Authors Note
Its me again, I'm back. Now where have I been you might ask. I'm currently in South Korea on shore leave. That's right, I'm now back at sea. I left home to join ship nearly 2 months ago and an opportunity to to finally post this new chapter has arrived. So without further ado
Enjoy
"Well?" Barnaby asked "You do know who Jason Hadfield is?"
Michael went into panic and it was clear on his face, he looked to Baines desperately for answers.
"Jason Hadfield? Do you know of him?" Barnaby asked again, clearly getting impatient.
Michael took a deep breath and answered "No, I've never heard of him"
"Rubbish!" Barnaby shouted back "You know damn well who he is. Not only is clear on your face but the sounds I'm hearing from others tell me something different as well. So I'll ask again do you know of Jason Hadfield?"
Baines stood up "Sirs, I've have to make an objection to this line of questions"
"Explain" Simmons said.
"Under the Courts Procedure Act we must have the same bundles as the prosecuting side does so we are able to make an appropriate defence"
The major-general quickly conferred with the two on either side of him and discussed whether the Rear Admiral was right.
"It would seem so, Admiral. Mr Barnaby, I don't know who the Home Office thinks we are, but we are fairly familiar of the law. Now I will have to ask you to cease this line of questions until you have given everything you have to the defence and they have had the time to review it. Understood?"
Barnaby gritted his teeth. He was sure he was about to have Rickers and the rear admiral off guard "Yes, sir. I understand"
Baines made another request "Sirs, in light of this development, I would like to request an early adjournment until I am satisfied that we have everything we need to make a proper defence"
The major-general looked to the other two who simply nodded. "Granted. Take as long as you need, but please be speedy about it. I will mention that Cadet Rickers is under no circumstances to leave this building" The three panel members stood up and so did everyone else in the room. The three quickly left the room before anyone else.
Michael walked back over to Baines while glaring at Barnaby who retreated back to the table in fear.
"Thanks" Michael said to Baines
"That's what I'm here for"
The two headed for the door out to the hotel foyer and everyone in the public gallery followed them.
They all grouped together in the foyer and Baines addressed the lot of them "Ok everyone, this may take sometime so you might get bored if you hang around here all day. I suggest you go around the city and do some sight seeing while myself and Michael work on this"
The children, June, Fowler and the three Autobot holograms made their way to the door heading out into the Westminster street while the holograms of Optimus and Elita stayed behind.
Baines mobile went off and he answered it "Baines here… ok, what have you got?...right I'll be there as soon as… ok, meeting place lima… see you soon" He hung up and put his phone back in his inside jacket pocket. The others looked at him for answers. "It would seem there might be something dodgy going on after all"
Michael looked raring to get into action but Baines raised a hand to him "Not today Michael, your confined here. Elita, will you please stay with him?"
"As if I needed asking" She replied. She gave Michael a slight shove towards the lift to head back to his room on the fourth floor while Optimus stayed behind.
"If it is alright with you admiral, but I would wish to oversee what is happening as I too feel I have a responsibility over Michael" Optimus said.
"That's fine, I could do with someone to help work out what is going on here"
Optimus nodded.
Barnaby came out from the tribunal room and into the foyer and marched right up to Baines with an angry expression "You bastard, why did you do that?"
Baines gave Optimus an annoyed glace and looked behind him at Barnaby "The law is the law Mr Barnaby, for a legal advisor you should know better than to try and use petty cheating tactics"
"I'll make this clear to you… admiral. I don't like you, never have, never will. You still live in the past. You know the cold war is over, yes? The Russians aren't our enemies anymore. You know, before I got here this morning I had a brief discussion with others in the office and we talked about you. And do you know what we came up with?... So what? Seriously no one gives a damn about you anymore. You are then and this is now, and as they say, then isn't now. Look, you've had your time so why don't you go away, go somewhere warm, lie down… and fade"
Baines stepped closer to Barnaby and backed him to a wall "Now you listen carefully as I will only say this once. If I hear you speak to me like that ever again, I will come round and tear out your vicious little tongue" He said slowly with extreme menace in his voice.
The lift came back down and the doors slid open to an empty lift cage. Baines grabbed Barnaby with the front of his shirt and shoved him into the lift. The doors closed on cue and that was Barnaby taken care of.
Baines slapped his hands together as if he dusting them off "Come on Optimus, let's find out what's going on" The two walked out the main doors to the hotel and into the street.
The two came down the steps of the entrance and walked along the pavement towards where Baines' old Jaguar was parked up. Baines walked around to the drivers doors and unlocked the car and both slid in. They both put there seatbelts on and Baines fired up the engine. Optimus noticed that the controls were different to most vehicles in the US. This car had a different control for the gears. He remembered back to something either Fowler or June had said. Americans had a term for this type of gear selector. Stick shift, he remembered it was called a stick shift by the Americans.
"Yeah, it's a manual. Have you ever seen one before?" Baines asked. Optimus hadn't realized that he had been staring at the gear stick for that long. Baines pushed the stick away from him and forward into first gear and eased the Jaguar out of the parking space and down the street heading towards Parliament Square.
The Jaguar negotiated the busy London traffic around the square in front on the Houses of Parliament. Optimus couldn't help but take a good look at Big Ben as they passed it and as they crossed over Westminster bridge he also marvelled at the London Eye. He like the way the old and new made such a contrast on either side of the Thames. Soon they were on the south bank and heading west towards Lambeth.
While they moved along with the busy slow moving traffic Optimus had something on his mind. Normally he had a lot on his mind but this time it was slightly different. It concerned Baines. Who was he? What was his past? What wasn't he saying?
"Admiral?" Optimus said slowly
"You want to ask stuff about me, don't you?" The old rear admiral replied. Optimus was slightly surprised that he knew what he was thinking. "Optimus, I have a lot of experience dealing with a lot of clever people and over time I can tell what people are thinking. So what is it you want to know?" He said while keeping his eyes on the road.
"I have noticed that at times you have spoken in riddles and answer questions about yourself vaguely. From what I can gather I would say that you have spent time working outside the normal chain of command. Is this a accurate assumption?"
"Pretty much, yeah" Baines answered.
They came up to a red light and the traffic came to a stop. While the car was stationary Baines shifted slightly in his seat to look at Optimus better. "I'm sure you know a fair amount about Michael's father?"
Optimus nodded.
"Well we were good friends. We went through Dartmouth college together. I never knew him before then, but we met by chance and found out we were both from Cardiff. Being Cardiff kids we naturally got on with each other very well. We were in the same intake and both on the same course so we saw a lot of each other and naturally we passed out of college as sub Lieutenant war officers together"
"Then what happened that caused Michael's father to go down the path that he travelled?" Optimus asked.
"Well actually both of us did the same thing and over time we went our different ways, careers wise"
The lights changed to red and amber then green and the traffic started to move off again. Baines went back to concentrating on driving. "After a short period of time we both began to notice a underlying but alarming level of corruption in the navy. Both us try tried our level best to tackle it but it only got us in trouble. However our efforts didn't go unnoticed as we were soon approached by recruiters from the royal military police. They wanted us to work for them, gathering intelligence on the corruption going on so they could make a start at properly tackling it. Soon we found ourselves living a double life within the navy. We would a first seem to be regular servicemen doing whatever our job was but we were also tracking down those who were abusing their power for their own purposes"
Optimus was glad to hear that something was being done to eradicate corruption, sadly he had to reflect that not enough had been done on Cybertron that finally led to the great war that destroyed the planet.
"Over time the level of corruption fell to almost not existing at all and the organization that the royal military police had built up over the years was disbanded and many like myself went back to our normal careers. However Markus, Michael's father, got a thrill out it all and carried on flushing out what was bad within the navy till the point he was picked up by the secret service and was asked to join and that is how he ended up where he was"
Optimus mulled over this information and came to a conclusion of his own "But even when the military police disbanded this organisation, it still functioned. I would also assume that the rank of the member was reflected within this organisation"
The admiral smiled "You know what, it's been such a long time since I've met someone as sharp as you. Got it in one. I'm the head of this organisation. I'm the first of my year of those passing out to reach the rank of rear admiral, most are still captains"
They took a street heading south taking them away from the busy traffic of central London to the quieter parts of the city to the point where the constant starts and stopping had seized and the Jaguar was now cruising along the small streets.
"We're off to meet one of those people from the organisation as he has informed me that he has found out something that concerns the situation about Michael" Baines explained.
"What sort of information?"
"He didn't say, which normally means it is so sensitive that he was at risk if he transmitted it so he will tell us face to face"
The Jaguar carried on cruising down the road through the small brick terrace house borough.
Back at the hotel Michael was sitting at the end of the bed feeling bad for himself. For the first time in a long time did he had to solely rely on the efforts of someone else to get him out of trouble, and he didn't like it. The hologram of Elita was making a cup of tea for Michael. She came to sit beside him at the end of the bed and carefully passed him the hot mug of tea.
"You ok?" She asked.
Michael just looked at the floor "They set me up" He said as if to himself.
"I'm sorry?"
"They said his information would be wiped. So why the hell was his name mentioned?"
Elita realized what he meant "Hadfield"
Michael simply nodded.
"Look, I'm sure Baines is doing all he can do sort this out" Elita tried to lift Michael's spirit.
Michael looked away from Elita making a quiet sigh.
"What's the matter?"
"It's just the fact that there is little I can do. I've always sorted out my own problems, not someone else"
Elita put a comforting arm over Michael's shoulders "You're not on your own anymore. Let us help you"
Michael said nothing.
The old Jaguar pulled into a yard of an abandoned factory which had shut down in the eighties. The corrugated metal roof was heavily rusted and looked like it was about to fall apart. The old red brick walls weren't doing as well either. The sound of the engine was the only sign of life in the yard but that too stopped as Baines killed the engine and him and Optimus' hologram got out of the car.
"He'll be inside" Baines told Optimus.
The two walked a few yards towards a battered old white wooden fire door which was to the right of the main rolling metal doorway of the factory. Baines simply pushed open the door, expecting it to be unlocked. Baines went in first, being careful as he stepped with Optimus following close behind.
The inside was cold and damp plus it was eerily quiet with the occasional sound of hanging chains clanging in the faint breeze that came through the thousands of tiny cracks with the structure of the warehouse.
"Four Five?" Baines called out into the darkness. There was no reply.
"Four Five!" Baines shouted louder.
The sound of something metal colliding with the concrete floor was heard. Both instantly turned to the direction where the sound came from. Then all was heard was the slight sound of the chains continuously clanging. The two slowly edged their way towards the source of the sound. In the rough area where they guessed the sound had come from was a rows of high metal shelves that once used to stow away stuff by the pallet load while it waited to be shipped out to wherever.
The two came to the corner of the first one and saw standing silently was a man hiding in the shadows of the metal structure. This face was hidden but it was clear from the outline he was wearing a long over coat and was of medium build and stood at just under six foot in height.
"How have you been sir?" The man in the dark asked.
The edges of Baines' mouth creped up slightly to show a slight grin "All the better once you tell me what you know"
The man took a few steps out of the dark with the sound of his expensive shoes clack against the concrete floor. The man in question wasn't that much younger than Baines was but he clearly looked after his health. His face was slim and still displayed that youthfulness from years ago.
"Ok" He started, his voice came out clean and crisp with no hint of a regional accent "Well you put the message out across the network for anything suspicious and to report it. Well I found something alright"
Baines face changed slightly to one of slight suspicion. This was due to his experience telling him not to take things at face value rather than a certain distrust to the man.
"I got a heads up about an aircraft flying over from the continent, either from the Netherlands or Belgium which didn't have a arranged flight plan or have permission to enter UK airspace. It was a helicopter as it turned out. So I ordered to keep it quiet suspecting that this might have something to do with you as this happened only yesterday" He took a pause as he tried to find the best way on how to say it.
"Yes, and?" Baines urged him to continue.
"Well.. Ok. I went to where the chopper landed and checked it out. Guess who was in the helicopter?"
"I haven't got time for guessing. Look does this concern Michael's situation or not. Because if it doesn't I have to be other places" Baines turned around and started to head back to the door.
"It was Shmelev" The man suddenly blurted out.
Baines froze on the stop. His eyes shot open and his mouth parted slightly. He quickly regain his normal composer and spun on his heels back to the man. Optimus was completely in the dark. He had no idea what that meant to the aging rear admiral.
"No it wasn't" Baines simply said. "Shmelev is dead"
"You sure about that?" The man asked.
"Yes" Baines said turning away again.
"Tell me admiral, how are you sure?" The man inquired.
"Because I killed him"
Optimus' was now just has stunned. He wasn't aware that Baines had too taken a life.
The man shifted nervously as he reached for his inside pocket and pulled out a small set of photo's.
"I managed to take this while I was there" He passed the photos' over to Baines who studied them meticulously, trying to find the proof that the photos were a lie. He found none. He took a deep breath as he considered what to do about it.
"The FSB?"
"The car that picked him up belongs to the Russian embassy. Plus the welcome committee was there to greet him"
Baines continued to stare at the photo still trying to find the flaw. Many ideas came into his head, there were many possibilities as to why this had to happen now.
"What's your thought on this?" He asked the man.
"I did some digging to see what it could be. I don't believe he has come just because of Michael. It is something else"
"Which is?" The admiral was getting impatient.
"Oil"
Baines and Optimus were slightly confused here.
The man clarified "It's mostly to do with oil. Look, also recently many representatives of Russian oil companies has made their way to London. I'm guessing that what is going on is, that the government is dealing under the table with our new Russian friends, and maybe handing Michael over to them would be the sweetener to take off the slightly bitter taste"
Baines paced back and fore slightly, his breathing became loud as he tried to think.
"A far fetched idea, but unlikely. There has been talks with the Russians about oil deals for sometime. Maybe this is a big coincidence"
The man shook his head, and so did Optimus do. But this time it was Optimus who decided to speak up.
"Admiral. You and I have both enough experience to know that most things that happen are not coincidental. Given the circumstances and also what I can guess to be at stake, I would strongly agree with this line of thinking"
Baines considered the Primes words carefully. Sure he knew Optimus was not from this world and he didn't claim to fully understand it, but he did know that the Prime was very astute and he always thought logically and rationally.
"Perhaps so" Baines said. He turned back to face the man "Four five. I need more information about the movements of Shmelev. I want to know where he is going, who he meets and generally what the hell he is doing in the UK"
"Yes, sir"
Baines turned to Optimus "For the mean time, we better get back to the hotel. We need to come up with a defence about the whole issue with Hadfield" The two headed back the way they came towards the old wooden fire door.
Clang.
Baines on instinct pulled out his PPK from his coat pocket. He did a quick scan around him with Optimus doing exactly the same.
"Four five, you sure you weren't followed?"
"Positive"
"Ok. Just get yourself clear of here. You're no good if they find out who you are"
"Yes, sir"
The man made of in the shadows in a different direction. The sound of his shoes got quieter and quieter as he moved further into the old warehouse till it stopped altogether. Baines and Optimus stayed perfectly still but heard no other noise.
"Whoever it is, is still here" Baines whispered. He jerked his head indicating Optimus to follow.
Baines took the lead holding his side arm out in front of him. They made their way to the next row of pallet shelves being careful trying not to make too much noise.
They came to the end of the row when from the darkness a figure ran at Baines and pushed him over with enough force to topple him over. Just as Baines managed to realise what just happened Optimus was already helping him to his feet and both made chase on foot. The man had ran out through the same door they had used to get in. They came through the door just to see the attacker run down the street.
"Optimus, I can't keep up with him"
Optimus simply nodded and made chase down the street while Baines tried his best to keep up. Optimus made a note of what the attacker looked like or at least what he was wearing at his face couldn't be seen up until a point where a car pulled infront of him on a corner which he slammed into. He staggered back only to see the attacker run off into the distance.
"I'm have to apologize for that reckless manoeuvre my driver just did their" Optimus heard a Russian accent. He look down to see the rear window was rolled down and a man as the same age as Baines looking at him.
The old rear admiral finally caught up and completely out of breath.
"My, my admiral. You certainly not what you use to be"
Baines stared at the man which utter contempt.
"Shmelev"
"It's been awhile. And now is the boy doing? Has he finally gone the way of his father?"
"Well I'm guessing you know the answer already"
Shmelev just grinned "It's been very nice to see you again Collin Baines. But you'll have to excuse me as I have a very busy schedule" The window started to roll up as the car took off in the direction the attacker went.
Baines had his hand over his chest as it felt it was on fire. Optimus was about to steady him, sensing the admiral was loosing his balance.
"I'm fine"
"What happens now?" Optimus asked.
Baines eyes looked up while he was still hunched over "We head back and we plan our next move"