Chapter 77
-0-Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.
As Beau Weaver of the Great State of Texas made his point, someone else did, too. Three huge explosions outside blew out the windows behind them as the concussion flashed across the common area outside.
For a moment, it was silent enough that the actual tinkling sound of falling glass could clearly be heard inside the room. Then sound slammed back in as the shouts and screams outside were matched by those inside.
Ratchet rose up turning back to watch as Sideswipe, Hound and Ironhide who dumped Lennox rather hurriedly transformed into their alt robotic configurations, their weapons coming online as they did.
Morshower rising to glance around watched as the Autobots began to organize inside the center.
Ratchet shouted out that people needed to sit back down and settle. They stared at him and the behemoths that were trying to move to the big double doors, the shattered windows, then moved back as the people quieted down to let them pass.
Ironhide, all twenty-five feet of seething black menace moved toward the windows to peered out, his cannons online and his sensors spread wide.
Hound who was nearly as tall, armed to the teeth and moving to the other side of the blown out windows looked back as Sideswipe rolled up, his swords sheathing and unsheathing as he hesitated by the broken window to peer outside as well.
Ratchet turned to the committee to ascertain their safety, then to the people who stood in the room transfixed. He called out to the crowd gathered inside, some of them hysterical to calm themselves and sit down away from the windows. He told them that the Autobots would protect them and to let them pass if they came that way to leave the center aisle of the venue open.
For a moment they stood in place staring blankly, then they moved back to allow Ratchet to come closer and offer quieter words of comfort against their fears. By then, the three Autobots at the window were outside stealthing out to find who was responsible for the outrage.
-0-Ops Center, Autobot HQ
A continuous stream of information was being sent back to Prime who stood beside the communications desk, his expression one of frustration and concern. The blasts outside now being broadcast to Diego had blown out a number of windows in nearby buildings and the concussion had mowed down people who were standing in its path.
The blast holes were easy to detect and the carnage though significant was saved from catastrophic by the fact that the devices appeared to be planted in areas that were fenced off and unused. During the hearings, the area was fenced off. With the tall building itself taking a great deal of the blast, the windows were still in shards inside.
Crowds were farther away and even though they'd been impacted on the nearest fringes, it didn't appear to have reached them hard enough to cause deaths or dismemberment.
Ironhide moved across the parking lot toward the bombed sites. Hound was looking up for Seekers with his weapon pointed while Sideswipe rolled along behind them with his sensors sweeping in all directions. His swords sheathed and unsheathed as he watched the peripheral of the site.
The cratered holes were blackened and the concrete bore the impact becoming twisted, pitted, gouged and burned. They were planted close together to make the biggest blast possible and as Ironhide scanned the area and the craters, the others gave cover.
He found the detonators, sending the images in his infrared vision to Diego Garcia as he looked around. Kneeling, he found bits and pieces of the bomb, small and charred, while forming a grid in his processor. He placing the pieces on it in situ as a forensics investigator would later on with the rest. He combed the area looking for details of Decepticon activity, all the while in contact with Prime in Diego.
His chatter and the chatter of Hound, Sideswipe and Ratchet filtered through the comm system of Ops Center where everyone was listening as they looked at the scene Ironhide was investigating in his vision field. Then the sound of emergency vehicles could be heard and the line of vision changed to see them approach. Ironhide, Sideswipe and Hound's visuals broadcast over three big monitors at the Center showed humans arriving on scene.
Cops were running forward, people were pulling injured up and away and it was chaos outside. The Autobots watched as armed police and FBI ran toward them guns drawn. Then Morshower appeared, his aides with him. They intercepted the police before they reached the Autobots.
Lennox appeared then to talk quickly to law enforcement. He then ran toward the Autobots.
Ironhide's visual looked down capturing him as he began to speak. He told them that the people inside were safe and being evacuated. They heard Ironhide ask about Ratchet and he said Ratchet was coming outside to help with the wounded.
Then Ironhide's visual changed, moving toward the building to watch as Ratchet stepped out of the broken windows heading toward the people limping away or sitting on the ground dazed. He knelt, then picked up a man to hold him carefully. He moved forward collecting another. Ambulances had arrived as Ratchet knelt to lay the people down gently as stunned frightened rescue people snapped to from their shock of him and the moment to help.
When it was clear to Ironhide that they understood Ratchet was helping and he wasn't being harassed, Ironhide's visual returned to the bomb craters. He asked Lennox to move here and there peering into this and that, seeking to see if the Decepticons had a hand in the atrocity.
Beyond them, beyond the building and the barriers being maintained by Capital Police, District of Columbia law enforcement and the FBI, huge crowds were being directed away. The number of news people surged, arguing loudly for access but were not allowed to come any closer than they were as the police sought to maintain control and prevent contamination of the scene.
A hummer and an armored car along with the local S.W.A.T. van pulled up, then heavily armored humans jumped out as the doors opened.
Ironhide watched them and so did Ops Center as they came forward, slowing as they approached the aliens, some of them with guns drawn.
Lennox ran toward them to begin a heated discussion that led to them putting their weapons away. The bomb squad experts came forward gathering with Lennox beside Ironhide who bent down to come closer to them.
"The bombs were of Earth-type composition, William," Ironhide said to the humans collected around Lennox. "There's nothing about their design that's Decepticon but I know they had help. The bombs appear to have been placed here a few days ago. The venue was not common knowledge until yesterday so it was an inside job. The placement of the bombs would require expertise and finesse to prevent detection, something that Decepticons could provide."
"So Starscream directed this," Lennox asked as Morshower joined them.
"They want to discredit you and the Autobots," Morshower said.
Ironhide nodded. "I wouldn't disagree," he said as his optics glanced toward Ratchet who was working with relief people to bring aid to the damaged humans. "They sent a message to us," Ironhide said looking back to Morshower. "They want Weaver and the people of this world to push us out."
Morshower looked at him with a grim expression. "He can try, the fucker." Morshower looked at the destruction, then turned to the police. "The scene is yours."
With that, they stepped back Army and Autobot alike as the experts of the District of Columbia Heavy Weapons and Tactics team and the Bomb Squad took over. As they did, the entire disaster, the bombing, the disarray in its wake, the emergence of the Autobots into the world outside the venue, Ambassador Ratchet giving medical assistance, Hound, Sideswipe and Ironhide giving defensive protection was broadcast to the country and to the world.
America saw it.
Diego Garcia saw it.
Europe, Asia, Africa, South and North America saw it.
Nast saw it in Houston and smiled.
Starscream saw it much farther away and he smiled, too.
-0-Inside an hour later
The committee sat on chairs waiting for the all clear to leave. Weaver sat with a pale complexion and an unreadable expression. Hoxley sitting in front of him turned his way with a coffee cup in hand. "So, do you still want the Autobots to leave?"
Weaver glanced at her, frowning slightly at her question. "If they hadn't been here this wouldn't have happened."
"I disagree. If they hadn't been here it would've happened anyway and it would've been much worse. There would be no one on Earth that could stand up to them and the threat that they pose," Hoxley replied tartly.
The sound of heavy treads interrupted them as Ratchet came back through the windows, walking to where the committee and their aides sat. Kneeling down to eye level he glanced at each. "Are you all right?" he asked scanning each of them as he asked.
"We're fine," Hoxley replied. "Are you and your comrades?"
"We are," Ratchet said. "We've assisted the bomb squad and emergency teams to aid the injured. There do not appear to be any injuries that threaten life."
The committee reflected relief then settled wearily in their chairs. "Mr. Ambassador, were the Decepticons involved?" a Senator from Oregon asked.
Ratchet nodded. "To our trained optics it would appear so. The devices were planted some time ago and concealed with great care. The blasts themselves appear to be designed to send a message without inflicting too much carnage."
"If you lot weren't here this wouldn't have happened," Weaver said sitting up straighter with a stubborn expression on his face.
"If you wish to comfort yourself by thinking so, Mr. Weaver, I won't disabuse you," Ratchet said. "On the other hand, you're not alone to face this threat and it's a very real and present danger."
"I'm glad," a Senator from Maine said, a neutral senator before today.
Ratchet nodded. "I am, too," he said quietly. "We'd like to know that you're well and ready to leave. We'll be going back to Diego Garcia but will be available should you require our presence at any hearings or proceedings that you deem necessary, especially related to us. Our experts are working on this event and its evidence as well."
"Thank you, Mr. Ambassador," Hoxley said. "I'll keep in touch through my Washington office."
Ratchet nodded, then rose to stare down at them. He stepped back from them for more space. Then he transformed and where a tall gangling robotic entity once stood smiling with a kindly face and deeply blue optics, a huge hummer search and rescue vehicle now appeared. It blinked its lights, backed slightly, then rolled forward and out the double doors of the venue to disappear into the rapidly falling nighttime of Washington, D. C.
They stared after it wordlessly.
-0-On the ground in Diego Garcia
Will Lennox commed off his cell phone after talking to his parents, the pair of them brimming with questions and keen interest in his assignment. He couldn't speak to them before today. Now it was a relief to hear them and talk about what he actually did. His wife had called earlier on the ride back and he had comforted her and his daughter, reminding them that he was coming home for Christmas.
Epps and Graham met him with a hummer and they drove back to the barracks to talk and play poker until the wee hours of the morning.
Hound met by Trailbreaker walked together along with Ratchet, Ironhide and Sideswipe. Waiting inside the door, greeting Sideswipe with enthusiasm was Bluestreak.
Sunstreaker stood back with an enraged expression on his face. He pulled Sideswipe and Bluestreak to one side, looking around as he did. "Those fraggers got a picture of us. Someone on this base is a slagging traitor."
"I know," Sideswipe said, his own expression expressing his outrage.
"We have to figure it out," Sunny said as he walked with Blue and Sideswipe toward Ops Center. "We have to find out fragging soon." They entered Ops Center for the debrief with Prime and the senior Autobot Command Team.
Outside, walking toward his preferred tie down, Silverbolt walked gracefully and majestically. Enormously even. He crossed the compound quietly, climbed the fence and joined the other Aerialbots once more. Night fell on Diego Garcia as everyone settled, cognizant that they'd dodged a bullet even as it became very clear they had a traitor in their midst.