A Drone Named Jeffrey

Chapter Twenty Seven

Red

I had to wait for the opportune moment to strike. I could hear my target coming closer, and I stilled myself to be sure I wouldn't be found. This was too crucial a situation to jump the gun or get caught too early.

A warning flashed on my HUD, and I cursed at the low Energon warning. I knew I needed to find a few crystals before we started this trip, but I didn't realize I was that low. This just made everything a little more complicated…

Footsteps paused outside my hiding place, and I tensed. The moment they started again, I knew this was the moment I had been waiting for. I tapped the container and peeked over the ledge to watch it role down the sloped roof. It vanished, and I ducked when a shriek filled the yard. I forced myself to stay quiet as Riley's dad came running out of the house. "What? What happened?"

Riley growled, and I couldn't help but let a snicker escape. I wish I had a visual of my perfect revenge because it must have been good from the way Riley's dad loudly snorted. "Girl, how did you get a bucket of red paint all over you?"

"Shut up!" I ducked my head and closed my vents to keep myself from laughing. I really wished I could see Riley covered in the red paint I had found next to the pile of trash her dad had made when packing up the garage. But that would mean revealing myself to her dad, and I doubt he was ready to know his daughter had been riding around in a transforming car. "Just…shut up!"

The door slammed shut a few seconds later and then closed in a calmer manner a few seconds after that. I stood up from my crouch behind the garage and waited until Riley stomped into her room on the second floor. My visor brightened when she glanced out her window, and I waved. I couldn't hear her through the window, but I could imagine the colorful curses she snapped at me from her body language: her face a nasty snarl and fists shaking at the window.

I chuckled when she vanished from my sight and transformed into my alternative mode. It was late enough not to alert her dad that I was missing from the garage, and Riley certainly wouldn't be checking on me anytime soon. So, off to the mine I go—my last trip for Energon in this area.

I was actually a little worried about where I would find Energon in the new place.