The Diego Diaries: Avalone and Other Stuff (dd8 280)
=0=The inner most administrative offices of Earth2
They sat on couches glaring at everyone, unaccustomed to being bossed around by anyone. Cindy was in Owen's office with his administrative aide who was going over everything with her and helping her unlock computers, a safe, his desk and cabinets nearby. Waiting to go inside as well as the two did, Sky watched. He was going to go over this place himself. He was still in Seeker format but no taller than Graham or Lennox, barely six feet two inches tall with pretender gear help.
Outside in the ante room the line up was getting ready to commence to be body searched. Springer, Drift and Lennox were conferring in a corner, then they turned to the group.
Lennox began to speak. "We're going to take possession of your devices, keys and other things that allow you access to any of the facility beyond that of any other resident guest. Your keys, access codes and other pertinent stuff will be given over as we call your names to come forward. Then Springer and/or Drift are going to frisk you," Lennox said before everyone began to scream and holler loudly.
Beyond the doors of the inner sanctum, the facility was crawling with residents and their families and friends, the odd bouncing dog and visitors. They were watching with varying degrees of happiness, worry or anger. With them were the mercenaries that Harris hired, all of them watching at the windows. Standing near them watching closely, the legitimate human security team that worked for Prime and Autobot Nation as members of the Watch watched them.
"What do you suppose this means for us?" Carlos Ortega asked no one in particular.
"Prime might kick us off world," Sam Hedges said.
"Prime can cram it. Besides, I have a lot of money in the bank. I'd like to make a lot more," Jim Johnson said as the others nodded.
With them was Martin Polaski aka Silas Bishop. He was watching with interest noting how smooth and precise the bots were coming here, taking it over and going through the business of evidence gathering and locking the targets out of their own territory. Prime was no one to underestimate. He'd done so once himself but that wouldn't happen again. The power structure had shifted so he made a note to ingratiate himself into the confidence of Cindy Tomas, their new lord and master.
The idea that Owen Harris was getting slapped this hard and so publicly, too, was joyous to his banked yet seething rage and desire for vengeance. Maybe that bastard would get a smidgen of what he'd served so well to his former persona, Silas.
Martin Polaski glanced at the mercenaries noting their looks of uncertainty and anger, then made a note to work them even harder tomorrow. They would bend to his will if he had to kill them. Some of them already had. The others were only a work in progress. In the end, they all bent their knee to him. These men would be no exception he thought as he watched the shit show in the office. He found it extremely entertaining and insightful.
=0=Inside
"You can either submit to this or be arrested and do to it at the jail before we lock you up. The operative word is submit," Springer said with a grin.
"I imagine you'd know a lot about that, faggot," Christopher Pallas said with a sneer as he was dragged from his chair. "Get your oily hands off me," he said to Epps.
Epps who'd lived the slings and arrows of bigotry and stupidity all of his accomplished life gripped Pallas's arm tighter. "Move it, asshole, or I'm going to pile drive you into the ground."
Pallas shook off Epps' arm then turned to face him. "Try it, boy," he said to the audible gasp of most of the room including a shocked Cindy Tomas who was walking out of Owen Harris's office at the moment.
The blow that landed on Pallas was so swift that it almost couldn't be seen by the naked eye. Another came and then another before Pallas dropped to his knees, then fell forward. Standing over him like an avenging angel, Bobby Epps SEETHED. He glanced at the others. "Anymore of you want some?" he asked in a soft voice FILLED with malice.
It was silent in the room as they stared at Pallas, then Epps. Then Damon Pallas rose and walked to the table where he placed his hands on the hard top.
Epps turned to the others. "LINE UP! YOU WILL BE SEARCHED! THEN YOU CAN GO TO HELL FOR ALL I CARE!"
They stood and made a line in silence. Clare Hilliard didn't object when Drift took her purse. They stood stoically, silently in humiliation and rage as the body searches continued. When they reached Clare the door opened and Maxi slipped in.
"Maxi, you have to search this one," Springer said as he nodded toward Clare Hilliard.
Maxi nodded, walked to the woman who stared at her then took the frisking position. It was swift then over as Maxi stood back. "She has nothing."
"I think we can all agree with that," Drift said with a slight smirk.
A slight titter went through the crowd, then it was silent as the last were searched. When it was finished a pile of things lay on the table being tagged for return if it was warranted.
Lennox watched Therow, a Seeker Elder who was an expert on evidence. Then he turned to the others who watched as he put their things, some of which contained private information into clear evidence bags, tapped in information on the cover device and waited until they signaled sealed. The chain of evidence was thus preserved.
"I want all of you to stay here until the searches are concluded. When Sky signals the all clear then you can go back to your apartments. You're banned from entering these premises. The entire administrative block is off limits to you until the all clear is given whenever that is.
"All of your conversations are going to be recorded and held in files. Nothing you say in-house or out can be considered a private conversation with privilege. If you have a lawyer representing you and any of the ones suggested by the Public Defender's Office are first rate, then we can make that privileged. I'd suggest you get one. They can help you navigate this from this end. The laws here are different and the path forward isn't exactly the same. This is a monarchy.
"If you decide to make problems then the officers who work here, the genuine ones, not Harris's mercs are under orders to arrest you and put you in the facility lock up. You'll stay there pending a hearing given that the Prime has specifically ordered that all of you behave and that you cooperate with the investigations. If you decide you're too pure, too good and try to leave this facility I guarantee you will be jailed. Any questions?"
They stared at him silently with varying degrees of deep hatred and loathing.
"Well, then sit down and wait." He turned to Sky. "What's the status of your search, Sky?"
"We're getting there," he said with a slight grin.
"Okay. You heard the mech. Sit," Lennox said.
They sat, then Clare stared at Lennox with rage. "This is a violation of our rights. You're doing this on a whim."
"Actually, we're doing this to uphold the treaties and contracts of the mechs which everyone who lives here signs agreement with when you get a visa. You don't have an official function here, Clare. None of you do. You're living here because Optimus Prime is a fair mech and he's happy that humans can come and get the experience. None of you contribute a thing to this facility," Lennox replied.
"We made it happen," Clare said with offense. "We put up the money that got this started. It wouldn't have happened without us and this is the gratitude we get?"
"First of all, that money was spent on advertising, some design work that the bots rejected as inadequate and bribes. You didn't put up one thin dime for any part of this facility. Every square inch of this place was made by the bots from their own efforts and genius. Prime allows humans here because he cares about our species and hopes that some day we can enter space as partners," Lennox said as he paced in front of the windows in irritation. "You guys combined couldn't afford to pay the heating bill of this place."
"Besides," Niall Graham said as he leaned against a desk with his arms folded over his nice chest. "Your name on the Panama Papers list isn't the fault of the bots. You cheapskates think you can have everything without contributing a penny. Maybe it was a bad thing for Prime to allow you to come here. You're used to getting everything for nothing. You're entitled whiners who couldn't wipe your own butts without someone holding the toilet paper."
Springer grimaced. "Don't remind me."
Lennox grinned. "I wondered about that. What was that like crapping like a human when you were in Vegas?"
Springer stared at Lennox like he was a bug. "Fuck you, Lennox." Then he grinned. "If you must know," he began before the mechs screaming buried his remarks.
"Really, Springer … really?" Drift asked with exasperation. "I was under the opinion you wanted to forget about that."
"Actually, some of it was funny," Springer began. "I do remember a really drunk prayer circle where some of us, and its only SOME of us dropped our pants," Springer began.
"Alright, slagger," Drift said with a grin. "We were in London and a team of car thieves stole our vehicle modes. They took all of them but Ada and Springer. I was stolen. You weren't," Drift said with a smug look of satisfaction.
Springer stared at him with a look of deep betrayal. "Bastard."
"You knew it going in," Drift replied.
"They didn't take you?" Gavin Pritchard asked with smirking 'surprise'. "I find that hard to believe."
"Not me," Ron Witwicky said. "A Bugatti or a pickup truck. Not much of a choice. Also, weren't the twins with you? Two Lamborghinis as well."
Springer frowned at Ron, then Drift. "Traitor."
"You keep going on about human bodily functions. I could purge my tanks when you do," Drift replied with a grin.
Springer 'grinned' back. "You did if I can remember anything at the time. Wasn't Dev in the tub?"
"I thought I was. Maybe I was hallucinating," Drift replied to general chuckles.
"Hilarious. You can't hold your liquor either," Christopher Pallas said with a smirk.
Springer glanced at him, then grinned. "I'm going to get drunk the night you're convicted and sentenced to a zillion years in prison. I plan to do it in pretender gear in New York City at the biggest gay bar that they have. Then I'm going to strip naked and show my junk to total strangers in Time Square," he said as he leaned slightly forward. "My magnificent, enormous, gigantic junk."
Everyone stared at Springer with surprise then he got a standing ovation from everyone but Pallas and company. Even Maxi gave it up.
=0=Outside watching
"What the hell are they doing?" Ortega asked. "They're applauding Springer."
"I don't know. Maybe he said he has a terminal disease," Johnson said to the amused chuckles of his colleagues.
"Maybe he told Pallas to shove it up his ass," Martin Polaski said as he stepped closer to the mercs. He felt amusement when they tensed at his presence. "Don't underestimate any of them. They're old and know more than the rest of us combined. You'd be a fool to underestimate these titans."
"Yeah, right," Johnson said testily. "I know them more than any of you."
"And you've never won a hand you ever played," Silas aka Martin Polaski said with a grin. "Think about it."
=0=Far away
He fed in code to do a systems search for everything that was needed to know if this mech would be a viable entity when he was lifted out of here. They had a timeline for that, sixteen joors before he'd be tractor beamed upward, then carried by four sky cranes to a bridge to Saturn Shipyard and a massive floating workstation being readied for him. In some ways he was less injured than Banner was. It was just that his were connected to his higher functions rather than his body.
Ratchet met each milestone with the proper response using codes he hadn't spoken since he was a medical resident. It would go on long into the dark night.
=0=Autobot City, Mars
He swiftly entered the Temple, then ran down the stairs to the Well of Allsparks. Overhead the Allspark turned slowly, inscrutable in its silence. Banner stared at it, searching its surface for something, anything but the artifact keep turning slowly. He stared at it, then the Well.
=0=TBC 10-19-2021
