[Amanda]
I paced my kitchen, three laptops and a desktop computer humming on the center marble island. Turning my kitchen into a makeshift basement media lab (I seriously had to stop procrastinating and actually set up my things), I had Cam running overtime as she dug through classified military files. While it was harder for her to get through the top level security encryptions, she was making good progress. But not good enough, and impatience was eating me away.
The guy who I had grown so close to over the past year is the nephew of the man who murdered my mom. Just my luck.
Some part of me refused to believe it. He couldn't be in on this, on MECH. He was with me almost every time I faced them, and he fought beside me, not against me. I put my full trust in him, and he never once made me regret that.
Until now.
Another part of me, the logical part, saw the truth behind what I had learned. He always got angry when I thought about facing MECH alone. He always hesitated on letting me look through all their information. I had thought it was because he was being protective, after telling me about what had happened to his old team, but now doubt was creeping through my mind. What if he never wanted me to do so much digging because he didn't want me to find him in the files?
There were so many instances where I didn't trust him, or he acted funny, but I overlooked that. I told myself it was my old way of thinking, that I was just protectively shoving people away from me like I used to.
Ding!
I practically leapt to the laptop that had made the noise, breaking myself right out of my thoughts.
"What do you have, Cam?" I demanded, eyes scanning over the data.
"The unit that Finn claimed he belonged to as an adolescent is inconsistent," Her voice filled the room.
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"It would seem that there are several contradictions that render the group inconsistent. Upon further analysis, I believe the issue stems from the fact that the group seems to be inserted into military timelines, perhaps rendering it fabricated."
"So even the military lied about where Finn came from?" I rocked back.
"Yea, they did," My eyes whipped up to see Finn at the doorway. "Can we talk?"
I put up a hand- I'd been so focused on listening to Cam that I completely missed him arriving- and gave him a hard look. "Don't try to twist things now. Cam is two seconds from telling me everything. Also, stop breaking into my house, this is basically the third time."
He slipped into the kitchen, moving to stand on the other side of the kitchen island. "I know. And I know you followed me earlier today. And that you probably saw and heard everything."
Slight shame filled me, but I ignored it. "So, mind explaining how you ended up being the nephew of the man who murdered my mother, then joined the military and decided to help me take down MECH, only for me to figure out that you ended up being in on it the whole time?"
My voice rose with every word, and I shook with anger. I don't think the truth set in until now, that this could really be true, but seeing his expression now made it true. Anger filled me, and I could feel my powers stirring within me, suddenly charged by my emotions. Finn saw this and stepped forward, putting his hands on my forearms as though to restrain me.
"Before you go nuclear, let me explain," He practically begged.
I took a deep breath. "Fine. You have two minutes."
"What you heard was true. My family has been in charge of MECH for generations, and before Silas, my parents were heads of the organization. They were the ones who made the plans about storming research centers, stealing information, all that jazz. My uncle, Leland Bishop, was the black sheep though. He worked for the military- the Surveillant Intelligence Level and Alliance Supervision division- and he didn't want to lose his position as the head of that division over the fact that his brother and sister-in-law ran a group like MECH. He also didn't want me mixed up in it either, so he convinced them that it was in their best interest to leave me with him. I never really saw my parents, since they were always busy with MECH and all, but Leland was a good substitute. He taught me the ins and outs, some tips and tricks about military training, and I never really gave my parents another thought.
"At least, until they were killed. They were leading a charge on a military base, which held some seriously dangerous nuclear weapons, but the military knew they'd be there. Your mom was the agent working on tracking them, and she did a damn good job. She'd anticipated their attack and brought back up to defend the nuclear weapons, an Autobot named Cliffjumper. With him guarding the dangerous stuff, Ingrid's team was able to capture the MECH agents, and those they couldn't catch, they were forced to kill."
He shook his head. "After the whole thing, my uncle was furious. I don't know, maybe he expected the military would just take my parents in or something, not actually kill them, but whatever he thought wasn't what he got. He let his emotions get in the way of his work, and soon after his division was shut down, thanks to Ingrid Beckett's detection that the S.I.L.A.S division was giving information to MECH. At this point, I basically heard my uncle cursing your mother's name on a daily basis. He'd hated her so much it was scary. I was nine at the time, and I realized it wouldn't be safe for me to stick around anymore, not with my uncle falling closer and closer to becoming as obsessive as my parents.
"I reached out to the military then- I knew a couple of Leland's contacts- and they brought me to Agent Fowler and your mom, since they were partners at the time. They knew that I couldn't just be relocated, because my uncle would only hunt me down, and Ingrid offered to put me on a team with other youth who had some military training. I took the chance, not really knowing what I'd gotten myself into, but it turned out to be great. The team, we became a family, all on the run from the dangerous people after us while tracking other dangerous individuals. I stayed with them until I was thirteen, but then my uncle caught up with me. He was going by the name of Silas now, and he was insisting that I'd join him in leading MECH. When I refused time and time again, he retaliated by having his goons murder my entire team."
His voice broke at that and he glanced away. I chewed my lip, fighting the urge to reach out to him as he continued. "At that point, Agent Fowler was able to take me onto his team, working with the Autobots, even though I wasn't allowed onto the field until much later. So I kept my desk job for about three years, until General Bryce finally let me step up as Fowler's partner and Autobot liaison. You know the story from there."
We fell silent, and Finn ran a hand through his hair, clearly stressed, as I kept my expression neutral.
"I couldn't tell you before, when we were after them," he continued, tone desperate. "I mean, I could have but you were so consumed with finding Silas and MECH that I knew you'd cut me out if I told you. If I gave you any little reason to doubt me, you would have never trusted me again, and I needed you to trust me so that I could make sure you had all the info you needed to actually take them down. I know how it can be, to be weary of everyone and not fully trust a single person, and I know how hard you worked to make yourself let people in again. I couldn't shatter that."
Then he shook his head and began pacing to let out his nerves.
"I don't blame me not telling you on that though, I'm not trying to turn things around. It's on me, it really is, I just-"
"Finn," I sighed, and he whirled around to look at me, eyes wide with anxiety. "I understand."
His jaw dropped. "You- you what?"
"I get it," I admitted. "I was so caught up in getting revenge that I wouldn't have understood back then, but I do now."
"And you- don't you hate me?"
I chewed my lip. "I couldn't, not after everything we've been through. And I can't blame you for wanting to hide the fact that your uncle was the leader of a group of maniacs. I mean, it's not exactly something that would blow over well in conversation. And you left that behind. You're a good guy, Finn, you've done really good things by switching sides." Suddenly drained, I slumped back to lean against the back counter. "I might have shut you out before, but a lot's changed since we first met." I gave him a look. "Like I found out your name is actually Finley."
He huffed a laugh, the tension and nerves draining from him and relief painted across his face. "Not exactly something I like to tell people when we first meet. It makes me sound a hundred years old."
"It sure does," I gave him a small smile, which he returned.
We fell silent again until he moved to stand next to me, our shoulders skimming each other. "So now what?"
"Now you tell me what MECH wants, and what they have on you," I said. "And then we shut them down all over again."
He shook his head. "It's not that simple."
"We're on a team with Cybertronians and helped restore their dead planet. I can lift metal with silver dust, and our friends include a tech genius, a crazy Japanese Wrecker, and a self-proclaimed 'normal guy' who's actually taken out aliens. Nothing's really simple around here."
"Touché," he sighed. "They want me to take Silas' place as head of MECH. It's been a family business, and they want to keep it that way. They think my military training only makes me a better candidate for the job."
"That's absurd," I scoffed.
"Exactly. And believe me, I told them that over and over again, but they're stubborn. So when they finally realized I was being serious about not taking the job, they threatened you guys."
I gave him a look. "That shouldn't be an issue. My manor has some of the best security systems in the country, and I've had my teams install security systems in every house they built in Jasper. Not just anyone can waltz in and threaten us."
"MECH isn't just anyone," Finn insisted. "You've seen what they're capable of. They built Nemesis Prime, remember? That was the real deal, Amanda, and not something you can ward off with your security system, no matter how good it is."
Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, I shrugged. "So how exactly have they gone about threatening us?"
"They've built it again."
"Huh?"
"They have another Nemesis Prime. Only this one is the new and improved model."