Before you continue to read chapter 48, I want to clarify something since I haven't gone into that topic.
You might have noticed that Athena is referred to as a She, while Thundercracker is a He, despite both of them being carriers.
There are 4 different types in this story.
Male sire.
Male carrier.
Female sire.
Female carrier.
And as you know from the story, the sires solely have a spike while the carriers solely have a valve.
The females are smaller than the males and the carriers' frames are sleeker and weaker than the sires, but other than that, they are not that much different from each other. If we take Echo and Serenity from D-14, they only reach Thundercracker to roughly above the elbow. And as described in their files in chapter 1, Skywarp is 63 meters in height, while Thundercracker is 52. I imagine that sires like Torrent and Megatron are roughly around 65-69 meters.
At the moment I plan to go into Torment's physical appearance at some point in the story, but if I decide not to, I will give you an description of him.
And then I introduce you to a new character in his chapter, which is a Female sire, thus why I felt the need to make this explanation to prevent confusion.
As additional information I can inform you that JIU officer Stormrunner, who was the one to secure Thundercracker after the Joint Investigation Unit's attack on Retrograde's complex, also is a Female sire. Once again to avoid confusion since we will see some more to her later on.
Aurora paces restlessly back and forth while Prowl calmly sits on one of the benches outside the Supreme Council's chambers as the senators vote.
"I don't like it." Aurora states, "They are taking too long."
Prowl agrees, but he has done everything he can to convince the Supreme Council that it is paramount for their case against the syndicate, that the Joint Investigation Unit gets permission to use invasive interrogation on Torrent. Because if they don't get the permission, then they risk having to release Torrent despite the extensive evidences against him.
Torrent had leaned back in his chair and had stared at him with a arrogant smug smile and had refused to talk when they began the interrogation of him while his lawyer, who seems to know every single loophole in their laws, had spoken on his behalf.
It is obvious that Nightswitch's defense of Torrent builds upon sowing doubt about the extent of Retrograde's ability to affect the mind. And since Retrograde is dead they can't prove, that Torrent wasn't under the influence of her outlier ability when he committed his crimes against Thundercracker and fought against the Joint Investigation Unit in Kalis.
There is a high risk that Torrent will be acquitted of any accusation because of that uncertainty.
"They are ready to receive you." The council's judicial senior assistant informs them when the door opens and Prowl follows him into the chambers.
The Supreme Council's seven senators look down at him from the podium.
"We have come to an unanimous decision." senator Enigma announces, "And we have to decline the Joint Investigation Unit's request to permit the use of Invasive Interrogation on Torrent. We see no reason why the Joint Investigation Unit needs to utilize such an invasive and destructive procedure, when the Joint Investigation Unit already have all of the leaders of the syndicate in its custody. We understood its use while the syndicate posed a direct threat to our society, but that threat has now been eliminated."
"The Joint Investigation Unit needs to provide us with more tangible evidences against Torrent if we are to allow such a far-reaching violation of fundamental rights."
Prowl had feared that this would be the outcome, but for now there isn't any more he can do to convince the senators of the necessity of his request.
"I accept the Supreme Council's decision." He announces respectfully and follows the council's judicial senior assistant out of the chambers.
"Our request have been denied due to the lack of tangible evidences against Torrent." He informs Aurora when the door closes behind him, "We will have to convince the other leaders of the syndicate, that it's in their best interest to betray their loyalty to Torrent and provide us with the information we need to get him convicted."
"Then I have some really bad news." Aurora says, when he terminates the urgent communication he has received from their headquarter, and he stares in disbelief at Prowl when he continues, "Hardkill and Pummel appear to have committed suicide in their cells while Quickpoint a few minutes ago collapsed due to a fatal spark failure. I currently await a status on Gale-force, Havoc and Sidewire."
This confirms Prowl's suspicion that Retrograde's death hadn't been caused by undiscovered health problems.
There are clearly someone who is killing the leaders of the syndicate, and the most urgent question is how they have managed to get into the secure prisons and have gotten access to the cells.
Whoever it is, that has killed them, obviously didn't want the leaders of the syndicate to give the Joint Investigation Unit information.
But what dangerous information did they possess?
And about whom?
Aurora confirms a few minutes later, that Havoc, Gale-force and Sidewire also have died while Torrent still remains alive.
Torrent who only exists in their systems as a ghost and whose true identity still is a mystery to them.
They have so many unanswered questions concerning the syndicate's mysterious operational leader and the only one who can give them the answers refuses to talk.
His thoughts gets interrupted by an heavily encrypted message from Topkick.
I need to talk to you in absolute secrecy.
Torment parks his alt-mode outside Athena's apartment complex in the center of Kalis while hidden by a cloaking device.
His enhanced sensors instantly registers the team of three JIU officers that Topkick has appointed to protect her, and he smiles inwardly as he observes their predictable movements.
If he had been on a mission to kill, then he would have infiltrated the building from the roof and with their current positions they wouldn't have been able to prevent him from killing his target.
When do the authorities learn that they can't stop him no matter how hard they try?
Their presence, however, do complicate things, because he hadn't expected them to be here.
A mistake on his part.
He silently ignites his engine and leaves the area as stealthily as he had arrived.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Shift looks up from her work when the proximity alert activates.
Who would seek them out this late?
She carefully removes the specialized magnifying glasses before her optics and rises from her workstation to investigate it.
The knocks on the front door is a coded message and she listens closely until it is completed before she steps forward and opens it.
"I honestly didn't expect to see you here again after what happened to you."
Torment looks down at the only one he ever has called a friend.
The small female sire is a technical genius and specialized in a wide range of hacking techniques. Over the years they have established a genuine friendship, which is a rare occurrence in their line of business.
"I initially had other plans, but had to change them at the last second. You were the closest and I apologize if I have disturbed you in your work." He explains with a small sheepish smile.
She steps away from the door and lets him inside.
"You know that you always are welcome here no matter the time of the day." She answers, "Your room is as you left it at your last visit."
Torment follows her into the house and down into the basement where she has her workshop.
She sits down at her workstation and he curiously studies the small device she is working on.
"A neural inhibitor." She explains and gently packs the delicate device away before she turns towards him with a serious expression.
"I would like to take a look at your little problem now that I have you here."
If it had been someone else who made the request, then he would have refused to bare his spark chamber, but he trusts Shift with his life.
"I can't promise that I can do anything about it, but it will at least give us an idea of what we are dealing with and who will have the expertise to remove it."
"I understand." He answers seriously and opens his chestplates slowly to allow her to examine Torrent's handiwork.
He observes her as she places the specialized magnifying glasses before her optics and leans forward to study the device on his spark chamber.
She frowns and after a while looks up at him with a grave expression.
"Have you felt any pain in your spark after the surgery?"
"No." He answers, surprised by her question, while a growing sense of unease begins to coalesce within his spark.
What has Torrent done to him?
It must be worse than he had anticipated if Shift reacts like this.
"Your spark chamber is damaged, but so far your spark doesn't appear to be compromised if you don't feel any pain. I can see countless micro fractures surrounding the device, and it looks like they have drilled into your chamber to fasten the device to it." She explains grimly as she leans back and takes the magnifying glasses off, "While the device is simple and easy to remove, the hole it leaves behind in your spark chamber is potentially life-threatening. It will require specialist treatment, and your spark will most likely have to be stored while the damage heals."
He reflects upon the ramifications of her words while he closes his chestplates.
It is evident that the device has been installed with the purpose of never having to be removed.
So Torrent intends to either keep him as a slave for the rest of his life or kill him when the work has been done.
And after this revelation, he wonders if his nemesis hasn't already made a disastrous tactical error by turning him into an enemy of the Organization through his actions.
Because what has he to lose if Torrent intends to kill him anyway?
Why play by the rules when your opponent doesn't?
There are a lot to consider and only little time to do so, but at least he has the freedom to make the necessary decisions while Torrent is imprisoned.
"I don't wish to take more of your time tonight, but could you do me a favor and check an identity for me before I leave you to your work?"
"The usual information?" She asks while he follows her into the secluded section of her workshop that houses her advanced computer and its many screens.
"No, this time I want an extensive background check and whatever else you can find in the various databases." He provides Shift with Athena's name and address, the only information he has been able to find about her in the Joint Investigation Unit's personnel database.
"Give me an hour and you have it."
Shift leans against the doorframe to Torment's room roughly an hour later.
"Since when has the Organization begun to take an interest in psychiatrists?"
"It hasn't." Torment answers while he fills a syringe with the precise amount of anesthetic required to anesthetize Athena and places it carefully on the table before he takes another syringe and fills it with a small dose of narcotics, "This is solely a personal interest."
The two syringes are gently placed in his subspace before he methodically proceeds to check the wide range of weapons and tools that he uses on a regular basis in his work.
Shift enters the room and places a small datastick with the gathered information on the table.
Torment stares almost hypnotized at it and feels how his spark pulse suddenly, for no apparent reason, begins to slightly increase.
"She is a lovely little carrier." Shift says with a grin, "No bondmate. No sparklings. No romantic ties."
The perfect love affair.
No.
That is not the reason why he is interested in her.
This is pure business.
"You can have the house to yourself tomorrow, if you need it."
He glares darkly at Shift, furious at what she suggests with her offer.
"It will NOT be necessary." He growls threateningly.
"If you say so."
She easily dodges the lethal dagger he angrily throws towards her with a deep laughter and leaves him be.
He must admit that he at times is envious of Shift.
The hacker has a lifestyle that allows her to have a established love life with a devoted bondmate who fully accepts what she is, while his love life consists of discreet sexual affairs, since love is a fleeting privilege when his lifestyle is as it is.
Nothing lasts forever in his world, and it fills him with regret every time he has to kill a lover to protect himself.
As a wanted criminal, he simply can't afford to give in to his spark's innermost desire.