The Final Hope - Transformers Prime (3)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

   "Command accepted. Thank you, Mr. Ryen."

   Finn frowned. "Is she going to be formal with me too now?"

   "Yup," I smirked. "Cam is very polite. Deal with it."

   He shook his head, but had a smile on his face. "I should get to the base then. I'm not sure how much faster it'll be with Cam on the case, but I'll contact you as soon as it finishes."

   I nodded. "And let me know if MECH tries to reach out again, got it?" At his hesitant expression, I gave him a hard look. "We're doing this together now, got it? We're still Team Prime, through and through."

  "Yeah," he said after a moment. "Still Team Prime." His gaze suddenly met mine. "Thanks, A."

   "Anytime, now get going!"

~~~

   I spent the rest of the day in the basement, finally setting up my media room. The tech was all there- I had already ordered it after the Decepticon incident and just had it stored at the Las Vegas BeckIT building. The guys over there were able to drive it over right when I called after Finn left, so it was only a matter of reprogramming the tech to do what it used to. It was a simple process really; Cam had all the specs of her hard drives saved and just plugging her into the system would be enough, but because of how massive the information was, it was taking ages.

   "Progress?" I asked, spinning lazily in the new leather office chair in the center of the room.

   "Recalibration is 48% complete," Cam replied.

   "Ugh," It was only two percent farther along than when I checked before. At the same time, I'd only wait five minutes before asking again. "How long left?"

   "Estimated time remaining is 2 hours and 3 minutes."

   I groaned impatiently when my phone rang all of a sudden, causing me to almost fall out of my chair. Pulling it out, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw who it was.

   "What'd you got for me?" I asked, answering the call.

   "Well hello to you too," I could practically hear the smirk in Finn's tone. "You'll be happy to know that I've- well, Cam and I- narrowed it down to two places."

   I practically jumped to my feet. "Yes! That we can work with! Give me five minutes, I'll get my things ready and meet you at the base's front gates."

   "I'll be there. And don't go easy on the- uh- tools you bring. We might need everything we can get."

   "Noted. Be ready when I get there."

   "Will do."

   We hung up and I ran out of the basement, calling over my shoulder, "Cam, continue your upload and then reprogram the house mainframe! I want Blair online!"

   "Yes, Miss Beckett."

   I ran upstairs to the guest bedroom where I'd been stashing my random things and grabbed a spare 'Just-In-Case' duffel bag before dashing back downstairs and into my garage. I paused at the entrance, eyes skimming over my options, and headed to my Mustang.

   Going to need a getaway car that's fast and can blend in. And let's be real, Mustangs are the answer to everything.

   I shoved the duffel into the trunk before slipping into the driver's seat and pulling out of the garage and the manor. The drive to the military base was barely noticeable, and soon I was pulling up to let Finn in. He slid into the passenger seat and held up his USB as I drove back out into the Nevada desert.

   "It's all on here," He said.

   "Perfect. Now, there's a tablet in the glove compartment, use that to upload your finds and pull up an aerial map."

   "Yes ma'am," He smirked, but did as I said. Still, I noticed a stiffness in his movements.

   "You look wound tight," I said after a few silent moments ticked by.

   He shook his head. "Just... nerves."

   "You weren't nervous when we went after Silas the first time."

   "Because that was different," he looked away. "This time you and the others are on the line."

   I didn't know what to say, my mind drifting to what Optimus would say in a situation like this. He was always able to inspire his teammates, no matter what the situation was. That Prime used his words so well that you were always motivated to do everything he wanted.

   "It'll be hard," I started, trying to channel the Prime. "Because of how personal this is. But remember, caring about what happens to people should never weaken you. It should empower you, motivate you to do what you can to help them. Sure, people like the crazies at MECH want you to think that because you care about others, you have a weakness, but that's only 'cause they don't expect you to be stronger than them. The only reason they'd use this kind of tactic on you is because they're afraid of what you'll do without anything holding you back. That's their mistake. Once you realize caring about others makes you as a person stronger, then they have nothing on you."

   The car went silent for a long moment, making me wonder how Optimus made inspiring people look so easy, until he finally spoke up.

   "Thanks, A," Finn shot me a small smile. "You're right, and I think- I needed to hear that. I really did."

   Nailed it.