FIC: Hunt Part 2

[wicked3659]

Title: Hunt
Chapters: Part 2 of 3
Author: wicked3659 
Rating: This part rated pg13 for guidance (will go up to NC17)
Verse: TFA  (Inamorato Verse)
Pairings: hinted Oilslick x Prowl (inferred noncon)
Warnings: Cussing, drug abuse, forced drug use, violence, inferred noncon, imprisonment, torture, angst
Summary: Prowl has been kidnapped by Oilslick as payment for his past grievances. Oilslick wants Prowl back in his clutches just as he used to be and he was going to be damned if he let a jumped up bounty hunter get in his way.

A/N: A lot of the terms (drug names) and the backstory of Prowl and Oilslick are a product of mine and are not canon. There is controversial and unsettling content within, so please read the warnings before reading on

****
Death’s Head

The ship jolted sharply, the viewer filled with a bright flash as an explosion rocked off the port bow.

“This is crazy! What’s goin’ on!?”

“Automated defence systems!” Lockdown roared over the alert. “They’re set up along the borders t’ stop mercenaries from pilfering the outer colonies.”

Optimus stared at the screen in disbelief. “You make it sound like there are pirates out here Lockdown, which is just a ridiculous notion told to sparklings.”

Lockdown glowered at the red and blue ‘bot with sharp optics. “Alright hot shot, who the frag d’ ya reckon they’re firing at then?” His arm flared out to the side, gesturing wildly to the screen as a much smaller and well armed ship zips past them, firing frantically at the defence network.

Optimus’s mouth drops open as the weapons all target the fleeing ship and blow into oblivion. Lockdown let out a snarl and thumbed his console hard, bringing his ship to a screeching halt, before they breached the defence perimeter.

“Now what?” Ratchet spoke up. “We just going to sit here and wait?”

“EG, Yer a navigator right?”

Jazz met Lockdown’s gaze with a curious look. “I’ve been trained yeah, had t’ fly Sentinel’s ship more than once on my own. Why?”

“Yer up, sit over there.” Lockdown planted himself down in the pilot’s seat next to the ninja bot. “Yer my optics and audio, got it?”

“Clear as a bell, LD. Lead on.”

The two mechs prompted the ship forward breaching the perimeter. They were scanned almost immediately, weapons arming in front of them. Without warning the scanners flicked off and the large weapons powered down.

“I don’t understand, why aren’t they firing at us?” Optimus frowned.

Lockdown shot him a knowing look and a smug smirk spread across his stark white features. “I just happen to have a large quantity of identification transducers in the back”

Optimus stared at the hunter completely blank. Ratchet almost rolled his optics at the baffled expression and leaned in close to the Prime.

“It means he can mask the energy signature of the ship to appear as anything he wants.”

Blue optics widened at the realisation. “That’s illegal technology!” Optimus started, only to be interrupted by the only official law mech on board.

“OP if we’re gonna start gettin’ all legal, then I’ll just have t’ throw all our afts in the brig.” He glanced back at the mech with an easy smile. “We’re breakin’ EG rules just by bein’ on this ship. Ya dig?”

Lockdown listened to the conversation with satisfied amusement. They were on his turf now and it gave him a little bit of a buzz to know just how uncomfortable that made the prim and proper Optimus Prime. He did not like the way the Prime sniffed around Prowl like he was some sort of treat. He would not admit to being jealous, oh no, but that did not stop him from garnering a sense of victory as the Prime floundered like a fish out of water.

“Good t’ know which team yer battin’ for EG.”

Jazz let out a low chuckle but with very little mirth. “Yeah, I’m solidly in Prowl’s corner until we make the home run. I’ve got no plans t’ pick out china patterns with ya just yet LD.”

They made it past the defence net with little to no more interference and made their way steadily to the first colony. A dirty little moon base with a bad reputation. It was as good a place to start as any and much to Lockdown’s growing concern this was where his knowledge of the elusive Oilslick ran out.

From here on in, it was all a process of elimination to find the dealer. Follow the breadcrumbs Lockdown thought to himself, his shrewd processor fully engaged into hunting mode. He would find Oilslick, if it was the last thing he did and then he’d give him an up close and personal tour of his trophy room as he took him apart, piece by piece.

****
Unknown

The rusty berth springs creak and groan under the strain. The small room fills with the pitiful sobbing moans of an already damaged vocaliser.

Soft grunts break up the whimpered sounds, the squeak of the cot repetitive, incessant and unrelenting.

A sharp cry, one of pain and despair fills the room followed by a few low feral growls and the thud, thud, thud of the cot as it slams against the sound proofed walls.

Then silence.

A mech moves in the shadowy room, rising up to his knees on the small, stained berth. Soft, dark chuckling drowns out the sound of quiet agonised moans.

****

Unnamed Moon Base

Lockdown shifted uncomfortably, his large bland coloured poncho was draped lazily over his shoulders as he watched the oddball group of 'bots shift uncomfortably through the crowds.

"Hey LD these new threads are crazy." The ninjabot approached with the casual ease of one used to the slums of Cybertron. Something that the bounty hunter was not surprised by, given the 'bot's usual relaxed demeanour.

The Autobots had undergone a temporary and radical refit of their appearance. Their insignias covered quite expertly by another of Lockdown's trinkets and their paintwork had been altered by both him and Ratchet in order for them to blend in more smoothly.

Optimus followed Jazz, looking distinctly awkward and out of place. Lockdown chuckled to himself, the mech stuck out like a sore thumb. His red optics narrowed as the tall 'bot stumbled in his distraction and apologised profusely to the stall owner he'd run into. Shaking his head, he cast Jazz a gruff nod of his head and gestured to a dimly lit dingy bar.

He let Jazz enter first but held out his hand square in Optimus's chest.

"Ya go in there hot shot, yer gonna get slagged."

Optimus glowered, his fists clenched by his sides. "I'm not going to stand around and do nothing Lockdown. Prowl is my friend and he has been long before you came on the scene and tried to kill us. So don't be thinking you're the only one with something invested in this."

Lockdown merely regarded Optimus with a quirked optic ridge and a slightly curled upper lip. "Ya wanna go toe t' toe wi' me mech?" He squared up to Optimus, his formidable armour outclassing the Prime's unmodified chassis. "'Coz I'll go right here."

"Oh for pits sake. Cut it out, there is more at stake than simply your egos, get over yourselves and concentrate on the mission." Ratchet glared at them both. "We're here for Prowl and if you two don't pull your acts together I doubt there's going to be a mech left for you to fight over."

Lockdown met the intense glare, blue optics steady and focused, his words sending daggers directly through his spark. Optimus hadn't seemed to have heard the medic and was still glaring at Lockdown.

"You think you scare me Lockdown? I've faced far worse 'bots than you."

Lockdown let our a short humourless laugh, dismissing the highly strung mech with a wave as he entered the building. "Difference 'tween me n' them... their spark wasn't in it."

Optimus made to follow only to be stopped by a firm grip on his arm.

"Let it go kid, come with me. This old 'bot knows a thing or two about getting information from unscrupulous sources."

Optimus shot a glance back to the run down hovel and reluctantly followed the smaller mech leading the way. His worry was building to an almost unbearable level, he knew it was colouring his thinking, affecting his actions but all he could think was that he wouldn't know what he'd do if he lost Prowl again. He gritted his denta, this time he wouldn't fail. He wouldn't leave Prowl behind like he'd left Elita. This time he'd get it right.

****

Lockdown strolled confidently into the dilapidated bar, Jazz was already chatting up a storm with the bartender. Rolling his optics Lockdown smirked, should have known the EG had a gift of the gab. He headed over and gave a short nod to the barkeep whose face lit up when his optics fell onto the green and black mech.

“Lockdown! It’s been a long time.”

“That it has Bolts, ya look like ya’ve been doin’ alright for yerself.”

The small ‘bot behind the bar dipped his head in modesty and gave a little shrug. “Hey it’s not much but she’s all mine you know. Got it with our last payout, you remember that last job Lockers.” He whistles with a rueful shake of his head. “We didn’t half have some fun did we.”

Lockdown let out a rumbling chuckle, well aware of the blue visor watching him with renewed interest. “Ya should be proud, I’ve been in far worse places than this.”

The mech grinned and slapped the counter merrily. “Well on that note Lockers, what’ll it be?”

The white tattooed face changed from casual to sombre and shaking his head he took a seat on one of the tall stools. “’Fraid not this time around, got some business t’ attend wondered if ya could help.”

The bartender leaned on his bar counter and frowned. “This business aint good for you Lockers, you not thought about retiring, settling down? You’re not getting any younger you know?”

Lockdown actually smiled somewhat sadly. “Ya don’t know the half of it Bolts.”

“Hey I know that look. What’s the lucky mech’s name?” Bolts turned and poured some dark liquid and planted it in front of the bounty hunter. “You drink that, I get off shift in a jour, we’ll talk about it.”

“Bolts I really don’t have the time t’…”

The bartender waved at him dismissively. “Won’t hear of it Lockers, we’ll talk later for sure and whatever trouble you’re in, if I’ve got any info that can help your sorry aft, it’s yours.” He patted Lockdown’s hand and gave a pleasant nod to Jazz as he wandered off to another customer.

Jazz planted himself in the stool next to Lockdown and smirked at him. “Lockers?”

“Don’t start wi’ me EG.”

“Hey mech it’s cool.” The ninja let out a soft amused chuckle, while his hidden optics casually scouted out their surroundings. “What is it with you and bartenders anyway?”
****

Unknown Location

The mech’s red optics widen when the smaller ‘bot slams him against the wall with a feral snarl.

“More, now!” He demands with a snarl, pale optics boring into red with murderous intent.

The sly leer spreads across Oilslick’s face and his optics flash with barely contained arousal. “Whatever you need Prowl, it’s yours.” He smiles darkly at the ninja. “On one condition.”

“Frag you and your conditions! GIVE. ME. WHAT I. WANT!!” His fist slams into the wall beside the taller mech. Oilslick shivers with intimidation at Prowl’s drug induced rage. “Need it.”

“I know, I know.” He traces a line down Prowl’s face plates, before grabbing the back of his neck, twisting and forcing the ninja against the wall face first. He leans in close and purrs into Prowl’s audio.

“You’ll have everything you want and need from me, after… After you bond to me.”

“Gaaaahhhh!! Do it now, I can’t take this any longer!”

“I wish I could pet, but you have to be clean for the bond to hold and be complete. Not much longer to wait now Prowl.” His glossa laps at the slender throat and up over the mech’s faceplates. “My sweet Prowl. It won’t be long before you’re mine, for better, for worse.”

****

Moon base Clinic

Optimus watched with quiet awe as Ratchet dived straight into what he knew best, being a medic.

The small pharmacy/free clinic was by all decent standards an absolute mess. Ratchet had snarled with disgust upon entering. They had gained entry under the guise of Health Care inspectors and after Ratchet had finished tearing the place down with the amount of non adherence to protocols they had, he had jumped straight in as soon as an emergency case had stumbled into the building.

The mech was clearly over dosing on something and had managed to regain enough coherency to whisper to Ratchet what it was before he had slipped into stasis.

This was where Optimus was at the moment, his spark pounding in his chest as Ratchet tried to save the spark of the fading mech. Energon was on his hands, the floor, his normally red and white chassis as he had to manually transfuse the ‘bot with the limited supplies the clinic had available.

The clinic staff was no help and so Optimus currently found himself holding onto the main fuel line clamp while Ratchet set up the energon refiner. The energon had to be completely clear of impurities before being pumped into the mech, otherwise it would reach his spark and he would die.

The refiner blipped once signifying its readiness. Ratchet waved Optimus out of the way and quickly hooked up the line, making sure the siphon to remove the tainted energon was attached to his secondary fuel line.

“It’s working right?” Optimus asked quietly as the refiner whirred into life.

“So far so good kid. This will take a few hours, we need to clean up, we don’t want whatever he’s been given getting into our systems at any level no matter how small.”

Optimus frowned as he peered down at his own stained frame. “Ratchet…. Do you think Oilslick is behind this drug? We know he is a major manufacturer from what Lockdown told us.”

Shaking his head, Ratchet rubbed his faceplates. “Can’t say for certain Prime, not unless the glitch here wakes up.”

“Do you think… he’s forcing them on Prowl?”

Ratchet glared up at the taller mech for a moment before his expression softened. “Don’t think like that kid. Prowl’s gonna’ be just fine you’ll see. There’s not much that brings the fraggin’ ninja down in case you haven’t noticed.”

Optimus averted his gaze, his optics dim with worry. “Actually I’ve noticed quite a bit that can bring him down, just not any that have managed to keep him that way.”

Their optics met for a moment and both knew nothing more needed to be said. The threat was very real, the danger very prominent and they both knew they were running out of time. 

****
Bolt’s Bar – After Hours

Lockdown listened as the bartender chatted animatedly to Jazz about times long past, his brief but colourful business partnership with Lockdown and how he’d come about setting up a bar on a dingy little moon base. Jazz with all credit to him, was engaging and friendly but then Lockdown hadn’t really seen anything different from the ninja, such a stark contrast to the ever stoic Prowl.

The hunter had to force himself not to think too much about the black and gold mech, when he did he lost his focus, lost sight of the goal and things from that point onwards just got all sorts of fucked up.

“So ya gonna’ tell us what ya know or do I have t’ listen t’ ya chew my audio off fer the rest o’ the cycle?”

Bolts grinned at the surly mech and poured him another can of coolant. “Alright, alright but I can only tell you what’s been passing through here. Which lets face it on a moon base like this one, it’s pretty much every mech that docks with us.”

A loud yelling erupted from the shadier corners of the bar, causing the three mechs to wince. Bolts frowned as a cube was launched at a view screen and more cursing and yelling spewed from the perpetrators vocaliser.

“Bolts!! You’ve got frag all on the viewer, put on some arena fighting, supposed to be ol’ Luggers up against a guest starring Dinobot tonight.”

“Keep your glitch in check Roller. Its after hours…” Bolts headed over and switched the channel with a scowl. “If you want to stay, stay quietly, I don’t want to hear another squeak out of you.”

The mech ran his fingers across his mouth with a mocking grin. Bolts shook his head and ventured back over to the table when the mech once more hollered at the screen as the signal faded into static. He turned in time to see the mech known as Jazz hoist the mech out of his chair and toss him out the front door, locking it behind him.

The visor flashed brightly as Jazz shrugged at him. “Hope ya don’t mind mech but we kinda short on time here.”

Bolts smiled. “Hey its no problem to me, I can barely get shut of him on a good cycle.” He chuckled before noticing the sombre expressions of the two mechs. He sobered up immediately. “Right so what I know…”

****