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| - August 14, 2011, 9:53 PM (Lifeline's Clinic, Cubicron) Lifeline is working in her clinic, as per usual. The heavily fortified main bay door is partly closed as it's near the end of the work day, and she is cleaning up the area. Bits of debris and flotsam have already been swept away, and she is wiping down the medtable with that now-well-appreciated solvent before the next patient/customer arrives. Jazz slips in the door and silently leans against the wall just inside the room, arms crossed, one foot-plate against the wall, watching her work. It's not so much the element of surprise, as judging how aware she is, and how she reacts to his presence. Lifeline promptly stops as someone enters the clinic, her optics studying the mech alertly and warily. Too casual-looking to be anything other than totally suspicious. Also, doesn't appear to have any injuries discernable by the naked optic. "If you're not here for repairs, the clinic is closing soon." Jazz rights himself and takes a single step forward, smiling in a friendly manner. "Jazz's the name. An' yer Lifeline, right? A friend o' mine named Ratchet sent me, said I could trust ya." Lifeline narrows her optics. This mech is not like most Autobots she'd run across, and really, Ratchet's name is well known enough to get bandied about by unaffiliated mechs. Or so her internal rationalization goes. Needless to say, she does not return the friendly smile. She simply finishes wiping down the table then drops the cloth onto her work bench before crossing her arms. "Trust me with what?" Jazz nudges the door a little more towards 'closed' and pitches his voice low enough not to travel beyond Lifeline's audio receptors. "Ratchet recommended you fer a little operation I got planned. It'll be a big help t' one o' First Aid's brothers - I was told you might be able t' help me get something he needs." Lifeline frowns and steps forward abruptly. She reaches for a control panel and keys the bay doors to close completely then gestures for Jazz to have a seat on the medtable. Any one who might get a last glimpse inside the clinic should (hopefully) see nothing untoward about either of their actions. Jazz sits in the indicated chair. After the lady joins him, he folds his hands in front of him on the table, and continues quietly, "One o' the boys is missing his Triple Changer Cog, the Decepts or somebody musta swiped it. Our intelligence says 'Con medical storage has three, in the Giant Economy Guardian Size, jes' sittin' around. Things are kinda hard to make work in the big picture, if ya get my drift, without that cog. An' we'll need someone, a medic, on the inside t' get one out. So unless ya got another source o' triple-changer cog alloy ya c'n point me at, I'm hopin' we c'n interest ya in takin' a job with Autobot Special Ops." Lifeline listens to Jazz and then stands there quietly for a moment. "No. I am not an Autobot, and I don't ever plan to be. However, to get a cog for Groove, I'll consider it." Yes, she knows of whom Jazz is referring. "Did Ratchet try asking Crystal City for it first?" Jazz says, "Yeah, he asked. They said it was already melted down. We'd take the cog or enough alloy to make one, but they kinda closed that door on us." Lifeline huffs air out of her vents in annoyance. "Figures. All right, then. What do you have in mind?" Jazz says, "Right. The Decepticons have trouble keepin' medics, so they're always recruitin' more. We arrange a big argument with a few witnesses, so the Decepts figure you're on the outs with any Autobots, an' they'll jump at the chance t' recruit ya. Once yer in position an' they trust ya, ya grab the cog, an' we extract ya both. How's that sit with ya?" Lifeline narrows her eyes at Jazz for a long moment, possibly debating the strategic merits of the plan, or maybe just trying to make sense of his unusual speech patterns. But finally... "All right, fine. But does NOT mean I'm consenting to join your... special ops group or whatever you called that. Oh, and someone had damned well better mind this clinic for me while I'm gone." Jazz says, "You bet - we'll owe ya big fer this, thanks. The name's Jazz, by the way." He offers his hand in the traditional handshake position, indicating both a formalisation and an ending-for-now. "Think o' this as helpin' yer friends, an' buildin' up a few favours ya c'n call in later. We take care o' folks who help us out. We'll be in touch real soon, but if ya need t' contact me, use this." He offers a small device, easily concealed." Lifeline doesn't shake Jazz's hand -- that's a way to transmit scraplets -- but does accept the small device. "You know where to find me." Jazz smiles and lowers his hand. "I'll jes' see myself out then. Thanks, Lifeline - I'll be in touch." He rises quietly and slips out the door. Jazz pauses at the doorway, and says quietly, "Ratchet'll be in touch t' argue with ya!" Lifeline looks at the small device in her hand, then stows in a more secure compartment on the inside of one arm before sterilizing and resealing her hands. ".. Hey Lifeline? " asks a voice at the door. It was Lockpick. A face not seen in a while Lifeline says, "Come in, Lockpick." "Been busy here lately. You got people watching you." he notes, stepping in. He was in good condition. A few scuff marks Lifeline says, "Yes, and I know. What can I do for you today?" "Just making sure you're okay." he notes simply "That and to recycle some uh, needles I found. Someone left a bo of parts for me and they were in the bottom." Lifeline ohs. "The recycle bin is there." She indicates, though it's the same plae as always. "Also, I was wondering if you would perhaps be willing to help me with a project I have in mind." "Much thanks." he tilts his head thoughtfully "Hrm? What was it? " as he deposits the greenish needles in the bin. Lifeline says, "I'm out of storage room, and I can't exactly add onto this building. I'm thinking of adding perhaps a small storage bin under the floor. Would that be feasible?" "Ehh?? What are you keeping that you need more room? " asks Lockpick, surprised 'Hrm. very possible. To do it subtlely will be a little tricky, but its not impossible. I'd have to look at some flooorplans I uh, found, to see what's under there." Lifeline gestures vaguely to the back room. "I have only so much room back there, and if I fill my recharge berth with supplies, it will be difficult to get proper rest." Yes, she sleeps in the storage room. "You know keeping this much stuff on site is dangerous." he notes "specially if I know who's been watching you." Lifeline looks at Lockpick. "You know I don't have anywhere else to store anything." "That's why you travel light. Or well, live light I guess..." notes Lockpick "I'll see what I can do to your storage space, but its like a bank - its getting irrisitbile you know?" Lifeline huffs in annoyance. "This is a clinic, Lockpick. I have necessary tools and parts in here. It's not intelligent to keep them elsewhere, even if I had someplace else to keep them. Now, can you build a secondary storage space or not?" The mech folds his arms "I said YES. I'll look into it at least. It may need some digging. And it may cost a little bit, but I'll try to get you the best deal I can." Lifeline says, "Fine. Maybe you can start from the space under the medtable." Lockpick blinks "You found that?" "Well, of co...What do you mean?" Lifeline looks at Lockpick suspiciously. A pause "Err. I knew the guy who was in here before. " he explains "And I /do/ do most of the security work in Cubicron." Lifeline narrows her optics at Lockpick. "Explain." "What's to explain? I know a lot of the buildings' security measures. I either built them or worked on them." explains Lockpick, frowning Lifeline says, "No, the other part. 'The guy who was in here before'." "You weren't always in this building Lifeline. THe guy who rented it before you... he dissapeared a few vorns before you showed up though." notes Lockpick, rubbing his chin as he tries to remember. Lifeline ohs. She thought he was referring to Jazz... but she's not about to admit that to Lockpick. "Disappeared?" Lockpick nods "Yeah. He packed up and left. No clue why." he admits "He was dealing with some fishy types. I dont think it was all that legit. Nervous." Lifeline hms. "Let's take a look at that space under the medtable, then." Lockpick nods as he moves to crouch beside it "The table wasn't here you remember, but the door to the crawlspace was. " Lifeline says, "Yes, I remember that." She keys the table to its top height, moving most but not all of the mechanism out of the way. "Do you remember how big that crawlspace was?" "Not off the top of my head. Not very big... " he dropped to a knee and felt around for the panel "Ah, here's the lever to open it." he flicked it up and lifted it a moment. "Got a light?" Lifeline steps over to her work bench then returns with a small hand held light source. Lockpick squints in "I think its about electrical duct sized. Probably for some of the floor plug ins. We could probably stand up right in it, but it wont be more than five feet long. Lifeline leans to look down where Lockpick is. "Could that space be expanded?" "Possibly." admits the mech "I'd have to look at schematics - if there's sewer or power lines nearby, or a thin roof to a lower level, it could collapse." Lifeline says, "Hm. True. But at least I can use that space as-is for now. Does the door have a lock on it?" "Easy to install. Ten minutes I can get one from my shop." responds Lockpick Lifeline says, "All right." Lockpick pulls out of the space and stands, moving to jog out into the street and dissapear.
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