Beeeeeeeeep!
Talon meticulously cleans his talons of fresh and dried energon as the spark pulse on the monitor flatline. He stares with a sneer at what is left of Doublewire.
Utterly disgraceful.
The sniper had begged pathetically for his life while Talon interrogated him. He had died way too early, not suffering nearly enough for what he had done to Comet, but at least Talon got what he came for.
With a last derisive glare at the corpse, Talon walks to the door.
When you decide to harm or kill someone, you need to be prepared for the subsequent retaliation that comes from your action. It doesn't matter under which circumstances. If you aren't strong enough to stand up for your actions, you have no right to live.
Nothing goes unpunished in their world.
Doublewire had clearly not been prepared for someone to retaliate after his near-fatal attack on Comet, viewing him as a worthless grunt that he could kill at his own leisure and not as the invaluable tactician and leader he is.
And for that, there had been no mercy.
There never is.
Not when it comes to those that hurt his heir.
He nods to the two frontliners that are waiting outside the interrogation room. They enter the interrogation room to get rid of the corpse while he continues down the long corridor towards the heart of the stronghold.
Time to set things in motion.
Love.
Devotion.
Care.
Skywarp sits with his legs crisscrossed across from Thundercracker on his berth while holding the blue seeker's hands and sharing his field. He is sharing the feelings he has for the Thundercracker he knew with this new Thundercracker. Meanwhile, Thundercracker curiously asks questions about what he feels coming from Skywarp, learning how to interpret feelings and how Skywarp once viewed him.
Shade stands by the door while Nacelle sits in a chair nearby, ready to step in if something should happen. A minute movement in the black and silver carrier's stance immediately draws Nacelle's attention. Shade holds his hand up, wordlessly telling Nacelle to remain silent and wait as he responds to the incoming communication.
"I'll send him your way." is all that Nacelle hears from the communication, and he looks curiously at Shade as the tank-former ends the communication.
"Talon has summoned you." Shade informs him. "Are you comfortable meeting him alone, or do you want me by your side?"
Nacelle looks at Skywarp and Thundercracker, the two seekers looking curiously at him. It pleases him to see them together like this, calm and relaxed. They still have a long way to go, but every little step they take together is a step toward healing for them.
"I'll go alone."
Shade nods, feeling proud at Nacelle's decision. Nacelle is growing increasingly confident in his new surroundings, and it is a pleasure to see him take charge and stand up for himself instead of relying on others to help or protect him.
"Don't let him wait." He advises, knowing his leader.
Talon is not a patient sire. Things in the underworld move fast and happen even quicker. You need to be ahead of things, or you will be left behind.
If he summons you, you answer it immediately. No matter what you were doing when he did so.
"Continue the exercise." Nacelle tells Skywarp and Thundercracker before he leaves the room to see what Talon wants with him.
With how Torment has stepped in and helped him with Skywarp, it has been getting harder and harder for him to continue to view Torment as the monster he knows he is.
He is a sparkless killer. Has murdered countless people. But the side of him Nacelle has been allowed to see also tells a different tale.
Torment is not entirely sparkless.
He cares in his own way.
And that is the reason why Nacelle isn't as scared as he would have been now that he is about to meet the leader of the Polyhexian Cartel. If Torment is different from the picture painted of him in public, is it the same for Talon?
Is it simply an image they show to intimidate their enemies?
If he looks at Shade from that perspective, the black and silver tank-former is not as intimidating as he could be if he wanted to. But Shade also has interpersonal communication as his primary focus, managing the contact with the prostitutes working for the criminal organization. He needs to be open, compassionate and approachable to gain their trust.
Hailstorm, on the other hand, is the total opposite of Shade. The second-in-command comes across as unapproachable and is outright cruel in his behavior, his social skills severely lacking, and he is clearly willing to do anything to achieve his goals. As Talon's second-in-command, Hailstorm is a clear indication of how Talon, in general, is: Cold and brusque with a brutal approach to things. One who expects absolute loyalty and his orders to be followed without hesitation. Who tolerates no disrespect and mercilessly enforces his will.
He had seen it in action when he had defied Hailstorm's order. The second-in-command had, without the slightest hesitation or sign of remorse, forced him to comply with his order by threatening Typhoon's life.
If his second-in-command is anything like him, Talon could very well be the monster everyone says he is, but Nacelle will have to see for himself if his deduction holds true when he finally stands before him.
Nacelle is guided to some kind of testing range where Talon waits for him, and the massive flight-frame that greets him is totally how he had envisioned Talon to be, and then not quite. The Polyhexian leader screams power and authority, but his field is open and friendly.
Is Talon doing that on purpose to make him feel at ease?
Nacelle walks over to him and Talon looks down at him with a neutral expression, his optics neither cold nor warm.
"You wanted to see me?"
"I heard what happened with Typhoon. How are you feeling?" Talon asks courteously as he gestures for Nacelle to walk with him.
Taken aback by the question, Nacelle takes a moment to think as he follows the Polyhexian leader.
How does he feel?
"Fine, I guess." He answers, not sure where this conversation is going.
He can feel Talon's attention on him like a laser, the neutral optics looking searchingly over him, reading everything he consciously and subconsciously communicates with his wings and frame. Whatever Talon sees, it apparently satisfies him, because Nacelle senses the massive flight-frame relax ever so slightly.
"That is good to hear." Talon finally says. "If anything else should happen while you stay here, let me or Torment know. We will handle it, whatever it is."
Nacelle casts him a wary glance and sees the humorous smirk growing on the Polyhexian leader's lips.
"That is, of course, if Shade hasn't already handled it for us."
And that is all the information Nacelle needs to know about Shade to know that the black and silver carrier, while smaller, is just as lethal as the sire currently beside him. Violence comes naturally to these people, but when that violence is meant to protect Thundercracker and Skywarp, Nacelle couldn't care less. Their safety is his top priority. How it comes about is secondary.
When he was dragged unwillingly in front of Torment a little over a week ago, he would never have imagined having this conversation and feeling utterly at ease while in Talon's company.
How things have changed.
"I thank you for your hospitality."
Talon lets out a chuckle, a sound Nacelle can only describe as good-natured, spark-warming, and highly suspicious. After Typhoon, he is on alert and no longer easy to be swayed by attempts of manipulation. Not even if it is an attempt to make him feel more comfortable in Talon's presence. He prefers the truth to the lie. But, to his surprise, there are no signs of deceit when he searches for inconsistencies in Talon's field. The sire is not pretending to be something he isn't, at least not at the moment.
"To be honest, I had plans for you. Still have, but for now, my priority is to protect you and your clients."
They come to a section of the testing range housing what looks like a state-of-the-art flight simulator, and Nacelle's wings begin to twitch in longing. He has not flown since he and Thundercracker fled from the psychiatric hospital, and at the sight of the simulator, he gets reminded of the strict restrictions he currently is living under. Unable to see the sky or fly.
"Do you want to try it?"
His attention snaps to Talon, hope filling his spark alongside the longing.
"May I?"
Talon chuckles softly, his massive wings twitching.
"Of course. It is the reason I wanted our meeting to happen here. After all, I know the longing you feel at staying underground, away from the sky you love."
Nacelle steps up on the platform and lets Talon strap him in before the Polyhexian leader activates the simulator. Utilizing the whole room, Nacelle loops, twists and turns, corkscrewing in the air above the racing track and pushing his thrusters to their limit.
When he lands again, his spark sings with contentment.
Talon watches Nacelle as the green and white seeker steps down from the flight simulator's platform. Nacelle's field radiating contentment. He is loath to ruin it, but he has to move on to why he has summoned the green and white seeker.
With Torment's collapse, he has had to step in and take over the interaction with the civilians. It had not been a part of their initial agreement, but the current situation necessitates it. So far, Nacelle's reaction to him has been positive and he assumes the green and white seeker's interaction with both Torment and Shade has lessened some of the fear he might have had for him.
"You and your clients can use the flight simulator whenever you want." He tells Nacelle before his expression becomes severe as he moves on to the matter at hand. "I am sure you are wondering why I have summoned you."
Talon begins to walk again and Nacelle follows him, their pace calm and sedated.
"I must admit I was surprised when Shade told me you wanted to see me. You have kept to the background and let Torment handle the interaction with me." Nacelle says, looking up at Talon.
Talon's gaze briefly locks with Nacelle's, a sudden severity in the previously neutral optics, and Nacelle is unsure what to make of it.
"Yesterday, there was an averted attack on the Joint Investigation Unit's headquarters."
Nacelle stops walking as he processes the new information. It surprises him, and then not. He had felt something from Prowl yesterday. A firm, unwavering determination. A nondescript communication of feelings. But nothing out of the ordinary.
It's how Prowl feels when he is completely submerged in his work and so focused on it that he isn't aware of what he is sending through their bond.
"What happened?"
"Torrent sent a missile against them. The spy I have placed within Torrent's ranks informed me about it in time, and I forwarded it to Shift, who then informed your bondmate. Shift and one of your bondmate's colleagues managed to take control of the missile and destroy it without causing any harm." Talon explains. "We have evacuated them to a secure location from where they can operate until this is over."
Relief floods Nacelle at the news, and he realizes he now has even more reason to be grateful. Talon might have some ulterior motive behind his actions, but right now, it doesn't matter.
His bondmate is safe because of the Polyhexian leader.
"Thank you." He says, looking grateful up at Talon, but to his surprise, Talon reacts dismissively to his show of gratitude and leans against a nearby wall while his expression gets dark and dangerous. The Polyhexian leader's optics has become cold as ice and Nacelle gets to see behind the courteous facade of the monster.
It all happens so quickly, and he stares paralyzed at Talon, his instincts screaming at him to get out of there, but he can't. The cold optics keep him captive, unable to look away, and a chill runs down his spinal strut at the underlying menace he hears in the previously pleasant baritone voice when Talon finally speaks.
"Torrent didn't react well to the failed attack and has retaliated unexpectedly, forcing us to speed things up."
The severity in Talon's voice fills Nacelle with a growing sense of dread and frees him from the paralyzing fear.
"Is that the reason you are here instead of Torment?"
Fury lashes out from Talon's field, but Nacelle senses that it isn't directed at him, and he takes a brave step forward towards the massive flight-frame, his field open and soothing.
"What did Torrent do?" He presses on, fear completely forgotten.
"He sent us a vid-file where he rapes Torment's beloved." Talon snarls and then faces away from Nacelle to not let him see the chaos of uncontrollable feelings raging in his optics.
However, a gentle hand on his arm draws his attention back to Nacelle, and his brows furrow at the display of compassion from the green and white seeker. He is not used to that kind of affection, least of all from someone they basically have kidnapped, and looks down at the hand that is touching him, uncertain how to react to it.
He had sensed Nacelle's overwhelming fear of him when his courteous facade finally cracked, but now it seems like the green and white seeker completely has forgotten who he is. Offering him comfort in a moment of distress.
"How is he?"
It takes a moment before Talon realizes who Nacelle refers to, and the green and white seeker grows in his esteem, his optics softening when he answers.
"An emotional mess. He broke down in front of me." He shakes his head, not used to feeling like this. "That is why I had to take over the interaction with you. He is currently with a trusted confidant, who I hope can set him straight."
Nacelle nods in understanding.
Such a crisis would affect anyone. Even Talon isn't unaffected by it.
"Who is his beloved?" He asks curiously.
"I honestly don't know anything about her. I didn't even know Torment was in love with someone before this happened." Talon says calmly, the fury slowly bleeding from him at the change of topic.
He has only briefly been in contact with Flare to hear how Torment is holding up. The information Flare had on Athena had only been general information like her name and profession. Apparently, she had been working as a consultant for the Joint Investigation Unit for a short period.
"Her name is Athena. She should be a forensic psychiatrist."
"WHAT!"
Nacelle steps back in shock at the revelation, dread and nausea filling him.
Suddenly remembering that Nacelle also is a psychiatrist, Talon makes the connection.
"You know her." He states matter-of-factly.
"Yes!" Nacelle almost yells. "She and one of her colleagues are working on finding a way to help Thundercracker regain his lost memories."
Feeling the need to sit down, Nacelle slowly lowers himself to the ground, dizziness swamping his mind as he tries to comprehend everything.
Torment and Athena are together?
How the frag did that happen?
He shakes his head in disbelief.
And now Athena is in the hands of Torrent and has been raped.
Primus!
He rests his head in his hands, rubbing his face in frustration.
"Has anyone contacted Hotspot?" He asks suddenly, looking up at Talon.
"You know more about her relations than we do, so no, we haven't." Talon answers. "But I will tell Prowl to do so. I have a vid-conference with him in an hour, where he and I will coordinate our impending attack on Torrent and the Organization. I'm certain he will ensure the relevant people get notified."
Nacelle sits with lowered wings, still trying to fathom everything currently happening around him. Overwhelmed by the information he has been given in such a short time and hoping that the consequences of it all will be something they can recover from.
Oh, Athena.