Chapter Nine
...
The man named James Savoy was sweating now, spittle flying from his mouth and rage overtaking his eyes. His soldiers had never seen him this off the handle before. Mira, still in the dirt, was sobbing now, pleading with the man to release her baby, still unwilling to talk. Merrick was blubbering, petrified, clawing at the man's covered arm for release. Mira was trying to reach out to him, barely able to contain composure.
Tessa was on her side, begging to let the boy go. Mira silently cursed the girl, realizing she was the one who had endangered everyone-including Optimus. She wondered if her ally had successfully found cover, but realized he had when the soldiers had reported nothing as they hauled the blonde man-Lucas-into this insanity circle. At least he was safe in all of this. She wasn't concerned with Optimus however, when Savoy screamed above all their voices.
"ENOUGH!" he shouted, popping off a round into the air. The shot silenced them all and rustled the trees above their heads. Merrick only whimpered now as the gun found its way back to his temple. Savoy glared at Mira now, listening to the comm in his ear. "One last time, Lennox. Where is Optimus Prime?"
Silence. Pure and innocent silence.
"Go to-"
Then there was a sickening explosion behind them all, followed by a rough impact, the sound of splintering wood and falling debris. Metal hit metal, there was a falling noise as the barn collapsed on itself, and the trees rustled furiously as the impact disrupted their rest. The force of the explosion knocked Savoy backwards, as well as his soldiers. Instantly the four civilians found themselves free. Mira flung herself at Merrick and covered his body as dirt and rocks scattered around them. Tessa's screams were shrill as a voice, a familiar voice, resonated on the air.
"Here I am!" Mira shot a look over her shoulder as gunfire exploded to life from the soldiers, now armed and in position. Optimus, raising a gun in their direction, fired off a shot a few yards from them and the impact sent them flying into the debris of the barn. Savoy, now completely occupied with the sight of the Autobot, screamed orders at his men. Merrick sat there beside Mira, mouth open and eyes wide. Mira pushed herself up with her arms, threw herself into a roll and picked up a weapon from a fallen, unconscious soldier. Arming the M16, she rolled over again and set the gun on the ground to steady her aim. She aimed for a soldier, preoccupied with Optimus as he made break for the south, and shot in in the leg. He screamed, grabbed at the back of his knee, and crumpled.
There was a hand on Mira's shoulder. "We gotta move!" It was Cade, and he looked up through the trees to see the chopper's moving in on Prime. Prime was growling and shouting, almost screaming at Mira now: "Miriam, GET OUT OF HERE!" He swatted at the choppers and moved towards the field, drawing the fire of the choppers, trucks, and men. Mira pushed herself up and grabbed Merrick's wrist, practically dragging him away from the front of the house.
There was a high-pitched whine, then a defeaning explosion as three rockets found their way into Optimus' shoulders. Mira screamed as she saw him fall, only for a moment, before getting back up and throwing himself into transformation. His alternation mode appeared and he took off down the driveway, the choppers and trucks following. Savoy was screaming now, and Mira tossed the M16 to Cade. He caught it, astoundingly, and she swiped a handgun from a fallen soldier, running with Merrick towards the truck.
"To the truck!" she ordered, "get to my truck!" The four of them hustled towards the awaiting Silverado. Cade, with the M16, hopped into the bed and lowered himself, popping off rounds at the soldiers now scrambling with their trucks to follow. Mira opened the driver's door, threw herself inside, and whipped the key forward. Tessa and Merrick hopped in as well, Merrick tumbling over the seats to the back. The truck roared to life, and Mira was about to throw it into park when a barrage of bullets, now coming from the house, erupted next to them. "DOWN!" she screamed.
Tessa and Merrick instinctively ducked. Tessa was screaming and crying now, and Mira looked up, leveling her gun towards the house. Quickly aiming, she returned fire with the Glock and then threw the truck into drive. Spinning out on the gravel, she checked the review to find Cade still returning fire from the bed. She roared down the driveway, and took off in the opposite direction Optimus had.
The cars went the other way behind them.
"Wait!" Tessa declared, "what about Optimus? We can't just leave him!"
Mira gunned the engine and swerved left to dodge a pot-hole, watching the review. No one in pursuit yet. "Yes, we can," Mira interjected, "Optimus is capable of taking care of himself." She untangled the Shield from her mess of curls and jiggled the key in the ignition loose. It dropped from its place, the truck still rolling on, and she leveled the Shield with the ignition. Passing her finger over the middle stone in the path of a cross, the Shield whirred and scanned the ignition. Eyes on the road, she leveled her palm as the Shield began to shift and turn, metal settling over metal, until it stopped in the shape of a high-modified key. Cade used the gun's butt end to shatter the glass of the truck, which was now littered with bullets, and slipped into the backseat. He looked to her palm and then Tessa.
"What's going on?"
Tessa said nothing. Mira glanced at him and then back to the road. "Hold on."
She slammed the Shield into the ignition and the entire vehicle began to shake. She released the wheel as it fought her grip, instantly shifting into auto-drive, as the interior of the car began to shift and move. The dash began to convert and upgrade, as did the petals on the floor. It roared on continually as the control dash before her turned digital. Instantly the RPM's vanished and the speedometer upkicked.
The windshield before them was no more. It was now a one-way computer control screen, much like you would find in the military, filled with controls and files and radar. It gave off energy readings, GPS, weapons system updates, system checks-everything you could imagine. Mira gestured for Tessa to move into the backseat as she scooted to the passenger side. Touching her thumb to the glass, the screen flickered and recognized her by name, allowing her complete access.
"Voice recognition," she commanded.
"Voice recognition confirmed," the system clarified.
Touching the screen, she brought up a GPS and reached into the right corner of the windshield, dragging down the file of her house and dropping it into the locator. It instantly recognized the address and the vehicle redirected itself, sharply cutting off the main road and into the field for a short-cut. "Open nearby energy signatures and locate," she ordered.
"Energy signatures located," the system declared, "Autobot Commander Optimus Prime requesting communication link. Engage?"
"Engage," she demanded again. Reaching to the left, Mira tapped the appearing box and it scanned her fingerprint again. Accepting the print, it flickered to life instantly. Releasing her fingers from the windshield, Mira then tapped the camera and another box appeared beside the first, showing her face. The other revealed nothing, only airwaves.
"Optimus," she began, "what's your position? Are you okay?"
The comm sputtered with static as if damaged. "Secure the line."
Mira nodded to herself and touched the windshield again, punching in a coded command. Instantly the line secured itself and began encrypting the file in deep Cybertronian binary. Tucking a loose curl behind her ear, she confirmed. "We're secure."
He sighed, "I am west of you, Mira; drawing the enemy to the outskirts of Paris. Rendezvous with me only at my request. What's your location?" She sent him the GPS reading. He did not sound pleased. "You are going home? Miriam, I don't think-"
"Optimus, we're clear here. No bogies anywhere. Besides, you'll thank me later," she tossed a look to the backseat where everyone was staring at her as if she'd sprouted wings and could fly. She furrowed her brow at them. Optimus asked the next question.
"Is everyone alright? No one is wounded?"
She nodded. "Present and accounted for," she reached behind her and tousled Merrick's hair. "I owe you, Optimus. You saved our lives."
"As is my duty, Mira. As long as you are safe. Rendezvous with me here," he sent the location in an encrypted link, which Mira began to decipher with the help of the Shield. "The Shield will direct you to the location. Do not hesitate to call me if you see anything unusual," he ordered, "and Mira. Do not engage anyone."
"Optimus," she began, matter-of-factly.
He was firm, "Miriam, I mean this. Do not engage anyone. This situation is far more dangerous than you may realize. I'm not requesting this of you. That is an order."
She frowned at him. "You don't trust me,"
"You know that is untrue. I trust you with my very spark. Just...do not engage anyone. Optimus out." The link cut out, and she whisked the box away into the system with a flick of her wrist. Sliding back over into the driver's side, Cade scrambled over to the seat and stared at her. She released the Shield from the ignition and instantly the car returned back into her Silverado. Grabbing the wheel, she spotted the outline of her house and steered the truck towards the property.
"You care to explain what's going on?"
She shook her head. "Not really. Now's not the time." A few moments later she parked the car in the driveway and grabbed the handgun. "Let's make this quick. In and out." All four doors of the truck opened and they bolted for the house. Mira twisted the knob and shoved the door open, flicking on the lights.
"Merrick," she knelt before the boy, who was obviously in shock, and grabbed his shoulders. "Merrick, honey, say something."
"Momma." was all he could manage. She sighed and pulled him into a hug, rubbed his back briefly, and then shoved him in the direction of his room. "Change your clothes." She followed in after him, and grabbed the backpack from the back of his door. Tessa and Cade followed her, Cade going to the window and scanning the skies.
Mira tossed in a clean pair of clothes and shoes for Merrick into the bag, followed by a hat and a toy. Then she grabbed a blanket and shoved the objects into his tiny arms and pointed towards the kitchen. "Go sit and wait for me," he nodded and left them. Mira then pointed at Cade and Tessa and gestured for them to follow into her room. "The best way to lose an enemy is to change your clothes and hair," she knelt before her bed and grabbed at the gym bags laying beneath it. Tossing them on the bed, she rose and approached her dresser. "Tessa, honey-"
"Mira," Tessa broke down sobbing again, "I didn't, I mean I didn't mean for-"
Mira touched her arm and stared her in the eye. "It's okay. You couldn't possibly know. It's done." she yanked open one of her drawers and grabbed the nearest shirt she could find. It was a grey t-shirt, and she handed it to Tessa. "It'll be too big, but it'll work. Go change and," she dashed into the closet and retrieved a pair of sneakers, "and please go sit with Merrick." Tessa nodded and left.
Mira then opened one of Will's drawers, where very few of his clothes remained. She pulled out a white v-neck and a jean button down and tossed them over to Cade. "For now," she stated. He began to take off his shirt, tossing the M16 on the bed and discarding his shirt on the floor. Feeling slightly uncomfortable seeing a man's chest that wasn't Will's, Mira closed the door to her closet and shedded her shirt and shorts. Hurrying to the back of the closet, she grabbed a pair of her army cargoes and slipped them on, followed by a black tank top. Removing her cowboy boots, she laced on her combat boots and reached for the rifle hidden in the corner of her closet. Slinging it over her shoulder, she grabbed the Nike bag from the top shelf and then turned to the other side of the closet. Spreading her clothes apart, she knelt and began twisting the combination of the fire-safe until it clicked open.
Reaching inside, she removed an emergency wallet and a file of her and Will's NEST paperwork. Stuffing them into the gym bag, she closed the safe and situated her clothes before it. Then, reaching on the top shelf again, she pulled down two red and white Eddie Bauer backpacks stashed with emergency blankets, first aides, water, food, and flashlights. The other was filled with ammo, knives, grenades, and walkies.
Slinging the gymbag over a shoulder, she opened the door and tossed a backpack to Cade. He caught it and strapped it on, and Mira stuffed the wallet into one of the pockets on her pants. She felt Cade's stare on her and she thought about Will, and how they'd went over this a thousand times. It seemed foreign, however, without him here.
"Who are you, exactly?" Cade asked again, leaning out the window to examine the skies. "I mean, you're not normal,"
Mira snorted. "I'll explain on the way," Grabbing the photo of her, Will and Merrick from the nightstand, as well as her NKJV, she kicked open the door gently and handed the Nike bag to Tessa. Tessa slung the bag over her shoulder and grabbed Merrick's hand, the three of them stopping in the kitchen as Mira opened the fridge.
"Take these," she pulled out two Gatorade's and handed one to both Cade and Tessa. She handed Merrick a juice box, and then pulled out another Gatorade for herself. "It takes the edge off." then she reached above the fridge and into the cupboard to withdraw a wooden box, given to her by Ratchet. Inside contained medication and Cybertronian injections. She pulled out a syringe and filled it. Motioning for Tessa to extend an arm, she injected the solution. "It's a Cybertronian form of adrenaline," she explained, "formulated for humans. It stops shock and restores electrolytes." she gave both Cade, Merrick, and herself a shot before stuffing the box into the backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. "Okay. Let's move."
As the three of them exited the house, she stopped at the security system. Removing the Shield from around her neck, she allowed it to scan the box and arm it. The entire perimeter around her property line would be secured now, and no one was getting in this house without the Shield. Satisfied, Mira clicked the door closed behind her and heard the system engage at the lock caught in place. Pointing towards the barn, her and Merrick led the way.
Mira shoved open the main door and light hit the room brightly. It struck the metal of two cars before glinting so brightly both Cade and Tessa had to look away. Mira opened the door to the first car and helped Merrick inside, then opened the trunk and stuffed the backpack inside. She gestured for Cade and Tessa to throw their bags to her. Once situated, she rounded the car to the driver's side and motioned for Tessa and Cade to enter.
It was a 1967 Pontiac GTO, with the standard 335. It was the convertible body, with the soft-top option. Will had ordered the car custom with a hotrod red body and silver trim. Sliding into the driver's seat, Tessa climbed into the back with Merrick and Cade took the passenger's seat. Slipping the ignition, the car roared to life and she slipped it into drive. Casting a look to the other car, she sighed. Hers was the 1981 Chevrolet Camaro, with the 350 V8 and cobalt blue and black trim. Her car since age 16, Will had restored it for her on their first wedding anniversary with his pension from NEST. Driving out of the barn, she roared down the driveway and headed towards Paris.
