The Hunt (TFP Book 2)

Chapter 25

"SHOOT THAT MANIAC OUT OF THE SKY!!" Silas yelled back at his men as the ground blew up.

"Sir! What about the prisoners?" His driver asked. The villain whipped around and glared at him.

"We need them both alive!" He snapped. "Who better to experiment on than the Autobots leader?" He sneered.

"And the doctor?" The other man asked.

"I need him to make sure Optimus stays alive." Silas growled. He watched as his men pulled out rocket launchers and took aim.

"This is a rescue mission no doubt." He muttered as he watched the ship turn around and fly back to them.

"Call the men back at the Autobot base." Silas said. "Tell them to kill the hostages on my command." He growled as the ship got closer.

~

Smokescreens eyes widened as he saw the men take aim with rocket launchers. He glanced at the wrecker and his heart skipped a beat as the other man smirked.

"This'll be fun." Wheeljack said as a grin spread across his face.

He aimed straight for the trucks and fired as he got closer. The men shot at him and he pulled up sharply. One of his engines got hit and he kept the ship from spiraling. He growled angrily and hit the console in frustration.

"I can't keep it steady." He grunted as he stained to keep the ship in the air. They started to dive.

"Wheeljack!" Smokescreen yelled as he looked at the wrecker. "This better not be like the electric fence!!" He shouted. The other man smirked and he guided the ship along the dirt as it crashed. They sat there for a moment as the ship groaned.

"That wasn't too bad." Wheeljack muttered as he jumped to the back of the ship. He started searching for weapons. Smokescreen typed and noticed the ships weapons were damaged. He jumped out of his seat and ran to the door. He opened it and saw Silas's men running to them.

"Aw scrap." Smokescreen muttered. Wheeljack grabbed a few grenades on a belt and flung a big gun over his shoulder.

"Ain't going down without a fight." He growled as he exited the ship and walked towards the men.

The speedster grabbed two guns and followed. The wrecker shook the gun upward and it cocked. He then attached the grenades to his side and aimed his gun towards the men. They stopped and aimed at him. But he continued to advance, Smokescreen close behind. The wrecker threw a grenade at the men and they ran back to the trucks. He threw another one and actually hit a truck. It blew up and blocked the road. The men formed a line by the vehicles to try and protect them.

"Stand down!" One of the men yelled. "We have your team in our custody, and we won't hesitate to shoot them!" He yelled. Wheeljack shot at the mans feet and he yelped in surprise.

"STAND DOWN!!" Another man yelled as he took aim. They were afraid to shoot them at this point, considering how close they were. Not to mention the crazy man had grenades strapped to his side.

"Make me!" The wrecker yelled angrily as he fired at their feet.

He knew they were hesitant to open fire and he wanted to use that to his advantage. Some of the men ran to a truck and dragged someone out. They shoved the man in front of them and he didn't move. Two men yanked him up so he was kneeling. Wheeljack slowed down and lowered his gun. Smokescreens eyes widened and he stopped. One of the other men cocked a gun and aimed at the prisoners head.

"Take another step and we shoot him." The man said.

"Optimus?" Smokescreen said in disbelief.

The wrecker was about twenty feet away when he stopped. He calculated in his head the best way to handle the situation. He aimed the gun at the mans head that threatened the Autobot leader. The men in turn aimed at him and the air was thick with anticipation. A few minutes passed as they stood there glaring at each other.

"I don't believe you'd actually shoot him if you're taking the time to make him your prisoner." Wheeljack growled. Silas smirked as he kept the gun against the other mans head. Optimus looked up at the wrecker and speedster as he thought about what to do. He clenched his fists in frustration.

"You're right." Silas said as one of his men brought him a phone. "But the others at your base all have guns to their heads as well." Smokescreens eyes widened, but Wheeljack didn't flinch.

"I say one word and your team is dead." The villain smirked. "So I suggest you stand down." The wrecker was tempted to say he didn't give a scrap, just to see if the man was bluffing. But he knew the Kid was extremely worried about his team. A plan formed in his head. The wrecker slowly lowered his gun and Smokescreen followed.

"Drop them!" One man yelled. They did as they were told and put their hands up. The men approched but stopped a few feet away when they saw he still had grenades.

"Put them down!" A man shouted.

The wrecker smirked and flung the belt towards them. A man flinched as he caught it and he carefully walked away. The men handcuffed the two men with their hand in front and led them to the trucks. They had already put Optimus back in the truck and Silas glared at the two new comers. They stopped just in front of the villain.

"What did you do to Optimus?" Smokescreen asked as he glared at the man.

"Had to simply rough him up a bit." The man scoffed.

Smokescreens eyes flashed with anger and he hit the man as hard as he could across the face. Silas fell back and his men caught him. The man rubbed where he got hit, the second time that day in the same spot.

"Nice shot Kid." Wheeljack smirked. The men helped their leader up. "I think you broke his nose." He grinned as he watched them.

"I'm going to break a lot more than that." Smokescreen seethed as he glared.

"Dispose of them!" Silas shouted as he wiped his face. The men shoved the two new comers to their knees and pressed guns against their head.

"Well....this just got interesting." The wrecker smirked. Smokescreen rolled his eyes and glared at the dirt.