#shaderaider

It’s dark when he arrives at a back door of the large estate that he was told was the pickup spot. He was to meet with another bot for the hand off, a lady named Shaderaider. He thinks the name is interesting. I hope I’m not late, that would be so embarrassing. He thinks as he fidgets with his hands, waiting for something to happen.

A moment later, a small dark blue motorcycle alt drops from the second floor balcony. She stares at Geocache with piercing blue rings for optics for several seconds, eyeing him over.

“Are you the transport they hired?” She prompts, quick and to the point.

Geo smiled. “That’s me. I’m Geocache, and I suppose you must be Shaderaider.” He held out his hand for a handshake, but it was smacked away.

“We don’t have time for such pleasantries. We have a job to do, and it must be done fast. So shut up and let’s get going.” Shaderaider replies dismissively, voice cold and calculating, her cat-like ears twitching as she looks into the distance, arms crossed. A second later she grabs his hand, putting the disc into it. “Protect this with your life, Geocache.” She snarled, that last word having a sharp bite in the enunciation.

“There’s no need to be so harsh, I know how to do my job.” The orange and yellow plane chuckled, walking forward after stashing his cargo. Shaderaider transforms and speeds off, causing Geocache to also transform and follow suit, though slower.

Several silent minutes pass, and it’s only when they’re out of the neighborhood that they stop and Shade transforms. Geo does the same.

“Why have we stopped? Did something happen?” He asks, looking down at his traveling companion with a tilted head, and head fins at two different angles, with a confused expression.

The only response is an impatient huff and narrow eyed stare before she speaks. “Why are you so slow? We need to get this damn disc out of Iacon before the rich glitch finds out it’s missing. You should know the importance of efficiency in these sorts of matters.” she hisses.

“I’ll have you know that my speed is the perfect speed for carrying delicate cargo. I’ve been doing this for millenia, “ his eyebrows shoot up and he takes a half step back, ''and WAIT, did you STEAL?!” he shouts in surprise. Shaderaider facepalms, dragging her clawed hand down her face with an eye roll.

“Keep your voice down. Yes I stole it. That’s what we’re here to do, you should already know that. I mean, you’re posing as a transport.” she states, matter of factly. Geocache tenses up, his plating tight against his frame.

“No one told me I would be smuggling something! I was just told to take this disc from that place to the edge of town. No one told me I would be doing anything illegal!” He yelps, shaking from head to foot. Oh no, oh no, oh Primus why. I’m going to get in SO much trouble, he thinks, his mind racing. “Am I a CRIMINAL?” He cries.

His companion shakes her head in disbelief, before sighing angrily, “Yes, yes you are, now let’s go. And you will tell no one about any of this.” Geo feels an odd sensation in his tank at that last sentence, but he ignores it. He takes a deep breath, which does nothing to calm his nerves, and nods, still shaken. Shaderaider rolls her optics again before turning on her heel, transforming, and starting off down a side street. Geocache nervously follows behind her, fidgeting the entire way.

“Hey, Shaderaider, would you please wait up?” He calls a moment later. She turns to the side to come to a stop.

“What is it now?” She impatiently replies.

“Can we walk at least part of the way? I don’t think I could fly like this. The alleys are pretty narrow after all, not good for wings, and I somehow doubt you want me out of your sight.” the plane sheepishly pleads, his hands drawn close to his chest, index fingers tapping together. The motorcycle transforms and stares at him with a blank expression. She mulls it over for a moment, and after a look of dismay and silently questioning what led her to be stuck with this fool, deeply sighs.

“Alright, I suppose we could walk, but it better be quiet, and if anyone asks, you’re carrying average cargo, and I’m merely keeping you company. Got it?” She answers with a slight snarl and a cold glare. Geocache relaxes a little at this, and puts on a weary smile.

“Crystal clear. Thank you ma’am, and I promise not to bug you with small talk, much.” He chuckles slightly, before walking forward through the alley. The spy follows his lead, needing to speed walk to keep up with the transport she’s stuck with.

An hour goes by of Geo being told where to turn and when to duck out of sight of the main street, and many groans of frustration from Shade when he flinches at every little noise. They’re about to turn into another alley when Shaderaider halts in her tracks and puts a hand up to stop her companion.

She turns to him and sighs, “We can’t take this street, they’re doing construction and would ask us what we were doing coming through from the alley side. Too suspicious. We need to take the main street, it’s the only other way through this area. An unfortunate detour but a necessary one.”

Geocache blinks. “Ok, lead the way. I don’t do much ground travel around here, y’know, plane and all, so this has been quite informative.” I can act normal. I do it all the time. He thinks, taking a breath. I got this. I’m just carrying my usual cargo and not doing anything suspicious, just gotta keep telling myself that. They step out onto the main street and keep walking. He is temporarily dazzled by all the lights illuminating the way, it never fails to amaze him. Shaderaider just keeps her head down and strides ahead, weaving around other bots as needed.

Geo breaks out of his trance and notices he was left behind, mutters incoherently for a second, and dashes to find his companion, going “Excuse me, pardon me, sorry about that.” as he shuffles around bots, who glance annoyedly at him before moving. It takes a moment, but he catches up to the spy and taps her on the shoulder.

“Hey, aren’t we supposed to stick together? I’m sorry for stopping unnecessarily, but you didn’t have to run off like that.” He says, a tad exasperated. Shade turns around and curtly replies,

“Oh, sorry. I’m used to being by myself and weaving through crowds as fast as possible. I didn’t even notice you’d stopped.”

“Heh, it’s ok. Though I’m kinda surprised you’d forget I’m here, given my height and importance to this job after all.” He lightly teases, arising the slightest blush out of her. It quickly goes away and they continue on their journey. The duo go a few blocks before turning into the alleys again. This time Shaderaider is scanning the walls as they go down the alley. Geo looks at this with confusion.

“What are you doing, if I might ask?” He inquires, innocently.

“I’m looking for a way onto the rooftops. This is taking way too long for my and most likely our employer’s liking, and you said you can’t really fly in these alleys. So if we go to the rooftops, you can fly and I go much faster. Win win.” She states, not taking her optics from her scanning.

A moment later she spots a service ladder a few feet away and darts over to it. She climbs the ladder with great speed, and beckons Geocache to follow her once she reaches the halfway point. He does as instructed with slight hesitation, as the pit in his tank grows from the shady activity. I don’t like this, I don’t like this, what if we get caught? This is bad. His thoughts race as he climbs the ladder behind Shade, trembling slightly. His trembles shake the ladder a little and make it rattle under both their weights and his nerves.

“Can you quit shaking?! You’ll give us away!” Shaderaider hisses just loud enough for him to hear from the near top of the ladder. Geo stops and takes several deep breaths, calming him a little to stop his quivering, though it does nothing to slow his racing spark.

“Ok, sorry about that. I’m just freaking out because I’m part of a heist and no one told me.” He reminds her as he finishes clambering up the ladder, dusting himself off at the top. “That ladder had quite the dust layer. Must not be well maintained.” He muttered under his breath. Once he arrives on the roof, Shaderaider looks him over, before nodding with a “Hm.”

After a second of silence, she motions for the two of them to get a move on, and starts off in the direction they were originally heading. Geocache ruffles his plating before transforming with a little flourish and taking off. He makes sure to keep his companion in his sight, but takes no time in getting up to speed, simultaneously relaxing more at the sensation of flying above it all. As he gets back to his usual method of doing his job, it almost slips his mind that he’s doing anything wrong.

Geo periodically looks down to make sure he’s still following the motorcycle, which he is, until she stops short and ducks behind a structure on one rooftop. He sees this and swoops down to inspect the situation, transforming and landing with a soft thud before immediately being pulled behind the structure with Shaderaider, a squeak escaping him at both the sudden movement and sudden contact.

“Shaderaider? What’s wro-”

“Quiet!” She whisper shouts, covering his mouth with her hand, her optics narrowed as she gazes around the corner, “Someone heard me up here, now we must wait until they leave. Try not to give us away big guy.” Geo has a moment of that same feeling in his tank from earlier in the evening, but it is quickly replaced by a shiver as he remembers the circumstances. He can’t help but tremble as he tries to stay still and quiet as he crouches behind the obstruction. Shade removes her hand and returns it to her side.

Peeking over the top, he spots a resident of the building glancing around. They seem to be a sports car of some sort, but it’s hard to tell in the low light of the dark city canopy. Geo can barely make out a grimace as he ducks back down when the bot’s head turns in his direction. His sparkbeat quickens as the duo wait a tense few minutes before they hear footsteps echoing down stairs, the bot deciding it was nothing and going back inside. Shaderaider waits a few moments before signaling Geocache that he can move. He sighs in relief and goes to stand, but bangs his head on a pole, knocking it and other objects off the structure with a loud clatter. Immediately the pair hear footsteps swiftly coming back up the stairs.

“Oh slag.” He groans, his head fins pinned back as he prepares for a confrontation. I hope I can talk my way out of this, I’d really hate for there to be a fight. He takes a few deep breaths in an effort to calm himself for conversation as Shaderaider face palms. The same bot throws the door open and looks at them with an accusatory glare.

“What are you two doing here?” They bark with a scowl and crossed arms, tapping their foot.

“I-I’m so sorry to bother you sir, I’m just transporting cargo across town, expedited delivery, and I got drowsy so I flew too low and crashed into this.” He gestures at the mess on the floor, then looks at Shaderaider. “My friend here was supposed to talk to me to keep me awake, but she forgot. Again, I’m so sorry for disturbing you, I’ll just clean up the mess and we’ll be on our way.” He shakily explains with a clearly forced smile, as he nervously chuckles, waving his hands in front of him. The bot looks unimpressed, and turns to peer at Shade, who puts on a similar facade to Geo, nodding to confirm his story.

The bot looks suspiciously between the two, but after a moment shrugs and replies, “Okaaaay, but make it quick and get out of here before I change my mind about reporting you.” before turning on their heels and leaving. A moment of silence passes as the footsteps again fade out.

“Haaaaah,” Geo gasps, letting out a breath he’d been unknowingly holding, before quickly cleaning up the mess he’d made, still shaking. After he’s finished they move on to the next roof, where Shade then jumps and smacks him on the back of the head.

“What the PIT Geocache?! I told you to be quiet!” She scolds him with a growl. “Why can’t you follow simple instructions?!”

“I’m sorry! I tried, I just didn’t see those things there, and I talked our way out of it! Ack, I’m usually not this clumsy, it’s just this job is messing with my head.” He yelps as he rubs the back of his head, and then face palms. “I know I must be such a bother to you, but I assure you I’m not normally like this.” Geo sighs, dejected. Shaderaider looks at her companion as he fidgets with an annoyed stare, before a thoughtful look replaces it. After a moment, her face temporarily softens for just a second, before she rolls her eyes. She’d better get paid extra for putting up with these shenanigans.

“Fine, I accept your apology, but this can’t keep happening. Fortunately for the both of us, we’re only a couple blocks from our destination. If we can get that far without any more incidents, I won’t tell our employers of your incompetence. Deal?” She extends her hand. Geocache’s optics light up like tiny suns and he smiles as he shakes her hand.

“Deal!” He exclaims. Upon their deal, the pair transform and take off, the only sound being the noises of the street below, and their engines.

It’s just before sunrise when they arrive at the city limits. A figure is there to greet them with a pair of guards at their back.

“Ah, I see you arrived safely. Do you have the goods?” They prompt. Shaderaider and Geocache transform and step forward. Shade turns and gives Geo a look of ‘I got this.’ He simply nods and looks on.

Turning back she says, “Yes, we have the merchandise, as requested.” She lightly elbows Geo, who produces his cargo and gives it to his employer, saying nothing.

“Yes, good. You will receive your payment shortly. Good job, this usually takes our agents multiple solar cycles, but you two got it done in one night. I’m impressed.” They purr.

“T-Thank you.” Geocache mutters. Primus I’m being so unprofessional. This is the worst. He chastises himself. Just gotta get through this interaction, then I can go home and never think about this again.

He looks at Shade, who, for the first time that night, smiles as she fires back, “I do pride myself on my efficiency, it is my job after all.” Geo feels oddly warm at the sight of that smile.

“Of course, of course. You may go, Geocache, you were never here.” The bot says, lowering their voice for that last part.