Chapter 10:

Pantomime

Moving through the hallway with purpose, Silas waved off his guards, annoyed at their hovering. God, he needed a drink.

Throwing the door to his office open, he slammed it shut, locking it behind him. Approaching his drinks cabinet, Silas poured himself a glass of bourbon and sipped on it.

He slandered over to his fish tank, watching the aquatic animals swim in circles. It was pathetic. Silas loved it. Loved to know with just a simple off button on the air filter, those fish would die in a matter of days. Still, knowing the pathetic things counted on him to live was satisfying.

He took another sip, bored of it now.

Something moved in the reflection of the fish tank.

The glass was dropped, Silas spins around and a pipe is swung. He's out like a light.


Two Weeks Earlier…

Crawling through vents was a familiar pass time for me. The enclosed metal passage made manoeuvring around buildings far esier than going in guns blazing. I could even gaze upon the wandering underlings that moved through the hallways below me—or to my side. The air ducts went all over the place. There had been some pointedly boarded-up vents, so I was forced to take a detour more than once under Virgo's guidance.

=This is bullshit,= I grumbled.

Virgo snorted on the other side of the commlink, =And I'm as glad as ever to be the guy in the chair. Oh, take this left.=

I rolled my eyes and followed his instruction, being mindful of the vent opening below me. Too much weight and it would fall. I did not want to alert MECH that I was here. The bastards were all over the place, wandering and patrolling hallways as if anyone would actually try and break in every other minute.

It was embarrassing.

Or maybe Silas had them on high alert.

Maybe Silas was expecting retaliation from me. Huh. Good point.

=You'll be approaching the room now, it's the next floor vent,= Virgo reported, =From camera footage, there shouldn't be anyone inside and won't be for another ten minutes. Better hurry.=

I curled my fingers into the slots of the vent cover and dislodged it, sliding the vent open. With a grappling, I drove headfirst into the room, turning and landing feet first.

Unclasping the hook from my waist, I dropped into the spin chair and shoved the USB into the computer. The screen lit up and Virgo did his work of hacking into it using the virus the stick uploaded automatically.

I watched the screen absently as pop-ups came and went faster than I could read them.

=Any problems?=

=Negative, everything's going to plan. Downloading identifications, reports and locations now,= Virgo reported, =Keep an eye out, this will take a few minutes.=

=Understood.=

I stood and wandered the room, there wasn't much in here—it was just an office. A plain cream-walled office with some high-quality computers to keep all the information. Information which was going to be all ours now. Finally.

Finding the right hideout to sneak into was harder than it looked. The previous five had all been duds. They had nothing of value beyond that base-specific information. Still useful but not much in the long run when we needed more than just a single base's daily operations. But they had given other locations too, so I suppose they were useful…

=Approaching soldier,= Virgo hissed, =Turn the scream off!=

I darted back to the computer and pressed the monitor button, the screen turning black. I ducked behind the door, where there was just enough space with a bookcase sitting close to it.

The door swung open with a creak. The man stepped inside.

Virgo continued to type away on the other side of the commlink and I used the heat vision in my helmet to watch the guy walk into the room and to the cable, eyeing the cable. He reached for his walkie-talkie. I threw the door closed and zapped him with what Soma had comically referred to as the widow's bite. The design lifted from the Marvel universe after an evening of drinking.

To be fair, it was effective and efficient.

The guy went down, and I closed the door again.

=I don't know if that guy's got to be somewhere soon or report in, better speed it up, Virgo,= I unapologetically apologised.

Virgo sighed, =Almost done. Sixty seconds.=

I mentally calculated before Virgo gave the go-ahead to remove the USB. I hooked myself back onto the cable and zipped up to the vent, crawling in and slotting the vent cover back into place.

I groaned quietly with realisation, =Damnit, gotta backtrack so far.=

Virgo sniggered in my ear, =Such a hard life.=

I smirked.


The problem with having already set up in the NEST base was that Soma had to be cautious about who overheard his conversations with Zelda. No one knew. He suspects Logan and Eden might but neither had said a word so that was up for debate.

What Soma was more hesitant about were the Autobots.

Looks, he likes them—they had made a great first impression, but he could also see that Zelda's absence had a…particular effect on them.

Soma knows about the whole AllSpark thing, he won't claim to understand it, nor does he want to question it. Witchcraft, is what he says, something otherworldly—which it was. The AllSpark and its implication didn't make any sense to him in the grand scheme of earth things, but he accepts it, okay?

Ratchet had already made a connection to that weird anomaly in Zelda and Aria's genetics relating all the way back to their ancestor Archibald, who upon touching Megatron, had gotten more than the AllSpark's location zapped onto his glasses—Archibald had been transferred nanites that over time came to camouflage themselves in their bloodstream.

Soma was sure everyone in the Witwicky family line had these nanites.

But it was the reason Zelda was still here and while the loss of everyone else was hard…

Soma pushed it aside. He had no desire to think about that. Not now, not ever. He wasn't an emotional guy, but it hurt to lose those he considered family.

His phone buzzed; he peeks a glance. Zelda. He swipes the notification away before setting his phone back down. He focused back on Will and Logan and the meeting.

He couldn't answer her now.

But he does get the chance half an hour later. He leaves the table with a nod and fishes his phone out.

'Living it up in Italy ;)'

Soma rolled his eyes, glancing at the rooftop photo she sent alongside it.

'You free to chat?'

Soma made his way to a more subdued area and dialled her burner phone number. It rang three times before she picked it up.

"It's lunchtime for you, isn't it?" she asked, then slurped on something.

Soma sighed, "It is, and it's dinner for you."

She chuckled, "I've already eaten. Had a nice carbonara."

"Of course you did," he drawled. Zelda sniggered, "So what's this call for?"

With a precautionary glance around, Soma continued towards his office, he had to pass by the Autobots. Crap. They had like, impossible good hearing.

"I wanted to know the progress you made. No response in twelve hours? Now that's unbecoming," she teased.

Soma bit his lip to stop himself from voicing his annoyance, "I'm busy, okay? NEST is getting off the ground and I'm trying to integrate with a team. Don't have all the time in the world to dedicate to this."

A hum, "Right, gotcha," was that a good or bad thing? Soma wasn't sure with Zelda, especially over the phone.

"I'll spend some time on it tonight, I'm trying to sort and organise—" Soma stopped, and hissed quietly, "Logan."

"Soma," Logan came jogging closer, "Sorry, I need a moment."

"Sure," he lowered the phone, trying nonchalantly to aim the screen away from Logan as he set it on his shoulder. The guy would know immediately if he saw the number.

Some back and forth, some work to schedule around, and Logan was on his way after another apology.

Soma brought the phone back to his ear, "You still here?"

"Yep!" Zelda chimed.

Soma continued walking.

"That sounds fine by the way, just remember to eat and sleep," Zelda remarked, and he sighed fondly, a smile tugging at his mouth.

At least wasn't she annoyed by his lack of headway with the information.

"I know," he swung into the Autobots area, needing to pass through. He felt their optics on him at his mere entrance. He glanced in their direction briefly. He got an idea.

"Actually, talking about that," Soma started, "Where exactly are you heading?"

"Heading? What gave you the implication I have any idea where I'm going next," the pout was obvious. Soma exhaled.

If he wasn't feeling the Autobots' gazes before, he certainly was now.

"Ze," he hissed.

"Okay, okay. I'm in Naples. I've always wanted to see Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. They have some seriously amazing ice cream," she admitted, "But I'll be here until you tell me where to head next."

Soma glanced Optimus' way before continuing on out of the room. Hopefully, now they'd be slightly less antsy about knowing where Zelda was.


The next time I have an actual phone call with Soma, I was at the top of Mount Vesuvius. Having spent the last half hour making my way up the steep mountainside in the summer heat alongside all the other visitors, it was nice to buy a drink from the vendor at the top and find someplace to sit.

I fished for my phone, balancing the can on my knee. I took a swig of my tango before answering.

"Yo," I greeted, admiring the sight before me. It was cloudless today. While it made the sun all that much hotter, it gave the perfect view of what was below Vesuvius; it was stunning.

"Afternoon," Soma returned, "Silas is in England."

I beamed, "Well, you've just made my day!"

Soma sighed.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Tired," was his dry response, "Got loads of work."

I snorted.

"I've managed to categorize all the information, but I noticed how Silas moves in specific patterns and how long he stays at them," Soma explained, "I'll send over everything to your laptop, but he'll be in England for the next week. They have a few buildings, but I've pinpointed an exact warehouse."

Again, I smiled, "Good doing business with you Soma."

He chuckled and hung up.

I tucked the phone away and stood. I looked back at the vendor and all the jewellery they had displayed. What would the harm be in getting a bracelet or something?


Present day…

Silas groaned, head lulling as he roused. Blinking bleary eyes open, he jerked awake when it hit him. Literally. His head pulsed in pain as he remembered.

Straightening up, Silas yanked at the rope tying him down to the chair. His legs were the same. He stilled, finally noticing the person sitting before him. He raised his eyes to see Zelda.

She smiled. It was less than kind.

Fiddling with something in her hands, Zelda sat back in his office chair with an air of nonchalance, "I thought about drawing this out," she admits, "You deserve the worst pain life can deliver."

"Well, why not?" he smirked, amused, "I murdered that boy—"

"Adan," she snapped, "Use his name but," a cruel smile graced her face, "After the number of innocent people you've killed, I'm surprised you even remembered he existed."

Silas barked out a laugh, "Of course, I remember him! He served his use in breaking you down. That kid too. We chuck that kid in with you just to watch you get attached, you know that right?"

Zelda gritted her teeth, her robotic arm whirling and creaking as she clenched the arm of the chair. Her flesh hand didn't so much twitch. She stood and punched him.

Silas fell backwards, hitting the ground where he groaned as his nose gushed with blood, but he laughed. God, it was so easy to wind her up!

Zelda yanked his chair back up and he gasped, coughing as she wrapped her metal hand around his throat and squeezed.

She leant close, "I could crush your throat, watch as you gasp for breath but are unable to. I could bash your skull in, maybe even cave your ribs in. I did all of those for those loyalists you called pets."

Annoyed, Silas spat blood at her, it hit Zelda's cheek. She didn't bat an eye.

Zelda released his throat with force, and he coughed for air.

She sat again, completely composed, as if she hadn't just decked him and promised death. One leg crossed over the other, her fingers linked.

"I was expecting more from you honestly," she remarked, mouth quirking upwards, "It was just, so easy to sneak into this place you call your main headquarters."

Silas ran his tongue across his lip, spitting more blood from his mouth. His nose throbbed, it had to be broken, "Yeah, well, I was expecting you to go off the deep end."

It was true. From all the data and first-hand experience he had on this woman, it all pointed to her going off on some sort of bender—whether that was a bloodbath or something else. He hadn't calculated her coming for him. He hadn't seen this coming.

He should have. He really should have.

Zelda smiled, picking that small object back up again. She continued to fiddle.

"Two weeks ago, I snuck into a base in Italy," she began, radiating smugness, "There we highjacked every piece of information in regard to locations, your little loyalists, and current plans. The virus Virgo installed also let him open a backdoor to it so he could go in at any time he liked. For," she winked, "Just a little nosey peak."

"Bitch," anger was…to tame a word for what he felt.

"You lose, Silas," Zelda's grin stretched wide.

"You know it's not that easy, right?" he bit out.

She shrugged, waving a hand, "We have all the information to hunt down members and herd them like sheep to do what we want. It won't be too hard to infiltrate. You lose."

"So what? You've gonna arrest me? Put me in jail? Think I should rot for all I've done?" he smirked, "It's not that easy, right?" he echoed her words moments ago, "I have loyalists like you said."

Zelda giggled, laying a hand on her cheek, "That's cute," more giggling, "You actually think you're walking out of this alive."

Silas swallowed, stomach dropping as Zelda set that small object onto the coffee table before him. It was a clock, no, a timer. Ten minutes, nine minutes fifty-six, fifty-five, fifty-four…down and down it went.

"This is the end, Silas," Zelda pat his cheek, "I'd say it was good knowing you but…" a smile, "We both know that would be a lie. Rot in hell."

She threw his head and Silas could only watch as that timer counted lower and lower. Could only listen as Zelda fled out the window.

He smirked, "It was a good run, I suppose."

BOOM.


I faltered as the explosion went off, coming to a standstill and turning to watch as the warehouse went up in flames, walls and roof going flying from the force.

I pressed a finger to the scarring hiding the commlink embedded into my head, =Virgo?=

=Scorpio?=

=It's done.=

A second of silence, =Then you're free to do as you wish. But those bots of yours are getting antsy. Better make your way back soon.=

I snorted, unable to help the fond feeling, =I hear you loud and clear. Speak soon.=

=You too.=

The commlink closed and I turned my attention to the bonds. I had learnt to sort of...mute them in a sense, temper them so they weren't on full blast. I'd had them like that for a while.

I reached out again, only to stagger when I felt the full force behind them wash over me. The affection and love. Annoyance and frustration but nothing malicious. Amusement and eagerness followed.

Letting out a shaky breath, I returned the feelings with my own amusement. Hello, I try to corporate into feeling, soon.

Good, was Ratchet's grumpy responding feeling and I laughed as similar emotions followed from the others.

God, there would be no denying I missed them.

Soon, I smiled, I'd see them soon.