(Again, I'll point you all in the direction of Moonshadow's fic, Disregarded if you want to know more about Riley and Prowl and Jodi and why there's a 'Con hanging out with Autobots. You can find a link in my favorites. All good? Good. We're still in Troi's head. We like Troi. Troi isn't dense like his sister. I love Lia dearly but lots of things escape her immediate notice.)
Chapter 10: Troi gets to meet Jack and things seem just a little off.
The drive over to the warehouse is uneventful. Prowl doesn't seem to be the talkative type. I get that vibe from his partner though. Probably how they work. Riley does the talking and Prowl takes notes. Honestly though, I don't feel like talking. So it's nice. I'm too preoccupied about where Lia is to really try and make small talk. What isn't nice is the lack of music in the car. If you're not talking, at least music is a nice distraction from silence. In this car, nothing breaks the silence besides a few calls coming over the radio. Today seems to be a rather uneventful day in the town of Tranquility, if one was listening to a police scanner. It seems the hotbed of activity was an senior citizen center where a fight broke out, apparently over the last serving of pie. Damn, old people apparently take pie very seriously.
As we get closer to the warehouse, Prowl sits up, scanning the area and slowing the car to a crawl.
"Where did you have the Charger parked?" he asks, his gaze narrowing on the warehouse.
"Ah, around the back," I point and Prowl nods and pulls his car up in front of the warehouse. He keeps staring intently at it, like he's expecting something to happen. We get out and he heads for the door rather determined. I'm not too familiar with protocol for this sort of thing so I stay silent and follow along. He looks like he's onto something even though we just got here.
"So there was someone in the warehouse yesterday?" he asks, peering inside. I nod at him remembering my sisters frantic call. Now I wish I hadn't laughed at her. "You should call the director or whoever is in charge. We have to impound all the working vehicles. We don't know if they might have been tampered with."
I pale at the thought as he heads inside, walking slowly around the 3 working Teslas, inspecting every inch. Doing what he said would stop production. Stopping production costs money. The producers would not be happy about this. Of course without my father and I I doubt the movie would move too much farther forward. Shit. Dad. I haven't told him yet. He's already on set, that is going to be a sucky phone call all around.
I go to pull out my phone when I see Prowl take off to the far end of the warehouse. He ducks behind the last car and I hear a small scuffle going on. I take a few steps over to investigate, wondering if I should help or not. Prowl seems like he can more than hold his own but all the same, I feel obligated. That's when Prowl pops up holding a skinny man by the back of the shirt, looking more than a little angry. He starts dragging the guy over, talking in hushed tones. I can hear the hard edge in Prowl's voice from here and the other guy seems to be very apologetic, everything about his posture is submissive.
"I'm sorry, I am. I got carried away!" The smaller man said as Prowl dragged him closer.
"Well you should have checked in when you landed. Ratchet is going to have your hide." At first, I am a little concerned. I do not recognize this man. He is not someone I've ever seen on set but Prowl seems to know him. He looks over at me pleadingly, searching for any type of help. I put my hands up and shake my head. Prowl is not someone I think I want to get on the bad side of. But the question still lingers, who is this guy?
"Mr. Clancy, this is a colleague of mine. We'll call him Jack for now. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to help us find your sister." Jack twists in Prowl's grasp to stare at him, wide eyed and confused. Prowl just gives him a hard stare. There is an underlying conversation going on there that I'm not privy to but after a moment, Prowl loosens his grip and brakes off the stare, looking at me instead. Jack seems to be more than a little concerned but it is...off. I can't put my finger on why but it just seems weird. I shake it off and look back at Prowl.
"If you could make the necessary phone calls, while I do so as well, we can get the cars inspected and back here as soon as we can." I nod and grab my phone stepping away to first call Dad and then call the producers. Neither of these phone calls are going to be easy. My dad has always worried about Lia, mainly because her track record with people is not very clean. But this is a whole new level. My sister has never gone missing before. Gotten into situations that I had to get her out of, yes. But never missing.
As expected, an hour later, my father has pretty much stopped production on his own. I didn't even have to call the producer as he was standing next to my dad when I called. My ears are still ringing from that particular conversation. The man has a good set of lungs. I'm fairly sure he broke more than a few speed limits to get over here in time to yell at Prowl just as the tow trucks began to roll in. At least three big flatbeds, all from different companies it seemed. Small town with at this many different tow companies? Must make a killing on the interstate. I watch as Prowl deals with the producer rather easily as the last tow truck arrives. Grapple Tow Service it says on the side of the door. I see Prowl break away and direct the driver of that truck toward the stunt car first, then the others. I catch sight of the producer who's rather bright red from all the yelling. He's quiet now but I can tell he's still seething. I should tell him something like this might be good publicity, but I don't think that's something he wants to hear right now. What's that phrase? Oh yes, any publicity is good publicity. I don't believe he's thinking about that right now at all. Prowl takes one more look around before walking back over to me. I stuff my hands in my pockets, feeling more that a little anxious. We should be looking for my sister, but instead we're here impounding cars. I just have to remind myself that it's early, we need leads, a direction on where to look.
"We're going to escort the vehicles back to the station now. Do you want to stay here or come with me?"
"I'll come with you. Beats standing around here." Prowl nods and heads back to his car and I shuffle along after. Jack is sitting in the back, glancing around at all the commotion. He seems to take particular interest in the stunt car that was placed on the Grapple Tow truck, his gaze going back to it every time. I get into the passenger side and can feel his leg bouncing like a jack rabbit through the floorboards. As soon as Prowl opens the door, Jack leans forward.
"Ah, Prowl. I left something in the trunk. I'm gonna need it if we're going anywhere." I turn in my seat to look at him suspiciously but Prowl just shakes his head.
"Fine, Jack. Wait here." He closes the door and jogs over to the flatbed and rummages around in the trunk of the Tesla, what little there is of it that's not taken up by a lithium ion battery. While Prowl is digging around for whatever it is this Jack can't live without, I decide to strike up a conversation.
"So, how are you going to help find Lia?"
"Well, um, I deal with the more technical aspects of things. Whatever Prowl needs me to do, I do."
"And how do you know Prowl? You don't seem like a cop."
"He's not," Prowl says as he gets into the driver's side. I didn't even hear him open the door. He opens the back door and hands Jack a rather large watch which Jack takes rather quickly, putting it on and pressing a few buttons before sitting back in his seat. Whatever that watch is, it seemed to calm him down some.
"I have colleagues in places other than the department. I liaise for a few different agencies when the need arises. Now buckle up, we're moving out." The car ride is quiet again on the way back. But this is not a comfortable quiet like before. No, there is something I'm not getting that seems to be going on around me. Prowl is driving a little more tense than before, his jaw set, his mouth in a frown. Obviously he is unhappy with Jack, but that was clear from the get go. It feels like there is more silent conversations going on, the way Prowl keeps looking into the rear view mirror and Jack keeps shifting nervously, keeping his eyes on the tow truck in front of us.
Half way back to town, Prowl gets a call. He taps his fingers on the wheel for a moment, contemplating something before we see another cruiser pull up next to us. The window rolls down and Riley waves once from the drivers side. Prowl nods and lets Riley drive ahead of us while we turn off toward another part of town. Prowl keeps an eye on Jack for the first few moments, as if he's afraid he will just disappear.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"I had someone follow the most likely route your sister would take into town to see if they noticed anything. Apparently they have." I'm filled with both dread and joy. Prowl is very good at keeping a straight face, which makes it very hard to read. So I have no idea what this person has found and if it's good or bad. But any news is good news right? Now my leg is bouncing like a jack rabbit as we drive farther into town.
A few minutes later (though they felt like hours), I see a black mustang parked on the side of the road and two rather familiar looking people leaning against it, waiting for us.
"Prowl! That's-" Prowl puts his hand up and effectively silences Jack. Curious.
"I know who it is Jack. If you had reported in like you were supposed to, you would know by now. As it stands, your debriefing will be rather lengthy." Prowl pulls the car over and gets out. I make to get out but he shakes his head. "Give me a minute. I promise to tell you what I learn."
I sit back down, none too happily as Prowl walks over. Jack is in the back seat mumbling to himself about cons and foolishness but I only catch about half of what he's saying. I see Jodi heading toward me as Prowl and the other guy talk. I'm wracking my brain for his name and it hits me just as Jodi reaches my door. Cade. She called him Cade. Well he is pointing at points on the ground while Prowl stands there, arms crossed, listening to him intently. The way they move around each other, there's a familiarity there, like they've known each other all their lives.
Jodi opens my door and pokes her head in, giving me a halfhearted smile. So the news can't be all bad if she's smiling. I turn in my seat to look at her.
"Tell me something Jodi."
"Shoot."
"Are they brothers?" Jodi blinks at me for a moment then looks back over at Prowl and Cade, leaning on the open door.
"How could you tell?"
"Experience." We both just watch them talk for a moment before Prowl kneels down to look at something, Cade watching him intently as he does so. They must have found something they way Prowl is staring at the ground. He straightens up and walks around in a circle. I lean forward before getting out of the car. I think I've waited long enough.
"Wait, Troi, just give him a minute." Jodi puts her hand on my arm as I start to walk toward them.
"What did they find?" I look down at her.
"Just give him a minute and Prowl will tell you."
"Jodi, my sister is missing! What did they find?!"
"Where she disappeared!" I halt in my tracks and look down at her confused and worried. How does a person just disappear? Prowl suddenly appears next to us, reaching for the back door and pulling Jack out.
"Mr. Clancy,-" Prowl starts.
"Is my father. I'm Troi."
"Fine, Troi. I told you, when I know something, you will know. I understand your need to find your sister. But you are going to have to give us a minute to sort out the facts so I may give them to you in a coherent manner." I nod and he drags Jack back toward the area he had been inspecting. Jack slides away from Cade as they get close, choosing to stand on the other side of Prowl as they talk. What follows is a rather intense looking conversation, with lots of finger pointing and Prowl and Cade looking at Jack annoyed. Oh yes. Those two are definitely related.
Jack throws his hands up and starts walking back to the Charger, shaking his head. It seems it's time to head back to the station. Prowl follows Jack and they continue to have a conversation on the walk over.
"-ignature all over it, WheelJack. You're going to tell Optimus what it was you made and what happened to it and why she had it. On top of your debriefing."
"Prooowl," Jack whines a little. Prowl just points at the back seat, having none of it. Jack gets in, grumbling the whole time. Jodi pats my arm and as I look back down at her she gives me a reassuring grin.
"Hey, if anyone is gonna find your sister, it's Prowl. Hey, have you had anything to eat? I'm fairly sure Riley has forgotten to eat yet again. Why don't we go get lunch for them and let them work. You heard Prowl, he will tell you when he knows something. And he will. Until then, let's go get you food." Why is it people always insist on feeding you when something bad has happened? If someone dies, people bring over casseroles and any sort of food they can think of. You're swimming in food after a few days. Of course, now that I think about it, I don't think I ate breakfast this morning. I simply headed straight to the station.
"Yeah alright..." I close the passenger side door and follow Jodi back to the black mustang. I let out a small chuckle as we get close. "Lia would love this car."
"It is a nice car," Jodi beamed at Cade before sliding into the front passenger side. Cade just shakes his head and gets into the driver's side as I climb into the back. If someone had told me how long this day was gonna be this morning, I never would have gotten out of bed.
A/N: Merry Christmas! To those of you who celebrate it. Happy Holidays to everyone else! Here's a gift! Thought I'd better get off my ass and update for you. This time I'm not making any promises for when the next chapter is coming because that always backfires. But it is coming. So, I think next chapter will be the last we see of Troi's thoughts. But we'll see how that goes. Anyway! Hope you enjoyed it!