Please enjoy.
We finished our dinner and went for a ride in the Lambo. We both stayed quiet during the ride. We couldn't believe that Vinnie was dead. It seemed like a bad dream that we hadn't woken up from. I looked at Throttle who looked at me. He saw the tears streaming down my face. It made him sad seeing me with tears in my eyes.
I pulled over and turned the car off. I was having a hard time seeing with the tears in my eyes.
"Babe, you ok?"
I looked at Throttle again and shook my head no. "I may not of known Vinnie as well as I should have, but he was family."
"Yeah, he was. Him, Modo and I became more than just Freedom Fighters while here on Earth. We became a family and once we met Charley, we included her in our little family. She took care of us and our bikes."
"She was basically a mother to you 3, even though she's around all your's ages."
"Basically, yeah."
"I'm surprised she didn't tell me about you guys a lot sooner. What was she afraid of?"
"Probably afraid that you would turn us over to the Government."
"If I had doe that, you and I wouldn't be together. Charley and Modo wouldn't be together. Carbine and Morgan wouldn't be together."
I wiped my face. "Very true. When I first met you guys, I was a bit shocked at what I was seeing. I thought you guys were wearing costumes, to be honest."
"Now you know its not true, huh?"
"Yep. My face is the only thing that really hasn't changed since my transformation."
"That is odd. Maybe not all your Human blood got flushed out when you got the transfusion."
"Maybe."
"I don't care if you have a Human face or a Martian Mouse face, I love you for you, Human or Martian Mouse."
"Awww, thanks Throttle. I love you too." I leaned over and kissed his cheek.
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Back at the motel, Charley looked at Modo and wondered how he's going to take the news of his bike being destroyed by a tanker truck.
"Everything ok, Charlene?"
"No, not really. Vinnie committed suicide using your bike. I'm so sorry, Modo."
"Don't be sorry that I lost my bike. Just be sorry that we all lost a good friend. How did you find out?"
"I got a call from an officer who found my number in Vinnie's wallet. I asked about your bike and they told me that here's nothing left but some microchips and a tire. I told them I would pick up what was left and see if I can salvage the microchips."
"What about Harley-ma'am? Who's going to tell her that Vinnie is dead?"
"I'm gonna ask Carbine if she will deliver the bad news. I'm not very good at that kind of thing."
"She is good at that type of thing. She's had to do that a lot during the war."
"The police do that too. I had one come to my garage one day when my dad died. He was in a car accident and I was the only one on his contact sheet."
"If you don't mind me asking, how old were you at the time?"
"I was just out of college and just starting my business. So around 24."
"So, you lost your dad just over a decade ago? I was wondering who was in the pictures on the garage walls."
"Yep. He taught me how to work on cars at an early age. Motorcycles, too. Your guys' bikes are a different story. When I first started working on all your bikes, I couldn't believe all the hardware on them. Not just weapons. They look like ordinary bikes but the tech is more advanced than ours."
Charley called Carbine after talking with Modo.
"Hey Charley. What can I do for you?"
"I hate to ask you to do this, but can you relay some bad news to Harley?"
"What bad news?"
"Vinnie is dead. He drove Modo's bike straight into a tanker truck and was killed on impact."
"Oh my god! That's horrible. Do you think it could have been the loss of his daughter than drove him to suicide?"
"I wouldn't be surprised. I hope Harley didn't go that way. I know it hurt her to lose her daughter."
"I'll head over to her room right now. I had noticed that Modo's bike was gone when I was heading to the pool with Morgan last night."
"How are you 2 doing?"
"Doing good. Been taking it slow. He's a real good guy. Thank you for introducing me to him."
"You're very welcome, Carbine. Let me know if Harley would like to talk and let her know that we're all here for her."
"I will, Charley."
Charley hung up and put her phone away, then looked at Modo.
"You ok?"
Charley smiled. "Yeah, I'm ok. Just a lot on my mind."
Modo grabbed Charley's hand and lightly squeezed it. "How do you feel about looking at a house in about an hour?"
"Really?"
"Of course. Don't worry about the money for a house. I have that covered."
"I'll call Mike and see if the keys to her SUV is with Silverdawn. If they are, then I'll ask to borrow it."
"Great. Mind if I use your laptop. I would like to Skype with Rimfire."
"Go ahead. Tell him I said hi."
Modo nodded and let go of Charley's hand. She pulled out her cell phone again and called Mike.
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While I was driving, my cell phone rang. I handed it to Throttle to answer. I had no intention to get pulled over for having my phone up at my ear.
"Hey Charley-girl. What's up?"
"Is Mike available, Throttle?"
"She's driving right now. I can put it on speakerphone."
"Ok."
Throttle put my phone on speaker. "What's up, Charley?"
"I was wondering if your SUV keys are with Silverdawn by chance?"
"I believe so, why?"
"Modo and I would like to borrow it. He wants to show me a house he's thinking about."
"Go ahead. Be safe. I believe its got about ΒΌ of a tank left."
Throttle hung up and left the phone in the middle section where the gear shift is.