Brian and Sam got all that they needed and thanked Ron for himself. The two exited the building with the passports, IDs and papers in hand. As well as their fake visas. As soon as they were out in the open, the cameras picked up their faces again, alerting those in Cemetery Wind to their movement.
"They're on the move again," Savoy said into his earpiece.
"Boots are fifteen minutes away from touchdown" an operator responded.
"Keep eyes on them and that vehicle. Do not lose them!" he commanded.
"How did it go?" Jetstream asked as the two men sat down inside him.
"It all went well. Ron got us everything we need. He even helped us get a country" Brian answered.
"We're going to Burundi" Sam added.
"Burundi?" Jet questioned. He hopped on the internet and decided to do some digging. He looked at their politics, their economy, their international relations and how the CIA worked there. "Seems like a solid choice to me. Travelling with so many passengers, my seats can't accommodate that"
"Ron hooked us up with one of his pals. He's gonna cover transport" Brian answered.
"Human transport with papers that can be tracked to someone? Nah. Just get me to the place; I'll handle the rest"
"Whatever you say?" Sam said, glancing at Brian, unsure of what to think about Jet's statements.
The engine cranked to life, and Jetstream pulled out of his parked spot. The cameras followed Jet as they drove away, trying to map where they would go. The two guys were on the lookout for a good store. They needed to get food and the essentials: the kids were bound to be really hungry by now. They pulled into a supermarket after spending half an hour on the road. Jetstream fabricated an ATM card for them, made a fake account and wired some money into it so they could use it to pay.
"Keep your communicator on, Brian. If things don't go through, I could pull some strings"
"Thanks man. Keep an eye out for us while we're inside"
"You got it"
As the men walked into the store, they didn't know that a timer had started ticking. Cemetery Wind had men in the area and was on their way to the supermarket. They were given a police escort to move through traffic quickly; every second counted. Their priority was food, then you had some essential stuff like brushes, soap and deodorant and finally some clothes, but they needed to satisfy their hunger first. Fruits, snacks, anything that could be eaten on the go.
As time went on and they filled their carts, the sirens began to close in, and Jet could feel it. They were coming; the CIA had gotten to them. He had to warn the boys, time to wrap it up and burn some rubber.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we've got trouble closing in. Pack it up and get out of there"
"Copy" Brian responded.
"What's the problem?" Sam asked.
"Trouble is on its way. Scan, bag and get the hell out of here"
Sam nodded and followed his lead. The two walked quickly to the scanning area and scanned their stuff. The sirens grew closer and closer, and Jetstream began to feel the pressure. Sam was losing his cool as well; he wasn't scanning stuff correctly and was wasting time. Brian stepped in and helped him out, but it was too late. The Police arrived.
Cemetery Wind vehicles drove into the parking lot, blocking the front door. The Police closed all entrances and exits; no one was leaving the supermarket unless they were allowed to.
"Block the doors. Scan the aisles. Find those men" Savoy ordered. "Get me the surveillance in that place"
Men began walking through the doors, equipped with blacked-out tactical gear. Sam and Brian were done, but now they had to get out. Jetstream couldn't get them without causing a scene. Civilians will get caught in the crossfire, and they don't want any casualties.
"Jet. Come in Jet" Brian whispered aggressively as he and Sam weaved through the aisles.
"I hear you. You guys are boxed in. I can't get to y'all without things turning into a firefight"
"I know. Can you meet us at any of the exits?"
"I'll hack their cams and look for the least guarded door. I'll lead you to where we can meet up"
Jetstream placed himself into the mainframe of their security system. Just as Cemetery Wind tapped their feed, he cut them out, blinding them. It was a huge step toward getting out of there. Sam and Brian moved quickly as they felt the men approaching. They caught glances of them moving behind them.
"I got a route. You have to go up. There's an employee door on the third floor that leads out the back. I'll get you guys in and drive there. You have to get out because once I move, they will be on our asses"
"We got it" Brian replied. "Sam, we gotta haul ass"
"Don't take the escalator, use the stairs. Concealed and not out in the open" Jet advised.
The duo pushed through the door on the left, the door closing just as the agents turned the corner. As they walked out of the stairwell, they found two men standing with their backs turned to them. Both of them paused for a second, stunned that they had gotten up already. They walked behind the mannequins on display to their left just as they turned. They walked past a row of canned foods, and Brian noticed an operator approaching them.
"Sam" he whispered sharply.
Sam stopped just as he spoke. Brian grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. He used his body to shield his face as he held up a can of tomatoes and engaged him in a conversation.
"Is this what Linda asked us to buy? We don't want to get it wrong like last time"
"Yeah, I think it is. You can double check with her" he said as the operator walked on to their path, scanning for them.
"I remember how it tasted after she prepared the sauce. Everything turned sour; it was terrible"
"Oh, don't remind me. She kept bringing it up in every conversation for over a week"
"She put you through it" Sam said as the two shared a light chuckle.
The man turned around and continued his search, oblivious to the fact that they stood right in front of him. They continued on their way to the next flight of stairs. Every corner had an official scanning for them. The manhunt was real.
"We're almost there Jet" said Brian.
"Once you're almost at the door, let me know"
The two men increased their pace as Sam noticed men pulling people over and asking for an ID.
"They're pulling people over man. I think we have to change clothes"
Brian opened the door to the stair case and both men went it. They took off their clothes and switched to the new ones they bought.
"This should throw them off, I think" Brian said.
"Let's hope so"
They left their clothes on the floor and pulled out the tags to make them seem 'natural'. Both of them put on face caps and sunglasses to hide their facial features better. They came out of the stairs and found two men questioning a family for their identification. Brian spotted the door, it was about 100 meters away from them.
"Spotted the door Sam. We just play cool and we're home free"
There was only a tiny problem. The door was out there in the open and had 'authorized access only' written boldly in red.
"Jet, we're almost at the door. Why didn't you tell us that it was out in the open?" Brian said as they walked over to it.
"It was the closest one. All others were already under watch"
"Shit" he cursed.
"I'm on my way"
Jetstream started his engine and was ready to drive up the parking lot to their location. Just as they neared the door, one of the men noticed them. It was an authorized door yet civilians were approaching it.
"Hey you two" he called. "Why are you walking towards that door?"
Brian and Sam froze, the door was right in front of them, basically five feet away and now they got stopped. The air became thick and tense, sweat formed on their skin and rolled down. Breathing became a task as adrenaline rushed into their bloodstream.
"I asked you two a question. Why are you walking towards that door?" he asked again, his voice becoming more aggressive.
The man began approaching, and they knew he was going to ask them to take off their cap and glasses. The door itself opened as Jetstream had hacked the system but the two men were stuck. Just as they were within arm's reach, gunshots went off above. The man stopped, his attention was diverted and now was the time to move. With his eyes away, they sprinted to the door.
"Hey!" he yelled, trying to stop them, but then an explosion went off.
They ran through the large row of goods and boxed items and opened the final door. They came out the back to the loading area where trucks were parked. The two looked around but there was no sign of Jetstream.
"Where is he?!" Sam asked.
Before Brian could contact him, he drove at them really quickly before slamming on his brakes. The Viper screeched to a halt and threw his doors open.
"Get in" the Autobot said.
They wasted no time getting in with their groceries as Jetstream sped off.
"Where were you?" Brian asked.
"I had to cause a little distraction to make sure no one was on to you. Drew their attention away so you could get to the door" he explained.
"So the gunshots and explosions?" asked Sam.
"All me. Hit the little barrier the cops made"
"Okay"
Jetstream drove to the entrance of the loading bay, and two cop cruisers parked there. Seeing the muscle car and the way it drove, they knew it was the suspects they were looking for. They opened fire, but it did not deter him. He smashed through the two vehicles and was on the road.
"Sam and Brian just left in an Autobot. They are driving down Cooper Street. Get out of the supermarket and catch them" Savoy instructed over the radio.
"That's going to leave a mark"
"You think they'll follow us?" Sam asked.
Sirens began to blare behind them as soon as he finished talking.
"I think you got your answer" Brian said.
Cemetery Wind chased after them, driving recklessly through the civilians and opened fire on Jetstream. He took some bullets to the back, but nothing made it through to the guys inside.
"They're shooting at us" Sam said, keeping his head below the dashboard.
Jetstream switched lanes and drove through oncoming traffic. The erratic, unpredictable behavior of the people swerving nearby should help them evade their pursuers. The operators continued to spray bullets at them sporadically. Jetstream moved from side to side, taking cover behind civilian vehicles, but it didn't stop them.
Jetstream took a hard right, drifting through traffic in a fine balance between chaos and control. The modified vehicles followed, even though some crashed on their own. He slithered through traffic as more bullets came flying their way. He pulled out of the lane and went through the city streets. He made multiple turns trying to shake them off, but they were as tenacious as cockroaches. He ran red lights, which helped take out one vehicle, and a Tram took out another. All that was left was one more, the one that had been spraying bullets from the start. Jetstream got ahead of a pickup truck and used it to keep space between himself and their weapons. His moves from side to side were mirrored by them; with every clear chance they had, they fired some shots at him.
"Okay, I'm pissed"
The top of the car began to peel off, with a part of Jetstream taking shape. The floor panels beneath them shifted, spreading apart as more of his upper body formed. The seats reclined back fully, the rear glass, trunk and spoiler also transformed, giving him his left hand, parts of his chest and his head. His plasma cannon armed itself as he aimed at the group.
"Say hello to the devil for me"
He shot directly at the engine, taking it out and causing the driver to lose control. The car moved to the side quickly and lost balance sending them into a series of somersaults and cartwheels.
"Dumb fucks"
He reverted to normal and floored it, blasting past traffic. Dino and Bumblebee took the families to a rundown apartment complex on the outskirts of town. They were anxious, they had waited for hours but there was no word for them until the sound of his V10 started approaching. Their eyes lit up as soon as they heard him approaching; their dads were back. Jetstream drove into the building with multiple bullet holes in his back glass, his trunk and rear bumper, his side bumpers and his doors. Any normal vehicle would be totaled with the amount of damage he incurred.
He stopped in the middle of them and opened his doors.
"Back to your families safe and sound" he said.
The kids rushed to their dads, greeting them with tight hugs. The other two Autobots were left wondering what they had encountered.
"Jetstream, what on Earth happened to you?" Dino asked.
The bot transformed, bullets falling out from his frame as he expanded.
"Our assailants from earlier tracked us. I did my best to lose them but they had to send some parting gifts" he said, stretching his back.
"We are glad… you all… came back… safe.." said Bee.
"We got you guys clothes, brushes, everything" Brain said, distributing
"Bumblebee told us that you went to get us some passports" Carly said.
"Yes. We got them" Sam answered.
"That means we are travelling to a new country?" asked Brian's wife. Linda was her name.
"Yeah. Ron got us a good place and someone to help us travel" Brian responded.
"Dad, where are we going?" his first son asked.
"We are going to the African continent. To a country called Burundi"