The ground rumbled as the cars approached. The powerful engines propelled the body of the five of them down the road towards the warehouse Optimus was in. They met up on their way down and drove in as one convoy. Ironhide and Ratchet led the group in and were the first to transform, Bee and Jet came in next but they had to wait for their humans to get out first before joining Sideswipe and the other bots. Sam got out and had a solemn expression, he was sad and angry, but still had nothing he could take his anger out on. Brian came out with his bag of weapons as Jetstream transformed behind him. It was time to get down to business.
Brian looked to his right as he spotted Sam; he was a bit relieved to know that he wasn't the only human going through this.
"You're Sam right?" Brian said as he walked over to meet him.
"Y-Yeah, I am" Sam said stuttering a bit.
The two shook hands firmly.
"I didn't recognize you at first because of the beard" Brian joked.
"Oh" he said before chuckling. "I get that a lot. Sorry but do I know you from somewhere?"
"Where are my manners. I'm Brian. I fought with you guys and the Autobots in the battle of Chicago. I'm an ex NEST operative"
"Oh. Now I get . I think I saw you a couple times"
"Yeah"
"Well if you two are done exchanging pleasantries, we can finally get to work" Ironhide interjected.
"Ironhide, That was rather rude" Ratchet reprimanded.
"You can't blame me. Hostage situations make me cranky" he grunted.
"Sam, Brian… thank you for standing by us, despite what it has cost you both. We are forever in your debt" Optimus said welcoming them to the meeting.
"Alright Autobots, let's compare notes and rub our heads together. What do we know about our enemy?" asked Prime.
"For starters, we know that they are well organized" Sideswipe stated.
The Bots and the humans stood together, forming almost a circle-like shape.
"And we know that they are an intelligent group of assholes. Real big ones" Sam said shaking his finger sternly as he emphasized on 'assholes'.
"They always seem to be a step ahead. Their surveillance is top notch and how did they know that we were going to ask humans for help so quickly?" Jet voiced out.
"They are truly cunning assholes. I'll give them that" Ironhide said with a gritty tone.
"And now they want us to meet them in New Mexico. I smell a trap" Optimus said.
"Damn… right!" Bee agreed.
"They've attempted to take us out once, I fear they are going to try it again" said Ratchet.
"And this time, they will be better prepared" Ironhide added.
"I asked a buddy of mine who worked with the CIA to check things out, see what info he could gather. If they could get to our families, they would've gotten to him as well" Brian sighed.
"This is not looking good" Sideswipe commented.
"Optimus, what do we do?" Jetstream asked as all eyes fell on him.
Optimus looked to the ground, placing both arms on his waist as he thought. He turned around slowly to the large window behind him as he lifted his gaze again, the cogs and gears in his head spinning as he thought of a way out.
"The humans are our top priority. We must rescue the families first, no matter what happens to us. They come first, it's the least we could do for the sacrifices they have made" he spoke.
"Thank you Optimus, we are so grateful" Sam said.
"Our forces will keep them occupied while you two get to your families. Brian will lead the way in. He was the experience and the skillset to carry out a rescue operation" Optimus said as he turned around to face them.
"We will keep our fire away from the hostage area. I suggest we get a hold of Mirage, his skills would be much appreciated for a mission like this"
"I'm on it Optimus" Sideswipe said as he rolled away.
"Bumblebee and Sideswipe, your mission is to keep fire of Brian, Sam and Mirage until they return with their loved ones. You are to escort them to safety, get them as far away from the battlefield as possible. The rest of us will buy time"
"Let's get ready to bring the rain" Ironhide said as he smiled smugly at Jetstream.
"Always" he said with a nod.
Sideswipe got in contact with Mirage and he was going to meet up with them on their way to New Mexico. Brian and Sam had been texted the location for their meet up and it was a small town away from the city. Jetstream displayed the layout of the town as they discussed where the units may be and where they might setup. They knew they would bring heavy machinery this time; choppers, machine guns, armored vehicles, anything to take them down, but little did they know that there was going to be a surprise guest.
"This is the location where we are going to meet. Prime will be there" Attinger said to the communicator before him.
"I'm counting on that"
"Good. We will see in New Mexico"
"I just got off the phone with Dino. He'll meet us on the way there" Sideswipe reported.
"Then it's best we get a move on" Ironhide said grumpily.
"Agreed" Optimus chimed in.
"Hey Sam" Brian said rushing over.
"What's up?"
"You know how to use one of these?" he said as he pulled a pistol from his waist.
Sam held the weapon and his hand seemed to shake.
"Y-Yeah" he said hesitantly.
"Good. We're going to need it where we're going"
He handed him two mags and rushed to Jetstream as the bots transformed and were ready to move.
"Let's roll" Optimus said as he led his mean out of the warehouse.
The town the CIA picked was essentially a ghost town. A few people still lived there but they had been ordered to evacuate. A junkyard wasn't too far from their position; the families of Brian and Sam were kept in a little room in the east. About five men were guarding them. Two men were stationed at the main and rear exit and one inside with the families.
"It's only a matter of time. Your daddies will be here soon" he said.
Mirage converged with the rest of the bots as they drove down the highway. Brian reclined his seat inside Jetstream, and placed his hat over his eyes. He closed his eyes as he envisioned their rescue operation, this routine of imagining every scenario and how things would play out helped him to calm down and focus. Sam on the other hand kept on looking at the pistol Brian gave him. He was afraid of using it, taking a life again, like he did to Dylan a few years ago. He hoped in his heart that he didn't have to use it. At the end of the day, if it came down to a bad guy and his family, he knew which he would pick.
Before they made it to the town, the bots stopped over in a city for Sam and Brian to get some rest, prepare for the day approaching and to finalize their plans.
"Mirage, Brian and Sam would push up and search for their families. His stealth tech would help him keep a low profile and remain undiscovered" Jetstream said as he displayed a holographic image of the place through his eyes.
He had satellite imagery of the place in real time and the bots could fully hash out a plan.
"The men seem to be keeping something in that old supply shack over there. Two men in front and two men behind, away from all the guns and ammo. They have to be in there" Ironhide pointed out.
"Then we have our mission" Brian said.
"I'm going to get you in and out. Nice and easy" Mirage assured them.
"But my family and his are a lot to carry. How are we going to move?" Sam asked.
"Bumblebee will be available to aid your extraction" Prime said.
"Two of my boys can go with Mirage. Our wives and our youngest can go with Bumblebee" said Brian.
"And that leaves the rest of us" Sideswipe said.
"Our goal is clear. I will engage in dialogue with the humans. If all else fails, then we have to resort to violence" prime said with a heavy heart at the end. He didn't want to kill any human. All life should be protected and cherished.
"But I have a feeling that violence would be their first resort" Ratchet spoke out.
"Indeed" Ironhide agreed.
"Whatever happens, we must try not to kill the humans. We can disable their weapons, their vehicles but above all else, we must avoid taking their lives" Optimus said with a serious tone.
"We'll try and follow" Ironhide said.
His words were quickly met with a smack to the shoulder from Ratchet.
"What? I'm just saying" he refuted.
With their meeting adjourned, it was time to hit the hay; they were leaving early tomorrow morning. Brian setup his weapons and gear for tomorrow. He double checked and made sure everything was working, he didn't want any misfires while in combat. He carried out a few practice sessions with Sam before he got some shut eye to. The stage was set; it was time for the actors to take their roles.
The next day, Savoy and his men set up their weapons and vehicles in their preferred meeting spot. Machine guns manned the corners of roof tops overlooking the small barricade that protected Savoy and his men. Vehicles lines the sides of the streets, ready to drive off and open fire at the mention of a word. Two helicopters circled around the town. The streets and buildings were empty, not a civilian soul insight.
From the horizon, the Autobots approached their paint glistening in the sun, their reflections catching Savoy's eye as they approached.
"They're here boys. Get ready"
The men prepped their guns, pulling back on latches and taking off the safety, they were ready for a firefight. Dino was not with the squad, well at least to the naked eye. He had cloaked himself, blending in his surroundings as his body contained reflective panels that helped him camouflage. Once they got into town, he veered off with Brian and Sam hitching a ride with him. Brian was in his full tactical gear, bulletproof vest, rifle, knife, side arm, grenades, extra magazines, boots , ear plugs, communicator so that he could communicate with the bots, helmet, goggles, the full thing. Sam had a vest on, a communicator like Brian and the firearm he gave him.
"Alright boys, we are behind enemy lines. Any mistake will be costly. Let's try and keep ah things nice and smooth" Dino said through his radio.
The main group of bots approached the men but gave them a good distance; they didn't want to get too close. Optimus, being the lead vehicle, stopped first as the other braked. One after the other each of them began to transform as the men held firmly to their weapons. Jetstream pulled down his mask, counting the number of guns they had to take out.
"They got a good number of guns and then there are those two birds" he whispered to Ironhide.
"Copy. I trust you to handle the birds. We can handle the ones on the ground" he whispered back.
The two nodded as dialogue was about to be held.
"Is that all of you?" Savoy asked with arrogance.
"These are the only bots that responded to my call. The rest have been offline for a while" Optimus answered.
"Uhuh" Savoy said shaking his head. "I guess you will have to suffice"
"What about the human families?" Prime questioned.
"They will be released after you have turned yourself in and we have confirmed with our higher ups that you are in our custody and then we can all go home" he said with a fake smile.
Optimus looked to his bots for their opinion.
"We shouldn't trust this human" Ratchet said.
"Remember… he was the one… that led the attack… against… us" Bee said.
"Anything to ensure that the humans are released freely, first" Optimus reminded them.
"And then we can knock some heads" Ironhide chipped in.
On the other spectrum, Dino had rolled his way around buildings quietly. They approached the building without any hitches so far. Now they had to take care of the guards manning the entrance and the back exit.
"How are we doing this?" Sam asked.
"We gotta distract them. You'll go out and draw their attention, then I can aim them down and take the shot" Brian said as his hand searched through his bag for something.
"Isn't there another way?"
"Don't worry, if anything happens, you got your gun" Brian said as he pulled out a suppressor from his bag.
He began to screw it on to the nozzle of his rifle.
"I'll handle the guards at the back. Your gunfire will draw some attention. I will use that to strike" Dino said.
"Good" said Brian.
"Have the kids meet me out back. I'll radio in for Bumblebee to come get them. I trust Sideswipe and Jetstream has you two covered" Dino added with his thick Italian accent.
"Alright. Let's do this"