Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers: just my OC's & the plot.
SMALL MERCIES
Chapter 7: When the Devil Drives...
In Beverly Hills:
The last hour or so had passed by in relative silence. As the four cousins/sisters, sat in a circle, cross-legged on the floor of the tiny bedroom: reading through the chapters of a life in turmoil; and trying to grasp the full measure, of just how tragic and doomed that life had been...
Jeanie heaved a heavy sigh, as she fought back the tears that threatened to well up in her eyes: unable to keep reading, she closed the diary and handed it to Darren: "...That poor kid...She never stood a chance"
"Not with that heartless bastard ruling her life" Roxy scowled as she turned the page of the diary for 2008; "...I'm just amazed she didn't try to take the easy way out: these diaries read like one long suicide note"
"Hmm..." Darren nodded as he forced himself to read one more page: after all they'd read thus far, he didn't know how much more he could bear to take in; but then, at the point he was about to close the dairy and be done with it. A certain paragraph caught his attention: "...I think I've found what we're looking for..." he thought aloud.
"What?" Roxy raised an eyebrow,
"Listen to this..." Darren read aloud, "March 18th 2009: Dr Arkeville came to visit today; he said I'll be going away for a while. Must be another psychiatric hospital or something, but this is the first time a doctor's actually come to visit me. Daddy say's it's for the best: and that Dr Arkeville will take good care of me. But I don't like him, there's something about him that really creeps me out"
"Arkeville? The guy Prime saw at Hoover Dam?" Jeanie frowned,
"The same: and this is the solid evidence we need to prove Broadsword are responsible for Josie's disappearance" Darren replied as he read another paragraph: "...March 20th 2009: the men from the hospital are already here, and they're dressed in black suits and sunglasses. They say I can't take anything, not even the photos of Amy, or my diaries; I think I'm in trouble, I-...And it just cuts off there,"
"Hospital staff in black suits and shades?" Roxy frowned, "Yeah, like anyone with half a brain's gonna swallow that bullshit,"
"Do you think her dad knew who they really were?" Chelsea thought aloud.
"Considering how badly he treated her? I don't think he'd have cared even if he did know beforehand" Jeanie sighed
"What I don't get is; her old man kept her locked up in here, like Rapunzel for two years since the Mission City incident, and evidently went to a lot of trouble to have her existence erased from the internet. If that was her last dairy entry from over six months ago; why then, did Broadsword decide to take her after eighteen months, and not right after Mission City?" Roxy pointed out.
Thinking about it, Darren could only find two explanations that seemed to fit the bill: "...There's only two possible answers that come to mind: A, Broadsword needed a specific kind of 'subject' for their science project, and it just took them that long to find the right candidate: and posed as a 'mental facility' to get at her. Or B; Beller was already in contact with them beforehand, and for whatever reason, decided to hand her over then as appose to eighteen months prior"
"But even if either of those theories is the case: that still doesn't explain why Beller took the time and trouble to erase his kid from existence" Roxy replied
"I know" Darren sighed in frustration as he ran his fingers through his hair: "But in any case: we got the proof we need to nail Broadsword for Josie's kidnapping and subsequent 'conditioning'" he explained as he closed the diary, and slipped it into his backpack.
"Does this mean we're done here?" Jeanie asked
"For the most part: but before we leave I just wanna check-
Brrring-brrring!
The four youngsters looked at one another in bemusement: "Was that a phone?" Roxy thought aloud
Brrring-brrring!
"It is a phone..." Jeanie realized,
It sounded like it was coming from all the way downstairs: Darren grabbed his backpack, and slinging it over his shoulder, made his way back down to the landing, down the grand staircase, and back down to the ground floor. Listening for another ring, he realized it was coming from the office: next to the lounge, overlooking the front garden and drive-way. The phone was sitting on an empty desk, and strangely enough, was the only item in the whole room that wasn't covered in dust or cobwebs...
Someone had already been inside the house.
Standing by the door, the girl's watched curiously as Darren cautiously approached; picked up the receiver, and pressed it next to his left ear. At this point he didn't know what to expect, which was only more confounded when the voice on the other end spoke to him...
"Hello Mr Ainsley..." an older male voice spoke: Darren froze on the spot as his eyes widened in surprise, but didn't have time to ask as the voice quickly added: "-Listen, don't speak...I know I can't convince you this isn't a trick: but I'm here to help you"
"...Help me how?" Darren anxiously replied, the girls listened in anxiousness, suddenly aware that something was up.
"Look out the window..." the voice replied. Darren stepped to the window: the receiver still pressed to his ear; glancing down the driveway, he saw a big black unmarked van parked across the gates, with several police cars parked nearby. The back of the van opened up and a large SWAT team climbed out, all armed with sub-machine guns, and dressed in full body armor.
"See those police out there? Well they're not police: their Broadsword" the voice explained, "They know you're here, and have already surrounded the property; if they get you, they'll kill you, and make it look like a hostage situation gone bad"
With his mind racing in a panic, Darren tried to think of a way out as the girls looked out the window, and noticed the police SWAT team taking up their positions. "... Uh, Darren?" Chelsea nervously tried to get his attention, "I think we might have a problem"
"How do I know you're not one of them?" Darren demanded,
"You don't" the voice replied frankly,
"...How do we know we can trust you?" he stated, deciding to take a long shot.
"Because I know Josie Beller is attacking NEST as we speak,"
That made Darren's train of thought come to a screeching halt,
"-And you're trying to look for a means of stopping her..." the voice added. Taken aback, that got Darren's full attention: but before he could ask how he knew that, the voice answered: "My employer has had a keen interest in locating Miss Beller for some time now. Broadsword has been a bit of a 'problematic conundrum' in their efforts to locate her. But in trying to get around them: they found that they've been a bit of a vex to NEST as well. Ergo, the enemy of my enemy is my friend: for the duration of this situation at least"
"Even if that's true, how can I be sure you won't double cross us?" Darren demanded,
"Needs must when the devil drives Mr Ainsley, and right now: I'd say he's about to press you and your cousins quite hard" the voice replied, "All I can tell you, is that my employer has no personal or professional enmity towards you or your NEST 'associates'. All they care about, is the safe retrieval of Miss Beller, and right now, the only way that's possible, is through you"
"How do we know you won't use her the same way Broadsword are using her now?" Darren frowned,
"My employer is willing to give you their word on that; if fact, they've requested to see you in person, Mr Ainsley: to better explain the situation at hand. If you agree to accept my help, I'll tell you how to get out of the house, and avoid Broadsword from following you and your cousins"
Looking out the window, Darren saw the SWAT team approaching the front door with a large battering ram: it didn't look like they'd spotted them at the window, but from the way the team was positioning itself to storm the house, he knew they only had minutes before they were inside. It was all or nothing now, the point of no return, and as the girls began to panic and begged him to do something; Darren made his judgement call...
"What do we do?"
"Go into the kitchen, and go down into the wine cellar: on the back wall there's a vaulted door, punch in the numbers 2, 8, 7, 6, 5 into the keypad, and follow the stairs down until you reach another door. Go through that and you'll find yourselves in a storm drain: turn left and follow the water until you reach the river. There'll be a Department of Public Works maintenance van waiting for you: go with them, and whatever you do, don't call your 'big friend' for back-up, Broadsword are listening in on him too...Good luck" and with that, the line went dead...
"Darren! What do we do?!" Chelsea panicked,
"-GO!" the SWAT team leader cried, and the assault began as the battering ram pounded the front door.
"Run" was all Darren said...
He bolted for the kitchen, and spotted the wine cellar next to the pantry: as the SWAT team broke the door down, the girls quickly followed suit, and Jeanie pulled the pin on one of the smoke bombs, throwing it over her shoulder. The whole kitchen and hallway instantly filled with thick white acrid smoke as she closed the door behind them. As they ran down the stairs into the gloom, the girls were demanding to know what was going on, though not hanging around, for fear of being shot. Just as Darren saw the door on the back wall, the sound of raised voices and stamping feet told them to quicken their pace as he made a beeline for the keypad on the left-hand side of the door frame, and punched in the code without failure. The bolts unlocked with a loud CLUNK, and the door swung open; they ran down into more darkness: guided only by the miniature CTG torch-light on Darren's wrist.
"Think they know we're down here?" Chelsea asked worryingly,
"Let's not wait around to find out" Darren replied as he took point; before long they arrived at another, much larger metal door with just a simple bolt latch to secure it. Pulling back the rusted latch and entering an even darker area, the youngsters instantly heard the sound of trickling water. Shining his torch around, Darren found they were inside a large cylindrical concrete tunnel, with a small stream of water flowing through to their left.
"What is this place?" Jeanie thought aloud,
"One of the storm drains" Darren replied,
"And you knew this because?" Roxy raised an eyebrow,
"The guy on the phone told me" he replied: "if we turn left and follow it to the river, he said they'll be some guys waiting for us"
"Good or bad dudes?" Chelsea asked,
"Good, or so he said; he did get us out of the house, but that's no guarantee their here to help" Darren thought aloud.
"Wait a sec, some guy on that phone told you he was going help us, and you just took him at his word?!" exclaimed Roxy
"No of course not" Darren retorted, "But what do you suggest? Broadsword are a paramilitary unit, therefore we have to assume they've got every square inch of the city covered. And if they found us here, then we also have to assume they already know about the escape tunnel back there. How do you know if we don't go the other way, there won't be an attack team waiting to shoot us?"
Thinking about it a moment, Roxy had to admit he had a point: "...Ugh! Fine! But for the record, if you fuck this up and we die, I'll haunt your ass for the rest of your life!" she fumed,
"Duly noted" he nodded, "Now come on..." and led the way, following the water as it made its way downstream...
"I hope you at least have a plan, if this really does turn out to be a trap" Chelsea asked offhand,
Arming his CTG's weapon's mode, all Darren could offer was: "Try and punch though with a shield, and kick ass if need be"
The four teens jogged for some distance, following the storm drain westward, before daylight appeared up ahead, and the tunnel opened out into the river. But they stopped in their tracks, when they saw a large department of public works maintenance van parked right across the tunnel opening. On the one hand, Darren was a little relieved that it was the same van the stranger on the phone had specified, but at the same time, he didn't dare let his guard drop.
"What now?" Chelsea worried,
"Stay behind me" Darren warned, keeping his CTG facing in the van's general direction, as he warily approached the large metal bars that blocked the drain's entrance. Chelsea got out her pen knife: Jeanie pulled out a couple of smoke bombs, and Roxy cracked her knuckles in readiness for some action.
Suddenly, they heard the doors on the van open and close, and two gentlemen dressed in maintenance uniforms, blue helmets and orange high-visibility vests approached the metal bars. "Are you the Ainsley kids?" the shorter of the two called out.
"...Who wants to know?" Darren called over,
"Our associate talked to you over the phone not ten minutes ago? Told you we'd be waiting for you here?" the taller gentleman replied,
The teens looked at one another, and looked back at them: "...Are you armed?" Jeanie called out.
"...We got a couple of guns, but they're in the van: figured it'd put you more at ease" the shorter gentlemen replied, "Look, you have our word, we're not your enemies, but the guys who broke into the house back there? I can assure you, they want you dead"
"Who are you? And what's going on?" Darren demanded sternly,
"You'll know soon enough, I promise: but right now we can't stay here; the whole neighborhood is crawling with Broadsword troops, and they'll have figured out how you got outta the house. Chances are they're already in the tunnels" the taller gentleman explained.
"Our boss is keen to meet you Mr Ainsley, and we'll take you to them: but we gotta go, now"
Darren glanced at his cousins, all of whom were not comfortable with this: but if the Broadsword troops really were in the storm drains, then what other choice did they have? It could be a bluff of course: but what if it wasn't? The shorter gentleman was already unlocking the grid covering the mouth of the tunnel opening, and as the four youngsters reluctantly threw caution to the wind, they tentatively stepped outside, as the taller gentlemen opened the rear doors of the van. "Take a seat: we'll be outta here in no time"
The kids climbed into the back of the van, and sat down on the small bench seats either side; as the doors slammed shut, they all nervously expected it to start filling up with gas, or for bars to slam down behind the driver and passenger seats, trapping them inside. In the few seconds it took for the two gentlemen to lock the grid door and return to the van: Darren quickly activated his CTG's encrypted tracking system (The one he created specifically for his CTG alone, without Moonshine's knowledge), and keyed it into Skywarp's personal encrypted comm frequency: at the very least, the seeker would know they're on the move, and would be able to hear what's going on, thus being able put two and two together if this went south.
"Do you mind telling us where we're going?" Chelsea asked offhand as the two gentlemen got back in and buckled up.
"Downtown: and you might wanna keep your heads down: we don't want to attract any attention" the shorter gentleman in the driver's seat replied, as he turned the key in the ignition, and drove up onto the road, heading for downtown LA.
Meanwhile, at the same time, back at NEST:
"... You told a civilian about NEST?!" Prime seethed as he glared down at Lawrence with the hairy optic.
"Your point?" Lawrence sarcastically stated as he folded his arms and returned the glare with that cold detached look in his eye.
Prime's armor plates vibrated sharply as he bristled with outrage: the only thing that stopped him from completely losing it with Lawrence was the close proximity he had to his spark-mate. Her end of the spark-bond was practically snuggling right up next to his: and as he tried to get his thoughts straight, her warm smooth presence eased his tension, and helped his mind to clear more easily. As quickly as he nearly lost it: he was his usual, calm, composed and level-headed self once more. For those who had learnt of the spark-bond, and knew of its complex, almost psychic nature: it was a strange and surreal thing to watch Prime go from enraged to back to normal within less than a few seconds. But for everyone else, it was weird if not a little disturbing: and it seemed to throw Lawrence's guard off somewhat, as he stared up at Prime, wondering what just happened...
Thank you: he whispered across the bond,
I know: she smiled back,
"...As Galloway pointed out," Optimus stayed on track as he entered the rec-room, "There are certain security measures to be taken into consideration: and having close family ties does not constitute a valid reason for including your creator on the classified access list"
"You included my brother and sister-in-law?" Lawrence pointed out,
"They were cleared by NSC, and were deemed 'safe' to keep NEST confidential," Prime retorted, "Your 'mother' on the other hand, has not; and without prior knowledge of her or her political background, telling her about NEST is a gamble we're not prepared to meet"
"You whine on about us being involved with NEST, and then you turn around and tell your mom about us?!" Becca exclaimed angrily,
Knowing where this was going, Lawrence tried to deflect the subject before he could dig himself into more trouble: "...I know how this must appear: but I can assure you, she gave me her solemn word that this secret would stay strictly between us"
"That's not good enough" Optimus frowned,
"Well that's your opinion..." Lawrence stated back, "Now, if you'll excuse us, we must be leaving; tell the airbase to have Air Force One ready for take-off: we're going back to Washington" Lawrence added as he strode around Prime imposing frame, and left the room. His security detail followed close behind with Hailey and her family at gunpoint (all the while her parents were raising a ruckus); Galloway took that as his cue to follow, and ran out after them. Bluestreak rushed to try and stop them, but Prime stopped him at the door...
: Prime! We can't let them leave! : He pleaded desperately, gazing up at Optimus in a mix of panic and disbelief.
"Dude!" Lizzy hissed up at him from behind his feet, "-What gives?! Why aren't you stopping them?!"
"Because they don't have anywhere to go" Prime quietly told them: Bluestreak stopped, and stared at him in bemusement: "...What do you mean?"
"We managed to get the girl back outside, but now she's hovering over the base again. No one can leave now, even if they wanted to" Prime replied.
Lawrence retraced his steps back to the main door that led out into the open-air hanger. But instead of finding it open, he found a pair of Autobots baring his way. Staring up at them, neither budged as Optimus brought up the rear, with the other Autobots and humans following at a distance.
"Will you tell your guards to let us pass?" Lawrence demanded sarcastically.
"I cannot. The entire base is on lock-down until we've handled the situation at hand" Prime replied
"The girl is still locked up in the human-med unit: she shouldn't be any threat to us" he retorted.
"Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Less than an hour ago she tried to storm the command center, and one of our number managed to teleport her to the outside. She's hovering over the base as we speak"
"WHAT?!" the twins exclaimed; "She's loose again?!"
"Yes: and because of the static field interfering with every electrical item, the airbase has been shut down. You're not going anywhere"
But Lawrence was not convinced: "I've had just about enough of this; and as far as bluffs go, this is a pretty lame one. Now open the door and let us out"
"Are you nuts?!" Hailey exclaimed angrily, "If she's right outside the door she could fry us!"
"I highly doubt that" Lawrence dryly remarked. But no sooner had those words left his lips: the whole door shuddered as a terrific BOOM! Emanated from the other side; white sparks and electrical discharge flashed around the door frame, and the powerful static field filled the bot's CPU with that horrible buzzing pain yet again.
Staring at the door in disbelief, Lawrence had to admit: "...Alright, I stand corrected"
Having had just about enough of this: Bluestreak marched past Optimus, not paying him any attention as he tried to stop him; he fell to one knee, and in one fluid move, parted the security guards from the Waineright's, and scooped the girls and their parents up off the floor: placed them behind him, keeping one leg between them and the guards. The men tried to rush for them, but the gunner was quick to draw his weapons and aim down at them, which made them stop in their tracks.
Lawrence froze as Bluestreak glared down at him: "This has gone on long enough!" the young gunner ranted, "We are in the middle of a situation here: a potentially life-threatening situation: and your only concern is this preposterous notion of keeping your family in line!"
Another two loud thuds on the door, accompanied by more energy discharge seemed to send the point home as Bluestreak continued, unfazed by the static field: "I don't care what you think this looks like, or what the girls being here means for your political stature: their my charges, and right now, we're gonna be needed elsewhere. You wanna argue some more about this? Do it when we're finished!" and with that, he transformed into his altmode, and opened his doors for the family to get in.
One of the guards aimed his gun at the family and ordered them to stop, but in one quick move, Hailey knocked him back with a force field-shield from her CTG, and got in Bluestreak's driver's seat. Lawrence could only stand there and watch as the bot shut his doors and drove away, back towards the center of the base.
"You will answer for this" Lawrence venomously stated.
"I will answer for nothing..." Optimus stated defiantly: Lawrence stared up at him in surprise, as Prime glared down at him with the utmost annoyance, explaining: "...I will not answer to a 'president' who has shown poor judgement in the importance of his mandated duties. If the question of the girl's reliability, in terms of national security were the sole issue at hand: that would be one thing. But to come all this way: simply to detain them and their creators for being a blight upon your family's reputation? I honestly don't know which is worse: the fact that you think so vainly of yourself, or the fact that all the while you have been oblivious to the danger around you: without once stepping up to try and help..." Optimus placed his hands on his hips, "...If you wish to continue this pointless exercise, you'll have to wait until we can get the situation under control. In the meantime, if you so choose to help or merely observe, go to the command center; but if you try to leave, I'll shoot you in the knee-caps"
Lawrence folded his arms and glared up at the Prime, but said nothing: he had enough common sense to know this wasn't going to go his way. And now that his brother and his family had put some distance between him and them, he knew they weren't going to want to see him any time soon. At that moment, a heavy dizziness came over him, and the front of his head began to throb uncomfortably. He pressed his hand to his forehead, taking a deep breath as he tried to maintain his equilibrium.
"...Are you alright?" Optimus asked offhand,
"Just a headache, I'll be fine..." he reluctantly replied, "...Fine. I'll keep an eye on things from the command center...for now"
"A wise choice" Optimus replied, and gestured for him to follow Elita, as she led the way back to the command center. As the president and his security detail left, Prime glanced at Bumblebee and Trailbreaker: he could tell from the looks in their optics that none of this made any sense; and what sense there had been, had only left more questions than answers.
When they were sure Lawrence was well out of ear-shot, the Ainsley sister's breathed a collective sigh of relief: "...Jeez: I didn't think that could get much worse" Rosy anxiously thought aloud.
"Man: that guy's a real piece of work; and to think, people actually voted for him to run the country!" Lizzy realized,
"No wonder the rest of the world thinks America's going down the toilet" Allie added offhand in a despairing tone.
"Well he makes a lousy president if his only priority is maintaining the family image" Bumblebee huffed; "Prime, we're not seriously letting Hailey and her folks go back to Washington with that creep?"
"Don't worry Bumblebee" Prime smiled as he placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Bluestreak wouldn't let me: even if I had to"
"Optimus? ..." Sarah grabbed his attention. Prime nearly blinked in surprise: he'd been so caught up with everything else, he'd completely forgotten about her and Annabelle, and how today was their weekly visit to the base to be with Ironhide, Will and Chromia. "...Ah Sarah; I'm so sorry" he apologized, "Where's Annabelle?"
"With Skywarp and Novastar I presume? Since Bluestreak's kinda busy" she replied,
"Indeed: I don't think he's going to let them out of his sight now"
"After what happened in the rec-room? I don't blame him; it got pretty intense in there" she admitted worryingly,
"You think?" Lizzy raised an eyebrow: "...And I thought our family had issues" she added under her breath,
Unbeknownst to everyone else, Sarah had been watching from behind Bumblebee's legs; Galloway had been standing just off to Trailbreaker's left side: well out of Prime's line of sight, when she saw him discreetly take out his cell phone from his pocket, and texted something. At the exact same moment, Lawrence suffered that headache: but it seemed that no one else had noticed that one curious coincidence.
Galloway's cell phone and Lawrence's headaches; what was the connection?
It had gone from a curious observation, to a now nagging feeling of something going on. But what? Why was it, that every time Galloway had been using his phone, Lawrence suffered one of those headaches? Everyone on the base knew you couldn't get a phone signal inside the base: even Galloway knew that. But cell phones don't cause headaches, never mind that Lawrence seemed to be the only one getting them.
What was going on? She knew Galloway was a man of ill-repute among the bots and humans of NEST: just the mention of his name would stir up feelings of mistrust and suspicion. From what Will had told her, she knew his recent handling of Prime's kidnapping had called his professional standing with NEST into question. But if that was only the tip of the iceberg: who knows what could be going on with him?
Call it woman's intuition, or just plain gut instinct: something about this didn't feel right; and since Prime was here, now would seem to be a good time to voice her concerns...
"Listen, Optimus..." Sarah started: Prime could tell from her tone that it was something of concern: and so kneeled down to listen more closely, "...I think something's going on, with Galloway..."
The mention of the man's name immediately grabbed his attention: "What about him?"
"He's..." she thought about it carefully for a moment: even if the cell phone did have something to do with Lawrence's headaches, the precise cause could be anyone's guess: and on the other hand, there might be nothing to it. For all she knew, he could be in contact with someone on the base. Deciding to stick with the most logical answer, she explained: "...I think he's in contact with someone"
"Contact?"
"More than a couple of times: I saw him texting someone on his cell phone. But you can't get a signal in this place, so I thought, how's that possible? ...It could be nothing, but, it just struck me as weird"
"Hey yeah," Lizzy suddenly realized, "I saw that guy playing around with his phone too; kinda of a weird time to be texting don't you think?"
: It's true; I thought it was quite odd for him to be trying to get a message out of here: he heard Elita comm in a hushed voice,
The mole instantly came to mind, as Optimus began to wonder, just what was really going on here...
: Also, with all that's been going on, I'd have thought he'd be wound up by now: she added: which only aroused his suspicions even more...
: Prowl? :
: Here Optimus:
: Listen; is Galloway with the president in the command center? :
: Yes; they just arrived on the observation deck. Why? :
: Call a code thirty-six on him:
: Thirty-six? ...: Prowl blinked in surprise, : You think the mole is somehow-
: -I don't know; that's what I need you and Red Alert to find out. Make sure you watch him at all times, and monitor all outgoing and incoming signals to his cell phone device. If he is, in any way tied to the mole, I want to know about it:
: Roger that: I'll report back if we find anything:
: I can keep an optic on things here: Elita added, : I already sent Chromia to take care of Sarah:
: Alright, but watch him: Prime warned her,
: Hey, let me worry about Galloway, you just concentrate on the matter at hand: she added with a small smirk, before her end of the comm went offline.
"Optimus?" Sarah tried to grab his attention; knowing he was on the comm was rather easy to spot, as he always got that slightly spaced-out look in his optics for a brief moment. "Not to worry, Prowl's looking into it" he smiled down at her. "Listen, we don't know how long this situation with the girl's going to last: so Chromia's going to take care of you"
"Speak of the devil-femme..." Trailbreaker smiled as the blue femme came roaring down the corridor, transformed into her femme-mode, and greeted Sarah with that sassy smile of her's. "Miss me?"
"Of course" Sarah smiled as the femme gently picked her up, and placed her on her shoulder, "Come on, let's go and find that spark-mate of yours,"
"Hey, can we come?" Lizzy asked offhand,
"Sure, I don't see why not?" Chromia shrugged as she turned and walked away with the three girls following close at her heels.
As they watched them disappear around the corner, Prime, Bumblebee and Trailbreaker all breathed a collective sigh: "Humans...." Trailbreaker couldn't help but think aloud, "Just when you think you've got them figured out-"
"-They throw another kind of crazy into the works" Bumblebee smiled: "...It's human nature"
"And a fickle nature it is too..." Prime sighed;
: Optimus? Do you read me? :
: I'm here Portia. Did you and John find Velocity?: Prime asked, as Bumblebee and Trailbreaker listened in,
: Yes, of sorts, and we found the rest of the Briggs kids too. But-, there's been a development...: she worryingly explained, : Velocity's been killed, by Blackshot, it would appear...:
That took Prime totally off guard, : Where are they now?:
: In the med-bay with Deathshot and Carnage, they're all okay and I'm keeping an optic on them; but from what they've told us, it seems like something else is going on:
Optimus frowned, : Hold on, I'll meet you there: and turned to head for the med-bay,
"What's up?" Bumblebee asked worryingly,
"I don't know" was all Optimus could say.
In the med-bay: Deathshot had the last of his dents and dings seen to, and as Ratchet checked the system-monitor one last time, a dissatisfied frown came over his features: "That virus is only 60% purged: I'd have thought with your system-set-up it'd be gone by now"
"So did I" Deathshot sighed in frustration as he looked at the readings on the monitor, "Whoever wrote that virus, certainly has a way with code"
"Remind you of anyone?" Danny raised an eyebrow,
"...Don't remind me" Deathshot sighed bitterly,
The last hour or so had passed by in a half-state of confusion for Ratchet. One minute, he's having to treat Jolt for a blown-out shoulder joint, caused by a bullet from an unknown sniper; the next, Deathshot and his charges, plus Carnage (of all Autobots) are being brought in with minor injuries: sustained when the training room caved in, and Velocity tried to kill them all...again.
But even more confusing, was the claim that Blackshot had killed Velocity at point blank range: and that Longrange and Coldbore had been there as her accomplices. As Tom and Danny discussed details of what they witnessed with their uncle, Portia and Bishop, Ratchet couldn't help but listen in, and neither could Jolt, who was lying on another berth not too far away. Whilst in the 'morgue' at the other end of the med-bay, Velocity's headless body lay motionless on the giant metal slab: the only physical proof that the whole crazy incident went down. And on the other side of the main room, lying across several berths: Crystalwing, Soundwave, and their offspring (bar Ravage) were all still unconscious; so much so, that even their telepathic functions were practically dead to the world.
However, out of earshot of the main discussion, hidden behind the system-monitor Deathshot was hooked up to: Morri, Ashley, Sam and Mikaela were having a privet discussion of their own...
"This doesn't make any sense..." Morri frowned, as she tried to make sense of all that had happened today: in particular, what Deathshot had told her of Shadowstar's movements: "...You said she was following me, and that's why you tailed her?"
"Pretty much" Deathshot whispered discreetly over his shoulder, "But what I don't understand is; if she's in league with Blackshot's team, why didn't she warn her that you had overheard what she said down in the lower levels, in addition to Majestrix being present there too? There are only two possibilities that come to mind in this instance: one, she sent Blackshot an encrypted warning to tell her you were there, and is now taking our knowledge of this into account, or two, she didn't warn her"
"But, that could only mean-
Morri was quick to cover Sam's mouth with her hand: "...I know, but for now, just in case she's listening: we'll keep that between ourselves: okay?"
"Keep what between ourselves?" Ashley demanded,
"When the time's right, I'll tell you. But for now, just trust me on this" she assured him. "Besides, this whole thing has just thrown up one more mystery" Morri sighed as she pulled out the tiny computer chip from her breast pocket, and held it firmly between her index finger and thumb.
"Why do you think she gave it to you?" Mikaela thought aloud,
"It's a trap" Deathshot frowned, "Knowing Velocity, I bet it's one more trick she had left to try and hurt us; to hurt you"
Thinking back to what Velocity said to her in her final moments: somehow, Morri's gut instinct was telling her the femme had something else going on...
Clever girl
Was that meant to be one last sneer? She gave her the chip right before Blackshot entered the demolished training room: and deliberately kept her hidden in her claws, out of the femme's line of sight. Why else would she do that? Unless it was for a purpose that required her to remain alive (regardless of her own twisted reasoning); and somehow, the chip was key to that purpose.
What was on the chip? And why give it to your perceived enemy? None of this made any sense: the line of Velocity's logic was obscured from clarity; but clearly, it was worth her sacrificing herself to keep Morri safe, to keep the chip safe...
Clever girl
"...Maybe?" Morri thought aloud, as she gazed at the chip, "But just to be sure, I'll have Darren check it out later" she added as she placed it back in her breast pocket. "...There's something else that's bothering me" she changed the subject slightly: "Ironhide swore up and down that the sniper that took Jolt out was a cybertronian: that means either Coldbore or Longrange was the shooter, but if that's so, how did they get outside the base? And how did they make it to the dam and back in time to meet Blackshot in the training room?"
"That makes no sense" Deathshot frowned, "There are only two main entrances in and out of the base, and both of them are under armed guard as we speak: as for the sniper? It's possible either one of them could have done it"
"Or, what if there's another member of Blackshot's team? Someone we haven't I.D'ed yet?" Sam proposed,
"It's possible?" Deathshot thought about it, "But no one would be mad enough to go outside with that static field still up: even if they could hunker down somewhere they'd be shielded, it just wouldn't be safe"
"And how would they get out in the first place?" Ashley pointed out, "If both entrances are being guarded, then how did they slip by the guards?"
"Not unless they were already outside to begin with" Sam countered: "If Blackshot's had this plan in the works for a while, then it makes sense that she's already way into it: and is planning to pull off the coup within the next twenty four hours, at the least. She could have put her team into position long before today for all we know?"
Thinking about it, Morri couldn't help but agree: "...You could be right...In which case; if the coup is going down today, and she knows we're onto her, then we have to assume she knows what we know"
"The whole of the lower levels must have been searched twice over by now: in which case Majestrix and Eclipse must have moved their search to another location by now" Deathshot pointed out.
"And if Blackshot knows that, then she might start to get panicky" Mikaela added,
"There's something else too" Sam pointed out: "If it was one of Blackshot's crew that shot Jolt: then the power being out must be important to their plan somehow?"
"My thought's exactly" Morri nodded,
"But how? If she's got a back door into Teletran, then having the power out kinda defeats that purpose, doesn't it?" Ashley asked offhand,
"Not necessarily" Deathshot replied: "If she intends to overthrow the system: she'd have to reboot the core mainframe, so as to reset the online defences, and keep all the other Autobots out. Teletran's main security handlers are Red Alert and Prowl; when we installed Teletran into this complex, Prime made no other acceptations so as to keep the line of security accounted for"
"But the central computer hub automatically locks down during an emergency or black out: so she can't reset the mainframe from there now. The only other place would be the command center" Mikaela pointed out,
"She wouldn't be insane enough to try and storm the command center now? At a time like this?!" Ashley gawked,
A moment of uncomfortable silence passed, before Deathshot grimly replied: "...Considering the lengths she has already gone to today; I don't know?"
At that moment, the privacy of the moment was broken when Optimus strode into the med-bay with Bumblebee and Trailbreaker in tow. Spotting his charge standing next to Deathshot, Sam was suddenly the center of Bumblebee's attention, as the yellow scout took one look at his injuries, and very nearly went into a panic: "Primus Sam! What happened to you?!" he picked him up and scanned him all over.
"He's fine, just some cuts and scrapes and a headache is all" Ratchet waved off, "So don't add any more injuries by handling like that!" he snapped,
"I'm sorry-" the scout quickly placed him back down on the berth, "It's just-, what happened?! Why didn't you call me?!"
"I-, kinda got caught up in something else" Sam sheepishly replied,
"What happened?" Optimus pressed them all, glancing over at Velocity's body through the window on the morgue door.
"It's-, sort of complicated, but bare with us a moment..." Morri stepped forward, and in a few short minutes: she managed to drum up the long and short of the last few hours: with Tom, Danny and Sam adding their side of the story: and Deathshot confirming the truth of the matter.
As he listened in slight disbelief, Optimus's worries spiked tenfold, as he realized that now there was another danger at hand; and one, that would stretch the whole base to its breaking point if they tried to divide manpower and resources now. Everyone was in enough danger as it is: having to deal with a handful of questionable Autobots (who might be more than just that) would be pushing it, if things got ugly. Glancing over at Bishop, he saw the same fear was reflected in his eyes.
"-And just like that, she pulled the trigger and killed her!" Morri finished in a fluster,
A slight moment of confusion was evident in Optimus's optics: before he got his game face back on, and asked: "What do you believe Blackshot will do now?"
"It's not that simple Optimus," Deathshot tried to warn him, "You see, we just learnt that Blackshot-
: OPTIMUS! COME IN OPTIMUS! Are you there?! :
: Jazz? What's wrong? : Optimus worryingly replied, with everyone listening as the Lieutenant's frantic voice came in over the open comm line.
: It's the kid; she's going nuts again, trying to break the main doors in the open-air hanger down: but this time it's worse! Her power levels are spiking wildly out of control, and if we don't do something now, the base's exterior shielding won't be able to save us! And worse still, Omega Supreme, the Black Solstus and the Ark won't be safe for much longer:
: Wheeljack, are the BSHB's prepped? : Optimus demanded,
: They're good to go Prime: Miles replied,: I just need my team is all; Hailey, Becca and Becky are ready to go, who else can you spare? :
"You're going to use the BSHB's to stop her?" Sam blinked in surprise, "Why didn't we think of that earlier?"
"It's the only thing that might be able to even the odds against her" Prime stated, "Our options are running thin; and we're running out of time"
: Optimus? : Jazz continued, : Listen big guy; I know you ain't gonna be too keen on this. But just in case the worse-case scenario goes down: we might have to put the kid down, permanently. Bluestreak's gettin' ready to teleport out, but with that static out there, he can't use his automated sniping functions: he's gonna need a spotter:
Though he was reluctant to leave his charges, given what had just happened: Deathshot reluctantly spoke up: "...I'll do it"
"What?" Ashley blinked in surprise,
"Bluestreak's a crack shot, but he needs a pro to spot: I'll go with him" the sniper stated as he got up off the berth, and disconnected the monitoring system from his jack ports,
"Are you sure? That virus isn't purged from your system yet" Morri pointed out,
"It doesn't take high-end sniping functions to spot: if humans can do it with their brains, a notebook and a pencil, then so can I" he stated firmly
"Alright," John nodded, "But you aren't going anywhere" he glanced at Morri: "I've done enough worrying with you being kidnapped and disappearing off like that!"
"Fine" Morri waved her uncle off, "But before anymore shit starts up again-" she turned back to Prime, "-There's something you have know Optimus! Blackshot-
BRROOOMM!
The explosion rocked the base violently, making the entire complex shudder to its foundations. The bot's just barely kept their balance, while the humans were thrown to the floor, along with everything that wasn't bolted down or nailed to the walls. Jolt yelled in pain as he fell off his berth, just barely missing John and Bishop, who were both quick to dash out of the way. Portia fired several sticky web-lines to catch Morri, Sam, Mikaela and Ashley as they were shunted off Deathshot's berth. As suddenly as it happened, it stopped; everyone was left trying to regain their balance and equilibrium, and wondering with fret what just happened.
"What was that?!" Ratchet gasped as he and Portia helped Jolt back up onto the berth,
: Command center report! What just happened?! : Prime barked down the comm,
: An air-to-surface missile struck the complex above the main entrance: the doors are just barely holding! : Prowl replied in a slight fluster, : I'm sending you a data-burst:
Displaying said data-burst via his optic's holoform display: everyone watched Optimus's hologram play out, and couldn't believe what they were seeing...
Two giant black unmarked aircraft, larger than a B-2 bomber, were hovering right above the main entrance to the base. Their overall design looked cybertronian in profile, but some elements of the engines looked to be of human influence. Suddenly, the undercarriages swung open, and six huge praying-mantis-like cybertronian drones dropped down out of each aircraft, and began attacking the doors: trying to cut through the thick armor plating with some kind of thermo plasma-saw in their mandibles and mouth parts.
: We've probably got less than ten minutes before they breach the doors! : The SIC worryingly stated,
: All Autobots report to battle stations! Brace the doors and be ready to return counter-fire if those drones break through! : Prime barked, before turning his attention back to the humans and bots in the room. "That means you too"
Bumblebee gazed down at Sam with worry: but his charge merely reassured him: "Go, I'll stay here: there's gonna be casualties coming in soon enough"
"Okay: just-, stay safe okay?" the scout replied as he ran out the door with Trailbreaker and Carnage,
"You know I will!" Sam called out.
Though they were reluctant to want to give up the search for Blackshot, the Briggs cousins all realized that this took greater priority, for now: "Hey Miles: is my BSHB primed?" Morri asked over the open comm.
: Sure, you wanna kick some super-powered ass?: he smiled
"Count us in too" Tom added, "We'll cover you" Danny concurred,
: That'll do, get your asses over here then:
"I'm coming too-" Ashley piped up as he untangled himself from Portia's webbing. "-No you're not!" Prime stopped him: "We don't know what the static might do you in your hybrid form: it could cripple you!"
"We don't have time to argue Prime! If the static's bad I'll hang back, but I ain't sitting this out!" Ashley stubbornly argued as he transformed into his hybrid form, and leapt out of Prime's hand. Glancing over at her uncle and seeing he was giving her and the boy's that distinct 'mother hen' look: Morri merely sighed in exasperation and retorted: "I don't know why you're giving us that look: you know you're not going to be able to talk us out of it!"
John rolled his eyes, knowing she was right; and merely sighed: "Just try not to get your arse's shot off!"
"The same goes for you old man!" Ashley called back as he, Tom, Danny and Morri legged it out of the med-bay. "Better find Lennox and kit up" John thought aloud as he jogged out of the med-bay too,
Bishop made haste too: "I'm returning to the command center, Prime, you coming?-
BROOMM!
Another explosion rocked the base again: and this time, cracks appeared in the ceiling and walls; that wasn't good.
: Prime! We just got hit again, there's a third aircraft flying above the base that shot that missile! Looks like its air-support: Jazz reported, : Prime, if we get hit a third time, the base ain't gonna take it. She'll come down all around us! :
: Duly noted: Optimus replied as he watched the cracks slowly snake their way across the ceiling. : I'm returning to the command center with the colonel: have all defenses that can be mobilized, activated:
: Rodger that:
Elsewhere on the base:
"Are you listening to this?" Eclipse asked worryingly as she closed her end of the open comm, "That second explosion would've compromised the base's internal structure: if that aircraft fire's another missile-
-I know" Majestrix replied. Stopping in her tracks, she couldn't help but wonder just how bad it was getting up there. "...Optimus has the situation under control. The main defenses haven't been breached, and no major casualties have been incurred yet. The base still stands, for now" she assured her daughter.
"Yes, but don't you think, one of us should go up there and help?"
Majestrix thought about it, but sighed regretfully: "...We have to find that terminal; if Blackshot implements her plan now, everyone will be in even worse danger...Your uncle has the situation well in hand. He and the others will hold fast" she tried to offer a small reassuring smile.
"...Okay" Eclipse reluctantly agreed, "But for the record, I don't approve; this is getting more dangerous by the second"
"...I know" her mother sighed. And at the back of her mind: Majestrix couldn't help but worry for her younger brother. It didn't feel right, not being there at his side: but she knew she had to do this, for his sake; for everyone's sake.
Elsewhere inside the base:
"I hope everyone's okay out there?" Annabelle thought aloud,
"I wasn't scared, were you?" Violet asked anxiously,
"Nah-aw" Jay-jay shook her head,
"Why couldn't Novastar take us too?" Annabelle thought aloud,
"Because she's probably got important tech stuff to do" Max replied, "And before you ask: no, I don't think Veebee, Tangostar, Bluebird or Firefly could've taken you either" she added; turning her attention back to the laptop screen with a dissatisfied huff.
"What's wrong?" Annabelle asked offhand: seeing the frustrated look on her face.
"I think I've found all I can on this Reggie dude" Max sighed, "The dude had one hell of a screwed up life, and that's about the gist of it. He wasn't on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or any other social media, so it's not like he left much of an online trail to follow"
"So? That's it?" Violet asked offhand, not having a clue what she was talking about.
"...Not quite" Max closed one tab on her desktop, and turned her attention to another: which held information on another line of inquiry she had going: "While Darren and the others have been gone, I've been looking into Josie's dad's background"
"He's the bad dude, right?" Annabelle asked,
"Kinda?" Max shrugged, "It certainly looks that way, and he-
Suddenly, as she scrolled down a line of text, a news article caught her eye: "...Huh..." a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"What?" Violet pressed her
"Get this..." she explained as she read through the article: "Josie's dad: Ian Beller has been a big-time supporter of Senator Ruth Waineright (Hailey, Becca and Becky's grandma). Apparently he's been a fat pipe-line throughout most of her political career, including Lawrence's bid for the vice-presidency"
"What does that mean?" Violet naively asked
Glancing over at the girls: Max had to remind herself that these were a four year old, a seven year old, and a three and half-month old cybertronian baby: "It means?..." she tried to think of the right words to explain, "...It's just seems too coincidental, that Beller should be tied to Wainerights; it could be something, or it could be nothing? I dunno: my gut instincts telling me there's something to it...If Darren were here, he'd find a connection, somehow"
"Can you do anything about it?" Violet asked,
"I suppose I could tell Hailey about it?" Max shrugged: a little unsure of what to really do about it. "We don't have anything to lose, so what the hell" she added as she folded up her laptop, and slipped it into her back-pack, the one she always carried her laptop and other devices in (like cousin, like cousin). She got up from the table, and with the three youngsters in tow, made her way to the rec-room; but upon seeing that it was empty, sighed in disappointment: "Where do you think they could have gone?" she glanced down at the little honey blond.
Thinking about it a moment: Annabelle then replied: "That explosion was pretty big, and shaky. If they got hurt, they would've have gone to the med-bay"
"Okay, med-bay it is" Max paced off with her entourage in tow; after walking some distance into the heart of the base: they could hear the commotion of activity echoing down the corridors. Orders were being barked, and the sounds of engines and weapons firing up as they discreetly picked up the pace: making sure to stay beneath the suspended walkways as Autobots and NEST soldiers ran to their posts. As they passed the command center, they saw everyone was frantically buzzing around, relaying and dispatching orders and information; with the power still out, the job was immensely difficult, but somehow they were making it work. Though just barely, as the attacking drones continued their assault on the main entrance.
Once they reached another main intersection of the corridors, Max was about to turn towards the med-bay, when a bright blue glow down the other end of the corridor caught her attention. Before she even knew what was going on: seven bright blue humanoid figures flew through the air at break-neck speed: blazing electric blue energy trails in their wake; Max barely had time to duck down out of the way as they flew overhead, missing her by mere feet. But just when she thought it was safe to get back up, she yelled in shock as a large dark cat-like creature came galloping down the corridor and leapt right over her, not stopping for anything.
Nervously getting back up, Max was even more flabbergasted to see Annabelle was hardly fazed by what had just happened. "What-...What the hell was that?!" she exclaimed in alarm,
"Morri, Tom, Danny, Miles, Hailey, Becca and Becky! They've got their BSHB's back on. Oh and Ashley, he can turn into a big panther drone, like Ravage!" the little honey blonde beamed with excitement.
Max's brain practically did a one eighty flip, as she stared at the four year old in complete bewilderment: "...What?!..."
Meanwhile, Somewhere in LA:
The journey had been relatively shorter than expected: Darren had made a note to keep track of the time since they left the storm drain, so as to calculate how far they'd traveled, in relation to how fast the van had been going (which had been mostly within the city speed limits). All the while: trying to watch the limited view out the windscreen from the back, taking note of landmarks and road signs along the way. This wasn't the first time Darren had been to LA: and if they got into trouble, he'd have to give a location for Skywarp to teleport to. Meanwhile, the girls nervously tried to keep it together, as they waited and dreaded what lay at journey's end.
Suddenly, the light outside seemed to dim, and the grungy orange glow of artificial lights filled the windscreen, at the same time, the van began to drive down a steadily sloping curve: going around in a tight turn down a spiral ramp; they were in an underground parking complex of some kind. But the more they went down and around, the more they began to realize this wasn't your standard shopping mall parking lot. Soon, they slowed a little as a large metal gate opened up, and they went in: finally, the van pulled into a parking space; the two gentlemen got out, and opened the back of them.
"End of the line kids" the shorter gentleman gestured for them to climb out. Getting out and looking around, the kids were bemused to find themselves in a huge underground parking complex of some kind: thick walls by the looks of it, and quite far underground. "What is this place?" Jeanie asked offhand.
"I'm afraid that's somewhat confidential, but you have our word, you'll be safe down here"
"If you care to follow us, we'll take you to your associate" the taller gentleman added,
"Associate?" Darren raised an eyebrow: at that moment, they heard Skywarp's voice coming from some other area of the complex; running across the concrete and running down the access ramp into the next level down: the four teens were dismayed to see the seeker, standing there arguing with a couple of other gentlemen, who looked like they were trying to calm him down over something; "For the last time! Where-...kids?" he suddenly spotted them, and was just as bemused as they were.
"Skywarp?" Darren approached cautiously: making sure to keep one eye on the other gentlemen,
"Primus kid! You had me scared for a minute back there!" the seeker exclaimed in a fluster, "Leaving the tracker on and saying squat?! How the slag am I supposed to know what's going on if I don't get details?!"
"You're okay though, right?" Chelsea asked: somewhat derailing his rant,
"Well-..." he calmed down, "Now I am. But don't do that again, okay?" he wagged his clawed finger at them.
"Okay, now that that's settled," the taller gentleman interjected: "Our employer is keen to meet you all" another gentleman interjected: "If you all care to follow me please?" He beckoned them to follow him, as he walked over to a small digital keypad on a seemingly empty wall. After typing in a series of numbers, a muffled thud could be heard through the concrete: followed by the grinding of concrete on metal, as a huge vault-like door opened up from out of the wall. Purposely camouflaged to be hidden as part of the structure; the door was over thirty feet tall by twenty five feet wide, and nearly six feet thick with armour plating and reinforced titanium support; it looked like it could withstand a full on tactical assault, if not maybe a nuke.
"You just happen to have a door big enough for me to walk through?" Skywarp eyed the humans skeptically,
"It wasn't designed with you in mind" one of the gentlemen replied as he passed through inside, "It's simply the biggest entrance we have that would accommodate your 'particular' size",
Skywarp merely glared down at the human: 'Was that supposed to be a crack about my weight?' he thought offhand; but didn't say anything as he followed the others.
Entering the complex: the four youngsters and seeker saw they were inside a giant secure facility of some kind: the corridors were lined with high-end security cameras, laser scanners and even suspended automated machine guns that followed their every move. Coming to and passing through another giant vault-like door, they found themselves in a giant oval-shaped multi-story computer lab. Five mezzanine levels stacked one on top of another, all filled with computers, mainframes, and a whole plethora of tech any hacker would give his right arm for. In the center of the room, on the ground level, a large ring of terminals and computers stood on a raised platform; with several main monitor screens displaying multiple streams of data overhead.
Standing in the ring, was a young blond woman in a dark navy blue suit, leaning on a walking stick: "Welcome..." she greeted them plainly, as she steadily made her way down the steps; it was clear she had a bad limp in her left leg, and the way she held herself upright suggested she had suffered from some kind of spinal injury. Discreetly scanning her with his optic scanner, Skywarp spotted several prosthetic enhancement's to her skeletal frame; a number of pins and braces that were fused to her larger bones and a number of her spinal vertebrae; suggesting she'd suffered some kind of major trauma.
"I hope the journey was not too bad" she continued: "I'd have sent more spacious transport, but I'm afraid with Broadsword swarming the city, things are rather tight"
"Who-..." Approaching her for a closer look, Darren immediately noticed the scarring on the right side of her neck and face: the kind caused by fire directly on the skin, and a couple of prominent scars on the underside of her jaw, as though something sharp had been thrust across her skin with brute force. But it was her eyes that made him stop in his tracks: as he suddenly remembered the family photos on the mantelpiece back at Beller's place, and the photos he found online of Josie's older sister. "...Amy? ..." he stared at her in disbelief.
"What?!" Roxy stared at her agape, not quite believing what she was seeing,
"How the hell is this possible?! You're supposed to be dead!" Chelsea gawked,
"Technically I am, according to my death certificate" she replied frankly, "And I very nearly came close: at Mission city"
"You survived? –I mean, you came outta your coma?" Darren shook his head: trying to get it straight.
"After two weeks, yes. But I'd already made certain arrangements to fake my death beforehand; what happened at Mission city merely proved to be the perfect opportunity to 'slip away', so to speak" she explained frankly,
"Hold on, back up a sec-" Darren raised his hand; "What the hell is going on?! How're you alive? Why'd you fake your own death? And what the hell did you bring us here for?!" he exclaimed,
"And please don't bullshit us, we are so not in the mood right now" Roxy frowned as she folded her arms,
"... Time is of the essence," Amy sighed, "But, I did promise I'd explain things in full: and why I need your help," she stepped back onto the central computer terminal, typed something onto the keyboard: and up on the main monitor, several windows opened up: with information on Ian Beller, Caerus Global, and the Mission City 'incident'. "...As you well know, Mr Ainsley: my father is CEO of the world's largest privet equity firm. Many high-ranking investments with equally as many powerful and wealthy investors: a vast kingdom, not to be left to chance with just anyone"
"You were next in line to succeed your dad as CEO: I did read your stats" Darren dryly stated,
"Then you also know that I worked in the accounting department of my father's company, since I graduated Yale" she shot back; explaining further: "...During that time, I began to notice a number of inconsistencies on the books; certain figures would 'mysterious change' into different ones, or disappear altogether. And even more disconcerting, when I raised the issue with my father: he told me to make sure no one found out about it. Bury it if possible"
"He was stealing money from his own company?" Jeanie raised an eyebrow,
"Or worse, he was involved in something else...I dug a little deeper into it, and found it wasn't just money that was going missing: but certain resources from our investment companies. I initially believed my father was involved in organized crime, and was using the money and resources to back some kind of illegal endeavor. Ergo, I secretly hired a small team of privet investigators to look into the matter, and see if they could uncover any evidence of his clandestine dealings...What they found, was- ...Something entirely different"
"Broadsword" Darren surmised,
She gazed down at him with an unreadable look in her eyes: "... That was over seven years ago: and I've been walking a knife's edge ever since. Keeping the truth a secret, even from my own sister"
"How does your sister fit into this?" Jeanie asked offhand,
Amy turned to one side, unable to look at them; Darren could see a look of bitterness etched into her scarred face, and as she passed a deep sigh, she elaborated: "...My sister-, Josie...Life, has never been kind to her, and growing up: father never made any secret of the fact that she was a failure to him, as well as believing that her mental health issues were merely a ploy to try and get attention. Time and again I tried to defend her, to care for her, and in the end: he wouldn't let anyone have her, not even me"
"But why?" Chelsea pressed her
"You saw the photos on the mantelpiece: did you not? ..." she gazed at her coldly: "He always had to have everything: the perfect home, the perfect wife, the perfect family; nothing less would do...But you see, when your wife suffers from depression, and your daughter follows suit with paranoid schizophrenic tendencies of her own: it makes the challenge of trying to achieve perfection, naught...Did you know? When I tried to gain legal custody of Josie, he actually filed a restraining order against me? ...That's how much you hate someone" she coolly seethed, "That's how much he hated my mother, for leaving him. That's why he held onto her for so long: so he could take out his spite on her..."
Taking a moment to gather her composure, Amy continued, in a more humble (but still venomous) tone: "...Sometimes: I don't know which was worse? The fact he was a vile and malicious human being with no moral compass, or the idea that he believed I was like him, and would take after him in his image...That man cheated me and my little sister out of our childhoods, and denied us the chance to be a family"
"That's why you want her back?" Jeanie thought aloud, "To make up for lost time?"
"... Tell me," Amy approached her, "Is there nothing you wouldn't do for your sisters? If you had the chance to save them from a monster: would you not take it?"
Jeanie didn't reply: as the memory of what happened in the Tranquility national park came to mind, she couldn't help but silently agree.
"...For the last two years, since my 'death': I've been deploying every trick at my disposal to try and get Josie back: but at every turn she was taken further from my grasp. And when I found that father handed her over to Broadsword?...Well, there comes a point you have to trade the velvet glove for the iron fist; and believe me, no amount of vengeance will ever make up for the past, or the present..." she stated coldly. "...So, rather than waste time seething in anger, I chose to take a more, 'observant' approach..."
The venomous tone in her voice told everyone she wasn't kidding: and at the back of their minds, the girls couldn't help but wonder if maybe this was a somewhat worse situation to be caught in? Compared to facing off against a whole team of broadsword troops?
Her statement wasn't lost on Darren either: he stayed on point; "That's another thing that's just occurred to me" Darren frowned skeptically, digressing slightly: "You seem to know an awful lot about what's going on, considering this is an above-classified paramilitary we're talking about; care to share your secret?"
"Secrets are what keep us alive in the shadows, Mr Ainsley" she smirked slightly: "And suffice to say, secrets are all that stands between me, and dying for real...There's a lot a can't tell you about, for your own safety as well as mine: but what I can tell you is, is that there's far more going on than you think. There are those that have a great vested interest in seeing NEST fall, and equally, those who have a vested interest in seeing it stand; it's a question of what is there to be gained the most"
"In terms of what?" Darren raised an eyebrow,
"Power? Money? Influence? Control? The usual stuff that mankind that struggled so hard over the centuries to achieve. Or so the smart, powerful and greedy few would believe... The rest of the world has its own problems to deal with; without a global dictatorship telling it what it can and cannot do. NEST is in a very unique position to determine that difference: depending on whether it stands, or falls" Amy replied.
At this point, Darren didn't know what to believe: clearly there was something about Broadsword she knew, and possibly more; but that could be a bluff for all he knew? But on the off-chance she was telling the truth, this was an opportunity he wouldn't get again. So he decided to see if there was an initiative to be gained here...
"You said you needed our help: what is it you want?" he diverged again,
"Isn't it obvious?" Amy glanced at him skeptically as she pressed a key on the console, and a real-time aerial video-feed of the NEST base suddenly appeared on the main monitor. As they watched the ensuing barrage of attacks from both Josie and the unknown attack force, the kids and seeker couldn't believe what they were seeing...
At the same time, back at NEST:
The mantis drones pounded the main doors like a persistence stormy sea: wave after wave of force made the metal buckle and warp, and their additional laser weaponry made the armor plating weak with every blow. One last hit: and the doors would fall right off their hinges.
But as the doors fell, the drones were blasted out of the way by seven glowing humanoid figures as they flew up and into the sky: and in the void suddenly created in the blast, the Autobots rushed out to begin the first wave of their counter-offense: while those at the rear wasted no time in establishing the front line.
As they soared up into the air, it didn't take Miles and his team long to find Josie pounding on the doors of the entrance in the open-air hanger, and with one fluky energy blast aimed at the canyon wall above her, Miles got her attention, and she gave chase.
"Okay, we got her attention! Now what?!" Morri called across to Miles as they flew with him at break-neck speed across the desert.
"Take her as far away from the base as possible, and keep her there! Do whatever you can, just make sure she doesn't go back!" he called back,
"Rodger that!" she nodded, and as Josie steadily closed the distance between them, the team just headed further and further west, into the desert. Meanwhile, the absence of the static field was felt immediately, as the bots went on the offense with no pain in their helms.
"Miles's plan worked, now we just have to cut these fraggers down a peg or two!" Ironhide grunted as he blew two drones in half with his cannons. But the two jets hovering two hundred yards away, fired a burst of machine gun fire, pushing the Autobots back inside. Prime fired a cannon shot at the left one, but the bullet deflected off a pale blue force field that rippled around the exterior of the jet.
"They've got shields!" he growled: "Flyers, GO!". Behind him, Thundercracker, Portia, Springer and Jetfire all transformed, and took off up out of the main entrance, firing down on the two jets, who's shields deflected each of their shots. The third jet that was flying higher up, fired another round of missiles at the bots; Jetfire quickly teleported them away as the missiles struck the ground: missing its sisters by forty meters, and reappearing five miles ahead of the jet's flight path...
: Let him have it! : The ancient seeker commed them, and all at once the bots opened fire on the jet as it blasted towards them. But it too was protected by a force field shield, and the four flyers just barely managed to maneuver out of the way as the jet streaked right past them. Both Portia and Springer very nearly lost control, but fortunately, they were up high enough to regain some air under their rotors.
: We'll go after him, both of you go see to those two below! : Jetfire commed as he and Thundercracker sped off after the jet.
: Copy that! : Portia commed back, as she and Springer lined up the two other jet's in their cross-hairs
Back on the ground, the mantis drones had regained their footing and resumed their attack; amid the bots gunfire and hand-to-hand combat, Ashley stayed at the rear. In front of the barricade, keeping the NEST troops safe from each drone that managed to get past the bots; so far, it was only the one, which was putting up one hell of a fight. But Lennox and the other troops, along with his father and the other royal marines made the work a little lighter with some machine gun fire and grenades.
As he traded blows with the mantis drone: Ashley couldn't help but be struck by how similar it looked to those mantis drones he encountered in the 'other universe'. Were they possibly related somehow? Or were praying mantises just the animal of choice for bad guys to base their attack-drones upon? Either way, whoever built them, had built them well: as they were way tougher than they looked...
At the same time: the events in the training room were beginning to play on his mind; how the hell was he able to create that cannon? Would he be able to do it again? (If at all?) And if that was possible, what else was he capable of? The more he thought about it, the more fear began to creep in: he had no idea, not even an inkling that his arm had transformed like that, and if he didn't notice that, what else might happen that could be out of his control?
He fought on regardless, trying to stay focused as the drone came at him again: and as the NEST troops covered his back with bursts of gun fire; he hoped and prayed this wouldn't spiral down into an all out mess...
At the same time, back in LA:
Watching the ensuing chaos: Darren and the others couldn't believe how bad this was getting.
"What the slag?!" Skywarp gasped,
"What the hell are those things?!" Jeanie's eyes widened in fear,
Gazing over at Amy, Darren saw her expression had hardly shifted: and she merely gazed at him coldly. Enraged at her indifference, he stormed over to her, and got right up in her face: "You may not care about what happens to my friends on that base, but I do! Now tell me! What do you know?!"
She continued to stare him down, unmoved, unswayed by his desperation; and in a softer tone, she merely stated: "... Only that my sister has been turned into something she's not: and that if I were to tell you everything I know, you won't live to see tomorrow"
"Is that a threat?" Roxy cracked her knuckles
"No; merely a fact of the matter. Broadsword's mole has been very busy these last few months, and if they realize they've been compromised, I don't know what they'll do to ensure their success" Amy explained,
Darren stared at her agasp: "...How do you know about the mole?"
"That's my business, for now" she frowned, "...All I want is my sister back: and you're the only ones who can get her out of this mess" she gestured to the main monitor. "If you can retrieve her, I'll make it worth your while: I promise"
"As tempting as that is: money isn't exactly on our minds right now" Jeanie frowned
"Not money" Amy corrected, "Something far more valuable"
"Like what?" Darren pressed her
"You'll see" Amy shot back, "Now, I'd say your needed elsewhere right now"
Darren stared at her, unconvinced of her honesty: "...How do we know you'll be true to your word?"
"And how do we know Josie will be safe with you? So far, you haven't done anything to prove you're any better than your old man; so why should we hand her over to you?" Roxy glared daggers at her,
Amy stared at her, incredulous rage flashed through her eyes for a tenth of second: before she bitterly realized she was right. The gentlemen in the room watched in concern, as she turned to one side, and sat herself down on the steps of the platform. A brief silence passed, before she spoke with desperate honesty: "... I'm the only family she has left; neither of us asked for this, and she never asked to be turned into a freak... I can't prove I am who I say I am: all I can tell you, is that I'm desperate, and I'm willing to try anything to get her back"
The four sisters/cousins glanced at one another: and passing a heavy sigh, Darren replied; "...When we finally subdue her, we'll decide what to do; we're not making any promises"
"I know..." she stood back up, "But I always keep my promises: and if you do this for me; I'll give you something in return"
"What exactly?" Darren demanded
"The means by which I discovered my father's link to Broadsword, and more"
They all blinked in surprise. Glancing at one another, no one quite knew what to say. As they watched the scene on the main monitor play out: they realized this was one more complicated situation, adding to an already complicated situation, and this was just going to push the limits even further.
"...We gotta go, our friends need us" Skywarp stated,
"Then go; I'll be here, waiting" Amy merely replied, as the seeker activated his teleportation matrix, and disappeared in a flash of light and thunder.
As everyone in the room got back to work, one of the gentlemen approached Amy, and cautiously asked: "...Are you sure about this?"
She glanced at him with worry in her eyes, and in a shaky voice, admitted: "...No...But I have to try..."
Well, RIP Velocity, we won't miss you (probably).
Hope everyone's enjoying the summer sunshine :) because it's just rain, cloud and patchy skies over Cornwall: perfect for being indoors and catching up on some knitting, but lousy for being on the beach :p
Anyway, sorry for the lateness of this current chapter, I kinda took a semi-break to enjoy what sunshine there has been, and to do some over things that needed doing.
Hoped you enjoyed, and do stick around for the next installment: R&R please :)