Chapter 130 – What I've done...
Joyce P.O.V
I tightly clutch the bag that holds 'The Seed' as Darcy speeds along the road away from KSI's Chinese facility. A manic laugh bubbles up my throat though I manage to contain it as I reflect on my actions that have led to my current situation. ''Threatening a professional CIA killer, possibly not my finest hour. I'd like to have that one back.''
Darcy manages to spare me a curious yet somewhat perturbed look as we weave our way through the streets. ''Killer? I thought they were your friends!''
I shake my head and look around me, ''No, not friends, business. They gave me this bomb.'' I point to the wretched cargo that sits accusingly in my lap. It mocks me, as though it knows of the lives that have been destroyed, the blood that has been shed to bring itself into my possession.
A look of horror descends over Su Yueming's face as she gasps, ''Bomb?''
Darcy's face turns ashen and she can barely speak, ''Oh!''
I am vaguely aware of both Darcy and Su continuing to process the situation when another voice floats through my thoughts, /Your tech has been hacked. Your prototypes are infected. And now Galvatron is after that Seed/. I grind my teeth together in annoyance at both that Yeager character's arrogance – and it would seem – my own. He had somehow managed to contact me on my own personal cell, passively aggressively threatening me with what he knows.
I look out the window at the masses of people milling about, blissfully unaware of what passes in their midst. I close my eyes momentarily as the knot in my stomach clenches tighter, his words coming back to assail me yet again. /You're about to be responsible for the annihilation of a city…I know you have a conscience because you're an inventor, like me. Do not let Galvatron anywhere near that Seed/.
/A conscience. Me?/. I exhale the breath I did not know I had been holding. A cold sweat is breaking out on my forehead as I recall the look on Attinger's face as I cut short our meeting. /We had a deal, you got what you wanted!/.
A bitter smile slowly spreads across my face and I imperceptibly loosen my hold on 'The Seed' as my own words once again echo through my memory, //I got what ''it'' wanted/. Ever since that irritating Autobot first alluded to the fact things may not be as they seem with Galvatron, it has been building, this doubt, this niggling feeling. This weight. And now, after Yeager's unexpected phone call, that voice in my subconscious that started as a whisper, is now clamouring for attention – and it will not be ignored.
/You were wrong. You have been a fool and you have been played. You were just too arrogant and too proud to admit it and now…./.
The sound of tyres screeching as the car comes to an abrupt halt forces me to abandon my train of thought. Darcy leaps out of the car, Su immediately follows. ''I'll do the diversion – get that thing somewhere safe!'' Her face is determined, and I find myself nodding and moving swiftly to comply.
I do not even have time to thank her for putting her own life at risk to help me before she is accelerating away and into the writhing sea of humanity that engulfs the car. /Would you have thanked her? It has been quite some time before you have deigned to thank anyone hasn't it?/.
I heft ''The Seed'' along with me and feel the panic begin to rise as a feeling of vulnerability washes over me. We are on foot, Attinger and Savoy are surely moments away from finding us and – I double crossed them! I look around quickly and rub at my chin, trying to fight the rising bile and fear that snakes along my spine.
A dark shadow passes over head, as though something stalks me from above and a metallic screech pierces through the din. People cower for a moment and look skyward as a massive bird like figure circles above the buildings and disappears. /What the fuck was that? I don't recall seeing one like that!//. A sense of panic begins to ripple through the crowd and Su's face shows a hint of fear as she slams the money used to barter for some wheels, into the man's hand.
I climb aboard the motorcycle behind her, carefully maneuvering ''The Seed'' as Su screams at me demanding I give her a raise. I hear what passes as my conscience making a quiet deal with myself. /If I somehow manage to get out of this alive. If I somehow manage to find a way to right this egregious oversight on my behalf, I will try to find a way to make up for my mistakes/.
Su accelerates down the crowded street and the screeching tyres of Attinger and Savoy's car closes in on us. Once again, panic courses through me and a wave of terror washes away any form of self-control as I scream through gritted teeth, ''I don't want to die like this!''
As the sound of a metal clothes rack we have clipped clatters to the ground behind us, that same whisper of a voice meanders its way through my subconscious again with a mocking thought. /Did those Transformers you had ''procured'' for your precious Transformium have the same thought moments before they died? Did they get a choice or a chance for reprieve?/.
Speeding through some metal bollards in a bid to escape our pursuers, I find myself whispering under my breath as I cling tightly to Su, ''It's no less than you deserve.'' I exhale sharply and once again hear my mantra float through my mind, /If I somehow manage to survive this, I will find a way to make up for my mistakes/.
/Just please…. Give me the chance… I deserve a chance - don't I?/.