"Why did you leave her side?"
Stormrunner looks down in shame at Prowl's question.
"You are an experienced senior officer, Stormrunner. Which was why Topkick selected you to be responsible for Athena's protection. You know the procedures and how important it is not to let your guard down. So, why did you?"
She looks up again and meets his stern gaze with a pained look in her optics.
"I failed her."
There is no reason to argue.
No reason to apologize.
And it's not Prowl she has to apologize to anyway.
I'm so sorry, Athena.
Prowl's attention turns towards the datapad on the desk before him.
He frowns.
What game is Torment now playing?
The kidnapping of Athena doesn't conform with Torment's usual behavior, and he doesn't like this sudden change of behavior in the dangerous assassin.
To the Joint Investigation Unit's Director of Intelligence.
The message seems so formal.
What do you wish to accomplish with this, Torment?
He looks towards Aurora.
"You have scanned it?"
Aurora nods seriously.
"Thrice. Nothing unusual came up. It should be safe."
He activates the datapad and a vid-file begins to play.
Clips from surveillance footage of surgeries.
Primus!
He is not the only one out there.
Eight clips of surgeries where the patients gets the warp-gate technology installed in their frames plays in rapid succession, and he shares a troubled glance with Aurora.
"Why is he showing us this?" Aurora asks confused, "Why does he WANT us to know about it? It doesn't make any sense."
The vid-file ends with a dark screen and then a communications link pop up.
It looks like they are about to find out.
He touches the link and a connection establishes.
::Greetings, Director.:: Torment states calmly.
"Torment." Prowl greets stiffly, "What do you want?"
::Your attention, isn't that obvious?:: The assassin smiles smugly.
"Why take Athena?" He asks, "You didn't need to harm her to get my attention."
::I have my reasons, but I promise that she will be returned unharmed to her home when all of this is over.::
"And what is 'all of this' you refer to? You have my attention, have shown me that you aren't the only one out there, who Torrent has given the warp-gate technology to. What. Do. You. Want."
There is an immediate change in Torment's expression at his mentioning of Torrent.
::I want to test your willingness to cooperate, Director.:: The assassin says coldly, ::I want you to withdraw your protection of Athena. If you do so, then I will be willing to provide you with information that you desperately need to prevent an upcoming catastrophe.::
The connection cuts before he can ask questions about what catastrophe the assassin refers to, and he stares at the blank screen.
He looks at Aurora again.
"Get those clips analyzed. I want their identities before the end of the day."
The SIO takes the datapad and leaves the office.
He turns towards Stormrunner.
"I want you to tell me in detail what happened. Anything that you observed."
"You're going to do as he demands?" Stormrunner asks, a sharp edge in her voice.
"I am considering it. He has clearly planned this. It could have turned out deadly for you and your team. Yet, he chose not to kill you. I want to understand what has caused his change of spark."
"With all due respect, Sir. He is still a cold-sparked assassin who singlehandedly has killed more than 400 of our colleagues over the years, not to mention his thousand of other victims. Can we even trust him?"
"Further reason to try to understand him and this sudden and unexpected change of his behavior."
"And you are willing to sacrifice Athena to do so?"
Prowl leans back in his chair.
Is he?
Torment stares at Athena while she calmly recharges on his berth.
She is a weakness he can't afford.
Not now.
Not ever.
And yet...
...he can't get himself to kill her.
He is already lost.
Powerless.
He sits down beside her with a deep frustrated sigh and studies her delicate facial features.
She is so small and fragile, yet so strong.
It became obvious when she challenged him, bravely stared her death in the optics and survived.
A hesitant almost affectionate smile plays on his lips, but instantly disappears when she slowly begins to wake and regains consciousness.
"It's about time I bring you home before I do something that I will regret."
He takes the syringe with the narcotics out of his subspace and grips gently around her right arm.
A tiny sound of pain escapes her lips while she reflexively tries to tug her arm away when the needle penetrates one of her energon lines, but he doesn't let it affect him and waits patiently while the drug takes full effect on her processor.
Her consciousness once more fades into darkness and she sighs softly, when a pleasant haze encompasses her and fills her processor with a deep and relaxing contentment.
He hates to do it to her, but it is the most gentle way he has to keep her sedated until he has brought her home.
At a safe distance far away from him and his dangerous feelings.
He can't allow himself to be distracted. For her sake and his.
"You are all I have ever wanted." He holds her gently against him and Athena melts into his embrace while his lips claims hers in a brief passionate kiss, "But you are better off without me."
He withdraws and she suddenly feels cold at his words.
No!
She grabs desperately for him and the illusion splinters into millions of pieces, when she wakes from the dream the next moment.
Why does she suddenly feel like crying?
She looks confused around at the interior of her berthroom.
He brought her home?
Tears bursts from her optics while her emotions war within her and floods her processor with confusing contradicting signals, when the stress from her second encounter with him overwhelms her.
She has only just begun to recover from the first trauma and he decides to inflict another upon her.
What did he even want with her?
Hotspot immediately answers the communications request when he sees who it is that is contacting him.
::I'm going insane.:: Athena utters in deep frustration the moment the communication gets established.
Okay then...
"I'm listening."
Athena begins angrily to explain what has happened, and he can literally imagine her as she furiously walks back and forth inside her home office.
::It's as if I'm just a possession he can do with as he pleases.::
"Have you contacted Prowl or Topkick and informed them about where you are?" He interrupts her ranting.
She hesitates.
"I take that as a no." He says softly, "Do you want me to do it?"
::Primus.::
She sighs disheartened when he reminds her of her obvious forgetfulness, and she gratefully accepts his offer to take the conversation with Prowl on her behalf.
::I no longer know what to do anymore.::
"The Director of the Joint Investigation Unit." Prowl states when he responds to the communication request.
::Greetings, Director.:: Hotspot greets, ::I'm Hotspot, the head of the Neuropsychiatric Laboratory. I am contacting you on behalf of a close colleague of mine.::
Prowl sits up straight in his chair.
Athena!
"Is she okay?"
::As okay as she can be under the current circumstances.:: Hotspot answers seriously, ::She is at her home, but I won't use the words 'in safety', because it is obvious that she isn't and won't be as long as he is out there. This is the second time he has attacked her. Can you even keep her safe, Prowl?::
"I can't."
It hurts his professional pride to confess to it.
::Do you at least know why he is targeting her?::
Yes.
"No." He answers calmly, "I would like to ask you about something, Hotspot. Since you are a close friend of her, she confides in you, correct?"
::Yes, that is why we have this conversation.::
"What has she told you about him?"
There is a moment of hesitation.
::You want to know how dangerous she has assessed him to be.:: Hotspot says after a while, ::I assume that you aren't familiar with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)*, so let me tell you this: It consists of a 20-item symptom rating scale that allows qualified examiners to compare a subject's degree of psychopathy with that of a prototypical psychopath. Each of the twenty items is given a score of 0, 1, or 2 based on how well it applies to the subject being tested. A prototypical psychopath would receive a maximum score of 40, while someone with absolutely no psychopathic traits or tendencies would receive a score of zero. A score of 30 or above qualifies a person for a diagnosis of psychopathy. People with no criminal backgrounds normally score around 5. Many non-psychopathic criminal offenders score around 22. If we look at Torrent, who shows obvious signs of clinical psychopathy, then he scores 38. Retrograde scored 33. But it has been impossible for her to make a precise assessment of this one due to the short time she has spent together with him and simply because he doesn't show any of the classic psychopathic signs. Instead she has on the basis of her experience with assessing mentally ill criminals estimated his score to be 18, which means he is completely rational and sane, if we don't include the fact that he is a merciless killer in the equation.::
::That said, it doesn't mean that he isn't dangerous. In fact, he might be more dangerous than Torrent. His normal behavior makes it possible for him to easily vanish in a crowd without anyone paying further attention to him, and from my talks with Athena it seems like he is the type, that won't hesitate to show what he truly is, if it becomes necessary.::
Prowl leans thoughtful back in his chair when the communication with Hotspot has terminated and reflects deeply on the psychiatric assessment of Torment.
He reaches out to Nacelle with his troubled spark and receives a wave of soothing unconditional love in response.
Then he makes one of the most decisive decisions in his function as an enforcer and Director of the Joint Investigation Unit.
End notes:
*The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R):
• glib and superficial charm
• grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self
• need for stimulation
• pathological lying
• cunning and manipulativeness
• lack of remorse or guilt
• shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)
• callousness and lack of empathy
• parasitic lifestyle
• poor behavioral controls
• sexual promiscuity
• early behavior problems
• lack of realistic long-term goals
• impulsivity
• irresponsibility
• failure to accept responsibility for own actions
• many short-term marital relationships
• juvenile delinquency
• revocation of conditional release
• criminal versatility
This is the list Hotspot refers to and in which Torment scored 18 while Torrent scored 38.
Bonus information:
I put Torment through the Dark Triad Test just like I earlier in the story did Torrent and he scored as following:
Torment:
Narcissism - 6%.
Machiavellianism - 31%.
Psychopathy - 54%.
Average score: 30%, and most interestingly 3.17% LIGHTER than the average person.
If we compare him to Torrent's, then it becomes clear how different they are:
Torrent:
Narcissism: 100%.
Machiavellianism: 94%.
Psychopathy: 90%.
And 61.83% darker than the average person.
Explanation of the three Traits:
Narcissism is an egotistical interest in, or admiration of, one's self. Narcissists tend to be excessively preoccupied with themselves and motivated by getting admiration from others and maintaining a grandiose self-image. Because narcissists are so preoccupied with getting others to buy into their self-image, they may initially seem charming, but most narcissists have trouble developing real relationships on account of their difficulty with empathy and lack of interest in others.
Machiavellianism is characterized by a duplicitous interpersonal style, a cynical disregard for morality, and a focus on self-interest and personal gain. People who score high on Machiavellianism tend to be unemotional and take an instrumental view of others. They are therefore able to detach themselves from conventional morality and manipulate others. Highly Machiavellian individuals can be very patient with their deceptions due to their calculating nature.
Psychopathy is identified by the tell-tale sign of shallow emotional responses. The underdeveloped affect of psychopaths endows them with high stress tolerance, low empathy, and little guilt and prompts them to seek out extremely stimulating activities (sex, violence, drugs, or financial risk), resulting in impulsivity and a disposition towards interpersonal conflict. Personality traits associated with psychopathy include a lack of empathy or remorse, antisocial behavior, and volatility.