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Chapter 6 - What happens on Earth, stays on Mars

Mars

Stoker watched Izzy from across the room. She was leaning forward, watching the person who was on the monitor closely as she talked. The hazel mouse could hear the smile shine through in her voice as she spoke with her sister-in-law, Charley. Although, was she technically still that? A sister-in-law? Charley's brother, Izzy's former husband, was no longer alive. It was probably a matter of perspective and it wasn't like he cared about it. It was just a word.

What Stoker cared more about as of right now was seeing his girl smile. It was a different smile than the one he'd seen today. He knew she was missing Charley, even though she kept assuring him she was fine and used to not seeing the female mechanic a lot anyway. But the joy he could sense coming from her demeanour at this very moment told him otherwise.

Stoker stood with his back against the wall of Carbine's office. He'd only left the general, his niece, a couple of minutes ago. But soon enough her loud voice was already hollering for him through the tunnels for everyone to hear. She obviously got that from her mother's side of the family, not his brother's.

"Are you sure you're alright, though? You look rather pale, Charlene. Is there anything I can do?" Izzy asked.

"You calling me that every time you think something's up, is what's making me feel sick." Charley laughed. "Just lack of sleep, nothing to worry about. Everything back here is as boring as ever."

"Right, boring. With three giant mice to keep you company on a daily basis? I highly doubt that." Izzy replied with a chuckle. "You're not bored with Modo already, are you?"

"That's not funny."

"I agree, not funny." Modo's voice suddenly joined Charley's and the tall grey mouse appeared on the screen next to the auburn haired mechanic.

Izzy pressed her lips together and a soft snort escaped her throat. "My apologies. Perhaps it's time to say goodnight then. Before my big mouth says something it might regret later."

"Okay. You be careful out there, you hear? I know you, no roaming around on your own. Stoker, don't let her out of your sight!" Charley shouted loudly.

"Haven't done so since I first saw her, gorgeous. Don't you worry about that now." Stoker replied as he placed his hands on top of her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. "No roaming on my watch."

"Izzy?" Charley suddenly said and her face looked concerned all of a sudden.

Izzy cocked her head and moved a little bit more forward. "Yes?" she asked, her voice sounded equally worried.

But then the other woman shook her head and she leaned back in her seat. "It's nothing. Never mind. You behave, you hear? Contact me tomorrow?"

Something was up. She was sure of it. Perhaps Charley would tell her tomorrow. Izzy nodded. "I'll do my best. Take care!"

"I'll show you boring." Modo's voice quickly sounded through the radio just as Izzy turned the dial to turn the radio off.

Stoker felt the shift in his girl immediately. Her shoulders tensed up as soon as Charley had said her name, as if she still had something important to say. He moved his hands up and down, tightening his hold on her upper arms. It was time to head back. There were still a lot of things he was eager to show her. Things that simply couldn't wait until tomorrow.

"Come on. Let's go." He smiled. Izzy nodded and stood up from her seat.

At that moment the door opened up and General Carbine entered the room. She looked at Stoker and Izzy, before throwing a quick glance at the radio. "Throttle hadn't returned yet?"

Stoker shook his head. "Nope. No clue where he is, or Vinnie for that matter. Charley didn't know either."

Carbine let out a deep sigh. "Great. It doesn't matter. I'll try again tomorrow." Her eyes moved into the direction of the Earther next to Stoker.

She'd seen Izzy once before. But that had been through a radio transmission. It was different seeing her in person now. She was taller than Charley and her hair a much lighter colour. Golden almost. Her eyes were a bright blue and her lips well defined. She'd been very bold in her approach but also polite when they first met. As if she was trying to prove something.

But that wasn't what had thrown Carbine off when she first laid eyes upon the woman. It were multiple things really, things which brought up questions and she wanted some answers before Stoker was about to run away from her again with Izzy.

"Izzy, I would like to have a quick word with Stoker. Just for a second." Carbine asked her.

"What? Again? Carbine, we just,-" Stoker protested immediately but Izzy cut him off.

"Not a problem, General Carbine." Izzy said, gently placing her hand on Stoker's arm. "I'll wait outside."

Stoker watched as Izzy left the room. After the door had closed again, he turned to his niece with a sour look. "This better be worth it. You've taken up enough of my time already."

"Don't be such a baby." Carbine retorted as she sat down upon her desk. "This is serious."

"You know, you always say that and then you,-"

Carbine took a deep breath. "I noticed you marked her." She quickly said.

Stoker paused and blinked. "I,-"

"I see I'm right." The general sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "This is unbelievable. I can't believe you did that." She pushed herself off the desk and began to pace around the room.

"Marking a female. An Earther. Are you out of your damn mind?" Her voice raised the more she spoke. "You have known her for what, a month? And already you placed your mark upon her?"

Stoker scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I do not see the big deal here. We are a match, Carbine. She is the one for me. Look, I'm sorry if you disagree with my choice as a partner, but this is my life and my choice. You have no idea what happened to me back on Earth."

"Oh, I have some idea alright." Carbine replied interrupting him yet again.

"Scuse me?"

"Throttle told me what happened. How you went insane when you first met her. That her scent knocked you off your senses and that you behaved irrational for most of the time."

Stoker couldn't believe what he was hearing. Throttle had told her what now? "Wow. I can't believe he did that." The hazel mouse averted his gaze with disbelief.

He wondered when it was exactly that Throttle had spoken with Carbine or the nerve he had of talking about him to her, especially regarding his relationship or anything else. He raised his finger and pointed it at Carbine.

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

Carbine arched an eyebrow. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Hey, not up to me to tell you." Stoker replied as he raised his hands defensively. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have someone important to go to."

And with that said, Stoker turned around and left a confused looking Carbine alone in her office.

Chicago

Agent Kirk Burrows looked up at the impressive building in front of him. He had a meeting with Lawrence Lactavius Limburger for the second time that week. The first time was because he got a call from the CEO himself, informing him that he had a golden tip regarding the death of Charles Morden, owner of Dreamland.

Kirk Burrows already had a list of possible suspects regarding the murder, but so far all of them had an alibi. Even the ones who Burrows knew were overjoyed with the death of the man. Two days ago he had arrived at the tower, which gave of an eerie vibe despite its size and grandeur.

He remembered entering the office for the first time. A ridiculous large fish tank adorned the east side of the room. Species of fish he'd never even seem before. The room was big, but for the lack of furniture made it seem even more so. Lawrence Limburger arrived about ten minutes late, already causing Burrows to dislike the business tycoon from the start.

But the man did get to the point quickly, as if he had more important matters to deal with. Which he probably did. Limburger was not a friend of Morden, Burrows knew that much. He honestly had no idea what the reasoning was for the man to offer a twenty-thousand dollar reward on any tips which could help finding the killer, but Burrows was thankful for it. Because for the first time in two weeks the case was finally moving again.

Limburger had pulled out two photographs for the agent. One of a woman and another of a man with two women standing next to him. The man in the picture was unfamiliar to him, though the name did ring a bell after Limburger had told him. The auburn haired woman standing beside him was his sister, Charley Davidson. And she owned the Last Chance Garage in the city. Another place he was familiar with, but had never visited.

Burrows initially did not understand what the Davidson family had to do with Morden's death. As it turned out, the woman named Charley had nothing to do with it, because the second picture Limburger had given to him, depicted a different woman. According to Limburger she was the wife of Samuel Davidson and the person who this was all about.

Strangely enough, Limburger did not know the woman. Had no name or address to give him. The only thing he could tell Burrows, was that she used to work for Morden for a couple of months and that she'd recently resurfaced in the city. It wasn't much to go by, but Burrows needed to come with something and any form of information was welcome.

Not to mention that he'd already questioned every person who worked at the club Morden owned, and Isabel Davidson née Dashwood was the only one who had not been on his list. It was something he was going to check out for sure. But the trace had gone dry incredibly quickly. He learned her name from one of the girls at the club, as well as a resume on her stored in the archives they kept of all the staff members.

But it was his visit to Charley Davidson that told him a bit more, although that also hadn't resulted into too much. The only thing, and rather important thing, he did discover thanks to that, was that the owner of the Last Chance Garage knew more about her sister-in-law than she showed. Her answers had been vague and he doubted that a falling out could be the reason for Isabel Davidson to leave the country.

But when she mentioned the argument had been over a guy and that it had been a week since they last saw each other, Burrows took a gamble and went to check out motels and hotels in the area as Charley could not provide him with an address.

After having visited about eleven motels, he finally found one that recognized the picture of Isabel and it had been a little over a week since the owner had last seen her. She wasn't a stranger and had stayed at the place before over the last year. Burrows asked if the owner remembered what room she'd stayed in and of there was a chance there was any video footage of her.

The man had pulled out a guest register which contained every time Isabel Davidson had checked in. He hadn't been lying, she had stayed there more than once. But it was the most recent video footage which had caught her on camera that caught his interest. She hadn't been alone.

And now Burrows was once again at Limburger tower, ready to show the footage, hoping that perhaps Limburger had any idea who this tall stranger was. If not, he would have to go back to the Last Chance Garage and ask Charley. This almost felt like his last option in order to find her. There was no other way to trace her, she used cash instead of cards to pay for her stay.

After waiting for yet again a couple of minutes, just like last time. Burrows made sure no time was wasted and without saying anything, simply played the twenty second footage he had of Isabel walking across the parking lot towards her room. The broad shouldered man, dressed in a purple suit stood, there with his arms crossed and a bored look on his face as he watched it.

Limburger narrowed his beady little eyes, focusing on a particular thing which had caught his attention halfway through the footage. Agent Burrows seemed to noticed what the CEO was looking at. He zoomed in on the object of interest. It was something that he too had picked up on the first time he watched the video. Lawrence Limburger moved his seat back and stood up, his brow furrowed.

"I am not quite sure what this could be. The image it too pixelated to properly tell. But at first glance it looks like a weapon of sorts." The agent commented.

The object Burrows referred to was a long vine looking thing. It shimmered as the moon hit it. It looked like a whip, only it was definitely not made out of leather, that much was obvious even with the slight blurry image. It almost looked like metal. A metal whip. It resembled some sort of weaponry alright.

But unlike Agent Burrows, Limburger was almost a hundred percent sure that he knew what he was looking at. More precisely, who. The large man leaned forward and pressed a small button next to the intercom phone on his desk.

"Oh, Karbunkle?" He called.

A static noise was the only reply. Limburger cleared his throat and pressed the button again. "My dearest Doctor?"

No reply. The fish gritted his teeth and inhaled deeply through his nose. " KARBUNKLE!"

The white noise finally changed and a voice sounded from the other side. High, raspy and slightly cackling. "Yes, your excellence?"

"Would you be so kind to show yourself in my office? There is something I need your opinion on." Limburger asked, his voice changing back into a calm and steady pace.

He needed the doctor's opinion. Although needed was a big word. Limburger recognized that metallic object anywhere, but he wanted to know for sure. Karbunkle replied, saying he would be upstairs within a second.

"A doctor?" Burrows asked. It struck him as rather odd that Lawrence Limburger called for a doctor in the middle of their conversation.

"He's more than a doctor, I assure you. An extra pair of eyes might just be what we need in this case." Limburger replied as he pulled a drawer open and took out a remote.

At that very moment, Karbunkle appeared in the office. Burrows observed the skinny and pale looking man. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of green goggles and a short mop of reddish hair adorned the top of his head. This guy could not be a medical doctor, that much was certain. Burrows wasn't thrown off guard quickly, but this person managed to raise a lot of red flags.

"You called, your loathsome cheesiness?" The thin man asked.

Limburger didn't reply, instead he pointed the remote at a large monitor on the wall across from all of them and the image Burrows had shown him, appeared on the screen. Karbunkle stepped closer, ignoring the agent completely.

The man on the screen was tall, way taller than the female. He was wearing a biker helmet, obscuring what he looked like. The woman approached him and it was obvious from the way he moved closer to her that there was a certain relationship between them. He stroked the side of her face with his hand and the whip lying behind him flicked a little.

A chuckle came from the doctor, pulling Burrows back to reality. "Oh my,-" Karbunkle snickered.

"Is that who I think it is, good doctor?" Limburger arched an eyebrow.

"It is indeed." He replied.

Limburger's mouth formed a broad smirk and a deep rumble sounded from his throat, within a second the low chuckle turned into a hearty laugh. He finally stopped and took in a deep breath. "Excellent. Simply excellent."

Burrows was at a loss here. Limburger seemed to recognise the man in the picture. But his response was odd, Burrows felt as if he was missing the clue to a bad joke. Limburger's behaviour triggered the already present suspicion he had, that the guy did not really care for finding Morden's murderer.

However, Burrows was obligated to find this Isabel and something told him, purely based on the way the stranger in the video behaved, that he would most certainly find the woman if he also went looking for that guy. Lawrence Limburger might not know anything about her, but it seemed he most certainly did regarding the tall male.

"You know the man in the footage?" He asked.

"I would not call him a man, but yes." Limburger answered.

Burrows frowned with surprise, he had not expected an honest answer from the CEO. He opened his jacket and pulled out a little notepad. "Care to elaborate on that statement, Mr. Limburger?"

Limburger folded his hands together, grinned and walked back to his desk. "I'm afraid there is not much to tell. We have met in the past. Seeing him here, in Chicago is...surprising."

He turned his attention to the doctor all of a sudden. "Could the craft you saw a week ago be his?"

"Most likely, your smelling lord of fungus."

Burrows had no idea what was going on, ignoring the incredibly insulting way the skinny creep spoke to the owner of Limburger Tower, he stepped in front of the desk and placed his hands on top of its surface.

"Mr. Limburger, if you do not tell me right this minute what you know about this man in that footage. I'm afraid I'm going to have to put you under arrest for withholding important information regarding a murder case."

The upper right corner of Limburger's mouth twitched. He was far from impressed with threat the agent just threw his way. Again he ignored Burrows and looked at Karbunkle.

"It would appear we have two options. It could still be here-" He paused, his expression changed and his voice lowered. "Or already there."

"Mr. Limburger!" Burrows hadn't felt this agitated in a long time. "I'm sorry, but I'll be taking you down to the station for further questioning,-"

But Limburger interrupted him. "Oh, no, no, that will not be necessary. You see, I have a very good idea where that...man...might be."

That was exactly what Burrows needed to know. He straightened himself and placed the notepad back into his inner pocket. "By all means, I am listening."

Limburger smiled and stood up. "Come, agent Burrows. I'll show you exactly where I think he might be."

Together, with doctor Karbunkle in tow, they headed out of the office and through another door at the end of the corridor. It was a rather weird looking room. There was some sort of cubicle in the centre of the room, with a control panel and yet another monitor beside it. Burrows furrowed his brow as he threw a glance around the place.

The eerie and clinical atmosphere did not sit well with him. "I believe this is as far as I will go." He stopped midway and waited for Limburger to halt as well, but he continued walking until he reached the monitor.

"Do not worry, agent Burrows. This is mainly the elevator which will take us downstairs to the ground floor. I won't be telling you anything here, we can do that back at the station."

The man sounded anything but sincere, but Burrows was more than happy to get out of there. He made his way over to the circular cubicle. It was the weirdest looking elevator he had ever seen before. Nonetheless he stepped inside and waited for Limburger to join him.

In the meantime, Karbunkle had joined his boss and started to press a couple of buttons on the control panel. Suddenly the ground started to shake and a loud bang sounded from the outside. As a reflex Burrows reached for his gun and not a minute too soon. A large explosion came from the other side and the large metal doors they'd walked through earlier flew off their hinges and went across the air. Burrows's eyes widened as two motorcycles rode into the room. What was going on now? The guys at the office were not going to believe any of this.

"Great, that's all we needed. Vermin." Limburger grumbled as he stepped away from Karbunkle.

The two motorcyclist stopped a couple of feet away from and they opened their visors. "Going somewhere?" Throttle commented as he placed his hand on his thigh. "Hope we're not interrupted anything."

"What are you two doing here? Don't you have anything better to do other than ruining once again parts of my building?" Limburger replied as he rolled his eyes.

"You can drop the innocent act, fish face. We're hear to ask a couple of questions." Vinnie said. "Regarding a certain reward you're so generously handing out."

Who were these two men? As far as Burrows could tell, based on what they were saying, they were here for the reward? Burrows had warned Limburger in the beginning that offering such a high amount of money might draw an unwanted crowd and a dangerous one at that. It seemed his prediction was coming true right before his very eyes. He stepped out of the cubicle with his gun drawn.

"Step aside, Mr Limburger. I'll handle this." He said calmly.

"Whose the suit?" The white mouse turned to Throttle who shrugged.

Limburger cleared his throat. "Agent Burrows, I'd like you to meet two of the most annoying creatures in the universe. The Biker mice from Mars." He motioned in their direction.

Immediately the two Martians looked at each other. "Did he say 'Burrows'?"

Throttle nodded. "He did."

"You think it's the guy who harassed Charley?"

"Excuse me?" Burrows raised his voice, surprised as they mentioned miss Davidson. "Harassed?"

Limburger let out a sigh of frustration. "Honestly, I'd love to stay and chat. But I have an important meeting to attend to." He turned towards Karbunkle and twirled his finger.

"Right away, your stinking mouldiness." He flipped the switch and pressed a button.

"Agent Burrows, we are in a hurry here. I suggest you go on ahead and I will handle everything else. I'll meet you at the station...as soon as it convenient for me."

Before Burrows realised what was happening, Limburger pushed him back into the cubicle. The agent hit the wall of the elevator hard and fell to the ground. He rolled over onto his side and watched as Lawrence Limburger walked away.

"Don't worry too much about him." Limburger shouted at Throttle and Vinnie. He stepped next to Karbunkle and straightened his tie. "He won't bother anyone again." A rumbling laugh escaped him as Karbunkle cackled alongside him. Suddenly the floor around them moved and the disappeared out of sight.

"Seems like we caught him in the middle of something." Throttle commented as he grabbed the handlebars of his bike. "We better get the man out of there."

Without giving it any second thought, the white mouse nodded at his bro. He moved his leg back up and raced forward towards the confused looking agent. Burrows watched as a bright red bike came for him, he moved back and searched for his weapon, but it was nowhere to be found. A weird humming noise buzzed around him. The motorcycle entered the tall circular cubicle and stopped in front of him.

"Hop on!" He ordered.

"Who are you?" The agent furrowed his brow. But then he lowered his eyes and they widened as he noticed the long thing and white appendage attached to the lower back side of the man on the motorcycle. Hadn't Limburger just used the term...mice?

He looked back up again. "What are you?"

The noise increased and the inside of the cubicle began to glow.

"Vincent, get out of there!" Throttle suddenly yelled towards his bro.

But as he did, a glass door dropped down within the transportation device. He'd seen this before. In fact, he'd been on the other side of it before. Plutarkian glass steel. Vinnie was going to be transported somewhere along with that agent Burrows. Immediately he rode towards them and activated his nuke-chucks.

"Stand back!" He shouted as he retracted his arm before smashing his fist against the glass. But nothing happened.

"Ah, no, not this again!" Vinnie groaned as he moved forward. This was not the type of action he was looking for. Shooting? For sure. High risk factors? Definitely. But being transported to who knows where? A thrill he was not interested in. Not today.

"Blast the damn controls, Throttle!" He suggested.

But Throttle shook his head. "Last time we did that, the whole thing exploded. Let me see if I can abort the,-"

The humming reached its peak and the tanned mouse cringed as his fur tingled. A bright light flashed through the room and Throttle raised his arm to cover his eyes. It was too late. Him and Vinnie both knew what was about to happen.

A bang echoed and then followed by an absolute silence. Throttle lowered his arm and looked straight ahead at the transporter.

"No, no, no!" He uttered under his breath.

Agent Burrows and Vinnie were gone.

Goodbye Vinnie and goodbye Agent Burrows... now where could they be?

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