"Six shots!" Jazz tapped his ear protectors to make sure they were on securely - he did have sensitive hearing - before picking up his gun and sighting down the barrel towards his target. He closed his eyes for a moment, steadying his breathing. In...out...in...out. They snapped open again and he fired off six rounds very rapidly, ignoring any recoil the gun produced, letting his body absorb the shockwaves. He paused to see his handiwork and snorted, then placed his gun on the bench in front of him to disarm it, slip the clip out and take his protectors off. He pressed the button that brought his target to him, and he tore it off the holder with a frown.
"Nice shooting." Adam's voice didn't make Jazz jump, but he was surprised. He recovered quickly with a short laugh.
"I usually have better shootin' than this, Prowler, but thanks." He studied the paper. Five out of his six shots had gone somewhere right through the center point, but one of them had strayed off into the 9-point sector around it. That was the shot he decided to glare at, as though the strength of said glare alone could move the hole into the center area. Adam seemed amused.
"Glaring at it isn't going to help, Jazz. You just need to brush up again, that's all. Believe me, that's better than any of the other guys here could do." Adam pursed his lips in thought. "Were you ever a force sniper?"
Jasper looked surprised. "Yeah, actually, I was."
"Figures." Adam watched the darker man roll up his target paper and piece the gun back together, plopping it back in its holster. "Are you doing anything later?"
"Why, yeh wanna go do sommat?"
"Just wondering."
"Actually, yeah. I am." Jazz shot him a grin. "Yeh can come with me, if yeh wanna. 'M goin' fer m'maintenance check on m'optical gear."
"Really?" Adam blinked. "I might take you up on that. A bio-engineering lab must be fascinating to go to."
"Percy 'n Wade are th'scientists that come up with th'stuff. I'll warn yeh now, Wade has a tendency t'blow things up. Rai's ferever goin' on at him fer it." Jazz shouldered a small bag and the two of them left the firing range. "Ryan's th'surgeon who actually put m'implants in. He's an absolute miracle worker, hailed as one o'th'best doctors 'n surgeons in the US. Normally really expensive t'go t', 'n I mean really expensive, but since I did their program voluntarily 'n 'm under no obligation to 'em, I get his work fer free." The lieutenant laughed at a sudden thought. "He has a... unique bedside manner. I heard him threaten t'turn one o' his patients int' a remote-controlled robot designed by Wade if he didn't stop gettin' up 'n walkin' round when he weren't s'posed t'."
"I'm guessing the threat of imminent explosions stopped him," remarked Adam dryly, and Jasper laughed his almost musical laugh that showed his genuine happiness.
"Right about." There was a comfortable silence for a couple minutes as they meandered towards the car park, and then Jazz snapped his fingers together, making a noise of realization. "Oh! I nearly fergot t'tell you! We got a hit back on one o' those partials we took from th'scene."
"Really? Who?"
"Came back as Casey Octane, a very dangerous man." Jazz made a face. "He works fer Russell."
"Russell? As in, Morgan Russell?" Adam had to hide a surprised expression. Morgan Russell was a suspected crime lord, and by that he meant full bloody-well known, but so far no one had been able to come close to bringing him down. He was a slippery piranha who loved their fruitless efforts to catch him and considered it a game.
"Th'same. Thing is, if Octane was here then th'other two musta been too."
"The other two?" Adam raised an eyebrow, and then the other one when another thought hit him. "And how do you know he works for Russell?"
Jasper grimaced, his handsome face tightening. "Remember when I said I ran with th'gangs? There was one gang who were severely opposed t'ours, 'n they took every opportunity they could t'wipe us out. Thing is they're like an organization, really structured 'n well-funded. We discovered that th'brains behind it all 'n leader o'th'gang was none other than Morgan Russell, crime lord extraordinaire." They reached Jazz's car, a Porsche 935 Turbo. Adam had to bite back a snort of laughter, because it just suited Jasper to the core. The car was everything he was; suave, fun, cheeky, unruly and fast. The man himself didn't notice that, though, and carried on talking while he unlocked the car so both of them could get in. " 'Course he had a crapload o' other areas o' expertese 'n never really bothered with th'gang, but he has three lackeys who're more'n capable o' overseein' 'n runnin' it. Casey Octane, Astro Donovan 'n Blaze Denton. They were ruthless, merciless 'n seemed to constantly be in three minds 'bout things. Each o' 'em. They were rarely seen apart, so if Octane was there then Donovan 'n Denton were too."
Adam made a humming sound, looking thoughtful as Jasper started the engine. "Looks like too big-a job for just three of them."
"I wouldn't underestimate 'em," warned his partner. "Anyway, enough o'th'morbid stuff." Jazz revved the engine, reversing out his space with a satisfied grin. "Mmmm, love m'baby." He glanced round at his companion. "Let's go get m'visor sorted. I gotta warn ya, be prepared fer tirades, explosions 'n general mayhem."
Adam shot his partner a look that was both confused and a 'now-you-tell-me', but it was mostly ignored. The detective settled back in his seat, wondering just how Jazz had actually afforded this car. It was nice to ride; the heady thrum of its engine pulsed right through Adam's body every time the accelerator was touched, which told volumes of its restrained power, and the seats were worn, soft and comfortable. The suspension was strong, obviously well-maintained because the drive was extremely smooth. Jazz was evidently in his element when he was driving the Porsche, and Adam found himself speculating if the darker man had raced in this car before. Probably, but he didn't want to ask, not right now. There was a contented silence between them as they drove on, neither of them finding any want or need to speak.
When they reached the laboratories Jazz pulled up outside with a flourish, causing a couple of the men in labcoats milling around outside apparently on break to either roll their eyes or grin. This obviously wasn't an uncommon occurrence for the labs, Adam mused with a small smile, and he nodded politely at some of them as he got out the car. A loud voice made him jump when it called Jazz's name, and he turned to see a man striding towards them with a lazy smirk on his lips. He was well-built with graying red hair and several scars adorning nearly every part of his body that Adam could see. A faded red t-shirt and a pair of jeans were the only thing hiding his strength.
"Yo Jazz! Been a while! How ya been?"
"'Hide, hey!" Jazz's face broke out into a delighted grin. They touched fists. "I'm great. Jus' got a new job in th'force. This here's m'new partner, Adam. Prowl, this is a good friend o' mine from when I ran with th'wrong crowds. Raymond Ironhide." Adam took the proffered hand, and then stepped back to watch them. To everyone else it seemed like the two were close friends, perfectly at ease with each other's presence. However Adam got the sense that while it might be true Jazz didn't seem like he'd be willing to indulge Ironhide with the same information he had freely given to Adam, which made the detective's mood rise at the thought. Perhaps he was special to Jazz. He came out of his thoughts when Jazz began to dismiss his friend in favor of going to his appointment.
"Hatchet in a good mood?"
"Ah'd be careful 'round him, but yeah. He don't seem like he's gonna blow his top when he sees ya kid." Raymond laughed, a deep rich sound that reverberated from his stomach. "It's 'Jack ya gotta look out for today. Ah nearly got mahself blown up earlier gettin' curious 'bout one of his gadget thingumibobs."
"Lesson learned, then?" Jazz sniggered with his last parting shot as he dodged a friendly punch, and disappeared inside. Adam traipsed in after him, and found himself a clean, neat lobby that felt a little too sterilized for his taste. Jasper motioned for him to follow, and the brunette tailgated his partner, not wanting to get lost in the maze of identical-looking corridors that the back of the lobby seemed to morph into.
Eventually they stopped outside a large double door labeled 'Optical Engineering', and Jazz was refrained from knocking when they heard shouting voices inside. They looked at each other with raised eyebrows, and then Jazz put a finger to his lips with a cheeky grin before pressing his ear to the door. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but there were definitely three voices in there. "Sounds like Percy's joined 'em," he commented before straightening and knocking twice. He was amused when the shouting abruptly stopped, and he could almost see Ryan and Wade glaring at each other while Percy stood warily and quietly to one side, chipping in only occasionally to try and ease tempers.
The door swung open to reveal the annoyed visage of a light, gray-brown haired man, short but with a lot of presence. His face turned to a good-natured glare when he saw Jasper.
"You were supposed to be here half an hour ago, Lieutenant," he said.
"I know, sorry Doc. Lost track o' m'self at th'shootin' range." He gestured towards Adam. "Remember I told ya I'd joined Detroit PD? Meet m'partner in crime, Detective Adam McCallen."
Adam sent the darker man an exasperated look. Really, 'partner in crime'? The expression wasn't missed by the other man, presumably Ryan, who looked thoroughly amused and patted the detective on the shoulder.
"Discovered how hopeless he is yet?"
"You have no idea. I'm not sure 'protocol' is in his dictionary," Adam remarked, nodding.
The man laughed. "Along with several other words relating to rules, regulations and safety. Name's Ryan, by the way. I'm the surgeon who put Jazz's gear in his head. These two glitches are Percy and Wade, the designers." Adam nodded at a silver-haired man with a ridged face-mask on and a younger-looking man with round glasses and mahogany hair.
"Knew th'voices in m'head were yer fault, Rai," quipped the lieutenant, and Ryan tossed the pen he'd been holding at Jasper's head, who ducked it with a giggle.
"Checking to see if Jazz's visor will blow up anytime soon?" asked Adam, and Ryan gave a bark of laughter.
"Hey Wade, you're famous! Even Adam here knows about your explosive tendencies!"
"Oh shut up." Wade gave them both a mild glare. "I'm not that bad."
"So you say." Ryan turned around to Jasper, motioning with his fingers for something. Jazz obliged by taking off his visor and pressing it into the surgeon's waiting hand, then laying down on an examination table. Ryan picked up a few tools and a scanner, setting them back down next to Jazz's head. "Face to your right, Jasper." He did, and Ryan picked up a screwdriver off the table and started to remove the covering of the left implant.
Adam watched Ryan work on his partner in silence, settling himself in a corner. The surgeon was methodical, precise and very fast, and Adam wondered if he wasn't a medic as well. He seemed to know too much about what would make Jazz comfortable and what wouldn't than a general surgeon would. Their patients were generally unconscious and therefore didn't care about whether they were comfortable or not. Ryan was gentle with his touch, but the detective quickly surmised he had the sharpest tongue of anyone he had ever met and it was highly amusing the hear the teases, taunts and heckling being thrown about by Jazz, Ryan and Wade, with Percy joining in occasionally. He had to join in the raucous laughter when Percy, in a bout of extremely rare mischievousness, snuck up behind Wade who was working steadfastly on something and yelled, "KABOOM!" extremely loudly, causing the poor inventor to jump a mile and then start swearing up a storm while chasing the other scientist around the lab.
When Percy was finally caught and thoroughly noogied by Wade, said silver-haired man scowled and gave his friend a pointed look. "The twins I'd expect that from, but you Perce?"
"Who do you think I got the idea from?" returned the red-head with a smirk. Adam just shook his head and ducked it to hide a widening grin. Jazz really knew how to make the weirdest of friends, and apparently right where to find them.
Ten minutes later, Ryan announced he was done with his inspection and repairs, handing Jasper back his visor and telling him to keep up the good work of looking after his equipment. The lieutenant agreed and clapped his friend on the shoulder, sending his partner a contented look. "Thanks, Rai. 'Preciate it."
"You damn well better," the surgeon sniped playfully. "Now, get your afts outta here."
"But I-"
"GET. No being cheeky." Ryan put one hand on his hips while the other pointed towards the door. Jasper chucked a nearby pen at him, in retaliation for throwing one at him when he first came, and darted out the door before the medic could strike back, tugging Adam with him and yelling, "Bye Doc! See ya next time!". He lead Adam back through the maze of corridors quite quickly into the still far-too-sterile lobby, neither of them realizing it was their hands that were entwined, not even when Jazz let go as they reached his car.
"Back to th'station fer more work?" he asked amiably, and Adam nodded. They needed to find Russell's men before they got too far.
Rae: Next chapter will have more in it, promise! x