Chapter Eighteen
The handsome old office building was in the throes of reconstruction. Because of that and the concurrent absence of furniture, there was only construction detritus to block Frankie and Mac?s way: gallons of paint, half-assembled scaffolding, yards of plastic sheeting, rolls of fiberglass insulation, bags and packages, and stacks of refuse. No use looking for a functional elevator, they saw right away: that was also undergoing renovation.
?Let?s just take the stairs!? Mac excitedly suggested, and they bolted upward as the building shook from the shock of nearby explosions.
A gigantic metal skull crashed through the floor they had just surmounted. Turning to look upward, it shone dark lenses on the ascending forms of Frankie and Mac. Five massive fingers thrust upward, reaching. They leaped for the next landing as the hand smashed into the stairs they had just vacated.
?Man! This is insane!!? Frankie exclaimed.
The roof was empty, deserted, and undamaged. Mac?s fingers fumbled with the flare, nearly dropping it. Halfway to the edge of the building it suddenly ignited. By great good fortune, it happened to do so as it was pointing upward. The bright ball of light snared skyward, an unmissable, unmistakable beacon that screamed, ?Here, we?re here!?
The Black Hawk chopper appeared at the side of the building before the flare had fallen halfway back to Earth. Standing on the skid facing the roof, an army commando reached out and down with both arms, extending himself as far as he could.
?Grab my hands! My hands!? he yelled.
Handing the Cube over to Mac, Frankie gave him direct orders. ?Here. Take this and go first.?
Mac leaned out, the gale from the hovering copter buffeting both him and Frankie, threatening to blind them with their own windblown hair. It seemed a long, long way between them and the chopper. It was certainly a long, long way to the pavement far below. Easing himself forward and holding tightly to the Cube with one hand, Mac reached out with the other.
Then the world suddenly blew up in his face.
Stunned and thrown backward along with Frankie by the force of the explosion, Mac struggled to see through the rain of flaming copter debris landing all around them. Scrambling to the building?s edge and peering out and down, Frankie and Mac were just in time to see an F-22 go thundering past. It looked up at them, electric with menace. Starscream again.
A distraught Sean tracked the wreckage of the flaming Black Hawk as it spiraled downward. ?No, no, no!? He turned away as it slammed into the street and exploded. When he looked up again, his eyes encountered a massive pair of lenses?questioning, not threatening. Whirling, he pointed to the top of the tall building.
?Mac and Frankie! They?re up there! They?re in trouble!? The head of the enormous mechanoid tilted back to follow Sean?s lead and considered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bringing the tow truck around, Bloo hurried out with Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco and around the back. They found the tow chains stored and waiting where they ought to be. Pulling them out, they dragged them over to the recumbent Bumblebee and began draping them around metal shoulders. The procedure didn?t take long.
?Hold on. We?re going help you?if that?s okay.? Wilt told Bumblebee.
Locating the correct lever and pushing it down drew the chains taut and hauled the yellow-and-black shape erect. But all the seriously wounded robot could do was sit upright.
Just as Bloo was trying to decide which street to flee down, another shape appeared. The transformed tank, Devastator, had recovered sufficiently to rejoin the battle. Firing in their direction, its first blast knocked them off their feet. Dazed, Bloo and the others struggled to recover their senses. Using the truck for cover, they hurried forward and managed to slip into the cab.
?Let?s
bloo this!? Bloo exclaimed with a grin. ?See? It sounds much cooler when it?s
me who?s saying it.?
?No?it doesn?t.? Wilt remarked.
?Sí.? Eduardo agreed.
?Coco. Coco.?
Bloo just scoffed at the three. ?Whatever!? Flooring the accelerator, he drove the truck back into battle.
Taking cover in a badly damaged building, Sean and his comrades had to sprint and dodge to avoid one strike after another from Devastator. Given a brief respite as their hulking hunter sought their latest hiding place, Sean called a squad of Sector Seven commandos to him.
?We?re three stories here,? he told them, breathing hard as he indicated the surrounding structure. ?Get up on the top floor and try to get a better angle on this thing. We?ll keep it busy down here.? The squad leader nodded his comprehension and gestured at his comrades. They rushed for the stairs, leaving Sean and the others behind.
Screeching around the last corner, Bloo found himself back on the periphery of the ongoing melee?and behind Devastator. In front of the tank, he and the others could see soldiers popping up and down inside a building to fire in the direction of the transformed tank, and the robot responding by unleashing periodic pulse blasts in their direction. Devastator gave no indication that he was aware of the presence behind him.
?You?re going down, clown!? Bloo screamed wildly, gripping the wheel tightly in both hands and flooring the accelerator, dragging Bumblebee between abandoned cars. The robot?s wide body snapped off doors as the tow truck gathered speed.
?We?ll aim, you shoot!? Bloo yelled back out the open window. Appropriately angry music?the heavy metal was not unexpected?blasted understandingly from the robot?s torso as he readied an arm cannon.
A precisely aligned shot from the injured robot screamed past the imaginary friends inside the cab, followed closely by a second. Both pulse blasts slammed into the rear of the transformed Devastator, splintering the air intake while lifting the back of the tank completely off the ground. The robot landed, ruined and smoking in the street.
?Muy bien shot, senor Bumblebee!? Eduardo exclaimed out the window.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Frankie and Mac huddled on the rooftop wondering what to do next, an enormous shape erupted from the stairwell behind them, shattering the roof and sending chunks of it splattering in all directions. Through the flying debris, they both saw a dark form rise up and up.
Fear suddenly beginning to take over, Frankie whispered to Mac, ?Hold on to me close. It?s going to be okay.?
?CLEVER INSECTS.? Megatron was looking directly at them. Frankie could only look back. There was nowhere left to go. A huge hand extended in their direction. ?IT IS OVER. GIVE ME THE CUBE.?
Scrambling to the edge of the roof, Frankie took a look over the side, nearly vomited, and hung on to her small glowing burden. ?Try asking that again, tin-head! And I bet a million I won?t hand it over to ya!?
?I ADMIRE YOUR ARMOR. BOLD WORDS FROM SUCH A TINY, FRAGILE ORGANISM. WORDS ARE PRAISEWORTHY. METAL IS BETTER.? The fingers gestured. ?THE CUBE. NOW.?
Chests heaving, Frankie and Mac crawled a little further, until their heads and parts of their upper bodies were hanging over the drop. Mac bravely told Megatron, ?We are
never giving it to you!? Rolling suddenly to their right, they sprinted toward the opposite edge. Through the settling dust, they had spotted a double loop of metal there?a fire ladder, hanging over the side.
END OF CHAPTER EIGHTEEN