Optimus set up their recon point in Missouri. It was away from any of the states they were coming from and set in the wilderness away from the public eye. They were being hunted now, they had to blend in and stay hidden. Optimus, Ironhide and Bumblebee setup came close to a rock formation with some caves not far from them. They started a fire and waited patiently for the others to arrive. Jetstream and Sideswipe had merged with Ratchet on his way there as the three arrived as one group.
"Finally" Ironhide remarked as the three of them drove up.
"Were you followed?" Optimus asked as the three began to transform.
"Not a human soul saw us" Jetstream answered.
"Good" Prime said.
"I am very disturbed by what happened. Why would the humans attack us? What did we ever do to them?" Ratchet voiced. He was very confused by the whole thing.
"It baffles me as well" Sideswipe chipped in.
"After everything we've done for them, they turn around and pull this on us" Ironhide said.
"We have to find out why they are doing this" Optimus stated.
"Do we even know where to look? They've kept us in the dark for months" said Ratchet.
"I could try and hack their database but if I stay in too long, they might detect my presence. I'm not the best at espionage" Jetstream said.
"What if… we get… human… help?" Bee said as he scrambled through channels to get the right words.
"Human help? The same humans that tried to kill us?" Sideswipe questioned.
"No.. not them. Him" Bee said as he played an audio of Sam's voice screaming his name.
"Sam" Optimus said with a deep sigh.
"We asked him for help once. He declined" Ironhide said.
"He might have all those years ago. But we can still try again"
"If it makes you feel better, I could also ask Brian. Even though he's retired he could still help us pull some strings" Jetstream offered.
"What about Colonel Lennox?" Sideswipe asked.
"We could also try him as well. Although there's the probability that he's been shipped out" Ratchet said.
"It's settled then. Bumblebee and I will seek out Sam's help. Jet and Sides can ask Brian for help. Ratchet and Ironhide, I'll leave you two to dig up anything you can on Lennox" Optimus instructed.
"Affirmative" Ratchet responded.
"Let's also keep in mind. The humans might predict us tuning to our old allies for help. We still have to be discrete about things" Jet advised.
"Roger that soldier" Prime said.
By morning, the three had dispersed, each leaving to their own target. The Autobots needed to be smart with their movements to avoid getting caught. With most of the team in hiding, it was up to the six of them to try and crack the case. First things first, they had to change alt modes. The CIA was sure to be on the lookout for their alt vehicles across all cities. Jetstream and Sideswipe drove to a car show. The one place they were sure to get new alt modes and blend in, it's the car community after all.
Sideswipe got a lot of attention for his look, a concept car that was unseen around the globe suddenly popping up there. A jet black Lexus LFA alongside it as well and so far they hadn't found the owners of the vehicles or seen them. They gave them a few revs for good measure but their main goal was identifying good cars. Jetstream picked out a black 2015 dodge viper ACR while Sideswipe still picked something flashy. He went with a metallic grey Marussia B2.
When the meet up ended, Sideswipe and Jet were the first to leave, scanning the cars on their way out and floored it as they began to transform. Jet's headlights began to take the shape of the Viper, his hood became elongated and interior changed. The front bumper and carbon lip began taking shape as air vents appeared on his front hood. A large rear wing built its way up on his truck with his rims also changing their look. In the twinkle of an eye, he had completely changed; a single rear stripe sprayed its way across the front of the car all the way to its rear wing. It appeared on the left side, slightly away from his headlight and covered the car all the way.
"I love this car" Jet said as he listened to his engine.
Simultaneously, Sideswipe was also changing. His entire shape was redefined with a futuristic type of look; air intakes formed themselves in front of the rear wheels, next to the door. The front of the car changed entirely, from the headlights, to the shape and design.
Parts of the crowd who saw them leave were shook, aliens in their midst. Jetstream checked his rear view mirror, spotting the Marussia. It was decent, nothing too out of the ordinary. The car was few in number but not a real attention grabber.
"Let's head over to Brian's, we have no time to lose"
They weren't the only ones who had that idea, Bumblebee transformed into a Black 1967 Camaro SS with yellow painted on the front and the spoiler on the back. Ironhide had gone with a black Ford F-150 Raptor. Ratchet was reluctant to change vehicle after growing accustomed to it. It was rugged, reliable and consistent. All he did was change its color to a red and white color scheme. Optimus chose not to, he preferred to hide out in the city while Bumblebee helped find Sam.
Back at CIA headquarters, Attinger has having a private audience with Savoy in his office. After the failed mission, he was under pressure to find the bots.
"Production and research have already begun work with the heads of Megatron and Sentinel. We have our alien translator hard at work and sketches have been made. But to really push work forward, we need the seed" Attinger started.
"Do you have any idea where they might be headed?" he asked.
"I don't know where they might go, but I have an idea about whom" Savoy answered.
Attinger raised his eyebrow at his statement.
"I have a very good feeling those machines would try to understand why they are being hunted. To do that, they can't come knocking on our door. They are going to need human help"
"And who are they going to turn to?" Attinger asked curiously.
Savoy smirked and placed his hand into his pocket, pulling out a deck of pictures. He placed nine pictures on Attinger's desk as he continued to explain.
"Those are all pictures of people who have been affiliated closely with the Autobots over the years. Most of them are civilians but some were part of the force formerly known as NEST. Agent Simmons of sector seven, Mikaela Banes, and Ronald and Judy Witwicky. These four have ties with the Autobots not not as close as the other five"
"Seymour Simmons never dealt with them directly so I doubt they would go after him. Ronald and Judy are old people who possibly couldn't help them in any way. Mikaela is an ex-girlfriend to one of the remaining five so they are the bottom of the list. Not really a concern but we should still keep an eye out just in case" Savoy continued.
"What about the other five?" Attinger asked.
"Colonel William Lennox, Sergeant Robert Epps, Lieutenant Brian Banks, Carly Witwicky, and finally, Samuel Witwicky" Savoy listed.
"These five have direct ties with the Autobots. Carly is Sam's wife, whatever he knows, she knows as well. If they wanted to get across, these two are my best bet" he said.
"The buy from suburbia" Attinger said as he picked up his picture, studying it.
"The other three worked with them when NEST was active. They have close ties with them and the idea of the Autobots trying to contact any of them isn't farfetched"
"Good work Savoy. I want surveillance on them. We need to know their whereabouts. They will lead us to the Autobots" Attinger said with conviction.
Savoy nodded and got to his feet. He was going to get the word out and have eyes on that special group of people.
Bumblebee drove through the clam streets of a neighborhood in Washington D.C; kids were playing in the streets and riding their bicycles around. Some families were out in their yard spending quality time together, while others remained indoors. Bumblebee drove up to a house with a man and his daughter playing in their front yard with a golden retriever. A woman sat in a rocking chair, adorned in a white sundress as she watched them play. The sound of his engine caught the attention of the man. He gave the ball over to his daughter and asked her to continue playing with the dog as he turned his attention to the incoming vehicle. He had a sky blue short on, blue jeans and a moustache.
Bee parked in front of their house and revved his engine twice. The woman sitting and watching stood to her feet and walked down the steps slowly. The man watched the car as it revved again, becoming suspicious of it.
"Mary!" he called out to his daughter who wasn't more than three years old. "Go stay with your mother"
"Mary" the woman called, stretching out her hand for her daughter to come.
The dog barked at the car as the woman took hold of her daughter. The window of the car came down and Sam took a glance into it. There was no driver and then the radio spoke.
"It's been a while… old friend"
"Bumblebee?" the man said confused. "It's Bee" he said with excitement.
"Carly, it's Bumblebee!" he said like an excited child.
"Bumblebee?" she said with some confusion.
Sam hugged the hood of the car before rushing into it. He sat down in the driver's seat and rested his head on the steering. He had missed his friend.
"Bee" he said as he lifted his head from the steering. "This is such a surprise, we didn't know you were coming"
"It's good… to see you again" Bee responded.
Carly walked up to Bee with their daughter in hand.
"Is it really him?" she asked.
He replied with a nod.
"There's someone I'd like you to meet Bee" Sam said as he motioned for Mary to be brought over.
Carly opened up the door and sat down before passing Mary over to Sam.
"I want you to meet my daughter, Mary. Say Hi Bumblebee"
"Awwwwn" played loudly through the radio. "You did good Sam"
"How long are you going to be here for?" Sam asked. "We can run it back like the old days. I'm loving the new look. How's Prime and the others?"
"Not long… Sam. I wish….we could… have this… conversation… under better circumstances"
They happy mood in the car had begun to change.
"What's wrong?" Carly asked.
"Humans… CIA. They attacked us"
"What?" He said confused. "What do you mean they attacked you?"
"They set a trap for us. Attacked us… in our hangars… we had to… run"
"This doesn't even make any sense" Carly said still trying to wrap her head around the whole thing.
"I need your help… Sam. Optimus… needs your help. We need… you help" he pleaded.
Sam looked at his daughter and then at Carly. This was big. If what Bumblebee said was true, then helping them could have big ramifications. Not just for him, but for his family as well. He thought hard about this. On one hand, if he helps them his life could be in jeopardy and on the other, the last time he didn't help out Optimus died protecting him. It was a tough decision.
"You don't have to… if you don't… want to…"
Sam bowed his head and took in a deep breath.
"I'll help you out. I owe you virtually my life and you're my best friend"
"Thank you Sam. We are all in your debt"
"Babe, You and Carly can stay in the house. I'll talk things out with Bee"
"Stay safe out there" she said before giving him a light kiss on the cheek. "Come on Mary"
The two stepped out of the car as Bee drove off, they waved them good bye.
"Where are we going?" Sam asked.
"To meet Optimus. He is waiting for us"
Bumblebee had gotten hold of Sam and they were on their way to meet Optimus. Jetstream and Sideswipe were on their way to Brian in Nashville, Tennessee. Ratchet and Ironhide were already in Madison, Michigan in hope of finding Lennox or his wife.