CHAPTER 4

OOC: Hi everyone! Here is a new chapter! Hopefully you'll like it! Thanks, Kashagal and Natures Ruler! Feel free to review or not.

Decepticons's base was rather large and multi-storey. That was useful to protect privacy. In the room they were sharing with Fracture, Divebomb was bandaging Airazor's egg-shape head, the latter whimpering in pain. The kick Drift delivered him as well as his quite failed landing had made him quite dizzy.
"Don't wriggle, Airazor!" Divebomb ordered him.
"It hurts! And your long claws don't help!"
Divebomb gave him a deadpan look before finishing the dressing. He admired his work. Airazor looked pathetic but that was nothing out of ordinary. He laid down on the berth, sighing.
"When will we attack Autobots?" Airazor asked him.
"The boss must give us the green light" Divebomb replied.
"I really want to make Drift's Minicons pay for what their stupid Master did to me! I mean…even without his blow, I do not care! They even shouldn't breathe our air anyway."
Divebomb shared his point of view. He also wanted to get revenge on…What were their names? Oh yes: Jetstorm and Slipstream. He also wanted to find them. Nevertheless, he acted less disdainful than his comrade. After all, Airazor was a bit slow.
"You know" He smiled. "I still appreciated our teamwork. Do you remember when we had to capture these fucking Cyclones? Of course, afterward, I had to wash my servos to prevent the Autobot's virus."
"Yes" Airazor agreed. "That's right. For once, things got interesting: putting our differences aside to fight a common foe."
"I don't understand why Fracture wanted to recruit them in our team. All three of us are good together, aren't we?"
"Much better"
Divebomb and Airazor always used the same admiring tone whenever they mentioned Fracture. They were loyal to him, not to Steeljaw. However, they admitted their boss still was flawed. He bitched about everything, let his anger taking over him to the point of accidentally striking one of them and sometimes, he could take decisions that Minicons didn't understand. But they wouldn't have wanted another Master for anything. They were a formidable and unstoppable team and they all would reign supreme.
Divebomb paused. His tone suddenly went awkward. He looked back at his comrade, his spark pounding through his entire body.
"Hey, Airazor"
"What?"
"While Master is taking care of Drift, maybe both of us…could go somewhere? Like taking a stroll or something?"
Airazor nodded, shrugging.
"That's a good idea. I think the boss wouldn't get mad about it…as long as he doesn't know"
"He will warn us if he needs help anyway" Divebomb added before opening the door. "Let's go."

In his cell, Drift did not stop trying to get loose, to the point of trying to rip his chains from the wall. Unfortunately, in spite of his years of training, acquiring a lot of strength, it was a waste of time. He let out a deep sigh before collapsing.
In these moments, Drift regretted having refused his Minicons's help. However, he erased this thought. That wouldn't have been cautious. Jetstorm and Slipstream would have been trapped too. Fracture would have tortured them.
Drift rested his head, searching for another idea to escape. But he felt himself getting sleepy…He needed to recharge but better safe than sorry. He must remain awake, ready to defend himself.
Jetstorm…Slipstream…
What were they doing? They probably were worrying sick. Drift hoped they would stay calm. He hoped they wouldn't panic to the point of throwing themselves into danger to rescue him. especially Jetstorm…Slipstream was more reserved, more collected.
He missed their company…After all, he had been so used to travel with them by his side. Whenever they were taken away from each other, Drift did not feel comfortable. He didn't feel ill at ease for his safety but for theirs.
Truth to be told, Drift wondered if he should stop containing his feelings. Should he express his feeling more? Should he be more accommodating and less strict toward them? He shook his head. He shouldn't doubt about their training and their lifestyle. The best way to survive was rigidity. His surrounding was making his head spin.
The door opened up on Fracture again. Drift looked back at him. His expression didn't change. The Decepticon was keeping a proud and haughty appearance.
"I think Steeljaw is right" He said after a silence.
Drift didn't retort.
"I'm waiting for the day I finally finish you with impatience. However, I must admit…I enjoy seeing you in such a position, Drift. It's almost…orgasmic."
Drift frowned. Fracture let out a snort, closing the door and getting closer to the samurai again.
"Isn't it too hard to be far away from your friends?" He questioned him with a false compassion.
"If you know anything about friendship, please tell me"
Since he was stuck here, why not talking? Of course, he would prefer a conversation with another Con. But Steeljaw's other members didn't seem to be as interested in Drift as Fracture. The two bots shared a rivalry, after all.
"I didn't expect you to join Steeljaw's pack." Drift spoke up, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Aren't you a bounty hunter? Since when have you been interested in politics?"
Fracture seemed amused by his remark. He simply shrugged, grabbing a chair to take a seat in front of him though he still remained far from Drift. Maybe was he afraid that Drift repeats what he had done to his Minicon? No. Fracture didn't care about boo boo as long as he could delight in other people's pain.
"I can ask you the same" Fracture replied, almost cordially. "You are a bounty hunter and yet, you joined Autobots. Why shouldn't I work for the opposite side? If Decepticons help me to get the bounty I desire, as well as your energon…"
The last sentence was said in a sinister tone. Drift wasn't scared. He definitely wasn't scared.
"Furthermore, I didn't have much choice." He added with obvious anger. "Your stupid Minicons destroyed my ship. I was stuck on Earth and I had nowhere to go!"
"Must I remind you that your ship was destroyed because you blinded us while running away? You attacked us."
Fracture clenched his fist.
"You are the one who attacked me!" He spat. "You are the one who attacked me first while your Minicons attacked mine!"
"I wasn't the one who tried to kill you" Drift shook his head. "I only tried to stop you"
"Really? And what is the best way to stop someone, Drift?" Fracture grinned through rage.
He settled comfortably in his chair, moving his face close to the samurai's. Drift was a bit awkward though he remained stone faced.
"We actually both don't give a damn about politics, Drift" Fracture added. "You do not care about Autobots the same way I do not care about Steeljaw's paradise. We are just around for our own interests. We are around for the money."
"Don't compare yourself to me!" Drift almost yelled at him. "I joined Autobots to arrest Decepticons and other criminals of your kind. I also wished a better place for Jetstorm and Slipstream. You…Beside a bounty, nothing else matters!"
Fracture let out a sigh. Of course... Why would he care about Drift's speech?
"You have no honour"
"Say something else about honour, Drift. I swear I will rip your optics off" Fracture seriously warned him. "You are no better than me. You also were part of Decepticons. You were one of us. Don't you remember?"
This time, Drift felt an acute pain in his chest. A pain he would have wished to forget. He would have wished not to feel it anymore. Fracture was right. He had been one of them once.
"I chose another path" Drift said. "I want to transmit values to Jetstorm and Slipstream. I set boundaries. I do not want them to end up like you. Unlike you, I took no pleasure to collect criminals for a bounty. No pleasure…But I thought it was the best way to redeem myself for my own sins. To redeem myself for such a horrible life, I hunted criminals."
Fracture looked a bit thoughtful. His expression went detached.
"Why should we redeem ourselves? We all will end up in the Allspark, sooner or later." He humoured. "I would like to end up in the Allspark very, very late…after becoming rich."
Drift stared at him, disgusted. He wouldn't expect otherwise.
"That's the big difference between us. You do not know anything about wrong and right. You absolutely feel nothing for the preys you collect."
"That's a business, Drift" His rival replied with condescendence. "Working as a bounty hunter means learning to disregard our own feelings. Otherwise, you change jobs. Before Bumblebee's bounty, you did not seem to care about preys. If Bumblebee had not "saved" you from me this day, you or I would have collected the bounty anyway."
Drift gritted his teeth. Fracture had a point…But he had felt obligated by a life debt. Bumblebee saved him…But if he had been as immoral as Fracture, he wouldn't have changed his mind…would he?
"I've changed" He said. "On the other hand, you will never change"
"Really?" He asked him, cheerful. "How can you be so sure?"
"Individuals like you will never change. You are a monster devoid of honour. You never fight fair. You are ready to kill for dirty money. You are able to stab someone in the back with your gadgets. Other people are tools for you"
He paused.
"…Even your Minicons are nothing to you. They are only tools to get rid of whenever they become useless."
"Is it over? Do you want me to shot you again?" Fracture got up.
"I do not care. You will pay for everything you did, sooner or later. Maybe not by me…but you will."
"Remind me to be terrified"
Fracture sneered, giving him a false frightened sound. In the end, he didn't use his Taser. He just left the room, locking Drift inside.