Lennox glanced at his watch again, then towards Epps and several of the Autobots. He debated if this was really such a hot idea introducing them to more humans. Especially given what had went down with Ironhide. The woman's death had done something to the Autobots weapons specialist. Ratchet seemed to think it was just lingering effects from spending a week closed up in the caustic garage with two human's hell bound and hell-bent on killing themselves. Ratchet also believed there were a few things that needed to be changed on Ironhide, but it would take him a while to do it, unless they could get a well trusted human to do the work. If they had still been on Cybertron it would have been much easier, with available equipment and bots with small hands.
"You talk to her?" Epps ask.
Lennox exhaled a breath. He rubbed at the back of his head. "Yeah, I talked to her." He made it a point to try and have some form of contact with her at least every couple of months no matter how hard she had tried to make it on him and everyone else who wanted to still be a part of her life.
"She stop going to therapy?" Epps ask.
Lennox nodded.
"She hasn't gone since she got state side."
Epps, gave Lennox's shoulder a squeeze. "She's tough, 'sides she knows she still has family."
"Yeah." Lennox nodded. He still couldn't understand how she'd been flown into a war zone as a contract wire engineering specialist, ending up in a group with both her boyfriend and brother as guards for the group. It had ended tragically with only four members surviving a once strong group of 16. Of the survivors one had died stateside of injuries the other two Lennox had no idea where they were now. The only one he was sure of was Kamila aka Kami and that was where they were headed to see her.
In route to the middle of nowhere and to the place where Kamila Ford called home Lennox filled the small band of Autobots in on who Kamila was and what she did. He knew the rule of thumb was hold nothing back from them. He also knew they would want to do their own investigating who she was and what she did. He also knew they would research what had happened to the group she had been attached too. Maybe they would discover what happened to Kami's brother, boyfriend and even Kami.
Dust still rolled down the long dirt road even as the vehicles come to a stop in front of part of an old hangar. Multiple piles of metal littered the field as if someone had intended to construct a more on to the building but they had just never got around to it. To the other side of the building sat an old Deuce and half truck was a single human life form nestled up in the motor well, the only one the Autobots detected.
Hopping down she, for they could only assume she was female by her manner of dress and small stature, turned towards them.
Definitely female. Ratchet declared.
How can you be sure? Bumble Bee chirped.
But it was Jazz who answered. If the tight fitting jeans missing might I add most of the rear panel, isn't enough, the figure is also a good indicator. Even if the hat and sunglasses cover up some of her feminine appearance. That and she smells purely of vanilla, and delicious choice might I add.
Lennox and Epps took Kamila in. She had gotten a little more mature. Her taste in dress had also matured. But for them she would always be one of the guy's kid sister and a brother's girlfriend.
"What" she stopped in front of them.
Epp's motioned with his hand indicating her overall appearance.
She smiled and did a little twirl for the two men.
"I'm covered."
"Mostly." Lennox muttered.
"Mostly?" She shot back.
"Look a girl has got to do what a girl has to do. I look like I might be walking trouble, no one wants to mess with me. Know what say have to play up the bad ass or your.. Well never mind, you probably wouldn't know anyway."
All five of the Autobots were scanning the human female before them. Her jeans were ripped in multiple places with the two most alarming rips just right under her butt. Though there were places in the knees, one at her upper thigh but it wasn't to revealing.
Her shirt appeared to be a tank top covered over by a long sleeved blue jean shirt. The tank top didn't appear to reveal much about her small breasts. Probably why she wore her jeans the way she did. The Autobots thought, human females seemed to dress this way to attract their counterparts. Why the Autobots did not understand.
The hat and sunglasses concealed much of her face, but she appeared to have a tiny nose and cupids bow lips. They were still unsure of her, so they maintained their automotive form.
She broke into a smile stepping towards the two men opening her arms wide, to be embraced.
Each of them hugged her fiercely. As Epps let her go she wiped at her eyes.
"So, what is this government contract job, you have for me, assuming I am willing to take it on."
Lennox inhaled deeply then exhaled.
"Kamila Ford, I would like to introduce you to-" He turned to the Autobots.
Optimus Prime transformed first, followed by Jazz, Ratchet, Bumble Bee, and finally Ironhide. Kami had never seen anything like it. It both frightened her and gave her a little thrill. She'd stepped backwards until she stood touching both the men, feeling for reassurances from them.
Not so tough after all Ironhide thought.
Optimus made a step forward. He immediately realize the human female was still alarmed to be in his presence.
"Kamila Ford. I am Optimus Prime leader of the Autobots."
Getting a little nerve back up Kamila stepped forward. "Kami, please."
"Kami, it is." His voice rumbled soothingly, doing more to win the human female over to curiosity instead of fear.
Ratchet immediately detected that the human females heart pace had changed again and all at the sound of Optimus voice. The first time it had been when she was greeted by two old friends and then when they the Autobots had transformed and now at the sound of voice. She was new to him and different he wanted to continue to monitor her.
"Kami" Optimus began again. "Jazz" The once sleek Pontiac Solstice, swooped down into a bow.
"A pleasure to meet you." Jazz responded.
"Likewise." She replied with a small curtsy.
"This is Bumble Bee." Bumble Bee responded only the way Bumble Bee could respond.
"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." It was Rhett Butler speaking to Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind" but it earned a giggle from Kami. "Pleased to meet you, m'lady." He added with another radio scan.
She actually smiled. "Oh so you gonna be my Rhett?' She ask Bumble Bee in an equally southern twang. Which pleased him to no end. Now none of them were going to be able to stand him. There was much Autobot groaning.
"Oh now you done gone and done it. He will flirt with and for you none stop." Ratchet good naturally ribbed the other yellow bot.
This earned the Autobots another glimpse of someone she hadn't been in a long time. She slid the sunglasses down to her nose.
"Really?" She ask harmlessly.
Ironhide snorted. "It's like feeding a stray. It owns you now."
"What?" Kami had pulled the glasses completely off now.
Eeps and Lennox chuckled.
"Know like feeding a stray. They don't go away, they take up with you." Eeps give her a reassuring squeeze.
"Though, we know you're not the sort for ownership."
Kami gave Eeps a playful punch in the shoulder.
Ratchet stepped forward introducing himself and all tactfully without embarrassing the human female any more than he already had. Though he had to admit, he'd already seen an array of different emotions flowing from her in a small span of time. She interested him that voices seemed to affect her heart rate. This would be helpful in his newly chosen study interest of the human race.
"And this is Ironhide." Optimus Prime introduce the weapon specialist.
Ironhide merely greeted her with growl.
Kami took a nervous step back, he was purely intimidating, and he didn't seem to particularly like her either. Then there was the scar that sliced through what should be his brow, just down into his eye. It made him appear very scary.
Bumble Bee responded in another of his patched voices. "Don't mind him he just switched to decaf."
Kami tried hard to stifle a bark of laughter. But in the end the humor won out.
She received a freezing glare for it, from Ironhide.
Optimus Prime was quick to intervene. "Easy Ironhide."
She stepped forward. "Really color morphics? Whooh I'd be cranky too. That is a cruel joke if ever there was one. I mean undercarriage running lights? Seriously?"
Ironhide growled again.
Kami went wide-eyed. "If mean I suppose if you like that. The blue is nice color." She was still holding the small strip of lights she had plucked loose from Ironhide.
"Well uhm they talk you into fuzz dice too?"
She really needed to just shut up. She tugged at brim of her ball hat pulling it down lower. She just knew she had pissed the big guy off and there was about to hell to pay for it.
"Anyway, ah." She was mentally squirming trying to figure how she was going to get out of this mess she'd just talked her way into.
"Ah, well it is what it is." She muttered attempting to tug the hat down lower, as if it could get any lower.
She turned and started towards the open door of her personal maintenance shop.
It started as a small rumble that grew into a deep rumbling laughter.
"Well at least the human female see can see they are absolutely pointless feature too."
Ironhides voice froze her. She turned looking back at him and then up towards him. She shook her head she could have sworn she heard a hint of southern in the deep growling voice.
Ironhides optics fully dilated open onto the female. There was something almost familiar about her.
She'd again turned and started up a set of wooden steps. Her back to him. He knew he should leave well enough alone but it had been there just for the briefest moment, and now he had to know.
"Human female, remove your hat." There he's spoken it. I was a simple request. He'd seen no harm in the request, it wasn't a demand.
Both Ratchet and Prime had chided Ironhide for his request. But it was the Human female who really let him have it.
She stood a little taller, turning on heel to glare at the Autobot who'd dare talk to her like she was, well she didn't know what. But it pissed her off.
"The human female has a name. In fact I expect it to be used." She spat back.
Ironhide snorted. "Very well Kamila Ford remove your hat."
"Are sure it is such a good idea, leaving Ironhide with the human female, kami?" Ratchet ask Prime.
"Yeah." Jazz chuckled. "She is feisty. Probably push every kill button Ironhide has."
"It's more than just that. She is an identical twin to the dead woman from the garage." Bumblebee added.
"Not identical but close enough that it is disturbing. Look Optimus, maybe we should find someone else to repair Ironhide. I could do it, but it is going to a long drawn out process. There would be a lot of down time and rework."
"No Ratchet. We can't afford lengthy down times with either. Ironhide will not hurt the human female, I am sure of it."
"Optimus, he's growled, snarled and snorted at her since we have gotten here, giving her more than one fright, I suspect her heart rate hasn't been that high since she come back from combat . And might I add she has done her share of things too annoy him. "
"Ratchet, humans, particularly human females have a way about establishing an order among their counterparts. Let's face it Ironhide pissed her off and she is like Carney's ghost to him. It's a delicate dance that has-" Before Jazz could finish his comment.
A feminine scream ripped through the cooling evening air. "Please do something. I stepped on it. Get it. No- no get it away from me." There was a panicked sob. "Just get if off me, it's crawling."
"Stand still." Ironhide growled.
Another panicked sob. "I am."
Rounding the corner they found Ironhide had reached the human female first and he was trying to figure out how to separate the snake from the human, without harming said human. Both Eep's and Lennox watched in horror as a huge boa constrictor continued to encircle Kami even as Ironhide tried to pull it loose.
Forty five minutes after they had separated Kami and the snake and then the snake from Ironhide Kami still sat in the center of the room on a steel 55 gallon drum. Her knees pulled up under her chin and her arms wrapped around her knees. She fought to keep tears from falling, but she had given up on trying to hide the trembling. Eeps, Lennox, and the Autobots were still going over her garage looking for anymore snakes.
"Damn girl now tell me again why you chose to move into the middle of nowhere? You know this is the perfect place for snakes. With its warm almost tropical climate."
She didn't reply to Epps.
"Kami?" Lennox snapped his fingers in front of her. "How many snakes have you found?"
"Just a couple of small ones." She felt like she was being studied. Probably the brute Ironhide just waiting see how long it would take her to burst into tears. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She would sit there and bite her lip until it bleed.
Ratchet groaned he didn't give a darn how big her shop was. Not that it was all that big, but sharing it with Ironhide constantly growling and a surprisingly bubbly Kami was about to fry his last nerve. The human female for the most part was over having found a boa constrictor in her backyard, last night.
"Kami why are there snakes here from South America and Africa?"
She froze at the mention of snakes. She glanced around to make sure the yellow hummer wasn't holding one and inspecting it. She really couldn't handle a repeat of last night. She cut her eyes toward the Topkick he at once snarled at her but at least he wasn't holding a snake. Apparently the big guy didn't like snakes or her.
She shrugged. "No idea. I mean I certainly don't collect the things. Don't like them. I guess people have 'em and well they grow too big or otherwise become unwanted. It is a bit odd though, there is after all only one tree directly behind my shop and two miles in each direction just ground go figure."