Chapter 87
-0-Diego Garcia
He walked from his barracks, strolling with a newspaper from home in his hand. He'd read it in the mess hall and found it interesting. His high school football team was on their way to the state championship playoffs, his hometown was getting money to rebuild the bridge that traversed the river out by his uncle's farm and the Autobot's children were a topic on everyone's mind.
That he was the one responsible for the children being common knowledge, something the Autobots were working hard to prevent didn't bother him. He was just doing his job.
For Nast.
The Intel-Martin C.E.O. had suggested that they change up some of their routings and when Todd had requested a change of assignment he'd given the packet of photos and observations to Todd to carry out with him. He said it was a resume. The only reason that Todd didn't chuck it I the garbage was Nast had asked him to bring it to him personally. So he did.
Nast had disseminated it throughout the media by contacts cultivated and purchased through years of effort. The children were speculated upon by people all over the world who only had a peripheral sense of who and what the Cybertronians actually were.
Images circulated on the internet, youtube hosting channels with blurred video that often were taken down by order of the Department of Defense as well as images from cell phones that showed very indistinct giant colorful robots usually shooting things up. There was only one blurred image of Optimus Prime and that disappeared on the day it hit the internet.
What people didn't know was that the Autobots had roving internet spiders working tirelessly to find images that were taboo as well as taking down any of Optimus. That included all images, especially those that were clear enough to detect much detail. The release of the pictures of the children to widespread viewership was something that no one could put back into the bottle.
His colleagues were furious, especially the special ops from N.E.S.T. who knew the Autobots best. Listening to them speculate that someone on base was a spy sent a chill down his spine so he worked harder to be extra careful. He was afraid of what they would do to him if he made a mistake and was uncovered. He would have to be sneakier than he already was.
What he didn't know was that the Autobots already knew and were doubling down on him as he walked unaware and at relative ease. He walked into the office where he worked and greeted the three Army and two Air Force women who promptly told him about the Christmas tree that they had set up for the 'adorable little kids' in the Autobot HQ.
-0-December 21st, early morning
They left on Cosmos, disappearing into the darkened skies without drawing attention. They had walked to the ship in ones and twos, their gear stowed on board over a period of days. Jazz, Mirage, Sideswipe, Ironhide, Hound and Optimus were gone, flying away to a rendezvous with Nast.
He'd bought their story that High Flyer had procured Arcee and Springer and would bring them to a warehouse in Oregon for him to pick up. He'd bought the invitation to come in person to meet High Flyer, to discuss future projects and his ties to the Decepticons, who High Flyer had intimated were responsible for his bounty.
The Autobots led by Jazz had blocked any of these communications from going to the real High Flyer who wouldn't know this event was occurring. They rerouted Nast's emails in and out of Teletraan II, ghosting replies to the two messages High Flyer had intended for him to get so Starscream wouldn't know they were attempting to nail his puppet.
Optimus sat on Cosmos comm linked to Diego and Prowl, discussing the arrangements for their 'guest' when they returned. He asked for status on Autobot City and felt a swell of pride in the results of the munitions testing and the organization Springer had instituted. He commed off and relaxed, aware that Nast had no idea of the firepower he was going to face and that they would have a possible 'ally' into the next phase of Optimus' thinking … the capture or death of Starscream.
At this point with the number of sparks depending on sanctuary both at Autobot City and beyond in the galaxy, he was willing to entertain the later.
-0-Rogue Valley, Oregon
They had arrived the night before to scout the warehouse, then settling into a motel in the nearby town of Central Point. The warehouse was just a short hop from the Rogue Valley International Medford Airport and they'd arranged their trucks and routes accordingly. He could see why High Flyer chose the area. It had enough of what they needed without being too urban to be a problem.
The area they were operating within had open spaces scattered among businesses and big box stores. It was perfect for a hand off. There was very little activity beyond Crater Lake Highway and a few roads used by trucks to skirt traffic once darkness set in. The warehouse was part of several next to Central Point Software and was surrounded by a chain link fence. The gates were open during the day and closed at night, the time the pickup would be made. No problem, Nast and Jaspers considered. It was otherwise relatively lightly secured.
Walking back to their SUV, the two men drove into Medford and had lunch at the Far East Restaurant, unaware that they were being followed by a jeep and a Bentley Continental, their holographic drivers intent upon their asses.
-0-Central Point, Oregon, T-minus four joors
They parked in the lot of the Rogue Valley Fairgrounds, scattered here and there as they waited for nightfall. Cosmos had let them out in a field south of the Shakespearean town of Ashland, the dirt road that cut it in two leading them to Interstate 5 and the short eighteen mile drive to Medford.
The warehouse they'd arranged was innocuous and secure enough to funnel the enemy inside so they could be more easily subdued. Nights in the area this time of year were very dark so they'd be able conclude their business without much fuss once they neutralized the lighting both inside and outside of the warehouse. Of course, two of them would already be parked inside, cutting the odds even more in their favor.
Nast and Jaspers' plane was due to land in two joors so they broke up, Sideswipe and Jazz rolling to the warehouse to wait inside. Ironhide and Prime would maintain surveillance of the warehouse from posts nearby while Mirage and Hound would follow the enemy during the downtime leading to the night incursion before Mirage would become the bait car.
All it took now was patience.
-0-Diego Garcia
The mole finished work, walking toward the flight line to get the cricks out of his legs. The planes fascinated him, the real ones and the Autobots. The Aerialbots that had been missing had just arrived, transforming to walk to the piece of land beyond that the others had claimed as their own. It had been an awesome sight to watch, three gigantic robotic entities walking together with excitement toward the tie-down where two others waited, one of them who transformed to wave.
They saw him and walked where they were waiting, gathering together to talk like the family they were. It was odd to see something familiar, friends excitedly greeting friends among such different creatures.
The normal flights were going in and out, the big bombers sat nearby, their wings sagging at rest and Cosmos was gone. He wondered where the shuttle had gone, perhaps to the Oort Field to do sensor work. He often did that and it amazed him that Cosmos could go to the edge of the solar system, to the fucking solar well and back again in less than half a day. That was past Pluto he thought, shaking his head with amazement.
He walked back, stretched and relaxed. He was filled with admiration for the entities among them. As he passed the Autobot HQ, he saw a very small Autobot standing in the doorway peering out. It was small, white and red and had a little Autobot insignia on his shoulder. He stared at the mole, looking at him intently, then stepped back shyly into the shadows. Big hands reached down to pick him up and he disappeared into the hangar, looking over an Autobot's shoulder, watching him as he watched the child. The mole watched a moment, staring inside the Embassy as he wished he could come inside. Then he walked on.
The irony of the moment and his actions were completely lost upon him as he did.
-0-Oregon, at T minus 2 breems
The sky was dark overhead, the kind of velvety black that only Northwestern skies could muster. The SUV bearing Nast and Jaspers along with two of their four hired guns drove toward the warehouse along the road that ran parallel to it. They drove past it, moving onward, peering at it with night vision glasses.
No one was moving and it seemed calm and normal. Then a car shot past them going in the other direction, heading toward the warehouse to turn into it. The gate of the fence moved, motivated by an electronic switch most likely held by the driver of the vehicle.
They turned around to roll up, pausing by the road that led to the warehouse. They watched as a late model Bentley Continental drove in to park by the warehouse, the shadows of the building blocking a clear view.
"What do you think?" Jaspers asked, glancing at Nast.
"I think Mr. High Flyer drives a nice car," Nast said with a smirk. "Let's go. Can't keep our good friend waiting."
Jaspers radioed the other two operatives to sit tight in the trucks they were driving parked farther away on the turn outs on the Medco Haul Road. Nast drove slowly forward, the men behind him slipping the safeties off the handguns they carried. Rolling down the dirt track to the warehouse, they took stock of the area.
Parked to one side, shadows from the smaller outbuildings obscuring it somewhat was a large Peterbilt semi tractor truck. Nearby with a tarp partially obscuring it, a GMC pick up also was parked. The Bentley sat near the door to the warehouse so they rolled closer. They turned the SUV around then rolled backwards to park so it would be facing outward in case of problems.
They sat in the SUV a moment, then they all stepped out, the two armed men moving as planned to the warehouse to scout out the perimeter as Nast and Jaspers stood out front looking this way and that. Nast who pulled out a handgun and slipped off the safety walked toward the GMC pick up. With care and skill, he peered under the tarp and into the cab spying nothing out of order. Jaspers checked out the semi, admiring the paint scheme even as it prickled something deep in his mind.
Walking back to meet their two operatives, they walked toward the building and aimed together with silencers engaged. Shooting in tandem, they put out the big spotlights that had given the area a decent amount of light. Then they walked to the warehouse to enter it. Behind them covered in the cloak of darkness, a pick up truck and a semi tractor transformed quietly, unsheathing weapons of their own as they walked toward a Bentley that was already fading away from view.
-0-Inside at the same time
A big box sat in the middle of an empty warehouse along with a pair of covered shapes that appeared to be cars. A black tarp covered what appeared to be a Lamborghini and a white tarp covered what appeared to be a silver Porsche. Both of them were parked against the back wall well away from the big box in the middle. Nast and Jaspers who were leaning against the wall sent their two hired guns to scout the situation as they provided cover.
A thorough investigation revealed no one present so they walked together toward the box, a single overhead light the only illumination for the entire room.
"Where's High Flyer?" Nast asked as he looked around, his gun held in readiness.
"I don't know," Jaspers said with nervous tension in his voice. He walked to the door they'd just entered. Opening it, he froze to the spot.
A light filtered in, orangish yellow and a hot wave of energy with it. Nast turned to look, then froze as well as the four of them looked into a cylinder of molten lava. It was leveled to the door, pointing directly at them and at the end of it clenched tightly was an enormous black metallic fist.
Backing away at last as prickly needles of fear infused their entire bodies, they staggered toward the middle of the room. As they did, the sounds of transformation filled the warehouse as the two covered cars changed. Covers slid off and they rose up, weapons drawn, their faces reflecting cold blooded murder. They moved forward, one of them rolling on wheel skates as the other walked silently on metallic feet that looked like they could kick a hole through titanium.
The light caught the two in shadows, the frightening aspect of their expressions and the incredible firepower they wielded blanking the minds of the humans as they turned in a circle, jerkily pointing their own inadequate weapons at the two who were advancing and the gigantic cannon filling their only escape route.
Then the warehouse doors began to slide upward, the sound of them grating and intense in the coagulated silence that surrounded them. They turned to stare with terror on their faces as they saw the beginnings of feet, of massive blue legs and then the legs, themselves knelt as a face appeared before them, a face from their deepest nightmares.
The door slammed loudly beside them. They jolted, then looked at it, seeing it as their only escape. They ran to it and tugged, unable to pull it open. Then there was another in the growing hangar doorway, a huge black hulking presence followed by a hulking green giant as a third joined them. They moved toward the box and bumped into something. They turned this way and that, their guns pointed as stared into a nightmare. Reaching out a shaking hand, Nast felt something metallic and jumped back, shouting loudly in fright at an invisible force.
As they stood in a group, backs pressed against the box, a shape solidified in front of them, a tall blue and white Autobot. He knelt, peering down into their faces with scorn and disgust clearly on his face. "Boo," he said softly as Optimus Prime and Ironhide stepped inside and the doors slowly began to fall, sealing off the scene from outside.