Took about two days I think to do this chapter. The ideas just flowed out. I'd like to thank my newly wedded wife who was indirectly and directly responsible for the good part of why I lost my writer's block which has prevented me from doing my story for almost five years.
I love you all and thank you so much for your reviews but read well and know that is the beginning.
Trials, Tribulations and Transformations
VIII - Out of the Frying Pan...
Jasper, Nevada - April 23rd 2011, Saturday, 3:20 pm
Come on Sierra, pick up girl! You're really scaring me.
Kaitlyn Steinfeld was on her cellphone, trying so desperately to call her best friend but so far, fives time calling, it goes straight to the automated message that her phone is currently unavailable.
The blonde prep student was standing at a bus stop, observing Milton's All-American Diner being closed off by the local police as a crime scene.
Sierra's parents called Kaitlyn to inform her of the incident as they thought their daughter's best friend over the age of eight ought to know first. Kaitlyn rushed over to the restaurant as fast as she could.
Of course because it was a crime scene, she could not go past the barricade tape. Even if she could disregard the black and yellow tape, she would not get far with the local police standing watch.
Kaitlyn approached the police officer closest to her.
"Um excuse me, can you help me?" she said in a voice that almost sounded like a squeak.
"Please keep five-feet back from the line miss," the officer said, as though he didn't hear her.
"Sir please, I have a friend who works here," Kaitlyn said.
"All employees have already been sent home miss," the officer said without missing a beat.
"Not true!" Kaitlyn said, trying to keep her voice not wanting to draw attention to herself.
The officer looked at her, having her full attention. "Pardon me?"
Kaitlyn looked down to see the cop's name tag, which read 'T. Bradley.'
"Officer Bradley, my friend never came home today and her phone isn't picking up or even ringing."
Officer Bradley nodded in understanding. "Alright, what is your friend's name?"
"Sierra Krosney."
Officer Bradley's eyes seemed to register recognition of the name.
"Ah yes, she has long red hair in a ponytail correct?" he asked.
"Yes sir, you know where she is?" Kaitlyn asked, sounding relieved.
"I'm afraid not miss, even her boss, the owner of the restaurant doesn't seem to have an idea where she might be. Witnesses say that she was last seen taking off with a boy with red hair."
Red hair. Vince!
"Go on," Kaitlyn said eagerly.
"The red hair attacked two men but it was discovered that both men were armed. A witness said that he saw one of them whisper something to your friend right after she delivered the red-haired boy's order. We believe that the man might've threatened her."
Oh my God.
"Oddly enough, not a single witness took any pictures because none of their electronic devices were working. Even the security cameras didn't get anything but fuzzy streams."
What the?
"And the men?" Kaitlyn asked.
"They escaped I'm afraid. Witnesses say they escaped, very gingerly they said, in what looked like an old corvette with a bright green and black color scheme."
"Gingerly?"
"Yes," said the officer. "The witnesses say that they were badly hurt before they got away. The tall gunman appeared to have severe 2nd-degree burns on his face. Apparently the kid threw hot coffee at him. And the short gunman, Hispanic I think, he had some pretty bad cuts on his face. He got smashed in the face with a glass coffee pot."
Whoa. Vince always had a violent temper.
"Is there nothing else?" Kaitlyn said.
"I'm afraid that's all I can tell you miss, I'm sorry," Officer Bradley said sadly. "If Ms. Krosney does not reappear within 24 hours after the time she had last been seen, you can file a missing persons' report."
"And not before?" Kaitlyn asked almost indignantly.
"I'm afraid so miss, it's policy," Officer Bradley said regrettably.
Bowing her head in defeat, Kaitlyn turned to walk away. Just when she turned the corner, she got her cellphone out and with a furious vigor, she speed dialed and the placed the phone to her ear.
Vince, I almost don't want to kill you!
30 minutes ago...
Vince seemed like a statue in his seat. He could barely hear the sound of the big rig's engine as it went down the highway.
These giant robots are from outer space?!
Vince could hardly speak. He could hardly think. This was all so much for him to unpack.
"Vince," Optimus said, speaking the radio speaker. "I understand that all this must be quite a shock to you. Do you understand now why Jack couldn't tell you the truth?"
"Because I wouldn't have believed him," Vince said glumly.
Of course I wouldn't have believed him, I'd thought he were either crazy or on drugs, maybe both!
"Yes Vince, but also you'd be safer if you didn't know. If you had known then what you know now, would you be able to do anything with that information?" Optimus asked with genuine interest.
"Other than keep my distance from cars I never been in, nothing much," Vince said.
Ignorance is bliss in some cases I guess. To think these...titans were living among us, but for how long?
"Is there anything else you wish to know Vince?"
"Yeah, what exactly did I need to be safe from? Or more importantly, why are you here?" Vince asked.
"Because your planet is under threat from the Decepticons?"
Vince blinked.
"Decepti-Who?"
"Decepticons Vince," Optimus corrected. "They are a hostile group of Cybertronians who have come to your planet in order to plunder it of its resources, mainly the Energon depots present on earth."
"Why do they need our resources? And what is Energon?"
Optimus was patient as he was used to answering many, many questions. And Vince Raider was not the worst human he'd ever dealt with.
"Energon is the lifeblood of all Cybertronian life. Just as humans cannot survive without water, we cannot survive without Energon. It also serves as our food, our munition as well as our fuel."
Optimus' voice then became grim, "As for why the Decepticons need your resources, our planet, their planet has been uninhabitable for quite some time. Their intention is to gather every drop of Energon on this planet and whatever of your planet's fuel that they can put to use in order to utilize it for their machine of war to revitalize and conquer Cybertron."
"Why is your planet uninhabitable?"
"Because Cybertron has been rendered dead due to centuries of civil war...civil war over the control of our world's supply of Energon...among other things."
"And why are there Energon depots here on earth?"
"In order to prevent Energon spoils from falling into enemy hands, both Autobots and Decepticons jettisoned them heavenward, sent them into space so they might reclaimed at a later time.
For planets rich with life like yours, Energon is capable planting itself and grow in mass, thus why earth is such a promising target to the Decepticons."
Vince gulped, fearful of the implications. "How come no one has seen these...Decepticons or any of you here on earth? I mean, I can't be the only one to have seen one of your boys without a human behind the wheel. Is the government keeping them a secret or something?"
"You're closer than you think Vince," Optimus answered. "Our existence is being kept a secret but it is because the Decepticons are well-hidden beyond what our instruments can detect. Unlike us, the Decepticons possess a highly-advanced warship with a powerful cloaking device. You would not be able to detect it unless it were already directly above you."
Vince began to sink into his seat, his stomach going with it.
"The Cons have a warship and you guys don't?" Vince almost whispered.
"I'm afraid so and in matter of numbers, we are at a grave disadvantage," Optimus said.
Great, so the Autobots are outnumbered and outgunned? Sounds like a fair fight.
Vince's thoughts were filled with bitterness and dread of the knowledge he has now been given. It was as though the existence of something hanging over his head had now been revealed, figuratively and literally. An immovable object that he could not escape.
"Maybe it would've been better if you let MECH have us," Vince said, his voice filled with bitter anger.
"Are you saying you'd rather be at the mercy of MECH or the Decepticons?" Optimus asked firmly but not unkindly.
"I'd rather be dead than to live in fear!" Vince shouted, his voice almost breaking.
"What about Sierra?"
Vince flinched. "What about her?" he asked.
"Does her safety mean anything to you?"
Vince's eyes flared and he gritted his teeth so hard that they could've cracked.
"OF COURSE IT DOES!" Vince roared. "I killed for her!"
The soldier aimed his rifle at the passenger in the backseat.
He was aiming at Sierra.
Vince panicked and turned his car toward's the MECH vehicle, effectively ramming it and running it off the cliff.
The car exploded upon hitting the rocks below, killing the MECH soldiers.
Vince's gasped for air, his eyes bulging horribly at the flashback.
"Vince?!" Optimus exclaimed, his laced with concern.
Optimus immediately parked by the side of the road.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I...I, I'm not sure," Vince stammered.
I killed. I...killed. Oh God forgive me, I killed. I think I'm going to be sick.
Knowing what was coming, Optimus unlocked the passenger door and let Vince out.
Upon reaching the ground, Vince fell to his knees and purged his stomach. Once he was sure he was finished, he began to weep.
And then he heard his phone ring.
Who the-?
Vince reached for his phone in his jacket and checked the caller I.D.
Katie? Oh no, she must be calling about Sierra. What do I do? What do I say?
Vince answered the call. Hesitantly, he placed the phone to his ear.
"Hello?" Vince almost whispered.
"Vince? I heard about what happened today. They set up a crime scene and everything. Are you ok?"
"I'm fine Katie, mostly. Just...really shaken," Vince said.
Vince heard a mirthless laugh as Kelly continued. "I bet and almost nothing shakes you."
Vince shared a laugh which had less humor than Katie's.
Vince knew how close Sierra and Kaitlyn were. They were practically sisters, have been best friends since grade school. Katie was almost always seen by Sierra's side. Vince knew that if Katie wanted to know something concerning the safety of her best friend, she will not let up until she knows that she is well and if not, well...Vince was afraid of what Kaitlyn might do.
Vince decided to cut to the chase. "You're calling about Sierra," he said. It was not a question.
"Yes! Yes yes yes yes! Is she ok?! Where is she?!"
"She's fine, fine. She's...with Jack and his mother. She's a nurse," Vince said, trying to sound convincing.
Vince heart Katie utter a sigh of deep relief. "Oh thank God. Thank God. Her parents were worried sick, me too."
She sounded like she was crying now.
"Hey, hey, it's alright Katie. She's fine, for the most part. She's just really faint is all...and she fainted," Vince said comfortingly. He was still very new to this sort of thing.
"I don't blame her! Thank you for telling me Vince, I gotta go see her now. See ya."
"No Katie, wait!"
She didn't answer.
There was a beat of silence as Vince looked at his phone to see that the call had ended.
"Dammit!"
Vince scrambled back into the truck and closed the door behind him.
"Vince, what happened?" Optimus asked.
"Sierra's friend Katie is out looking for her, she thinks that she's at Jack's house," Vince said dejectedly.
"Is that what you told her?"
"Not exactly," Vince said.
"One moment," Optimus said before accessing his communicator.
Meanwhile...
Kaitlyn Steinfeld, or Katie, biked as fast as she could to the Darby Residence. She was visibly sweating but she didn't care. Seeing to her friend's welfare was more important than her comfort.
Katie and Sierra have been thick as thieves since the third grade. They played together, studied together, laughed and cried together, even spoke of the boys they fancied together.
Here it is, house number 3503 on Hunter's Blvd.
Katie got off her bicycle and applied the kickstand. Just as she was about to dash to the front door, she stopped to notice something that caught her eye.
What appeared to be was a faint green glow coming from underneath the front door.
What in the world?
As soon as the green glow appeared, it was gone.
Weird.
Katie wasted no more time ringing the doorbell.
And not a moment after, the door opened.
"Hiya!"
Katie's eyes shot open.
"Nakadai? What are you doing here?" Katie asked.
"You know me?" Miko said, raising an eyebrow.
"We had detention once before? You snuck out if I recall," Katie said. She was not fond of that memory, it was not a good day for her. Seeing Miko sneak from right under the teacher's nose was something that made her day though.
"Oh yeah, which one were you?" Miko asked.
"I was sitting behind you to your left," Katie said raising an eyebrow.
Miko still stared at her, clearly not recognizing her.
"I always hang around with Sierra?"
"Ohhhhhh, Yeah. You...you're like Sierra's shadow or something," Miko said.
Katie rolled her eyes. "I'm her best friend, I've been her friend since forever-hold on. What are you doing at Jack's?"
Miko said nothing.
"Well?" Katie said.
Miko averted her eyes, still saying nothing.
It's like getting water out of a rock.
Katie groaned exasperated. "Never mind, is Sierra here?"
Miko stepped back to look at something out of sight and after a moment she nodded.
"Yes, she's here," Miko answered.
"Oh thank goodness," Katie said relieved, then she looked pointedly at her. "Can I see her then?"
"Hold on," Miko said before pulling back again. "Ms. Darby!" she called. "Sierra's friend is here to see her!"
"Yes Miko, she can come in!"
"Cool, you can-hey!" Miko exclaimed as Katie pushed past her.
"Sierra?!" Katie called out.
She made her way into the living room to find Sierra lying on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, unmoving. Nurse Darby was placing a cool wrap on her head.
Katie covered her mouth as she gasped inwardly upon looking at the stage her friend was in.
Oh Sierra. How awful your day must have been? And it was your first day working at Milton's too.
"Ka...tie?"
"Huh?" Katie, hearing her name, looked about the room. The only ones in the room were Ms. Darby, who was looking over Sierra still, and Sierra of course.
"Sierra?"
"H...Hey...little sis," Sierra croaked, eyes still closed.
I'm only three and a half months younger than you.
Katie knelt down by Sierra's side, taking one of her hands in hers.
"How are you holding up?" Katie asked, her voice breaking.
"I'm alive," Sierra said groggily.
Katie turned to Ms. Darby. "What's wrong with her?"
"She fainted Katie, twice," June said. "And she's a bit feverish."
Katie looked back at Sierra sadly. "I don't blame her but twice?"
"She's had a traumatic day dear," June said.
I know that much.
"Where's Vince?" Katie asked.
"He went for a drive."
Katie turned to see Nurse Darby's son Jack walk in with the Nakadai girl behind him.
"Do you know when he'll be back then? I'm sure his mom will be sending the cops after him if he doesn't turn up soon," Katie said.
"He just needs some time to collect his thoughts Katie," June said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, I already talked to his mother and explained the situation. Speaking of parents, I'd better call Sierra's and let them know they're ok. It's a good thing you're here, I've made too many sandwiches. They're on the kitchen counter, help yourself."
Wow, she's so nice.
"Thank you. Can I put my bike in your garage?" Katie asked.
"Of course, Jack? Can you show Katie to the garage please?"
"Sure mom, it's this way Ka-"
"Thanks Jack but this is a cookie cutter neighborhood and I've been in enough of these houses to know where the garage is," Katie said a bit flippantly.
Tract housing or cookie-cutter housing is a type of housing development in which multiple similar houses are built, much like most of Jasper's housing.
Katie immediately regretted her words.
"I...I'm sorry, that was very rude and I'm a guest," Katie said, bowing her head. "Please forgive me."
June smiled. "Don't worry about it honey."
The garage door of the Darby residence opened revealing both Jack and Katie. Katie wasted no time getting her bike inside.
"Nice bike," Jack said.
Katie laughed a bit. "Thanks, you have a nicer bike."
Jack returned the laugh. "Thanks."
"No seriously, it's a beaut. No wonder Vince wanted to challenge you," Katie said smiling. "So...you and Sierra-?"
"Let's just say it didn't work out," Jack said with some displeasure.
"So I've heard."
Katie looked about the garage and noticed that something was missing.
"Where's your mom's car?" she asked.
"What?"
"How'd you get Sierra here without a car? With your motorcycle?"
In order to not to rouse suspicion, Sierra was transported through the groundbridge into Jack's house in accordance to Vince's explanation. Jack knew that the full truth was knowledge that Katie was better off not knowing about. Besides, she probably wouldn't believe him anyway.
"Yes," Jack answered trying to sound convincing. "That's it. I had Sierra lean on me and I took her here myself."
What a crappy liar.
"Right. So why is Miko Nakadai doing here?"
"Oh, she's being counseled by my mother," Jack said simply. He was prepared for this question at least so that no one would think that Miko and himself were up to no good.
Makes sense. Then again why doesn't she see a professional. Appears to me that she needed therapy for some time now.
"Ok, I heard she's been rather off lately. I mean more than usual."
"Katie," Jack said sternly. "Please don't talk about Miko like that."
"Whoa," Katie said taken aback. "Alright, I'm sorry. I take that back."
Katie then raised an eyebrow slyly. "So...Miko's real special huh?"
"Of course...she..." Jack trailed off, his focus elsewhere.
Huh? What is he looking-?
Katie turned and saw that a car just pulled up and parked on the curb.
Who's car is that supposed to be? Wait...
Katie got a better look at the vehicle and then she remembered.
An old convertible-like car with a bright green and black scheme.
Katie heard a door open and a man stepped out of the passenger seat, a tall man with bandages all over his face. Even from a distance, it was clear that he had a burnt face.
"A man with a burnt face..." Katie whispered.
Katie then heard the sound of the garage closing. Katie to see Jack had pressed the switch. "Katie, get inside, hurry!"
"R-Right."
Before the garage closed completely, a large hand grabbed the underside and forced it open. The scarred man ducked inside and closed the garage inside and locked it. He turned around and already saw that the two kids fled into the house.
The scarred man smiled cruelly. "Time to play."
Something shiny caught his eye and the scarred man noticed a brand new, midnight blue motorcycle. The man coveted the object and decided he would take it.
"The kid won't be needing it for much longer anyway," the man said to himself maliciously, relishing in the carnage he imagined doing.
The moment those murderous words left his lips, the motorcycle's headlights turned on full blast, blinding the scarred man.
"Aggh! What the-!" but that was all the scarred man had time to say before the motorcycle shot forward and crashed right into him, slamming him against the garage door.
The scarred man was seeing stars. The wind was effectively knocked out of him. He couldn't see straight.
But the motorcycle wasn't done. She was far from done.
The scarred man got to his feet, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his vision. As soon as he did however, he heard the revving sound of a motorcycle and its glaring headlight right in front of him.
And then everything went black.
"Didn't you hear me?! Those men who tried to take Fowler, Vince, and Sierra are here right now," Jack shouted.
"Then we need to call for a bridge right away," June said pulling out her phone.
"A bridge?" Katie asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why don't we just call 911?"
Both Jack and June looked aghast for a moment, then they looked at each other and then back at Katie.
Bad enough that Sierra and Vince were dragged into this, and now Katie too?! If it comes to that, Ratchet is going to explode! Maybe even literally.
Jack placed a hand on Katie's shoulder and looked her dead in the eye.
"The police can't help us in this Katie, not against these guys."
Jack could see alarm in Katie's eyes.
"What are you talking about Jack?" she asked, trying to steady herself.
"Hey. why hasn't that big guy with the scar tried to break down the door yet?" Miko asked.
Jack paused in thought and then he looked back at the door leading to the garage.
Jack approached the door and knocked. "Hello?" he called out.
"It's ok Jack, he's down," Arcee called out from the other side.
"W-wait, who's that?" Katie asked, not recognizing the voice.
"She's a friend Katie, that's all you need to know for now," Jack said with fervor.
Katie wanted to argue, demand answers, but the intensity in Jack's voice caused something in her to humor him.
"O-ok, but-"
"Later Katie, right now we got to get Sierra and get moving, fast!" Jack practically shouted.
"Jack!"
Jack turned to see his mother with a look of horror on her face. "My phone isn't working, I can't call for a bridge!"
Oh man, guess we have to make a run for it.
"It's ok, we have a ride outside!" Miko said.
Bulkhead, right.
"Let's go then," Jack said about to make a dash to the front door...
...until Katie grabbed him by the arm.
"NO! The big guy may be down but his partner is out there and he's most likely armed too."
Jack looked down for a moment...and then he got an idea.
He ran for the garage door.
"Arcee!"
"Yeah?" she answered.
"We need to make a quick escape but we need a diversion. I got an idea."
"Shoot," Arcee said.
"Watts? Hey Watts, answer me man!" the Hispanic said, shouting into his radio.
No answer, just fuzzy interference.
The Hispanic man, Raymond Cortes was just sitting in his car, waiting on his partner to finish whatever business they had at this random house, whatever business that was.
"Oh dios mio, my face," Cortes groaned, placing on his head, which was covered with bandages and stitches. "I'm gonna kill that kid if I ever get my hands on him."
about to leave his vehicle and go in himself, when he saw the garage door opening. As it opened a third way, Cortes could see his partner, Jason Watts, lying on the ground, bleeding from his nose and clearly unconscious.
So that's where that crashing sound came from?
Cortes got out of his car, handgun in hand, and rushed toward the open garage. He knelt down his partner and saw that he was really out cold.
I'm going to kill those kids. I don't care what the boss says. I've already been made a fool of twice by some grade-schoolers who didn't know they died five minutes ago.
"Psst."
Cortes pointed his gun in the direction of the sound he heard. There was no one there. Just a motorcycle...with a stain of blood on its head-lights.
"What the hell?"
Cortes then heard the sound of the front door opening and the sound of multiple footsteps moving at a quick pace.
"Oh no you don't!" Cortes shouted as he turned to run in order to cut off his prey.
"Oh no you don't." That voice again. It was a female's.
Cortes began to turn but it was too late. Next thing he knew he felt something ram him from behind and whatever it is was taking him for a ride. The motorcycle suddenly stopped and the momentum threw Cortes straight into the driver's door of a forest-green all-terrain truck.
Cortes was stunned for a moment. He sat up and as his vision cleared, he turned his head to see a group of people standing a few feet away looking apprehensively at him. The boy with the black hair was carrying someone on his back who seemed to be sleeping.
Cortes' eyes registered recognition as he saw that the person the boy was carrying was the red-haired girl from the restaurant where they found Agent Fowler, the man they were after. This red-haired girl was clearly dear to the red-haired boy whom foiled their operation.
The boy who cut my face. I can at least cause him some pain by killing that girl.
Cortes' expression became murderous as he reached for his gun, which was a mere foot away from him.
"Bulk?" the female voice said simply and suddenly.
Cortes had enough. "Who said th-?!"
He was cut off when the door to the driver's seat of the truck right beside him suddenly swung open and hit him upside head, hard.
Cortes' brain was spinning, the world was spinning before his eyes, then the world went black, and he went down.
"COME ON!" Bulkhead shouted.
"Did that car just-?"
"No time to explain Katie, let's move," Jack shouted, still carrying Sierra.
Jack and Miko helped Sierra into the truck and buckled her in.
Katie was about to protest, until she heard the sound of cars coming towards them at full speed.
She turned her head towards the sound and she saw at least two more of green and black corvettes coming their way.
Katie wasted no time getting into the forest-green truck.
And they were off. Bulkhead narrowly avoided the MECH vehicles as he made his way towards the large concrete ditch on the other side of the neighborhood (the same ditch where Jack and Raf first met the Autobots). Arcee, with her hologram already active, was following fast behind them.
June was in the driver's seat, Jack in the passenger seat, while Miko, Sierra, and Katie were in the backseat, in that order.
Katie was speechless. What was going on? Who was chasing them? How did those two thugs know where to find Sierra? Or were after someone else?
"Jack, what is going on?" Katie asked, trying to steady herself, but it clear to those present that she was trembling.
"The ones chasing us are very dangerous people Katie," Jack said, trying to stay focused.
"Ok, but why are they chasing us?!"
"Because...its complicated," Miko said.
"Does it have anything to do with the truck we're in? Or the woman on that motorcycle behind us?" Katie asked.
"Yes and no," June said grimly. "But we're not allowed to tell you everything, at least not yet."
"Not allowed?! Why-ugh! It's like a merry go round with you guys! Why can't I get a straight answer?!" Katie practically screamed.
June turned around to look at Katie, placing a hand on her knee. "Katie, everything will be explained soon enough, I promise."
Before Katie could say anything more, she noticed that June did not have her hands on the wheel and she almost panicked, until she noticed movement in front of her.
Dumb confusion occupied her mind when she saw that the steering wheel of the truck was moving on its own, steering them on the road as if some invisible force was driving them.
Instead of asking questions regarding that, she decided to change the subject as from her experience, she would not get any answers now.
"Why can't we just call the police?" Katie asked.
"Because our phones aren't working. They must be using some kind of jamming device," Jack said.
Katie's eyes widened and, as if she remembered something, took out her phone to look at its status. The phone's screen was glitching out like crazy.
"The police at the crime scene today said no one could take a picture of the criminals with their phones because they weren't working for some reason, even the security camera couldn't get anything," Katie said with dread. "Whoever these guys are, they planned this well. But what do they want? Why are they after us?"
"Quiet down will ya?! I'm trying to concentrate here!" Bulkhead cried through the truck's radio speaker.
There was a beat of silence. Now Katie was shaking like a leaf.
Did that car just talk to me?
"What are you?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm the bot saving your life blondie!" Bulkhead cried. "Now keep quiet! I'm driving here!"
Bot? As in robot?! I'm inside a robot car?! This has to be a fever dream.
The sound of gunfire interrupted Katie's thoughts. Katie instinctively ducked, covering her head. She looked to her right to see Sierra was bowing her head, covering her ears. Judging by how her chest was constantly rising and falling, Katie could see that she was hyperventilating, as though she were reliving a nightmare.
She was.
Is this what happened when she left Milton's with Vince. They were in a ride for their lives? For their survival? God help us, this is a disaster! No, this beyond a disaster! It's like our lives are falling apart before our eyes. And Sierra is taking it the worst. My best friend. The sister I never had.
Wait...Jack mentioned a 'Fowler?' That those two guys tried to take him, Vince and Sierra.
"Who's Fowler?" Katie asked.
Katie could see Jack stiffening in his seat as though he had a chill.
"You're going to meet him soon enough sweetie pie," said another voice coming from the radio speaker, a woman's voice.
"We're taking her with us?" Miko asked. "Back to the base?"
"It's either that or let her take her chances with the police or another agency that might have MECH sleepers too," Arcee said.
MECH? As in mechanical beings like these car robots? Or is it some kind of organization?
"Hold on, we're going in!" Bulkhead shouted.
"Going in? Going in whe-AHHHHHH!" Katie screamed as she saw that they were about to go over the edge of the irrigation ditch. Bulkhead drove downhill and once he reached the bottom, he took a sharp left underneath a bridge.
"Incoming bogies Bulk, whatever you do, do not stop!" Arcee said.
Up ahead, it could be seen that several MECH humvees have set up a checkpoint.
"You want me to ram the roadblock?" Bulkhead asked.
"Your priority is to keep June and the children safe Bulk. I'll cover you but whatever you do, do not stop!" Arcee said.
That's all Bulkhead needed to hear. He shift himself into gear and floored it.
"Bulkhead, what are you doing?!" Jack asked fearfully, holding on to his seat.
"Just hold on tight and cover your heads!"
"Yeah! Scrap them Bulk!" Miko shouted.
June kept Jack's head down as she shut her eyes. Katie did the same with Sierra. Miko simply covered her head, but out of pure instinct, grabbed Jack's hand and held on with a vicegrip.
As Bulkhead showed no signs of stopping, the MECH soldiers panicked. Those on foot moved out of the way while some opened fire. Those in the humvees attempted to move their vehicles but they didn't have enough time.
"NOW RATCHET!" Arcee screamed.
A groundbridge burst into existence and Bulkhead, in the fraction of a second, went through with Arcee behind him.
And as soon as the groundbridge opened, it vanished.
The MECH vehicles that followed behind stopped and one of the passengers stopped. A tall man with greying hair in a long black coat and sunglasses. He frowned deeply, seeing that his targets escaped.
He pulled out a handheld radio from his coat and spoke into it.
"This is MECH Bravo to base. Mission failed. Targets escaped."
Someone answered, albeit in a filtered voice.
"That is unfortunate. Fowler will not be so easy to track down now. We'll have to use his weakest link as leverage."
"We'll need to find that weakest link first," the man in the long coat said. "We still have yet to track him."
"We have sleepers in nearly every agency in the country, we'll find him, and with him in our grasp, we'll bring Fowler and the Autobots to heel."
To be continued...
Wow, this might be the longest chapter I've done so far.