The next day Saphira woke up feeling curious. The day before had revealed quite a lot about the potential suspicions surrounding the Apollo Mission. Saphira knew that she needed to know more. And she wasn't able to get answers from Cogman about it, which was upsetting. It might be her job to do it, but she wanted some help. But she was pretty much on her own in finding out more it would seem. Aside from the fact she was curious, she had felt nauseous upon waking up, but she didn't feel the need to run to the bathroom, which she was happy with. She ate a green apple and felt a lot better before having some boiled eggs and toast. She used that time of the morning to read through the history of the Apollo Mission to see if she could find anything useful.
She searched up the names of the individuals that were listed in Jerry's notes, and she could mostly find articles about their deaths. She couldn't find any public autopsy reports about them, or even if they had family. She wasn't entirely surprised though, because the internet wasn't publicly used back in the 80's. And if there was information about these people, it was either locked behind government doors or the information was destroyed. Regardless, Saphira needed to know more about this and she looked at the information she had on other people she had suspected to be working with the decepticons.
But Saphira eventually found she was at a dead end. There was literally no other evidence than what she had now. She knew that NEST was going to be asking her about where she found the evidence, even though she could not say. Especially when she tries to warn Optimus. And he was set to arrive tomorrow, and she was very excited about it. But now was the time to head to NEST, and she knew it. She had to give them the information she has learned so that they could be prepared for what is coming. She did not know if they would believe her though.
Saphira got changed into a nice blouse and jeans before she left her apartment. She carried a folder that she had placed the evidence into. She made sure to bring the lens as well so that Brains and Wheelie could keep an eye her while she drove through the city to the base. She didn't think anything would happen, but there was always a chance whenever she left the apartment, and she knew it. For all she knew, Dylan Gould could follow her around as well. And she wasn't entirely happy about that idea either, so she would have to be careful.
After she reached her Mercedes, she drove out of the apartment lot onto the streets. The NEST base would take some time to reach, so Saphira put on some music to listen and sing to. She also felt mild anger coming from Optimus. It seemed he was still fuming about something and she was worried about it. Whatever it was, it was affecting him quite a lot. She could not recall if she remembers anything that affected him like this, but she wasn't bonded to him the whole time, so she didn't know. Maybe when he first arrived on Earth, but that was hard to know.
Saphira was about ten minutes into her drive and she was stopped at a red light. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel as she hummed to the music. And just as the lights turned green, Saphira screamed as bullets spray through the back window of her car, making her slam on the accelerator in response. Thankfully, no other cars were in front of her, but she was very alarmed. She sped away from the bullets and glanced at the rear view and sideview mirrors. She widened her eyes as she could just see Laserbeak flying after her.
Shit!
She tensed as more bullets were fired upon her car, and she saw people around her panicking as they had seen Laserbeak, and they also were hearing the bullets being shot at Saphira's car. She could not help but speed up and weave between cars. She wasn't about to allow Laserbeak to kill her right at this moment. Not while she could outrun him. Or at least, she could try to. And she had no choice but to speed through red lights as Laserbeak continued to shoot at the car, trying to either kill her or blow a tyre. Whichever, he was missing.
"I hope you guys are watching, Brains and Wheelie, because I really could use Barricade's help right now!" Saphira shouted as she drifts to the right, narrowing missing a parked car she turned into the street. "Laserbeak is on my ass! He's trying to kill me! I think Jerry slipped or something, but he is after me!"
Saphira felt Optimus's worry as he could feel her fear and panic right now. She had no way to contact Barricade either, she could only hope that Brains and Wheelie have alerted him. She knew she had to get away from the heart of the city as she did not want people to be caught in the crossfire. The decepticons did not care about this, and she did not know how the government was going to cover this up, but it didn't matter. Not to her, as long as she got out of this.
She screamed when she heard a thud on the roof her car, and she glanced up briefly to see dents. The metal groaned loudly before there was a loud slice. "Saphira…" Laserbeak's voice sent shivers down her spine. "Pull over and let's talk."
Saphira took deep breaths before she breaks suddenly, the force of the break threw Laserbeak off the roof of her car before she sped forward again. She glared at the decepticon as the bird-like con glared at her and she hits him with the front of her car. It wasn't enough to kill him, but he clung to the front of the car and began to climb forward slowly with a devious expression on his face. Saphira drifts sharply to the left in the hopes to throw him off, and it almost works, but he clung on and just seemed to get madder as he continued to approach her slowly. The spikes in his wings pierce the hood of the car as he got closer, pulling himself near to the window.
Saphira needed to think fast. She looked around quickly as she sped through the city before spotting a building that looked like it was being renovated on. There were no signs of workers, so it was something. She pressed her foot down further, causing the car to speed up and Laserbeak seemed to be surprised. He glared at Saphira and jumped onto the glass, making her scream as the glass shattered as his claws punch through it. Saphira luckily could see as she drove straight towards the fences surrounding the building to keep people out of the construction site.
"Pull over!" Laserbeak demands, ripping away the glass onto the road, shattering the rest of it into pieces, giving him zero barrier between Saphira and the con. "What did Jerry Wang tell you, Saphira? What did he whisper to you?"
Saphira did not respond as the car slammed through the fence, making Laserbeak get thrown forward in through the car and out the back window. But the tips of his wings scrape the right side of her face and right shoulder, cutting deep wounds that stung. She didn't stop as she drove the car through a thin wall, causing part of the structure to collapse behind her and blocking Laserbeak's way in for the time being. However, Saphira heard her tyres pop as she drove over some sharp items and the car thumped and thrashed as it dragged along the ground, destroying the wheel discs completely.
Saphira waited until the car hit a column, making it stop completely, before grabbing her folder and getting out of the car, running away from it. She didn't know where she would be able to hide at the moment as she heard the wing beats of the spy entering the building. She ran over to a column to hide behind and give herself a moment to breath. She clutched the folder against her chest as she listened quietly. She could hear Laserbeak flying around.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Laserbeak teased as he flew through the building. "I know you are still here, Saphira. So you might as well come out of hiding right now." Saphira kept herself as quiet as she possibly could. "Where are you? Are hiding in that box?" She flinched when she heard the wooden box breaking loudly behind her. "No, you are not."
Saphira did not know how close he was, but she knew she could not just stand and wait for him. She ran from where she was hiding. She tried to not run too loudly as she knew that Laserbeak would find her very quickly. However, as she made her way to a room, she heard glass under her feet as she ran over it and she knew that Laserbeak had heard it as she heard a strange sound that was a mixture of a roar and angry squawk. She ran into the room and found there were multiple doors that were open. She ran through one of them and skidded on the tiles as she made a right. She saw there was a kitchen through another door, so she ran through the doorway.
"You can run, but you cannot hide from me!" Laserbeak mocked as he flew into the room. He did not see where exactly Saphira ran, but he knew she was here. "You cannot hide forever, little girl. You belong to Megatron." She shivered as she opened one of the counter doors and saw there was space. "Come on out."
Saphira crouched down and she managed to squeeze herself inside the cabinet before closing the door. She made sure to not slam it shut so he did not hear her, and kept the door slightly open so she could see. She could hear the decepticon flying around, and she flinched as she heard him smashing some things to try and find her. She was really, really hoping that someone would come soon. She didn't know if she could get out of the building without Laserbeak finding her. She could only hope that they were on the way.
"You are trying my patience, Saphira. Come now, I will not bring you any harm, I just want to know what Jerry Wang had told you." She soon saw him entering the kitchen. He looked around as he flew over to the pantry to open it. "You are hiding very well, but not well enough! I will find you!" Saphira hoped he would not pry the door open. She almost wanted to hold her breath. She screamed as the countertop is ripped off and Saphira rolled out of the cabinet quickly. "There you are!" She scrambled to her feet and ran. The decepticon laughed and flew after her. "Pathetic!"
Saphira ran as fast as she could through the building. She jumped over a few things so that she would not trip, but she grimaced and tried to push Laserback off when he grabbed her shoulders suddenly. "Let me go!" She screamed, grabbing at his legs to try and pull them off. "I got nothing!"
"Then what is this folder, hmm?" Laserbeak questions as he snatched the folder from Saphira's hand. She gasped and tried to take it as the decepticon lets her go and flies away from her. "No evidence for you!" He tossed the folder into the air and shot at it, disintegrating the folder completely. Saphira stared in shock as she now had no folder. Laserbeak glared at Saphira as she began to run from him again. "Get back here!"
Saphira felt tears in her eyes as she didn't know how she was going to give evidence now. She began to look for a way out, but as she saw a way out, Laserbeak grabbed her shoulders again and lifts her from the ground. She shrieked loudly in fear and shock, looking at the ground with wide eyes. She grabbed at the decepticon's legs as she feared he would drop her. But inside, he threw her. And she screamed as she flew through the air before she hit something. She grimaced as she felt the porcelain of a vanity dig into her lower back, along with the head of the tap and the glass of the mirror shattered from her shoulders.
She fell onto the ground and grimaced as her back ached, and she looked at her left arm to see streaks of blood running down her arm from glass digging into her skin. She looked at Laserbeak as he lands on the ground, grinning at Saphira. "That is a good girl. Now you better keep your mouth or your precious Prime will not live to see the plan through." He chuckled as he curled his body around hers, making Saphira tense and grimace. "Tsk, tsk, there's quite a scrape on your back from that tap. You shouldn't have gone running, Saphira." He chuckled softly as his optics began glow as a line of light scanned over her body. "But nothing that cannot be healed so that…" Laserbeak paused with a frown before moving off her suddenly and looking at her with confusion. Saphira was confused too as she stared at him fearfully. "Fascinating. I didn't think that…"
Laserbeak was cut off as he turned his head to the loud rev of a Dodge challenger slamming through the outside fence and wall. He growled as he flapped his wings as the challenger transformed and Barricade shot at Laserbeak. "Coward!"
"Traiter!" The spy hissed as he flew around, avoiding Barricade's blasts and flew at the former decepticon, mocking him as he flew around him. "It fascinates me that you have not been able to convince anyone about what we have done so far on this world." He chuckled with a sneer as Barricade tried punching him into the ground. "Optimus does not fully trust you yet, Barricade. Or he would have listened to you and the Ark would have been destroyed long ago."
Barricade narrowed his optics at Laserbeak and aimed his canons at him. "He doesn't wish to believe. Now get lost, vermin!" He fired at the decepticon, and he again avoided the blasts. "Get back here!"
Saphira gasped as rocks began falling around her and realized the building was collapsing. "Barricade!" She shouts at him, getting his attention. "The building is collapsing! Stop shooting that bird and get me out of here!"
Barriade glanced up as a part of the roof fell through the floors from above and he lunged forward to block it from hitting Saphira. He picked her up and glared at Laserbeak as the spy just laughed and flew out. Barricade picked up the girl and turned to run back the way he came and transformed, making her shriek in surprise as he held onto her as his body transformed into the challenger. She grimaced as she placed her hand on her back, gasping as she felt more blood.
"Shit! Ouch…that tap cut me deep too." She took a deep breath and looked at the dash with a relieved expression. "Thank you, Barricade. I-I was not sure what Laserbeak was going to do, but I am glad you reached me before he done anything." He said nothing as he drove through the city and she hoped he was okay. "Don't feel bad, you didn't know that the building would collapse."
"I am not upset about that, Saphira. I am…I am angry for you. Angry that Laserbeak somehow found out that you got information from Jerry and he attacked you. Ugh! This is why you should have stayed in NEST!" She nodded in agreement as she listened to his anger. "And now you are hurt. Do you have your phone? I bet Optimus is super worried now."
She shook her head. "No…I left it in my car…and my car is totalled." She could sense Optimus's worry right now. He would be feeling the pain from her body, and was no doubt reaching out to try and find out what has happened. She sent him feelings of reassurance and love that she was okay, aside from needing the glass removed from her arm. "It isn't your fault, Barricade. I was on my way to the base when Laserbeak attacked me on the road. I am surprised he was bold enough to do that."
"Yeah, we all were. I believe there is already a story being created to cover up the incident, so I hope it will not cause too much chaos. Still…" Barricade could see the blood on Saphira's arm and the glass shards that were stuck in her skin. "You are going to need to see a doctor. Those wounds look really bad."
"I think I'll be fine, but yes, I will need to see one. Maybe you can send an alert that I need…"
"Barricade, this is Mearing…" Saphira was a little annoyed and relieved to hear Mearing's voice over Barricade's com link. "I am on my way back to the NEST base. I have just been informed that Saphira was attacked by a decepticon as she was driving through town. Can you confirm it?"
"I can confirm it. I have Saphira with me. Laserbeak attacked Saphira, and she needs medical treatment," Barricade responded to the woman affirmatively. "She is not seriously injured, but she is bleeding. I wish to bring Saphira to the base with me."
"Permission granted. I would like to know the reason why Laserbeak attacked Saphira in the first place. It seems to be provoked, and I don't know if she had done something. Saphira…" Saphira looked at the dash when Mearing addressed her. "Lennox and the autobots are already on a plane for NEST. They were supposed to be scheduled to return yesterday, but it was bumped, and they should be here later today. I hope to be there myself. I hope those injuries are not too bad."
"No, they are not," Saphira responded to the woman in a reassuring tone. "I guess I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I did learn some things, and I think the decepticons were wanting to try and stop me."
"If it was important information that they did not want you to know about, that makes me more interested in knowing them. Once you get back to the base, there will be a medical team on standby. Ratchet should also be there waiting to greet you. I shall see you soon."
The com link goes down and Saphira simply tried to relax. "I just wish my back and arm did not hurt like this. It really hurts. At least I managed to get closer to NEST so we don't have as much distance to travel."
"That is true, but it isn't because you wanted to get there so quickly. You were fleeing for your life. Optimus is going to be so thrilled about it too." Barricade sounded a little worried as he knew that Optimus will be demanding why Saphira is hurt. "I do hope this will help prove our case, even though you have lost the information, Saphira. At least that is a good thing."
She nodded in agreement and waited for Barricade to reach NEST. She really wanted to get there as soon as possible. And knowing that Optimus could be here before tomorrow was exciting. She just hoped that she, Barricade and the scrap bots could warn him about the potential threat on the moon. She did know that Sentinel Prime meant a lot to Optimus, and he didn't want to believe his former mentor could be such a threat, and Saphira didn't blame him. Plus, she's lost the proof, but also she didn't have an audio proof. The papers wouldn't have convinced him.
"I don't even know if Optimus will believe this is all to do with Sentinel," Saphira said softly as she looked out the window. "We only have a little bit of evidence. I will still tell him what happened and why, but Optimus does get defensive when Sentinel is ever considered to be working with Megatron."
"Hmm, I guess that would be something, even if I do think you should tell him. I honestly fear it could be too late by the time Optimus learns. It is a betrayal he probably will never forget, but…he is wise, so I hope he will listen. You are also his sparkmate, which means your voice has more merit than mine. Maybe…Laserbeak is partly right." She shook her head immediately in disagreement. "I was a decepticon, Saphira. I chose to be one because I fell for Megatron's words, and I know he distrusts me because I left the decepticons because…not only was I tired of fighting, but because of you. I know you know that too."
"I guess that might be part of the reason Optimus may not fully like you, but he does trust you. You have proven yourself worthy time and time again, so I think using that isn't fully accurate. But I can understand why. But I would also like to think he would know that you knew things that the autobots did not know about. And should be something he could consider." Saphira wanted to lean back into the chair, but she didn't want to get stains on Barricade. "I am sorry if I get blood on you."
"Do not worry about it, Saphira, it will be easy to wash off," Barricade responded to the girl polite as he knew that she would feel bad. "You are hurt, and you need care." Barricade had left the city at this point and they were not far from the base. "I do wonder if this will make NEST rethink your protection. Especially given that you were attacked openly in a populated city."
Saphira did not know if that would happen, but it would be very nice. She did wonder what made Laserbeak curious though. He picked up something when he had scanned her, and Saphira had zero clue on what he could have discovered. As far as she knew, nothing was out of the ordinary. Well, aside from the fact she had been attacked by the decepticons and was on her way back to NEST. She was glad though as she would be able to greet Optimus at the base, though that did depend on what needed to be done with her injuries.
Barricade soon turned into the driveway through the NEST gates, and the soldiers let Barricade through straight away as Ratchet was by the entrance waiting for them. Saphira smiled as Barricade drove past the ambulance and Ratchet followed them. Barricade drove towards the medical center where medics were waiting. She also spotted Ratchet's holoform, which she wasn't entire surprised. She did wonder how much concentration the bots even needed to be driving around and controlling their holoform at the same time.
Once he came to a stop, Ratchet opened the door to help Saphira out. "I heard you had a run in with a decepticon. Seems like you found yourself some trouble." He chuckled a little as his optics fell upon her injuries. "Seems like your injuries aren't deep, but we will check to make sure these cuts aren't too deep." He picked her up suddenly as the gurney was roll closer and Ratchet placed her on it. Barricade's holoform formed to follow if he was allowed. Saphira didn't want to lay on her back, and remained on her side. "Does your back hurt a lot, Saphira?" She nodded. "Alright, let's go get you checked up before Optimus arrives."
Saphira smiled at him. "Thanks, Ratchet. I appreciate your help." She shifted a little and grimaced as she felt pain shooting through her back. "I hit a tap, which is why my backs hurts a lot."
"At least it is not broken," Ratchet said softly as she was pushed through the facility to be taken to a private room. Barricade followed behind and did not want to interfere. "I am a bit more concerned by the glass. There's a large one near your shoulder that makes me think you might need stitches in that."
Just great…
Saphira knew that there was a potential need for stitches, but Saphira didn't really care. She needed to speak with Optimus, and he should arrive home soon. And she was thoroughly looking forward to it, but she was also kind of nervous. She didn't know how he would react to the evidence she's found, and she didn't know how to tell him that she believes something had gone on between Sentinel and Megatron. She's brought it up before, and he has always denied the idea. She fully understood why though. But things have changed, and she hoped he will listen. She did worry that he might not, but she would try. She had to for all their sakes.
