Shattered

Chapter Six

"Ah need ya ta keep an eye on someone."

Goldbug had almost jumped when the bodyguard had suddenly appeared out of the shadows beside him.

"Who?" he asked in a hiss.

It was best not to question why Jazz was telling him what to do. Either he would tell you unprompted, or he wouldn't.

Plus, even though he wasn't a commanding officer, he held quite a bit of rank with his position.

That included it seemed, personal messenger of their leader sometimes.

Jazz grinned as if internally laughing at some joke.

"Prime wants ya ta keep an eye on ol' Smokey for a while," he whispered.

Goldbug furrowed his optics ridges. "Why? He's head seeker."

"He's a sneaky head seeker," the bodyguard replied. "Optimus is suspicious. Ah figured ya might want the job."

The short mech shrugged, dropping his grin. "If not, Ah'm sure someone else 'd like the extra favour with the big boss. After all, Ah hear he's still lookin' fo' a third seeker. Ya know, wit' Sideswipe bein' gone."

Nodding his helm quickly, Goldbug replied. "I'll do it. Should I report to you or to Optimus Prime directly? And how long?"

"Better report ta me an' Ah'll pass it along," drawled Jazz, already walking away. "An' Ah'll tell ya when he wants ya ta quit."

"Yes, sir. I'll get started right away."

The scout hurried off, heading to where he figured Smokescreen might be.

Jazz meanwhile sauntered back to the throne room. This would be interesting.

But hey, how else was he supposed to be kept entertained? Ricochet only provided so much entertainment and you couldn't constantly entertain yourself.

As he walked down a certain hall, he suddenly felt like he was being watched.

Not that it bothered him. So he didn't bother glancing up into the nearby vent grate he knew was there.

And so, he didn't notice the two pairs of red optics watching him.

Or when one pair moved, shortly by the second pair, which lingered until the bodyguard was out of sight.

///

"So, let me get this straight, Captain Ironshadow," the Decepticon leader said, a confused expression on his faceplate.

"You not only allowed an intruding Autobot to go free after being captured, but allowed her to later have free range of the ship, sending a command to all troops to stand down and refrain from apprehending her?"

Ironshadow stood in front of Megatron on the command bridge, servos crossed behind his back, regal as any Vosian could look. Calmly, he nodded once before replying.

"Sir, I only took such actions as they were best."

Megatron rose an optic ridge. "I fail to see how letting a highly skilled Autobot assassin have the run of our ship, our home, was the best course of action, Ironshadow."

Well aware of the audios of several nosy troopers listening in on their conversation, the Vosian captain continued regardless.

After all, it was their right to know just as much as Megatron's.

"I would not have done what I did if I thought I had any better options, Sir."

Starscream, who had been standing off to the side, along with Soundwave, spoke up then.