A/N: Woot for italics! Most of this chapter is indeed written in italics, as well as in the past tense, big flashback time! So apologies ahead of time for anyone whose eyes get burned out from all the lovely font decisions.
Thank you SezWho for your comments, always, It's always a nice big tick to see them! (talking like mtmte Drift ignore me XD)
To my Fantastic Readers and Reviewers, Please Enjoy!
"What do you think he's gonna see in there?"
Devcon looks over to Siren, "I dunno, kid… I've never entered into the direct interface panel of this ship before—or any ship… He could be seeing the coordinates he's trying to download into the nav system…"
Siren looks down at Nightbeat's calm face, the back of the young detective's helm settled firmly against the lock panel of the ship's direct interface systems, "… Do you think he'll dream?"
Memories that aren't mine begin to roll through my data disks as I sink into a deep blanket of darkness… I can feel the ship's circuitry buzzing in response to the map sphere's information as it's pulled from my processor, and I get the feeling that it knows how to read the blurry coordinates…
Almost feels like the ship is alive, guiding me through its mainframe, coaxing what it needs from my databanks… But then, the memories begin to overcome the sensations from the ship, and my father's face is suddenly at the forefront of my thoughts… or, maybe they were his thoughts, something he placed into the map sphere… something he wanted me to see…
Come alone.
Give us the cog, your family is safe.
That's all that was on the letter. The letter that somehow made its way to his desk in the Enforcer Department. He doubts looking at the security feeds would reveal who the messenger was, they were too good for that kind of slip-up.
The message was simple enough. That's how these Gladiators were. They were brutally simple and to the point.
He would have to go alone. He was in this alone. No bot believed his casework; the thought that the narcotics-pushing thugs known as the Circuits Gang of Sector Capri were connected with the underground Gladiators of Kaon? It was too far-fetched for his superiors to bite into. Or, maybe they just didn't want to take that big of a bite.
But he wasn't afraid. He'd taken the biggest bite a single mech could. He went straight to the spark of the Gladiators' expanding plans. Of Megatronus's plans.
He took their key to Iacon's front door, in the form of an oversized transformation cog.
However, he wasn't careful enough, wasn't fast enough. They found out who he was, thus who his family was. His son, his wife, his brother. But how? He took the cog years ago, took every precaution to obscure his identity…
It must've been an inside job… there's no other way of explaining it.
The dark midnight blue mech turned away quickly from his desk, moving through the empty, after-hours office of the Enforcer Department, holstering his gun. Turning a corner, however, he jolted as he collided with another mech, pushing him against the wall in response, "Who the Pit are you—?"
The young Praxian's optics flared in surprise as he looked up at the aged detective, "M-My name is Prowl, sir, I-I'm an intern, from the Academy…"
The detective stared down the young student for a moment before huffing and released him, "Primus, kid… it's past the curfew, what're you doing in here still?" He curiously eyed the stack of datapads the young mech was holding in his arms.
Prowl's face paled a bit, "Yes, sir, I'm usually quite prudent in following the set curfew hours, but I… got a little lost in my work. I'm writing my thesis paper…"
"Your thesis… you hardly look old enough to be a Senior, kid…"
"I'm… a Freshman, actually… I like to work ahead, you see…" He hesitated for a moment, "I'm actually… basing it off your documented theories, sir, about the ties between Sector D-12's crime ring and Kaon's underground…"
The detective paused. So he had a fan? That was a first.
Reaching out, he patted the kid on the shoulder, "That, uh… That's nice, kid, good luck with gettin' a grade on that. And, uh, don't call it 'Sector D-12'. We call it Sector Capri around here. Sounds nicer, don't you think?" He then proceeded to quickly go past the Praxian, tossing a key back to him, "That's the key to my file cabinet, kid, it's all yours, I won't be needing it anymore; so go wild and make sure your aft-hole Dean, Sentinel Major, gets a copy of your paper."
Prowl caught the key and looked down to it, optics widening. Was it even legal for him to be holding it? What did the Detective mean by all that…?
The Detective arrived at the marked location a short while later, pulling up to a functioning smelting factory in the heart of the industrial district of Lower Iacon. The ever-present sound of hissing gears churning chemicals and molten bit through the cold night air, yet it still seemed too quiet. Of course it was too quiet. They were expecting him.
Or… maybe only one bot was expecting him. He was going to find out who it was, who the Gladiators' insider was, the one that sold him out when he thought he'd managed an untraceable escape with the t-cog all that time ago.
Going up a rickety stairwell, the Capri Detective kept his golden optics sharp, scanning the surroundings at every step of the way, untrusting of every and any hint of movement. Massive cranes shifted every so often, set on a constant pattern of movement, lifting large vats of molten and dumping them into the smelting pool in the center of the factory. His imagination was already working out all the ways to die in a smelting factory, a majority of the scenarios involving the star of the show—the smelting pool itself.
He was ready to go. So long as his family would be safe. That's all any good father could want.
So, what's the game plan. He sure as Pit didn't have the transformation cog with him, he hid it a long time ago. Long ways away, too. Those stupid thugs, they had no idea just how far out of their grasp their prize was now.
They didn't know that he used to defy the Clampdown regulations, and would leave Cybertron's atmosphere on a daily basis with his brother and friend. He still had his connections, his moves.
Hopefully his son would pick up those moves, too. Though, he almost hoped the kid would grow up to be a doctor instead, like his mother was aiming to be.
He wished he'd given them both a longer hug that morning before he left for work. He wished he'd told Nightbeat his life story, told him how much wonder there is in the universe, told him what to be careful and wary of, told him to guard his spark…
He wished he'd remembered to say 'I love you' one more time to his kid.
Reaching a platform that ran across the upper decks of the factory, the Capri Detective took a moment to look around before pausing at the sound of light ped steps. Sharp, even, cold ped steps.
Turning quickly, he drew his blaster and took aim, optics widening at the sight of the figure standing across from him on the high platform, "It was you…?"
A set of electric yellow optics sharpened with sadistic glee, a low chuckle leaving a cool smile, "What can I say, big guy? The Senate isn't gonna reform itself… and Megatronus knows just how to help them along. Besides… the look on your face? Worth every little bit of deceit."
"Barricade…" The Capri Detective couldn't shake off the shock, his own partner…? The kid had only just joined the Investigative Department an orbital cycle ago, graduated from the Iacon Enforcer Academy with flying colors… The Detective shook his helm, "This isn't you, kid, I told them you weren't ready for that undercover work in the Gladiator rings… they got into your head, this isn't—!"
Barricade let out a loud, hissing scoff as he rolled his optics dramatically, "Spare me, o Great Detective of Capri. And, y'know somethin'? I dunno why you let the others call you that. 'The Capri Detective'? More like an insult than anything, honestly."
The Detective narrowed his optics and frowned sharply, tightening his grip on his blaster, "You miserable sonuvaglitch… Tell me why I shouldn't blow off your head right now…"
Another calm, sinister chuckle left the dark, young mech, "Because unlike you, I'm not an idiot. I didn't come alone. Right, Brawl?"
Before the Capri Detective could react, a set of heavy hands suddenly fell on his shoulders, the force almost enough to make his knees give out. One of the gritty servos moved quickly and grabbed onto his helm before slamming him face-down onto the guard rails of the platform, dazing him. As tightly as he tried to keep a hold of his blaster, it was a fruitless endeavor as the heavy hands attacking him from behind grabbed his wrist, crushing it until his weapon finally slipped free from his fingers, falling to the smelting pool below.
The Detective was thrown down onto his knees, energon gushing from his busted olfactory sensor, one of his golden optics cracked across the surface lens. The platform swayed from the cables that suspended it from the ceiling as slow, heavy ped steps made their way around the downed Enforcer, until a large form was revealed from the shadows.
"I'm guessin' you're Brawl, then…"
Brawl leaned down and tilted his helm to the side, his cruel visor glowing brightly at the sight of the bleeding officer, "You really are a detective, aren't you? I didn't even hafta introduce myself…"
Barricade stepped into the conversation, crossing his arms, "Where's the transformation cog, Capri? Unless you managed to fit it up yer tailpipe, it looks like you failed to bring it along..."
The Capri Detective spat out some of his own energon, "First, tell me this… how did you know it was me? I covered my tracks every step of the way, I didn't tell a single soul that I'd found the cog… This happened years ago, any trail that could've been left behind would've been cold by the time you picked up on it…"
The younger Enforcer chuckled quietly, "Except… ya did tell one bot…" He tilted his helm, "The one whose ship you borrowed."
The Detective's optics widened behind his visor as he looked up quickly, "What…?"
"You had to sell me out right off the bat, didn't ya, kid…" A new voice rumbled from the shadows.
Barricade looked past the downed Detective with a malicious smirk, "I thought I'd see how much I could pile on him all at once… C'mon, you know you wanna come over and take a look at his face right now…"
"Oh… I've seen his face plenty enough…"
Shifting on his knees, the Capri Detective looked back, already knowing who he was going to see, "Lockdown… the frag have you done…?"
"Sorry, Capri. A mech's gotta make his living, and these Gladiators sure know how to pull in the big ones." Lockdown walked across the platform to his lifelong friend and previous partner. "Just tell me where the cog is, and everything will be fine. You don't wanna step in front of these Gladiators, Capri, they'll hit you hard where it smarts the most, and I can't say I'll be able to protect you. Or your cute little family…" Kneeling, he tilts his helm as he looks the other mech in the optics.
"You sold me out… My kid's gonna grow up without his father because of you… My wife…"
"Aww, now now, don't be talkin' like that!" Lockdown set his hook on the Capri Detective's shoulder, "You make it sound like the game's already over for you! No, it's just starting… because listen, if you just hand over the transformation cog, I can get you a deal with Megatronus and his boys… The pay is real good, Capri, you could put your family in the kinda home they deserve to live in, no more of this… Slumming business… C'mon, don't you remember back in the day? Bounty hunting, you, me, Dev, we used to be a fraggin' rich bots… Well, me 'n Dev still are. 'N then you threw it all away, and for what? Security on Cybertron?"
"I didn't want my kid to grow up knowin' his father was a two-bit jockey breakin' the law to work under the table for aliens…"
"That's sweet, Capri, it really is. And I respect that, you had a real good run… Really, you did. We're all proud of you now, so… You had your run, now it's time to get back into the real business again." Lockdown patted his ex-partner's cheek, the proximity of their faces an echoing reminder of just how much they used to consider each other as brothers.
The Capri detective took in a sharp, hissing breath of air through his intakes before spitting in Lockdown's crimson optics, "Get fragged, Lockdown."
The dark bounty hunter was still for a moment, staring through the hocked coolant in his optics at the other mech before wiping it away with his hand, sighing quietly, "I really hoped you would've been smarter than this, Capri… Pit, I forgot… you're more stubborn than Devy." A burst of movement erupted as the bounty hunter suddenly slammed his fist across the Detective's face, knocking him down onto his side. He stood up, looking down at the officer before putting his ped on the mech's chest to keep him in place, "You like to swim, Capri? Let's take a walk down to the harbor…"