Agent Arcee

It's evening in Vos, and darkness has descended on the city. Only the uppermost echelons are well-lit at this time.
Arcee is in the unusual position of covering her armor with a temporary black spray-gel, which is supposed to conceal her brightly colored armor. (Ugh, this is completely disgusting,) she thinks as she leans against the back of one of the spire-shaped buildings. She has a rucksack on hand, and her goal tonight is to catch that no-good envoy of Starscream's in the act of dirty dealings. She REALLY wants him outsted. And she'll go to considerable lengths to prove his crookedness. Maybe even insane lengths.
Blast Off stands inside his laboratory in Vos, next to an open window where he had just stopped to get a little air before returning to his research. A powerful telescope points out the window, and he gazes up towards the stars briefly before turning away again. He appears to have company.....
Indeed, he does. There's a signal that someone's at the door. It's the famous racer, Blurr. The two of them have business together, as per usual...
In the meantime, Arcee is outside, at the base of one of the nearby spires. Since she's no flier, she's had to put a tracker on the crooked envoy, and follow him from the ground to his destination. Once she's determined which spire he's in, it's time for her to go into SECRET AGENT mode. She begins to climb a long, long ladder up the side of the spire, determined to catch this creep in the act of doing something VERY un-good. In her satchel, she has some special equipment she's going to need once she reaches the proper height.
But in the meantime, there's still a lot of ladder to climb.
Blast Off strides over to open the door for Blurr. He gives the mech a polite nod, then gestures inside. "Do come in." Then he's planning on heading back over towards that window...
Blurr does so, and nods politely in return. "So this must be your lab, huh." he comments, and makes himself comfortable, sitting down near the window. There's a pause.
"Miss being out there already?" he remarks, noticing the shuttleformer gazing out the window again.
Arcee climbs, and climbs, and climbs up the side of the tall spire -- which happens to be just a short distance from Blast Off's office, little does she know! (But it is a different spire, not the one in which he happens to work.) She is very grateful for the cover of darkness, as some late-night patrol ships pass overhead, and she freezes in place when their light sweeps across the area. Then, she's back to climbing.
Eventually, she reaches a flat plateau, and she stops to rest and collect herself. She rechecks the tracking device, and it's definite that the envoy is inside that place...if she's done her research correctly, she's about to catch him in the act of...accepting bribes. The horror! Well, SHE knows what's right and what isn't. And bribes? Those aren't right. This envoy needs to go, as far as she's concerned.
She begins to examine the area around the level...carefully climbing around the outside, peeking into small round windows.
Blast Off looks away quickly at the question, returning to gaze at Blurr. There's a pause, before he finally admits, "Yes." He moves to adjust the telescope and look through it briefly. "It's what I was built for, after all." He stares at nowhere in particular for a moment, then pulls away form the scope and begins adjusting it to point to a different location. "However.... I have to assume you seek me again for just that reason, correct?" He asks casually.
He adjusts the scope some more, then suddenly stops, blinking and staring at something. But it's not in the sky, it's over at a building opposite them. "Odd." He mutters to himself, now bringing the scope to point at something not that far away.... some movement where there is usually none. But perhaps it's just some ship flying by?
"You guessed it." Blurr grins. "I'm sure you figured I'd be back for more, right? But this time you know what to do, yeah? And you still have that cloaking device. But let me know if you decide you need anything else." He arches an optic ridge at the Blast Off's final comment about something weird. "Odd? What is it?"
Arcee climbs around the spire...by now she's very high off the ground, and she's doing this without a safety harness because...well, they just don't sell things like that in VOS. Slowly, she creeps, like a peeping tom, from round window to round window, peering inside. And then?? -- JACKPOT. She's finally able to see that smug, winged son of a glitch sitting there, drinking some kind of energex and meeting with a few shady-looking mechs. Carefully, she pulls a tiny camera out of her satchel, and begins taking still shots of the treachery.
Blast Off nods to the racer. "A little more fuel next time, I think." He thinks on this, and there were those odd organic creatures he unexpectedly encountered, but he's not sure what to request should he encounter them again. He ponders on that, but then Blurr asks him about what he spotted. Optic ridges furrow slightly. "Just some movement where there usually is none. Could be nothing, perhaps some stray condor flying by... or a small ship." He points the scope towards the location and peers through it, trying to spot what it was.
"We can give you as much as you can carry." Blurr says with a nod. "I'll arrange for it to be delivered next time." He watches as Blast Off keeps peering through the scope at this supposed strange movement. "Let me see that." Perhaps a bit rudely, he pushes Blast Off aside and looks through it himself.
From the viewpoint of Blast Off's observatory, the spire they're zooming in on is slightly shorter, and...it does appear that there's a very dark-colored mech clinging to the spire and perhaps even peeping in the windows! There's definitely a mech there. That's no passing ship or a trick of the light.
Blast Off begins to nod, then starts to look down at the scope, only to be rudely shoved aside by Blurr. This gets a loud, annoyed *huffff* from the shuttleformer. "Do NOT do that again!" He remains where he's standing, though, looking down at Blurr, then out the window again towards the form. Then down to Blurr again, and he reaches down to grab at the scope. "Give me that..."
"Holy scrap I think you're right!" Blurr exclaims, upon seeing someone clinging to the building outside. He ignores Blast Off's indignation. "There's -definitely- someone out there. "What the slag are they doing?" He opens the window, and starts climbing out there himself.
The dark figure out on the spire takes some more footage, then is suddenly startled by the relatively-nearby sound coming from the open window, and turns to look.
Wide, blue optics can be seen, a fleeting glimpse and then the would-be peeper panics a bit. The shadowy figure closes up the satchel, and begins hot-footing it down one of the narrow walkways, probably preparing to take a risky leap onto an adjacent spire's ladder. Little does Blue Optics know who she's dealing with...
Blast Off grabs his scope back, but Blurr's already... heading out the window?! ...It's a long way up, too. The shuttleformer shakes his head with a sigh. He sticks his own head out the window and looks at Blurr. Well, let him take his chances, then. His choice. Blast Off takes the scope and looks through it before deciding what *he* is going to do. And wait a minute... that almost looks like.... The shuttle blinks. Is that... Arcee?!
He stares, a little dumbfounded as to why the femme would be scrambling around on these buildings in the dead of night. Just what is she up to, and /is/ she who she seemed to be? Optics narrow slightly, and he decides to find out, too. He slips through the window and is soon in flight towards the figure, trying to take a surreptitious route....
Blurr isn't worried. Racing requires one to be extremely agile, and he's got that in spades. He leaps down onto the walkway and darts after her, jumping between buildings and finally landing right behind the fembot. "Hey what's your hurry?" he asks, his voice lowered, though it has a playful tone to it.
Was she so panicked she was now SEEING THINGS?? Arcee absolutely couldn't believe how freaking fast the blue guy closed the distance. There was just NO WAY. Okay, he said he was a racer, and yes, she'd seen some street races in her time. But THAT...! What just happened, that wasn't even possible. No WAY. That would be breaking the laws of all scientific things, to move from there he jumped out of that spire window to being right behind her. IMPOSSIBLE!
"How did you even do that?!" she asks in shock. (Frag everything about this,) she thinks to herself, still feeling impulsive due to panic. "Never mind, I'm doing important work!" She backs up a bit, very nearly falling off the walkway. She teeters dangerously against the edge.
"Hey!" In a flash, Blurr grabs her arm and pulls her back onto the walkway. "Careful." He grins at her shock. "Are you really that surprised, I mean you know who I -am-, don't you? In fact I'm pretty sure I've met you before." Obviously he has, but you know he just meets a lot of people. It's easy to lose track of them all.
That's when another form suddenly appears at the edge of the walkway, blocking any potential fall. It's Blast Off, arms crossed and gazing at Arcee. Once he heard her and watched her mannerisms, there was no doubt in his mind that this is indeed the pink femme. Except she's not actually looking all that pink right now. He stands there, completely comfortable about the edge he teeters on... for he can simply fly. At least THAT's not illegal..... yet. "You change your paint job, Arcee?"
Arcee's shoulders sag. Caught between the blue guy and Blast Off, she's the worse secret agent ever. "I did, and...and yeah, it's me," she confirms. "I have a really GOOD explanation for this, though! I swear! I can show you everything!" Blurr gets a slight grin. "We did meet, at the Jump Joint."
Blast Off tilts his head slightly, arms still crossed. "I see." Optic ridge raises. "Go on, then..." He states, then waits for this explaination. He's not unfriendly, nor friendly... just really wondering what she is doing all the way up here.
"...Well, I just can't say anything *out here*," Arcee insists to Blast Off, remaining stubbornly mum.
"Jump Joint..." Blurr looks pensive. "Hm, I met a lot of people at Jump Joint." No, he really doesn't remember her name. "Well anyway what are you doing up here?" He doubts she's any kind of -real- agent. Not that he knows what they're like, but he never imagined them to act that awkward, either. "Don't you think you could've fallen?"
"And if you've met me then why were you surprised just now?"
"Uh. Could...could we go someplace less likely to get patrolled? I promise I'll tell you everything. I have a great reason for being out here!" Arcee looks over toward Blast Off nervously. All she needed right now was for that damned corrupt envoy to come out here and see them gathered nearby.
Blast Off looks at Arcee. "Where did you have in mind?" He's still hovering right at the edge, without a care in the world... well, actually he has several, but heights aren't one of them. He points back to his lab. "My laboratory is back that way..."
"Uh, well yeah. We could go back to his lab." Blurr nods when Blast Off suggests it. "Close by, or if you'd like something more comfortable I've got a hab suite nearby." One of many, probably.
"Okay, well...well let's just go back to Blast Off's office," Arcee decides. She keeps glancing back VERY nervously, toward the spire where she was peeping earlier. She's definitely jumpy, now. In between doing something stupidly risky, getting CAUGHT doing something stupidly risky, and seeing Blurr do something completely impossible was all grinding her gears.
Blast Off nods, and proceeds to head back towards his lab. He'll stay nearby, in case assistance is required (and if someone falls off he actually *would* fly down to help...) but he's not one to go out of his way to hold people's hands. "This way, then." He'll head back towards the window, which is still open.
Blurr, on the other hand, is more of a showoff. He grins and holds out his hand. "If it'll make you feel better. I mean you were pretty close to falling a few times there."
Arcee gives Blurr moony-optics, but they're not moony optics of love and adoration -- she actually looks a little bit afraid of him. "Um. No, I'm okay..." And she looks at his offered hand warily. "Are you a teleporter??" Yes, she's serious as she asks that. On the way back over, she sticks closer to Blast Off, even though he might be the one teleporting Blurr! Wouldn't THAT be weird??? Something IS weird, here. She's figured out that much. And it isn't her!
Blast Off raises an optic ridge. "Not that I'm aware of... He's a racer, and he's fast, but I think that's simply sheer /speed/, not teleportation..." He lets Blurr explain himself, though, merely remaining to provide the "support" for Arcee that having a friend (can he call himself that?)..or at least an acquiantance nearby can bring to a situation.
Blurr laughs. "Nope. Blast Off's got it right, I'm just -really- fast. And how are you surprised by this, anyway? Haven't you seen me at the races, or at least on the public broadcasts?" He's asked her that before, yes. But he still doesn't recall having met her before.
Arcee manages to return to Blast Off's window without too many uncertain leaps or stumbles. Not bad for a Senate aide. "That is completely unreal, I'm not even sure I believe that," she admits with a laugh, as she climbs back in the window. She leaves some black spray-on yuck on Blast Off's windowsill. "OOPS! Oh no, this stuff didn't last as long as I'd hoped! Get me some rags and solvent, and I'll clean everything up," she promises, knowing Blast Off will not want her tracking around black goopy paint all over his lab.
Blast Off does supress a small huff at the mess, being a neat freak, basically.... but says nothing. Instead, once inside (and carefully avoiding any mess himself) he nods and heads in to get the solvent and towels. "I'll be right back..."
Oh, she'd better believe it! And just to prove the point, Blurr is suddenly a streak of white and blue, and ends up inside the lab even -before- Arcee does. "Well you know what they say. Seeing is believing, right?" he grins.
Arcee bursts out laughing in surprise. "Well...okay! I'm a believer now," she chuckles. "You'll really have to forgive me for not having any idea, Senator Proteus doesn't like it when I switch to the news. He wants me to keep all of that stuff off and focus on my work. But that's extraordinary! Now I know why you have all kinds of fans who follow you around!" Without thinking much about it, she leans up against the sill, and turns it black upon contact. "...Oh, fiddleglitch."Blast Off comes back with the required supplies, then flinches when he observes the extra mess. An optic twitches ever-so-slightly. "Don't. Move." He strides over immediately, handing her some of the towels and solvents while beginning to work on cleaning that wall. He pauses to lift a finger up to make a point. "Careful... I have several experiments in here, and scientists require *cleaniness*. I don't want these experiments ruined..." Then... back to cleaning! He goes over the mess almost obsessive-compulsively.
Blurr watches Blast Off obsessing over the mess, and smirks, almost scoffing at the shuttle's behavior. "Tch." he shakes his head. "Oh, really? Well maybe you should ask Senator Proteus if -he- actually never watches them himself. In fact I think I've even seen him in the stands at Ibex a few times." He pauses, looking pensive. "You know, you remind me of someone. But I can't remember who it was."
Arcee winces at Blast Off's annoyance. "Eep, sorry...look, I'll clean all this stuff, don't worry about it! This was my silly idea in the first place. Which...I guess I owe both of you one after tonight's goings-on." She grabs a handful of rags and some solvent, and begins cleaning up the major source of the mess -- her own armor! Cleaning it off reveals the familiar bright pink color underneath. She mentions to Blurr, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Senator went to see you race! I don't get those privileges, yet, not until I go before a review board and they determine if I'm going to be allowed that programming."
Blast Off twitches a little bit more, but at least the mess is getting cleaned up, and Arcee is properly chagrined by the whole thing. Proper manners go a long way with him. He simply nods, and finishes cleaning. He does glance up at one point, though. "Yes.... some people seem to have a penchant for telling others not to do things they themselves seem to enjoy..."
"So if he can enjoy it, why can't you?" Blurr asks, arching an optic ridge at her. "Does he think you don't have as much self-control as he does, or something?" He watches them clean, but doesn't offer to help or anything.
Arcee wipes off the gunk from her armor...it's a tedious process, but she's beginning to look much more like herself. "I don't know, I guess I'm in the wrong caste or something. But hey, I can't really complain, there's a lot of other great things I get to do and I really like my job." She scrubs all the black paint off her faceplate, then glances over at Blurr and grins. "Do I still look like someone you know?" she asks, half-joking. "Anyhow...yeah. You guys caught me in the middle of trying to unravel a...a scandal. There's this guy named Cloudkicker. I don't really expect either of you to know who he is, but he's a special envoy to Commander Starscream."
Blast Off almost nods, given that he does know of the mech (working for the Senate in secret as he does, after all...) but then again.... it's supposed to be secret. So he merely gathers up the dirty towels and shakes his head like he hasn't heard the name before. "I see. And... you have reason to believe he's involved in some wrong-doing?"
"A scandal, huh? Well did you get what you wanted? Did you get the footage?" Blurr asks. Hmm...she does look familiar. He just can't...quite put a finger on it. "What did you think he was up to anyway? You saw him in the act?"
"Oooh yes, he's taking bribes," Arcee says. "And I got it ALL...right here." She reaches into her satchel and produces the little camera device. "I had an idea that he was crooked, but now I have *proof*. Shanix exchanging hands!" It's Arcee's turn to grin smugly. "I'm just going to take this right to the police!"
Blast Off raises an optic ridge. Glancing at the camera, he asks, "....But what if they refuse to believe you, or even look at the evidence? Or... are actually working /for/ the Senate?"
Blurr pats her on the back. "Well, congrulations. Mission accomplished, right? And good luck with the evidence." He grins. "Aw, come on Blast Off. Stop being such a rusty circuit. She's been looking forward to this all megacycle, hasn't she?"
Arcee's posture sags slightly, as if Blast Off just let the wind right out of her sails. "...Oh. Well then I guess I would be the one in trouble, but..." She frowns slightly. "But bribing is *wrong*, and justice should be served! That kind of reprehensible behavior has no place in the Senate." Blurr gets a genuine smile this time. Not only is he cute, but he's sticking up for her, now!
Blast Off shrugs. "Suit yourself. I merely advise caution when working to expose the rich and powerful. They usually have means to ensure they REMAIN in power." But again, he's not going to keep pressing the point.
"True, but you never know what you can do until you try!" Blurr encourages. They can probably tell he's on the younger side. A lot younger than Blast Off, that's for sure. "So what gave you the idea that he was up to no good?"
"That...sounds like very good advice," Arcee admits to Blast Off. "But...someone has to care about this. I can't just let him get away with cheating his way to the top. That just isn't fair." She glances out the window, distracted for a moment as a Seeker can be seen running down one of the walkways and transforming to takeoff. "-- And there he goes," she murmurs quietly, turning back and this time looking at Blurr. "I heard him bragging about all the money he was making doing these deals. He's just a mean-spirited louse, and I don't enjoy having to come here and endure his...his awfulness. Because what he's doing isn't right. It's why aides like myself have to work harder to gain recognition, while he just sails effortlessly through and gets put on prized assignments."
Blast Off nods. "Then do what you must. But again, I would advise caution. Perhaps try to get a feel for just *who* is truly an... "honest Cop", if that's the right term? Someone interested in justice. Just beware that the most pious appearing mech can sometimes be hiding something." Of course, in his experience, the more "righeous" they act, the more likely they are to be hiding something.
Blurr just stares at Blast Off, not really understanding what he's talking about at all. Because isn't justice the police's job? Why -wouldn't- they be interested in it? "Well I hope you can get him brought to justice. But if what you're saying about the bribes is true, he might just use that to get himself out of any trouble he gets into."