Change of Law and Heart

Chapter 28: Contacted by the Enemy

I have some exciting news! The rewritten version of The Time of Night is Midnight will be coming out on Friday!

The cool breeze of Maine gently blew my hair out of my face. It was about mid day on this lovely afternoon, barely a cloud in the sky and the sun shining down on us. Bumblebee and I have been driving around my section for most of the morning and checking out for anything out of normal. Nothing, completely silent too.

One of the things I hated about this job, it can be a crazy day before and the next is silent. I stood outside of my truck and watched the cars pass by me on the road. Bee had parked himself to the right of my truck, on the higher side. There were large potholes in the little hide-away spot that the Camaro had trouble going over.

With the twins out of commission until Sides is healed enough for Ratchet's liking, they'll be stuck at the base. So Bee took up the offer to become my temporary guardian. The scout is fun to hang around and likes to crack jokes when the time calls.

"Squirrel! I like... Squirrel!" Bee began a conversation and drew a laugh from me. I peered over the robot in disguise and noticed the animal he was talking about on his hood. It was a simple Eastern gray squirrel, native to Maine.

Since winter has came, I surprised to see the little guy there. The squirrel should be back its nest, not out here. Seeing them at this time was leaning more on the uncommon side but isn't completely out of the ordinary. "It's an Eastern grey squirrel, Bee. He shouldn't really be out and about. He seems to be in great health so nothing to be worried about," I educated the young mech.

"He's a... cutie! I wanna, I wanna keep... him. What do you say?" Bee seemed to raise himself higher on his wheels as if he was showing the squirrel off. It froze, tail no longer flickering, and waited a few moments. He's going to scare it by moving if he keeps that up.

"Sorry, Bee. He's in great health, no reason why he should be taken from his home," I disagreed with Bee and leaned against the push bars on the front of my forest green truck.

Bumblebee lowered his front to the ground and made a sputtering sound, as if his engine failed to start. The squirrel froze once more at the movement before jumping off and heading into the forest behind us. "Squirrel! Why have... you done this?" I stepped up to the sadden mech and patted his hood in sympathy.

"You'll live without your squirrel. You ready to hit the road?" It was time to head back out, there wasn't anyone here wanting to break the law. Not that I'm saying to do so, but give me something to do.

"Hit the road Jack and don't you come back. No more, no more, no more, no more." The song 'Hit the Road Jack by Ray Charles' filtered from his speakers. A smile graced my lips and I laughed in reaction.

"Good one, Bee. Let's get going!" The scout revved his engine and lurched forward, showing his readiness for the road. I hopped into my patrol truck and headed onto the road with Bee in tow.

There was nothing going over on the radio and no calls coming from dispatch. Three days back after my long vacation and I thought it would be hectic. Yet, there was barely anything happening in any part of the state. With nothing to keep me busy, something either extremely good or bad is going to happen, no in between.

The light in front of me was red and forced me to stop and wait for it to turn green. That's when I got a call on my phone and answered it nearly the second after. "Hello, this is Officer Lambert speaking."

It was silent. I became irritated quickly from the call not being important on any level and was about to hang up. "Hang up, fleshie and I'll blow you and the scout up," a dark, sinister voice rang from the speakers of my truck. One I remembered from my time with him, it wasn't a pleasant time.