Day Three.
Fowler stepped into the Autobots base mid-day, seeing only the Autobots, but that was logical, considering the children were at school.
Optimus looked over at the government liason and stepped forward.
"Agent Fowler, what brings you to the base today?" He questioned.
"Remember that day you all found Vic?" He asked. "Have you checked that area again for the signal?"
Ratchet glanced over. "It's gone. Disappeared almost immediately after the Decepticons left. Whatever they were hiding out there, they took it back with them."
"Or they had a shield." Fowler suggested. "And they managed to cloak it back up during the fight."
"Perhaps." Optimus nodded. "We will look into it."
Fowler nodded.
"On the other hand, Agent Fowler, I would like to request your assistance." Optimus told him.
"With what?"
Optimus frowned. "The circumstances upon which Victoria found us were... questionable. I would appreciate it if you would speak to her mother."
Fowler raised an eyebrow. "Why so? You didn't want to investigate the other three kids when they bumbed into Arcee and Bumblebee."
"Yes." Optimus agreed slowly. "I have a feeling this time."
"We're making strategic decisions in the middle of an intergalactic war based off of your feelings?" Fowler frowned.
"It's Optimus Prime." Arcee rolled her eyes. "His feelings are what keeps the Autobots on the side of the angels."
Arcee looked away and mumbled something under her breath. "Because I would have beat up a lot more bots otherwise."
Agent Fowler sighed. "Alright, I'll check on her. Since you're so determined to get it done, mind accompanying me, Optimus? We have things to talk about."
Optimus nodded and transformed, opening his door for the man.
The ride through Jasper was much faster, now that all the minors in the entire town were all trapped inside the school building. The house were Victoria's mother lived was a picture of Jasper wealth, almost making the dry, tan ground seem like it was appreciated.
"Here's my stop." Fowler huffed, stepping out and moving closer.
Optimus frowned, wishing he could follow the agent inside, but alas, he was both an alien and far too large.
Fowler on the other hand, wished he could go back to the base and get as far away from that crazy woman as possible. She'd kind of scared him when he'd mentioned Victoria the first time.
Hesitantly, he knocked on the front door.
There was a long wait before the door swung open suddenly and the woman stepped out, pointing a shotgun at Fowler's head. His eyes widened like saucers and he immediately put his hands up, taking a step back.
"Woah, Ms. Raider!" He exclaimed. "I'm not here to do anything!"
"I told you people to leave me alone!" She yelled. "Get off my property and get out of my town! I don't want anything to do with you!"
Fowler laughed nervously. "Why don't we just sit down, put the weapons away, and have a nice, civilized talk about this?"
The woman stepped closer, forcing Agent Fowler to step down the stairs and closer to Optimus. Her face was a picture of fury and anger.
"NO!" Ms. Raider screamed, her head shaking like a crazy woman. "I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE! I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH VICTORIA!"
Fowler blinked, stumbling over a rock and landing on his butt. "What are you talking about?"
The woman opened her mouth again, about to continue screaming at the agent, but a loud crack sounded through the air. Fowler and the woman stared at each other in shock.
She dropped the gun.
And fell backward, landing on the hard ground, blood seeping through her shirt.
Fowler immediately scrambled over and checked her pulse, but she was dead. He whirled around, his eyes sweeping over the landscape.
His eyes landed on the first sight of movement, a flash of silver from someone across the street on the roof of another house. The figure readjusted their aim, pointing their gun at Agent Fowler.
The liason immediately moved, lunging behind Optimus's alternative mode just as they opened fire. Fowler pulled out his gun and jumped up, shooting at the roof.
The figure dropped down and rolled before popping back up and running off. Fowler glared. He wasn't in the right shape to be chasing rooftop killers.
He turned around and located the bullet that had missed him, which was buried half an inch into the ground. He picked it up.
Fowler might not be in prime physical shape, but he had more than enough connections and intelligence to find out who was responsible for this.
He glanced at Victoria's mother before getting back into Optimus's alternative mode.
Neither of them spoke.
Fowler simply pulled out his phone and contacted the local law enforcement.
The ride back to base was silent, but that wasn't because there was no information. Just the opposite.
"I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE! I WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH VICTORIA!"
Clearly, now more than ever, Optimus was sure that something about Victoria Raider was amiss.
"What do you suggest we do?" Fowler asked quietly.
Optimus drove past the school building slowly. "Wait."
▪️◾◼⬛◼◾▪️
Optimus waited outside of the school building, his alternative mode sitting in the far back of the parking lot. It did not take long for Victoria to come walking up to the car, a grin on her face.
She patted his hood and hopped inside.
"Hey Optimus!" Victoria greeted cheerfully. "How was your day?"
"Fine." He answered lightly. "How was yours?"
Victoria's grin somehow grew wider. "It was wonderful! Raf and I had so much fun."
"That is good to hear." Optimus replied.
Victoria looked out the window. "So how long have you guys been on Earth?"
"About a decade." He answered calmly.
"How do you like it?" She questioned. "Compared to Cybertron."
Optimus hesitated. "Earth has many... perks, but I will always cherish my homeworld more."
Victoria nodded. "What was it like? Tell me everything about Cybertron."
Optimus drove into the base and transformed. "Perhaps another time. I have work to attend to."
Victoria deflated completey. "Oh. Okay."
Optimus's stomach twisted guiltily, but he turned away and went over to the human area, where Arcee was talking to Jack.
"-thinks that 16 year olds in Jasper Nevada need a boaters license!?" Jack exclaimed. "It's insane!"
Arcee glanced over at Optimus as he approached and she stood a little taller. "Optimus."
"Arcee." He replied calmly before turning to Jack. "May I borrow your charge for a moment?"
Arcee looked back and forth between the confused human and stoic Prime before reluctantly nodding.
Optimus held out his hand to Jack and then carried the human to the roof of their base, where Agent Fowler was waiting.
"What's going on?" Jack questioned slowly.
Optimus set him down.
"Maybe just a bunch of paranoid men and bots." Fowler frowned. "Or something that'll have Uncle Sam pulling a knife out his boot."
Optimus nodded. "Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary from Victoria?"
"Aside from her 'girl problems' yesterday? I don't know. Maybe when she beat up Vince and his friends. They're kind of tough." Jack stated.
Optimus and Fowler raised an eyebrow, having not been part of the high school drama discussion the first time.
"Vince." Agent Fowler frowned. "Her brother..."
The two adults shared a look.
Jack frowned. "Uh, mind telling me what's going on? Why do you guys want to know about Victoria? Is something wrong?"
"Where was Victoria today around 12:45?" Fowler questioned.
Jack paused and looked up, trying to remember the new girl's schedule. "Lunch with Raf, I think. He told me that they went over calculus homework together."
"So she didn't shoot Ms. Raider." Fowler bit his lip in thought.
"What!?" Jack exclaimed. "Someone shot Ms. Raider!?"
"What do you know about Victoria's family?" Optimus asked.
"Vince and Victoria have different dads. Vince's dad is died in the military. Victoria's mom hates Victoria." Jack answered quickly. "Not much, I guess, but what happened to Ms. Raider?"
"Victoria told me she wasn't related to any military people." Fowler scowled. "So was that a lie or does she not consider Vince's dad her family?"
"What does it matter?" Jack asked. "What's going on? What happened to Ms. Raider."
"She's dead." Optimus stated. "She was shot today when Fowler and I went to visit her."
"By who!?" Jack exclaimed.
"We don't know." Fowler huffed. "But I sent a bullet to my friends and they're analyzing it now."
Jack frowned. "Does Victoria know?"
"Don't tell her." Fowler immediately ordered. "Whatever you do, do not mention this conversation to anyone. The last person I tried to talk to about Victoria Raider was snipped."
Jack gulped.
"I'll put the bots on extra alert." Optimus assured the younger human. "Until then, all we can do is watch and wait."
"Watch and wait for what exactly?" Jack asked.
Optimus glanced toward the horizon, a disturbed look on his face. "A sign."