Dirty Little Secrets 14
Brunch
A Transformers Prime Fanfiction
:Warning: Violence and sexual content, disturbing descriptions of abuse, human trafficking, death, and rape
Miko shifted uneasily in the passenger seat of Mrs. Darby's white sedan. The dry Nevada landscape rolled by as she stared out the window. The woman's hand reached over and gave the girl's a supportive squeeze. Miko tried to smile back but her stomach was twisting and it came out a bit crooked. The sound of the engine changed as they rolled into the silo and it bounced off the rock walls. June pulled to a stop and got out.
"I've got to sign some paperwork for Fowler and do a phone interview with the head prosecutor. After that we'll drive to the Esquivel's." The woman paused before she left and reached over the car to squeeze Miko's hand. "Don't worry. I know her."
The girl managed a weak smile and nodded. She wandered over to the control center and glanced up curiously. Why was Jack there instead of Optimus? Her eyes fell on a pile of used tea bags stacked on a paper plate and she frowned.
"Have you been here all night?" she asked. "Jack? Jack!"
"Wha? What?" the young man jumped and blinked down at her in surprise. He gave a cavernous yawn and shook his head. "Oh. Hi Miko. What did you say?"
"Never mind I think I got the answer," she replied with a smirk.
Jack stared at her blankly through his raven bangs; that needed to be cut, she noted idly. The computer chimed and Optimus's deep voice filled the silo.
"Jack, Bulkhead and I will be departing from our present location to begin standard scouting missions, as will Bumblebee from his location. Please send a groundbridge for Ratchet."
"Yes sir Optimus," Jack replied as crisply as he could. "What about Arcee?"
"Wheeljack will be returning her in the Jackhammer later today."
"Understood, over and out."
The human cut the connection and entered in a set of coordinates. Miko watched as the green portal swirled to life and the red and white medic came striding through the portal grousing and brushing some kind of dark green foliage off his shoulders.
"Ugh! What kind of planet is this? Jack; thank you for your assistance tonight. I will take over from here and you can go sleep."
"Sure thing Ratchet, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep for awhile," he responded with a yawn, "not with this much caffeine still in my system."
"Wanna play video games until I have to leave?" Miko suggested.
Jack smiled at her and nodded but his response was smothered in a yawn.
"I'll go easy on you," she promised with a grin.
The young man let out a snort and they moved over to the battered couch that may have once been yellow. The movements were the same as they had done a hundred times before but something was off. Instead of casually throwing his arms over the back of the couch Jack sat stiffly as far from her on the couch as he could get, there was something tense in his face that didn't come from a long night, and he kept glancing over at her. Finally Miko couldn't stand it anymore. She deliberately ran her car off the road and tossed the game controller to the floor.
"What is it Jack?" she demanded harshly.
The young man winced at the venom in her voice and gently placed his controller down. He turned and looked at the girl with a soul searching gaze that made her squirm and drop her eyes.
"Miko?" he began hesitantly. "Can I ask you a very personal question? You don't have to answer," he hurried to assure her. "But I…"
Miko took a deep breath and interrupted him.
"You can ask me anything Jack," she stated firmly, still not looking up as she steeled herself for what was to come.
"Did you name your children?"
The girl stared at him in shock. She was not exactly sure what she had been expecting but this was not it. Miko's mind whirled as she tried to process the question. Jack blushed and dropped his gaze, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
"I'm sorry," he started. "I shouldn't have asked…"
"No!" Miko gasped out. "No! I, it's fine. I did. I did. I just, no one's ever asked me that before."
"So?" Jack was smiling gently at her now, leaning forward intently.
"So?" she repeated.
"What did you name them?"
"Oh," Miko wrapped her arms around her legs and looked down at the floor. "Natsuki, I named the first girl Natsuki. It means summer and hope in Japanese. She would have been born in the summer and," tears pooled in her eyes and she wiped them away, "she was my hope for the future. The other little girl Hikari because she was my light."
Jack sat silently while she dried her tears.
"How did you know they were both girls?" he finally asked.
"I told you, there hasn't been a proper man in my family for six generations. The women of my family only ever have girls."
"Oh, so how do you spell those?"
Miko looked at him curiously but reached over and wrote both names down on a scrap of paper. Jack took it and murmured thanks as he studied the scrawled letters. The youth carefully folded it and slipped it in to his pocket. He shifted nervously and kept glancing at the girl beside him like he wanted to ask something else.
"What is it?" she finally demanded exasperated.
Jack sighed and looked down at his hands.
"Back at the mall."
"Yeah, I'm still not sure I can admit that was a mall."
Jack let out a laugh at that.
"Well, be that as it may, you were really bothered when I bought you that necklace, and I can see why now. I won't do anything like that again but, does it bother you when I, you know, touch you? Because if it does I will keep my distance. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."
"Seriously?" Miko stared at her friend in astonishment. "That's what you've been all stiff about?"
"Um, yes?"
The girl burst out laughing and punched him lightly on the shoulder.
"Jack I don't want you to treat me any differently that you did before. The necklace? I really do like it. I was just all freaked out because of the trial and everything."
Jack smiled at her and held out his hand as if to shake on it. Miko ignored the proffered hand and reached over to pull him into a bear hug.
"Jack, outside of Bulk, you are probably my best friend. I don't want anything to change between us."
Jack returned the embrace with a sad smile he was careful not to let her see. June called out for Miko to come to the car and the girl bounced up to leave. He pulled the slip of paper out of his pocked and unfolded it; staring thoughtfully down at the two names.
"And yet life is change," he murmured softly.
O
O
The panic didn't really set in until she got out of the car and approached the weather worn front door of the Esquivels' house. There were four cars already parked out in the driveway as June expertly pulled the white sedan up to the curb. Miko's palms were sweaty as she undid the buckle; a nearly foreign movement after so long riding with Autobots. She stayed close to the comforting presence of the nurse as they approached and the woman knocked on the door. After a stretch of unbearably long seconds the door was opened by a young woman Miko vaguely remembered from Abuelita's birthday party.
The Esquivel clan matriarch herself was sitting in a large wooden rocking chair in a living room that showed signs of a recent cleaning. Three small children were playing in the light from the windows but no one else was in the room. The small grey haired woman raised her eyes from the large book she was reading and her dark green eyes seemed to pierce Miko to the quick.
With a graceful nod of her head she indicated the couch across the room.
Although it wasn't clear whether she was addressing June or the girl both immediately plopped down on the couch at the order. The young aunt murmured apologetically over the noise the children were causing before gathering them up and departing. Miko swallowed as she watched the minivan disappear down the road. She heard Mrs. Esquivel enter the room and then another woman followed her. The girl glanced over and swallowed. She could only assume the third woman was another aunt, one whose children were often over visiting the Esquivel's.
Mrs. Esquivel offered tea and June accepted. Miko took the cup offered her silently grateful for the warmth on her suddenly cold fingers. She flushed when she noted the older woman glance at the scars on her hands. Bitter resentment began to rise in the girl's throat at the thought that the women were sitting there judging her. She suddenly wanted to bolt to run for it. Why was she even here? She didn't have to explain herself to these people, but her darting eyes were suddenly caught by Abuelita's and Miko's fell to the floor suddenly ashamed.
"Where's Raf?" the girl suddenly blurted out unable to stand the polite nothings Nurse Darby was exchanging with the other women about the weather.
"Rafael is out with the other children working on my surprise Mother's Day party," Mrs. Esquivel explained.
"Surprise?" Miko asked.
"They surprise me every year," the woman answered with a grin.
"What did you tell him?" the girl demanded suddenly, earning looks of surprise from the younger two women but only a tired smile from the matriarch.
"I told Rafael that he has been skipping out on too many chores recently," Mrs. Esquivel responded calmly, understanding the underlying question, "and that he had to stay home and help out this weekend. Now, I am interested in who this Ms. Black was."
"As far as we can tell she was a private investigator hired by a criminal cartel to find Miko," June replied evenly.
"And your interest in all of this is?"
"Miko requested I stand for her as an interested party."
Abuelita nodded and snapped her fingers commandingly. Mrs. Esquivel nodded obediently.
"Whoever this woman was she made some serious accusations against you," the woman stated looking at Miko.
"What did she say? It's all lies!" the girl hissed automatically but June gently laid her hand on the trembling shoulders.
"Young lady," Raf's mother said calmly, "would you really have me repeat her lies for you to deny or would you rather simply save us all time and just tell me the truth from the start?"
Miko sighed and dropped her head. For the second time in as many days she steeled herself to retell the story. Perhaps it was because she was not as close to them, perhaps it was simply that she still felt somewhat numb from the first emotional wrenching but this time it was easier.
"I was a whore," she stated flatly, watching the tea leaves swirling in the cup. "It was the job I was born and raised for."
"Are you still a prostitute?"
The question caught her off guard and she glanced up at the third who Mrs. Esquivel had introduced as her sister Begonia, in surprise.
"No!" Miko snarled out, "and I never will be again! I ran away and it was me who testified at the trial that put the pimps away! Do you think I wanted to be a slave like that?"
"No," Mrs. Esquivel stated softly, "I do not think any woman does. But there are dangers you might carry with you."
"Hey! I'm clean," the girl snapped. "Ask Mrs. Darby if you don't believe me. I tested clear for all the nasty germs!"
"What of the criminals who held you prisoner?" the third woman asked. "Are they a threat now that they know where you are?"
Miko shifted uneasily and glanced at June guiltily remembering the attack on Jack. To her surprise it was the nurse who answered.
"The cartel has been taken care of. There was an international raid on their assets. The IJF partnered with the Red Cross and raided dozens of their brothels. They were attacked online and many of their assets frozen. The one individual most interested in Miko is badly injured and being shipped to a prison hospital in Indonesia. It is highly unlikely that anyone will be bothering Miko again."
"These cartels tend to have other resources to fall back on," Begonia said with a curious frown, "and they rebuild quickly."
A smug grin pulled at the corners of June's mouth as she sipped her tea.
"I cannot say anything to that officially," she almost purred. "I can only repeat. No one will be coming after Miko."
Begonia arched an eyebrow curiously but took the hint and let the question drop seemingly satisfied. Mrs. Esquivel now moved and knelt in front of Miko so they were eye to eye.
"And what about you?" she asked bluntly. "Are you a threat to Rafael?"
The girl stiffened and her eyes flashed.
"Raf is my friend," she hissed, "I would never do to him what was done to me! Never! I would never hurt a child!"
She would have gone on but June again rested a hand on her shoulder silencing her. Miko glanced at the nurse in confusion, but when she looked back to Mrs. Esquivel she saw the satisfied look in her eyes.
"I have nothing against you. I was only concerned for what was best for my son," the woman said reaching out to give her hand a squeeze. "Just as you were for your children."
Miko stiffened and gasped not noticing as the tea cup fell to the carpeted floor with a soft thump.
"How did you?" she demanded, and then spun on June furiously. "Did you tell them?"
"No Miko," Mrs. Esquivel drew the girl's attention back. "Abueltia has suspected for some time that you were one of us. The visit of the woman who called herself Black only confirmed it."
"One of you?" Miko asked in confusion.
"A mother," June said softly. "Miko, you need to understand. This isn't a trail. Mrs. Esquivel needed your word that there were certain things you would not do or say to Rafael, but I would not have brought you here just to be judged and scolded. If you want to you can leave and go back to the base. But we are here for you now."
"As the old saying goes; you have the right to remain silent," Begonia said with a smile, "but one of the greatest gifts of motherhood is joining the great sisterhood."
"But I'm not a mother. Not anymore…"
With a sad sigh Abuelita stood from her chair and walked over to the girl. She sat down beside her and rested one incredibly wrinkled brown hand on the smooth pink one. June wrapper her arms around Miko's shoulders and spoke earnestly.
"For what little time you had you loved your daughters. You were then and you will forever be their mother. Jack," June's voice caught and she took a steadying breath. "Jack was not my first child. I had a miscarriage before him."
Miko gaped at her in astonishment.
"As did I," Mrs. Esquivel interjected, drawing the girl's attention, "and Abuelita, and Sister Begonia. It is a dangerous thing to become a mother."
"It is said that one in every four pregnancies ends naturally stillborn," Begonia continued. "Counting in abortions forced like yours or otherwise you are in likely in a greater majority than those who were blessed to carry to term. Now sister, tell us your story, and if you wish we will share ours."
Her audience listened intently. However the three women seemed far less interested in the criminal details the bots had been. Instead they asked questions about her life, how she had been raised. The story dwelled far longer on her first pregnancy. The other women began to share their own experiences at that point; tales of morning sickness, something Miko had entirely missed out on, overly doting husbands, and older children who just didn't quite understand what was going on.
Miko had never felt so close to anyone before; surrounded by work worn hands. Sipping tea and eating food she didn't know the name of that seemed to magically appear whenever the plate was about to run low. They talked for hours like that. For the most part the youngest among them remained silent, just absorbing the love and compassion that was radiating around her. This was different than being with the Autobots. Here she might feel somewhat more judged, but they understood. This was driven in especially when Begonia began to speak.
Miko stiffened and blinked at her in confusion.
"Wait? You were an orphan? But I thought you were Raf's aunt?"
Mrs. Esquivel laughed heartily at that.
"No she is not my sister Begonia. She is Sister Begonia."
"You're a nun?" the girl asked skeptically. "Then where's your penguin get up?"
"My order does not make use of habits."
"So if you're not family why are you here?"
"My order is concerned with reaching out to the women injured by human trafficking. Sister Esquivel thought I might be able to offer you help, but it appears to me that your support system here is more than sufficient."
Miko smiled as she thought of the Bots, of June and Jack and Raf.
"Yeah. I got it pretty good. But wait? You had a miscarriage? How?"
"I was something else before I was a nun you know," the woman said with a mischievous smile.
"Oh yeah."
"In fact my story is much like your own. I will not burden you with the details as I am sure you head stories like it a hundred times, but my interest in helping the ladies of the night is more than academic."
The sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon and June stretched with a sigh.
"I need to prepare for my shift," she said.
"Very well, come again, Miko," Mrs. Esquivel leaned in and placed a fond kiss on her forehead.
"You bet!" the girl replied with a grin.
"Before you go may we pray with you?" Sister Begonia asked.
"I'm not Catholic," Miko responded hesitantly.
"That is fine."
Unsure of what to do but having the vague idea that she was supposed to bow her head, Miko looked at the floor and felt three powerful pairs of hands rest on her hair. Abuelita began with a soft prayer in a language the girl didn't recognize but was somehow hauntingly familiar. The circle of prayer shifted to Mrs. Esquivel and Miko was able to follow along as she invoked peace, love, and safety for the girl and her loved ones. Sister Begonia continued, somewhat to the girl's disappointment not in Latin but English. In the final group hug there was a warmth, a glow, that Miko could never remember experiencing before. It was with regret that she finally left the house and drove back to the base.
O
O
Jack's back was aching from hours of hard work, his arms were scratched by thorns from his wrists to his elbows, and he had jasper dust in places he didn't even want to think about.
"Relax partner," Arcee ordered from her position at the controls. "Your pacing is giving me a processor ache."
"Sorry," he muttered as he nervously watched the car pull into the silo. Miko his mother got out and moved towards the shows chatting.
"Hey," he called out shouldering the heavy backpack he was carrying with some effort.
The females turned to look at him curiously as he came loping towards them. He was a sight; covered in dust and grime and sporting more than a few new bruises.
"What have you been up to young man?" June asked in amusement.
"That's kind of a surprise," he said awkwardly, hand rising towards the back of his neck for the familiar rubbing gesture but being halted by the backpack. "For Miko."