[Book One] Destined for More

Chapter Eight _ Karma Strikes Back, a bit too hard

During the month that followed the battle in Mission City, I finally graduated high school and immediately started working with Lennox and his team. It was pretty much the same group that fought a month prior, plus a new addition: me. In theory, I was part of the team as Lennox would often let me tag along in a few of his travels between Seven's 'secret' bases; in reality, S7 pretty much put me on the bench for lack of experience (routine system checks, security tests, and so on). Which, in all honesty, I couldn't blame them for. I was salty about it, but the second option was jail, so I didn't really have that much of a choice on the matter. Also, I had to buy a new phone after Simmons lost my old one, which pissed me off as well. All this to say that relations weren't exactly peaceful between me and the agents. The good part about the whole situation was that I got to practice my sarcasm quite a lot, which I enjoyed.

The Autobots kept in touch as they promised, though meetings were rare and short. On the bright side, I could often spot Bumblebee nearby Sam's house, and I took every opportunity I could to go say hi. Sometimes, he would even stop by my driveway for a little chat. His voice was recovering, although it was still a bit scratchy. He was pretty happy about it.

The Decepticon remains still hadn't been disposed of. We learned that, soon after the battle in Mission City ended, Starscream was seen at the Hoover Dam. There was a scuffle with some soldiers and researchers stationed there, he made some more mess leaving the dam leaking, then apparently he just left. He hadn't been seen again since, though Frenzy's body also disappeared from the facility.

Arrangements had to be made at home with Mira. I told her she could go back to her family if she wanted to, but she insisted on taking care of the house for when I'd come back home. It was sweet of her, but I felt really bad leaving her at the house by herself. In the end, I managed to convince her to take a few weeks of vacation to go visit her family. She ended up staying there more than she planned, and everything worked out in the end.

I never realized how much I needed some alone-time before this. And, considering that my dad was paying for the house and some other expenses wether I liked it or not, I ended up enjoying managing my own life and everything that came with it. The only thing that was missing was Mira's cooking, but I found a good compromise through home deliveries from a handful of good restaurants not too far from where I lived. Although, most times I didn't really mind cooking either. It was during one of these peaceful days that I found out that the higher-ups finally decided to move things along.

---

I had just finished preparing my food when I received a call from Lennox, and I immediately picked up. "Hello?"

"Percy, hey."

"Hi, Will." I sat down on the kitchen isle, ready to eat my lunch.

"You got plans for tonight?"

I took the first bite. "No, why do you ask? What's up?"

"Tomorrow's moving day. Epps and I are gonna talk to the Autobots tonight, thought you might wanna tag along."

I almost chocked on the food. "Really?"

He laughed. "Yeah. I'll come pick you up."

"Awesome! When?"

"Now. I'm at your front door."

I let him in, and he waited patiently as I finished my meal and quickly got ready. I learned to keep a bag ready for quick travels, so that was already taken care of. Soon, we were on the road and we drove all the way to a military base in Nevada. We met up with Epps and, in the evening, we drove all the way to a scrapyard located pretty much in the middle of nowhere.