I would like to thank my loyal reviewers before I begin. I appreciate the comments, they make my day and they make me want to continue writing. I would like to thank Savvy Orion childofcommander for the favorite of this story.

Chapter 9

I was in the sparring room fighting Flare's holoform and she was one of the toughest opponents that I had ever faced if not the toughest. I had bruises from my mistakes and I found out that Flare was a patient teacher. She always made sure that if I made a mistake that I would pay with it. After I had been kidnapped by MECH, Agent Fowler had petitioned for me to get into his agency and General Bryce had begrudgingly agreed to let me in. I was already very well trained in tactics and how to use a gun and grenade. Hand to hand combat was good, but I was getting my ass kicked. I took a step back from where I was standing in the ring and shook my head to clear my eyes.

"Had enough?" Flare asked.

"No," I answered. "Not yet."

"Good, because I have another two hours with you in here today." Flare said.

I smiled and settled into a stance that Flare had showed me a couple of days ago. It was a crouch with my left hand in a fist and elbow perpendicular to the ground and my right hand had the fingers pressed together and my elbow parallel to the ground. This was a different style than I was used to, due to the fact I had been trained in Muay Thai. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out as I advanced towards Flare. Flare let out a snap-kick towards my head and I blocked it with my right hand. I retaliated with an elbow strike, and Flare evaded the blow. She counterattacked with a palm strike to my stomach and it found its mark. I grunted as I was forced back a couple of steps. I blocked the next three strikes from Flare and finally got a punch in. Flare looked surprised that I had been able to do that and I pressed my advantage. I performed a roundhouse kick and she caught my leg, I used the momentum from the roundhouse to kick her in the face with my other leg. It worked and she dropped my leg in shock. I performed a butterfly kick and caught Flare in the ribs before she was able to recover with scarily quick reflexes. She pounded me in the chest three times in quick succession and then a quick blow to the side of the head. I reeled back and Flare respected that. I spat and saw that blood came with it. "Nice hits." I said.

"You're not doing to shabby yourself." Flare said.

"How can you move that quickly?" I asked.

"I've had over a millennia to train and sharpen my reflexes, you've had only what fifteen years of your seventeen?"

"True." I said.

"That was a nice kick that you delivered to my ribs, kid."

"I think that it was a lucky shot," I said. "Against you Cybertronians I'm no match, but against my own kind I believe that I would have a high success rate."

"We're done for the day," Flare said. "You look exhausted, kid. Have you even been sleeping?"

I looked at my guardian sheepishly and shook my head. "No, I haven't."

"Really, Beau! We've talked about this!" Flare exclaimed exasperated placing her hands on her hips.

"I know, I know," I said trying to placate her. "It's just that I need to find him before he does something that he'll regret."

"Face it, Beau, the man that you knew is no longer there," Flare said. "He was willing to kill Jack and June to get Arcee!"

"I know," I sighed. "Part of me hopes that there is something of him left."

"I know how you feel, kid," Flare said. "I had a brother that defected to the Decepticons."

I looked up and into Flare's sad eyes. "Really?" I asked softly. Flare nodded. "What happened?"

"I was forced to kill him before he could harm any more innocent people." Flare said in a pained voice.

I closed my eyes and cursed myself. "Damn it, I'm so sorry Flare." I tried to apologize.

"It's alright, you didn't know." Flare said. "You should put a shirt back on and then I'll take you back to your place so that you can shower."

I nodded and exited the ring. I headed over to a bench where I had placed a water bottle and a tee shirt. I took a long draught from the water bottle and then put the shirt on. My jaw hurt from where Flare's last strike had caught me, but I knew that it would be better by the next morning. I followed Flare out to the main room and Flare transformed into her golden motorcycle vehicle mode. I mounted and I didn't care that I was wearing shorts and a tee shirt. I tapped her gas tank to signal that I was ready and I gripped the handlebars as Flare took off out of the tunnel.

The ride back to my house was uneventful, just the way I liked it. I got inside of my house and gathered clothing for a shower. I took a shower and then shut everything off. I got out and dried myself of. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and I grimaced. My torso was entirely covered in bruises and cuts from Flare's attacks. I shook my head in dismay. This had been my fault though; I had asked Flare to teach me some Cybertronian techniques. I put on my new clothes that Fowler had gotten me; a new pair of jeans, a black tee shirt with a silver star on it, and a special sleeve that would blend in with my skin when I put it on my prosthetic. I slipped the sleeve over my prosthetic and it matched my olive colored skin tone perfectly. The prosthetic wasn't limited in movement, which I highly appreciated, and it meant that I wouldn't have to wear long sleeves anymore to hide the prosthetic arm. I put on the clothing and then exited the bathroom. There was a knock on my door and I cautiously looked out through the peephole. I saw that it was Ms. Darby and I opened the door.

"Hello, Beau." Ms. Darby greeted me.

"Good afternoon, miss Darby." I said respectfully. "What can I help you with?"

"I guess that I never had a proper chance to thank you for attempting to rescue me from MECH." Ms. Darby said. "I'd just like to thank you now."

"There's no need to thank me, miss Darby," I said. "I didn't want my fa… I mean Silas to get Arcee."

Ms. Darby narrowed her eyes for a split second when I slipped and then the suspicion went away. "I don't care what you say, but I would like you to come over for dinner tonight," she said. "And I'm not taking no for an answer, either."

I sighed and shook my head in amusement. "What time do you require that I be there?" I asked.

"Hmm, I think that six thirty should be a decent time, don't you?"

"Sounds good to me." I said.

"I'll see you later, Beau."

"How do you know who I am?" I asked before Ms. Darby could walk away.

"Arcee and Jack told me."

"Oh, that'd make some sense."
"See you later."
"See ya." I said closing the front door. I went into my living room and sat down on the couch and placed my face in my hands. She reminds me so much of my own mother.

18:25 the same night…

I was standing outside of the Darby household and took a deep breath. I raised my left hand and knocked on the door. The door opened and Jack was standing there. "Hey, Beau," he greeted me.

"Hey, Jack." I said.

"Come on in, you're earlier than mom and I expected."

Jack stepped aside and let me through the door. I inspected the house around me and was amazed at how similar it looked to my own house, although with a motherly and family touch to it. Jack led me into the living room and I sat down on the couch. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine for now, thanks." I said politely.

"Alright, I'll come and get you when dinner is ready." Jack said.

"Sounds good." I said looking around the room. I had been sitting down for probably close to five minutes or so when Jack came back and beckoned me to follow him. I stood up and stiffly walked with him into the dining room.

"You alright, Beau?" Jack asked looking at me. "You seem a bit stiff."

"I'm fine," I said. "I sparred with Flare today."

"How did that go?"
"I got my aft kicked." I said lightly.

On the dinner table was a home cooked meal, something that I had not seen in what seemed like forever. My mouth started to water in anticipation and I was led to a chair that was opposite of Jack's, but next to his mother's. I sat down and looked down at what was dished onto my plate. It was a good slice of meatloaf, a heap of mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy over the meatloaf and potatoes, and some raw carrots on the side. In front of the plate was a sixteen-ounce glass of milk, probably one or two percent, and silverware on the sides of the plate. "Thank you for the meal, I haven't had a home cooked meal in almost five months." I said looking into Ms. Darby's eyes.

"You live alone?" Ms. Darby asked surprised.

I nodded my answer and then said, "Yeah, I have since the start of the school year. My adoptive father isn't the nicest guy around."

"Have I met him?" Ms. Darby asked.

I swallowed and cast a sideways glance at Jack. "It's a possibility." I answered.

"Beau, how's the job training going?" Jack asked changing the subject.

I breathed an inner sigh of relief and replied, "It's going well, I have one more day left before I start officially."

"What's your job?" Ms. Darby asked.

I closed my eyes briefly and opened them. I glanced at Jack and he sort of shrugged. "I'm working with Special Agent William Fowler," I answered. "That's my job."

"You're too young! I'm going to have a talk with that man!" Ms. Darby exclaimed angrily.

"Mom!"

"I've been through a lot, Miss Darby," I said. "Some of it I don't want to discuss with you at the moment, it's a possibility later but not now. They allowed me into the agency and for that I have something to be grateful for and something to strive for." Ms. Darby opened her mouth to interject, but I raised my right hand and silenced her politely. "If my mother were still alive, I bet that she would have agreed with you, Miss Darby. I know of the Autobots, I have one that lives in my garage watching over me just as you and Jack do. I know about MECH, though I wish I didn't."

"I'll drop it for now, but I will still be making my feelings known to Agent Fowler." Ms. Darby said.

"I understand," I said bowing my head.

We started to eat and the meal was in silence. I finished my meal last and I cleaned up the table despite Ms. Darby's protests. "It's the least I can do after you cooked me this magnificent dinner." I had told her.

An hour later, I was about to leave when my phone vibrated. It started to vibrate constantly and I pulled it out and answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Your assignment has been moved up," a mechanical sounding voice replied. "You'll be departing with a strike team to a MECH base that we have found in the middle of the Canadian Shield."

"Okay, thanks for calling." I said.

"We'll be picking you up tomorrow at o-five hundred."

"Alright."

The line went dead.

I let out a sigh and I put my phone back in my pocket. "Is everything alright, Beau?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, my assignment was just changed, that's all." I replied.

"Oh," Jack said as I walked out of the door. "Well I wish you good luck."

"Thanks." I said extending my prosthetic hand. Jack shook it and I pulled him in close and whispered, "If I don't come back from this mission, there's a note that I wrote to explain everything to your mother about my past. Also, if I don't come back there's a something I want you to do for me…don't mourn me." I let Jack go and walked away and headed home.

I entered in through the garage door and saw Flare was sitting there in her vehicle mode. I closed the door and sat down on the floor in front of the door. "Hey, Flare." I greeted.

Flare transformed and sat cross-legged across from me. "Optimus contacted me and informed me that your assignment has been changed to tomorrow," she said.

"Yeah," I said leaning my head back against the garage door. "I'm part of a strike team that will be heading towards a newly found MECH base."

"Will you be okay?" Flare asked.

"I should be, it should just be a routine thing."

"That's not what I meant," Flare sighed.

"I know," I said closing my eyes. "I honestly don't know how I will feel."

"Just promise me that you won't do anything rash and that you'll come back to me in one piece." Flare said.

I laughed and opened my eyes. I looked at Flare and smiled, "It's me, what do you have to worry about?" I asked with a lop sided smile.

"A lot of things," Flare replied. "But promise me that you'll be safe."

"I'll do my best," I said. "I can't make any guarantees though."

Flare nodded and said, "Go and get some rest, you'll need it for tomorrow."

I stood up and headed towards the house door and stopped in the doorway. I turned around and said, "Goodnight, Flare."

Flare transformed back into her vehicle mode and replied, "Goodnight, Beau."

I entered the house and went to my bedroom. I removed my shirt and jeans before climbing onto the queen sized bed. I put my head on the pillow and closed my eyes.

Next Morning…

The alarm woke me up at four thirty in the morning. I groaned and shut the annoying thing off. Stretching as I stood up out of bed, I let out a big yawn. I headed to the closet and found the fatigues that I was to wear. I put on the fatigues and grabbed the black helmet from where it lay in the closet. I strapped on a holster for a .45 caliber pistol and then I holstered the pistol. I was a Private in the force if that mattered, and I knew the only reason that I was going on this mission was because I knew how MECH operated. If I had been somebody else, I wouldn't have been on this mission and I wouldn't have been in this situation. I grabbed the bulletproof vest, and brought that out of my room with me. I exited the house and sat on the steps of the house and waited for the rest of the strike team to come and pick me up to bring me to the tarmac. A military Humvee pulled up a couple of minutes later and I stood up from where I had been sitting. The door opened and I entered the Humvee. "Good morning, Private Schwarz." A grizzled looking man greeted me.

"Morning, Colonel." I greeted back.

"Do you know our objective, Private?" the Colonel asked me.

"No, sir," I answered.

"We are to capture as many MECH personnel as we can and bring them back to Hangar E for questioning. We need to storm the base in the Canadian Shield and also we have orders to shoot to kill if we feel it necessary," the Colonel answered. "The mandate could change at any time."

"Change to what, sir?"

"Kill on sight or shoot first ask questions later," another person answered.

"Silence Second Lieutenant Jackson," the Colonel ordered. "There are rumors that Silas himself is at that base, he might be our main objective if those rumors are true."

"And what will happen if he is there, sir?" Second Lieutenant Jackson asked.

"Capture or kill him," the Colonel answered darkly.

I held my breath in that entire time and let it out as we reached the outskirts of Jasper. We drove in silence for a while until a ground bridge swallowed us up and this surprised me. I looked at the Colonel quizzically and he said, "The Autobots are going to give us a ride back to Hangar E."

I nodded and looked at the familiarity of the base, with the exception of a Humvee in there. The ground bridge activated once again and the Colonel tapped the driver and told him to drive into the swirling vortex. We came out of the ground bridge right at Hangar E and were greeted by Agent Fowler. The five of us that were inside piled out and were led to a CH-47 Chinook. There were already twenty other men inside of the helicopter and I found an empty seat as the other twenty were told of our objective. I put on my vest and helmet and then I strapped myself into my seat. I couldn't help but sit up straighter when I heard the Colonel say, "And now it has been confirmed that Silas is at the base. We need to bring him in or bring him down."

"Hooah!" twenty-four voices shouted…mine included.