Talon and Hailstorm stand at the top of A-63 and calmly oversees the fight between Typhoon and his three foes, ready to step in if the mercenary should need assistance.
But Typhoon handles the fight on his own, and Talon turns to Hailstorm when the mercenary hightails it away after killing Hottrack.
"You know what to do."
Hailstorm nods and turns towards the official-looking indigo blue transport carrying the Joint Investigation Unit's golden logo that waits for him on A-63's landing platform.
While his second-in-command boards the transport, Talon scouts the area around the psychiatric hospital, searching for his target.
Doublewire is out of sight, but this is Talon's territory, and no one can hide from him.
It doesn't take long before he receives a message with coordinates.
His lips curl into a predatory smirk before he transforms into alt-mode and dives into the heavy traffic, smoothly weaving in and out of the lines of fliers that fill the air.
The hunt is on.
Doublewire curses Typhoon for his interference as he impatiently drives down one of the main roads that lead out of Iacon, his warp-gate damaged by the explosion from the dark blue seeker's missile.
Hottrack is dead.
There is no response from Hyperdrive.
And Shadestop proved to be utterly useless.
It should have been easy for them to capture the demented blue seeker and his psychiatrist, but instead, it had ended in failure because of Typhoon's sentimentalism.
Torrent will not be pleased with them, and Doublewire fears what the psychopath will do to them when they tell him that they failed.
::Update?:: Ozone contacts him.
::We failed. Hottrack is dead, and Hyperdrive is not responding. I am currently heading west out of the city-state and have no idea where Shadestop is at the moment. We had to split up since my warp-gate got damaged in the attack.::
There is a long moment of silence from the newly appointed leader of their team.
::Understood.:: Ozone finally answers with a deep weariness in his voice.
The same weariness Doublewire feels.
There is no way out of this for them.
All because of Torment.
A shadow falls on him from above while the traffic around him suddenly spreads in panic.
The massive flight frame increases its speed and passes him before it transforms in the air and lands heavily on the road in front of him, and he slams the brake and does everything he can to not ramming into it, skidding to a stop mere centimeters from it.
He slowly transforms out of alt-mode.
"Who are you?" He growls, annoyed.
Talon regards the sniper with a look full of disdain before he grabs Doublewire around the throat and lifts him effortlessly.
"I am your worst nightmare," He says, his optics filling with fury as he looks at the one that had been so close to taking Torment from him. "I am the leader of the Polyhexian Cartel, and this is my territory."
Doublewire pales.
His day has just gone from bad to worse.
This is all Torment's fault!
If the traitor hadn't convinced them to join Torrent and the Organization and then betrayed them, this would never have happened.
"I apologize." He croaks meekly as his frame slowly begins to overheat from the lack of cooling air.
The fury in Talon's optics grows.
"If you think that an apology is enough to get you out of this, then you are sorely mistaken. You and I have a score to settle."
What?
"What do you mean?" He asks in confusion.
"You nearly killed my heir, and there is no forgiveness for that."
The hand around his throat tightens its grip and cuts off the flow of energon to his processor.
"I don't even know who your heir is!" He stutters desperately in protest while darkness begins to cloud his mind as he gets choked.
"Does the name Torment help you remember?"
His optics widen in shock and disbelief, and his last thought is a panicking 'You've got to be kidding me!' before unconsciousness finally claims him.
-Approaching destination.-
Hailstorm looks out of the side window of the official-looking transport as they near their destination, and he gives the pilot the final orders before they move in for a landing.
The pilot hovers above the building that Torment has picked as the new rendezvous point and slowly turns the disguised transport around before he brings it down on the roof, its tandem rotors slowly powering down.
Hailstorm checks his semi-automatic assault rifle before he walks to the lowering ramp and points his weapon at Nacelle. Nacelle freezes on the spot at the sight of the weapon aimed at him, but Hailstorm pays him no attention, his entire focus on the dark blue seeker only a short distance away from Nacelle. As expected, Typhoon moves to shield Nacelle from the threat, and a cruel smirk curl on Hailstorm's lips as he shakes his head in a silent warning to the mercenary.
"You'll surrender without any tricks, or I'll shoot!" He barks threateningly.
Typhoon is as shocked as Nacelle at this unexpected development, immediately recognizing Hailstorm and the troubles they are facing.
Where are the Joint Investigation Unit enforcers that should have come to bring Thundercracker and Nacelle to safety?
He tries to contact Torment, but there is no response.
What the frag is going on?!
He looks at Nacelle, frustration building inside him, knowing that he is outmatched. Hailstorm is, like his leader, not someone you want to provoke, especially not when he holds Nacelle at gunpoint. Hailstorm won't hesitate to kill Nacelle if Typhoon doesn't follow his order. Even with his outlier ability, he doesn't have a chance to get them all safely out of this if he chooses to go against Hailstorm. Nacelle will definitely die if it comes to a confrontation.
"You win." He grudgingly concedes, holding his hands up in surrender, and Hailstorm brusquely signals for a group of frontliners to put Typhoon in stasis-cuffs.
The stasis-cuffs locks down the access to his weapons, and he looks apologetic at Nacelle as he brutally gets forced into the transport.
"I'm so sorry."
Nacelle looks at Typhoon in utter disbelief.
This can't be happening!
"No! L-let me g-go!"
Nacelle whips his head around at Thundercracker's loud protest, and fury fills him at the sight of the hands that forcefully restrict the blue seeker. His fist connects with the frontliner's face before he even realizes what he has done, and he embraces Thundercracker protectively.
"Don't you dare touch him!" He growls furiously, glaring at the group of frontliners that surround them.
Hailstorm observes the feisty carrier, silently impressed. It takes courage to confront them in a situation like this.
"Then by all means." He says condescendingly, gesturing with his weapon for Nacelle to lead Thundercracker into the transport on his own.
Thundercracker clings desperately to Nacelle, seeking protection from the danger they suddenly find themselves in, and Nacelle glares hatefully at Hailstorm, hating the sire for the distress he is causing in the blue seeker. Thundercracker is trembling with fear while his field is full of terror, and it is clear that he is reacting to the chaotic feelings filling Nacelle's own field.
Nacelle looks away from Hailstorm to focus his attention on calming Thundercracker, and he stares softly into the blue seeker's optics as he slowly reins in his rampaging feelings and fills his field with calm and reassurance.
"I know that they scare you, they scare me too, but at the moment, we have no other choice than to go with them." He says to Thundercracker, his calm voice belying the deep worry in his spark.
He caresses the trembling blue wings, soothing the agitation in them. When Thundercracker has calmed down to a state where he is coherent and able to follow instructions and no longer is paralyzed by fear, Nacelle leads him up the ramp and into the transport with a cautious look at Hailstorm.
Inside the transport, Typhoon is lying on the floor with two frontliners forcing him down, one of them holding a gun against the back of the dark blue seeker's head, and Nacelle's spark sinks at the sight of it. The mercenary has fearlessly risked his life to keep them safe, and now that it is Typhoon who is in danger, Nacelle can't do anything to help him.
Hailstorm lowers his weapon now that their targets are secure in their grasp and activates his HUD to scan their surroundings for any incoming hostiles. They are taking a considerable risk by kidnapping the bondmate to a prominent investigative officer and need to be prepared for an armed confrontation if the law enforcement authorities have discovered what is happening. Detecting no incoming threats, he packs his weapon away and orders the pilot to close the ramp and take off.
When they are in the air, he turns to the two carriers and pulls two collars out of subspace as he meets Nacelle's gaze.
"Turn around."
Nacelle narrows his optics in defiance.
"No."
Hailstorm's patience with Nacelle is growing thin. He is not used to having to repeat himself and decides that it is time for him to teach the green and white seeker not to challenge him. The faster the feisty carrier learns that he no longer is in control, the easier it will be for all of them.
He points the plasma gun in his lower arm at the defenseless mercenary on the floor.
"Do it, or I will kill him!" He barks, charging his weapon.
The brutal display of dominance shakes Nacelle to the core of his spark.
The look in Hailstorm's optics is full of ice-cold intent.
He is not bluffing.
Nacelle lowers his wings in submission, and the gun folds away in response.
This is not the time to go against these people, and he honestly doesn't know where his bravery is coming from. Thundercracker whimpers and grabs desperately for him when he untangles from the blue seeker to do as Hailstorm orders. He gives the blue seeker a comforting little smile when he gently forces him to let go of him.
"Nothing is going to happen, Thundercracker." He says reassuringly as he slowly turns around as Hailstorm had ordered, and the next moment he feels the collar get fastened surprisingly gently around his neck.
In an instant, all his GPS- and communication systems get silenced. The sudden loss reminds him that he didn't even think about contacting Prowl to warn his bondmate about what is happening, and now it is too late. All he can do is send a desperate pulse through their bond to tell his bondmate that something is wrong.
Hailstorm moves to Thundercracker, but Nacelle stops him with a hand on his arm and an imploring look in his optics.
"Please don't. He is like a sparkling. He won't understand, and this will only harm him."
Hailstorm's narrowed optics studies him suspiciously, and Nacelle can feel how fast his spark begins to pulse as he holds the sire's cold, sharp gaze, waiting for a response. After a while, the intense gaze shifts from him to Thundercracker, and relief floods him when Hailstorm subspaces the second collar.
Thank Primus!
"If I as much as is detecting an outgoing signal-" Hailstorm hisses menacingly and proceeds to point at Typhoon, "-then the mercenary is dead. Is that understood?!"
"Yes." Nacelle answers breathlessly, relieved that he at least won this fight.
Hailstorm leads Thundercracker and Nacelle over to their seats and helps them get strapped in before he sits down in the seat beside Nacelle. He orders radio silence as the pilot activates stealth mode and flies them back to their headquarter.
Hailstorm turns to the frontliners holding Typhoon down when they land within the hangar inside the Polyhexian Cartel's underground stronghold twenty minutes later.
"Release him."
Typhoon rises slowly from the floor and meets Hailstorm's gaze.
"Why are you doing this?" He demands to know, confused at why the Polyhexian Cartel suddenly decides to involve themselves in something that has nothing to do with them.
"By order of Talon's heir."
Typhoon narrows his optics.
"That's a lie. Talon doesn't have an heir."
Hailstorm's lips curl into a pleased smirk.
"He does now."
Hailstorm's field is for the briefest of a moment open to him, and all Typhoon senses in it are brutal honesty. The second-in-command is not lying, and the significance of Hailstorm's words fills him with growing unease.
The heir to the Polyhexian Cartel has sent their second-in-command to capture them and knew about the rendezvous point Torment had changed only minutes before Thundercracker and Nacelle fled from the hospital.
How is that possible?
It isn't.
Unless-
He stares in utter disbelief at Hailstorm when understanding hits, and the second-in-command's smirk becomes knowing. Hailstorm leans in close to him, and the effect of his collar gets disabled before he receives a high-priority message from the second-in-command.
-Your mission has not changed, only been prolonged. Torment is waiting for us in the command center. Remember to keep up your pretense.-
Typhoon stares contemplatively at Hailstorm when the second-in-command and the frontliners leave the transport. It is a new situation, but at least his priority hasn't changed.
"What was that about?"
He looks at Nacelle when the green and white seeker walks up beside him.
"Nothing." He lies smoothly, using his undercover training to hide the inconsistencies in his field that would reveal the lie to Nacelle.
Nacelle looks at him sharply, clearly not buying it.
"He checked my collar and warned me to behave." He confesses instead and pulls Nacelle against him to mingle their fields. "Nothing you need to worry about."
Acceptance fills Nacelle's field in reaction to what he senses coming from Typhoon in their intermingled fields, and Typhoon chuckles inwardly as he embraces Nacelle protectively while Nacelle takes Thundercracker's hand and leads the blue seeker out of the transport.
The sight that meets them outside the transport takes them by surprise.
"Welcome to Talon's mythical stronghold." Hailstorm proclaims proudly at the sight of their surprise. "An architectural masterpiece several floors below the ground with endless corridors snaking in every direction beneath the surface of Iacon."
Typhoon looks around the hangar in fascination.
"None of our enemies will ever find the entrance. This is the most secure place on the whole planet."
He suppresses the laughter threatening to burst out when he realizes the truth in Hailstorm's statement.
Torment is a genius!
Even if Torrent finds out where they are, he can't get to Thundercracker or Nacelle here.
This is the most secure place for them.
Nacelle leans against Typhoon for comfort as they, with armed frontliners at their back, follow Hailstorm down several corridors.
His grip on Thundercracker's hand is fierce to keep the blue seeker in check, but the blue seeker is oddly silent as he studies their surroundings while they walk. He is grateful that he doesn't have to comfort Thundercracker alongside everything else at the moment.
It is as if Thundercracker understands the severity of their situation and the need to show a strong front.
Hailstorm turns around at an intersection and gestures towards the corridor to their left.
"Welcome to the very heart of our organization."
The wide double doors at the end of the smaller side corridor open for them, and they walk into an enormous command center.
Nacelle's gaze gets drawn to the massive elliptical table in the center of the room with nine chairs around it before his attention turns to the countless consoles along the walls where people are sitting in deep concentration doing who knows what.
Then his attention finally gets drawn to an imposing figure that calmly oversees the proceedings on the many screens on the vast walls. The figure radiates power, self-assurance and confidence, and it fills him with dread when he realizes that he is about to get face to face with one of the most powerful criminals on the planet.
Torment turns around with a cold, unreadable expression on his face when Hailstorm walks over and addresses him. He and the second-in-command exchange words in low voices before Hailstorm leaves the command center and takes the frontliners with him.
Torment's gaze locks on Typhoon.
-I apologize for not telling you, but your reaction needed to be genuine for Thundercracker and Nacelle to continue to trust you. I will tell you everything when we have a moment alone. All you need to know right now is that our plans haven't changed. We have Talon's full support to go after Torrent.-
Then his full attention turns to the two carriers, and especially Nacelle.
He is impressed at how the green and white seeker is handling the situation. Nacelle stares at him with wariness in his intelligent optics, and they remind him of another pair of optics, but he forces the memory out of his mind.
Focus!
"I hope that the travel here wasn't too stressful." He says as he steps forward, mindful of his new frame. It has only been two days since he went through the frame upgrade, and he still waits for Flux to clear him for active duty.
Nacelle takes a step back in response but flares his wings in aggression while Thundercracker lets out a whimper and seeks protection in Typhoon's embrace in reaction to a perceived threat.
"You can stop the pleasantries!" Nacelle hisses furiously. "I know what you want from me, and I won't let you!"
"I am only doing this as agreed with your bondmate."
"How dare you-" Nacelle doesn't think before he in his outrage steps forward to hit Torment in the face for his audacity, but Torment is lightning fast and grabs his wrist in an iron grip before his hand can connect.
Dark fury fills the sire's cold optics, and Nacelle begins to fear for his life. Torment pulls him in close, the grip on his wrist becoming almost crushing and sending signals of excruciating pain to his processor. He gasps in pain as he looks utterly terrified into the sire's narrowed optics, the disdainful look in Torment's optics making him feel small and insignificant.
"You do not want to anger me, Nacelle." Torment says in a low, warning voice. "I agreed to keep you and your client safe. How I decide to do it is between me and your bondmate. You are guests here, but if you keep acting up, then this is going to be an unpleasant experience for you."
Torment releases the crushing grip on his wrist, and Nacelle stumbles fearfully away from him, seeking protection in Typhoon's embrace. Dark blue arms embrace him and pull him against a strong frame while a fiercely protective field envelopes him, and he is deeply grateful for Typhoon's presence as he feels the mercenary's protectiveness surround him and act as a shield against everything around him. He hides his face in the dark blue chest and doesn't see the look shared between Typhoon and Torment at that moment.
Summoning Hailstorm to take their unwilling guests away, Torment dismisses them when the second-in-command walks into the command center. As Typhoon leads Thundercracker and Nacelle out of the command center, dutifully following Hailstorm towards the quarters that have been arranged for them, a corner of Torment's lips curl into a pleased smirk as he watches them leave.
His plan to apprehend Thundercracker and Nacelle could not have gone more smoothly.
Now they have the leverage Talon wanted, and Prowl can't do anything to get his bondmate back before they allow it.
Thundercracker and Nacelle will stay with them, in safety and far away from Torrent. No place on the planet is safer for them, and that is what he will tell Prowl the next time they talk.
Prowl can be as furious as he wants, but Torment knows that Nacelle's safety means more to him than anything else.
Prowl stands in agitated silence at the window inside his office, waiting for news from the enforcers assigned to pick up Thundercracker and Nacelle at the rendezvous point. He has been unable to work ever since Nacelle's desperate request for reassurance, longing for news about his bondmate's safety.
There is an urgent knock on his door, and he turns around as Aurora storms into his office, the look in the SIO's optics wild and panicked.
"They aren't there!"
"What?!"
"Neither Nacelle, Thundercracker, nor Typhoon has arrived at the rendezvous point!"
How is that possi-
His expression fills with fury.
"TORMENT!" He roars when he realizes what has happened.
The assassin has played them, putting his bondmate right into Talon's hands.
All of his hard work to protect Nacelle for naught.
He storms out of his office and into the Center of Intelligence, causing everyone to look up from their work. Shift meets his gaze unrepentant, clearly knowing why he is there.
He walks over to her, his doorwings hiked high on his back in aggression.
"Contact him!" He orders.
She leans back in her chair with a smirk.
"That is not how it works, Prowl. Torment will make contact when he is ready to do so."
Prowl is ready to strangle her, but he manages to barely rein in his anger before he acts on the impulse.
He should have known he couldn't trust Torment, and now his bondmate pays the price for his mistake.