Inferno heard Red Alert walk in long before Red Alert actually spoke. He hadn't found it within himself to turn around and ask why the second in command of all mechs had wanted to see him.
Moreover, he wasn't going to ask why that would take three cycles away from the base. No, he wasn't going to ask. No matter what. "Red, what have ya been doing lately?"
Red Alert flinched guiltily. He had been dreading this conversation, but had guessed it was going to come. "I was out doing a favor."
"That was Prowl, right Red? Second-in-command?"
"Yes…" Red Alert wondered if he should tell Inferno about him being his brother before scratching it. As much as he loved – no, liked, slag it all! – Inferno, he also tried to keep in CPU the fact that Inferno would blurt out the fact to Prowl.
Of course, none of that was going to matter if Inferno tried to strangle the information out of him. The fire truck loomed big when he was angry. Even bigger when he was angry with Red Alert, who was nearly a head smaller, much lighter, and less heavily armed.
"I owed him, and he asked me to grab his friend for him."
"Friend?"
Relief washed over Red Alert at the temporary diversion. "Yes, he is rather attached to the third-in-command, or otherwise known as the special ops. I simply helped out."
"With what?"
"I'm sorry Inferno, I can't tell you. It's rather… embarrassing."
Embarrassing, yes it was. Half of the thieves' guild had nearly fallen out of their seats laughing when Red Alert had demanded the whereabouts of Soundslip. Apparently a bet had been going on about what Luckysteal would say when he finally dragged himself out of the war.
Everyone had agreed that he would be back to save someone's aft; they had been taking bets on whom he'd have to save. Soundslip had been on the top of the list, for apparently he'd been back bragging he'd be able to surpass Luckysteal.
Red Alert personally had to agree that Soundslip would and had surpassed Luckysteal. The question was, would he stop trusting enough to keep getting tangled up in false reports. If he could just stop he'd be beyond Luckysteal.
"Well, alright then." Inferno said cautiously, his optics prodding into Red Alerts. "Red, do ya think ya want to rest? Ah can tell ya haven't gotten any sleep lately."
Red Alert hesitated, before at last nodding. He wanted sleep, and he could trust Inferno to watch for him. "Alright Inferno… Just make sure you don't get kidnapped, alright?"
Inferno nodded, his optics tracking the sleek form of the Lamborghini as he left. He was about to turn back to the consol in front of him when Red Alert stopped dead, and ducked. The crackling sizzle of a gun blasted through the door. Red Alert flew forward out of Infernos optic range, the gun appearing in his hand-
Inferno hit the panic button. Sirens went off as he prepared to follow Red Alert. The Lamborghini came back hurtling through the door as he shoved Inferno to one side to type furiously at the console. "Inferno, hold them off!"
Inferno growled as he stood by the door, optics sweeping up and down the empty hallway. Aww, c'mon you stupid 'Cons, come in here already, come on, come on, come on-
A Decepticon head poked down the corner. Inferno blew it off, grinning in delight. Yes, a fight! After a whole month! A fight!
The computer bleeped once, and Red Alert gestured sharply. "Inferno, there are fires raging everywhere, but most of the fight is located in the southwest sector."
Inferno grinned as he left at a dead run for the fires. Red Alert switched over to the inter-comm link, snapping, "Team Alpha, you have company in corridors five, eight and twenty. Get in there and sweep them out."
"Right-o!" The cheery reply came back over. "Where's the commander?"
"The commander is over in corridor eight. Alpha, you turned onto the wrong corridor!"
"Sorry." The sheepish reply did nothing to help Red Alerts aching, tired CPU. "There they are-"
"NO!" Red Alert shrieked, "Those are our allies! You hit up with Team Charlie! Team Charlie, how did you get lost?"
"We took a right-"
Red Alert cursed silently, and then switched over to the open comm. link. He should've done this weeks ago, but due to other concerns, he hadn't had the most amount of time. "I'm transmitting the map of the base. Be open to receive."
Moments later Team Charlie had changed corridors, swarming towards the Southwest. Red Alert flickered between cameras desperately. He had only five screens available to him. If he had each camera on a two second rotation, with the five screens he should be able to monitor the screens mildly well. "Inferno, please head over to medbay. They seem to have a small fire going on-"
Inferno was off like a shot, not waiting for the rest of the sentence. Red Alert nodded inwardly in approval, returning to the rest of the battle.
0o0o0o0o0
Prowl slid the datapad onto Primes desk, face set in stone. Prime glanced up, and then back down at the datapad, before picking it up. Prowl stood, waiting, both door wings sticking straight out.
"Base Dome successfully repelled an attack, list of casualties, and list of Decepticon prisoners." Prime remarked out loud. "Is something wrong Prowl?"
Prowl shook his head. "No sir, all I request is that Red Alert be recalled back."
Something had defiantly happened. Prime had not gotten the information on how Jazz had been returned, but he had heard rumors that the return was certainly spectacular. In the fact that he had come sauntering out of the tacticians room looking mightily pleased with himself.
"Oh? Any definitive reason why?"
"He obviously has all of the qualifications needed, and you said that you are gathering the best." Prowl pointed out. "And… I would also like to confirm some rumors I've heard about him."
"Rumors? What sort of rumors?" Prime demanded, optics narrowing. He didn't want a criminal of any sort under his personal command.
Prowl hesitated, a bad sign. "Prowl-"
"I've recently gotten word that we might be related." Prowl said frostily. "I cannot ask my creators about it, they would not tell me. Apparently my brother became estranged for personal reasons and I would like to request what they are. And the only chance is through Red Alert."
"Prowl, you know as I that I cannot allow that." Prime pointed out. "Family feuds are not something to bring up during a war."
"Of course Prime. I simply plan on wearing him down until he answers." Prowl replied calmly. "Either you transfer him, or I transfer now."
Prime leaned back. "I can counteract any transfers."
Prowl nodded. "If you counteract, I'll be forced to do it in a rather embarrassing area for Red Alert. I'd rather not."
"How did you get this information anyways?"
"I was combing through old pictures in an attempt to piece together the file you wanted on Soundblast, and got sidetracked by Luckysteal. Eventually I found pictures of a young Red Alert with the same mechs as my creators. I don't think it's that great of a coincidence. " And Prowl was furious with Red Alert, how dare Red Alert not even so much as hint at the possibility.
That last comment cemented it in Primes CPU. He wanted no family feuds. None. "No Prowl, you are to stay here."
Prowl nodded reluctantly. Red Alert is going to hate me when I do this.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Red Alert groaned wearily as his pager began to beep ominously, warning him that he had an urgent message from the thieves guild. "Yes, what is it?"
"Boss, is it true?"
"Is what true?" Red Alert asked a little more warily.
"That you're related to that one mech, what's his name… he called himself Redline, and then you switched it to Prowl?"
Oh Primus. Oh Primus. He found out. He truly found out. Now what am I supposed to do? Red Alert crazily considered his options, which weren't many. Lie a little, or lie a lot. Lie, a lot.
"No, who the slag told you such a lie?"
"Erm, Soundslip was spreading it around-"
I am going hand him over to the Decepticons.
0o0o0o0o0
Jazz shifted uneasily as Prowl sat calmly down next to him. When Prowl had admitted to knowing that Jazz was Soundslip, it had settled in Jazz CPU that he was probably going to be asked a favor. The rumor had provided an interesting stir, one that Jazz took great pride in as revenge for the humiliation, but no one had counted on the fact that Luckysteal would get wind of it. And the idea that he'd order them that they were to stay right where they were…
Prowl leaned back, his optics thoughtfully dark. Jazz glanced at his internal chronometer, before the door slid open. "Soundslip, Prowl-"
"Luckysteal, we must talk." Prowl cut Luckysteal off brutally. "And not as thieves."
Luckysteal sighed, collapsing onto the seat across the table. Jazz began to stand, hoping to escape. "Jazz, sit down. Prowl, you're the second-in-command of the Autobots. Surely you could contact our creators and ask."
Jazz jaw dropped as Prowl nodded. "I did ask. They wouldn't say why."
Luckysteal regarded his hands for a moment as Jazz slowly sank back into his seat. Prowl waited patiently, his door wings not even twitching. "Alright Prowl, I'll admit, we are brothers. I broke off from our creators due to some extraneous circumstances. They- they weren't pretty."
"What?" Prowl demanded, optics attempting to pierce the visor that hid his optics. "Mother and Father-"
"That is between us Prowl. Not between you and I, but them and me." Red Alert snapped back.
Prowl stared at the table, before murmuring, "They were the leaders of Basstand, weren't they?"
Jazz spark froze as Luckysteal stiffened. Basstand was well known to him as well, and he didn't think that Prowl would- "Yes, they were."
"Why didn't you turn them in?" Prowl demanded.
Luckysteals' burning optics rose up to Prowl. "Because of you. I didn't want to affect your life. Not a single part of it. I had to suffer through all of those sideways looks- and that's why I never, ever once told you."
Prowl looked back icily, "Do you not think I hadn't figured it out for myself? When the three of you came to me… after the raid, it was impossible not to construct the information."
"Then why didn't you turn them in?" Luckysteal demanded.
"Because I thought you were going to stick around at the police station and help me gather the evidence to turn them in. Without you, and no other witnesses, it all fell apart. " Prowl snapped back. "And I couldn't go chasing after you."
Jazz glanced back and forth, squirming inwardly. He hadn't expected, and never wanted to get caught up in a family feud. And this one was worse then he could ever expect. Primus, Prowls creators the leaders of Basstand? Luckysteal? The mech who threatened to disembowel anyone who even hinted at helping Basstand? It was all very much a bad dream.
And there was still the problem of who Luckysteal actually was. It was obvious Prowl knew Luckysteal real identity, but Jazz did not. "Yes, I do suppose I cut that piece of road off… But Prowl, what would you have me do? What do you want from me?"
Prowl was silent, before he looked steadily into the visor. "I want you to come to Iacon, formally register as an Autobot, and then join me here. Without a fuss."
Luckysteal leaned back. "That was my intention all along."
Prowl took a deep, recycling breath. "I want you to give up being Luckysteal."
