As far as Bumblebee was concerned, it was an easy enough scout and spy job. The fact that he would be sent into the heart of Kaon with only his fake Decepticon insignia and blasters to protect himself hardly phased him- it was better than lying in Iacon all day, watching the day pass from barricades all over the city and having to file permission forms with Prowl to even have the liberty of scratching your aft.
In Kaon, not even Megatron could enforce rules on its residents. As the Decepticon capital almost every bot inside the walls was under his command in some way, but they hardly adhered to any military discipline or hierarchy. Occasionally an officer would have to descend from Darkmount to stop a drunken brawl in the streets turning bloody, but other than that they only walked the streets when they were off duty. Rules had no meaning in Kaon, where the Council had left bots to live and die as they saw fit, and not even planet-wide war was going to change that.
In short, that meant the city's streets were hives of vice and pleasure. The sky was only just starting to darken, but already they were alive with half-buzzed mechs and femmes lounging on the corners with more protoform than armour. Bumblebee recalled Jazz once saying that if you stared too long at them they could charge you just for that, so he tried to keep his optics busy. He knew it was hard enough for Optimus to smuggle him into the city in the first place, and he was on a mission after all. See how the Decepticons trained, how they fought, where they got their weaponry.
And maybe take advantage of their high-grade and pleasure femmes.
A mech with black armour splattered with spilt high-grade stumbled in front of him, and he almost fell himself trying to avoid him. Another stubbed a cyberette out on a lamp post and threw the remains in his direction, and more than one femme blew him kisses from across the roads. Bumblebee had to keep telling himself that this was how all Decepticons acted, even to their brethren. They'd never find out he was an Autobot, not as long as he just blended in. But the faux symbol on his chest was burning, threatening to peel away and reveal the true Autobot one underneath, and the credit chips in his subspace were heavy as lead. He was supposed to spend it on Decepticon weaponry for Chromia and Ironhide to study, or to get into any exclusive areas of the city, but Bee had never been a responsible spender even before the war. He knew the stash would be gone like mist by the morning no matter how carefully he counted each chip, and he couldn't help but clutch his subspace when he had to walk past buildings bedecked in gold garlands and shining neon. At one club the security drones glared at him and anyone else who got too close to the barricades, with only a small trickle of bots being allowed in.
Bee would have ignored it and just kept on his way if not for the Decepticon insignia brazenly seared onto the doors. Even in Iacon the Autobot symbol was rarely seen anywhere but on soldiers themselves, and the fact that Megatron was so confident of his hold on Kaon that he flaunted his own gathering spots was something Bee could practically hear Prowl having a processor meltdown over.
Of course, it could just be a designated club for Decepticon officers only, but the only ones allowed in boasted armour that would have crumbled under a single ping from a micro-round. They were plainly for dress and showing off rather than going out into battle in, and Bumblebee had a hard time imagining any Decepticon who would even take their protection off in an oil bath.
So, if it wasn't a place for soldiers but it still bared the Decepticon symbol, then it counted as 'suspicious'. That meant he had to find a way in, hope weapons were banned inside and get out before he flooded the place with coolant.
He kept walking past the club, only allowing himself as much curiosity as the average Kaon streetwalker would give. He thought he saw a gap in a line of abandoned buildings beside it, and creeping down it confirmed that it was an alleyway leading to a wide open space at the side of the club.
With a hulking mass of security drone right outside the door.
"Scrap..." Bumblebee pulled back and crouched at the corner of wall just inches from where the drone stood, tapping claws on the barrel of his plasma pistol. He contemplated luring it away or trying to bluff his way in when a mech drunker than a Scraplet trapped in a high-grade vat stumbled out and purged his tanks all over the alley floor. The drone kept its gaze averted; Bumblebee could practically see it cringing even with the visor. The mech coughed up the last dregs of half-processed energon and wiped his mouth, but when he turned to head back inside he stumbled and sprawled in his own purging. The drone shuddered as it knelt to help him up, his back to Bumblebee and pistol abandoned by his attention.
The drunken spluttering of the mech was enough to cover Bee's pedsteps, and the drone never heard him approaching before it crumpled to the floor as his elbow connected with its helm. The mech- of soiled silver and purple armour, Bee noticed- barely registered the Autobot before him as he tried to sit up. Bee knelt down to retrieve the drone's pistol (a bot could never be too careful) and moved to the door, inching it open to make sure no other guards were stationed inside.
The dim pink hallway ahead was deserted, but as Bumblebee slipped through the doorway he realised his mission was more difficult now. He was in the club, but it was only a matter of time before the drone was discovered or came back online, or before the mech sobered up and realized what he saw.
He really hated time limits.
"One too many rockshots, huh?" Bumblebee froze at a femme voice coming from his side, but when he turned toward her there wasn't a gun barrel aimed at his faceplate. She was a Seeker build, with purple and teal armour and a mischievous smirk on her faceplate. Her red optics were focused on his chestplate, and looking down he only just saw the traces of purged energon streaking the gold of his armour. He pushed aside thoughts of the ridicule he'd face from Sunstreaker if he returned to Iacon (when, not if) and tried to match her expression.
"Yeah, you always think you'll just have one and then..." He shrugged his shoulders with a nervous laugh, hoping the femme didn't notice the coolant beading across his forehelm. She only raised an eyeridge and placed a hand on her hip.
"You tried the Sigma Slugfest yet? That will make your systems crash from just one sip."
"I'll... see if I have the credits for a glass." The femme huffed a laugh and departed with a wink at him. Bumblebee only let his vents go when she was well out of sight, and wiped his helm thoroughly before heading into the den of neon sin ahead of him.