Part 3
Sunstreaker was waiting in the quarters the twins shared when Sideswipe quietly entered; the yellow warrior carefully measuring out two large doses of the stimulants they had stolen from Ratchet's store room.
His twin came and stood at his elbow. "Your hand is shaking." Sideswipe observed in a neutral tone. Sunstreaker paused, a frown marking his perfect features. He concentrated on the offending hand, forcing it to stop before returning to his task.
Finally he rose, holding two small cups in his hand. Sideswipe took one and stared at the thick, yellow tinged goo inside before looking back up at his twin and offering a wan shadow of his usual cocky grin. "Bottoms up." He said, bracing himself before knocking back the shot of undiluted stimulant.
Sideswipe grimaced as the stimulant hit his systems, sending everything into sudden overdrive for a painful few seconds before the spike died down. When he saw his twin had recovered, Sunstreaker then downed his glass with a similar reaction. They had never been fond of stimulants of any kind, but this was a dire situation.
"Think it'll work?" Sideswipe asked hoarsely, one hand rubbing his throat.
"Maybe." Sunstreaker quietly replied.
0o0o0o0
It was a very worried Jazz that came to Prowl's quarters that evening to make his report. He stood by silently while the 2IC read through the file, watching as the Datsun's frown grew deeper and deeper.
Prowl looked up at Jazz. "Are you sure about this?" he asked.
"Unfortunately, yeah. Either saw it m'self or heard it from the 'bot 'imself. The twins've just gotten too good at not gettin' caught." Jazz replied. "So what do we do now?"
"I am unsure. There is no evidence of their having done anything." Prowl let out a frustrated sigh. "I wish Prime was here, he has had more experience with these matters."
"Yeah, trust ol' Shocky t' kick up a ruckus right when th' boys back on Cybertron need it least." Jazz grumbled.
"And with many of our troops there, this is the least opportune time for two of our best warriors to be compromised." Prowl added.
Jazz frowned behind his visor at Prowl's choice of words, but he let it slide. The tactician was thinking of the well being of the unit, not the individuals within it.
In a way, Jazz could understand. Prowl was programmed to primarily think of everything in terms of problems that had to be solved, strategies that had to be planned out and executed and variables that had to be considered. And in that same way, Jazz pitied his black and white teammate for the life that he would never know, bound to logic and purposefully denying himself emotion.
The saboteur paused for a moment and asked "So, any ideas for how we can help 'em?" ,knowing that the question would help spur the tactician's famed intellect into action.
"First we need to know what their problem is." Prowl mused. "Obviously we cannot ask them directly, but perhaps a more subtle approach will suffice." He walked over to a nearby computer and activated several files, nodding to himself as he scrutinised the information. "Come with me please Jazz." Prowl requested as he closed down the computer and headed for the door.
"Why?" Jazz asked as he fell into step with the Datsun.
"I need a distraction."
0o0o0
After a quick stop at the Repair bay, Prowl and Jazz arrived at the door to the twins' quarters. Prowl tapped the door chime, stepped back, and waited. About a minute later, the door hissed open and the warriors appeared from within the darkened room, eyeing the two visitors warily.
"What?" Sideswipe asked, his optics narrowed in suspicion.
"We wished to know what is wrong with you." Prowl stated evenly.
"Who said anything was wrong?" Sideswipe demanded, instantly on the defensive. "Was it you, Jazz? Well I told you, we got it under control."
Prowl reached out and touched Sideswipe's shoulder. "Please, calm yourself Sideswipe." He attempted, but the red warrior twisted out of his grasp, lips pulled back into a slight growl as he instinctively slipped into an attack position.
"Hey dude, we're only tryin' t' help ya." Jazz said, slipping between the Lamborghini and his intended prey. Prowl had to admire the Porsche's courage.
"Maybe we don't want any help." Sunstreaker snarled, leaving the safety of the doorframe to stand beside his brother. Jazz couldn't help but notice that the yellow hands were shaking slightly. Prowl leaned back against the wall to allow Jazz more room in the narrow hallway.
Plucking up his bravado, Jazz took a step towards the warrior. "Maybe y' do, but y' just don't know how t' ask." He suggested calmly, fighting the urge to back down and break optic-contact with the bigger 'bot. "Listen Sunny, Autobots work as a team, a unit. When one o' us has a problem, everyone does. Give us a chance."
"What the frag would you know about us?" Sunstreaker growled, advancing on the slightly shorter bot with a dangerously slow tread. "You don't have a brother, you have no idea what it's like, and you have no idea of what our problem is. So back the slag off and let us deal with it."
The twins turned and vanished into their cabin, a click telling the two officers that the door had been locked.
Jazz sagged against the nearest wall. "Man, for a moment there I thought Ratch' would be scraping Porsche parts off th' floor." He said as he tried to calm his racing systems.
"They like you too much to do that Jazz." Prowl replied as he pulled a small medical scanner out of subspace and activating it. "The twins would never intentionally harm you."
"Yeah, I know." Jazz sighed and rubbed his face plate. "So, any joy?"
Prowl smiled slightly. "Both scanners are active and transmitting data." He reported, holding the scanner so that Jazz could see it.
"Sweet! Ratch' will be happy 'bout this." Jazz grinned, then gave Prowl a sidelong glance. "Y'know, I'd have never fingered you fer one of them 'sleight of hand' types. You have a miss-spent youth or somethin'?" He said teasingly.
Prowl conjured up a suitably innocent expression. "Who said it was miss-spent?" he asked, then returned to his usual sober expression. "We had better get this to Ratchet."
"Copy that dude."