Disclaimer: 'Transformers' belongs to Hasbro, Paramount and various other companies – characters from the film or any related merchandise do not belong to me and I am making no money out of this fiction from the characters or plot. Any original characters and ideas do belong to me and require permission to use elsewhere.

Rated T

Author's Note: Ok this chapter is coming quicker than I normally publish. But between Bold Destiny and this one a lot is happening. And I have it pretty much written out for the next several chaps. I just have to proof and re work a little bit. Please, please, please leave a review.

"Suspicions"

Michelle stepped inside the room and closed the door softly against the pressure of the wind. She leaned up against the door to catch her breath. Resting her head back before closing her eyes she inhaled deeply, overwhelmed from all that had just happened. After taking a moment to collect herself she turned to peak out the window next to the door. Carefully she pulled back the drape just enough to see outside. Hot Rod had backed out and was pulling forward, leaving towards some unknown destination. Worry took hold of her before remembering his promise to take her to Flagstaff. For reason's should couldn't explain, she trusted him and trusted that he meant what he said. Her eyes followed the bright orange and red sports car as he headed towards the exit of the parking lot. He seemed to glow in the darkness from the bright colors. As he pulled out and drove off, a large black SUV, parked near the exit of the motel parking lot, caught her attention. She stared at it and thought of how out of place it seemed. Barely noticeable movements could be seen from the vehicles occupants.

'Why are they just sitting there?' she thought to herself.

Her thoughts where interrupted as a police car pulled in where Hot Rod had exited moments earlier. She watched as it drove slowly past the line of motel rooms, as if he were looking for someone. Michelle grew nervous. This was a dive of a motel, secluded and run down, a perfect place for criminals or those hiding from the law. She glanced at the dirt along the rim of window sill. She shivered at the thought of what sort of small bugs might be crawling around in the bed. The police car never stopped and, eventually, disappeared from view as it drove past the motel office. She assumed he must be just checking things out or looking for a specific vehicle.

Michelle turned away from the window and walked over to the bed. She flopped down onto the hard mattress, depleted of all energy. As she lay there, a flood of emotions seeped into her conscious mind, unable to stay away. What had she done? The guilt wracked her very being. She wasn't supposed to feel what she felt, or so she thought, not when she was in love with someone else. How was it that an alien with some sort of hologram could provoke such desire, so much so that it forced her to question a relationship that she would do anything for, including risk her life? She loved her boyfriend and wondered what he was doing at this very moment. What was he feeling? Was he scared or worried for her? Or even worse, was he hurt? Here she lay, trying to smother lust filled desires for a stranger while he was in danger. She closed her eyes to the pain and confusion as tears rolled down her cheeks.

For several long minutes she lay there, trying to clear her mind enough to sleep but sleep never came. The memory of Hot Rods kiss lingered heavily amongst all the others. She ran her tongue across her lips at the thought, wetting them lightly, before bolting upright in frustration.

She reached over to her purse and pulled out a small pill bottle a friend had given her for situations such as this.

'You will need these,' she could here her friend say, her voice echoing through her mind.

Michelle stood up and walked over to the small sink and filled a glass of water before taking several pills. She had never taken sleeping pills before and wasn't sure how long it would take before she would feel their affect. Quickly, she walked back over to the bed and lay down. But just as her head hit the pillow her eyes snapped open. She suddenly remembered, she was supposed to call her friend to let her know her location for the night. It was a safety measure they had both come up with while she was on the road. If she didn't call soon, her friend would send the cavalry out searching for her. She reached over and grabbed the phone receiver next to the bed but there was no dial tone. She pushed the button down several times to see if it was simple malfunction but still no dial tone. She sat there for a moment listening to the wind howling out side.

'I'd better hurry before the storm gets any worse,' she thought to herself. Grabbing her purse she stood and walked towards the door, opening it slightly.

Small gusts of wind swirled around the parking lot, kicking up clouds of dust and debris. Glancing around, she noticed a phone booth across the parking under a flickering street lamp. It was quite a distance but she knew she had to make that call. Taking a breath she took off at a jog towards the phone booth. The wind whipped at the hem of her skirt sending it flittering wildly about. The inky darkness made it hard to see as the heavy storm clouds obscured any light from the moon. She let out a sigh of relief when she reached her destination. She glanced over at the SUV. It was still there but now she was unable to tell if it was still occupied.

She reached into her purse, her fingers fumbled along the bottom, searching for any loose change. With little effort she found more than she needed and fed the coins into the dirt covered machine before dialing the series of numbers her friend had given her.

"Hey," she heard from the other end.

"Wow that was quick," said Michelle, surprised that her friend had answered so quickly.

"I was worried about you. You usually call earlier. I can't tell you what was going through my mind," her friend said, the worry evident in her voice.

"Well, I'm ok. I'm in good hands. I'll tell you more when I see you next. So don't worry, ok?" responded Michelle, trying her best to calm her friends fears.

There was short pause before her friend responded. "Fine, but…just call me earlier next time…OK," she said quietly.

"I will. I've got to go, there's a storm brewing….," but Michelle was cut off by a sudden explosion as it rocked the earth beneath her. She reached for the edge of the phone booth to steady herself as she watched half the motel, and the room she had just been in, disintegrate into a fiery ball of smoke that rose quickly into the night sky.

She let out a scream of panic. Through the smoke stepped an enormous dark figure. She looked up in horror as it brought its giant mechanical foot down onto the ground below with a deafening thud while it scanned the parking lot with its red eyes.

Michelle could here her friend's muffled screams from the phone receiver as she quickly hung it up, hoping that the giant robot hadn't heard the noise.

Suddenly, a crack of thunder rattled the night as veins of electricity snaked across the sky. Large drops of rain began to fall, slowly at first but then quickening into a torrential down pour of cold liquid. It quickly soaked her light dress. The robot seemed to be put off by the rain and retreated slightly. He turned around as if he were looking for something behind him.

She took the opportunity to turn and run across the street and into the forest of pine trees behind her. Blindly she ran, stiff branches whipped at her, leaving streaks of red from small cuts left in their wake. She ran frantically away from giant dark figure above the motel while several more explosions echoed through the forest. The rain had soaked the ground creating a soupy mixture of spongy soft earth out of the dust and dried pine needles. She jumped down a small incline but landed on an uneven slope. The earth gave way, causing her to loose her footing. She fell hard as her head slammed into a small rock. Breathing heavily, Michelle lay weakened and dazed. Tears of pain formed and mixed with rain on her cheeks. Slowly her eye lids grew heavy and she gave in to the exhaustion as she drifted off into a numbing deep sleep.

Hot Rod pulled slowly out of the parking lot, moving in the opposite direction of the two lane road that led him and Michelle to the secluded motel. But he didn't get very far. A nagging feeling trickled through his circuits. His sensors picked up a faint spark pulse but it was barely registering. He scanned the area around the motel, just up the hill from where he had now stopped. He registered two vehicles, one that had been there when he left and another moving along the front of the motel. He watched the moving vehicle on his scanner. Eventually, it came to the end of the motel but instead of turning back onto the road it made its way around the back. This peaked Hot Rod's interest.

Hot Rod turned around and started to drive back when he discovered a gravel access road leading up to the back of the motel. He drove up the road, being cautious of his low body profile in his chosen alt form. Rocks would occasional scrape his underside as he made his way over small dips and large rocks protruding from the well worn tire path.

When he was close enough, he stopped to watched the vehicle. It was a police car. And that car had now stopped at the entrance of the access road. Without warning, Hot Rods sensor alarms went off as the police car transformed. Barricade stood facing the lone Autobot as he pulled his weapon out of subspace and took aim.

Hot Rod had already transformed with his weapon drawn. They stood facing each other in a stand off. Hot Rod scanned the area behind Barricade hoping for signs of human life. His pulled the cool night air in through his intakes as he picked up Michelle's heat signature as she walked across the motel parking lot. He knew he wouldn't have much time.

"Ah, just what I've been looking for. You are wanted by our supreme leader, Autobot," growled Barricade.

"Not a chance," Hot Rod snapped back.

"Then you will die," spat Barricade.

Hot Rod barely gave him a chance to finish as he fired at Barricade. The force of his blast knocked Barricades arm down, accidently causing Barricade to discharge his weapon into the motel behind him. Hot Rod froze in horror.

"NO!" he yelled as he scrambled up the dirt road towards Barricade who was taking aim for a second time.

Drops of rain began pounding his exterior shell as the clouds above unleashed their own fury on the clashing robots below. Hot Rod began to raise his weapon but it was too late. Barricade had already taken aim but as he fired an explosion hit him from behind, rattling his body and throwing him off balance. Barricade's aim was thrown off course, narrowly missing Hot Rod. Barricade turned to see where the explosion had come from just in time to see a fleeing black vehicle. Angry, he took aim and fired. The explosion sent the SUV into the air before it came crashing down in a fiery ball of twisted metal.

Hot Rod noticed Michelle run across the street and into the forest. He needed to pull Barricade away from that forest and what remained of the motel. He fired again at the distracted Decepticon, hitting him in the side and sending him crashing to the ground. But before Hot Rod could reach him, Barricade had transformed and sped off down the road. Hot Rod's instinct was to pursue and destroy but the thought that Michelle could be hurt stopped him.

He knew Michelle had run into the forest but without help she would be susceptible to the deteriorating conditions of the weather. She hadn't been prepared and was only covered by light material. He had to find her and make sure she hadn't been injured in the fight between him and Barricade.

He glanced around for any signs of life near the motel but there was none. He felt terrible for the loss of human life. As he began to cross the road he stopped and glanced over at the burning remains of the SUV. He had remembered the explosion from behind Barricade. Did it come from this vehicle? He zoomed in with his night vision and examined the wreckage. To his surprise he registered a device that resembled a weapon. He ran the information through his database and was able to determine it had been some form of rocket launcher. Why were they armed? It had only taken seconds to gather information from the wreckage. He stored it away and proceeded off into the thinly scatter Pine forest.

Picking his way through the tiny dark trees he scanned the forest floor for any heat signatures. He didn't have to travel far before he found Michelle, her heat signature barely visible.

He reached down and found her unconscious. This concerned him and he immediately searched for a diagnoses. He gently scooped up her limp and cold body, her wet dress clinging to her every curve. He was amazed at how her bag of necessary items managed to always stay put around her arm. With gentle agility, he transformed around her and placed her in the passenger seat. He flipped on his hologram.

He had to get her wet covering off to warm her body. He reached over, and while supporting her with one arm, leaned her forward so he could pull her dress up from underneath her. His next obstacle was the thin metal locking device on the back of her covering which he quickly discovered was called a 'zipper'. He unzipped the zipper as he had learned from instructions found on the internet. With great effort, he managed to peel the wet dress off her body and over her head. Human covering when wet were like small suction devices, making them difficult to remove. His chosen alt mode didn't make matters any easier with its small front seat area.

He contemplated on whether he should remove the additional coverings she had on under her dress. However, through earlier researched he remembered that it would not be wise to remove such items, since in some humans exposing the reproductive areas of the body could cause distress. He didn't want to take his chances. Removing the bulk of what was causing her temperature to drop was good enough.

Hot Rod adjusted his hologram, so that the upper torso of his image no longer wore coverings. After turning up the heat in some of the hologram particles he would be able to provide something that resembled warm skin. He reached over and pulled Michelle over onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close into his bare chest. Being careful of her reproductive area, ran his free hand over her arms and legs to stimulate and warm her body.

As he sat there, his sensors became aware of each new sensation that was created from holding a human in his arms. He had never been as physically close to any human as he had with Michelle. Dark, wet tendrils of her hair lay draped across the bicep of the arm that supported her. Water slowly dripped down from each strand causing a sort of tickling feeling along his arm and down his body. As her body warmed so did his, even more so than before and he found that he could conserve the energy he was using on his hologram by taking in the energy from her body.

All night Hot Rod sat, patiently warming her as she slept, resisting the urge to wake her after knowing all that she had been through. He examined every curve and movement. He watched her chest slowly rise and fall as the shadows from his dash board cast tantalizing glows across her smooth stomach. He found it amazing how within her body was a system so advanced that it could create more like her.

"We need something like that," he mumbled softly to himself.

The morning sunlight seeped in through the branches of the pine trees, warming Hot Rod's steel exterior. Michelle felt the warm skin of a muscular chest pressed up against her back. She moaned in delight, for she knew that all she had gone through was just a dream, a very bad dream. Keeping her eyes closed, so as to enjoy every deliciously sensual moment of her boyfriends body, she ran her hand down his leg, feeling his strong hard muscular leg beneath his jeans. She moaned again feeling the pleasure growing from within as she slowly brought her hand up his leg to the area she most desired. She arched her back and adjusted her body so her hand could easily reach beneath her. She opened her mouth and let out a sigh of pleasure as she came near the prize.

"Oh Ssss…," she began to say but was abruptly cut off. Her body settled softly against warm leather as the feeling of her boyfriends body disappeared beneath her.

Her eyes snapped open, blinking furiously to clear her vision. The morning light was blinding.

"What the …..Where am I?" she groaned as she sat upright in the drivers' seat of Hot Rod.

"You're with me," Hot Rod responded. "You know the giant alien robot who stepped on your minivan."

And she remembered with a vengeance. Her face grew red at the thought of what Hot Rod must have heard while she dreamt of her boyfriend. She adjusted nervously in her seat causing her bare skin to rub up against the smooth leather. She jerked in surprise.

"I'm naked!" she yelled startled. "Where are my clothes?" She glanced around the interior in panic, searching for her dress before she spotted it, lying across his dash.

"Calm down, Michelle!" Hot Rod said firmly back, trying to get her attention. "You were unconscious when I found you and your body temperature was dangerously low. I did what I needed to do to save you. I used my hologram to warm you and I was careful not to violate your body. So just relax."

It took her a moment to absorb what he said and for her to get over her initial shock of being naked while in the arms of an alien's hologram.

"I'm sorry Hot Rod. Thank you. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable….with…well…anything I may have done. I'm sorry...I thought you were….someone else," she said haltingly.

"You can relax. I made sure I turned off the hologram before you did anything you may have regretted," he said.

She could have sworn she detected a slight chuckle in his response.

"Well then, thank you for that too. If you don't mind I need to step outside to put my dress on. It's a bit cramped in here," she said, reaching over and pulling her stiffly dried dress off the dash board.

She stepped outside as the cool morning air surrounded her bare skin. She inhaled deeply taking in the fresh air. Giving her dress a quick shake she flung off any dust or forest debris before pulling it over her head and zipping it up.

Now that she was out side, Hot Rod transformed, rising up above the top of the pine trees. He checked the surrounding area and found they weren't far off from the road. The smoldering remains of the motel lay eerily silent but wreckage of the SUV was no where in sight.

"Odd," he muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Michelle responded from below.

"Oh nothing," he said. He reached down and picked Michelle up.

Michelle caught her breath as she clung to his fingers. "What are you doing?" she said in one breath. "I'm not good with heights."

"I'm just moving you over to the road. Don't worry, we won't travel this way. I'll transform back into my vehicle form for you," he said assuredly. He set her down gently on the road.

Michelle turned in horror at what was left of the motel. She shivered as she remembered how close to death she had come. The memory of the giant robot stepping through the smoke remained vivid.

"Hot Rod," she asked as she slid into the passenger seat, "what did this?"

"It was a Decepticon named Barricade," he said. He felt her tense up in the seat. "Don't worry though; I won't let anything happen to you. I'm afraid; however, he was only injured and not destroyed. I'm sure he will go back to report my sighting to the others. We need to get as far away from this location as possible before it's too late."

"Barricade?" she muttered. She shivered again at the thought.

"Yes, his chosen form is a police car and, apparently, he has found some way to mute or cloak is spark pulse. I had trouble detecting him till it was too late," Hot Rod said sullenly.

"You guys can detect each others presence?" She asked again.

"Yes," he responded.

"You seem to be able to detect a lot of different things," she said softly.

"Yes….yes I can," he said, knowing that she must feel exposed, knowing that he could read her emotions so readily.

As he proceeded down the road he thought back to that moment she lay in his lap, her hand wandering with determination along his leg. It had taken every ounce of energy to control the new feeling that was coursing through his circuits. It came to a point where he no longer could sustain his hologram without loosing control. The imagines of what a human male does to the female flashed through is memory core as his hologram nearly took on a life of its own. He had no other choice but to shut it down. The new upgraded hologram was only supposed to emulate the physical form and all its senses. Obviously the creator did not anticipate what emulating senses could do to a mechs evolving CPU. He will have to be more conscious next time.

Sitting silently in the seat, Michelle ran the previous night events through her head, over and over before she had remembered her friend, left in suspense on the phone amidst the chaos of alien destruction. She must be worried sick over what she heard through the phone last night.

"Hot Rod, I have to stop at the next rest stop or gas station or whatever," she said. "I feel like I need to clean up a bit and I have to use the bathroom….bad."

"Sure, there's a small gas station up a head about a mile. But you have to hurry. We haven't been on the road very long and I want to make enough distance between us and my last known location. We can't risk another Decepticon attack, especially near more populated areas," he said with urgency.

Hot Rod opted out of traveling back on the main highway for fear of another Decepticon attack. Not only would he have to watch out for himself but he'd put many more innocent lives at risk. Trying to keep track of humans who were not only afraid of dying but afraid of him would be far too difficult.

At the gas station Michelle stepped out of Hot Rod and trotted quickly inside. She walked slowly back to the bathrooms while looking around to see if she was alone.

The image in the bathroom mirror stopped her cold. Her hair was in total disarray with twigs and leaves tangled amongst the dark strands. She leaned in closer to rub dried mascara from her cheek before she noticed a large black and blue bruise, mixed with a tinge of red, high up on her forehead. She flinched as she reached up and touched it. What she wouldn't give for a shower right now. Quickly, she turned on the water and splashed the cool soothing liquid on her face, washing away the blood, dirt and makeup. She pulled a small brush from her purse and tried her best to straighten and clean her hair. After spending a satisfying amount of time making her self feel somewhat presentable, she came out of the bathroom.

She approached the gas station clerk nervously while eyeing him flirtatiously. He seemed to be her age, lanky and tall, with light wavy brown hair. He gazed back nervously.

"Can I help you ma'am?" he offered.

"Yes, I was wondering if I could use your phone?" she said sweetly.

"Well, there's a pay phone just outside the door. You could use that," he offered, as he squirmed uncomfortably under the glare of her inviting blue eyes.

She had to think fast. "Well, I'm out of change and you see that car out there, well my boyfriend is in there and he's watching me. He would be really irritated and suspicious, not that he has a reason to be, of me making a phone call to my girlfriend," she said smiling seductively at him.

He swallowed hard. "Girlfriend?" was all he could say.

"Yes, girlfriend…. She misses me…you know. And well, I miss her too," she said leaning in slightly.

"Right well, ok…here," he said quickly picked up the cordless phone and handing it over to her.

"Thanks, I hope you don't mind but I need a little privacy," she yelled as she walked back towards the bathrooms.

"No problem," he yelled back.

She pushed the green button for a dial tone and dialed in the sequence of numbers to reach her friend.

When she heard her friend, she spoke first. "I'm alright," she whispered quickly, "Don't say anything. I just want you to know I'm safe."

Michelle heard her friend struggling to hold back tears as a few sniffles could be heard.

"Michelle, we lost some people last night," her friend said softly as her voice quivered.

"No," Michelle whispered back as she held back her own tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Where are you?" her friend asked with fear in her voice.

"I'm not sure. I think I'm in Arizona, somewhere up near the four corners. But I don't know for sure. Once I find out, I'll let you know. But please don't worry. Tell the other's I'm fine and everything is still on track," she whispered back.

"I don't like this," said her friend in frustration. "You shouldn't be doing this, it should be someone else."

"No," Michelle yelled out loud before catching her self. She gave the clerk a smile and waved at him as he glanced worriedly at her. "I'm staying, I'm doing this. Like I said I'll be fine." Michelle hung up quickly not giving her friend a chance to question her any further. She brought the phone back to the clerk and left with a swift thank you in her wake.

"Do you feel better," Hot Rod asked as she sat down.

"Fine...I'd feel even better if I had a bath and some clean clothes," she said casually as she buckled her seat belt.

"Well, I don't know about clean clothes but I'm sure we can manage to find a way for you to clean your body," he said. He sensed Michelle tense up. "My mapping system is picking up a large body of water in this region."

"Oh?" she said. "Well, as long as it's private and you feel it's safe, I'm ok with that." She wasn't really but she was willing to say whatever it took to get him away from this store and back on the road.

Hot Rod decided he needed to keep Michelle with him for as long as it took to find out who she really was. He had been monitoring the area when he picked up her phone call and found her conversation to be suspicious. Who was this friend of hers? He tried to trace the phone signal but it seemed to be untraceable after a certain point but not before he traced it to several call points across this planet, with the last one originated from Moscow, Russia.

She was definitely hiding something and he needed to find out what it was.

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