Frank drove home in his Challenger and was looking back to kicking back and relaxing as he pondered on the news that had hit his ears. He arrived his cream colored house in the suburbs, keys dangling gas he tried to unlock the door. The door clicked open and he pushed through it, stepping into his home. He locked the door and let out a sigh as he walked to his living room. As he walked in, he met a sight he wasn't expecting, James Savoy sitting down on his sofa with one of his men.
"Frank. Just the man I wanted to see" James said with a cunning tone. A smug smile curled its way onto his lips.
"What are you doing here? How did you get into my house?" Frank questioned. His eyes scanning across the room as he looked for signs of them busting through or more men standing within his home.
"Don't worry about how we got in. What you should be worried about is telling us what you know. We know you had a meeting with Brian earlier today. Just tell us what he told you and we can all resume our lives happily. If not, things will get ugly. For you of course" James said smugly.
Frank stood there, frozen in place. His muscles tensed up, sweat building up on his face, his fingers twitched nervously under the pressure of what to do. If he talked, they would be on their way and his life would remain the same. But on the other hand, he would be betraying his friend, the trust and loyalty they had built over the years. Brian too in a deep breath before exhaling loudly.
"I've fought Brian side by side on the frontline for years. We've shed blood seat and tears together on so many occasions. I'm not about to betray my friend for the government" he said with a calm resonant tone. " You and your boss can go fuck yourselves. I'm not saying shit" he said with anger.
"More fun for me then" Savoy said with a smile.
Bumblebee rolled down the street and parked in front of Sam's house just as he did a few hours ago. Sam jumped out of the car with a spring in his step, every second was crucial to him now. He jogged urgently to the front door and clasped the knob in his hand, just as he was about to turn and push but then he noticed that it wasn't closed completely. The door was open.
Sam was confused, why would his wife leave their front door open? He walked in and was greeted with chaos. The house had been turned upside down. His sofas were flipped, TV smashed on the floor, pictures and papers littered the everywhere. Sam couldn't believe it, the few hours he was away, their house had been ransacked. His mouth dropped, his heart pounded, thoughts racing at so many what could and what ifs.
His fists balled up and he looked up the stairs. He raced up into his bedroom and found it in a mess. The doors to their wardrobe had been ripped out of their hinges; the mattress was flipped in its head. Sam shook his head and ran to Mary's room and she wasn't there, the room was in order but his child was gone. Sam called out their names all around the house but there was no response. Sam's heart fell down a crevice; his emotions were all over the place. Tears welled up in the corner of his eyes; his breathing had become deep and heavy.
He didn't know what to feel. Was it anger and rage for not being around when this happened? Was it sadness that he didn't know where his family was? He just didn't know, he was confused and overwhelmed. Within the storm of emotions surrounding Sam, his phone rang. Sam's focused shifted as he dug into his pocket to bring out his smartphone. He held his phone out and it was an unknown number, strange. He answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Witwciky" the voice said calmly.
"Who is this?"
"I'm sure you've seen the mess created in your house by now"
Sam was full of anger and rage. The perpetrators, how did they get his number?
"Where's my wife and daughter?!"
"Easy now Mr. Witwicky. You don't want anything to happen to them"
"You so much as though touch a strand of hair on their head I'll hunt you down and kill you"
Sam's voice cold and intense, he meant every word he said with the entirety of his being.
"Hohoho" the voice chuckled. "Big words coming from you. Now let me tell you how things are going to play out. We know you've been in contact with your alien friends"
Sam's eyes were lit with realization. This was the CIA.
"We know they've come to you for help but there is nothing you can do for them. If you ever want to see your family again, you and all your friends will meet us in New Mexico. Your buddies turn themselves in and you get to see your family again. If you don't there will be consequences. We give you three days"
The call was cut and Sam was left there alone. His worst fear had come true. The repercussions of helping Optimus and Bee had come to him quick and fast. He felt helpless, why him? How did they know so fast? He was distraught, broken and scared. He had to tell be and Optimus, they had to get his family back.
Jetstream and Sideswipe drove down with haste to Brian's home. Their task was to get his family to a safe location before things went out of hand. Unfortunately, they were too late. Turning into his street, they found Five Black SUVs outside with men all around the house. Brian's wife and kids were being dragged into the vehicles. They resisted as much as they could, yelling, screaming and refusing to move, but the strength of the operatives was too much. Brian's eyes watched in horror as he saw them all being forced into the vehicles.
"My wife. My kids" his voice said as a cry of desperation. "How dare they" his words laced with rage and fury.
Jetstream was also angered at how they were treating his family. His anger had gotten the better of him and just like Brian, he was ready to rage. Sideswipe said this and tried to warn him but it was too late.
"Jetstream wait-"
Jetstream rolled forward, carefully ejecting Brian out of his body and into a standing position as his body shifted. Brian pulled out a handgun from his holster covered by his shirt and aimed it at the men as Jetstream walked down beside him. Sideswipe hit the brakes as the two men aimed their weapons at the soldiers.
"Alien bogey inbound! Alien bogey inbound!" a soldier yelled.
The team turned their attention to the duo and before they could even setup, Brian opened fire. Two shots left his weapon, hitting two soldiers critically as they dropped to the ground. Before they could return fire, Jet fired his plasma cannon in front of some men launching them into the air. Things were getting hot; Brian took cover behind a neighbor's car with Jet going down on one knee. With things leading towards a firefight, the leader of the team came out in front of his men and in the line of sight of the Brian and Jet, holding Biran's wife in front of himself with his pistol placed on the side of her head. He was using her as a meat shield to bargain with them. They knew the two of them would wipe them out, this was their trump card.
"Easy Brian. You don't want anything to happen to your lovely wife. Or your three boys do we?"
"You let my family go!" he grunted.
Jet's mask and visor came down as he identified the targets. Red markers marked all the assailants present but things were tough. His family members were in the mix of things and if they tried anything, they could end up as casualties. Their hands were basically tied here.
"No can do buddy. We're going to need them and we're going to need you and your alien friend" he answered with a wicked grin.
He knew that he was in the driver's seat, they controlled the fall of things now and they had no choice but to do their bidding.
"What do you want from them? I'm the man you want"
"I'm not going to get into the details of things but we're going to need you in New Mexico within three days. We'll text you the coordinates, and make sure you show up or else, brains are going to be everywhere"
"Damn you!" Brian cursed as the soldier chuckled.
"We're going to leave here in one piece. You or your friend here try anything and your family dies. I'm not going to repeat myself"
Jetstream let out an aggressive jet of steam from the space in front of his chest plate, namely his front bumper and his head lights. Brian grunted and raged underneath as he watched the soldiers retreat with his wife and kids into the SUVs. The three of them watched them drive off, disappearing from their field of view. Brian banged his hand on the trunk of the car he took cover behind with so much anger that he dented the trunk.
"Brian"
Jet tried to call out to him, but his head was too far gone. Brain charged into his house with his mind set on a mission. Jet looked back at Sideswipe and hung his head, they had messed up. Brian charged into his basement and pulled out a large panel from the wall. The panel had covered up his little weapons depot, everything from pistols to rifles, to a 50.cal sniper and a grenade launcher. He grabbed all his tactical gear, bulletproof vests, a helmet, tactical goggles, boots, pants, a knife, two pistols, two rifles, some grenades and rounds of ammunition. He stuffed them all into his travel bag and walked out the house thirty minutes later. He opened the door and threw the bag into the passenger's seat before sitting down. He rested his head on the steering wheel as he took in a deep breath and exhaled calmly.
"Brian-"
"No, I don't want to hear it" Brian cut him off.
"I knew what it would cost. I knew they would eventually come, what I didn't account for was how quickly they would come. You don't have to feel bad, our focus should be on getting to Mexico and smoking those guys. I don't care what I have to do, I'm getting my family back"
His tone was full of resolve, his stance absolute. The CIA will pay.
"This Sideswipe to Optimus. We have some news"
"Proceed" prime answered.
"It's Brian. The CIA raided his home and took his wife and kids. It's a messy situation right now" Sideswipe narrated.
"Things just got complicated" Ironhide commented.
Sideswipe was broadcasting across their general line. All bot connected could hear and comment.
"Did they have a reason?" Optimus asked.
"They're using them as leverage to bargain. They want us to meet them in Mexico. They're demanding that we come in exchange for their family" he explained.
A low hum exited Prime's body as his gaze moved to the ground. His mind was deep in thought; this type of situation wasn't new to them. They had encountered it many a time back on Cybertron, but now it would be on human terms. As he was still thinking, Bee's message came in, telling them about Sam's situation. It was the same as Brian's only that he didn't see them being taken.
"Optimus. What do we do now?" Ratchet asked.
Prime exhaled before speaking.
"We will regroup here. Rub minds together, and plot a course forward. The humans are being cunning with their tactics; we must find a way to outsmart them"
"Roger" Jet answered.
The cars were on course to meet up with Prime, humans accompanying them. Families were thrown into the mix and things were on edge. The Autobots had to be very careful with their next steps, lives were at risk and they didn't want anyone to die because of them.