Part 2

Luckily for Jazz, both twins were still on LDND-light duties no driving- from their last conflict with the Decepticons, so tailing the pair was much easier. It was not getting caught that was the hard part. But then again, Mirage wasn't the only mech who had skill at not being seen.

He followed them until it was time for his shift, carefully noting the aberrations in their behaviour. During his shift, Jazz tracked the pair with the security cameras. He may not have been Smokescreen, but Jazz knew when a mech was trying and failing to keep something very bad locked up.

As soon as his shift was over, Jazz made a beeline for the Repair bay.

0o0o0

"Whatever it is, the answer is no." Ratchet snapped as Jazz strode into the medic's domain.

"But I haven't even asked th' question yet." The black and white said teasingly. Ratchet appeared from behind a partition, wiping his hands on a rag that had seen better days.

"What's the problem Jazz?" He asked.

"There's somethin' going on with th' twins." Jazz replied, all levity gone from his voice. "They've been doping up on stims, probably fer the last five days or more."

The medic sighed. "I know."

"Y' do?"

"I'm the CMO, it's my business to know." Ratchet growled. "And where do you think they steal the stimulants from anyway?" He pointed to the door to the storeroom.

Jazz crossed the ward and knelt to take a better look at the keypad. Sure enough, there were the tell tale scrapes that told of someone prising open the cover to get at the wiring inside.

"How come y' didn't tell no one?" Jazz asked as he rose and faced the medic.

"I have no proof that it was the twins." Ratchet answered. "And if I did report it, then they'd start making their own. At least this way I know how much stimulant they are taking and unlike home brewed it won't cause permanent damage to their internal systems."

"But can't y' order them in here or something?" Jazz asked, confused at the medic's actions.

"Believe me, right now nothing would make me happier than to drag those two kicking and screaming into this repair bay." Ratchet grumbled, the rag crumpling in his fist. "But there's something going on that I don't know about, and I can't go blundering in there just yet. You have to realise Jazz, these are twins. They don't function on the same plane as the rest of us."

0o0o0

It took the rest of that afternoon to track the twins down again. As he followed them, Jazz mentally tallied up his records, finding that they painted a very ugly picture of the situation. This was something far worse than what he had anticipated.

Jazz rounded the corner to find Sideswipe waiting for him, arms folded across his glossy red chest. Sunstreaker was no where to be seen.

"Hey Siders." Jazz said cheerfully, pretending that he had just happened to be in the area. "You seen Hound anywhere?"

The red Lamborghini narrowed his optics slightly. "Drop the act Jazz, I know you were following us." He growled.

"Then y' also know why. " Jazz replied, letting his concern flood his voice. "Sides, what's going on with you and y' bro? I'm worried about ya, and so is Prowl. Ratchet's about t' have y' dragged in fer a check up. And I haven't even talked t' anyone else about it yet."

"It's no biggie." Sideswipe shrugged.

"You've been wearing y'selves ragged an' pumping up on stims fer five nights runnin'." Jazz pointed out. "Th' last time you an' y' bro used stims was that lil jaunt we took t' Polyhex. Whatever 'it' is, I don't think y' can handle it." The black and white put one hand on the other 'bot's shoulder. "Sideswipe, please let me help you. Autobots don't do too well on their own, it ain't how we're wired t' function."

"Jazz…" Sideswipe trailed off. He knew the Special Ops officer could be trusted, but how far? "It's… complicated. We have to take care of it ourselves. " He turned to go, leaving Jazz standing alone in the hallway.