"Hey Strascream," Marissa received silence as his reply, "would the Autobots be able to track just Barricade? You said something about cloaking technology, rather, your superiority on the matter. Does he have the same?"

         "I wouldn't say 'the same'." Her captor admitted, noting the woman's face was rather pale and her lips chapped from being cold. "However, Barricade does have a similar device that masks his signal." Being in a better mood, Starscream found no reason not to answer her question honestly, though in a rather bored tone.

     There was a pause as Marissa thought, rubbing the bracelet on her wrist gingerly. She was tempted to part with it, just to be back on the ground. It was freezing and the turns Starscream would make at random was beginning to take a toll on her already rattled brain. However, if she didn't have the bracelet, it was unlikely either would bring her along anymore, and she wouldn't ever get to the bottom of their motive. Simply wanting the unknown device wasn't enough of an answer. 

         Did they want to destroy something with it, or create something with it? 

         What even was on her wrist, anyway?

     The two racers she had been enjoying the company of didn't have much to go on either, and Blurr didn't say anything about the other Autobots might knowing what they were chasing after. For all anyone knew, the thing on her wrist might as well be a useless trinket with not a single ounce of power. Just some Cybertronian anomaly.

         "I want to know what this thing is," Marissa stated, "so if I leave the bracelet with you, and go with Barricade so you don't have to worry about me freezing to death in your cockpit, will you let me stay with you guys?"

     The request was certainly an odd one. The Seeker didn't want to keep the woman, so lying would be the perfect way to simply be rid of her. Once again, a little sliver of conscience was pinching him enough to consider actually keeping his word. Starscream hated the idea of the putrid smelling human actually growing on him, but with the measly 4 hours she had been with him, they held nothing but rather pleasant conversation. Except for his occasional insult, but Marissa either ignored it or offered a retort.

         "You've experienced the niceties of the Autobots and yet feel you are safe enough to trust even I?" He asked skeptically. Perhaps it was a trap, and this woman was merely tricking him into dropping her off with Barricade so she could be rescued again.

         "No," came the honest answer, "but you're not all that bad when you talk about your interests. Why you're that comfortable around me already, I don't know, but I'm honored you feel able to share things like how beautiful Cybertron was."

         "I'm sure you've heard about my craftiness as the Decepticon Second in Command, does that not concern you, fleshling?" He added an extra bite to his tone, testing the woman.

         "Of course, you could have been lying this whole time." She shrugged, rubbing her arms to fend off the already intruded chill. "Or just making me feel comfortable and ultimately think you're the good guys."

         "Then why on Cybertron are you offering to let me have the trinket!" 

     Now greatly confused, Starscream thought back to all of their conversations. Marissa had appeared and sounded greatly intrigued by the concepts of space, aerodynamics, Decepticon technology and Cybertron, so she wasn't likely using reverse psychology. A con artist can see another from miles away and this human held no sign of being such. 

         "I don't know." She shrugged, bringing the cold metal bracelet to her face. She touched it to her cheek, feeling it warm to her touch as she smiled softly. "It's just a feeling. That it's safe with you."

     This was greatly illogical. Starscream knew this woman had heard at least a little bit of his and Barricade's brutality and lack of mercy yet here she was, contradicting her own words and logical thought. 

         'Femmes.' The flier huffed. 'It doesn't matter what species they are. They're all glitched!'

         "Fine." He huffed. "No guarantees Barricade won't just dump you on the side of the road! He's not prone to bending to a human's will."

         "Yes, because you're absolutely bending to my will, Starscream." Marissa, tightened her ponytail, holding tightly to the pilot's seat before Starscream turned. 

     The feeling was so abrupt the woman in his subspace doubted any human aircraft could achieve it. She felt bile rise up in her throat as his speed increased, a means to avoid the two Velocitronians catching up on the roads. An unlikely happening with air superiority but was Starscream going to take a chance when he had to land to drop off the irritatingly kind human?

         No.

     Who cared if she became a little flat from the G-force? As human males would claim: she didn't have much anyway. 

     Starscream wondered if insulting her that way would get a rise out of the woman, as most he had observed considered it a sore subject. Alas, he wasn't able to insult her as he neared Barricade's location after sending him a message that the woman needed to ride with him for a time due to being cold. The interrogator had several choice curses to announce at the idea, but the Seeker offered the idea that she was merely a bargaining chip in case the Autobots were to catch up or outsmart them in some impossible way. If they were left alone, the human woman would be unharmed.

         :If the Autobots follow me, which they surely will,: Starscream chuckled darkly, :they will have no idea where their precious human has gone, and all I need to do is send you the word, and she perishes!:

         :An idiotic fail-safe but I question how you were able to convince the fleshling to simply give you the device after definitely talking to the Autobots! Knockout for sure explained Decepticon brutality and the danger she is once again in.: Barricade growled. He didn't like how this was panning out. Knowing Starscream, he might just ditch him and never be seen again until he had identified their query. 

         :I will admit, it's a puzzle, Barricade.: His honesty was startling, silencing the grounder. He knew an honest tone, having resorted to torture methods for so long, and Starscream's was not one to be missed. :The idiot simply said she feels it's safe with me. A large mistake as you know but separating her from the trinket was the goal and now it is within reach! Keeping the brat won't do any harm, and you are not the one being chased!:

     Another bout of silence. No, keeping the human wasn't exactly preferred but her presence could be tolerated enough. Starscream was right, she could still be a bargaining chip; a tool they could easily dispose of when needed. Stopping at gas stations wasn't an enjoyed past-time but Barricade really wasn't the one being chased so it wouldn't be too much of a problem. 

         :How are you going to make the drop-off without looking suspicious?: He questioned, so Starscream knew his colleague was agreeing to the idea.

         :Just be ready to catch the package. Listen for the scream and you'll know where she'll be.:

     His dark, delighted chuckle stayed on the line for a minute before the comm cut out. Barricade merely sighed, changing his directory just enough to be unseen by passersby. He knew he'd have to transform in order to catch the bug, and there wasn't much time to plan where exactly she was going to fall from so listened intently. When the charging engines of Starscream began to form in his audio, the mech prepared his gears for the pickup. 

         'Where does he think the trinket will go when he rolls over, anyway?' The mech huffed. 'Unless he's got a smaller subspace.'

     Amidst his thoughts, the scream was heard, and Barricade's engine roared to boost himself closer to the pickup site. He contemplated simply letting the woman fall to her death and claim he couldn't make it, but something told him to wait for another opportunity. Marissa was caught mid-air, and Barricade transformed around her, redirecting his tires to get back on the road as if nothing had happened. His new passenger breathed heavily as she looked around, adrenaline from her sudden fall making her dizzy.

         "I'm going to remove every bolt from his body until he falls apart- that asshole!"

     She craned her neck to look up, out Barricade's passenger window. He had miscalculated where she would end up sitting so was now stuck with her in his front seat. The woman either didn't mention it or didn't notice as she spewed human profanities Barricade had to research. He didn't need to know what they meant to understand Marissa was absolutely livid, though.

         "Get used to it." He chuffed after she stopped her ranting to catch a breath. If she was cold, then by now she was far too hot just from anger alone. "That's how Decepticons are."

         "The Autobots must be a breath of fresh air, then." Came the haughty response. "Good gravy, I'm going to die just from my heart giving out on me. Not a dull moment with you guys, is there?"

         "You are confusing."

         "How so?"

     Not having realized he said it out loud, Barricade ignored her question, favoring silence and the rumble of the road. 

     Marissa was respectful of his silent wants, so quieted her grumbling, favoring to rub her soar hand and curl up in Barricade's seat. She hadn't been suspicious when Starscream told her to place the bracelet in a small compartment, but when he started to roll, she had understood. Sure the bracelet was safe with him but was she? Absolutely not. There was a very slim chance Barricade was actually going to catch her, so she was very grateful that he had. 

         "You think you're up for our five minutes of silence game?" Marissa questioned.

         "Your next question will be ten minutes already."

         "Duly noted." The woman rolled her eyes, her body shaking from the temperature difference that wasn't quite realized by her body. She rubbed her arms and sneezed, careful not to spew snot all over her ride's dash. "I wanted to know about Cybertron. What was it like?"

     Was this why she wanted to ride with him? Barricade didn't think a human would hold any interest in his home planet, not enough to risk being killed or dropped on the side of the road. 

         Did she ask Starscream this question already?

         Would the Seeker have even given an answer to such a question?

     Barricade supposed there was no harm in giving a small answer, but it was unlikely this human would be on their side much longer, if she was at all. Why should he amuse the woman with stories of home? Marissa Faireborn was becoming far more obsolete than she likely realized now that she had given up the bracelet. 

     The interrogator heard the alien in his front seat sneeze again, so let his heater warm the fleshling without much thought. He only truly acknowledged what he had done when Marissa hummed a small 'thank you' after whipping her hands out to hover over one of his heaters. Barricade remained silent, still contemplating whether or not telling the brunette about Cybertron was worth the trouble.

         "What did Starscream tell you?" He decided to ask, assuming that was their previous conversation.

         "It's not like you to ask questions." Marissa sniffed, wiping her nose on the cuff of her flannel. "He described the sky, and space. Said there were buildings taller than Mount Everest and Kilimanjaro combined that were specifically made for Seekers and other fliers. It sounded beautiful." She smiled softly, glad her captor had been willing to talk a little more about his home when she had woken up again.

     Barricade understood why Starscream described his situation as a puzzle. Marissa herself was puzzling, considering she definitely knew the danger she was in with him and the Seeker. Despite this, she still felt she could ask these questions and act like there was nothing wrong?

         "He spoke of nothing else?"

         "Not of anything about the ground." She shrugged, finally sitting back in her seat as she watched the sun set. "He really loves the sky. From what he described, I can understand why. Cybertron was nothing like Earth is." Her smile was dreamy as she imagined the three suns again, and amber colored stars during the day.

     Barricade huffed.

         "Of course, he would neglect telling you about the surface." It was rather insulting. The cop car decided he wasn't going to let his half of home be slandered by a self-absorbed seeker's negligence of mentioning its beauty. "You know the Auto-ban?"

     His passenger shook her head.

         "It's a highway in Germany that holds no speed limit. That was Cybertron's highways. If you couldn't reach the speeds required, you either walked, or stayed on the outside lanes." 

     He continued to describe bright lights, colors no human eye could perceive, and buildings covered in luminescent windows. Some places were barren, such as the toxic wastes, but it was far from ugly with glowing greens, bronze and yellows. A highway was stretched from one city to another to avoid trekking through the dangerous area and was a common road trip destination. He recalled deep ravines that held whole cities, and how some were once massive beings like him, meant for exploration but had never left their home planet.

     Not once did Marissa show any amount of disinterest. She listened intently to all of his tales, and asked questions in between. Barricade didn't mind, for once, the strange interaction that was speaking to another being. His passenger was respectful and mindful enough not to interrupt and would sometimes even ask about the economy and what one of his kind could do for work. The woman was surprised to find out that Starscream had dabbled in science before becoming a General, then a congressman and later a Decepticon. Barricade, also, had an affinity for science as he was known for his mastery of physics among the Decepticons as well as his brutal interrogation tactics. He didn't give much about his original career on Cybertron, but Marissa didn't seem to notice.

         "Cybertron was far more diverse than we humans could imagine, huh?" Marissa yawned.

         "Earth is nothing but a mud ball to us." Barricade chuffed. "Your wars are mere squabbles and weapons nothing but play-things."

         "Yeah, but clearly its inhabitants are a little more resilient than you thought." The comment came with a witty giggle and a playful smile. "Thanks for telling me about your part of Cybertron. It sounds just as wondrous as Starscream's."

     Barricade remained silent at her thanks. It was a strange thing, to be thanked so genuinely. Something in his spark warmed, a feeling he couldn't quite place. Once again, he found himself irritated at the woman because of her kind ways, even to those who she knows could kill her without a thought.

         Or could they, anymore?