Chapter fourteen
A flash of light and the smell hit them. The mice opened their eyes and saw the familiar sight of Plutark. They had been here before. But back then, they had their helmets to protect them against the smell. The other people were also having difficulties breathing. A group of Plutarkian guards guided them to a huge train and pushed them inside. The doors closed. Throttle, Modo and Vinnie were sitting in the corner.
"Okay, now what? We are on Plutark. When are we gonna whip some tail?", Vinnie asked impatient.
"We are gonna keep a low profile until we know where they are holding Dani and Rimfire. If they discover us, they are gonna kill them. We need to get them out before they even realize we are here", Throttle said.
Modo nodded. "So, we keep playing along till then?"
"Yeah, big fella. It's the safest option for Dani and Rimfire."
Vinnie gritted his teeth. "Ah man, this sucks…"
"Listen, I saved the coordinates from the transporter. We can use it to get our bikes and weapons here. But since timing is everything, we have to wait for now. Let's see where they are gonna take us and what we need to do. But keep your eyes and ears open, bro's. We need information. The more, the better."
Vinnie nodded and looked around him. He saw the guy who had asked what they were back on Earth was still staring at them.
"What?", he asked, a little bit sharper than he intended.
The guys immediately lowered his eyes. But then, he lifted his head again.
"I hear you talking about bikes, weapons, information… Are you some kind of soldiers?"
Vinnie looked at Throttle. The tan furred mouse sighed.
"Listen, citizen. The less you know, the safer."
But the man didn't stop. "If you guys can fight, why not help us escape?"
"No can do. We can't fight. We never said we could. We are just as helpless as you."
The guys snorted. "Right. Listen, I have kids and a wife at home. They are probably losing their minds right now. I really need to go back…"
Vinnie had enough. He crawled towards the guy and grabbed him by his coat.
"Now you listen. Leave us alone. We can't help you. Got that?"
The guy stared at Vinnie's face, his mask, his nose, his buck teeth… But when he looked into his eyes, he shivered. He raised his hands.
"Okay, okay. Please, don't hurt me."
Vinnie let him go and went back to his bro's. Throttle shook his head.
"Very subtle, Vinnie. Very you."
Vinnie shrugged. "Yeah well, I figured if he is scared, he is gonna leave us alone."
Modo chuckled. "Well, at least it worked. For now."
But then, the train stopped. The doors flew open. The mice looked outside and saw that they were in the capital of Plutark. The train had stopped right before a huge prison. A Plutarkian guard grabbed the mice, while shaking his head.
"I thought we killed all the Martian Mice along with their planet", he said to his colleague.
The latter shrugged. "They sometimes pop up out of nowhere. They are vermin after all. Very hard to exterminate."
The mice shared a quick look. Best was to keep their mouth shut.
The guard looked at them. "Well, they look like they even can't kill a fly. Apparently, the fighters are dead and what's left? The weak. Well, good for us."
Vinnie shook his head. Man, he couldn't wait till he was free again. To let them see who he really was. But at least, their cover worked. Well, no surprise there with these hideous outfits.
They were thrown into a cell with just the three of them and the cuffs were removed. The door shut behind the guard and the mice were alone.
Vinnie was rubbing his wrists while looking around. "What? Not even a mint on our pillow?", he asked.
The cell was nothing more than a room with three beds and a toilet. Well, at least they had a toilet.
"You know, I just wish I could see their faces if they find out they are holding three most wanted mice in their prison without knowing it", Modo chuckled.
Throttle smiled too. "Yeah. Well, let's hope we are gonna get that chance."
They soon discovered the prisoners were divided over very different tasks. In the kitchen, the laundry, as servant for the high ranked officers… But the most of them needed to work in the field. With other words; processing the reinforcements the Plutarkians had stole from other planets. And that was hard work.
The mice had one day to adjust at their surrounding when a Plutarkian General came into their cell. He had heard that they had caught some Martian Mice and he wanted one as his servant. Throttle, Modo and Vinnie were sitting on their bed, looking at the General. The big, ugly fish looked back at them and his gaze stopped on Vinnie.
"Ah! Such a pretty boy. I want him", he ordered at the guard. Vinnie sighed and looked pleading at Throttle and Modo. Throttle gave him a small nod. Okay. Still playing along it is… The guard grabbed Vinnie and they took him to the room from the General. The guard bowed and left. The big fish turned around to see Vinnie.
"My name is General Hercules…" Vinnie froze. The guy who had gave the order to blow up whole Mars. The guy who Buddy worked for. It took him all his strength to remain where he was and to keep his face in check.
"You are my servant now. You will do everything I want you to do. Otherwise, you will be punished. If you don't believe, well… try me."
Vinnie raised one eyebrow. Oh, he did believe him. He had seen what their punishments were.
"Do you have a name?", the fish asked. Vinnie opened his mouth, but then closed it. Maybe for the best if he gave up a false name.
"The name is Finn, sir. At your service…"
His father's name. Great. But it was the first thing that came into his head.
"Alright Finn. You can start with cleaning my bathroom. With a toothbrush…" and he pushed Vinnie to a door. When Vinnie opened it, he almost fainted. That god awful smell… He stared at the bathroom. No way. No fucking way. He tensed his muscles to turn around, but then he froze. He needed to keep a low profile. For Dani. For Rimfire. Dammit. He looked at Hercules and took the toothbrush from him. He smiled his most charming smile.
"I will get it done, sir. No problem!" Of course it worked. It always worked. Hercules smiled back.
"Very good. You do have a pretty face, haven't you? Well, for a mouse…" he turned around and left the room. Vinnie slowly turned around to face the disgusting bathroom. He sure hoped that Throttle and Modo were having a little bit more luck.
Well, unfortunately they weren't. They were forced to work in the field and in the burning sun with the awful smell, it was hard work. They couldn't take off their clothes since they needed to stay off the radar. So with their fur and the clothing, they were soaked in sweat in just a few minutes. They were ordered to move large rocks on trucks. Throttle threw a big rock on a truck and wiped off his face.
"Man, this sure isn't a nice holiday", he sighed.
Modo grabbed the next rock. "Nope. Hope that Vinnie is having more luck."
"Well, let's hope we gonna see him tonight."
Thankfully, they got a little break after a few hours. The guards gave them a small bottle of water. Throttle drank it empty in one sip and looked at the guards.
"That's all we get?", he asked annoyed. The guard laughed.
"Yeah. Back to work. NOW!" Throttle wanted to punch him right in the face, but he forced himself to turn around and go back to work.
After a long day, they were guided back to their cell. Vinnie was already there. He looked at them with agony on his face.
"Don't ask", he said as soon the door closed behind his bro's. Throttle and Modo dropped on their bed.
"Well, our day wasn't a party either", Modo sighed. Throttle stared at the ceiling and then looked at Vinnie.
"Did you find something today?", he asked at the white furred mouse.
Vinnie shook his head. "Negative. Well, I did found out something about Plutarkian hygiene. And I can assure you, they don't have any…"
Throttle smiled. Poor Vinnie.
"Oh but that nice, handsome General who wanted me as his personal cleaner, is named Hercules. Does that ring a bell, bro's?"
Throttle jerked upright. "Hercules? The guy Flint worked for?"
"The one and only. He is a creep. He keeps telling me how handsome I am…" Vinnie wrinkled his nose.
"So? I don't see the problem here. I never hear you complain when someone is boosting your ego", Modo said, stretching his sore muscles.
"Hardee har har. Very funny. It's very creepy to hear a giant, ugly and smelly Plutarkian telling you how handsome you are. That is not boosting my ego. No, that is boosting my anxiety."
"But it's a good thing you are close to someone this high in the ranks. Try to stay close to him. Maybe you can find something about Dani and Rimfire. You got a bigger chance than us. We are just moving rocks…", Throttle said tiredly.
Vinnie buried his face in his pillow. "Yeah well…"
The guards shoved a plate with food into their cell. Vinnie slowly got up, looked at the food and fell on the bed again. Modo and Throttle decided to eat it, no matter how disgusting it was. They sure needed it after such a hard day of work.
"Bro's? How long are we gonna do this? I am so done…", they heard Vinnie's voice, but it was muted since he was still burying his face into his pillow.
Suddenly, the cell door opened. A guard came in.
"The General needs you", he said, pointing at Vinnie. Vinnie took a deep breath to avoid he would throw the pillow at the guards head and looked up.
"Why? I was done for today, his words."
"You are not in the position to ask questions, rodent. Come on, move."
Vinnie sighed and slipped off his bed. He waved at his bro's and the guard grabbed him and cuffed him. The door closed with a bang.
In the room from General Hercules, the guard removed Vinnie's cuff's and left the room. Hercules was standing at the window and slowly turned around.
"You needed me?", Vinnie asked, boiling on the inside. He hated to play this role. To be submissive. But he put on his most charming smile. Hercules smiled back.
"Yes. My back is killing me. I must have pulled a muscle or something. So, I really need a massage…"
Vinnie's eyes widened and his blood turned cold.
"A… a massage, sir?", he stuttered. Hercules walked closer to him and looked him in the eye. Vinnie could see the threat in his eyes.
"Yes, a massage. Is that a problem?", he asked with a dangerously low voice.
Vinnie suddenly thought about his time as a prisoner and what Buddy had done to him. Could he really survive that again? Because he knew that if he would say that it was indeed a huge problem that he needed to fucking massage the back of the most gross and smelly race of the universe, he was gonna be tortured. Maybe even killed. But even death sounded as music to his oversized ears compared to rubbing the back from a Plutarkian... Violet. He promised to come back. So he had no other choice than to play along. But he vowed to himself that if it was finally tail whippin' time, he was gonna come back and kill this hideous creature personally. He took a deep breath.
"No, sir. That is no problem at all…"
Hercules smiled.
"Good." He took off his clothes and laid down on the bed.
"There is some oil in the bathroom. Go get it and come over here immediately."
Vinnie forced himself to turn around and walked into the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror.
"You can do this, Vin. Come on. It's just a slimy, smelly, probably filled with pimples Plutarkian back... Ugh. Who am I kidding. This sucks, big time."
He grabbed the oil and slowly walked to the bed.
"Come on, what are you waiting for? No need to be shy…", Hercules grinned and he winked at Vinnie.
The white furred mouse almost dropped the bottle of oil, but managed to catch it before it fell on the ground. Hercules saw it happen. Hmmm… great reflexes. Maybe this mouse had more in him than he showed. He decided to keep a close eye on him.
"I am not gonna say it one more time…"
Vinnie sighed and put the oil on the back from Hercules. The green skin looked like leather and the smell… Vinnie almost threw up, but managed to keep it in inside. He slowly reached out his hands…
Throttle and Modo were sleeping when Vinnie was brought back to their cell. Vinnie was glad he didn't have to face his bro's after this humiliating experience. But when he climbed in his bed, Throttle turned around to face him.
"You okay, bro? What did he want?"
Vinnie didn't respond.
"Vinnie?"
Silence.
"Vincent! What happened?", Throttle demanded, worried about the fact his bro was this quiet. He got up from his bed and walked over to Vinnie.
Vinnie turned around with his back to Throttle.
"He needed a back rub... ", Vinnie whispered with red cheeks.
"I can't hear a word you are saying, Vinnie."
"He needed a back rub…", Vinnie repeated, a little bit louder this time.
Throttle froze. Ah. That explained Vinnie's behaviour. Poor guy. Vinnie turned around to face him.
"Listen bro, I am totally with ya with this plan and I know we need to keep a low profile, but honestly? I really don't know how long I am gonna take this. The guy flirts with me, for fuck sake. He is crazy! What if he wants to touch me or something like that? The guy is a creep. Gross, disgusting…" Vinnie babbled.
Throttle held up his hand.
"Easy Vin. You are never gonna let him touch you. I know you. And I don't want you to let that happen. We need to find out quickly where they hide Dani and Rimfire, since I didn't saw them in the prison. Which is weird, by the way…" Throttle rubbed his chin.
"Yeah, well, I would never have thought I would give a Plutarkian a back rub. It proves that I am willing to go far for this mission. But there are limits. The moment he touches me, he is dead. You hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear you. Go to sleep. Tomorrow, we are going on a investigation, alright?"
"Night bro."
"Night, Vinnie."
The next day, Vinnie was busy with cleaning up the room from Hercules. The big fish was working at his desk and paid no attention to Vinnie. Thank god. Suddenly, the vidcom came to life. Vinnie quickly pretended like he needed to clean something close to the desk and peaked at the screen. His heart stopped.
"Mozz! How are you doing on Earth?", Hercules asked when the image of Mozz appeared on the screen.
"Wonderful, sir! Business is going good, like always."
"No more troubles with vermin?"
"No, not at all, sir…", Mozz said, smiling.
Vinnie pricked his ears to make sure he was not gonna miss a word from this conversation. But he needed to avoid that Mozz would see him. He pretended to be busy with cleaning the window close to the desk.
"Good. You finally managed to kill them? To do what Limburger couldn't?", Hercules asked while studying his nails.
"Eh, no… But…"
Hercules didn't let him finish.
"WHAT? You are saying those repulsive rodents are still on Earth? ALIVE?" Spit splattered against the screen.
Mozz held up his hands.
"Please, sir. Let me finish. I begin to understand why Limburger had such a hard time in destroying them. I really hate to say this, but they are smart. And good fighters."
Vinnie smiled at himself. They were the best. Better than the best.
"But I managed to grab two of their group. One human and one mouse. Of course, they came to me to rescue them. But I told them I have sent them to Plutark."
"But you didn't send them to Plutark", Hercules said annoyed.
Vinnie froze. What?! It cost him all his strength to continue his work.
"No, that is the good part! I told the mice that if they were going to Plutark, I would kill their friends. So, I let them go. But their hands are tied."
Hercules snorted.
"Right. You do know that they are coming to Plutark, even if you told them not to? Maybe they are already here. Are you really that dumb?"
"Of course they are coming to Plutark, sir. But that's the whole point. Three mice on the home planet of their biggest enemy. No way they are gonna survive that! And as long I have their friends in custody, we have the winning cards! Once they arrive at Plutark, we'll grab them and kill them in front of the whole planet."
"Hmmm.. I am starting to understand what you mean… And you are certain they are still on Earth?"
"Yes, sir. Their bikes are parked by their hangout. No way they would leave without their bikes. So, we're good for now."
"And why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
"I was busy, sir. My apologies. But since the mice are still on Earth, I thought it could wait for now."
"Fine. But from now on, keep me posted. I want to know everything about this, you hear me?"
"Yes, sir. I will, sir."
"Good. Now get back to work!" And Hercules shut down the vidcom. He looked at Vinnie and smiled evil.
"Looks like you're fellow mice are in big trouble. That's what you get when you stand up against us. Thankfully for you, you know how to cooperate. But see this as a lesson."
Vinnie nodded and smiled. He felt a muscle twitching in his face.
"Yes, sir."
He turned around to continue his cleaningwork, but his heart was pounding in his chest. What a fucking mess. Mozz deceived them. And now they were stuck on this planet and Dani and Rimfire weren't even here. So far their good plan. His hands were shaking in anger. His tail was lashing through the air. He almost couldn't control himself. But he had no choice. If he blew up their cover now, they were all dead, including the girls, Rimfire and Dani. So, he managed to stay calm. Well, on the outside. His blood was boiling. He gritted his teeth. Dammit. He needed to talk to his bro's. This was gonna be a very loooong day.
Vinnie slowly worked his way to the bathroom, his thoughts miles away. Suddenly, the door opened and someone walked in. Vinnie glanced out of the corners of his eyes and froze again. Mace! Shit. He quickly sneaked into the bathroom. If Mace would see him, he would immediately recognize him.
Vinnie tried to listen to their conversation, but he couldn't hear it. Suddenly, a guard was standing in the door opening.
"You are going back to your cell."
The guard cuffed Vinnie and dragged him out of the room. Vinnie held his head low, in the hope Mace wouldn't see his face. Apparently, Hercules didn't want him to hear what he and Mace were gonna talk about.
The guard pushed him inside of his cell and removed the cuffs. He pushed Vinnie again and the white furred mouse stumbled and fell on the ground. He wanted to say something, but bit his tongue. The guard laughed and walked out. He closed the door.
Vinnie jumped at his feet and clenched his fists. He hit the wall once, twice… He kept hitting against the wall, over and over again. His knuckles started to bleed and the pain was unbearable, but he needed to blow off some steam. He wanted to scream, but he managed to keep it inside. He slowly calmed down a little bit, but it was not enough. He stared at his hands. The fur on his knuckles was gone, so was his skin. Blood was slowly dripping on the ground. He grabbed his blanket and tore off a piece. He tied the fabric around his hands and slowly sat down on the ground. He grabbed his head and breathed heavily. He was gonna lose his mind. He really needed to calm down. But how? He let his mind wander to Violet. His beautiful wife. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.
He sure hoped he was gonna hold it together until his bro's were back...