The Final Hope - Transformers Prime (3)

Chapter Thirty

[Amanda]

  As we approached the first location on our hit list, I silenced my engine and turned off the headlights, making us nearly invisible as the sun set. The paved tarmac turned into a dirt road, and I glanced over at Finn.

   "We might be on the right track," I said, breaking the silence that had been stretching for most of the drive.

   He looked surprised. "How'd you figure?"

   "The road is dirt, and there are fresh tracks. If they were old, they'd have shifted in the wind. These tracks look recent, maybe from a couple hours ago."

   "So we're onto them?" He leaned back into the leather seat. "Huh, I figured the place we went to first would be a miss. It's always with the 50/50 chances that you get it wrong, huh?"

   "Usually," I smirked. "But we don't know this is the place yet. It could just be some random facility, not necessarily a MECH one."

   There was the outline of a large, factory like building in the distance that grew closer and closer as we kept driving down the dirt road. I mentally apologized to my Mustang a few times, knowing how the rocks on the road were going to get lodged everywhere, but otherwise kept focused. If this really was the MECH facility where they housed their new Nemesis Prime, my full attention had to be on the situation or else things could turn deadly quickly.

   "Park here," Finn said suddenly, causing me to slam on the brakes.

   "What?"

   "Park over here. We're on a dirt road, if we go any closer they'll see the dust we kick up. We should go on foot from here."

   I nodded, seeing his point, and pulled to the very side of the road. "I've already activated the stealth mode on here, so its undetectable on radars-"

   "But we're parking wide in the open."

   "-Which is why you're going to help me hide it." I finished, getting out.

   Finn followed me around to the trunk. "What are you going to do, cover your car with dirt and sand?"

   My jaw dropped in horror. "Have you lost your mind?!"

   "That's literally the only thing around."

   "You maniac," I shook my head, popping open the trunk and shoving a Just-In-Case duffel at him. "Take what you want from here and stand back as I work some magic."

   He frowned, but did as I said. I pulled out my phone and opened up the app I used to control my cars, selecting my Mustang when prompted.

   "Aaaaaand, there," I said, typing in a couple commands.

   Finn gave me a look. "Nothing happened. It's still black."

   "First of all, it's black with matte black stripes, respect my customizations. And second, give it a chance to work...." The coat of my Mustang rippled, then shifted into the same color as the sand and dirt around it. "Yes!"

   "Whoa!" He touched the body of the Mustang, an awe struck look on his face. "How'd you do that?"

   "Well, when you guys hired the body shop to repair my cars, you didn't realize that it was the one owned by a family I know very well. They're the ones who upgraded most of my cars and made them able to take the programming changes I wanted to make. So, when you brought in my Mustang, they put a paint coat on top of the black with matte black stripes, a coat made of nanotechnology. It's basically scratch and dent resistant, while it changes colors and does a whole bunch of other fun things. Usually it's got a clear coat, so you can see my paint job, but now it's adjusted to cover the custom job and blend it into the environment. With the sun going down and all, it should be basically invisible."

   He stood there, dumbstruck for a moment before trying to collect himself. "That's- That-"

   "I know, it's fun," I threw him a grin, then grabbed the other Just-In-Case duffel. "Now you can gawk over it later, we've got work to do."

   I opted for my usual tools; the pocket staff, the multi-surface gloves, a couple smoke bombs and a Taser. Finn chose a Taser gun, the multi-surface gloves, and a couple capsules of knock out gas. I put the duffels back into the trunk and locked up the Mustang before we began our trek to the factory. We stayed low to the ground until we reached the metal fence that surrounded the building. Finn moved forward, but I caught his arm and tugged him back.

   "It's electric," I hissed, feeling the electricity crackle across the metal. He looked surprised at that, but then frowned, eyes calculating how we were going to get past it. I lifted my hand, willing a small stream of my powers to coat the bottom of the fence, and I pulled the metal apart, leaving enough room for us to duck through. Finn went through first, and I followed close behind.

   The factory was in the center of the circle of fencing, with only one shed in between the fence and the building, forcing us to make a dash to hide behind the shed. Once there, we paused, and my eyes scanned for cameras.

   "North side," I said, spotting the cameras around the factory. "All four corners actually, but just facing outward. Once we get to the building's walls, we'll be cleared of those cameras."

   Finn nodded. "Follow my lead."

   He quickly sprinted around the shed and to the factory walls, causing me to dash after him, and we kept low to the ground. There was a door just a few paces down, and I moved towards it, peering closely at the lock.

   "Passcode lock," I whispered, then pulled out my phone, opening the camera app. "Cam, scan for fingerprints."

   "Yes, Miss Beckett," the AI's voice was quiet (thank Primus), and a blue light emitted from my camera before an image of the lock appeared on my screen, four numbers highlighted with the most fingerprints on them.

   "Perfect," I punched in the code, and the light at the top of the lock switched green for a moment. Pulling the door open slowly, I slipped through first, with Finn just a heartbeat behind. The factory was massive, and we emerged onto a platform that I saw surrounded the inner perimeter of the factory, resting above the rest of the action. Stairs to our left lead down into the main part of the factory, where assembly lines of people wearing lab coats worked. The scientists were seemingly divided into different divisions, each team working on something different. Some had liquids bubbling in front of them, some were working with different metals, but one group in particular caught my attention faster than the rest. This group, made up of five scientists, had a chunk of energon in front of them and were probing at it curiously.

   Finn sucked in a breath next to me, which made me turn in the direction he was looking, and my eyes widened at the sight. At the other end of the factory stood something I'd hoped to never see again.

   Nemesis Prime.

   "Scrap."