Chapter 22 - Friends from another Life

(WPOV)

Will yawned and stretched, he'd knocked on Kae's door, she was gone again, that was happening more and more lately. He shrugged and jogged to the hangar, slipping quietly in and looking first toward the workspace. He jumped to see Optimus in his bipedal form, sprawled across the floor and evidently sound asleep. Ratchet transformed and held a finger to his grinning face before pointing to Optimus' hand.

Kae was curled up on the titan's chest plates, sound asleep beneath an enormous hand. Right out, too, Will noted with a grin.

"That, is so cute," Will murmured.

"And about scrapping time," Ironhide rumbled with a snort. Optimus' optics brightened as he came online, sitting up slowly and cradling Kae. She woke with a start.

"Where's Tinny!" she shouted before her eyes were open.

"Kae, wake up spark-daughter," Ratchet murmured, her eyes snapped open to stare blearily at the mech. She curled up somewhat in Optimus' hand.

"Ten more minutes dad," she grumbled, Will rubbed his ears to hear several deep tones and clicks emerge from her.

Ratchet began laughing, reaching forward and collecting Kae from Optimus so the Mech could stand a bit more easily.

"What'd she say?"

"She doesn't have math until second period," Ratchet snorted, glancing at Optimus.

Will burst out laughing as Kae flinched in Ratchet's hands.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," she mumbled.

"Well you shouldn't be," Ratchet stated patiently, "It's Sunday."

"Sunday my ass, it's Wednesday and you know it... Thursday..." Kae yawned and stretched, her joints popping somewhat, but not as much as they had yesterday.

Will began laughing as Kae wound her hair up into a bun and tied it off, plopping into her tall chair and staring at the twisted pile of metal in front of her for a moment. She shook herself and grabbed a screwdriver, starting to dismantle it again.

"So you up to reaming out my superiors today?" Will asked with a broad grin, looking up as Optimus stretched carefully, making sure he didn't accidentally hit one of the lights.

"Oohh bring it," the big man rumbled with a snort. Of all things, he grinned down at Will.

"Nothing like a proper recharge to get the processors going," Ratchet snorted, batting at Optimus' side with a hand. The larger bot caught the hand in a flash.

Scary fast flash.

"You should try it sometime," Optimus snorted, Will stared as Optimus lightly picked Ratchet up and laid him gently on the floor. The motion, had it been sped up, would have been devastatingly destructive. Friggen cool though. "And while we are at it, Ironhide, I believe we could use a good training day, do you agree?"

Will stared as the bots around him transformed, cheering.

"Now you need to tell me how to get the men as cheerful about a training day," Will snorted, walking toward the catwalk.

"That's easy Major!" Mikaela called out with a broad grin, "you just have to yell one word."

"And that is?" Will shouted back to her with a laugh.

"PAINTBALL!" Kae shouted, punching her hands in the air.

"WHERE!?" Jacobs bellowed from the door, Chance and Epps at his heels, looking around with broad grins.

"Yeah alright fine!" Will laughed, sitting on the steps, "I'll see what I can do."

Mikaela grinned and set to her work again as the techies settled at their stations, bringing computers online and looking busy.

"Confirmation, the big wigs are coming today," Jerry stated.

"Kae!" Will called down.

"Will!" the girl called back.

"I need you to find me another one of those engine blocks you like breaking so much!" he shouted, "we've got superiors coming in. Moreshower, Galloway, Sec Def, if you're gonna do the same thing with the gun take Moreshower's, he already knows the drill."

"On it!" she called out, standing immediately and walking toward one of the Hummers, dragging a lift behind herself as she went.

"The next one over is a factory defect," Ratchet added offhandedly.

"There see, you're supposed to snap to like that," Will grinned down at Jacobs, the man snorted.

"Kae, quit snapping to so quickly!" he shouted, "you're making the rest of us look bad!" The girl in question began laughing, a real laugh, the infectious kind that spread throughout the hangar. Even Ratchet was snorting back a hearty guffaw.

It wasn't lost on Will as Optimus looked down at the girl proudly.

Reaming out or not, today was going to be awesome.

(EPOV)

A full entourage marched in at precisely noon, met by Will as the Big man casually transformed and strode toward communications central. He took a moment to laugh at that, he knew when the bots were transforming in earnest, in battle and when they were just doing it for the sake of showing off.

Epps casually walked over to Mikaela, who was patiently working on another jeep.

"Alright, briefing time, can you hear me?" he murmured, knowing the girl's sharp ears would catch his words, even if he could barely hear himself, sure enough, her eyes flicked up to catch his with a small wink.

"You know the General, the Director, next to him is Sec Def, religious, he's pretty strong against cursing, um, the rest of them are aides and bodyguards."

Kae scanned the entourage and seemed to freeze. Epps watched in shock as her eyes flashed to ice for a second before she visibly composed herself. He walked over to lean beside her.

"What?" he murmured.

"Familiar face," she stated quietly.

"Problem?"

"Hope not," she murmured, darting another glance at the men before shrugging and digging back into the jeep.

"So-" Epps started, happy to start an idle conversation. Optimus' voice rumbled a stern no. That was expected. He jumped to hear the men begin yelling, that was fast. Amidst the shouting, Optimus stood firm, arms crossed and glaring.

"No! You know what! I want to know what happened on November first, ninety six!" Galloway bellowed, stomping across the catwalk and down the ladder, closely followed by his personal aid. Another man, one who Epps kinda recognized followed them, the rest of the entourage running after them.

"Banes!" the Director bellowed.

"Galloway!" the stranger barked.

The Director turned, red-faced and immediately silent, glaring at the man.

"Nothing happened on November first, nineteen-ninety-six," the man stated coldly, Epps watched intently as the man's eyes flicked a warning glance at him.

Epps promptly closed his mouth with a nod, recognizing the man.

Drew, CIA. Solid, as far as CIA went, called himself the standard plant man.

"But she-!" Galloway stated, turning to point at Mikaela.

"Miss Banes' involvement in the happenings on that particular day are classified above your pay grade Director Galloway," the man stated coldly. "That is the end of the discussion." he turned to Mikaela, giving her a long, hard stare. "Miss Banes," he nodded sternly. She nodded firmly back to the man. "He sends his regards."

"Pass my thanks to him," Mikaela stated quietly.

"Duly noted," the man nodded, he turned to Galloway again. "Miss Banes is within her legal rights to deny your demands on her to spy on our guests, they are our guests," the man overrode Galloway sternly as the man made to object. "And as such, the events of November first that did not happen make her stance clear and well reasoned, if you do not cease your posturing you will be facing charges laid directly by my superiors. Have I made myself clear?" the man stated coldly.

It was worth it just to watch Galloway swell up indignantly and storm out of the hangar. The sounds of a chopper taking off came and went before anyone moved.

"Kae, you good?" the man asked in an entirely different tone.

"I'm good, thanks for the bail," Mikaela stated with a small smile. "Does this mean I'm allowed to recognize you?"

"Hey, it's worth it just to piss that guy off," Drew laughed. "I was serious though, Director sends his regards and wants to know your take."

"I'll write you a report to give to him," Kae smiled, "I like the clean shaven look, by the way, way better than the moustache and stubble Drew."

"And it doesn't itch either," Drew snorted, "right, write me a report, I'll pass it onto the Director. While you're doing that I'll make your excuses."

"Lifesaver," Kae grinned, pointing at the man and jogging over to her work table.

"What the hell!?" Epps stated flatly. "Drew, since when did you know Kae?"

"Since... shit, when did I actually meet you?"

"That's your call, either on the first, the street, or when you were interrogating me," Mikaela shrugged. "I don't know if the street happened or if it was an hallucination yet."

"How much do they know?" Drew asked seriously.

"Well, now they know that something's certainly wrong, they aren't dumbasses," Kae snorted, shooting the man a reproving glare.

"My bad!" Drew snorted, "alright, introductions, Mikaela Banes was entered into a CIA program years ago, her life and history is a matter of public record because it's absolutely true, her task is to live precisely as she has, in the event that it will ever be needed for an agent's cover, she's a living backstop. In return, Miss Banes will be relocated along with her family and set up with a new life."

"Then what happened in November?" Will asked curiously.

"October, actually. Miss Banes' father was spot recruited, you want to tell this part?" Drew asked over his shoulder as Mikaela continued to write.

"You tell it, clinically, please, I'm writing."

"On November first, we received intelligence that classified military equipment had potentially made it into the hands of organized street crime."

"Hey, I remember that, it kinda died down though, after..." Epps trailed off. "After the Crips' warehouse got raided by rivals. You did that?" Epps asked, looking at Kae.

"Oh come off it, I was eight!" Mikaela snorted, she looked into the distance for a long moment before going back to her writing.

"Don't be modest," Drew snorted, "At eight years old you..." the man trailed off at the furious glare Mikaela levelled at him.

"Oh come on!" Will called out, shooting pleading eyes at Mikaela.

"On October fifteenth, ninety six I was seven years old and planted amidst the chattel with a sub-dermal tracking beacon. I spent my birthday in a shipping container." she stated coldly. "I don't like remembering it. On November first things came to a head, the CIA credited us with not only breaking a human trafficking circle, but discovering that civilian gangsters had gotten their hands on weapons, classified military weapons not two weeks after their testing was completeand enough explosives to make Hiroshima look like a firecracker. I shudder to think what will happen if the Auto-bot's share their weapons technology. We'll be at DEFCON one within the week. In a world of secrets, no secret is safe for long."

There was deathly silence as Kae turned back to the report she was writing.

"That's..." Will stated quietly.

"Miss Banes was given field training on bomb detection and disposal, because I was there, to 'purchase' her." Drew stated quietly, "At eight years old, she impressed the hell out of the agency. My cover was blown, I was shot in the leg. She kept her head, slipped the cuffs off of her wrist, tied my wound off with my tie when her father and his men created a distraction outside and disarmed the bomb under my instruction." Drew turned and looked at her. "The Director sent me with a message, Kae. The followup investigations have been closed, there's no danger from it's exposure now, so permission is hereby granted to speak the details, Miss Banes."

Mikaela froze, staring at the man.

"Your standing?" she demanded.

"I get to keep my job, if that's what you mean," Drew grinned. Kae nodded.

"Kae?" Optimus murmured.

"We were pinned down," Kae murmured softly, sitting very still and staring into the distance. "There were twenty of us all told, women and little girls purchased from their families in rural China. I was planted among them in Hong-Kong. We spent two weeks at sea in a seacan, bad weather, you could hear the wind howling through the rigging. But we took care of each other."

"The second the bomb had been defused, Kae took a gun off a dead man, knelt in the middle of the floor between me, the women and the door. She shot five men, and singlehandedly held off the hoards until her father and his men personally busted in to get the lot of us out." Drew stated quietly. "The first time I saw her, rather than her picture, I thought she was a really small twenty year old. I didn't find out until we were in the ambulance that she was eight. We enrolled her in the program after that."

"So I lied a bit," Mikaela sighed tiredly, folding several papers and seeming to change her mind, she offered them up to Optimus. The big man smiled and onlined his holoform, reading her report with a surprised look on his face before handing it to Drew with a nod.

"About what?" Epps asked curiously.

"This isn't the first time I've been caught up in classified shit. I know what to look for when it comes to bombs, 'cause Drew taught me," she murmured, crossing her arms and looking down.

"I don't particularly care where the knowledge came from," Ratchet stated mildly, "you stopped a potential fireball indoors. And just so you lot know? There's going to be hell to pay if I don't get to keep my favourite assistant."

"Oh he admits it now!" Ironhide rumbled with a snort.

"Yes I admit it, in a hundred worlds, Kae has taken the place of my favourite," Ratchet stated firmly, "I'm keeping her. Period. So rather than weapons, take the hummer she built."

Epps grinned as Ratchet artfully, if gruffly returned the conversation back to the track that Will had wanted it on. The second the men were gone though...

"You, were shooting guns at seven years old!?" Will practically shouted at her.

"Will," Mikaela stated softly. She looked up at him, and Epps almost had a heart-attack. Her eyes... she had the eyes of a seasoned veteran. Not an eighteen year old. "I don't want to lie to you, Will, please. Don't ask."