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Going All-in

What the hell am I doing? June kept scowling at the door and trying not to look as terrified as she really was. Seriously, how the hell was this my idea?

"Almost there," Jensen said, raising the pitch of his voice to sound much younger, having apparently gotten the idea into his head that "hacker" meant "teenager."

"You better hope this kid knows what he's doing," McClory grumbled.

"There are two guards right outside the door, one on either side. And I heard that, you shitdick. For your information …"

The lock clicked. At the same moment, a text message from Rosalina appeared in June's heads-up display.

I'm going to take control of your armor for a moment. The guards and everyone else between you and the base exit are Pretenders. This whole fight will be staged for McClory's benefit, so don't worry about hurting them. They'll be just playing dead.

June's armor shifted its posture slightly, seemingly moving on its own, and June let her body go limp to avoid injuring herself.

"Bam," Jensen said.

June smirked at McClory as the door slid aside. Roz piloted her armor into the corridor and lunged to the right. June caught a glimpse of an airman opening his eyes wide in shock just before her arms clamped around his head and twisted. A crunching sound seemed to come from his open mouth and he turned ragdoll in her arms. Roz let him fall to the floor, mouth gaping and eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

Another text popped up as Roz spun June's armor around to face the other guard. Remember, he's okay. I'm gonna pretend to kill the other one now.

He tried to draw his gun, but Roz tackled him to the floor, punched him, and then clamped June's right hand over his mouth. She moved June's other hand to his face and pinched his nose shut. His eyes widened and he flailed, grabbed her wrists and tried to pry her hands off, and then braced his hands on her chest and shoved. Roz kept June's hands in place and he went into convulsions.

Another text appeared, this one in green instead of Rosalina's white. Uh, June, I have to apologize for groping your tits. It was accidental, I swear.

Roz's reply blipped up a split-second later. Sure it was, Clayton.

June burst out laughing. At the same instant, Clayton shuddered and stopped moving, and June's heart twitched.

"Oh, the timing on that was perfect," Kefira said, her voice coming through June's earbud, sounding as if she were trying to suppress her own laughter. "Good show, Clay. That should really shake McClory up."

June remained on top of Clay for a moment, as if admiring her handiwork. "Too bad. He was kinda cute." She leaned over abruptly and kissed him.

Okay, what the hell? That was something Airachnid did to some of her victims. June realized Roz had released control of her armor and got back to her feet. I'm gonna need a psychiatric evaluation when this is over.

"Jesus Christ," McClory said under his breath, and June glanced over her shoulder to find him staring uneasily at her. Some of the color had drained from his face and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Well, that fucked up his feng-shui, alright. She grinned, clapped McClory roughly on his still-dislocated shoulder, and spoke to the "hacker" over her suit radio.

"Okay, kid, next stop, the armory!"

---

"Holy … shit." Roderick gaped at the bank of monitors that had just shown him the staged fight in the corridor outside McClory's cell.

Heh. Khalilah glanced around the small lounge. Miko's mother and both host parents had been invited to watch the operation via cameras hidden in the corridors along the path June was going to take, probably to reassure them that swift action was being taken. Khalilah had joined them to keep an eye on her new friends until the rescue-mission phase started. Strika had shown up as well, perhaps out of curiosity to see how the humans, Autobots, and Pretenders handled the situation.

"That was disturbing," Camille muttered, and Roderick sighed.

"It's part of the plan. You know that."

"Yeah, but it's still creepy. If they hadn't let us see those text messages, I would've thought she really killed those guys."

"That is precisely the effect they were going for, I believe," Strika said. "Keeping McClory constantly off-balance is essential to the success of the mission. If he stops feeling unsettled long enough to think rationally, he may be able to figure out what we're attempting."

"June will just have to keep at it, then," Ashanti said over the comm system. "Jensen, Roz, Jack, Arcee, keep an eye on things here. Kefira and I need to gear up and be ready to follow them."

"She's doing a hell of a job of it," Roderick said as another camera picked June and McClory up. On the camera outside McClory's cell, the two "dead" airmen sat up, laughed, and high-fived each other. Both of them transformed back into their robot forms.

"So," the first one said, "groping June's chest was totally an accident, eh?"

"Well, I had to look like I was trying to push her off me. It's just a shame she had that armor covering her --"

"That's my mom you're talking about," Jack said.

"Hey, no offense intended. I just think she's hot." He grinned suddenly. "And she said I'm cute. And she kissed me!"

"They've reached the armory," Arcee cut in before the conversation could go any farther.

Another text from Rosalina appeared. If you pretend to knock the guards out instead of kill them, I'm guessing McClory will want to put a bullet in them once you've raided the armory. The ammo in there won't be able to hurt them, so don't try to stop him. In fact, you might want to pop 'em first. They can mimic gunshot wounds the same way we mimic human bodies.

On the camera outside the armory, June and McClory stepped into view.

I'm taking control of your armor again, Roz texted. We'll put on another show for McClory.

Footsteps in the hallway distracted Khalilah as another staged fight began. She glanced over her shoulder and found Sierra entering the lounge. The girl glanced around, seemed to decide against sitting on the sofa with Miko's host parents, and walked over to stand beside the armchair occupied by Miko's mother.

"Smokescreen's joining the rescue team," Sierra said. "I just saw him off. Have I missed anything?"

"Quite a bit, actually," Roderick said. "Jack's mom is kinda terrifying."

"I hope this is being recorded so I can catch up on it later."

"It is." Khalilah nodded. "Strategic analysts will probably go over it later, as well."

"Jack and I should be going with the team," Arcee said. "I can't stand being sidelined when our friends' lives are at stake."

"That would be tactically unwise," Strika said. "You and Mr. Darby are two of MECH's mission objectives. The smart thing to do is to keep both of you out of their reach. If they capture you, they'll have less reason to keep the hostages alive."

"I know. That doesn't make this any easier."

"Also, all other Cybertronians joining the operation should exercise extreme caution. MECH may have targeted you specifically, but they've attempted to acquire Cybertronian technology before, and any of us would suit their needs just as well as Arcee."

"That was one of my concerns as well. Optimus is keeping it in mind, but he knows our friends and those innocent people are worth the risk." Arcee sighed. "Which is another reason I don't feel right about staying here when they're putting themselves on the line."

Khalilah turned back to the screen in time to see the last guard collapse. As June turned to the door, Jensen's voice came through the speakers.

"While you were kickin' ass, I unlocked the door for ya. You're welcome."

June pulled the door open and disappeared inside. She returned a few seconds later with a gun on her hip, spare magazines on her utility belt, more stuff jammed into her belt pouch, and her helmet under her left arm.

"Help yourself." June watched him dart into armory and reappear with two assault rifles slung over his shoulders and extra ammo stuffed into his pockets. June crouched beside one of the guards and searched his pockets. She found his wallet, took the cash out, shoved it into one of her belt pouches, and flung the wallet over her shoulder. "In case we need to buy gas on the way to your base."

McClory searched another guard, took his cash, and then found his phone. He pocketed it and raised an eyebrow at June.

"Now we get out of here. Which way?"

I'm highlighting the route in your HUD, Roz texted.

June pointed casually at the corridor to the left. She found her guard's phone, swiped it, and then drew her gun. She popped two rounds into each guard's chest and strolled down the hall. She glanced at the phone before slipping it into a pouch.

"I wonder what kind of porn he has on this?" She started whistling a tune that sounded like it might be an Irish folk song as she walked.

McClory aimed another uneasy look at her before catching up.

"Grabbing those phones isn't too bright," Jack said. "Those can be tracked."

"He's probably planning to use it to verify Ms. Darby's cover identity," Strika said, "then throw the phone away before they travel very far."

"Once they're clear of the base," Ashanti said, "we'll follow at a discrete distance."

Optimus joined the conversation. "Colonel, how do you want us deployed?"

"Everyone should stay in their vehicle modes until we find the hostages' location. Tomoko, have you picked one out yet?"

"Yeah, I scanned a really cool helicopter on the base. I'm ready to go."

"Good. Send your Pretender body along, too. Your web-shooters will give us an option to neutralize MECH troops without resorting to lethal force. I'll ride with your mini-me in Optimus. Kefira, you and Terwilliger are in Bumblebee. Jo and DeeDee, you're in Ultra Magnus. Smokescreen will come along to give June, Miko, and Raf a lift. Then we'll just need someone big enough to hold the rest of the hostages in case the bus isn't available anymore."

"I will join you, then," Strika said. "I have recently chosen a vehicle mode that will accommodate everyone. It was inspired by the combat simulation videos I've been reviewing. If I'm not mistaken, the vehicle is called a Cargobob."

"That'll work just fine. Thanks for helping out."

"It is a good opportunity to see the rescue operation up close."

"Okay, everyone, let's get this done."

---

"Looks like they're stopping for gas," Terwilliger said.

Kefira nodded and watched the Humvee June had "stolen" ease into a gas station's parking lot. "Bee, let's find a spot across the street to keep an eye on them."

"On it." The yellow Camaro made a left turn into the diner straight across the highway from the gas station/mini-mart. He slid into an empty space, turned his headlights off, and left his engine idling.

"Thought we were never gonna find a place to fuel up," June grumbled as she got out of the Humvee and stretched, her voice running through the mic she'd left switched on. "Nothing out here but wall-to-wall fuck-all."

Kefira glanced around at their surroundings. She's definitely not wrong. She couldn't find anything besides the diner and gas station in the area. Everything else was the same desert landscape they'd been traversing for the past four hours. She did spot a couple of roads leading away from the highway, so if there were any other buildings around here, they were probably some distance away.

"Go inside and buy some snacks while I fill the tank."

"Gotta take a piss, anyway." McClory took a few steps toward the front door and stopped. "You ever gonna pop my shoulder back in?"

"And take away one of your motivations to stick to our agreement? Sorry, not happening until we actually reach the hostages."

McClory grumbled under his breath, walked over to one of the pumps, and lunged forward suddenly, slamming his shoulder against it and jolting it back into place. He grimaced, rubbed his shoulder, and then smirked at June as he headed for the store.

"Killjoy." She rolled her eyes, walked to the cashier window, pre-paid for the gas, and returned to the car. She started pumping and whispered, "I sure hope we get there soon. I don't know how much longer I can keep up the crazy act."

"You're doing fine," Ashanti said. "We'll slip into their base once he's led us to it, and we'll find the hostages soon after."

"Oh, shit," Terwilliger muttered.

Kefira almost glanced at him, but then she caught what he'd noticed -- a man in a hoodie walking up to the counter and pulling a gun on the cashier. She sighed.

"Well, that couldn't have been timed better. Guess what, June? The store's being robbed."

"What?" June spun around, stared at the guy waving a gun in the cashier's face, and groaned. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"I doubt McClory would get involved, but if he tries anything and gets himself shot, we'll lose our only lead."

"Damn it." June took a slow breath. "Okay, I have an idea." She strode to the door and yanked it open.

The guy in the hoodie turned and snapped the gun around to point at her. She swatted his arm down, probably guided by Roz taking over the armor, and whipped her own gun out. She pointed it at his crotch and put her finger on the trigger. He stumbled back against the counter and let his gun slip from his grasp. June caught it and passed it to the trembling cashier.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, kid?" June moved aside and held her free hand out. "Just for that, you get to hand over your wallet."

"What?"

"Wallet. Now." She dug her gun into his crotch and giggled. "Or I'll turn your oysters into Cheerios."

With a shaking hand, the would-be robber pulled his wallet out and held it out to June. She snapped it out of his hand, took the cash, and threw the empty wallet back to him. Then she nodded at the door.

"Get lost."

"But …"

She shoved him through the door. He staggered, but stood there and stared at her with his mouth hanging open. She heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Fuck off!" She fired a round into the gravel between his feet. He jumped and squealed, then he turned and bolted.

"Holy shit," Terwilliger blurted. "Jack, did your mom just mug the guy who was trying to rob the store?"

June kept watching the guy until he jumped into a beat-up old car and sped off into the night. She holstered the gun, turned to the cashier, and motioned at the stuff McClory had placed on the counter.

"Well, ring us up."

Kefira laughed as June paid for the snacks and drinks with the money she'd stolen from the robber.

Then she noticed McClory staring out through the glass door, across the street …

Staring straight at us. Oh, hell.

"I think we've been made," Terwilliger said.

"Hey!" McClory pushed through the door and glared at Kefira. "Somebody's watching us!"

"Bee, get ready to haul ass. June, start shooting at us."

Terwilliger blurted, "What?"

At the same time, Bee said, "Uh, what?"

"We can't let him suspect you're in on this. The best way to sell your cover is to shoot at us."

"Someone followed us?" June burst through the door, shoved her way past McClory, and raised her gun. She squeezed the trigger and blasted a round into the pavement directly behind Bee's rear bumper.

"Now, Bee," Kefira said, but he'd already turned his lights back on and revved his engine.

"Way ahead of you." He launched out of the diner's parking lot, fishtailed on the street, recovered, and roared away from the gas station.

Kefira glanced into the rearview mirror in time to glimpse June charging into the street and firing a half-dozen more shots.

"Shit," Jack yelled, "is my mom okay?"

"Is she okay?" Terwilliger gaped at the radio in his hand. "Jack, your mom just went full Michael Westen on us. I think she's just fine. Me, on the other hand? I need new underwear!"

Kefira chuckled and then let out a quick sigh. "Okay, we're burned. Someone else needs to swap out with us."

"My passengers and I are on our way," Ultra Magnus said. "You meet up with the rest of the team and wait for the go order."

"On our way." Kefira rested her left arm on the edge of the open window and laughed again. "This is gonna be a fun night."