she could to give Clap room to work with as she breathed in the fresh air and moved her jaw around. The ropes soon joined the gag and eye covering, and she rubbed her wrists to alleviate the soreness. "Thank you," she whispered softly, smiling gratefully down at the sparkling.

Clap beamed at her and chittered. He says there was a tracking unit in him, Vor translated. He had not noticed it until they were talking about it, and he has disabled it. It activated whenever you turned on your laptop. That was how this Keres found you clear across the continent. If you leave now, you will not be missed for a little while.

Thanks. Kate reached down and gave the little guy a hug, then gathered him in her arms and picked him up. Her backpack was in tatters from Clap's efforts to free himself, so she would just have to make do with carrying him as is.

So where to, now, she wondered, frowning. A footstep from outside the main door, however, interrupted her thought processes, and she dove without hesitation behind the nearest cover.

The man who entered was bedecked completely in black leather, hair of the same shade slicked back into a neat ponytail. He didn't react to the open closet door like Kate had expected, instead smirking in what seemed to be amusement.

"Sneaky little youngling," he murmured, and Kate stiffened, Clap also going rigid in her arms. Vor's voice sounded a warning in her mind, and she knew then that there was no way out.

Katherine, that's no human! It's a holoform, and he's no Autobot or Neutral, either.

Kate held back a whimper. A Decepticon? Seriously? I am so slagged.

Vor was silent, and a shadow fell over her hiding spot. Looking up warily, Kate froze, unsure of whether to bolt or to shrink down as small as she could make herself.

The Decepticon holoform sneered down at her, bent at the waist with his hands folded behind his back, red-brown eyes glittering dangerously. "Well, well. The Autobot's little human femme and . . . What's this? A sparkling? My, my, things have gotten quite interesting."

Kate shivered, holding Clap closer. Seeing the instinctive action, the Decepticon smirked and stood straight. "I'm going to make a deal with you, femme. You can come with me willingly, or I'll chase you down and take you with me by force. I don't care one bit about these foolish humans that were so arrogant as to think you couldn't escape, and left you alone, and I know you hold no fondness for them, either. See, my colleague made your abduction possible by distracting those idiot Autobots. We had to get you away from them, you see, in order to take you hostage. So, what'll it be? I guarantee things will be better for you if you cooperate."

The girl reluctantly nodded, seeing no other choice. His threats were not empty, she knew. She was alone. And chances were, she might actually be taken better care of by the Decepticons. Alive was a prerequisite for hostages, healthy a preferred option. Keres and his crew, however, would torture her until she gave in and helped him, and she wasn't keen on sticking around for that. So, murmuring a comforting word to Clap, she stood, however shakily.

The Decepticon rounded the desk immediately and gave her a small push toward the door. "Get going. Your 'friends' will be checking in on you, soon, and I'd rather not deal with annoyances. Just turn right at the door, and I'm around the corner."

Kate did as instructed, and faltered in her step just slightly at the sight of the deep purple Dodge Challenger waiting in the shadows. The holoform urged her forward, leading her to the passenger-side door. He opened it, pushing her a little less than gently inside, then disappeared as the door firmly closed.

Kate shivered again as the vehicle moved forward, receiving a sharp reminder to not touch anything. She nodded in answer, and hugged the laptop that was Clap to her chest after he transformed, stroking the Apple logo soothingly.

Vor sounded very uneasy as she finally spoke again. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, I suppose one could say.

Kate turned her gaze to the dark landscape outside of the window. It was a nearly full moon tonight, and the skies were clear, throwing jagged rocks and scraggly brush into sharp relief. No . . . she replied. More like . . . out of the fire and into the next fire pit. Truth be told, I'm glad to be out of there, and strange as it sounds, I'm now better off.

I didn't ever figure rescue to come in this form, though . . .

Edited 5-5-10