Chapter 5: Request For Help

Cade checked his surroundings, making sure that Izzy and the others were hidden well. They had no time to evacuate; with those three SUVs almost near the junkyard by the time Sherman had warned them, going out would be risky. They did not know if others were waiting in ambush outside, and in case that happened, the junkyard was their best bet in defending themselves.

He passed Bumblebee hidden beneath a yellow tarp, then Hound camouflaged behind a row of rusty jeeps and pickup trucks. On the northeast corner, the barrel of Crosshair's sniper rifle jutted out from underneath the sack Canopy always carried.

Arriving at the entrance, Cade stood firmly on the threshold with his arms crossed as their visitors parked in front of the junkyard. Three suburbs, all black without markings. Who were these people? His first thought was the CIA. Or maybe another black ops team led by another trigger-happy bastard.

The doors opened and men in suits and ties exited the cars, twelve in all. They wore dark shades that covered their eyes, and each one had a pistol holstered on their belt. They fanned out, some facing him, others scanning the endless, rough South Dakotan plains stretching for miles.

A man got out of the middle SUV, and Cade immediately tensed. Heavyset and dark-skinned, he wore the same attire as the others, complete with shades. He held a large manila envelope in his right hand. But it was his mere presence that made Cade focus on him.

It was unlike Savoy, who screamed hostility from the get-go. Whoever this man was, he simply felt dangerous, though not someone with a malicious intent if that placating smile was an indication.

The man approached in slow and steady strides, almost cautious. "Mr. Yeager, pleased to meet you at last." He held out a hand in greeting. Cade did not shook it. "William Fowler, CIA." The agent lowered his hand.

Cade raised an eyebrow. "CIA? The last time I dealt with you guys, my house was blown up and my family was branded fugitives."

"I assure you we are not like Cemetery Wind." Fowler's smile turned apologetic. Raking his eyes over the junkyard behind Cade, he asked, "May I have a word with you inside?"

Shifting his feet, Cade thought for a moment. He still did not trust these men, but he saw no harm in letting Fowler inside, right where the Autobots were lying in wait. If the worst came to pass, they could simply scare them away. Despite the fact that they had to find another hideout soon.

"Alright. But you come alone."

"Of course."

Cade spun on his heels with a grunt and led Fowler inside the rusty gates. As they picked their way along the dirt path, he briefly glanced to the left where he knew Stripes crouched behind a stack of broken tires and car doors, watching them silently.

To distract Fowler from taking notice of anything unusual, Cade asked, "How did you find us?" It was an honest question, and he was also curious how the hell CIA had tracked them.

"It was not hard, Mr. Yeager," answered Fowler. "Your team leaves quite an impression wherever they go. We simply had to follow it."

Cade stopped in front of his mobile home and turned to face the agent, frowning. "Energon readings?"

Fowler smiled. "Residues, to be exact. We've been keeping an eye on you for quite some time now." He pointed to the sky.

Cade bit back a curse. Energon satellites, the worst enemy every Cybertronian feared. He never thought they were under the watchful gaze of one until now. "Then why haven't you attacked us?" he challenged, temper rising.

"Because we never intended to." Fowler's smile fell, and his expression turned serious. "We simply wanted to monitor your actions. At least, that was the initial plan." He paused, then his gaze flicked to the tarp-covered car next to Cade. "Of course, even if we planned to do something, your friends would stop us."

Silence descended on them for a moment. After several heartbeats, an engine revved and the tarp was blown away by a gust of wind, revealing Bumblebee. Metal shifted and clanged as the Autobot scout transformed, towering over the humans.

"How did you know?" Cade asked Fowler as Bumblebee stood beside him, staring intently at the agent behind his combat visor. His cannon was primed, though he kept it lowered.

Fowler answered, "We were trained to know when we are being watched, Mr. Yeager. And," he added with a shrug, "I was once an Army Ranger."

Cade did not doubt Fowler's answer. It explained the unease he felt upon seeing the agent for the first time. "Why are you here?" he asked. There was no point in beating around the bush now that their cover was blown.

In response, Fowler offered him the manila envelope. "As I've told you, our initial plan was just to monitor you. However, the picture inside changed it."

His frown deepening, Cade took the envelope and pulled out the picture inside. He sucked in a breath.

"When was this taken?" he asked quietly.

"Two weeks ago. Sahara Desert. A drone was passing by when it saw him."

The image was of a flat expanse of desert, with a tall menacing Cybertronian standing in the middle. It was sporting a huge cannon attached on the right arm, and a wicked curved sword hung on its back. The armor—Cade was not sure what color since the photo was captured by a drone and therefore all grey and white—covered its entire body from head to foot. But though the form was different, there was no mistaking that monster-like visage of a face staring at the camera.

"Megatron." Cade had only personally seen the Decepticon leader once two years ago—and he did not know it was him at that time—and the encounter was still fresh in his mind. He remembered Optimus battling Megatron, and the rasping voice which came out of his mouth.

Bumblebee squatted next to Cade, his visor now retracted as he peered at the image.

"What do you think?" Cade handed the picture to the Autobot, who took it between his thumb and index finger. After a few seconds of scrutinizing it with bright blue optics, Bumblebee let out a soft beep in his voice box.

"The drone was shot down a second after that was taken," explained Fowler. "Fortunately, it managed to transmit before we lost the signal."

"Did you find out why he's here?" asked Cade. Megatron had been absent since the incident with KSI, and many thought he had already left Earth, perhaps to chase down Optimus. But that was two years ago. Why did he returned now?

Fowler shook his head. "No, we haven't. But Decepticon activity has drastically increased for the past few weeks; a raid at a military base in California, bank robberies all across the southern states, massacres over the East Coast. There was even an attack in a library several days ago. Surely, you understand that these were no coincedences."

No, they were not. Cade had a feeling that Megatron was heavily involved in the attacks. "And what do you want us to do?" He handed the envelope back to Fowler.

"Help us," said the agent.

Cade exchanged a look with Bumblebee. Help was the least word he expected to hear from the government. Help was something the world refused to give the Autobots when they needed it most.

"You expect us to help after all the shit you guys had put us through?" Cade shook his head. "I'm sorry, but the Autobots are done saving the world. Find someone else." He turned to enter his mobile home, but stopped when Fowler spoke.

"It's not about saving the world, Mr. Yeager. It's about protecting it."

Cade glanced over his shoulder with a glare. "Then you shouldn't have hunted these guys down. Besides, you have people who are just as qualified. Why not ask them?"

"Because they can't be everywhere at once." Fowler paused. "Look. I know the government hasn't been exactly kind these couple of years, and we are very sorry for that. But right now, there are lives at stake. If we don't do something, these lives will be in danger and we will see a repeat of Chicago."

Chicago. The battleground where many civilians were killed during the Decepticons' invasion, including Izzy's parents. Cade had been there many times, both when it was still a city and now that it was a ruin. And everytime he went, he could not forget the devastation wrought by bombs and missiles.

And yet… the Autobots were blamed for that incident, and he could not also forget their sufferings at the hands of Harold Attinger and Cemetery Wind.

Bumblebee stared at him. It was not too hard to discern the scout's expression; both of them had experienced firsthand the cruelty humans were capable of. Cade knew that the Autobots no longer trust anyone except their friends, their family.

The feeling was mutual.

"I'm sorry, Agent Fowler." Cade turned away. "You're asking the wrong people."

With that, he entered his mobile home and slammed the door shut.


I. AM. BACK.

Wow! It's been four years since I last updated this story, and two since I published the latest one in my ever growing pile of fanfics. A lot has happened since then, and I sincerely apologized for taking so long in writing another chapter. This one has been sitting in my storage since October last year, but I couldn't post it due to my heavy schedule.

However, all is good now. And guess what? The previous chapters are all updated to fix typos and errors, as well as new chapter titles! Isn't that great?

So what have I been up to for the last for yours? Well, I'm a self-published author now, and you can find my original novel in Amazon, titled "The Reaper of Iremia". I've also written a couple of stories in Royal Roads and on my own website. Furthermore, I helped found an organization advocating the effects of illiteracy and helping to reduce it by assisting aspiring writers.

Long story short, I have been busy. But I haven't forgotten about fanfiction, and even as I plot and outline several original novels, my thoughts still drift toward this story, among others.

So, yes, I am back. Better, and hopefully a more experienced writer. Regarding Honor to the End, the plot outline is completed. And all I need to do now is to write the story all the way to the end.

If you guys would notice, this chapter is relatively shorter than the previous ones. That is because I'm not sure how this will be received, and like before, I don't want to write a long chapter only for no one to read it. Hope you guys will understand.

In any case, I can't promise when the next chapter will be finished. But rest assured, I have totally returned.

On a side note, some of my fanfics will be deleted, particularly those I have abandoned. So if you are reading them, I highly suggest copying the chapters and saving them on your devices.

Anyway, that's it. Please Read & Review!

Until next time! (God, I missed typing this so much T_T)