Chapter 5

"Hello, Alexis."

Starscream entered the hall, and spotted the two humans standing about eighty feet in. The bounty hunter was clasping her upper arm. Alexis kept her head down, staring at her feet.

"My, these past few months have not been kind to you, have they?"

He stalked forwards, watching her raise her head and force herself to meet his gaze. He stared for a long time in silence, just as he had done the night they had first encountered one another, taking in her bruised and bleeding face, her scuffed, baggy clothes. She had grown thinner, as many of the humans had. Her breathing was laboured and she seemed to be in pain. At her side, the bounty hunter fidgeted.

"This is definitely the one you wanted then? What about this reward, so I can be on my way?"

Starscream ignored him completely. His hand descended, took her arm between thumb and finger and lifted it slightly, causing her to wince, the movement aggravating her kicked ribs. The brief display of vulnerability sent a flood of satisfaction through his circuitry.

"How does it feel to have your own species hand you over to me, human?"

Alexis made no reply, merely staring at the floor, her mouth pressed tightly shut. One side of his mouth curled in an amused smile at her silence.

Stephen coughed impatiently. Starscream looked down at the sound, tearing his optics away from his prize, irritated.

"What was your name again?"

"Stephen." The bounty hunter sounded affronted. "We spoke only two days ago, and you said that I would be given…"

"I don't recall giving my permission for you to damage her, Stephen," said Starscream smoothly, cutting him off mid-flow.

The air was still. Alexis didn't move. She was vaguely aware of the human slaves across the large room watching curiously. The black robot glared at them and they bent over their work again. "We didn't break any bones," Stephen said, annoyed. "I know what I'm doing. It may look bad now, but give her a while and she'll be fine. She's only a slave, anyway."

The red optics shifted away from Stephen back to Alexis. The was silence again. Starscream seemed to be thinking- and Alexis was reminded of the night she and Sari were cornered in the alley, when Starscream had been pondering how long to give them to run…

He straightened up, and a predatory smile spread across his face.

"What shall we do to him, Alexis?"

Stephen flinched. "Wait... What?"

She spoke up then for the first time. "Nothing," she said hurriedly. Her voice was hoarse from lack of water. "Just let him go."

Stephen raised his hands and took a step back. His voice now had a slight tremor to it. "Look... I did what you wanted... I brought the girl to you!"

"Indeed." Starscream's smile grew broader. "You performed admirably. But your usefulness is at an end."

He lifted his foot. Alexis just had time to cover her face with her hands. But she couldn't block out the sound- the terrible, terrible resounding snap as over two hundred bones broke simultaneously. Something hot and wet splattered up onto her arms and hands. She heard hysterical screams from the slaves, and someone was violently sick. Her knees buckled and she passed out.

She came to a couple of seconds later. Starscream had picked her up and tipped her onto a high surface. She crouched on her hands and knees and gulped in air, trying desperately not to be sick.

Dontlookatthefloor, dontlookatthefloor dontlookatthefloor…

"Well now. Wasn't he annoying?" Starscream's fingers descended, hauling her up and setting her on her feet. She had gone very white and was shaking all over. He turned away.

"Frenzy!"

A small red mech, about Alexis' height, emerged from a doorway and came and stood before Starscream. He caught sight of what was left of Stephen. "Eurgh," he squeaked.

"Clean it up," Starscream ordered.

"WHAT!" the small robot gaped up at him. "No way… that's an organic job!"

"Now," hissed the seeker.

"Aaaaawwwww, nuts…"

Starscream returned his attention to Alexis, who had sank back onto her knees, clammy with cold sweat.

"Now… where were we?"

"If… you're going to kill me," she panted through gritted teeth, "Then… just... do it…"

"I'm nowhere near finished with you, girl. Stand up."

She did as he was told. He gestured with a finger.

"Show me your communication device."

She looked up, confused. "What?"

"That primitive little machine you used when you so rashly decided to sabotage me. Where is it?"

The iphone. Alexis slowly turned out her pocket and produced it. She held it up to him, but instead of snatching it, he lay his hand down palm up, and inclined his head towards his forefinger. As she watched, the plating shifted and opened up, revealing a hole a few inches wide.

"What… what do you want me to do?"

"What you did before." He smiled maliciously. "Go on."

Slowly Alexis set about connecting the phone to his internal circuitry as best she could. She was aware of him watching her appraisingly, but kept her head down, trying to ignore the sounds of Frenzy dealing with Stephen's remains.

"Ugh… Oh, this is nasty... Eurgh… what is THAT?"

Finally, she could bear it no longer, and broke the silence. Anything to take her mind off of that crunching sound…

"The stuff I stole… out of your head." She glanced up briefly at the burning eyes. "I didn't understand it anyway, so if you're worried..."

Starscream laughed mirthlessly. "I have no interest in what you managed to obtain," he sneered. "There was never a possibility of a mere human being able to read cybertronian characters.

Then what are you interested in?

Alexis' mind raced as she worked. What could there possibly be in her phone that he would want? Music? Yeah, right. There was no signal, no internet… To all intents and purposes it was useless.

What are you up to, Starscream?

Whatever it was, it would not be good.

She was nearly done when Starscream spoke.

"Where is your friend, the female you were with when we last met?"

She looked up. "The one you nearly crushed to death in a car, you mean?" Her voice shook.

He grinned evilly. "Yes, that one."

"Sari? What do you care?" Alexis bent her head over the phone again. "She's in a safe place, far, far away from you."

"Oh, you think so? A safe place. What an interesting concept."

She finished her work, and as she did so, some of the wires slid and shifted independently to allow room for the new addition. The phone lit up. Starscream raised his hand and studied the tiny screen.

"Is this her?"

He pushed his palm down to face her, and Alexis saw, sure enough, the little picture of a smiling Sari, next to her phone number.

"Yes," she said warily.

His smile broadened.

"How about we give Sari a call?"

She frowned, confused. "What… but… there's no signal, no power…"

"Not in your hands, there isn't, human."

He opened a com link. "Soundwave. I need you to open a channel."

A bright light made her look round. The giant screen on the wall was showing an image of planet Earth, revolving in space. At the bottom was Sari's number.

With no warning Starscream picked her up. His fingers appeared as if from nowhere, forming a wall around her and closing around her, making her gasp in pain as he gripped her bruised body. He raised her to be level with his face, and she swallowed back bile at the vertigo. From her position she could hear the phone.

"It's ringing." He smiled humourlessly, and at the sight of his expression Alexis felt herself go cold, squirming with dread.

Someone picked up. "Alexis? Is that you?"

As Sari had answered the phone, the image of the globe zoomed in, further and further… and Alexis suddenly realized what was happening. He was locating her. A wave of panic overtook her, and she thrashed desperately in Starscream's grip.

"Stop! Starscream… STOP!"

Oblivious, Sari gabbled breathlessly down the line. "This is amazing! Oh, so much to say… I miss you so much! How are you calling me? My phone's been out of battery for months, and there's no signal, and then it just turned on and your number came up - where are you? Are you safe? Alexis, are you safe? Hello?"

The screen honed in further… onto the Indian continent… down.. down… down…

Alexis struggled frantically. 'Please, stop!' In answer, his fingers tightened, enclosing her in a vice-like grip and she gasped in pain. Hang up Sari, please hang up...

"Sorry, no, she isn't safe," said Starscream smoothly. "I'd forgotten just how much you can prattle on, Sari… Do you remember me?"

There was a silence. Then Sari spoke, her voice sounding very small.

"S… Starscream?"

"Well done. Alexis can't talk to you I'm afraid," he glanced at Alexis who was pummeling his fingers and struggling desperately. "So... you are at present cowering in the Gole Colony, Nashik, India? How very interesting…"

There was a gasp and the line went dead.

"That was rude." He turned to look at Alexis, panting with exhaustion in his grip, staring at him in horror.

"My wingbrother Thundercracker is currently managing things in India," he said, relishing the fear on her face. His hand wandered to his com link. "I think I'll give him a call…"

"NO!" She was crying now, the tears making streaks through the dirt and blood on her cheeks. "Don't… please don't hurt her!'

'Oh I'm not going to hurt her,' he said softly. 'I'm going to kill her. And you can listen in. My wingbrother is very efficient.'

His face filled her vision, the smile was gone. Staring into those red optics, Alexis knew he meant what he said one hundred percent. Shaking her head, she squirmed once more, her limbs painfully squashed in his grip. Slick with terrified sweat, she slid further into his fist, scrabbling desperately. 'She didn't do anything to you... please, leave her alone...'

His voice lowered to a growl, and the cruel smile was back - it was as if he was feasting on her terror. 'Killing that irritating bounty hunter has somewhat whetted my appetite. Why not add your annoying friend to the menu?'

'PLEASE!' she screamed in desperation, sobbing and struggling.

'That's right,' he said softly, moving in closer as she cringed back, wincing in pain inside his grip. 'Beg me not to end her life.'

'Please don't hurt her,' she whispered, defeated, collapsing against his fingers. 'Please...'

He regarded her for some time as she sniffed and wiped her eyes. Then he spoke, his voice calm, assured.

"I have here the details of everyone you love and hold dear to you," he said. "Can you imagine how, one day, after months of fleeing decepticons, scrabbling for food, for shelter… their lifeless phone illuminates to show your number calling them. I think they would pick up. Don't you?

'Do you understand the implications of what I have just told you?"

After a moment, she nodded mutely.

"As I thought.' He dropped her carelessly from a height of ten feet and she rolled painfully on the tabletop. 'Your friend lives, for now. You will join my slaves here, for the rest of your days. Disobey me, or slacken in your work, and I will locate your friends on this little device, and I will kill them. One by one.'

His footsteps withdrew. When he had gone Alexis shakily rose onto her knees, stuffing her sleeves into her mouth to try to stem the sobs.

Thousands of miles away, Sari's screams alerted her mother, who dashed into the little room to find her daughter sobbing and squashed into the corner, staring at the phone on the bed as if it were a poisonous snake.

"Sari! What…"

But Sari fled from the room, down the long concrete corridor, under bare bulbs giving off minimal light… she skidded into a large hall, her bare feet smacking off the tiles as she ran. "We've got to help her," she sobbed uncontrollably. "Starscream's got her, we've got to help, we've got to get to England…"

And she wept and clung to the large, yellow, metal arms that reached out to comfort her.