"Looks quiet," said Throttle, scanning Limburger Tower through his helmet visor. "A bit of activity on the ground floor, but not much above."
"No problem there. We'll make our own entrance. Let's go!" Vinnie revved his engine, eager for action.
"What's that heat source upstairs?" said Stoker. Helmet-less, he was looking through a pair of infra-red binoculars that Charley had found useful on occasion. He passed them to her. "Sixth floor."
Charley scanned the area with the binoculars. There was definitely a large heat source in that area; almost the entire floor glowed.
"No idea, coach," said Throttle. Charley saw him fiddle with his visor controls. "I'm not getting anything specific. It shouldn't be a problem though; that's two floors down from the labs."
Stoker nodded. "Alright then. The plan is; we go in, drop Charley off in the labs, make a lot of noise to distract the goons and leave when Charley has all she needs. Any problems?"
"Nope."
"Uh-uh."
"Sounds fine to me."
Charley sighed. "Can we be a little more specific? What, exactly, am I looking for?"
Stoker patted her knee. "Whatever you need to build us a transmitter that will reach Mars, Beautiful. Everyone ready?" he said, slipping his helmet back on.
"Already gone!" yelled Vinnie, leaping Sweetheart off the building and straight for Limburger Tower. Throttle and Modo followed close behind.
Stoker took a nanosecond to make sure Charley was secure and then they too were diving towards the remains of a plate glass window that Vinnie had shattered with his entrance. Charley had a moment to reflect on Martian battle plans, or lack thereof, before the two of them landed on the glass-strewn floor and skidded across the carpet. Stoker flung the bike upright and charged through the remains of some doors into a long hallway. Shouts and explosions could be heard at the end of the corridor and she saw a wall disintegrate in front of her.
Stoker guided the bike down two uncomfortable flights of stairs and they burst into the laboratory and skidded to a halt, sending benches full of glassware dashing against the wall in a silver wave of shards. A white-coated figure at the far end of the lab shrieked and scurried out of the door.
"Karbunkle!" Stoker snarled. "Payback time!" He flipped the metal tail from around Charley's waist and she hopped off hastily to avoid the lashing metal appendage. Stoker tore after the mad scientist, bursting through the remains of the western wall without a backward glance. Charley spared a moment to pray for her bike.
Sighing, she looked around at what was left of the lab, and spotted a computer in the corner. Now there's a good place to start.
"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO AH HA HA HA HA!" shrieked Vinnie as he blasted the table covering a group of goons. Exposed, they fled with hands over their heads as protection from the falling debris caused by Modo blowing a large hole in the ceiling.
Throttle paused in his pursuit of a goon squad to scan the battlefield. Goons were appearing in great numbers, and leaving almost as fast under heavy bombardment. This should be distraction enough; no-one would be able to go upstairs through this war zone. A noise made him turn his head, just in time to see Stoker explode through a wall to his left. The older mouse slid to a halt beside him and looked around.
"Where's Karbunkle?"
"Never saw him," said Throttle, grinning. "Did ya lose him?"
"Slimy blasted sandsquid, he's given me the slip." Stoker slipped off his helmet and the two of them watched Vinnie and Modo enjoying themselves. Stoker leaned back and stretched, joints popping. "Good to do some straight fighting for a change."
"Yeah," said Throttle, turning to blast a goon staggering in with a rocket launcher. "Really irons out the kinks in your tail."
Stoker nodded in agreement, watching the fight with a thoughtful expression. Suddenly he stiffened. Throttle followed his gaze to see Karbunkle dash down a corridor on the other side of the battle.
"Woohoo! Gotcha now, you slime-sucking scum! Cover me bro!" Stoker shoved on his helmet, revved the bike and charged straight across the battlefield to where Karbunkle had disappeared. Throttle cleared a path for Stoker with his blaster, wincing as stray shots from the goons thwanged off Charley's bike. She's not going to be happy, he thought and chuckled quietly. Let's see him charm his way out of this one.
"Heads up, bro!"
Throttle ducked as a goon went flying over his head and towards the wall beside him. Throttle leaned back and cocked his arm as the goon bounced off the wall and straight for him. One satisfying thwack later and the goon was sailing back the way he had come. Oh yeah. This was the good stuff, all right.
"Yes! That's perfect!" Charley patted the screen. "Pulling your tails out of the fire as usual, boys." Grinning, she typed a few brief words, and a sheet of paper spewed from the printer to her left. Charley ignored it, moving across to the other side of the lab and rummaging around in cupboards and shelves. She spied a box on a bench and grabbed it, dumping the contents unceremoniously on the floor. She had half-filled the box with her spoils when the previous contents of the box registered on her subconscious. She walked over and picked up the device she had so casually discarded. It was a white, pyramidal object, with short legs and an oval aperture near the top. A mobile remote transporter. Fresh from the manufacturers, by the look of it. Oh boy.
"Whoo-EEE!" she shouted, dancing a jig in the middle of the floor. "Rock and...and...and ROCK!" she yelled, punching the air with one hand. She threw the device into her box and carried the lot back to the computer. What a find! This made everything so much easier. A few more quick strokes on the keyboard and she was done. Another sheet came out of the printer and she was reaching out for it when a hand came into her vision from behind and grabbed her by the throat.
Throttle paused in his pursuit of a pair of goons in a dune buggy. Something was wrong here. He looked around; yes, the goons were retreating. Nothing unusual there, except...what was coming instead? Vinnie and Modo rode up beside him.
"Alright! Boy did I whip some major-league tail today," Vinnie chuckled, spinning his blaster in one hand.
"Yeah! We showed them, alright," drawled Modo, resting on his handlebars. "Pretty good fight."
"Turn your engines off, guys." Throttle was getting more nervous by the second. Something was definitely not right.
"Huh? What for?"
"Just do it, Vincent."
Vinnie glanced at Modo, who shrugged, but they obediently turned off their engines. The sudden quiet was startling.
"And?" said Vinnie.
Throttle gunned his engine and tore off in the direction of the retreating goons. "Notice anything missing?"
"No," said Modo into his helmet mike, as they raced after Throttle.
"Charley's bike. I can't hear it."
"Oh, mama!"
Throttle burst through a door into heavy fire. He had a second to see Charley's bike on the floor before dodged left. "Watch your entrance!" he yelled, but Modo and Vinnie had the sense not to use the door and burst through a wall to his right.
The next few minutes were tight; Throttle had to give all his concentration to avoiding laser bolts. He dived under a missile and fired over his shoulder. A sudden movement to his left made him turn and his heart jumped. Three bio-soldiers were dragging Stoker towards a doorway. It looked like Stoker was making it hard for them, which meant at least he was still alive. But he was outnumbered. Badly.
"Heads up, bros! We've got bio-soldiers! Vinnie, take out those goons. Modo, you and I are going after Stoker. We've..." Another thought occurred to Throttle and his heart jumped for the second time in five minutes. "Oh no!"
"What NOW?" snapped Vinnie. Realisation dawned and Vinnie and Modo both looked at him, horrified.
"CHARLEY!"
Throttle swore. "Modo! Go get Charley NOW! Vinnie and I will get Stoke!"
Modo nodded once and roared off.
Charley struggled in the crushing grip. She was turned to face her attacker, and she gasped. The thing was Plutarkian, but taller, bulkier, with dark, mottled skin, hidden in patches by metal plates. The powerful grip was cutting off her air and she choked and struggled, trying to breathe. A pair of dispassionate eyes regarded her coldly, and the hand tightened on her neck.
"Stop…please…" she whispered, but the thing only observed her, and did not let go. The edges of her vision were going black when a grey fist slammed into the side of the thing's head and she was flung to the ground.
Modo knelt down in front of her, his one eye wide with concern. "Charley ma'am, are you ok?" Modo wrapped his good arm around her and held her upright as she struggled for breath.
"What…" was all she managed to choke out between heaving gasps.
"Bio-soldier," said Modo grimly. "We hafta get out of here, Charley ma'am. We are in big trouble." He helped her to her feet, and led her towards his bike.
"Wait, Modo..." She staggered back to the desk and tried to pick up the box with her spoils. Modo grabbed it from her. She leaned on the desk. Martian battle plans, oh yes. Throttle, Vinnie and Stoker burst through the wall.
"Charley-girl! There's bio-soldiers, we gotta..."
"Yes, thank you Vinnie, I noticed," she snapped hoarsely.
Stoker pulled up next to her. He looked battered, but still smiled at her. "Ready to go, Beautiful?"
"Already gone," she said, paraphrasing Vinnie's earlier jocularity. She leapt onto her bike behind Stoker, and felt the metal tail whip around her waist. She glanced over to Modo's bike to make sure her box was secure as they flew down the stairs.
"What now, coach?" Throttle said.
"Your call, Rookie. This is your territory."
Throttle nodded and the four bikes fled down the stairs. Goons poured out of hallways as they passed, but steady fire kept them under control.
"Bio-soldiers left!" Stoker snapped. Charley reached down and pulled his blaster out of its holster. Her first two shots were wild; firing from the back of a bike was never as easy as they guys made it out to be. She desperately wanted a rocket-launcher right now. But her third shot hit a soldier, and she saw it stagger.
Stoker chuckled. "Nice shot, Beautiful."
Suddenly, the soldiers ceased firing on them, and moved back. Charley looked around to see the goons turn and run. Her heart lifted. The doors were just in front of them! They had made it!
"Hey! They're turning back! We whipped them!" cheered Vinnie.
"No we didn't. They're just avoiding exposure!" yelled Throttle.
"Exposure to what?"
"To that!"
Charley looked forward. The street ahead was a minefield of cops and cop cars. "Stoke!"
Stoker skidded to a halt in front of a car, with two policemen crouched behind it. "Is this bad?"
"Move your tail, coach!" snapped Throttle, as he, Modo and Vinnie turned their bikes and headed back towards the tower. Stoker followed them as the police opened fire.
"Projectile weapons? Oh please," Stoker muttered as the four bikes raced across the ground floor and blasted a hole in the back of the tower. There were fewer police cars out here and they managed to dodge through them and roar off down a side street. Bullets ricocheted off the buildings as they fled.
Back at the Garage, Rimfire lurched out to meet them. "How did it go?"
Modo lifted his head from the handlebars. "Ah guess you could say, it could have gone better."
"You said it," Stoker agreed, too tired to even lift his aching head. "What a day."
