1450 hours-Washington D. C.
The streets of Washington D.C. were packed with midafternoon traffic, though not as jam packed as they would have been around lunch time. The sidewalks were equally crowded, allowing Crystal to easily blend in with the crowds. The Duke sweatshirt had been ditched close to an hour ago in a public restroom along with the top she had been wearing when she'd answered the door earlier in the day. Now she was dressed in blue jeans and a pale blue t-shirt. Her long brown hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and her sneakers were just worn enough to avoid any suspicious glances. Her wallet, tucked in her pocket, said her name was Elizabeth Taylor and her story was that she was vacationing in the nation's capitol for a week from Tampa, Florida.
The cover was good. The knapsack on her back could have easily carried some water bottles and a map of two in case she got lost. Her clothing was casual and being a Florida native explained her tan. On the outside, where most people looked, it made sense but if anyone cared to look closer they might have noticed something was wrong. For example Crystal's hint of an accent didn't mark her as someone down south. Instead it pegged her as a native of the north, far north, and despite all her work she was still unable to entirely shake it. Her walk was too controlled and she didn't gawk like the rest of the tourists out around her. Furthermore she knew Washington D.C. far too well to simply be visiting.
A flash of silver caught her eye and despite her instinct to ignore it and keep walking because it was too large to be a weapon she turned with the rest of the crowd. The vehicle in question was a shiny silver Pontiac Solstice, the latest model, and it had gathered plenty of attention. Through the heavily tinted window Crystal could just barely make out a man's form in the driver's seat as he waited for traffic to continue to move. Behind the Solstice was a monster of a truck, an in-your-face GMC Topkick painted pitch black and with a little dust around the tires despite the impression of being recent washed and waxed. Even for D.C. splendor the vehicles were a little flashy. They set alarms bells off in Crystal's head as she slowly backed further into the gaping crowd. They were breaking the law of too much; too clean, too flashy, and the driver's too still to be anything but trouble.
Turning her back on the cars, Crystal made her way down a slim alley between two shops and on to another crowded sidewalk. She slowly allowed herself to scan the street, watching for any sign of more unnatural cars. For a moment there was nothing. Then the flash of red and blue paint on a semi, a semi in the middle of busy downtown Washington D.C., driving down the street. She backed up again, heading for the alley, and was snatched from behind.
Instantly Crystal rammed her foot and head back, aiming for ankle and throat. She connected with the throat but not with the ankle and despite the power behind the blows it didn't make any difference as she was lifted off her feet. Crystal did the only thing she could think of then; she let out an ear piercing shriek that drew all attention away from the strange sight of a semi towards her. Instantly she was dropped. Crystal didn't bother to look back as she stumbled into the crowd that swirled protectively around her and, as soon as possible, took off sprinting down a neighboring street. She planned to be long gone by the time the guy who had grabbed her managed to explain what was going on.
1500 hours-Washington D.C.
Ironhide retreated, cursing under his breath as he went, as Optimus and Lennox stepped forward to deal with an angry crowd. "What do you think?" he muttered to Jazz, still lurking in the shadows.
"Ah told ya not ta grab her," came the amused reply. "The agents told us they didn't know anything and Ah told ya she wasn't a complete novice." Ironhide just growled in response scanning the shrinking crowd for someone Jazz knew was already long gone.