The Diego Diaries: Cat and Mouse (dd6 642)
This was supposed to go out last night. :(
=0=Ratchet and Max
"That's about it. That is … that's about all I can say without him ninja-ing me into the twelfth dimension," Ratchet said.
Max chuckled. :You and Prowl are a highlight of sports around here:
Ratchet grinned. "We try."
They both laughed, then Max thanked him and rolled out to pursue other sources. Ratchet and Orion watched him go, then glanced at each other. Ratchet grinned. "Wanna eat something with Atar?"
Orion smiled like the sun. "ADA! I GO DOIN'!"
"So will I," Ratchet said as he rose and scooped the imp up. Lunch at the Diner On The Corner was on.
=0=Diner
"WHAT THE FRAG, OLD MECH!?"
Orion stood on the table trying to pour 'sugar' into the 'salt' shaker.
Ironhide sat, then grinned. "Little mech is doing a science experiment."
"He is. He's trying to see how far he can go before getting spanked," Ratchet said with a chuckle. He took the salt and sugar, then handed him to Ironhide.
Orion settled, then grinned. "I doin' wif lou."
They grinned at him, then nodded.
"Lou are," Ironhide agreed.
Orders were taken, Orion was set on the table again, then they relaxed.
Ratchet grinned. "I was interviewed by the human, Max Butler for a profile on Prowl. I told him to find you for the Praxus stuff."
"And frag you, too," Ironhide said with a grin as their drinks were set before them.
Orion who had a straw walked to Ironhide's drink, inserted it and took a slug of it. Then he coughed and sputtered, staring at Ironhide with surprise. "WHAT LOU DIS, ATAR!?"
"That, you little slagger is beer," Ironhide said with a chuckle.
Orion stared at him, then Ratchet, then Ironhide. Then he stuck his straw back into the glass. He would be sitting in a baby chair after that sucking a milkshake through a straw and giving Ironhide and Ratchet the gimlet optic.
"I won't have another drunk in this family. At least, let's get him out of short pants first," Ratchet said with a grin.
"At least," Ironhide said.
Food came and they ate, bantering together as the infant slagged down his food like the champion he was.
=0=On Cybertron
The shoot out was short and the felons surrendered at the Crossroads Refinery at milepost 122 on the Helex Highway. They had been stealing energon shipments for who knew what reason and had been tracked by the locals to a warehouse where they were trapped.
Hauser who was at Kaon flew in and watched as the local constabulary and Autobot soldiers surrounded the area, pulled all the incandescent locals back and began a fusillade designed to get them to surrender. It was fortunate that the warehouse contained components for steel making, piles of different additives and base elements that would be made into cybertanium. The rounds that perforated the building buried themselves into the great heaped piles inside.
Hauser watched as the soldiers marshaled the local police, coming ever closer to the building. When they were close enough, three of them threw percussion grenades into the building, then ducked. The booms were loud and the silence that followed even louder. The soldiers burst in and the disturbance was over.
Hauser walked to the warehouse as they were dragging stunned mechs out, all of them frisked and cuffed toward a pile up nearby. He paused before them, staring with amusement. Running their numbers, he noted with satisfaction that they'd nailed a good half of a very bad road rage gang from Nova Cronum. "This is good work," he told the mechs who gathered around them waiting for the ship to come haul them to jail. "Good work."
They grinned at him as nearby a ship landed, a runabout used by the police here to carry slaggers to jail. "This gang is going to have to recruit again. We've picked up three others two orns ago, Hauser," a big Autobot said.
"Well done. I'll let Prime know," Hauser said. Then he helped them haul the slaggers into the runabout.
=0=OPS Center
Prowl glanced at Prime who was walking his way. Pausing beside the tense winger, Prime leaned in closer. "Are you still bothered by the article?"
Prowl stared up at him for a moment. "No."
Prime laughed. "You do know how to carry a grudge."
"To the bitter end," Prowl said. "I was told he's spoken to Loon and my father. Who is next?"
"Whoever he finds," Prime said with a grin. "Carry on," he said as he walked toward the door and a tour of the latest site preparations for two gigantic hub cities.
Prowl watched him go with a slight smirk on his face. "Slagger," he said. Then he grinned and turned back to the only thing he could truly depend upon, his job.
=0=Later that evening
Springer and Drift mounted up, then rode out of the stables with the usual suspects. "We have to take the mercs back tomorrow. What do you think?" Drift asked.
"I think I'm glad I'm not them," Springer said as they began to gallop toward the highway and the job beyond.
"I hear ya," Drift said as he joined the others. They disappeared into the night together.
=0=Prison Control Center break room
Two big mechs and a small femme sat in the break room taking a moment on shift. It was dark outside and the city was gearing up for the evening fun. Here in the prison center, the night shift had just finished half their duty. It was quiet in the prison without the usual madness that could erupt at any moment.
Sitting on their couches watching the three, Mueller and Anderson chatted together. They had learned British Sign Language as part of their training against the possibility of getting arrested and incarcerated within view of each other. They were able to talk, going over their stories and their plans for whatever would come. They hadn't considered the idea that they were on camera, though they were also assured that the bots wouldn't know what they were doing even if they were.
In the control center nearby, the cameras recorded what they were doing though the two humans were using their bodies to shield their hands most of the time. The information they were exchanging when their hands could be seen was innocuous and unimportant.
Like right now.
=0=At the jailhouse now
They sat in their boxes watching the floor show. A number of hooligan youth were dragged in, mouthy and aggressive, to be jailed. A few family had come to talk to the desk sargent who told them that the magistrate had custody of their fates and tomorrow the court would decide. The docket of the night court was already full so they had to go home livid and empty handed.
Fortunately for their family members.
Jim Johnson stood at the wall of his cage watching down the way as bots in cells vented their own aggravation. Most of them were drunk and their sing-song speech was impossible to understand. How all that strange sound could be speech was beyond him. It was stupid to think that it was, he thought. Normal people used words.
Sam Hedges who was many degrees smarter and more tactical than Johnson studied all of them, watching for things that would help him against the future. The others watched for entertainment. He watched for intel. Of all of them now that Lombardi was gone, he was the smartest.
It would be an interesting night for all of them.
=0=Early morning at the Courthouse jail entrance
Springer and Drift rode up with the crew, then dismounted as a paddy wagon full of belligerent teenagers drove into the driveway to off load them into the Care of the State. They were making a lot of noise inside so they waited nearby to watch.
A group of mechs who had bagged them smirked at Springer and Drift as they walked around to let them out. Opening the door, six big kids inside vented their rage at their captors.
Stepping up, they entered, grabbed a kid, then dragged them out toward the door. Entering the facility, they walked to the desk sargent. After a lot of yelling and screaming, they took their numbers off their transponders, listed as much as the kids would allow, then hauled them off.
Behind them standing nearby, Springer, Drift and the others watched. The mercs watched them, their bodies tense and ready for anything. They were supposed to go back to Earth2 and maybe it was going to happen now.
Springer and Drift talked to the desk sargent, then turned to the humans. Springer stepped closer. "Get into the carry cases."
The humans stared at him, then rose to walk to the carry cases. Entering, they leaned into the walls as the boxes were pulled out and stuffed into carry holds.
Springer glanced at the sargent. "Thanks, Rolo. We got this. Have fun with the kids."
Rolo grinned. "When don't we? I'm going home and hug my own kids after this."
"They're only babies, right?" Drift asked as they walked toward the door.
"For now," Rolo said.
They laughed and headed out just as two more wagons drove up with drunks. Springer grinned. "Sounds like a good time was had by all."
Laughter greeted that as they mounted up to go.
=0=Earth2
Owen Harris and his leadership group stood at the big windows near the entrance. They had received the word that their mercs were coming and had gone to the door to wait. It was still dark in the facility as the lighting geared to the daily cycle of Mars was still exhibiting early morning. Outside, the huge paved parking lot was pooled by light from gigantic lighting towers stationed in areas around it.
"I wonder if there's going to be caveats about their release?" Hamilton Brown asked.
"We shall see," Owen said as the sight of riders heading down the road to the lot entrance could be seen.
Metallic riders on metallic horses galloped into the driveway heading for the building whose giant outside doors were open to receive them. They rode swiftly, then filled the outside, dismounting to turn toward the facility as the outside doors closed and the environment equalized.
The huge doors opened to allow entrance as Owen and his party stepped out. They walked toward Springer and Drift who were waiting for them beside the gigantic horses. He paused before them to stare straight upward. "Springer, welcome," Owen said.
Springer nodded. "We have your boys," Springer said. "We're giving them to you but they're confined to the facility until further notice."
"Is there any information about the case?" Steven Jameson asked.
"Not for the public yet," Springer said.
The group pulled out the cases, set them on the ground and released the doors. The mercs stepped out, walked away, then turned to stare at their captors. It was silent a moment, then Springer grinned. "You slaggers aren't allowed out. Step out and you go to jail to stay."
Johnson stared at Springer. "If you were human, Springer, you wouldn't be such a smug bastard."
Drift glanced at Springer as the mechs with them chuckled. "He just called you a name."
"I heard it. I think I'm insulted," Springer said.
"What about it, Springer? You can do that pretender thing," Johnson said.
"Yeah, Springer. You can do that pretender thing," Kup said as he chomped on his cigar.
For a moment, Springer stared at Johnson, then he grinned. "Yeah. I can do that thing."
Then he did.
=0=TBC 4-20-19
Fun factoid
My niece just got back from Scotland and said that were they were a transformers movie was filmed, probably The Last Knight. They had to build hotels there and when tourists came, there was no place to stay. Little tidbit. My niece, her sister and my sister stayed there. It was on the Isle of Skye. :D:D:D