Winter in Chi-Town

By: RockNRide

Rating: Overall story is M

Notes: I am too lazy to get a beta so all grammar/spelling mistakes are mine. Thanks for reading and please review!

Chapter 10

The guys had been laying around the Last Chance, waiting for its proprietor and hoping for dinner for well over an hour. Vinnie shifted in his seat and glanced to the door then to the clock and back to the garage door as he had been doing for the past forty minutes.

Modo glanced over to the white mouse and knew he was gone before Vinnie was even up and moving to the door. "Are-"

"Yup. Its not like her to be gone all day and not check in."

Throttle rose and nodded. Something didn't feel just right and Vinnie had a look of anxious unease that was infectious. "Lets take a ride, bros. See if we can catch up with the lady."

Once outside, the guys paused long enough considered their options.

"You remember where she was headed? Might be easier to find her if we knew where to start looking." Modo asked, glancing to Vinnie.

Vinnie thought for a moment but shook his head. "Not sure. She just said she had some stuff to do today."

"I swear, we need a lo-jack on that woman." Modo said with a smile.

Throttle chuckled and nodded. "Sure would save on time."

Vinnie was silent and simply headed out.

Throttle exchanged a look with Modo and moved out to flank the cherry red racer.

They decided to start downtown and work their way up to Limburger tower. They crossed through the back, then main streets for a time before Vinnie spotted the familiar truck parked on the side of the road. There was a short lived wave of relief at its sighting then the floor dropped out from under him he saw that the truck appeared empty. Vinnie skidded to a stop next to the truck and flung the door open.

No Charley.

Throttle looked around but besides the stray cat nosing through a nearby dumpster, the road was deserted. Even the ally behind one of the local dive bar was empty.

"We found the truck but where's Charley?" Modo said.

They searched the street for any traces of the feisty mechanic.

"I don't like this." Modo said. "Scum around here would love to get their hands on Charley."

The three fighters exchanged worried glances before Vinnie popped a wheelie and tore off towards Limburger tower.

Throttle and Modo would never admit it but they had to ride hard just to keep up with the white mouse.

Back in the basement the concrete of the wall scratched at Charleys skin and Bens weight against her back was making it difficult to breath. One of his hands had gotten under her top, ripping her shirt in the process. He tossed the ripped garment aside. Her skin crawled where his cold hands ran over her bare flesh.

"Come on, Charley. Love it when a girl plays hard to get."

He pushed her bra up then his hands were on her breasts and tears stung the back of her eyes.

This cannot be happening!

Charley squirmed and threw an elbow back, jabbing him hard in the ribs as hard as she could. The air rushed from his lungs and Ben dropped his hands.

Charley quickly reached up and tugged her bra back in place, her whole body shuddered in repulsion.

She wasn't able to move before Ben gripped her tightly around her upper arm and turned her around to face him.

"Keep your disgusting hands off me!" she spat.

Ben flashed a grin and leaned against her again, he swayed slightly but his hold on her didn't loosen.

She had hoped with the alcohol, he'd be clumsy or sloppy but it only seemed to make him more bold.

Charleys heart was hammering against her chest yet she willed herself to keep it together. It was imperative that she stay strong, controlled and clear thinking. She was going to get out of this and Ben would not be laying a finger on her again.

If she could keep herself together, she had a better chance in getting out of this.

Telling herself all this over and over kept her from panicking.

She met his gaze with flaring emerald eyes and her hands clenched into fists. Ben studied her stance and grinned lazily, thoroughly unaffected to the defiant fury on her face.

In the next instant Charley ducked to the side and around him. She was quick but not quick enough. Ben caught her around the upper arms again and jerked her back to the wall, the back of her head striking the concrete with a sickening thud.

Stars burst behind her eyes and Charley panted through the pain, darkness fluttering at the edge of her vision and she pleaded with herself not to loose consciousness.

Ben must have seen that he had dazed her and took the advantage. One hand continued to hold her in place when his other hand started on the button of her jeans.

The brush of his skin against her bare stomach brought the world back in focus and with great force, Charley brought her knee up squarely into to Bens groin. Hard.

Ben groaned loudly and stumbled back, doubling over in pain. "God…you bitch," he growled. Charley didn't waste a moment and tried to slip around him again but Ben shot out a hand and grabbed her by the wrist.

He yanked her back with one sharp tug and dipped into his back pocket. And before she could wrestle out of his grasp, Ben successfully slipped a pair of tacky leopard print handcuffs around her wrist, the other cuff clicked around a pipe that ran along the wall. Ben didn't say a word when he climbed the stairs and soon the room was plunged back into darkness.

The lonely stillness that settled over the house sat like a weight on her chest.

The anger, pain and disgust she felt was so oppressive her knees all but buckled and Charley dropped to her knees on the mattress. The scream she let out was of despair and absolute anger and the tears that ran down her cheeks could not be held back any longer.

Vinnie.

God she wanted Vinnie. Never in her life had she felt such desperate yearning.

Charley shut her eyes tightly and took a shaky breath.

Hes coming for me. Just have to hold on a little longer. My boys are coming. Vinnie will come for me. Throttle. Modo. I'll get out of this. They're coming.

The inner mantra continued, running through her head until her heart stopped racing and she got better control over her emotions.

"Don't start crackin' up now, Charley." She mumbled to herself. "Want to be pissed and not a basket case when Ben-" She couldn't help but growl around his name, "comes back."

Yes. Breath. Remain focused.

Then there was nothing to do but wait.

It was a rare day whenever the guys used an actual door to enter or exit a building and today, or tonight, rather, was no different. The three bikes crashed through the walls of Limburgers main office and in a split second Vinnie was off his bike and had the slimy Plutarkian by his throat, dragging him over his large desk.

"Where is she?" Vinnie growled, only inches from Limburgers face.

"I assure you that I haven't a clue as to what you are talking about." Limburger snapped.

Vinnie tightened his hold around Limburgers neck. "You know who! Where's Charley?!"

Limburger had the audacity to chuckle. "My dear boy, don't you think I would have a trap waiting for you if I had that infuriating woman!?"

Vinnie growled and tossed Limburgers back across his desk. Limburger wasted no time scurrying awkwardly behind his chair.

"Somebody who works for you then?" Throttle asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Of course not." Limburger climbed to his feet and unruffled his clothing. "Like I said, don't you think I would have been more prepared for you rodents?! You know how I distain your unexpected visits."

"And why should we believe you?" Modo asked. "If you know where she is…" The flash of red of his eye made the large Martin even more intimidating if such a thing was possible.

Limburger did not wait to respond, instead hitting a button on the panel besides his desk and in a flash, he was gone through a hole that vanished as quick as it appeared.

Vinnie, with the overwhelming sense of helplessness and frustration, snapped. He roared through the office and main lobby of the tower, taking his anger out on anything and anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. His fists went through walls and goons were sent flying over tables and down long staircases. Throttle and Modo followed Vinnie out and carefully dodged the flying tables, chairs, and anything else that wasn't nailed down as they made their way out of the building.

Once outside Vinnie turned from his bros and leaned on his bike, his breathing hard and shoulders trembling from the force of his outburst. Vinnie opened and closed his hands, his knuckles cut open and bleeding from smashing through the walls of the tower but he didn't feel a thing. Throttle and Modo held their tongue and let Vin have a moment to get himself under control. After a time Vinnie climbed back onto his bike and sat back to look at his brothers. Throttle could not remembering ever seeing such a lost look of fear on the young mouse's face.

Charley was out there somewhere and she was in trouble. He felt it. She needed him. The desperation that filled him was like nothing he had ever felt before.

"We need to find her." Vinnie said, his voice unusually soft.

"I know, Vin. We will. Don't we always?" Modo answered. His smile faded when it was not returned.

"Well, what if we don't?" Vinnie shook his head. "Feels like what happened to Harley…times a million. If anything happens to Charley…" He couldn't finish that sentence. "I'm starting to lose it bros. "

Throttle slapped Vinnie on the back and traded a look with Modo as they mounted their bikes.

"Charleys a tough girl. We all know that." Throttle said, trying to be reassuring as possible. He slipped into leader mode and tried to keep things moving. "Ok, so fishface doesn't have her. I don't trust Limburger as far as I can throw the fat bastard but I think we need to look elsewhere. Guess we should shake things up around town, see what we can find out."

Vinnie took a breath then nodded. A plan. A plan was good. A plan made him feel not so lost. He gritted his teeth and started his bike. He was going to rip this town apart until he found Charley.

Charley shifted onto her side the musty smell of the mattress tickling her nose. She fumbled for the button on her watch that would illuminate the hands. It was almost 11pm. She had been stuck in this cold basement for over 14 hours. The guys must be worried and looking for her by now. A smile tugged at her lips. Her boys had probably shown up looking for dinner a few hours ago.

If she closed her eyes she could almost imagine herself back in her own warm bed. Vinnies strong arm would be around her, cherishing her even in his sleep. That seemed like a constant thing; some part of him had to be touching her the entire time they were in her bed. She loved it.

They hadn't been sharing a bed long yet Charley wondered how she had ever slept soundly without him curled around her.

For the first time Charley wished she had been more truthful about Ben and his escalating, disturbing behavior. As far as the guys knew, the random phone call was the last of it. She hadn't wanted to get Vinnie involved, knowing full well it would have taken an army to keep him from hunting the man down and making it clear, painfully clear, that he was to never come near Charley again. But she was a big girl and could take care of herself, right? She could deal with an overzealous, harmless admirer that wasn't worth the trouble. Boy was she wrong.

The altercation in the parking lot should have been enough for her to do something about it and the fact that she didn't would always haunt her.

But none of that really mattered now.

Charley laid back and closed her eyes. Her mind and body were beyond tired but she couldn't sleep. She would just begin to doze off when the slightest sound would send her bolting upright, her ears straining to make out the sounds. She would lay back again, curling into herself and closed her eyes and prayed for sleep.

It was going to be a long night.

The guys spent the rest of the night working their way through the back streets of Chicago using their unique form of persuasion, mainly pummeling the citys not so law abiding citizens, in hopes of some information on the whereabouts of Charlene Davidson. The goons fest up to multiple wrongdoings but there was no trace of Charley.

Uptown, downtown, the Pits, everywhere they searched, they came up empty handed.

It was late afternoon when they stopped back at the Last Chance to regroup.

Throttle took off his shades and rubbed his eyes. They were going on 24 plus hours without sleep and it took a bit of effort to remain thinking clearly. They had been searching all the usual haunts where the scum of Chicago called home with no luck.

"This doesn't make any sense. If someone was using Charley to get to us, where's the trap? Ransom note?" Throttle asked.

"Yeah. I was thinking the same thing. Its been almost 24 hours and haven't heard anything."

Modo nodded. "So if they aren't after us- they wanted Charley."

There was a moment of thought. It was so routine, someone grabbing Charley to get their hands on the biker mice that the idea that they were not dealing with the usual big bad didn't occur until now.

"Ben." Vinnie spat. "That asshole that's been harassing her. Makes sense, right? Why didn't think of this before?!"

Throttle nodded in agreement. "Definitely worth checking out."

"Trouble is, we don't know where he lives or where he took Charley…if he is the one who nabbed her."

The guys thought in silence for a moment before Throttle spoke again. "Charley keeps records for the shop, right? Like payment, phone numbers, that sort of thing. I'd hate to go through Charley-girls stuff but maybe we can find some info on this guy."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Vinnie asked and started his bike, spinning around to head the opposite direction. Throttle and Modo were right behind him, heading back to the garage and hopefully, something that would lead them to Charley.