Ep. 0.5 - Questionable methods (Closed)

There he was.

Sniper's optics narrowed into red slits as they observed the Air Commander's graceful landing. While he knew better than to blow his act, Sniper had a hard time dismissing the urge to reach out and strange the glitch. Double crossing pile of scrap metal. Or, that was the thought that kept plaguing the spy's processor. His faceplate, however, betrayed none of these thoughts. He looked as composed as ever - with a tiny touch of his signature grumpiness.

"Don't waste your breath on me, Seeker," Sniper muttered, noting how Starscream put out a notable effort to assure the spy he had been worried. However, his voice rung hollow to Sniper's sensors. Slight displeasure lingered over the spy's expression. He stepped closer to Starscream, closing some of the gap between them. "Your only concern is your own sorry aft," the spy was as grumpy as ever - but even the Seeker must have known he was speaking the truth.

Sniper glanced around the deserted area very quickly. He was certain that the Seeker had come alone, since the nature of their alliance had been questionable at best. If any of the Decepticons should get a wind of it, Starscream would be scrapped as quickly and brutally as Sniper had been.

"And you are very well aware of what happened," Sniper continued, strangling his anger for the moment. "However, while my allegiance to the Decepticon cause might have been compromised-," he started, his voice calm and composed. ::There is still a question of our ... understanding.:: Sniper switched to secure transmission, his eyes narrowing slightly. They flashed a bit of the greed he had shared with the Seeker a while back. But now, other reasons stood behind the expression, even if Starscream possessed no means to know about them.

That was more like it, thought Sniper, when Starscream's obvious facade cracked and his true intensions shone trhough. The motion of his wings deceived his playful mood. Yet, Sniper didn't echo the smirk which lingered on the Seeker's face. Not until the Seeker mentioned his unfortunate lack of a spy on board the Nemesis. Sniper lifted his head, the sinister glow of his optics showing a very faint glimpse of smugness. While he obviously was no Starscream, Sniper luckily knew how to play the Commander to his own advantage.

"Yes, you run your mouth way too much to make even a decent Scout," he said idly. "So I understand the extent of your loss. However-" Sniper's optics, which carried a ghost of a vicious smile in them, would glance at the entrance of the cave behind him. When his gaze returned to Starscream, he closed what remained of the space between them. He was close enough to land a touch - or a deathstrike. But neither happened. "-the current ... settlement doesn't mean you no longer have a spy in your possession." Even if Sniper's processor struggled with this lie, it came out of him in a way surprisingly convincing way. It was even accompanied by an expression ecquivalent of a mysterious browlift.

::That, and ... other things,:: he transmitted eventually, answering the Seeker's question about their "understanding". The answer only raised more questions. ::But you don't expect us to discuss such things in the open, do you?:: He destured slightly towards the dark mouth of the cave. ::Your frequency was easy enough to track as it was,:: he ended with a snark.

There was an expression - ecquivalent of a little browlift. But within a couple of seconds it turned into a very subtle smirk. Starscream was being careful which meant Sniper held some power in this peculiar situation. The spy stood close, his optics gazing up at those of the Seeker's. He leaned in a bit and raised a digit. He traced the insignia of the Commander's chest with the faintest touch of his claw. A part of him wanted to strike right through the slagger's chest plate, snuffing his spark on the way, but he knew better than to blow everything to hell when he had gotten this far.

"Are you scared, Commander?" he questioned trhough a subtle smirk. The spy's faceplate lingered relatively close to that of the Seeker's. And he sounded somewhat amused. "It's not like I can blame you, but-," he continued, but switched into a secured transmission yet again. He glanced at the skies and let his claw fall away from the Seeker's chest slowly. ::-it's your aft on the line if Soundwave is watching.:: Of course, the possibility of this happening was slim, since Sniper knew very well how to take care of fragile business like this - especially after what had been done to him. And the more he could avoid Soundwave's attenttion, the better. Before he got to rip the mech's head off his shoulders, that was. But appealing to Starscream's cowardly nature was his best bet at the moment.

That, and the ghost of a touch that had lingered on the Commander's chest - there was something about it. It had an alluring energy, as though it would have been an echo of the questionable times they had shared.

Had Sniper's claw still been around the Seeker's chest, it would have likely left a scratch behind. While Starscream's words weren't exactly shy of the truth, Sniper despised being called anyone's pet. The small smirk he had work fractured slightly upon hearing this metaphor. Yet, it didn't take it long to regroup. He took a few steps away from the Seeker in order to lead him into the shadow cast by the cave. The movement was slow.

"No, Commander. Being someone's pet doesn't sit well with my nature," Sniper replied through a subtle smirk. "I am not like you, after all," he made a light remark of the Seeker's status of being second to Megatron, who had been playing Starscream like an instrument for ions now.

Once they were finally protected from direct spying attempts, Sniper glanced around the hideout he had picked and sent one final scan through the airwaves. He wanted to confirm that Starscream's frequency and signature were the only ones occupying them. No other Decepticons - or Autobots for that matter. Sniper's goals were separate from those of his current allies. And should any of them witness his questionable methods of obtaining data for his mission, they might see it as a … conflict of interest.

The red orbs of Sniper's optics burned in the dark as they adjusted their gaze on Starscream, who stood against the weak moon light that poured to the cave.

"But what I want now-," Sniper begun eventually, his optics narrowing into vicious little slits. "-is to see your higher ups taken apart. The slower the better." This time he wasn't even lying - only leaving some crucial names out of the list. The grudge in his voice was so thick and vivid it was hard to miss. "And I figured you would benefit from such an arrangement," he added after a brief pause, his tone softening slightly.

Sniper stood outside of touching distance, his faceplate empty as he listened the Commander add to their play of insults. He let his weight swing slowly towards the wall of the cave, leaning lightly against it to give a calm and relaxed impression - even if his processor was compromised with the grudge and anger he harbored. Especially towards the Decepticon who stood before him, back turned against the night.

"I'll have you know that the Autobots don't give me orders," well, technically they were more like ... requests rather than orders, anyway. "I bow to no master," then there was a slight smirk. "-not like you do." And then the smirk changed into something a tad more subtle.

"And speaking of masters-," he begun, his optics narrowing slightly as their gaze remained on Starscream. "-should you still want to become one, we now possess access to both Autobot and Decepticon intel," he said. "And if I know anything about this war-," the spy continued, something sharp and greedy flashing in his optics. It wasn't even an act this time around, but rather, playing with this thought still managed to amuse a part of him. "-it is how to use intel to shape its course." The old information thief in him spoke.

Something hostile flickered in Sniper's snug EM field very briefly. It seemed that the Seeker's remark on the Autobots giving the former Decepticon spy orders had poked through his cool. However, the wrinkle in his field smoothed out shortly enough and something equivalent of a brow lift occurred in its place.

"Be that as it may-," by this, Sniper was referring to their talk about both the Autobots and Starscream's master, Megatron. He was brushing the subject aside because Starscream seemed to be capable of poking it in a way that would put Sniper's objective in under the scope, should the continue discussing such matters. "-you need my help-," his voice took a tiny shift towards a sort of a purr as Sniper peeled his weight off the wall and approached to Commander with slow movements of his long limbs.

And soon, he was up close again, his red optics burning such a little below those of the Seeker's. There was an alluring, yet a vicious kind of a gleam to them - and underneath them, Sniper's mouth curved into a very subtle smile. A claw clinked againt the Seeker's chest in a very light, almost teasing manner. "-and I need yours." There was a dark energy circling around these words as Sniper spoke them. They held a certain kind of mystery.