(Y/n) stays behind at the station to take a look at the logbook once again, hoping that she can find anything that will help her find Smokescreen. Bumblebee's help plays a big part in her inquiry, although it feels like an eternity has passed until she is granted access to the evidence room. An officer with a box in her hands comes over and leads her to a conference room shortly after. She sets the box in front of her and tells her to take her time. After the officer leaves her on her own, (Y/n) opens the box and rummages through the things inside carefully. She finally finds what she's looking for, pulling out the ziplock bag with that worn, dusty logbook in it. When it is finally out of its cage, laying open on the table surface, her eyes dart back and forth all the details in that list.
It finally dawns upon her that the logbook is almost out of empty pages, all filled with names of children who did not deserve this fate. Names, their age and gender, blood type, physical appearance, everything is detailed in that logbook not for their own sake, but for those who reap the benefits from them. Sickening to think about, that twisted conduct, those who were responsible robbed innocent children of their childhood, including her brother's.
As she stops at her brother's name scribbled messily there, (Y/n) inhales deeply to get her head back to the investigation. 'This is not the time to mourn' she tells herself, sliding her fingertip along the details written about Smokescreen's entry.
He was twelve and underweight when they took him.
She squints her eyes at the recipient's address line written on the yellowing page; the ink is so smudged that she finds it difficult to get the complete address. The ZIP code is still written clear, however, it helps her narrow the search at the very least. Something in the very back of her head tells her that the numbers are strangely familiar, like they are just being dug out of her memory box. (Y/n) spaces out with her gaze lingering at the name she longs to call again, wondering if the world will just indulge her in one more kindness by showing her the way to the truth.
After scribbling on her notebook rapidly to gather all the information she can, (Y/n) returns the logbook back to the box and arranges the contents of the box just as how it had been given to her. (Y/n) walks out of the conference room back to the evidence room, returning the box and thanking the officer who helped her earlier. Just as she is about to leave, she catches Bumblebee rushing towards her direction; he seems to be quite surprised for reasons she can't figure out.
"(N/n)." The young captain calls as he gets closer to her. "There's something you need to see."
While motioning her to follow him, Bumblebee leads (Y/n) to his office hurriedly and closes the door after she enters. She looks at him, perplexed with her eyebrows raised in a questioning manner. 'What's gotten into him?' She wonders.
"What's wrong?" (Y/n) finally asks the question rather than just leaving it to her own thoughts. "'Bee, you look like you've just seen a ghost—"
He walks to his desk and immediately opens one of the drawers there, pulling out a thick folder which then he sets down on the table.
"I've been doing my part in digging into Starscream." Bumblebee answers her at last, flipping the folder open for her to see as well. "I got an informant helping me—don't ask who the informant is or why—and he managed to get ahold of his criminal records."
Making her way to his side behind the desk, she listens as Bumblebee points out the things that Starscream did in the past, even way before she knew him when she was just a child. The more (Y/n) listens to his explanations, the more she realizes that there must be more to the story, and she barely scratches the surface.
"I think there's more to the case than just kidnapping and illegal dealings." Bumblebee concludes, and (Y/n) finally understands why he acted the way he did earlier. "That man might be more dangerous than we think he is, (N/n), and there are people behind him that backed him up or did the dirty things for him."
For a moment, (Y/n) feels like she's not breathing while trying to wrap her mind around the things he threw her way. Lips pursed tight, she takes the folder and flips through it once more, inspecting the information it holds closely once again. It takes a few seconds before realizing there is something written there passing by her eyes. That, on itself, succeeds in making her freeze on the spot.
'What the hell.'
The first thought that comes to mind as (Y/n) walks out of the station after all that is her laptop; she needs her laptop to get the work started. There is so much to figure out; so many things left uncovered and gaps remained. The closer she gets into uncovering her old caretaker's wrongdoing, the furthest she gets from the right path of finding her brother. Thanks to the surprising revelation, she loses her focus for quite some time and has to quickly recompose herself. While standing at the bus stop, (Y/n) feels her phone buzzing in her pocket, a name is displayed on her screen. Her eyes feel hot all of the sudden after she decides to answer the phone while getting into the bus.
"Mother, is something wrong?" She says to the caller after settling herself on one of the empty seats inside the bus.
The reply she receives from her mother is more than enough to make her eyes widen in shock.
—
(Y/n) gets off at the nearest bus stop to her office. Her mind is in a jumbled mess as she makes her way there half-running in her wedges. She had half a thought that it's all a prank, so she won't be stuck in the police station most of the time. Or, maybe, refraining her from putting all of her energy and effort into putting Starscream to jail while trying to figure out what happened to Smokescreen. Upon spotting her coming closer, the security officer in charge of the front door immediately pulls one of the glass doors open for her to dash in without having to slow down her pace. Her (e/c) eyes scan around the room of a handful of people there, her breath gets caught in her throat upon seeing three familiar figures there at the corner. There they are; her adoptive parents with their old friend talking among one another.
"Father? Mother?!" (Y/n) calls out while walking closer to them; the surprised expression plastered on her face is too visible to ignore. "What are you doing here—"
Her voice catches their attention. The three of them turn to look at her. Elita wears a small, relieved smile as she approaches (Y/n) to pull her into a hug. It feels like home when she does, and (Y/n) melts into her mother's hug with no hesitance. At this point, she thinks that she might shed some tears again after wasting them many times since her arrival here. Her investigations, the news, they are taking a toll on her emotionally as well.
"We're here to support you." Elita answers, reaching out to tuck some hair behind (Y/n)'s ear as a comforting gesture. "Magnus filled us in on your situation and the case, so we thought you could use our help as well."
The younger woman lets out a small, grateful smile to her mother before turning her eyes towards her father. (Y/n) walks towards him and gives him a quick hug with a smile. Optimus returns the hug and throws a smile in her direction as well. As she lingers there before her father, there is something in her eyes that changed; Optimus realizes that, after a few moments, (Y/n) is there looking at him as a lawyer, not his daughter.
"Father," She calls out with a composed, serious tone that surprised Optimus himself, "I have a few things I'd like to ask."
YOU ARE READING
Dear Brother (TFP/RID & Reader)
Fanfic[Human AU] Smokescreen and (Y/n) are inseparable siblings. After the death of their parents, they lived with their abusive uncle and aunt somewhere far away from the city. In hopes for a better chance in life and future, they ran away. Upon arriving...
