Dirty Little Secrets 13

Breaking Stuff

A Transformers Prime Fanfiction

:Warning: Violence and sexual content, disturbing descriptions of abuse, human trafficking, death, and rape

The sun gleamed down on a barren stretch of volcanic rock. For generations untold, seals had come to this place to birth their young and then return to the sea. Each year they returned in season but that time was still months off and the only inhabits were a few men sitting around a fire pit in the center of a maze of shipping containers. Beer cans and cigarette packs were scattered around the black rock and harsh music blared from a battered CD player. Light from the fire played over the haggard faces of the men. Suddenly one stiffened and glanced over his shoulder.

"Did you hear that?" He demanded of his comrades.

"Did we hear what?" the largest man demanded irritably.

"I don't know. I'll go check it out! Can I have a gun?"

"Pah! For the last time you young fool! The one thing I don't want is some idiot roaming the island with a loaded weapon! Just sit down and."

A clang of metal on metal followed by a curse interrupted the leader's diatribe. His eyes narrowed and he stood slowly.

"I will get the guns," he growled as he started towards a locked box on the far side of the fire.

Before he could reach it a shadow crossed over the moon and the air filled with crackling. The men collapsed onto the black rock as a tall form stepped around the shipping container. It bent and began to scoop up the fallen humans. A stockier green form lumbered up to him and glared rather murderously at the guards.

"Bulkhead, I will leave these on the beach," Optimus stated. "Begin destroying the supplies."

The green mech nodded and turned his attention to the boxy containers. With a snarl he focused first on several that had been fitted out as housing units. Transforming his hands into battle maces he swung down at the first, crushing the thin steel and crumpling the support struts. It was too easy. With a roar he struck up and sent the entire structure tumbling end over end. It came to a stop on the other side of a wall of the containers.

Bulkhead ran an optic over the colorful rectangles and charged. It took a few ineffectual practice runs but soon the ex-construction worker found the stress points in the containers. He made short work of the human's living quarters and took great pleasure in watching their personal items snap beneath his fury. Then he turned his attention on the rows of stored goods. Each was carefully labeled and he made note of the ones that contained explosives; though there weren't many in this batch, and focused on the less dangerous ones. Automobile parts, constructions supplies, and even an entire batch of kitchen sinks crushed, crumbled, and shattered beneath his wrath. He began to get into the swing of things; one quick uppercut upended the container, three blows with his wrecking balls ruptured the weak points in the frame spilling out the contents, and then a few moments to shred and warp the metal and stomp whatever was in it to pieces.

About half-way through he heard Optimus working his way towards him from the other end of the stacks. The Prime was moving slower and more methodically, making certain to destroy utterly everything of any value. This awareness managed to pierce Bulkheads burning rage and made him, not exactly slow down but give more thought to what he was doing. By the time the two mechs met the warrior's fury was still as bright as ever but he was thinking far more rationally. He stood beside Optimus quietly surveying the damage and the few containers left intact.

"Shall we finish this?" the Prime asked charging his plasma rifles, "the satellites will be over head soon and we need to be gone from this place."

The two mechs took turns blasting the few remaining structures. It was satisfying Bulkhead had to admit, watching them explode and combust. But not satisfying enough.

"Let's hit the next site!" the green mech growled eagerly.

And so the night passed. The bridged back to base and Jack entered the next set of coordinates, then it was off for another round of destruction. There was something so very satisfying about watching the supplies turn to scrap beneath his servos and peds, not quite as satisfying as if Optimus hadn't insisted on handling the humans himself but Bulkhead figured the Prime had to answer to Fowler in the morning, so what the pit; let the fleshies live if it made the boss's job easier. But somehow the destruction wasn't enough, no matter how much metal fell before him there was a cold ball of rage in his spark that would not loosen.

It was sometime around three in the morning Nevada time when they arrived on a densely forested island. Optimus took the lead while Bulkhead amused himself with a game he had dubbed 'Boat up a Tree'. It involved perforating whatever flotation devices were on the shore without polluting the local ecosystem and then leaving the remains in the single most awkward place to retrieve. He heard the sound of the stun weapon discharging and left a now much smaller aluminum dingy well above the high tide line to charge towards the main compound. He was just getting into the swing of things, letting the destruction sooth his anger, when he heard the scream.

The powerful mech froze as his spark clenched. The voice, it was impossible!

"Miko?" he called out nervously, "did you sneak along again?"

The thought that she might have seen him like this, full of rage and destroying everything in his path like a Decepticon made him suddenly very uncomfortable. He gently placed the engine he was about to lob into the bay down on the sandy soil and stepped carefully around the shipping container where he heard the whimpering emanating from.

"Miko," he called out again peering into the dark space.

There was a shriek of rage and a scrawny form leapt from the shadows. Letting out a stream of words Bulkhead didn't need to understand to know were profanities, the woman lashed out at his ped with a steel bar. When she was certain she had his attention she began running off limping and shouting. The mech started to follow her but stopped. By the color of her hair and the wrinkles on her skin the Cybertronian could tell she was old by human standards. That scram had not come from her. He turned back to the crate she had come out of and scanned the interior. There were three more life signs inside. The mech reached out hesitantly but the old woman was suddenly in front of him; arms spread as is she was going to protect the contents of the crate from a creature many times her size.

"Easy," the Autobot soothed. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

The woman's watery eyes flicked over the destruction the mech had left in his wake and a sneer of disbelief flickered over her face.

"Look," Bulkhead continued, "just have your friends come out of there and you can go down to the beach."

The woman hesitated and the mech stepped back with a long exvent. She eyed the distance between them and called out. Slowly three trembling forms crawled out of the crate. The Autobot drew in a sharp vent to cool his suddenly overheating systems. It wasn't Miko, and yet it was. All three of the girls showed the same thinness but theirs seemed somehow unhealthy. Bones protruded where the skin was tight and there was a kind of hollow fear to their down turned eyes. Dark bruises showed in the tropical sun where they had been manhandled. The mech remembered what Miko had said about the other girls not being treated as well as she was.

They were terrified he realized; terrified of him. They were not his human that he could comfort them, and yet he couldn't help seeing Miko in the wide eyes, marred skin, and crooked teeth. Wanting desperately to help but at a loss for what to do, he signaled Optimus and waited for the red and blue mech to arrive. The Prime took in the situation at a glance and knelt down. He said a few soothing words in a language Bulkhead didn't recognize but he heard the name of the organization June had mentioned. The older woman nodded warily but the look of sudden hope in the girls' eyes almost broke Bulkhead's spark. Optimus pointed to the beach away from where he had left the men and the woman led the girls away.

The Prime didn't say a word to his soldier but gave him a long thoughtful look before returning to his work. Bulkhead continued to wreck steadily through the supplies but his spark wasn't in it anymore. The destruction continued from island to island, it was necessary, but it Optimus saw that his soldier was no longer fueled by rage and allowed himself to relax. Now the only thing on the ex-wrecker's mind was a set of wide frightened eyes, and he was counting the moments until he could get back to Miko and wrap her in his arms.