Chapter Text
A sense of icy dread smacks Sentinel in the faceplate. He goes over his mental list of numbers. It's a few off, but he has the sickening sensation in his processor. The bounty hunter is near Earth, or in its orbit. Sentinel attempts to stifle his panic. They're here to find the escaped convict, Waspinator.
He wasn't supposed to be here, why in frag's sake is Lockdown near Earth. Thankfully nobody's in the room to watch Sentinel slowly slump in his seat, then wheel around pathetically. The blue bot cradles his faceplate and counts the klicks. Even thinking about Lockdown makes his protoform shiver beneath his armor, not in a good way. His teeth clack from the force and he forces himself to stop, gritting them together.
Sentinel Prime did not sacrifice every bit of his life clawing up the ranks just to give up here. It's just a number, just a number it's not like Lockdown was here. That number could be any bot's. Little did he know that Prime's report on several incidents hasn't been released to the Elite Guard. Otherwise Sentinel would of realized how wrong that line of thinking was or how much information has been clogged up due to a certain bot abandoning his post in the last cycle or so.
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They catch sight of the wayward Waspinator while on Earth. They capture Waspinator, and of course many things happen after that including the Magus being assaulted. Sentinel is on guard and sharp, but not sure of the accusation that Longarm is a 'con until they get word of what happened to Ultra. The bot has always struck him as being very, very odd. A Decepticon obsessed weirdo, the kind that probably has a blowup Megatron doll in his belongings. Which brings him back to this ship full of losers.
Both twins haven't shut their intake holes since they landed, "Now, now", Sentinel's grown irate with his duties towards the exuberant split sparks. They've clung to him like old oil and it's getting to be too much. "What we need to do is cover more ground, locate the Decepticons and bring them to justice."
"Sure thing. You two are going with Sentinel?" Jazz asks the twins, slag eating grin appearing on his faceplate.
Sentinel's optics narrow at the wiseaft, "No, we all go on our own. Stick to a" he pauses and checks the map for the city's radius. "twenty mile radius. If any of us locates a 'con, alert everyone on our channel. Understood? Do not engage without backup." Jazz looks like he heard and does not care, the twins grin wider than ever. Sentinel has no doubt they'lll go after anyone they spot first and then come limping home.
"Yes sir." , and the cyber ninja turns expectantly to the twins.
"Aye-Aye Sentinel commander!" says one of the two, Sentinel doesn't care. He opens the doorway and they all exit the ship. The airborne pair take off to the south. Jazz lingers to say a quick goodbye as well as inform what direction he'll be returning from. Just in case they need to group up faster than the twins.
Sentinel goes to the west, towards the massive lake and the streets surrounding it. The trip is short and quiet. Things go peacefully, and when it's finally mid-afternoon he gets trapped in traffic so fast. His axel aches from sitting in grid lock. The twins finish their quadrant of the city and are permitted to go wherever they like so long as they do not interfere with the locals.
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When the Prime's finally driving around darkened streets littered with rain puddles, it's almost dusk. The pinging begins, initially he thinks it's just Jazz. No call comes with it, unusual for the ninja. He calls the bot and asks what he wants, only to receive a confused "What are you talking about? I'm still at the museum."
"Guess it must be interference, continue your stakeout."
Jazz shakes his head at the tone, continuing to eavesdrop on people and slowly creep away from parking police.
His spark itches like mad and heaves in a great sudden flare of fear. Sentinel spots the vehicle after ending his comn, it looks out of place among the vibrant and sometimes muted hues of cars. It almost hurts to keep moving but he makes a turn. About a block behind the black and green car makes the same turn. One by one his thoughts begin to zero down to the road and any route he can make. Luckily for humans, Sentinel obeys the traffic laws and goes the speed limits. Lockdown, he's sure of it now.
Passing by a bright shield-shaped sign, he remembers a stray comment about the highways on Earth. They are the way out, with lots of unused road he could take to leave the city entirely. He wants to catch Lockdown alone. The blue bot doesn't know that Lockdown wants to catch Sentinel alone as well. The bounty hunter doesn't care about humans seeing them, but the chase excites him with whatever little tricks the Autobot may have. Of course, eventually he gets bored with the running. He cuts off Sentinel and the Autobot makes a panicked left turn.
It becomes very, very clear that the Autobot has no idea where he's going. Eventually the chase ends in some dark alleyway Lockdown recognizes as being close to his ship. It's a nice stroke of luck, that's for sure. Sentinel hums, condensation dripping off the back of his bumper. Lockdown shifts into his main form and grins stickily. "What a nice frame." his steps are loud, even over the panicked exhaust from the smaller bot. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, of all planets." the side mirrors sag and his wheels twitch in a manner unbecoming of any primitive Earth machine. The vehicle freezes when Lockdown puts his servo on the tailgate and squeezes himself up against the corner of the bed. "Not going to respond?"
After a moment of lingering, Lockdown steps back. Sentinel inwardly cringes and shifts into his robot mode. The Autobot crosses his arms, energon bleeding his face into a bright pink color. "Frag off." says his mouth but Lockdown doesn't look like he's paying attention.
"I think this is an upgrade, your blocks always did look a bit clunky."
A look of displeasure blossoms over Sentinel's face, offended by the familiarity. "Why are you here?"
"Well, a certain bot told me Megatron's in the neighborhood." he enjoys the almost imperceptible change in Sentinel's expression. If the guardsman is afraid of a regular bounty hunter, he's probably paralyzed by the thought of Megatron. "You know he's about as tall as your ship and eats protoforms for breakfast?"
"He does not." bites the Autobot.
"Want to talk about Megatron in my bridge?" and Lockdown is in Sentinel's personal space. Heat rolls off of the blue bot's frame.
"No."
"No?" the 'con grins, sliding his arms around Sentinel's chest delicately. "What would I have to say to make you say yes?"
"It's impossible."
"Oh, believe me. I know a few ways to make you change your mind."