Your reactions are always so amazing. Thank you all so much for that and making me smile each time I open my email.

I won't linger for too long this time!

Enjoy!

At first glance it would seem that the situation was under control and that things were finally starting to calm down. Only if you squinted your eyes and paid a bit more attention, you would noticed it was merely a facade.

A trick to mislead every person inside the room. Because truth of the matter was that things hadn't settled down. But sometimes it was in one's best interest to make it appear that way.

Thus he did just that. Kept his distance, while quietly taking care of the damage and mess around the living area of the scoreboard. His ankle throbbed as well as his head. Stoker really had done a number on him, despite the fact that he was stronger than his former coach.

The reason his head hurt, wasn't because of the fight. No, it ached due to what had happened over the last twenty-four hours. Truth was, Throttle wasn't feeling alright. Each day was becoming more difficult and today was the day he'd almost snapped.

The entire matter confused him greatly. And he hadn't had any time to properly focus on his thoughts and feelings. They'd simply hit him like a brick. A whirlwind of flowers and sweetness. A tornado that kept coming back to taunt him.

She was such a distraction. Her laugh, her voice, her scent. From the day he saw her, the moment he met her and when he'd woken up with her in his arms. He was losing himself more and more with each passing second and he wasn't sure why the Goddesses felt the need to torment him in such a manner.

There was a beautiful Martian woman back on Mars. A woman he loved, a woman he cared for. A woman who also managed to get under his skin over the smallest of things. A woman, who at one point thought he was Mars greatest traitor. That still stung him to this very day.

The amount of guilt he'd felt earlier, when Vinnie mentioned Carbine, was still there. They hadn't talked in months now. Neither of them had even tried to make contact with the other. But he'd have to do something about that now.

Today he had crossed the line. He'd connected with Izzy, twice. He'd held her against his body at every opportunity that crossed his path. He allowed himself to get drunk on her scent and fought Stoker to take his claim.

Throttle lifted his head and looked over at the kitchen, where Izzy was currently standing next to Stoker, carefully cleaning the side of his neck. The spot where he had bitten the older mouse into submission.

That primal feeling of envy rose once more and the tanned mouse balled his hands into fists.

"So, what are you going to do now?" He blinked as Vinnie's voice shook him out of his trance.

"What do you mean?" Throttle asked the younger mouse.

"Oh, I'm sorry? You thought this was all over?"

It was incredibly weird hearing Vinnie treat him as if he was the ignorant loose cannon of the group. But perhaps it was exactly just him who Throttle needed to hear it from.

If someone like Vinnie, a carefree, reckless, someone who laughed in the face of danger mouse, was telling him off. You just knew he was probably on to something.

"Listen, Throttle. I know you're off your bike at the moment. Which, let me tell you, is rather unsettling to see. But you have to do something." He continued. "This fight between you and Stoker is something I never hope to see again. Not to mention the fact that it shouldn't have happened in the first place."

Throttle furrowed his brow and lowered his voice. "May I remind you who attacked who exactly?"

"Please, he had every right to. I smelled you all over her, man. You were trying to get into his territory. Maybe Izzy is oblivious to your behaviour, but I've seen the way you've been acting lately. It's wrong, Throttle. You have Carbine, don't you? Why on Earth are you trying to get it on with her?"

He nodded his head towards the kitchen and Throttle twitched his nose. He really was not in the mood to explain himself to Vinnie, aside from the fact he wasn't even sure how to.

"Look, I have no idea what this is, okay? Truth is, I really wish I wasn't feeling like this. But I am and I can't seem to turn it off. It's driving me crazy enough as it is, so I'd appreciate it if you'd just back off for a minute here!"

His voice rose and immediately he felt two pairs of eyes watching him from across the room. Vinnie simply shrugged and took a step back.

"Fine, have it your way."

Throttle turned his attention back to cleaning up the floor, when his eyes landed on a small folded white object next to his foot. He bent down and picked it up. The structure of the paper was that of a photograph and he unfolded it to see what was on it.

He caught a quick glimpse of a woman looking over her shoulder at the camera. But Throttle didn't get the time to have a proper look, as a loud crack echoed from his left.

Vinnie had stepped on something. It was the garbage bag Stoker had brought back with him. The videotapes. Loudly the white mouse cleared his throat as he held the bag aloft in order for everyone to see it.

"What are we doing with these?"

Throttle felt his face heat up as he heard a chair being pushed back in the kitchen. Quickly he folded the picture and placed it in the back pocket of his pants.

"What is that?" Izzy asked out loud.

"Nothing, nothing,-" Stoker replied the minute she asked about the bag's contents.

Izzy frowned at him. "Nothing?"

'The hazel mouse sighed and ran a hand through his brown hair. "Okay, not nothing. I,- I,-" He paused and motioned for Vinnie to come over.

He opened the bag and showed the woman what was in it. She reached inside and pulled one of the tapes out. It didn't take long for her to notice the name on the side of it. Autumn #5.

"What are these? Where did you get this?" She directed her question to nobody in particular.

Of course they all knew where the tapes had come from and what was on them. Although, Stoker had no idea that both Vinnie and Throttle also knew about it.

Therefore the two of them remained quiet as they let Stoker be to one to answer the woman's questions. Only he didn't start with the videotapes. Instead he cleared his throat.

"Maybe it's a better to tell you everything that happened before that." And he motioned for all of them to sit down somewhere.

He'd been planning on telling them about Morden's fate anyway, but he reckoned it was probably also a good idea to reveal to them what he'd done with the man's body as well as. Yet there was one thing he'd have to take of before explaining himself.

Stoker turned his head to Izzy who took a seat on the left side of the couch. Her legs pulled up against her lithe frame.

"Part of this story isn't going to be pretty, Beautiful. If you need to excuse yourself at some point, I'll come find you later, okay?"

She flashed him a short smile and nodded appreciatively, but stayed right in her spot. Stoker took a deep breath in and watched as Vinnie sat down on the sofa chair, while Throttle remained where he was.

The tanned mouse already had a suspicion about what happened to Morden after he and Izzy left. But he was curious to find out what Stoker had done to make sure there was nothing left to trace Morden's death back to any them.

Stoker sat down on the other side of the couch and began his story.

"After you two were gone, I decided to have a little chat with Morden. At least, that was my plan. But it seemed that he wasn't that tough no more. The man pleaded and begged for his life. Hell, he even tried to bribe me in order to spare it,-"

"Bribe? Bribe you with what?" Vinnie interrupted him with genuine curiosity.

Stoker shrugged. "The usual things these so called business men have under their disposal. Money, drugs,-"

He paused for a second as he eyes moved towards Izzy. "Women."

If she was offended by Morden's statement, she didn't show it. In all honesty, Izzy wasn't surprised that he'd tried to weasel his way out of a dangerous situation.

She'd seen him do it before that one time when he was approached by another club owner from down town. It was one of the few times she'd seen him afraid, up until today.

"I didn't take the bribe, obviously." Stoker added and the upper right corner of his mouth twitched coyly. "I broke his neck instead."

A soft gasp of shock sounded from his left as Izzy covered the lower part of her face with her hands. Stoker wasn't sure if she was stunned because he'd murdered Morden with his bare hands or because a part of her never wanted the man to die in the first place.

Before he could ask her if she was feeling alright, Throttle spoke up firmly. "What did you do with the body?"

"Placed him on his chair in his office. Along with those two goons I knocked out when I entered the club. The rest of the place was empty apart from those three. If anyone finds them, it'll definitely look like a homicide."

Throttle had already known about the club being empty. After all, he had checked the entire upstairs area before making his way down towards the beams above the stage.

It all proved that Morden was nothing more than an overconfident idiot. Thinking nothing and no one could harm him. But something didn't sit right with him. As if there was more to it.

"Anything else?" The tanned mouse asked.

The older biker nodded. "Cleared all of the surveillance from the last two hours. Might have smashed a computer here or there as well. Don't worry. One thing is for sure, there is nothing left to trace this back to us."

Then he thought for a moment. "Well, they could dust for fingerprints, but let's face it. Nobody on this planet has our type of friction ridges anyway."

That much was true. It was how they got away with a lot of things on Earth. But Throttle felt relieved nonetheless that Stoker had made sure everything was taken care of. The mouse was incredibly thorough. That's what years of experience did to you.

"Well, that's true for our part. But what about Izzy?" This question came from Vinnie. "I know I wasn't there, but is there any chance they could find anything on her?"

From the corner of his eye, Stoker saw Izzy move her hand towards her throat. All the blood seemed drained from her face and she looked up at the hazel mouse with great concern.

"What about the gun?" She spoke ever so softly.

"You mean Morden's gun?" Throttle asked her before realizing it. Immediately he lowered his gaze towards the coffee table and swallowed hard.

"Don't worry about it, Gorgeous. I took it with me." Stoker smiled at the woman. "They won't be able to track you,-"

"What on Earth are you talking about, Stoker?" The tanned mouse furrowed his brow.

"Remember the gun he used on Izzy and myself? It wasn't his, Throttle,-" He paused and locked eyes with him. The first real contact of recognition between them since trying to punch each other's lights out.

"It belongs to her."

What did he say? Had Throttle heard him correctly?

"I'm sorry, hers?" He glanced at the woman on the couch.

All that time she sat behind him on the bike with her body pressed up against his back, she'd been carrying a weapon? He hadn't noticed a single thing. But how on Mars did Stoker know the gun was hers and not Morden's?

The answer was simple really. The way he responded to Izzy when she'd spoken up a second ago was the answer.

"You knew she had one." He concluded and Stoker confirmed his suspicion with a nod.

"But the gun never fired. Why would she carry an empty weapon with her?" Throttle continued.

It was Izzy who answered his question, but her eyes were not focused on him. She was staring directly at Stoker. Her arms now wrapped around her knees. "You took them out?"

A look of guilt swept across Stoker's face. Finally the mystery around the empty gun was revealed. "I did. I removed them right before I placed your gun back in the car."

The woman exhaled sharply and averted her gaze with disbelief.

Throttle rubbed the back of his neck. "You really played with life and death there, Stoker. Imagine the outcome if you hadn't done that? What if there had been a stand-off between them before we had ever arrived?"

The other mouse grimaced at the alternate outcome Throttle was throwing at him. But the tanned mouse didn't stop there.

"Do you realize what could have happened, if he had had a gun of his own and shot her first? She would have had no means to defend herself. All thanks to you removing the one thing that makes a pistol for what it is."

Both mice glared at each other and the tension in the room rose once again. If it hadn't been for Izzy sitting right in the middle of them or Vinnie being near, who knew what could have happened.

"And these tapes?" The woman spoke up breaking the uneasy silence. "Are they about me?"

The name Autumn was kind of a giveaway that they had something to do with her. It was her stage name after all. She'd seen the amount of rectangular objects inside of the garbage bag. A dozen, if not more, of those things were in there and she wondered if all of them were titled the same.

Vinnie and Throttle once again kept their mouths shut. Not willing to interfere, nor willing to let it become known that they knew very well what was on those tapes. Someone they knew, dancing and undressing herself in a erotic manner.

Stoker moved closer to Izzy, stopping only a couple of inches from her legs. "I found some in Morden's office as well as the surveillance room, when I was busy erasing the footage from the security cameras. Those from the outside as well as upstairs."

He paused for a second and placed one of his hands on her knee. "Morden mentioned the name Autumn. Of course, I had no idea he meant you at first. But when I came across multiple tapes with that name on them,- I,- I checked them out."

For a second he glanced around the room at both Vinnie and Throttle before turning his head back to Izzy. "Every single one of them is a recording of you...working there."

There was nothing else to say about it, nor was there a need to describe what he meant with the word working. It was obvious she knew what he was talking about. Izzy shifted underneath his touch and her body trembled slightly.

This wasn't something she'd expected to happen. But the fact that Stoker, as well as the others, knew what kind of work she'd done at the club, wasn't so much the problem. Heck, she'd shouted it loud enough at Stoker earlier in the kitchen for all of them to hear.

The thing that troubled her was that there was footage of her stripping. And the mouse in front of her had seen it.

It was a part of her she never wanted to share with anybody. Especially those close to her. Words were one thing, but to have him actually see that side of her. She felt anything but comfortable or relieved that Stoker had seen it on a videotape.

"Izzy,-" His deep voice called for her, but she could only shake her head.

Another voice sounded behind her. Hoarse and warm. "You took all of them?" It was Throttle.

Stoker nodded. "Every single one I could find."

"Is there a reason why you took them?" Vinnie asked. "I mean, does it really matter whether or not they exist? Morden is dead anyway. There's nothing he can do with those tapes no more."

"I took them for that very reason, Vincent. Now I can know for certain that there is no way anybody can ever misuse those recording. Ever." His answer was short and firm. It was clear that the former rebel leader had given everything a lot of thought.

"I'll destroy every single one of them." Stoker continued and this time he moved his hand to cup Izzy's face, so she would have to look up at him.

"Erase your past. At least the visual part of it."

Izzy licked her lips and a small smile formed. It's true, she wanted nothing more than those tapes destroyed. To think they even existed in the first place horrified her to her very core, even though it wasn't that much of a surprise.

She suspected Morden must have had over a thousand tapes from other girls as well. The man was dangerous. A creep and a player. But there was no way he could bother her or anyone else ever again.

Stoker had killed him and it seemed as if he'd done it for her. She stared at him. His dark burgundy eyes, soft and warm but also tired and broken. Like her, he had seen so much. More even.

He'd talked about killing a man and it sounded as if it had been so easy for him. Like breathing air. As if he was never worried about getting hurt or dying himself.

He'd been so adamant on being there for her from the moment they connected, that night Throttle had been injured due to an explosion. She'd tried to push him away, but he kept coming back. Nothing she did or said scared him off.

And every opportunity he got, he had done something to protect her. Distract her. Give her no chance to take care of things on her own. He'd taken her gun, he'd confronted one of Morden's henchman in her stead.

He'd watched over her during the night without her knowing about it. All to make sure she was safe. And Morden was now out of her life and that was all thanks to Stoker.

But there were also a lot of things he'd done which were way over the line. Such as refusing to give her back the means to defend herself. He'd told Vinnie about Sam's secret, when she'd explicitly asked him not to. He'd lied to her about Charley's kidnapping and he'd also placed some kind of Martian mating signature on her.

Her head hurt. From dusk till dawn, this entire day had been a roller-coaster of emotions, happenings and thoughts. She needed time. Time to think and gather her thoughts. If she didn't, she would surely lose her mind.

Stoker was still looking at her. His eyes searching for a respond. She honestly wished he wouldn't look at her like that. Despite all of his flaws and recklessness, he made her feel safe. He cared, he listened and he always knew what to say.

This strong creature from outer space, seemed to understand her more than anybody else did. And in such a short amount of time. Was that all due to the fact that he was not human? Because he'd touched her mind and saw her truth and immediately accepted her for who she was?

"I think I'll go and head out for a second." Izzy said as she lowered her legs towards the floor.

"Head out?" Stoker repeated as he stood up before she got the chance to. "Where will you go?"

"I don't know." She replied, moving slightly aside in order to get off the couch. "I need some fresh air. I honestly can't tell left from right anymore at the moment, Stoker." Her breath shuddered.

The former rebel leader nodded as he reached for her hand and took it within his. "Okay. I understand. But would you mind if I,- if I come with you?"

Izzy blinked and cocked her head slightly as she looked up at him. Stoker never really asked permission for anything. Sometimes his words may sound like a question, but most of the time it was clear he was going to stick to his own plan, no matter the answer.

Not this time, though. He was really asking her for her consent.

"But you're hurt." She said, her eyes shifting to the wound at the bottom of his neck.

Stoker arched an eyebrow, and his mouth formed a mischievous smile. "Is that a human trick to stop someone from coming along?"

His comment brought her back to earlier today. When he kissed her carefully, right after she'd told him she was planning on leaving Chicago. She'd asked him if kissing her had been a Martian trick to stop her from leaving.

"That depends,-" She replied.

There was that smirk again. "Depends?"

Izzy's voice turned serious. "If you will actually listen to me for once?"

This time his mouth twitched and there was that same old Stoker. The man who didn't take orders from anybody. Izzy could tell he was struggling with himself and the kind of mouse he was.

He wanted to be polite and really ask permission this time. But deep down he obviously didn't want to let her go out on her own. Especially after having heard her tell him that he was the mouse she wanted.

"She said she wanted to go. Perhaps you should listen to her for once, Stoker." Throttle spoke with a slight irritation in his voice and Stoker's head immediately shot up in his direction.

"I'm pretty sure you are not part of this conversation, Rookie!" The older mouse spat back.

"Please, don't start this again." Izzy pleaded loudly.

She'd thought this was over by now and she really didn't want it to happen again. Another reason for the two of them to have a go at each other. Luckily Vinnie was there and he got out of the sofa chair he'd been sitting in.

"You can climb through the back window in the bedroom. Head up the fire escape towards the highest part of the scoreboard, unless you're afraid of heights." The white mouse suggested with a grin.

That didn't sound too bad. Izzy turned her eyes back to Stoker and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She actually wanted to talk to him. Alone. Ask him things. that she didn't want to say in front of the others.

"Come with me." She said to Stoker and he obviously obliged.

But before they walked away Vinnie spoke up again. "Ey, ey, Stoker. Mind if we start destroying those tapes? I could do with a little firing practice."

What he actually meant was that he wanted to make something explode, preferably with a lot of noise and bright lights. Stoker and Throttle weren't the only two angry mice in this room. Vinnie had a lot of reasons himself to blow off steam.

Stoker glanced at the woman next to him. The recordings were about her. So, that gave her the right to decide what was going to happen and who was going to do it.

To Izzy it didn't matter how it happened or who'd take care of it. She wanted them gone and the sooner the better. She nodded at Vinnie. "Destroy them good."

"Yes, Ma'am." He replied happily.

The Last Chance Garage

Unfamiliar.

That was the one word which stood out amongst several others.

Her mind was fully awake, but her body wasn't. She could hardly move any of her limbs, but she knew it wasn't because of the exhausting day she'd had. No, the reason why she couldn't seem to move was due to the man lying next to her. The tall grey Martian mouse, Modo, who hailed from the red planet.

He'd been true to his word. He'd told her that if she would let him stay with her, he wouldn't be able to be the gentleman she knew him to be.

Charley hadn't believed him. This was Modo, after all. The one known as the gentle giant. The mouse who always made sure she was feeling alright. But she should have known he was telling her the truth.

Because Modo wasn't a liar.

The moment she managed to convince him that this was what she wanted, that he was who she wanted, he lost all control. It happened slowly at first, which is why she didn't notice it until it was too late and he caught her completely off guard.

She was in complete control. Kissing him where she wanted to, touch him where she could reach him. There was even a moment when she thought he was too afraid to return the favour.

Scared of hurting her, because he was so much stronger than she was. Even Martian females were of a stronger built in order to withstand their male counterparts. Only that hadn't been the reason for Modo. Yes, a part of him had been afraid of hurting her. But that wasn't why he kept the pace slow and steady.

He did that because he wanted to savour the moment. To make it last, in case it all turned out to be a dream instead of reality. But the more she touched him, the stronger her scent of lust got. It hit him hard, like a freight train and when a gasp and moan escaped Charley's lips, he fell over the edge. The self control was gone.

The clothes on her body would not make it through the night. They didn't even make it through the next couple of seconds, neither did his.

His warm fur was welcome against her smooth and hairless skin. Like a blanket, only one that tickled her as tiny goosebumps appeared on her pale figure. The short breaths he was emitting against her neck caused her stomach to do multiple somersaults. She wanted to feel him. Really feel him.

Modo grabbed hold of her hips and upper back and before she could fathom what he was planning on, she was already on her back on the mattress with his long frame looming over her.

Charley reached her hands up towards his face, where she rested them behind his neck and pulled him down to meet her lips. And when she felt him, strong and persistent against the inner side of her thigh, she wrapped her legs around his lower body.

It was safe to say that after that moment, Modo could no longer be that gentleman she knew him to be. Normally he would ask her if he was allowed to do something. He was hardly ever dominant, in any kind of situation.

But not today. This was the day he was in control. Charley let him. She didn't mind. In fact, she quite liked this side of him. She was so used to him sitting back and watch things happen from afar, that this behaviour was new and exciting.

He nuzzled the lower part of her neck and she giggled slightly at the sensation. It that moment he sought entrance, but this he did do slowly. Again for his own pleasure, but also because she was much smaller than him.

Self-control was incredibly difficult at this point, mostly because it had been so long since he'd been with a woman and this wasn't just anybody. This was someone who he had dreamt of the moment he got to know her.

It helped a lot that she was more than ready for him. But she did wince slightly as he went deeper and deeper. Their foreheads rested against each other as the dance of connection finally began.

Maintaining a prefect rhythm and motion took a bit of adjusting, but as soon as they reached that state of high at the same time, everything was easy. A much time went by, neither of them knew. It was no longer a concept, the only thing that mattered was them and sharing this moment.

And what a moment it had been.

Thinking back on how they both finished at the same time. Whispering their names and staring deeply into each other's eyes, as the climax ignited their senses.

Charley let out a deep sigh of bliss and watched Modo quietly as he chest rose up and down slowly. His mouth slightly agape accompanied by soft sounds coming from the back of his throat. She still felt warm after it all. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced with another person. Another man.

Which was why unfamiliar was the word that kept crossing her mind. But she wanted more and she wondered why she never dared to cross this line with Modo sooner.

Perhaps it was all thanks to the another member of her family. Everything that had happened since the arrival of her sister-in-law made her see things in a different perspective.

How long would if have taken her, if she hadn't seen up close the way Stoker was rapidly falling for Izzy? She wondered if Modo had fallen for her just as quick as he had done.

The female mechanic turned onto her side and moved closer to the mouse next to her. At the same time, Modo twitched a little and opened his eye.

"Hi." She whispered softly at him and he immediately pulled her into an embrace.

"Hi." He replied just as quietly but with a big smile on his face.

Well I wanted to end on a high note...Did it feel like one?

Throttle is planning on contacting Carbine, but what will come out of that?

Vinnie is still feeling miserable (poor Vinnie).

Stoker revealed what happened at the club and Izzy wants to talk to him about something. What could it be?

And Charley and Modo...well, you know.

Also... I hope nobody minded the way I pictured Modo here. He's always so reserved and gentle, that I really wanted to show a different side of him during this particular moment.

Hope you all enjoyed and as always I would love to hear your thoughts!