FicWad

Chapter 3 - "Autobot Undercover"


Rita stared at the young black man in awe for a minute before repeating doubtfully, "My... assistant?"

"Tha'z right,"he nodded in confirmation and finally took his sunglasses off, giving her another smile and a good view of his face. "Any problems w'that, miss?"

"Uh," she blinked, trying to decide what it was all about and if she should fear this strange man. Or maybe ask questions, or something. She squinted her eyes at him in mistrust. "Actually I wasn't expe-" The girl was interrupted by the loud ringing of her cell phone. "Excuse me," she mumbled and pressed the dial button, turning slightly away from the man, but keeping him in sight. "Yes, Michael."

"Rita? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But there's this strange guy here stating that he's going to be my 'assistant'. Did you send him? What the hell's all this 'assistance' about?" She hissed into the phone demandingly as she threw a suspicious gaze in Jack's direction. The man in question shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants and was now looking away pointedly, whistling some tune and ignoring the discussion he was clearly the subject of.

"Rita, please calm down," Michael spoke soothingly over the phone. "You told me not to disturb you for a couple of hours, so I'm telling you this now. I got a call not long ago from Neville Assistance Agency. NAA offers its services, and quite qualified ones, to the guests of Mission/ /City. This whole 'assistance' thing concerns personal safety, transportation/escort and even sightseeing twenty-four/seven should the client have such a desire. In other words, they solve any problems you might have while visiting the city. This service is not a cheap one, but mister Neville happens to be an admirer of your band, and he is doing this for you by his own volition, as a deed of gift. His representative assured me he would send one of their best men, and I thought that considering the... circumstances... you might need one." The last words were spoken softly, almost murmured, as if Michael didn't want to bring the subject up, but had to.

Rita rubbed her forehead with her free hand; she couldn't find anything to say.

"Come on, Rita," Michael pressed and pleaded at the same time. "I'll feel more at ease if I know that a pro is keeping an eye on you."

She tried to imagine someone 'keeping an eye' on her. Following her everywhere, being her shadow, and generally invading her privacy... Not a pleasant perspective. But what choice did she have? Michael had been really frightened by her faint earlier that evening, and knowing him she could say he would have this assistant-guy following her anyway, so she might just make it easier for all of them. "All right," she said, already feeling the sting of regret but ignoring it.

/"Good," /Michael exclaimed with satisfaction. "His name is Jack, he is African-American with blue eyes and a silver /Pontiac/ Solstice. Does that fit the description?"

"Yeah," Rita chuckled. "He's one of a kind. So I'm going for a long ride with a pro who's gonna accompany me to bathroom to make sure that little me doesn't get flushed down the toilet. Don't expect me till morning."

"A little fun would be good for you, but please, keep in touch, Rita. You know that I and the boys will be worried about you anyway."

"Yes, I know. And yes, I will," she smiled. "Bye, Michael."

Flipping her cell phone closed she turned to Jack who abandoned his relaxed pose and opened the passenger door for her with casual grace and ease. "Shall we?" he asked, giving her a wink and thus eliciting a small smile from Rita despite her attempt to hold it back.

The girl got in the car watching her 'assistant' walk around its front and get to the driver's seat. Jack barely touched the keys in the ignition, and the engine purred like a giant cat.

"Blast on something good, Jack," the girl asked, making herself comfortable in the warm leather of the seat.

"Ma' pleasure, Miss Grace," he replied with a white-teethed smile, putting his shades back on. She was surprised when the next second the radio started switching through the stations by itself until it settled on a hip-hop tune with beautiful, dramatic strings and deep male voices singing repeatedly to swinging rhythm and changing harmonies:

Hier kommt die Neue Deutsche Welle, Deutsche Welle...

This guy definitely knew what 'good' meant in music. As the car pulled away from the hotel, the low rumble of its powerful engine went through Rita's body and noticeably corrected her concept of 'good', giving it a totally different meaning.

Maybe it all won't be that bad after all, she thought, smiling tiredly and letting herself relax finally.

-----

The Pontiac Solstice rolled unhurriedly down the illuminated streets. The Camaro followed it at the respectful distance.

'Jazz?' Bumblebee called out.

'Not now, Bee,' the silver bot cut his attempt to hear the news, the main reason of it being the actual lack of any news.

Jazz glanced at the girl in his passenger seat from the corner of his eye. She wasn't really excited by the night view of the city outside the windows. He could tell she was deep in her thoughts - absent stare and tired posture would give a clue to anyone. She looked so small and defenseless, so fragile... In fact, all humans looked like that, but there was a strange tinge of... sadness and loss about this tiny girl. Even the music pouring through the speakers and filling his interior couldn't cover the loud empty silence that she was emanating.

"Ya had a bad day, miss?" he asked cautiously, trying to sound matter-of-factly and not too prying.

Rita sighed and looked at him for a second, then turned away again. "I guess it could be worse." She paused. "I'll live."

A bitter smile that touched her lips after these words made him tense for some reason. Jazz hid his concern away and smiled at Rita. "Ya'd better. I'll personally make sure of that, Miss Grace," he said solemnly and, lifting his glasses up for asecond, gave her a playful wink. He was rewarded with a tiny, almost unnoticeable quirk of lips from the girl.

"It's Rita," she corrected him.

"Okay, Miss Rita," he nodded maintaining his solemn tone.

"Just Rita is fine, thank you," she said and made a soft chuckle.

"Gotcha... Rita,"he grinned warmly.

So the ice cracked, he thought with satisfaction in his spark.

"Nice car," she suddenly said, changing the subject. The next thing she did made Jazz choke on his mirth and stop breathing for a moment. Rita's small hands started caressing the leather of his interior, the handle of the passenger door, the dashboard...

"Uh... thanks,"Jazz said, hoping she didn't notice the strain in his voice. These words sounded as if he was thanking the human female for petting him. He almost laughed at the thought, but had to bite his lip to stop the moan that was threatening to escape him.

'Jazz, how's it going?' Bumblebee's anxious request came to him again.

Ah, slag, was his only thought. This time he couldn't ignore his partner, so he reported the best way he could.

'Good... Uh... I've successfully in-... infiltrated, so to speak,' he forced out the response, feeling kind of proud for managing so many words. Rita's casual and unexpectedly gentle touches effectively got his engine stuttering for a second before he could collect himself and calm down a bit.

"Problems with the car?" Rita asked, frowning. "It moves kind of... jerkily." She squeezed the door handle with her palm, running her thumb over it in circles unconsciously.

Jazz mentally cursed. "N- nope, the car's a'ight." He shook his head once and forced out ashaky smile.

'Are you okay? You sound funny,' Bumblebee asked in concern.

Primus hates me, the silver bot thought miserably.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm... I'm fine. And currently tryin' ta... ta communicatewith her.' Jazz was starting to get irritated by his loss of control over the situation./ 'Gimme some space here, buddy, will ya?'/

Rita chose this moment to finally stop tormenting Jazz's sensors with her fumbling, and he thanked the ashes of the Allspark for the opportunity to breathe normal again.

'Okay, okay,'Bumblebee spoke peacefully. 'Just tell me how's the signal?'

'It's here, she's sendin' it, but it doesn't seem she's aware of it.'

'Did you check her belongings and find the source?'

'No, didn'have an opportunity yet.'

'We need to know as soon as possible, Jazz. Ratchet says we probably don't have much time till the Decepticons make their move. Check her clothes.'

Was it just him, or did the whole world suddenly decide to turn his life into a piece of scrap?

'Geez, man, are ya missin' a bolt in yer head? I can't do it right now while drivin'!Besides, it's kinda hard ta do when yer holo-projector is barely workin'.'

"Jack, are you okay?" Rita asked in concern, noticing his long silence.

"What?" he snapped out of his dreamy state. His outer sensors looked his own hologram up and down. He had the stupidest expression possible on his human face. Way ta go, Jazz, he scolded himself/. /He had to act normal to keep his undercover, but so far things didn't go as smooth as he'd hoped.

'Look, Bee, Ineed ta take some part in the conversation here. I'll tell ya if I find anythin'.'

Jazz shut the connection out and smiled to the girl trying to look like a pro that he certainly was. "Yeah, I'm perfect. Did ya say somethin'?"

-----

Starscream's red optics staring down at Barricade lit up and dimmed again, making his gaze lazily vicious. The Mustang silently stood up from his kneeling position.

"Did you find it, Barricade?" The jet's voice echoed from the steel walls of Nemesis as if it was everywhere around the big room.

"Yes, Starscream,"the black and white mech replied. "With some help of the Autobots - they did all the dirty work and led me right to the source. It's a human female. I'm almost positive that her name is Rita Grace."

"I want you to bring her to me," Starscream ordered.

The smaller decepticon shifted on his legs, the metal of his feet thudding dully on the steel floor."The signal is lost for unknown reason, Starscream. But Frenzy is working on this problem," he quickly added.

Starscream laughed quietly. Then exploded into a roar, "Then what in the name of Matrix are you doing here instead of trying to find the human?!"

"The Autobots saw me, and their intentions obviously didn't include allowing me to get near her," Barricade let the sarcastic note show in his deep voice.

"We need this human, dead or alive," the decepticon leader growled. "Though alive would be better, maybe she knows something. Do you understand me, Barricade?"

"Yes, Starscream. I have someone following the female for now. They won't get attention of the Autobots and will try to capture her if the opportunity presents."

"And what if they fail?" Starscream demanded.

"That's why Frenzy is building an electro-magnetic enhancer. It is almost finished; it only needs to be set to the specific frequency. Once it is done, the enhancer will be able to pick up the signal again. And then we'll track the human down. But in that case we'll have to confront the Autobots."

"Good..." The jet paused. "Keep me informed on your every step. Dismissed."

-----

The drive had already lasted for half an hour, but Jazz's investigation hadn't moved an inch. The human in his passenger seat was emanating the signal, but he knew just as much about it as he did when Ratchet had sent him its characteristics. Which was almost nothing. Optimus gave him instructions to try and find something out without exposing his real personality to the human female in order to keep her out of trouble. So the silver bot decided that the best way to do it would be just talking and learning more about his charge.

"So ya like cars, huh?" he asked the girl conversationally.

"Yeah... I think that a good car is worth admiring. This one is... beautiful," she said and petted the leather of her seat again.

Jazz laughed and quickly covered it with a cough. "I'm glad ya like him. An' I can assure ya he likes ya, too," the corners of the bot's lips twitched. Yeah, he liked her alot, especially her hands.

A surprise was evident in Rita's features. "It's a 'he'?"

"Definitely,"Jazz nodded and grinned fully. "He's my alter-ego." Technically, it wasn't alie, for obvious reasons.

Rita stared at him strangely, then snorted - and then, for the first time that night, he heard her quiet laugh. It was good to hear that sound from a person who had been depressed not long ago. It gave him a sense of satisfaction and stirred up the urge to keep that smile on the girl's beautiful face.

"So your boss has decided to make a gift to me and my guys?" Rita looked at Jazz, lifting one eyebrow. The bot could tell that this question had been tormenting her for some time.

"Yeah, he likes yer band," he confirmed. Technically, that wasn't a lie either. Optimus liked all humans, including Rita and her bandmates, even if he didn't know them personally. "I haven't heard yer songs, but I trust ma' boss' judgment."

"Well, you could come to our show tomorrow if you'd like," Rita suggested.

Jazz looked at her for a moment and then turned his attention to the road again. "I'll try ta be there, thanks," he nodded with a smile. "Ya see, I love music, it makes me crazy," he smirked.

"Believe me, Iknow what you mean," she let out a chuckle. "I'm hungry, Jack. D'you know agood place to eat?"

"I've got one in mind," he drawled righting the sunglasses on his face, another smirk twitching his lips. Quick web-search told him of a suitable café-bar just around the corner.

'Bee, c'min.'

'I'm here, Jazz.'

'She's hungry, we're stopping at the café-bar "/Midnight/." Watch out for the 'cons, partner.'

'Got it. Watch your back.'

'I will.'

Jazz closed the connection and pulled over near one-story building that was awash with blue neon lights. The parking lot was full of cars, but no humans could be seen around. Jazz turned off the radio and let his hologram step out to the ground.

Now it was going to be a bit tough from then on. Yes, he looked perfectly human, but wasn't real. That meant he couldn't touch anything. Well, except for metal. His magnets were the only means of interaction with surrounding world: opening the car doors and similar actions.

He was going to open the door for Rita, like his position towards her required, but the girl did it herself and got out of the passenger side, stopping for a second to read the neon sign.

"They're famous for their cappuccino," he smiled and led the way, Rita following not far behind.

Jazz was several yards from the entrance to the café-bar when a sense of danger along with a sound of a large car engine brought him to alert.

He felt Rita's squeak rather than heard it. Whirling around he saw a man clad in black dragging the girl to an equally black van. The man was tall, slightly taller than Jazz, and built. One of the man's hands gripped Rita's waist firmly, the other one was tangled in her hair, hurting the girl and preventing her from trying to escape. A second man who looked similar was behind the steering wheel of the van, apparently waiting for his partner to get the girl inside. There was no sign of Bumblebee anywhere. All of this Jazz noted within a nanosecond.

Transforming was out of question. Blowing his cover, as well as that of the Autobots', wasn't among his immediate wishes. But Rita's safety was Optimus' direct order to him and one of his highest priorities...

The decision was made faster than Ironhide could say 'slag'. A gun appeared in his hand. "Stop right there, buddy, an' I won't have ta hurt ya," he spoke calmly, but menacingly, taking off his shades. The tone of the bot's voice didn't promise anything good. The gun was just as much a sham as Jazz's holo-body, but the criminal didn't need to know that. It should be enough to at least make him listen and stop him from taking Rita away until Bumblebee's arrival.

'Bee, we've got a situation,' Jazz called out simultaneously.'Two humans are tryin' to capture Rita. Get yer aft here, now.'

'On my way. Twenty seconds.'

The man immediately stopped and glanced at Jazz, then at the gun. He smiled the way that only really crazy people can. His right arm left Rita's waist, and Jazz saw a knife flash in his palm, the other hand pulling at the girl's hair, making her whimper and expose her throat involuntarily. The other man got out of the car and also produced a knife from his pocket, but didn't seem to know what to do in this situation.

For a moment none of them moved. Then Jazz made a careful step forward. "Don't do anythin'stupid. Put that knife down an' let 'er go," he said, moving towards the man slowly, the gun trained on him. The criminal squeezed his fingers in Rita's hair again in response. The girl hissed in pain, Jazz froze.

"Stay back," the man warned darkly and pressed the cold blade to her skin, his black burning gaze glued to Jazz and following his every move. Rita locked her eyes with Jazz's icy blues. He could see her fear and could almost feel her panic. From the corner of his eye Jazz saw the second criminal - he was nervously shifting on his feet and throwing glances to his partner. These little gestures indicated that he wasn't really a threat; he'd rather run than fight. Good.

"Easy, man. Put the toy away," Jazz spoke to the man that was holding Rita and risked another step. The girl suddenly gasped in shock as the knife cut the skin on her neck just slightly and drew blood. Rita's hands grabbed her captor's right arm instinctively, but released it quickly in fear of being hurt more. Jazz's spark pulsed with anger and he stilled again, clenching his jaw.

A familiar growl of engine and the screeching of tires announced Bumblebee's appearance. Thank Primus!

The unexpected sounds distracted both men. It was enough for Jazz. He moved at lightning speed. In a blink of an eye he was near the man that held Rita. Jazz stretched his left arm in front of him, reaching for the knife. His right hand flew up towards the criminal's left ear, which was pierced with an earring. A jolt of magnetic impulse ran through Jazz's hands and pulled both items abruptly, disarming the man and tearing his flesh. His agonized cry assaulted the bot's audio receptors, but it led to the desired result: the man was clutching at his bleeding ear and Rita was free. She fell to the ground and was probably in mild pain, but out of danger.

Jazz saw a flash of yellow and black to his right and knew that Bumblebee's hologram joined the fight and handled the second man. The blonde ducked swiftly from the dash of aknife and delivered a perfect hook to his opponent's jaw, sending him to the ground. The two human males wouldn't stand a chance even against Jazz alone, who wasn't material; but with another - solid - Autobot's help they were simply doomed.

Jazz's enemy finally released his torn ear and advanced at him, snarling. The bot moved to the side and dived forward, reaching for his enemy at the same time. The next second he locked the metal bracelet on the man's right hand with his magnetic field and jerked the limb up, then forward and down in a circular motion, toppling the criminal over and throwing him to the ground on his back. The man's body landed on the pavement heavily, its owner groaning in pain.

The man who was beaten by Bumblebee collected himself from the ground and helped his partner up, half-dragging him to the van. A second later the black vehicle hastily left the parking lot and disappeared into traffic.

Jazz looked at Bumblebee. The blonde hologram gave him thumbs-up and vanished into the shadows, leaving the silver Autobot with the girl.

'I'll be around if you need me,' Bee sent through the intercom.

'A'ight, partner. Report the situation to Optimus, I've got things ta do here,' Jazz replied and turned to Rita. She was sitting on the ground, looking with numb fascination at her fingers smeared with blood. Jazz scanned her immediately and felt relief at the absence of serious damage. Several scratches on her palms, bruises on her knees - and a little cut on her throat, not really dangerous. No big deal. But still she was frightened.

"Rita, it's okay now, yer safe," Jazz spoke softly, squatting in front of her and trying to see her face. It was obscured by a shock of tangled red hair. Having the slagging jerk's paw in it must have been painful. She was silent, and he leaned forward seeking her gaze. "Rita? Look at me," he asked.

She finally lifted her eyes to him. An angry stare. Hard and intense. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and she angrily wiped it away, spreading dirt and blood over her frowning face. But she didn't make a sound. Such combination of emotions surprised and startled him. He wished he could touch her, or embrace her -anything. Suggest any kind of physical comfort. But he couldn't.

"Let's go ta the car, girl," Jazz said gently. He didn't want her to go anywhere far from his metallic body. And they had to talk about what had just happened.

Surprisingly, she listened to his words without question and silently went to the silver car. This time Jazz followed her closely.

End of Chapter 3

Music used: Fler- "Neue Deutsche Welle 2005"