ch 10

Prowl sat quietly, optics locked onto the wall behind Prime's head as he considered this new twist. Ratchet sat to his left, Jazz to his right. Red Alert sat across the table from Jazz, Optimus in front of Prowl. The seat in front of Ratchet was empty, as always. Jazz scowled.

"Why would Megatron call in Galvatron of all mechs?" he mused. "It don' sound right, Prime."

"No, it doesn't." Ratchet growled. "Galvatron is more of a loose screw than Megatron and more violent than Sunstreaker. Besides, last time I checked, Galvatron hated Megatron's diodes."

And vice versa, Prowl thought with a small amount of amusement.

Jazz spoke up again. "Mirage got wind that he's lookin' fer a spy of his." he said, casting a glance at Prowl. "Some mech named Meister. Wants him pretty badly, Prime."

Red Alert shook his helm. "I've never even heard of Meister."

"Mark of a good spy." Optimus said mildly. "Did Mirage bring back any word as to why Galvatron is so focused on this Meister character?"

"Nah. 'Parently every mech on his team already knows it. They all hate him as badly as Galvatron does." Jazz shrugged. "Not a lot ta go on, is it?"

"No." Prime mused.

Beneath the table and out of sight, Prowl clenched his fists. Ratchet glanced at him, then back at Prime. Prowl's faceplates were composed – none of his irritation showed. He felt Barricade gently brush against his spark, questioning. Prowl gently rebuffed him, signaling that he would tell later. Barricade subsided and resumed his patrol with Bumblebee and Hound.

"It gets worse, Prime."

Optimus sighed. "How, Jazz?"

"'Parently ol' Galvatron is lookin' fer a set of twins as well."

That earned a hard stare from Ratchet. "Why?"

"Not a clue. When Ah know, ya'll know."

Optimus turned his attention to Prowl. "You've been awfully quiet thus far, Prowl. Any thoughts?"

Prowl slowly shook his helm. "I would like the opportunity to talk to Barricade about this before I make any conclusions." he said. "Perhaps Barricade has met this Meister – or at least knows his reputation. He may even know about the twins as well."

"Why would Barricade tell us about any of that?" Red Alert demanded. "He's not an Autobot. He hasn't declared his allegiance. For all we know, he's spying for the Decepticons."

A small smirk crossed Prowl's face. If that was true, then Barricade already had all the leverage he needed to take over from day one. "I doubt that, Red." he said gently. "Transitions take time. You'll notice he no longer refers to himself as a 'Con, either. I trust him."

"And I don't know why." Red Alert grumbled. "The only reason I haven't locked him back in the brig is because of you."

"I appreciate the faith in my judgment." came the dry response.

Optimus held up a hand, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Ask him as much as you can without giving away how much we know." he ordered Prowl. "You may trust him, but I do not yet. A mere year is not long enough."

Prowl nodded, optics darkening slightly. Ratchet cast him a glance once again, but the Second showed no other signs of his growing irritation. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Dismissed. Jazz, I'd like to have a word with you about the intel patrols."

"Yes, sir."

Prowl and Ratchet walked out of the room, silent until they reached the med bay. Ratchet locked the doors from the inside (which only Wheeljack could open, and even he knew a figurative 'get lost' when he saw one) and sat down on a spare berth. Prowl began to pace.

"They're going to figure it out sooner or later, Prowl." Ratchet said quietly.

"I know."

"You should have told them sooner. The first day, even."

"That was never an option." By now Prowl's optics were glowing black, his fists clenching compulsively. "You know that. I told you that when I first got wind you were Prime's CMO. It wasn't an option. Too many would have died."

"We never knew about Meister until now!"

"And if Prime walked around talking about his tactician Meister – "

" . . . . Good point."

"Thank you. I have them on occasion." Prowl resumed pacing until he felt a pair of hands touching his shoulders, coaxing him to a stop. He turned around, finding himself face to face with a smirking Barricade. "Cade – "

"Hush." Barricade silenced him with a kiss. "I just got back from patrol – I'm tired, and you're pissed. So let's go relax." He nuzzled against Prowl's neck, attempting to get the other mech to comply with him. Ratchet gave Barricade a hard look, but the other mech merely smiled and continued to nuzzle and nip at Prowl's neck. For once, the tactician wasn't reacting.

Ratchet's attention immediately snapped back to Prowl. "Have you told him yet?"

"No."

"And why the frag not?"

"Because he's got this bet going to see how long it'll take me to figure it out." Barricade replied mildly. "I already got a few good guesses in."

"Warm, but no rust stick." Prowl quipped. Barricade lightly popped him on the helm.

Ratchet rolled his optics. "Get out of my sight, both of you. Before Prowl's restraint breaks."

Barricade grinned. "I'm testing his restraint?"

"You think you can do that to your bondmate and not get a reaction?" Ratchet retorted. "Leave!"

"Going!" Barricade cheerfully pulled Prowl from the med bay. Once they were out of audio range, he abruptly turned serious. "Why are you pissed off?"

Prowl sighed. "You'll find out soon enough. And before you even ask – I'm not hiding it because I don't trust you. I'm hiding it because I'm too used to keeping it a secret. If the wrong mech found out – " He shook his helm.

Barricade pulled Prowl to a halt, brushing his hand against his mate's chassis. "They would hurt you." he murmured quietly.

Prowl nodded. "If I'm lucky." he replied just as quietly. "What I've done is nothing short of treason, even if it was for the right reasons."

"They won't hurt you." Barricade swore, surprising them both with the sudden surge of fear and anger. "This may not have been what I intended, but slag it, it's what I want. And I'm not an Autobot – I don't have loyalty to anyone but you. They won't hurt you. No matter what you've done."

"That's because you have no morals." Prowl shot back, doorwings faintly trembling.

Barricade rolled his optics. "All morals ever did was get me stuck on the Autobot base with a bondmate. The second part of which I'm not complaining about."

Prowl uttered a faint laugh and pulled Barricade in for a bruising, desperate kiss. "Thank you."

/-/

AN: And now you know Prowl's dark secret! But what about the Twins, and what will happen when everyone finds out? Ten more chapters, maybe. Completing this story is now a priority.