Author's note- This is AU with a hint of IDW. Enjoy

The entire Iacon base was practically buzzing with excitement and Prowl could feel the giddiness in the air as he paced slowly down the hall. Beside him, he eyed Sideswipe who was in the process of sneaking up behind Sunstreaker. The yellow twin was in mid turn before he was clasped roughly on his back by a grinning Sideswipe, earning him a rather homicidal glare. Prowl passed them indifferent, well aware that this sudden rise in moral was caused by the capture of a very infamous Decepticon. Who, Prowl wasn't sure but his every intention at the moment was to head down to the brig and uncover who had caused such a ruckus.

"Sir!" Bluestreak called out approaching the senior officer with a gentle wave of his hand and a half jog, only coming to a stop directly at Prowl's left. Prowl nodded his head to the younger mech in his usual greeting. "I can't believe they caught him! I mean actually caught this one. We all had bets going but none of us were even close." He continued and Prowl listened or rather half listened before stopping him.

"Who did they catch?" He asked stopping the younger mech in his tracks. Bluestreak raised his doorwings slightly.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. So I'll wait until you see him yourself. I think even you'd be surprised." Prowl once again found himself nodding even though he disliked the aspect of having to wait even longer to find out this mystery con.

"Who is responsible for the capture?' He redirected. Bluestreak snorted slightly restraining a broad grin.

"Ironhide, Sir. The con literally landed at his feet." He uttered and Prowl raised an optic ridge and waited for the mech to elaborate which Bluestreak did, quite happily. "He was in the vents. Apparently one of the support beams that hold them up rusted out and just happened to give out with his added weight. He fell right through the ceiling, plop on Ironhide's feet."

"How unexpected." He grunted which incited another quiet chuckle from Bluestreak.

"It gets even better once you find out who it is." He added which once again caused Prowl to raise a single optic ridge at the bot beside him before shrugging it off and following the mech to the brig.

Ironhide was the one who met them at the heavily armored door to the brig and he greeted Prowl with his signature grunt, barely inclining his head. He turned to the side, tapping into a small keypad and opening the door for the second in command.

"I'd be careful. Glitch took out the lights." The armored mech drawled as he stepped to the side. "Don' know how he did it. But he did it." He muttered and Prowl walked passed him, not without a quick thank you. Bluestreak on the other hand stopped at the door, seemingly more interested in talking with Ironhide then seeing the mystery con again.

The room was practically black with the only light coming from the open door, lighting enough to see the very outline of the bars. Prowl clasped his hands behind his back as he fully entered the room, stopping a good distance from where the bars were located. Slowly a dim red light illuminated as a single crimson red visor onlined. The con smiled, the light from his visor reflecting on the silver metal of his face and bringing Prowls attention to his cruel grin.

"How lucky is little ol' me. None other than Prime's pet computer." The con purred and Prowl felt his back straighten as his optic's narrowed. No wonder everyone was so hyped up from this particular con's capture.

"Hello, Jazz." Prowl droned and at the mention of his name, Jazz's grin seemed to grow wider and even more malicious. "I would have expected a more…. Dignified capture for a spy of your reputation." He added, expecting to rile the saboteur up but instead it seemed to humor the mech.

"What can I say," He hummed and Prowl could see the glint of metal moving as Jazz moved his arms out to his side to gesture with his hands. "ahm full of surprises."

"Yes. I'm sure you gave Ironhide quite the surprise when you misjudged the vent's structure and fell to the floor at his peds." Jazz chuckled again before turning serious in less than a second.

"You calling me fat? Mech tha's just plain rude. My figure is just perfect." The spy uttered and though he sounded actually offended, Prowl could see and practically hear the cocky grin hidden on the mech. It confused him and threw him off slightly and if there was one thing that Prowl didn't like, it was being thrown off. Slowly Prowl activated the general Autobot coms The only ones that would be working within the cell's dampening field.

"Red Alert." He spoke and the change caught the spy's attention and he silently shifted.

"Yes Prowl?" The security director answered in no time at all.

"Bring up the emergency lights in the brig, cell section c."

"Yes sir." Red Alert answered and within moments a low hum was heard before several, almost hidden lights flickered on. Jazz flinched at the sudden brightness, covering his visor with his arm as he quickly dialed down the sensitivity. He growled as he removed his arm, giving the mech a particularly homicidal glare.

"Not cool mech. Not cool." He snarled. Prowl didn't respond to the glare.

"I take it you don't like the light?" He asked.

"Take it you don like the dark." Jazz countered and Prowl raised a single optic ridge that, observing the mech that sat crouched on the standard prison bunk with his hands interlocked just under his chin. His left arm was dented and tainted with a splatter of dried energon and judging by the condition of Ironhide, Prowl assumed that it belonged to Jazz. Prowl approached the bars with one single long stride, keeping just enough distance away so that if Jazz made to grab him he would have enough distance to act accordingly.

"Considering that you are going to be here for a while, care to tell me what exactly you were doing in our vent system?" Prowl asked. Jazz looked up, cracking another one of his lopsided grins before laughing outright.

"Please mech. You think this gonna hold me?" He blew air out of his vents in disbelief.

"There is less than a twenty percent chance of you escaping with the security measure we have in place. I would recommend making yourself very comfortable Jazz. You are going to be here for a while." Almost instantly Jazz good natured grin faltered and he leaned forward, fixating on the mech just outside of his cell.

"There ain't nothin' that can hold me. I'm gonna get out an ahm gonna kill a lotta mechs. This was your biggest mistake Prowl, keepin' me here." He growled and Prowl himself remained surprisingly calm and collected which only served to irritate the spy.

"We will see Jazz." He paused, nodding his head. "Until I return." He stated taking a step back and contacting Red Alert once again. "Cut the lights down to thirty percent."

"Yes sir." The security director answered and instantaneously the lights dimmed down considerably. It wasn't as dark as it was before but it certainly made it difficult to see the saboteur sitting in the cell. Prowl turned and exited leaving Jazz to glower to himself, his visor glowing a darker red in the low light. He remained frowning before splitting a particularly wicked snarl.

"I will break you mech." He promised to the dark. "Ain't nobody play me like that."

Prowl took a moment to pause outside of the brig, just beside the red statue that was Ironhide. The gruff mech nodded to Prowl, eying him with a sideways glance.

"He's some piece of work ain't he?" He grunted and Prowl simply nodded.

"He certainly is."

"So what we going to do with im'?" Ironhide paused. "It's your call Prowl. Prime's not back for a while." He reminded the second in command who nodded more to himself then the other mech.

"That has yet to be determined. I wish to go over every possibility before acting." He answered and Ironhide once again grunted, not choosing to comment on his answer. Whether he was satisfied or not, Prowl could not determine so instead of concentrating on it too much he nodded his goodbyes and left to his office where at least he could think in peace.

Prowl's office was bare all except for a wide collection of data pads ranging from his own personal collection to work related reports that far outnumbered anything else. Everything was neat and orderly without a single speck of dust on any surface. To anyone else it was a little bit unnerving for anyone's working quarters to be so orderly but to Prowl it was perfect. The clean was calming. It helped him think but now it seemed to do quite the opposite.

Slowly he let his head rest in his hands, exhaling air out of his vents to calm the uneasiness that was so foreign to him. Of all Decepticons to capture, why did it have to be Jazz. Jazz was an anomaly. He was unpredictable, sadistic, and purely insane. Prowl huffed again. One could not predict insanity; it just happened without any sort of rhyme or reason and it drove the logical mech into a splitting processor ache that was sure to drive him mad.

"Who are you Jazz?" Prowl muttered as he activated Teletran 1 in hopes of accessing some sort of file that would give him insight in the ever mysterious and elusive Decepticon saboteur.

….

The few assembled Autobot's looked considerably groggy as they sat around the debriefing table, waiting for Prowl to enter the room and begin the last minute meeting he had all disturbed their recharge for. Ratchet huffed, giving the seemingly very wide awake Red Alert a rather dirty glare as the mech remained very up and ready despite the state of the others.

Prowl entered holding a single data pad which he seemed to regard with great importance as he skimmed whatever was held on it. He stopped just before the group, not moving or even making a sound for a good few minutes which made the already irritable Ironhide wish for one of his many weapons.

"I thank you all for coming on short notice." He began but was only answered with a room of seemingly hostile glares that the second in command was seemingly oblivious to. "I called you all here to debrief you on the capture of Decepticon spy, Jazz. I would also like to go over the tactical advantages on this as well as the dangers of having such a mech. Firstly though, Ironhide." He gestured to the red mech. "I would like you recollect the details of your arrest." Ironhide seemed to pause for a second before shrugging.

"It was nothin' I did. I was walking down the normal path I always take after going to the firein' range. I heard a shift above me. Stopped and then bam. Jazz hit the floor. He was too baffled to put much of a fight. I outmanned him and drug him to the brig. Simple as that." He grunted leaning back in his chair. Prowl nodded to him.

"That particular vent system has long been on my list of repairs, sir. We just haven't had the resources to actually do it, despite the security threat that I had anticipated." Red Alert added. Prowl hummed.

"And did you put it in an official report?" He asked and the security director seemed appalled by the idea.

"And have a huge weakness exposed in writing for all to see!? I'm not mad sir." He squeaked.

"So tell me Red Alert, who did you notify of this problem?" He asked.

"The only one I could trust at the moment. Prime, sir." The mech answered sounding rather certain of his choice and Prowl found himself scratching at his chin in thought.

"No one else?" He muttered and instead of Red Alert answering, Ratchet instead interrupted.

"What are you implying Prowl?" He muttered and the mech in question crossed his arms. "Are you implying that this was staged by the spy?"

"I am going over all possible situations. I was looking over the files we have on the saboteur, which are very few mind you. Jazz has quite the reputation. His identity was just recently discovered actually. Before he was a nameless, faceless, horror story that was being passed among Autobot bases. I find it hard to believe that someone of such talent would have been so unlucky." Prowl explained.

"Hey, it's not all that uncommon." Bumblebee happily cut in, being the only member of special ops to be not out in the middle of a mission. "Even the best of us mess up." He grinned. "Sometimes your luck just, you know, runs out. And besides. What could Jazz possibly do inside of one of our most secure cells. The best spy is an unseen one."

"True. The likelihood of him being captured as part of his plan doesn't fit his M.O. He is too…" Prowl paused as if looking for the perfect description. "Prideful." He finally decided but frowned at the word as if he wasn't completely satisfied with it.

"What are we gonna do with the glitch?" Ironhide grunted.

"I plan to interrogate Jazz to determine what his intentions were. At least until Optimus Prime returns and then it will be his discretion."

"You sir will be the one holding the interrogations? I highly recommend electing someone who isn't the current acting leader to interrogate the highly volatile Decepticon." Red Alert piped in sounding rather bothered.

"Yes, Red Alert. That would have been the logical decision but according to the profile we have on Jazz he is well known for his manipulative techniques by using different forms of mental tortures. I am the most qualified and less likely to respond to his techniques. Plus currently I have the most experience with interrogations. The benefit far out ways the risk."

….

Jazz had his back to the wall as he sat cross legged on the metal slab that served as his berth. His body was hunched away and Prowl was certain that the spy was unaware of his presence at the door. The spy muttered something under his breath as he tossed a good sized plate of armor from his forearm.

"Ya just gonna watch me like that, mech?" Jazz growled causing Prowl to stiffen at the sudden snarled tone. Another muttered grunt sounded from the spy and Prowl was almost certain that it was a curse.

"I intended to observe you for a little longer before announcing my presence." He answered truthfully and Jazz actually stopped what he was doing. He turned his whole torso to glance at Prowl, dumbfounded. He nodded slightly.

"Alrighty Prowler. Tha's just a little creepy." He muttered, going back to fiddling with his arm which Prowl took notice for the first time. He frowned at the exposed wire and dried energon coating the spy.

"What are you doing?" He asked and Jazz took a moment glance at him before biting down on a wire and pulling on it. Prowl flinched and acted as if he was going to move forward to stop the mech from committing self-termination.

"Was it look like ahm doing?" He muttered with the wires still in his denta. "Fixin' my arm. Tha'd red brute of yours did some damage. I can barely even move it." Jazz griped and Prowl for a moment assumed that the mech's pride hurt more than his arm. The mech held the wires taunt with his teeth as he used his now free hand to reach inside, messing with something.

"As a prisoner of war, Jazz, I am inclined to offer you medical services." He intoned and Jazz turned his head to look at Prowl who felt the glare despite the red visor. "Sedated of course." Prowl added which seemed to do nothing to ease the mech before him.

"Look. I don't do medics. and I certainly don't do tha Hatchet." Prowl frowned.

"The Hatchet?" He asked and the confusion was so evident on the mech's face that Jazz would have laughed if not for the risk of biting through the wires he was holding in his mouth. He spat them out just in case.

"It's a nickname, mech. Ya know. The scourge of the med bay? Heard he has a mean arm with a wrench?" Jazz tried and the corner of Prowl's lip components twitched in a barely concealed smirk.

"I see." He responded and Jazz gave a wicked grin in response to Prowl's almost slip."

"So tell me mech. Wha's on the schedule for today? Ya gonna torture me for all my Decepticon secrets or are ya gonna spout Autobot propaganda and help me see the error of ma ways?" Jazz asked, repositioning himself so that he was sitting on his berth, facing the second in command.

"You already have your preconceived notions on the Autobots. I doubt anything I say will change that." Prowl intoned and Jazz laughed.

"Glad we have an understandin'. So let's get on to the torture." Jazz answered meaning to spread both arms in invitation but only one responded, leaving the other one hanging lip against the spy's frame. He stopped to give it a hostile glare as if that would get it respond. Prowl raised a single optic ridge at that but decided to ignore it in favor of responding to Jazz's statement.

"As an Autobot I do not condone torture as a form of interrogation." Jazz gave a dark laugh at that.

"Since when." He growled.

"The Autobots have changed since the Senate was in charge," Prowl started to explain but was interrupted by Jazz slamming his only functioning arm on the metal berth, hard enough to dent the metal. Prowl looked at the mech in surprise and Jazz seemed to glowering menacingly, his visor glowing a darker red.

"Change the subject." He growled. Prowl tilted his head to the side.

"Why?"

"Because pissin' me off mech ain't a good way to keep me in a talkative mood. Ya dig?" The spy hissed.

"If you insist then Jazz." Prowl placated, taking a moment to move back and take a seat. Jazz remained vigilant and tense as if daring Prowl to continue on about the senate, a sore subject that Prowl planned on extorting in the future. "I looked up your file in Teletran 1." He began and suddenly without any warning that same easy going and cocky grin found itself on Jazz's visored face.

"Did ya now? Was I interestin'?" He purred and Prowl remained expressionless.

"Rather boring actually. Apparently you didn't exist before the war. There are two files. One recent and one not. Both are rather… short." He informed and Jazz gave Prowl a lopsided grin before leaning back on the wall, crossing one leg over the other as he returned to repairing his arm.

"Nope." The spy practically sung out once again catching Prowl and confusing him.

"No? I don't understand what you are disagreeing about." He muttered and Jazz glanced over at him.

"We are not discussin' my past, Prowler. It just ain't happenin."

"I see no harm in it. Considering that you don't want to go over the details of you being here in the first place." Prowl informed with a subtle wave of his hand. Jazz deadpanned.

"I don't feel like bein' profiled. Cause that's wha you're gonna do. So nope. Not happenin'. Change the station." He finalized. Prowl sighed internally.

"Very well then." He paused. "I did read in the current file that you have a very successful rate as a saboteur."

"Many of your bases will agree. Well if they were still around tha is." Jazz interrupted with a cocky smirk that hung on the edges of his lips. Prowl seemed rather unaffected by the statement as he pulled up his data pad, scrolling through the information.

"Which brings up the question of why you are here." Prowl asked and Jazz laughed out loud.

"I thought we went over this. A magician never gives away his littl' secrets."

"Yes but I'm not asking what you're doing in our base. I'm asking what you are doing in this cell captured. It would be an illogical assumption for me to believe you want to be in here."

"Perhaps its all in ma plans." Jazz purred, wiggling the sharp claws on his still functioning hand. Prowl simply raised an optic ridge.

"I doubt it." He deadpanned and Jazz actually frowned, his lips setting into a firm line. Both Jazz and Prowl seemed to stare at each other, not losing eye contact as if daring the other one to continue. Jazz was the first to move, his angry reserve cracking into a wicked smile as something obvious dawned on him. He leaned back, letting Prowl feel truly uncomfortable due to the sudden change in the spy's demeanor.

"Wha's botherin' ya mech?" He purred, showing teeth. "Is it tha you found somthin' that doesn't sit right in that little spinning computer that you call a brain?" The mech edged, sitting up and leaning closer to the bars. There was a subtle twitch of Prowl's door wings and it had been so slight that Jazz almost debated if he had seen it at all.

"What bothers me, Jazz is that you have been caught." Prowl leaned forward. "I don't understand why you decided to take a riskier path when there were several better alternatives? This whole situation is so very illogical." He finished and Jazz was silent and just staring at Prowl. Slowly he shook his head as he gave a dry and heartless chuckle.

"See now mech. This makes me wonder how yer still functioning." He began with a slow cutting motion with his hand. Prowl let his head tilt to the side and his expression actually slipped from his normal stoic glare to blatant surprise. His mouth moved in an attempt to defend himself but Jazz cut him off.

"War ain't logical. Nothin' about war is logical. Makes mechs do things they wouln' normally do. Take ol' Megsy for example. He don make sense." Jazz began.

"He used to." Prowl added. "At the beginning."

"Yeah. Back when he and ol' Orion were buds. I bet you and a bunch of your 'bots were gearing to join his side?" He questioned and Prowl nodded.

"Well yes. I'm not one to deny how corrupt the golden age was. The segregations, the illegal experimentations, and the …. Senate. Megatron was a beacon of hope for a lot of down and broken mechs. It gave them the courage to stand. I myself used to listen to his speeches." Prowl paused. "Then he changed. Everything changed."

"War, mech. War ain't a game. Mechs ain't pawns. They don't follow a rule book. Ya can't predict Megs because ya can't even hope to understand im." Jazz chuckled holding his arm out. "And ya can't even begin to predict me because I don't make plans. I just do."

"That doesn't make sense." Prowl informed him and Jazz only smiled ad if he knew more than he was letting on.

"Precisely."

Author's note- The thought of Jazz being a Decepticon fascinates me, thus inspiring this. Please review