My apologies, it has been a while. I hope this long chapter will make up for it.

Thank you all so much for your reviews. I am always so surprised by the ideas, suggestions or suspicions you all have. It is such a joy to read.

Anything you guys do makes me happy really, whether it's if you only read the story or have added it to your alerts or favs, or if you leave a message every chapter. Any of that warms my heart. It means the world to me.

Thank you all so much.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7 - Nobody is innocent

Chicago

Frantically the tan furred mouse pressed the controls on the panel situated next to the transporter. Vinnie was gone with that agent along with him, but frankly the latter was the least of Throttle's worries. He had to figure out where they'd been sent to. He sincerely hoped Vinnie hadn't been teleported to another planet, but if he had, he could only wish it wasn't Plutark. That would be an immediate death sentence.

Throttle let out a cry of anger and frustration and smashed one of his fists against the metal panelling. Immediately the large square monitor in front of him switched on and a bright light reflected in the mouse's spectacles. He adjusted them and leaned forward. Large rocks and cliffs, but there in the lower left corner he spotted a sequence of numbers. Coordinates. He had no idea where on Earth these numbers referred to, or if it was Earth at all.

Quickly he closed his visor and took a screen shot of the image as well as the numbers. He had to figure out the location, the gritty image on the monitor revealed little to nothing. Rock formations were found everywhere and the frame was just black and white which didn't say a lot. It was pointless to go after Limburger and Karbunkle on his own. More so because Throttle had no clue where they'd run off to. Finding Vinnie's location was more important.

He had to get this information to Modo and Charley. But more importantly, he had to tell them about what had happened. No matter what would occur after that, the most crucial thing was finding Vinnie as quickly as possible. The longer he waited by standing here contemplating on how to tell the others, the less likely it was they would find him. Throttle whistled and his bike responded within a micro second.

"Let's hope Charley-girl can figure out where our bro's gone." He whispered under his breath. He turned the handle, revved the engine and crashed through yet another window into the dark of night.

::::::...::::::

The Last Chance Garage

Modo let his eye roam over the shape he was currently tracing with his index finger. The soft and pale object shivered and small spots known as goose bumps appeared on the surface. The broad shouldered mouse grinned and a chuckle escaped him. He moved closer and gently placed light kisses on Charley's skin. The woman let out a deep moan and finally turned around to face him.

"Hello you." She smiled.

"Ma'am." Modo winked as he shifted in his spot to plant another kiss on his girlfriend, only this time he placed it on the tip of her small nose.

"How is that for 'boring'?" He asked moving backwards.

Charley laughed and put her hand against Modo's chest. "Izzy was only joking, you know?"

Modo shrugged. "That doesn't matter. I had to prove her wrong."

"Well, you certainly proved me, big guy." The female mechanic rested her head in the nook of Modo's good arm and closed her eyes. "Do you think Throttle and Vinnie are alright? It's been quiet for a long while now. I hope nothing bad has happened to them."

"Nah." Modo assured her. "They can handle ol' stinkfish. Although I admit they stand a better chance when I'm around."

Unexpectedly Charley raised her head and threw the grey mouse a funny look. "Since when did you become so macho?"

"Macho? Simple facts, Charley darlin'." With one swift motion he pulled her back and wrapped his tail around her lower leg.

"But you're right..." He then said after a couple of seconds. "Perhaps I should check in on them."

"I'll keep the bed warm." Charley told him with a smile, which resulted in yet another kiss being given to her. Only this time it was on her lips and lasted for a little while until a satisfying groan rumbled in the back of Modo's throat.

Resisting another round of temptation, the Martian jumped out of bed and quickly dressed himself before heading out of the bedroom, down two flights of stairs until he ended up in the garage.

The lights were on yet all was quiet. How long had his bros been gone? Too long if it was causing Charley to start worrying. Modo walked over to Lil' Hoss and patted the seat gently. "How ya doing, girl?" He asked and the bike bleeped in return.

But soon after her own distinctive high toned beep, another buzz sounded through the room. Deeper, more monotonous. It wasn't coming from another vehicle, it belonged to the radio transmitter. The Martian mouse quickly turned around and rushed over to the desk standing against the wall. An incoming transmission from Mars. Again? Modo gritted his teeth and pressed the button next to the microphone.

"Last Chance Garage, Modo speaking."

A dark outline appeared on the small tv screen and within a couple of seconds the image turned into a familiar face. A face he had seen more than once already today. It wasn't as if Modo disliked Carbine, but he was getting rather annoyed with her constant interference of his day. Months usually went by without her contacting Earth at all and now all of a sudden it had been three times within a day. All because she wanted one thing.

"Modo, it's Carbine. I guess you know why I'm calling you?"

Sarcastic comments were not in the grey mouse's nature, but he had a couple of them forming on the tip of his tongue. He quickly swallowed them away and nodded at the screen. "I do, but I'm afraid Throttle still hasn't returned. Judging on the hour, he probably won't come back at all. You'll have more luck trying again tomorrow. But of course I will tell him you called should I see him before then."

He really wasn't in the mood to go through another session of talking to the general. Mostly because there was somebody currently waiting for him upstairs in a warm bed and without any clothes on.

"I see. Well, I guess that's,-"

But as Carbine kept talking, Modo suddenly jerked his head sideways and his ears perked up. There was somebody coming towards the garage. A bike. Only one of them. He listened closely and recognized it as Throttle's motorcycle. That was weird. Why was he alone? Modo quickly turned his attention to Carbine.

"Throttle's back, gimme a minute, Carbine. I'll tell him you're here."

Before Carbine could reply, the grey mouse was already out of view. The general leaned back in her seat and tapped her fingers nervously on the surface of her metal desk. Initially, her reason for contacting Earth again was to have a talk with Throttle. A casual one, to see how he was doing. If everything was alright on the blue planet. But it was different now.

Carbine sat there, her eyes focused on the monitor in front of her. Her tail flicked back and forth indifferently behind her. It was late. At least it was on Mars. Some time had passed since Stoker left her office, but the conversation they'd had still haunted her mind.

"Next time you talk to him, your precious boyfriend. You ask him how he feels about Izzy."

Ever since Stoker had spoken those words to her, about asking Throttle how he feels about Izzy, Carbine felt on edge, as well as slightly queasy and anxious. His words could mean a variety of things, but somehow it was the way that he had said it that worried her. The hate within Stoker's voice had not gone unnoticed. He seemed to be angry with Throttle, that much was clear.

But the question was why? Had something happened between the two of them? The last conversation Carbine had with her boyfriend had been a bit rough. She missed him, in a sense, but the longer he was gone, the less she thought about him. Days, weeks and eventually months that they didn't speak to each other went by and then when they finally did get a moment to talk, Carbine usually wasn't in the mood. There were always more important matters to attend to.

However their last talk had been different. She learned of Izzy's existence, a little bit, only that she was Charley's sister-in-law. Throttle had complained that Stoker had gone after her. In all honesty Carbine had been surprised that it had been Stoker and not Vinnie going after a woman. After all, the latter was known as one of the biggest flirts Mars had to offer. Although Stoker wasn't too far behind at times.

And now here she was. Never once thinking anything of it. But the more she replayed Throttle's irritated reaction from back then, as well as her uncle's words from earlier today, the more it seemed as if there was only one logical answer to the question. Ask him how he feels about Izzy.

Carbine could feel her heart pounding heavily in her chest and as soon as the familiar face of Throttle appeared before her, she immediately jolted forward.

"Finally, I thought I was never going to get a hold of you."

Carbine sighed with relief as her boyfriend sat down in front of the monitor. But now that she was right across of him, albeit from behind a glass display, she suddenly felt rather awkward and nervous. How was she even going to start this conversation? She'd been hoping to talk to him, but now there really was only one thing that she wanted to know.

"Yeah, I heard you were looking for me." Throttle said quickly.

Something was wrong. Carbine saw it immediately and within a second her demeanour changed. "What happened?" She asked firmly.

The tan furred mouse widened his eyes with surprise at her unexpected question. But Throttle replied, not wasting any time to ask for Carbine's help. Aside from Charley, there wasn't any harm in asking Mars for help in this matter. In fact, if Vinnie had been teleported to another planet, he needed Carbine's assistance more than anything.

"Vinnie's gone." He said short and swiftly.

"What?"

"What?!"

Two different voices asked at the exact same time. One was Carbine's and the other belonged to Modo. Throttle had only just arrived, which meant there hadn't been any time to tell his other bro. Throttle turned sideways to look at Modo. "Vinnie and I entered Limburger Tower. We caught the big Cheese in the middle of sending Agent Burrows to, well,- I don't know where exactly."

"Who's agent Burrows?" Carbine asked, just as Modo stepped up towards Throttle.

"Why was he there?" The tall grey mouse asked.

Throttle shrugged and shook his head. That was something he still didn't know. "Limburger knocked Burrows into the transporter. Vinnie, being Vinnie, jumped in to save him, that's when the glass panel closed down,-"

"He got into the transporter?" Modo stared at his leader with shock. He knew this story. He once had been in the exact same sort of situation.

Carbine kept her mouth shut as she listened to her boyfriend and Modo talking about their team and family member. At times like this it was best not to interfere. So far she understood that something bad had happened to Vinnie, she just didn't know what precisely. Modo mentioned the word transporter, that wasn't unfamiliar territory for her. It was how the guys arrived on Mars the last time they were there. That thought caused Carbine to frown once again. Had Vinnie been transported to Mars?

Throttle's voice sounded again through the transmission, directed at her. "Babe, can you check these numbers for me? I think they're coordinates, but I'm not sure where they lead to. It's a long shot, but maybe you can figure them out? In case he's been sent to Mars. Meanwhile I'll have Charley check them for here, in case it's a location on Earth."

As he mentioned Charley's name, Carbine wrinkled her nose a little. There was a time where she thought Throttle had taken more than a simple liking to the auburn haired earther. But that was something she thought a lot of times, even more so during their time apart. They were a jealous species, Martians. Mainly because they were highly territorial. A rather strange concept considering their kind was never one for monogamy. Sharing had been a common trade for many years, mostly because the male population greatly outweighed that of the females.

Gradually the numbers had changed but it was still only a small one. Admittingly, Carbine sometimes found herself enjoying the attention she got from her subordinates every now and again, though she didn't act on it. But as soon as the thought occurred that Throttle could be on the receiving end of another woman's affection, Carbine felt hostility, envy and hatred towards everything that passed as female near and around her man.

Charley was no longer in troubled waters for that. It was clear she never saw Throttle as anything else than a close friend, Carbine had noticed that the day she came to Earth on an important mission. No, the Earther acted differently towards him compared to Modo and Vinnie. A subtle difference, but one Carbine had noticed nonetheless. Thus Charley had no longer been a threat in Carbine's book.

"Send them trough, Throttle. I'll have somebody check them out asap. I'll contact the garage again as soon as we find anything." She assured him.

"Thanks, babe." Her boyfriend replied. "I'd better get going, better tell Charley what happened to Vinnie. Hopefully we'll have some luck and he's somewhere on Earth, not Mars."

"Wait!" Carbine yelled loudly as Throttle was already standing up. She couldn't let him leave just yet. She had to ask him about Izzy. If she didn't, Carbine knew it was going to fester and eat her up from the inside for the next couple of hours. It was best to get it out now than wait any longer. "There's something important I have to discuss with you.

"Is it something that can wait? I'd rather focus on Vinnie at the moment. Surely you can,-"

"It's about Izzy." Carbine blurted out.

A silence filled the room, leaving only the light static coming from the transmission to crackle in the background. Modo cleared his throat loudly and he pointed his thumb into the direction of the stairs. "Why don't I go ahead and tell Charley myself?"

He didn't wait for Throttle to give him an answer and within a second he was gone. Perhaps his behaviour created the misunderstanding that something might be off or wrong, but Carbine was already getting that feeling and it wasn't due to Modo's reaction. It was because of the way Throttle's brow had furrowed and his jaw had clenched the second she mentioned Izzy.

Throttle sat down in his seat and moved the microphone back towards him. "Did something happen?" His voice sounded a little worried.

"No." Carbine shook her head. "Not with her, well,- I heard she fainted when she met some of the rebels, but aside from that she's fine."

Fainted? A low chuckle started to bubble in the back of his throat, but the tanned mouse quickly swallowed it away. Now was not the time to laugh. Clearly Carbine wanted to discuss something important with him and it involved Izzy. Of course he had no idea what she wanted to tell him, but Carbine's entire demeanour, the way she sat on the other side of the monitor eyeing him careful and analytically, made him feel incredibly uneasy.

"That's good to hear." He said instead. "What is it that you wanted to discuss?"

Carbine tried her best to keep calm and not come across as feeling too anxious about all of this. She was still unsure how to ask Throttle what she wanted to know. If there was one thing she didn't want, it was to appear overly jealous and suspicious, but something told her that that ship had already passed. The female mouse shifted in her seat and leaned forward.

"Listen, I know that I shouldn't be taking up too much of your time, especially now that Vinnie has gone missing. But a certain thought has been gnawing at my conscious over the past couple of hours." She paused and looked at him.

"Thoughts about Izzy?"

"Yes, but not just Izzy." Carbine took in a deep breath and straightened herself. "You and Izzy. Is there anything I should know? About you and her?" Now her heart was really pounding rapidly in her chest and she wasn't the only one feeling that way.

The Martian mouse, currently watching her all the way from another planet, was experiencing the same heavy sensation. Throttle was taken back by her question, he had definitely not been expecting that and he wondered if Izzy had told Carbine anything. Things that happened between them, words he had said to her when he was at the very height of losing himself.

However, he couldn't imagine Izzy doing such a thing. He also couldn't recall if she had ever promised him to keep his confession a secret. But nevertheless he was convinced she would not do that to him. A lump was beginning to form deep in his throat and he knew the longer he kept quiet, the sooner Carbine would suspect the worse case scenario.

"Are you asking me if something happened between me and her?"

"Geez, Throttle. You think? What else could that question possibly mean?!" Her worry and fear was beginning to turn into frustration and anger. She felt like he was stalling, trying to gain some time to come up with an excuse.

"I don't know, Carbine. You're not exactly being specific here." Throttle said, even though in situations like this there was usually only one type of meaning behind such a question.

But he wasn't going to fall for that. Because when it came down to it, nothing had actually ever happened between him and Izzy. He never kissed her, he never slept with her, as in sex. But he had held her in his arms as his mind got clouded by her tempting scent and softness. His fur tingle and he adjusted himself in his chair.

"I want to know how you feel about her. If you like her and I don't mean in the same way as with Charley." Carbine explained.

Throttle knew this was bound to happen sooner or later, only he had hoped it wouldn't happen until he was back on Mars. Not with the moon and stars between them. But denying anything was not the way to go here. He had to own up to the accusation.

"I,- admire Izzy. I won't deny that. But nothing physically ever happened between us."

"Physically? Interesting choice of words there." Carbine scoffed and she averted her dark eyes from the screen. She licked her mouth and turned back to the monitor, her expression still cold. "Is this you're way of telling me that you didn't sleep with her?"

"Yes. I never slept with her. Like I said, nothing happened."

"But you wanted sleep with her?"

Throttle let out a deep groan. "Carbine,-"

The female mouse rubbed her hand across her face before leaving it to linger over her mouth. Stoker's sudden hostility towards Throttle all made sense now. At least a little bit. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it than that, but for now it would have to do. She turned her attention back to her boyfriend and lowered her arm.

"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Of course the answer to that is yes. You've been down there for a long time, no doubt one of us would fall of their bike at some point." Carbine said.

"Yes, I remember you specifically repeating yourself on that possibility, the last time you were here. But I never wanted to acknowledge that and I know you didn't either."

The woman's mouth twitched a little. "Alright, so now that we're both here, let's acknowledge it."

"No." Throttle shook his head.

"No?"

"No, I don't want to do that. Not now, not while I'm here on Earth. Neither of us deserves that. We need to talk about this face to face. Not with a tv screen and a microphone situated between us."

"Meaning until we see each other, we just ignore the fact that you've taken a liking to an Earthling over me?" Carbine scowled.

"I never said I feel more for her than you."

"I don't hear you denying it either."

He couldn't win this. Not that their was anything to win. He'd brought this down upon himself, or actually Martian biology brought this upon him. No matter what he would say could put Carbine's or his own mind at ease. Of all the moments for this to happen, it had to happen now. With him on Earth and Vinnie missing, and Carbine on Mars with Izzy.

"I don't want to call us quits, okay? No matter what you believe or might have heard, I don't want to make any of these kind of decisions until I see you. But I will say this one last time. Izzy and I never did anything, that's the truth."

Carbine wasn't sure what to believe here. Throttle wasn't known as a liar, but most people weren't until something like this went down in a relationship. There was only one person she would probably believe in this entire situation. "Fine. For now we'll do nothing about it. But I don't know how long I'll be able to keep that up."

Throttle had no other choice but to agree with her. "Alright."

"I'll give these numbers to Havoc. Perhaps he can provide us with an answer by tomorrow. Carbine out."

The screen turned black and the garage was filled with another round of white noise. The tanned mouse didn't move for at least a couple of minutes, until he heard commotion coming from upstairs. With a heavy tread, Throttle made his way upstairs to deal with yet another problem. Finding Vinnie and agent Burrows.

Mars

It was attached to the wall, but instead of a hose it was a broad and flat pipe. The top part stuck out and a circular nozzle hung on the end of said tube, dangling a little bit in the centre of the circular stall. The spout was located rather high up, if she stood on her tippy toes, she still wouldn't be able to reach it. There wasn't even a drain on the floor. Whatever this contraption was, it could not be what Stoker claimed it was.

"This is not a shower." The honey haired woman huffed.

"It's better than a shower. Once you've tried it, you'll never want anything else."

Izzy tilted her head back and glared at the weird device swaying above her. "How about a sand scrub as an alternative? I've heard it is good for the skin."

Stoker grinned and a chuckle escaped him. "As much as I would enjoy rolling around in dirt with you, it won't do much about your scent."

"My scent?"

He grabbed her chin with his fingers. "Do you know what will happen if you waltz around the base smelling the way you currently do? The fact that my scent is also on you, which I love obviously, won't hide your own."

"Are you saying I stink, mister adored by all?"

Stoker couldn't conceal the grin his mouth was forming. He knew Izzy was not impressed with his reputation. He hadn't been able to dazzle her with it back on Earth. But he did like it whenever she mentioned it or made fun of it in most cases. As if she was secretly a little bit proud.

"No." He quickly answered. "On the contrary, you've never smelled more tempting than you do now. But then again, after what we just did, I'm not surprised. If you catch my drift?" He spoke hoarsely.

Izzy cocked her head for a second, not fully understanding what he meant. Until that familiar look of lust flashed across his eyes as the tall mouse stepped closer to her.

"Oh." She mouthed.

"Oh, indeed." He growled. Stoker suddenly reached for her and lifted her up into his arms. A shriek escaped Izzy as she wrapped her hands behind the mouse's neck.

"Bloody hell." She breathed.

"Time to get you cleaned up, beautiful." Stoker wiggled his brow and stepped underneath the creepy looking device.

Izzy was convinced this thing was going to kill her. Stoker claimed it was a shower, only unlike the ones on Earth, this one didn't use water. Because aside from the logical reason of there being a lack of it on Mars, fur and water wasn't the most pleasant combination for a Martian. Thus the mice on the red planet used something known as a sonic shower. Although Izzy thought it sounded more like a torture device.

Dirt, grime, dead cells, basically anything that wasn't healthy to have on your body in the long run. The pulse vibrations would cause those different type of materials to fall or vaporize, as Stoker had called it, off your body. Izzy couldn't imagine it being enjoyable, it didn't sound like she would.

Closing her eyes, she buried her head in the nook of Stoker's neck. She felt his chest rumble against her naked skin as a laugh escaped him. It would seem that her behaviour was the most amusing thing and not that murderous looking shower.

"Ready, my heart?" Stoker asked.

"For death?"

"Funny." The hazel mouse rolled his eyes and moved his tail towards a button on the wall.

It was a weird sensation that suddenly hit the Earth woman. A slight tingle, but it was pleasant, not like a tickle but very mild as if mist was covering every part of her skin. A warm blanket wrapping itself around her body, gently pulsating. The other odd thing was what was the shower was doing to her hair. It was difficult to describe, but it felt like something or someone was combing it. Almost as if her hair follicles were opening up and her hair danced on its own. The sonic shower lasted for about three minutes and Stoker finally set her back down on the floor.

"What do you think?" He asked her as soon as she stood up straight.

Warm. Comforting. Izzy wasn't sure what to think of it. Was it enjoyable? So far her answer would have to be no. But in all fairness, she had thought the dangling nozzle was designed to murder her. If Stoker had told her the cubicle had been a sauna instead of a shower, she probably would have believed him and might have had a different kind of experience. She threw one last glance at the device before looking back up at Stoker.

"Definitely not as wet as a shower."

"Mm, and does a much better job if you ask me." Stoker replied as he twirled a strand of Izzy's hair between his fingers before tucking it back behind her ear. "Let's go and get some sleep. I've got big plans for tomorrow."

"I'm surprised you even know what the word sleep means." Izzy retorted stepping out of the booth and towards the door leading towards Stoker's sleeping accommodation. "Unless it has a different meaning on Mars? Like that blasted shower."

"Did I say sleep?" The mouse replied hurrying after her with a broad grin plastered on his face. "I meant round two, obviously."

::::::...::::::

A dark long haired mouse was currently standing down the hall, a couple of feet away from the room that belonged to his commanding general. With his arms crossed over his chest, Havoc kept a close look on the closed door. About ten minutes ago he had finished today's duties and was ready to head to bed, when he walked past Stoker's chamber and stopped when a weird noise sounded from the other side. It only took him a second to figure out what it was, or more accurately put, who was making it.

Havoc didn't eavesdrop for too long. He knew better than that, but it was an interesting sound to hear. Very interesting. A Martian female's vocalization was different during moments of intercourse and Havoc couldn't help but wonder what other differences there could be taking place behind those closed doors. The mouse stepped away from the entry and continued his way back to his own room.

"Havoc!" Carbine's voice suddenly sounded from down the hall and Havoc stopped in his tracks.

He turned around and arched his brow as the ebony haired mouse was coming towards in a quick pace. "Yes, General?" He asked the moment she halted before him.

Carbine straightened herself and stuck her nose into the air. "We have a situation and you're just the mouse I'm looking for."

"A situation?"

"Yes." She paused and glanced over her shoulder before lowering her voice. " One of our people has gone missing."

Clearly this information wasn't meant to be overheard. Havoc motioned for General Carbine to follow him towards his place for the time being. Mice went missing every now and then. Some deserted the cause and decided on settling down. They had that possibility now that most of the Plutarkians had left Mars. But sometimes a mouse would drift off too far on a mission and could end up missing.

Within a couple of seconds the pair reached Havoc's room and the door slid open to the left. Without waiting for an invite, Carbine stepped inside and pulled out an oval shaped tablet. Havoc walked over to her and let his eyes roam over the numbers appearing on the small screen. "A location?" He asked.

Carbine shrugged. "Possibly. I got them from Throttle. He thinks they're coordinates, but he has no idea what planet they belong to. I told him I'd help him out."

"Throttle gave these to you?" Havoc frowned.

"Yes. Just now."

"General, who is missing exactly?" The dark grey mouse stared at his superior officer. A heavy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.

"Don't worry, it's not your cousin. It's Vinnie, who's gone missing. He's been transported some place and we don't know where. Throttle thinks these numbers will lead to his location."

It was a relief to hear that the missing mouse wasn't his cousin Modo. But that didn't make the other mouse less important. Vinnie had a reputation, just like Modo and Throttle had around the rebel base. They weren't your every day soldiers. They were pioneers, with regards to Earth, and on Mars they were heroes of the finest hour. Held in high regards, almost as much as Stoker. But that mouse was an entirely different story.

"I'll see what I can do. I'll get to work right away." Swiftly Havoc took the electronical device from Carbine and placed it in his back pocket. "The minute I find something I'll contact you."

"Thank you, major." Carbine nodded and was about to walk out of Havoc's chambers when she suddenly stopped to let her eyes roam around the room.

"Did you change your furniture?" She asked out of the blue.

Havoc cleared his throat, a little surprised by her unexpected question. "I did. A few weeks ago."

"I see. It looks good. Nicer than what you had before." Carbine took another look and walked towards the king sized bed situated in the back left corner of the room. "Did Enfield set you up with this?"

"Why the sudden interest in my furniture, general?" Havoc asked with a genuine confusion.

"Do you ever think about what happened that one time?" She said not in the mood to beat around the bush. But when she turned to face the other mouse, she was met with a puzzled look.

"I'm not sure I follow?"

Carbine averted her eyes and nodded at the bed she was standing next to. "Do I need to spell it out?"

Havoc let out a deep sigh. "We both agreed that it was a one time thing, general Carbine. I fully honour that decision and I believe you should too."

The female mouse blinked. She wasn't expected Havoc to reject her that quick and easily. It had only happened once and that encounter had been a couple of months ago, but his response left her rather speechless. Carbine wasn't sure now what it was she'd hoped for. For Havoc to say that he did think about it and that he would swoop her off her feet and have his way with her?

It had been uncomplicated moment between them. No expectations. Just plain sex. It hadn't meant a thing, which was why they both agreed it was but a one time thing. Then why was she here reminding him of that day? She didn't like being rejected, even if she had no genuine interest in the mouse herself. Was it because she'd spoken to Throttle? Or was it because Carbine knew there was another person who had managed to capture her boyfriend's attention instead of her?

Carbine clenched her jaw and her expression hardened. "You're right. My apologies, major Havoc. It won't happen again."

"That will be highly appreciated, general." Havoc replied. "I'll head down to navigation right away to check those numbers."

Without another word being spoken, the two Martians went out into the corridor once again. Carbine took a left, as Havoc went right. He couldn't believe what had just happened, but he meant what he had said. He was no dummy. Once had been enough. No good could come out of sleeping with the general.

Despite Carbine telling him that he needn't worry about Throttle finding out, that first and only time had been a mistake and Havoc was thankful the general's boyfriend had been on Earth when it happened. He knew it would bite him in the ass at some point, but there was no need to make matters worse.

For the second time that day, Havoc passed Stoker's room and just like last time he halted and listened closely. All appeared to be quiet. The dark grey mouse inhaled deeply through his nose, trying to catch a particular scent, as he stepped closer and placed the palm of his hand against the wall next to the door.

It sure seemed the leader of the Freedom Fighters had it all figured out. Havoc clenched his fist and with one last glance at the door, walked away to complete his assignment.

I worked really hard on this chapter. Trying to capture those blasted emotions.

Please let me know what you think. Or if you're still enjoying the story.

I would love to know.

Have a great day!