Bit of pointless trivia: Sideswipe's attitude here was stolen from "Broken". It was originally supposed to be Riella doing it to Lockdown during the scene where he takes her mods, but because of her PTSD that didn't work. I didn't want to lose it, so I gave it to Sideswipe. He needed a moment in here. This is another rough chapter.

Chapter 4

Dungeons, Optimus Prime's Headquarters, New Iacon

Riella frowned down at Sideswipe. The Decepticon was curled back against the wall, optics offline, with so much energon staining his frame that it was difficult to see his original teal coloring. Sparks flickered from gashes and broken limbs, and panels were twisted and ripped out of place. "I assume you didn't get anything."

"Nope," Wheeljack grunted. "Barely any screaming, even." He sounded disappointed, flicking energon off his servos with a sigh.

"Mm. Pity." Riella shook her head. "If you've damaged him to the point where I can't get anything, you'll be taking his place." She knelt and tapped a raw gash in Sideswipe's shoulder lightly. Besides a slight twitch, there was no response. She leaned forward until her lips almost touched his. "Helloooo…anyone home?"

CRACK. Sideswipe's forehead smashed against Riella's with enough force to knock her away from him. She landed awkwardly on her aft, glaring at the Decepticon. Sideswipe grinned, displaying broken and bloody dentas, as his optics flickered erratically. "Nope…no one here…come back later."

"Oooh, that was a bad idea." Riella picked herself up, pointedly ignoring the snickers from Ricochet. The dent in her forehead throbbed. Slag, but he hit hard. The only consolation was that his head had to be aching even more, and he was clearly 'out of it', as Ratchet would say. That could be exploited easily. "A very, very bad idea. You used to be one of us, sweetie. You know what happens now."

Sideswipe offlined his optics and curled in on himself again. "You start…" His vocalizer crackled with painful-sounding static. "…hitting me…until I talk…right? You're gonna…be here…a while."

"Wrong." Riella prodded a cut on his chin with one sharp fingertip, forcing his head up. Blue optics flickered again and glared into hers. "This is where I decide whether or not I'll get anything out of you. And if the answer is no, well…I don't honestly care what happens to you after that. If I walk away again, everyone else has permission to come down here…" She leaned in closer, purring softly, engine rumbling. She liked this part. "…and do whatever they want." She slid the stiletto knife in her fingertip down his jaw, cutting a fine line into the flexible metal and enjoying his small wince. "You'll be nothing but a toy."

The Decepticon's jaw tightened slightly. Oh, he knew what she was threatening. If she left, he'd never come out alive. Still, his optics held defiance and just a hint of amusement. "Bring it…bitch. N-not…talking to you."

Riella's fingers closed on his shoulder, biting into the armor and yanking him out of his curled position. Sideswipe made a startled yelp of pain as the movement jarred every injury in his torso. Riella smirked and deliberately shifted her hand down to probe at a shredded panel, drawing small hisses and gasps from her captive. "I'm 'good cop'," she whispered. "You don't want to see 'bad cop'. Just tell me what I want and you won't have to."

Shaking with pain, Sideswipe still somehow managed to smirk at her. "Anyone ever…ever tell you…you're cute…when you're mad?"

"Fine. If that's the way you want it." Riella stood with a slight huff, resisting the urge to rub the still-sore dent. "Ricochet, please inform the remainder of the base that this prisoner is no longer off-limits. Any information they get is welcome but not required."

Ricochet bared his fangs in a sinister smirk. "With pleasure. After I'm done with him."

"You might see me again, probably won't." The femme shrugged and glanced carelessly down at Sideswipe. "But trust me, you'll be begging for someone with my sense of kindness before you die."

"Sure…" Sideswipe grunted, energon trickling down his face. "…whatever."

Riella made a rare sound of frustration and stormed out of the cell, waiting until she was on the stairs to soothe the dent in her forehead. Slagging pit-spawned brat. Jazz is going to get every bit of mileage he can out of this. At least she was all but guaranteed some kind of information. After a few days left to the mercies of the ranking troops, there was no way Sideswipe would maintain his defiance.

She stalked quietly out of the dungeons and back toward her room. Maybe Mirage would be up for something a bit more entertaining than interrogation duty – she had eight comm messages from him, even though she knew he was paired with the heavy-duty scout, Hound, for the week and not supposed to ditch his partner while on the job. Not really a big fan of Hound. But if Mirage wants him around, and it keeps him from hassling me, well, I could use something entertaining…

"Busy schedule?"

Riella almost jumped, whirling around with one blade drawn. "What the –" She immediately retracted the blade as Optimus Prime stepped out of the shadows at the edge of the hall. "My lord." She dropped quickly to her knees. "I – I did not realize –"

"I am aware of that." Optimus moved to stand in front of the femme, staring impassively down at her. "I take it the interrogation did not end in information."

"N-no, my lord. Not yet." Riella ducked her head a little further. "The Decepticon – he was particularly stubborn. I left the others with him, and intend to check back…" She trailed off. Optimus would not want excuses.

The Autobot leader stepped back and gestured impatiently. "Get up. You are not some human slave. I do not expect anyone to get information from Sideswipe. Deserter or not, traitor or not, he was once an Autobot. He will resist to the end. You were right to stop wasting time with him." Optimus started walking down the hall and motioned for Riella to follow. "I must have a word with Prowl and remind him to use more processing power when selecting captives for interrogation. I am not sure his spark is fully engaged in our mission…"

Riella honestly didn't have a response. This made no sense. Why was Optimus Prime taking the time to talk to her? She was just a scout. A femme scout with a nice frame, but that still didn't explain…

"Are you listening to me?"

Oops. Riella cleared her oral intake awkwardly. "Yes, my lord."

"Excellent." Optimus stopped and turned to face her. "I am assigning you to watch Prowl. Do not inform anyone. Report to me each evening."

Riella bowed. "As you wish, my lord."

"Dismissed." Optimus stalked away, leaving the femme staring in slight shock. Okay. Optimus Prime just gave me a personal mission. Since when does that happen?