Dayshift 43: Waiting Room / Lobby 1 [4th Shift]

[not_rly_fai]

It'd been nice to talk with Subaru, if only to see that the young man was faring a little better than before.  He seemed to have the worst luck and unfortunately, there wasn't always someone there to protect those that needed it the most.  As he passed the Sun Room, there was still no sign of a post from Ururu either.  Things didn't look promising

Comments

[ruthless_hunter]

A visitor? What did they mean when they said Lockdown would get a visitor? Everyone Lockdown knew was too big to fit through the front door of the building. Well, maybe Prowl would be able to get through if he was in bike mode, or if he used a hologram. Then again, he didn't think Prowl even existed in this world, let alone get the desire to visit him.

Lockdown was led to a room he'd never been in so far, which the nurse called the 'Waiting Room' and told to have a seat. The bounty hunter did as she said, mostly because he was rather curious to find out who wanted to see him. Still, he told himself to be on his guard, just in case this turned out to be a trap or something.

[damned_visitors]

A loud, smiling man was led into the waiting room, trying to force a business card into the hands of the nurse as they walked. When he saw a familiar face, though, he rushed over.

He pulled down his purple sunglasses to take a look, "There's my favorite customer! You know, when I heard you finally went over the deep end I said no way, not Lance! Straight as an ar- well, a lance! But hey, I guess everyone needs some R&R now and again, right? How're they treating you?"

[ruthless_hunter]

Lockdown's optics widened when the loud man came up to him. At first he was about to tell the human to slag off and bother someone else, but there was something very familiar about this man.

No way, it couldn't be... But the voice and mannerisms were all too familiar. Even the man's purple glasses reminded the bounty hunter of a certain mech's big, purple optics.

Leaning forward a little, Lockdown asked, "Swindle, is that you?"

[damned_visitors]

"Swindle? Hey, watch it with the names, man, you know I've got a reputation to keep up!" Despite his protest, he laughed that same friendly laugh that ended every other sentence.

"You know me, it's your old friend Stan, the most honest auto parts dealer this side of Rio Grande!"

[ruthless_hunter]

Lockdown narrowed his optics at the man. He was sure it was Swindle. Who else could it be. But, why did he get defensive when the bounty hunter called him by name, and why had he called Lockdown by the name the nurses called him?

Perhaps this was an act to throw the nurses off, like HK had started doing with his nurse. Perhaps claiming to be an 'auto parts dealer' was a ruse, while still making sure Lockdown would know him.

"The nurses don't really listen to us, Swindle," Lockdown said. "So quit acting weird. Why are you here?"

[damned_visitors]

Stan's smile faded for a moment, "Oh, so it's true, huh? Think you're a talking car from space or something?" Then it came back in full force, "Okay, between you and me, I think this story can go places. So let's say you give me some details, and I see if I can't pitch it into a movie, or a cartoon or something. And of course, we split the royalties, fiii... sixty-forty?"

[ruthless_hunter]

Okay, now it was just getting strange. It was weird enough that Swindle was now human, like him. But he was acting like he genuinely believed that Lockdown was this "Lance" person and crazy. It was disconcerting, to say the least. The nurses were one thing, but when a human who reminded him so much of his business aquaintance and friend was acting this way...

One conclussion Lockdown came to was that his friend had been placed in a human body, like the other Transformers here, and had also been brainwashed. Perhaps it was Landel's idea of a sick joke.

Using a heavily sardonic tone, the bounty hunter murmered, "What, no line of merchasing too?" He then lost the sardonic tone, "Yes, I'm a 'talking car from space', and so are you. What else would I be?"

[damned_visitors]

"Hey, yeah. Kids'd love that kind of thing... it's a toy car and and action figure..." Stan looked back up when Lance started sounding serious again, "Well, you're the best mechanic in Detroit, for one. So am...? Oh, okay, right!" He opened a pocket on the front of his jacket and pulled out a small notebook and a pencil. "I get it now, I'm Swindle, and you're... what was it, Lockup?"

[ruthless_hunter]

Lockdown pinched the bridge of his olfactory sensor. Perhaps this wasn't Swindle, and was instead a human copy designed as part of a sick joke after all. Still, Lockdown wasn't willing to decide that for sure just yet.

"Mechanic?" Well, it seemed that on top of being turned human, the institute had also fabricated a human background for him as well. Of course, he could see the parallels between his profession and mechanic. Still... "I'm a bounty hunter, and my name's Lockdown. It's always been Lockdown and you know it's Lockdown. If it wasn't for me, you would have been pounded into slag by those mechs you ripped off that one time."

[damned_visitors]

Stan wrote in his notebook as "Lockdown" spoke, looking maybe a little worried, but not missing a potential profit because of it. "Well, that sounds familiar, anyway. I don't know what to tell you, it sounds like you remember me, but I'm not a... a Ferrari, or Porsche, or whatever, and you're not... well, I'm guessing a muscle car. And I don't know how much space-bounties pay, but between the two of us, we've always made a pretty profit. I miss you up there, you really knew how to negotiate!"

[ruthless_hunter]

Had they programmed that incident into this Swindle's processor too, to make some connections between his real life and the fabrication? Lockdown could see no reason why they wouldn't. He'd even correctly guessed what the bounty hunter's alt. mode was. Now he really wasn't sure if this was a fake Swindle or the real one brainwashed.

He put his face in his hands. "I don't believe this." Then another thought came to his processor and he looked up. "Wait, did I have any other friends in my human life?" He remembered that Swindle had made it clear that he hadn't beenthe one to have Lockdown committed. "Who had me locked up in here? Was it Prowl?"

[damned_visitors]

"Prowl? You mean whats-his-face, the cop? Yeah, you and him always had... some thing going on, after you got reported for, uh... allegedly assaulting some deadbeat customers. He'd come by now and again, and give you the evil eye. He's the one that brought you in, that's why I didn't think you were really, you know..."

[ruthless_hunter]

So, Prowl's counterpart in his fabricated life had sent him here? Lockdown couldn't say that he was all that surprised. If anyone from his real life could have been chosen as the one to commit him, it would be Prowl.

"Sounds like Prowl alright," the bounty hunter murmered. "Look, humor me for a nanoklik. Prowl's not a 'cop', he's an Autobot, and a cyberninja. Had a real gift for bounty hunting. We teamed up once, but he turned me down when I offered him a full-time partnership." If this was indeed the real Swindle, maybe the words "Autobot" would ring a bell.

[damned_visitors]

Stan continued writing as Lance went into more detail. He silently mouthed the words 'auto' and 'robot', "Autobot, I like it. So you an' me are Autobots, or they're just the cops?"

[ruthless_hunter]

Okay, he was just about done trying to convince this Swindle of who he really was, if he was even the real Swindle. At this point, he decided just to humor this man.

"No, you and I are Decepticons, sort of. To put it bluntly, Autobots are good guys, and Decepticons are bad guys. Although, you and I are practically Decepticons, we'll do business with both sides, as long as we benefit."

[damned_visitors]

Stan continued to write excitedly, shrugging when his friend indicated their allegiance. "Well, whoever pays the bills. Say, man, is there anything I can get you here? I mean, obviously I can't get you out, but say I came back next week with an affidavit letting me sell all this. What would it take to get you to sign it?"