Friends In Low Places

Rumble is in his usual spot in the Joint...up at the bar, spending his shanix on some nearly toxic, low-grade energex. He's also taking bets for the pit matches to be held later on in the cycle, so on occasion, he's visited by shady-looking mechs placing their bets.
A copper and black speeder comes in; she's been here before (multiple times in the past, in fact, so that mechs actually recognize her and approve), but there's something that seems a little different. She's less 'calm and sage' and more 'looking for trouble with a big scrap-eating grin'.
She knows what Rumble does and who he's friends with. As such, she goes right to him, and without any further ado, plops down on a bar stool beside him. Elbow on the bar, chin on hand, she grins at him. "Hi sexy."
Take that as you will.
Rumble just kind of...derps, as he stares blankly at Shiftlock for a moment. He's so surprised, he nearly drops his drink! Then, he grins slightly. "Waitaminnit, do I even *know* you? Have we even *met*? Or are you just tryin' to get a free drink cause...that's totally going to work. HEY 'TENDER!!" Rumble bellows to the bartender. "Get the femme here whatever she likes!"
Shiftlock just laughs and asides to the bartender, "If he's pushin' it, just make it the cheapest thing in the house. I'm more interested in the company than the booze right now." She looks back to Rumble. "You might have seen me a -few- times. I've won a couple of the lower-tier matches, nothin' to extravant. I'm trouble, I'll tell you that much." She grins. "I'm sittin' here 'cause I dig you. I like how you look, I like your attitude, and when I like something, I say it."
Rumble is idly wondering whether or not the 'tender snuck some loco-juice into his last energex, because this situation is *definitely* making him question reality. Maybe she has him confused with someone else?? He sneaks a quick glance into a side mirror. No way. And no way could Frenzy bag a femme like this, either, not unless he had something on her, like a serious bribe.
He stares at Shiftlock as if he isn't quite sure whether she's real, or a very cleverly-constructed figment of his forever-alone imagination. "Actually...yeah! Yeah, I seen you fight before! You ain't bad, you oughta go for the next tier up. Pays better too."
"Yeah, well, I got worriers that think I'm gonna go home in a recycling bin if I do that," Shiftlock sighs disappointedly. "Don't suppose you keep up with the news?" The bartender pushes over a glass of low-grade, and she idly takes it in one hand.
"Yeah, I do! ...When I can," Rumble stammers, trying not to sound too nervous. "Why, you in the news?"
"Weeeeellll," Shiftlock leans in getting closer to Rumble, a huge almost predatory grin on her face.... 
"I almost killed Senator Ratbat."
"Ohh, that was YOU! *That* was *you*!" Ta-dah, Rumble just connected the dots. "That was awesome!" He grins widely, looking impressed..
"Yeah, I'm... kinda on the run now. Looks like I'll have to make Kaon my home," Shiftlock says. "But I'm not here to whine. I'm more interested in you." And the funny thing is, she really does mean it. "You still workin' your function or did you break out of it?"
"Hey, lissen," Rumble says, suddenly feeling an affinity toward this femme. Caused major trouble and is on the run? Hey, he can HELP! "I can help you out. An' not in a creeplike way, I mean, I can HELP you. No strings. You need a place to lay low a while, I'll set you up, okay?" Under his faceplate, he grins with a strange shyness that isn't at all how he's used to feeling...but then again, no one ever asks him about his own craptacular life. No one but the other Decepticons, naturally. Who else would even care?? "I still got my minin' equipment," he answers her, "In case I can ever get another gig, but these days I been makin' a better livin' bein' a bookie for the fights."
"You ever participate in one?" She smiles, lessening up on the 'ready to pounce' vibe. She was expecting a much less friendly answer - or one of total shock. She enjoys rattling cages from time to time, like a little boy in kindergarten pulling the pigtails of the girls he likes.
"Oh yeah!" Rumble is all cheerful smiles talking about fighting. "There's nothin' better than bein' in the middle of one of those things. It's awesome. 'Cept...right now, I might get assigned 'other' stuff to do, so I been told to keep the repairs down to a minumum." Megatron can't assign him to do violent things if he needs repairs, now can he? "But once the movement gets big enough, I can go back to doin' that stuff all the time! An' yeah, size don't matter, don't believe whatcha heard. My pylons do many things." He grins proudly.
Shiftlock fairly bounces in her chair. "Oh I knew you were gonna be a jewel -- I kinda like to, y'know, fight for the fun of it. I don't have to kill someone, I mean, that could really put a damper on things if I end up killing someone I /like/, but you know how it is! Putting all of your body and all of your mind against someone else to see how you stack up, to see if you can get to the top--" She is practically bubbling with enthusiasm and she balls her hands into fists and shakes them briefly. "MMPH! That's the ticket!" She flirts a little more, Rumble is fun. "Oh I am a firm believer in frame equality. Doesn't matter if you're big or small in the most important arenas of life."
"So...am I still the mech you came in here lookin' for?" Rumble asks, sounding hopeful. "...Just checkin'."
"Am I hittin' on anyone else?" Shiftlock asks.
"No!" Rumble laughs. "Just makin' sure you weren't lookin' for Frenzy, cause I'm pretty sure the resultin' disagreement between him an' me would take out a few city blocks."
Shiftlock laughs! She has to calm down a little bit. Oh that would be funny, but she doesn't want to split up friends - or brothers. "See, here I was thinkin' you'd tell me to hit the bricks, what with bein' a bulk and all..."
"Nah, why would I do that? You come in here all sassy an' smart an' cute an' LOOKIN' FOR ME...I mean...how'm I gonna say no to /that/? You tell me," Rumble exclaims. "Bulk, don't matter. I ain't a discriminavator."
She decides to drink the energon that's been largely ignored in favor of the minicon. Setting the glass down half full with a soft *thunk* against the bar, she looks back to her conversational partner. "I wanna help, too. And I think you know what I mean when I say /help/, and who I'm talking to. I got used by the Senate in the worst way, and there are things I know that should be spread around. I don't wanna make this sound like I'm trying to work a deal, but I do wanna ask if you know what an empty can do around Kaon; I hate sitting around all day doin' nothin'. I don't even care about -pay-, I just wanna /not be bored/."
"Right, I hear that." Rumble thinks over a few possibilities for a moment. "Gettin' the word out to all parts of Kaon is pretty important right now. You'd think everyone knows by now, but it ain't true, cause I'm still findin' mechs who are interested in joinin' the movement all the time. Reachin' these mechs who don't know or haven't heard is...pretty key right now."
"Now that? That I can do. See, I'm not just a speeder. I'm a tunnel speeder - I go underground," Shiftlock beams, suddenly proud of what the guild assessors called 'defective'. A CAR THAT DRIVES IN TUNNELS? UNPOSSIBLE. "Maybe I can carry data and information place to place. I'd be willing to get vetted by the big mech himself for that one."
"You don't happen to know someone named Soundwave, do you?" she adds.
"I *do*, matter of fact. He's really a unique mech. You met him yet, or just heard about him?" Rumble asks.
"He and I worked together. We're of like minds," Shiftlock answers. "Ratbat picked us both up. Me? He used me in a combiner experiment. He has Soundwave scan the news for him." She shakes her head. "Ratbat's a shady as it gets. I'd say more but there's audials everywhere."
"Well he's been thinkin' about gettin' more involved with the movement here in Kaon, so you guys could prolly work again if you wanted to do that!" Rumble exclaims cheerfully. "An' I'm still proud of you for puttin' a hurt on that rusted can of tankworms senator, by the way."
"I'd do it to Sentinel if I could get away with it, but yeah, I'm not -that- good. I'd be smelted in short order." She finishes her drink. "Besides, since I know some of what the Senate is up to, and I let a valuable Mutacon escape my frame, well... don't be surprised if I disappear never to be heard from again."
"Please. Lemme help," Rumble insists. "There's places in this town no one's ever gonna look for empties, ever. I know 'em all. You'll stay safe, an' I'll pylon anyone in the face who disagrees!"
"Thanks. Sorry for bein' a downer and having to hit you up for advice. I'm a femme that gives what she gets, so I'll make it up to you." She leans over and, if Rumble doesn't stop her, gives him a kiss on the cheek.
Rumble is over the moon at this point. He's probably over several moons, a few planets, and perhaps an entire star system. "WOW. Uh...no way, I mean, you're the opposite of downer. You're everything that ain't a downer. Trust me." Still kind of flustered, he quickly rests his hand on hers before she leaves. "You got somewhere to go? Cause I can get you a safehouse! Wait, lemme give you my frequency!" Stammer, stammer, flail.
"I'll give you mine, it's safer and you can use it to call me for courier jobs," Shiftlock says, as she transmits the frequency to him via tightbeam communication.
<<Radio: Shiftcom>> Shiftlock says, "Hello there."
<<Radio: Shiftcom>> Rumble says, "Hey. You need somethin', just let me know!"
<<Radio: Shiftcom>> Shiftlock giggles just a bit. "And what if that something I need is you?"
<<Radio: Shiftcom>> Rumble says, "Heh. Well, uh. You can stay with me, too. If you want. I don't mind. But I need a little time to clean it up first, it's kind of a batch-lore pad."
<<Radio: Shiftcom>> Shiftlock laughs. "I lived in the /Dead End/, you think I care? Just push stuff off a table."
"I'll give you some time to get things ready, but I'd like to talk to you in a different setting. More private-like," Shiftlock adds after cranking the flirt level up to d00d.
Rumble is basically operating on a whole new level at this point. He's already put his personal radio on 'hold all calls', save for one frequency. If he didn't have the capability of flight, he probably would have just fallen right off the barstool, but for the sake of saving face, he's hovering now. "Y...you bet! I'm gonna just...uh...tidy up a bit...an' call you right back, okay??" Already, he's checking off things to do: throw ALL bachelor-related garbage out the window. Change the lock passcode so Frenzy can't walk in. Do these things with ALL DUE HASTE.
Shiftlock is thoroughly enjoying his haste, and lets him make whatever arrangements he needs to. She herself decides to block her comms as well, the last thing she wants is Hot Rod trying to get ahold of her because he has decided to go blow up city hall.
Rumble is probably acting stupidly ridiculous, but he doesn't much CARE. "Heh...see you soon, K?" She could totally be setting him up for a robbery, but darned if he won't go out with a grin on his faceplate. He quickly exits to go tend to his...untidy tenement situation.