Inspiration theme for completing this chapter was theme song from Mr. Robot.
Blurr admired the sleek architecture of the central district of Iacon; the shiny structures differed so much from the east side docks where his bar was. It looked too idyllic, too much like the Golden Age he'd heard so much about - the ornate veneer over the shady dealings; his tanks churned at the thought. He laughed at himself for becoming too 'decepticon' after dealing with so many of them lately.
He passed the memorial, with the dramatic shadows of the night illumination gone it somehow managed looking more foreboding. There were more scratched-out designations and more added names. In a way it was a symbol of Cybertron slowly falling into a new flux.
Inadvertently his feet brought him to the gate of the command center. The monolythic structure now stood before him cold and inaccessible. From memory Blurr could recount the safety measures - a security check, a heavily-armed entryway and the entrance hall equipped with surveillance cameras, double-plated walls and whatever else that had been too classified for him to know. That was a representative front but, like many structures there always was a less-prestigious back door, which was (ironically) the incinerator chute and Blurr was a small enough mech.
The command archives should house the records from the battle on Earth, yet, now he could not enter without an invitation or a security pass...
Then again he was not a spec-ops for nothing.
He paused for a moment considering the idea. What would the repercussions be if he was caught? Had he ever been caught before? Save the time when he almost got offlined...and that other time with the Master Disaster which Blurr found both embarrassing and demeaning But not entirely his fault.
Circumstances were different now, however. He was a civilian without a military affiliation and the worst they could do was to detain him. It was worth a try...
He ventured to the service docks located behind the building, he'd gotten in through here a couple times before - when he had been young and forgotten his pass key and had been too embarrassed to ask for a temporary permit. Blurr smirked, seeing that the structure remained as it had been back in the day. A cyber-cat jumped off the tall ledge of the piping block and slunk away from the chutes so quickly it was impossible to tell whether or not it had been Ravage.
Blurr approached the piping, twirling a small diamond-tipped combat spade in his fingers. He had to give up most of his weapons and tools when he left But he had kept this one as a little memento. A ridiculous weapon by any standards, but a priceless tool for anyone who knew how to use it. He used the edge of the blade to loosen the bolts of one of the chute panels. Moments later he was inside the narrow pipe, keeping traction with the walls by spreading his legs and arms, he just hoped nobody decided to use it with him inside.
Looking upwards he squinted at the little cracks of light coming from the deposition ports. He had to be quick before the systems got alerted about an obstruction.. Ha, ha, oh Primus, he wanted to cry at the irony.
He carefully pried at the locking mechanism of the port connecting the chute to the wall of the inner corridor of the building. Wiggling the thin edge of the spade against the seam between deposition port and its lid. With a little twist and a snap the locking mechanisms gave in and (if there had been no upgrades) they would not ping in as breached.
The opening was a bit narrow for his slightly widened shoulders so he didn't get through without a wiggle and a couple of scrapes. He also made a bit more noise than he wanted but it was all worth it when he finally extricated himself onto the floor of the corridor. He vented once to regain his bearings and glanced around, making sure he was alone. If he recalled correctly, the archives should be located one floor above if he took the corridor...
-'What are you doing here?"
Scrap. Bad idea Bad idea BadideaBadideabadidea
Blurr whipped about to face a… he looked up. A tall-ish green mech with a purple insignia. Just his luck to emerge in the Decepticon part of the HQ.
-"I fell in the incinerator chute, got stuck and came out here! Sir."
A slight look of amusement briefly passed the mech's features but he did not seem to buy it. Blurr was faced with two options - to run for it or face the music. Neither were very appealing but he already had accounted for the facing the music part.
-"Present your ID."
-"Look, it was an accident and you literally just caught me getting in, could you just, escort me to the exit and I promise never to come back again?" Blurr rummaged through his backup collection of cover-up identities. Did he Really have none which were for a repairsmech of sorts? The 'con did not wait though.
-"What is your designation and rank?"
-"I'm a civilian, Sir!"
Blurr did not recall being under such scrutiny since his early days at the elite Guard Academy, just who was this mech? He did not recall ever seeing him, or, rather - her, considering that the mech was of a camien built.
The 'con tilted her helm. -"What is your designation?"
Blurr seriously considered lying but decided to not make things worse for himself, there was no point of lying about the little things.
-"My designation is Blurr, sir."
-"You will have to come with me, Blurr."
The blue speedster regarded the mech in a calculating manner - he knew this approach - act stiff until the fugitive freaks out. He could play the game, they were not supposed to fight now, he should not be in any kind of danger, apart from a strict reprimand, that is. Either way his look and build were too memorable to just make a run for it and hope not to be traced.
The mech indicated to Blurr to go first until they reached a door. His vents hitched, this was not the exit!
-"Y-you will interrogate me?"
-"No, I will not be the one questioning you. Wait here please."
Blurr was left alone in the bare room with nothing there to focus on but his increasingly more bizarre thoughts. He should not need to be scared, they were at peace, people would notice him missing, he would be ok... Nervously he thought why it was that he was reacting this way at all, he had training, he was better than this. Blurr's spark was about to jump out of his chassis as the door opened again and a tall, lanky frame entered.
A red optic against a pair of blue ones. Blurr wanted to melt into a wall behind him, this was The Worst outcome.
-"Agent Blurr? What brings you here?"
Excellent question, Blurr could ask himself the same - that plan had been stupid to begin with.
-"I…" Pinned by the single red optic Blurr faltered. -"I needed to check the data on the last battle on Earth."
-"The records are publicly available through an online application process."
Blurr stared at Shockwave slack-jawed. That was news, he hadn't expected such transparency and now it truly hit him just how reckless and unneccessary this entire idea of infiltrating the HQ was; he should have just asked...
-"Which brings me to question your motivation for breaking into military command center, in the middle of the work cycle no less."
-"I needed to access it soon, it is for a friend."
Blurr was not familiar with ways in which Shockwave emoted but he got the gist that the 'con was highly skeptical of his truthfulness. Blurr had nothing to add to this, even less to say to Shockwave himself, the room already felt far too small for comfort.
-"Could that friend of yours perhaps be the black and white special operations agent? Jazz, I believe?"
Blurr glanced at Shockwave, optics wide, he had a sinking feeling that Shockwave already knew. Still it could have been only a speculation, like Pit was Blurr confirming that.
-"I have many friends, one of them indeed is Jazz. I have no need to tell you if that is the friend I have in mind." Shockwave already knew more than he should, he could be spared the details.
The mech scoffed lightly, briefly examining his claws. -"Please, Blurr, it is not a secret that Jazz is currently recuperating in the medical ward. And it is in your interest to be as transparent as possible, you have trespassed after all."
-"I-I…" Blurr felt like support had been kicked from under his chassis. Enter new plan - murder Shockwave, hide the body, leave the planet.
-"What are you looking for?" Shockwave leant in slighlty.
Blurr blinked, being caught in the light of that red optic like a petrorabbit. He desperately grasped for the usual rage and petulance which fueled him while talking to Shockwave and could not find any. -"I'm looking for the records on the last battle, the moments before and after the restoration of the AllSpark."
-"I believe first-hand experiences would be appreciated?"
That was an abrupt change of direction. It took Blurr a moment to gather his bearings and when realization hit his spark squeezed into a tiny ball in his chest.
-"J-just what are you...?"
It was surprising to see how elegantly and fluidly a piece of large machinery could move. Shockwave had extended what passed for his wrist towards Blurr, data port open,
-"I'm merely expediting your request. That is if That was what you had been after all along."
Shockwave was suggesting to hardline, this fact alone made Blurr's processor buzz and stall. He desperately needed something, anything to get away, but the lure of information was far too tempting. There had to be a middle ground, this was too much and too personal and the 'con definitely had ulterior motives.
-"I can't possibly… I can't, I need the information but I can't accept it like this."
-"You needn't let me into your processor, it is just a data download."
Just a download, JUST?! Blurr screamed inside his helm. Knowing Shockwave, Blurr would not even notice him rummaging through his files until he woke up in some back-alley with half of his memories erased and a missing T-cog. No, the longer he thought of it, the worse the entire proposal sounded.
-"I-I needToLeave, I…" Panic struck. Blurr darted towards the door of the room, pawing for the switch, it was locked. Vents accelerating, he braced himself against the wall and switched into a fight or flight mode. Shockwave was saying something but that fell on deaf audio receptors. Blurr gripped the only piece of weaponry he had left and held it menacingly between the two of them.
Shockwave resigned to just standing there and watching the blue racer work himself into a tizzy. He commed Ratchet whilst counting down the kliks until the racer would pass out either from overheating or short-circuiting. All things considered, Blurr had lasted longer than during their previous meeting which could be regarded as good progress. 5,7 kliks later, Blurr's frame suddenly buckled and went into a forced shutdown.
Shockwave allowed himself a little vent, this was going to be a Pit to explain to the Autobot medic. Curiously he examined the little blade Blurr had threatened him with. It had clattered to the floor the moment the Autobot had passed out. In his claws it looked more like a toy or a piece of jewelry than a weapon, yet in Blurr's case it was oddly fitting. If Blurr was searched it would land him in more trouble than he was already in, the little blade disappeared in Shockwave's subspace before the Autobot medic burst in.
Next thing Blurr knew was that he was on a berth and a concerned-looking Deadl..., no, Drift, was looking over him.
-"How are you? No, lay down, you were in shock just moments ago." The mech gently pushed Blurr back into a prone position and right on queue Ratchet came into the room, probably summoned by Drift's comm.
-"Let me guess, you did not use the medical stasis patch I gave you. I know five days are not out yet but you can't afford another meltdown like this. I am putting you under until your defrag cycle completes. You have half an hour to settle your businesses and then you will be waking up when you will be ready."
Blurr wanted to protest, naturally. Breakdown was in for a job, the bar did not run itself, there were deliveries to be signed off and data to be researched.
-"I can't not, now."
-"Sorry, kid, the timer is ticking, in half an hour you will be out cold so better use your remaining time wisely."
Blurr felt vindicated, Ratchet had done this without his consent! In a flurry, Blurr started pinging everyone, Jazz (for an off-chance he had override codes for the medical stasis), Breakdown - for shift in his schedule and Blaster - to complain about frivolity of medical staff these days.
Blurr later recalled that medical stasis indeed felt like recharging in a hole. On a positive note, he was not plagued by odd memory fluxes either. Which brought him to wonder why he had resisted it to begin with.
When you don't sleep for too long, bad decisions are easier to make. Also Blurr is out of practice when it comes to infiltration.