"Nngh..."

Prowl's systems sluggishly came back online. Alerts regarding the blunt force trauma he had previously received popped up on his HUD, but were swiftly ignored. He had other things to worry about.

His optics rebooted as he lifted his head and confusion overcame him. Why couldn't he see anything? He tried to move, but quickly discovered that his arms had been bound together by some sort of restraint while his legs remained free.

"Look who's awake." Prowl identified the speaker as Jazz fairly easily. "Well come on, take that thing off his head!"

Prowl flinched as whatever had been covering his head was yanked off. He squinted in discomfort as a blinding light filled his vision. "Where am I?" He demanded.

"Not so fast, Prowler." Jazz spoke from somewhere out of view. "I'm in charge here, so I ask the questions."

"You fragger..." Prowl cursed under his breath. He searched the room for Jazz, but only found strangers—none of which he recognized. "That's why you told me to come alone, isn't it? So you could kidnap me?"

Jazz let out an amused snort as he came sauntering out of the darkness. "Now you're catching on!" He stepped past one of the bots closest to Prowl and bent over, a grin tugging at his dermas. "I knew you were too proud to ask for help, but I didn't think you would actually go against protocol just for me! Am I really that special?"

"Cut the slag." Prowl growled. He tested the bonds around his wrists, but they didn't budge. "What do want with me?"

Jazz straightened his posture and began casually strolling around the chair. "I know some people who would pay a pretty penny to have a cop like you in their possession, and you being the captain of the force only sweetens the pot. As you can probably guess, they aren't fans of the police or their justice system." He drawled on a bit.

"You're selling me into slavery?"

"I wouldn't call it slavery... that's a harsh word." A smug smirk twisted the saboteur's dermas. "I like to call it unpaid labor."

Prowl let out an annoyed sigh. "So slavery, then."

"Oh, lighten up!" Jazz whirled around with a snarl and gave Prowl a good smack on the helm. "Can ya just let me have my fun without being a smartass for once?"

Prowl winced. While the smack didn't necessarily hurt, it did make his headache worse.

Once Jazz composed himself with a dignified huff, he continued. "While it would certainly be tempting to sell ya and earn a quick buck, I'm afraid I can't let ya go just yet. There's still plenty in store."

Prowl frowned. "Like wha— ow!" He was interrupted by a sharp pain in his neck. While he'd been focused on Jazz, one of the trickster's henchman had stuck a needle in him. Almost immediately, his vision grew hazy. "Whaaat.. was...."  His words slurred together as his jaw mechanisms locked up. Darkness pressed on the edges of his vision.

"Just something to keep ya down while I prepare a few things." Jazz said with a chuckle, not at all bothered by the fact that he just drugged a cop. "Don't worry, this is probably gonna be the best recharge you've had in deca-cycles. Nighty night!"

Prowl tried to fight the effects of the drug, but to no avail. His head lolled forward as he lost consciousness and darkness overcame him once more.

•
•
•

Upon stirring from unconsciousness for the second time that day, Prowl realized that he'd been moved to a different location. Whether or not it was in the same warehouse as before, he wasn't sure, but one thing he did know was the room looked awfully similar to a berthroom—a horribly kept one, at that.

A strange feeling settled in his tanks. Every instinct he possessed was telling him to get the hell out of there—and that's exactly what he was going to do.

Still experiencing the lingering effects of the drug, Prowl's mind was foggy and his limbs felt unnaturally heavy. Having his arms cuffed behind his back didn't help either. He was determined, though, and started trying to push himself towards something that he could use to stand up.

When he was about halfway to the berth, Prowl heard someone's voice on the other side of the door. It was Jazz, and it sounded like he was about to come inside. Prowl cursed under his breath. He scooted back to his original position as fast as he could and laid still with his optics shut off, acting as if he was still unconscious.

Seconds later, Jazz entered the room.

"Like I told ya already, you're gonna have to wait. I'm not done with him yet." The saboteur angrily told the bot on the line. He tossed something on the berth and stood a few feet away from Prowl with his back to him. "Of course the deal's still on, but if ya keep fucking bothering me about it, I'll call it off!"

Prowl tried his best to keep his breathing to a minimum, not wanting to alert Jazz. He tried to listen to the conversation, straining to hear who Jazz was talking to. The trickster was undoubtably talking about him, but who was the bot on the other side?

"That's what I thought." Jazz growled, then cut off the transmission with an aggravated sigh. "Fuckin' idiots... Can't ever leave me alone."

He turned around to face Prowl and studied him for a moment, feeling suspicious. He approached the police bot and kicked him to see if he would react. When he didn't, Jazz slammed his pede down on one of his doorwings.

Unable to contain himself, Prowl cried out in pain. Immediately, Jazz had him pinned to the floor by his throat.

"Do y'think I'm stupid or somethin'?" Jazz sneered as he tightened his grip. "I knew you weren't unconscious because I measured the drug, which means I knew when it would wear off."

"It was worth a try..." Prowl managed to choke out in defiance. He winced as Jazz dug his claws into his neckcables, threatening to puncture them.

"Was it? Because you just earned yourself a one-way ticket to pain."

Prowl yelped as he was grabbed and thrown onto the berth, which seemed more like a table for torture now. Since his legs were free, he kicked wildly in an attempt to hit Jazz.

"C'mon, Prowl. You know struggling is gonna get ya nowhere." Jazz sneered, glancing at the various tools of torture on the nearby table. "Don't make me snap your stabilizers."

Prowl knew there was no reasoning with Jazz, but he had to at least try. "Listen, I understand that this is personal—"

"You made it personal!" Jazz snapped.

"I was just doing my job!" Prowl retorted, chest heaving from his effort to keep Jazz at bay. He could feel the cuffs starting to dig into his wrists. "Look... if you want validation, this isn't the way to do it. You won't get any satisfaction from it."

Jazz went over to the side of the berth and grabbed the lower part of Prowl's face with his digits. "And how do ya know that, hm?" He asked, his visor flashing with a dangerous gleam.

Prowl tried to ignore the conflicting emotions currently consuming his spark. He thought that every fiber of his being would hate this, but one very small part of him somehow found it... arousing. Perhaps it wasn't as small as he wanted it to be and that's what was creating the sense of burning unease in his core—a churning, almost nauseating feeling caused by fear, anger, and indecisiveness.

Oh, how ashamed he felt knowing Primus was witnessing him in this condition, caught between the demands of his occupation and the demands of his treacherous spark.

This wasn't right. He knew this wasn't right, but the feeling still remained—small but impactful.

Jazz picked up on Prowl's hesitation almost immediately, though he appeared to be taken aback rather than inspired to continue.

Prowl finally gathered himself after floundering for a response. "I know because I know you." He said. "I know you want quick results. Torture is a long, slow process—one I don't think you truly want to go through with."

"You don't know shit, Prowl. You're just a cop." Jazz growled. He let go of Prowl's face and crossed his arms. "So what if torture takes a while? I'm a patient mech, I can wait."

Prowl watched as Jazz began to pace, the knot of unease tightening in his tanks.

Jazz paused after a while and looked down at Prowl with a smirk. "That doesn't matter, though. I've got a better idea, and I think you'll like this one even more."

Frag.

•••

AAAAAHHH I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE THIS BOOK! It kinda got buried in my other stuff and I lost track of it...

Anyway, here's a new chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it!