Thank you so much for your kind words, SpaceFlora. Really appreciate it :)

So, next chapter. It's a long chapter. Hope you guys like it! Enjoy ^^

Chapter thirty two

"She's waking up…"
Kiwi heard Throttle's husky voice. She slowly opened her eyes. Why was she lying on the floor? That was the first thing that popped up in her head. She blinked a few times and tried to lift her head, but her neck was so stiff, she hardly could. She moaned in pain, but her voice was hoarse. What the…
Ah. She remembered. She totally lost her shit last night. Fuck. And now the mice had found her on the floor. Great.
"Sweetheart…", Vinnie whispered, slowly helping her upright. "What happened?"
She felt his strong arms around her. She smelled his scent. She looked up and saw his beautiful red ruby eyes, filled with concern. She saw Throttle kneeling down next to him and Modo standing in the doorway.
"W-what time is it?", she whispered.
Vinnie looked a little confused at this question, but decided to answer it.
"Two in the afternoon…"
Kiwi's head jerked up, but she wished she didn't. A sharp pain jolted through her spine.
"What? Oh my god, you guys must be starving. Let me make breakfast for you!" and she tried to get up, but Vinnie stopped her.
"Sweetheart, as much as I love to say yes to that offer, since I'm starving indeed… You need to give us some answers…"
She squeezed her eyes, shaking her head. She couldn't tell them. She opened her eyes again and saw the bottle of pills lying broken on the floor. Broken. Shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Break him…", she whispered, without thinking.
"What's that?" Vinnie gently lifted her head and forced her to look at him.
"Nothing. I eh… I would love to give you answers, but I have absolutely no idea what happened… I'm just as surprised as you…"
Throttle studied her face. He didn't believe her. His gaze lowered and he saw her knuckles.
"What happened to your hands?", he asked.
He knew perfectly well what happened, because he recognized these kinda injuries. That's what you get when you punch someone, or something, over and over again. It made your skin split open like a rotten tomato. But he wanted her to say it out loud.
Vinnie also looked at her hands. He was feeling so confused right now. What the hell was wrong with her? What the hell happened here last night? He had a nagging feeling he knew what this was about, but he didn't want to jump into conclusions.
Kiwi stared at her hands and saw a image of herself punching the wall. Over and over again. God…
"I eh… I don't know…"
Throttle rubbed his chin. Something was wrong. Very wrong. But she didn't want to tell them. Obviously.
Vinnie sighed and gently tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Let's get you into the shower, doll. Come on."
Throttle nodded at Vinnie and left the room with Modo.
"We'll take care of breakfast, Kiwi. Take your time", the tan furred mouse said before he closed the door.

Vinnie let out a heavy sigh and pushed his girl softly towards the bathroom. She didn't protest. She didn't say anything. She just let him push her into the right direction, doing what he wanted like a zombie. Vinnie's worry grew. He closed the door behind them and turned on the shower. He turned around and faced Kiwi. She was staring right through him. He gently took off her clothes and he cupped her head in his hands.
"Sweetheart… Please, talk to me… I know it's hard.. You know I do... "
Kiwi didn't respond. She just inhaled his scent. It made her feel calmer. From the inside.
Vinnie softly rubbed her cheeks, wiping away her tears with his thumbs.
"You know you can talk to me, right? I know I'm not that good with having serious conversations, but something is eating you and I wanna help you… I wanna take care of you… But you need to let me in…"
And when she still didn't react, he took a deep breath.
"...Kiwi…"
He said her name.
Her eyes widened and she now looked him in the eye. And without thinking, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He grabbed her, to avoid she was gonna fall down again. Her hands grabbed his head and for a moment, they looked into each other's eyes. She could see his burning desire. But also still worry. And she could tell he knew she was doing this to distract him. And she also could tell he was gonna let her distract him. Because he needed her. And she needed him. Tears filled her eyes and she kissed him. Roughly. Like a wild animal. She just had lost control over herself in only one night. He kissed her back eagerly and she moaned his name. He let her go, still kissing her. She ripped off his sweatpants and he lifted her again.
He carried her to the shower and the warm water only fired her desire even more. Vinnie pressed her against the wall, his mouth still claiming hers. He was breathing heavily, also losing control. His lips made his way to her ear and he set his teeth in her earlobe.
Hard.
Fire jolted through her body. She untangled herself and kissed his neck, his chest, his belly… She kneeled down and took him in her mouth. He breathed in sharply, his hands grabbed her hair and pulled on it.
Hard.
But she hardly noticed. When she felt he was close to his peak, she stopped and he grabbed her and turned her around. He forced her to bend over and made his way inside. He grabbed her hips and pushed her against him. She let out a soft scream, supporting herself against the wall. She felt one hand slowly making its way between her legs and when he touched her, she just couldn't hold it any more. She squeezed her eyes and clenched her teeth to keep the scream inside while a wave of pleasure flooded her. Her legs started to shake, but he didn't stop. He only moved faster.
Oh god.
She felt the pressure building up again. She was breathing heavily, and she could hear Vinnie was close to his peak too. Again, the wave flooded her and she felt Vinnie tense too. And then, all of a sudden, it was over.

They were both breathing heavily and Vinnie let her go. He leaned against the wall and slid down, dragging her with him. She sat down next to him. For a moment, they were only sitting on the floor, under the warm water. Kiwi took a few deep breaths. She felt dizzy. Gosh. That was amazing. Again. She wondered if having sex with Vinnie was gonna get boring one day. But she knew that was never gonna happen. Because nothing is boring with that white furred loudmouth around. She slowly turned her head and looked at him. He felt her gaze and crooked his head, so he could look down on her. He had this mischievous glance in his eyes and his lips were curled into that smile she loved so much. His fur was soaked, but it made him even more sexy.
But then, his smile vanished. The look in his eyes suddenly changed into something else. Concern.
Shit. So far for distraction. Kiwi lowered her head, staring at the floor.
Vinnie cleared his throat.
"Listen, sweetheart. I'm not gonna force you to talk about something you don't wanna. But just know you can always talk to me. Whenever you're ready, okay?"
She looked up at him again. That's right. This was the exact reason they fitted so well together. Because they both knew how it was if someone was forcing you to talk about something you didn't want to talk about. He knew. So, he gave her space. As she had gave him space when he needed it. He knew, they both knew, that talking sometimes made things worse. Made it even more real. It made the demons real.
She gave him a small smile and grabbed his hand.
"Thank you…"
Vinnie squeezed her hand and gave her a sad smile back.
"As long as you know Throttle isn't gonna let you get away with this that easily. So, come up with something. The truth, or, if you're not ready, something else."
She stared at him. Was he really gonna be okay with her lying to his bro and leader? But then she smiled. Of course he was. It was Vinnie after all. And he loved her. He would do anything to protect her. She crawled against him and he swung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer with a heavy sigh.
"The things I do for love…", she heard him mutter under his breath.
"I know, right…", she whispered back.

Kiwi walked into the kitchen, with Vinnie close behind her, but then she stopped death in her tracks.
"Ruby!", she called out surprised.
The red headed woman was sitting at the kitchen table next to Modo and Throttle. When she saw Kiwi, she rose on her feet.
"Hey girl", she said softly and pulled Kiwi in a hug. Kiwi hesitated, but then hugged her back. Ruby untangled herself and studied Kiwi's face, who was looking back suspiciously.
"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"
"I called her", Throttle said, before Ruby could answer the question. Kiwi stared at Throttle.
"What? Why?"
"You obviously need help. And if you don't wanna talk to us, I figured maybe Ruby can make you talk."
Kiwi sighed and gave Vinnie a pleading look. But he looked back with a apologetic look. There was nothing he could do for her right now. She sighed.
Ruby rubbed her arm.
"Kiwi, you know you need to talk about what is going on in your head. You know what happens if you don't…"
"Yeah, yeah. Then I'll become depressed again. I know, I know. Same old, same old", Kiwi said annoyed.
Dammit. There was no way she was gonna tell them. They would stop her. But she needed to know. She needed to know who killed her parents and she needed to break him. That was the only way to make her able to move on with her life. But she needed to give them something. Like Vinnie said. If you're not ready to tell the truth, come up with something else.
"Listen, guys. You're all overreacting. I just couldn't sleep. And so I needed my pills again and that made me so angry. It's just… they give me the feeling of failure. And it's also a constant reminder about what happened. So, I took the pills but then I just lost it for a moment. But I'm fine. Jesus, can't a girl just have a slight relapse once in a while?"
Ruby studied her. Kiwi was staring at the floor, her shoulders pulled up, her hands making nervous movements… She was lying. Obviously. Ruby gently took her hands.
"And so you also decided to hit something?", she asked nonchalant, looking at the damaged knuckles.
Kiwi sighed heavily and pulled back her hands.
"Yes. Although I hardly can remember."
"Sit down, lemme clean those wounds for ya", the red headed woman ordered and when she saw Kiwi wanted to protest, she shook her head with determination.
"No buts, young lady. SIT!"
Kiwi did what she said and sat down.
Vinnie was still standing next to the doorway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was still only wearing his sweatpants and his fur was still wet. He gave Throttle a quick look, but the tan furred mouse was focussed on Kiwi. His poor girl. There was obviously something very wrong with her. And he had the nagging feeling where this was about. He knew Throttle had too. It wasn't that long ago that his bro and leader came to him to tell him he was worried about Kiwi. That she was way too relaxed after her outburst of anger when Ruby had told her the truth about her parents. But as usual, Vinnie had waved it away. Because as usual, he had felt that uncomfortable feeling he always felt when someone wanted to talk about feelings and stuff. The panic to be forced to open up. To be vulnerable.
Sure, he was trying the best he could. He had opened up a lot more since they were on Earth as when they were living on Mars. But maybe he'd made a mistake. He wrinkled his nose. A mistake. Gosh, that sounded so much like failure. And he was Vinnie van Wham. He never failed. But still…
Maybe he needed to set his own fears and demons aside to help his girl. But he just couldn't. He knew damn well how she was feeling right now. And he knew how annoying, terrifying and oh right, annoying it was when someone was forcing you to do something that scared the hell outta you. He gritted his teeth.
Dammit. Life could be so fucking difficult sometimes. Where were the times he just could blow up things to solve his problems? Or to make sure he had enough adrenaline rushes to make sure the emotions weren't taking over? Ugh…
But even with this whole debate in his head, he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't gonna throw Kiwi in front of a group of hungry lions. It was her choice if she wanted to talk about it. A soft voice, deep down in his brains, told him he needed to do everything to protect her. Everything. Even if that meant she was gonna feel betrayed by him. Even if that meant she was gonna leave him. But you see, that just was the whole problem. He was selfish. He always had been. He didn't want to lose her. He just couldn't. He needed her. So badly.
So, he just stood there, watching the scene and for once, quiet as a mouse.

Kiwi was staring at her hands, looking how Ruby was cleaning her knuckles. The alcohol gave her the feeling as if her hands were on fire, but she hardly noticed. She was thinking how she was gonna find out more about the Shadow Hunters. And she realised, the key to that puzzle was sitting next to her and cleaning her wounds. But she couldn't take the risk to ask her. She couldn't take the risk to trust her. It was important the mice never found out. Because if they did, they would never let her outta their sight, ever again.
She could feel herself slowly turning back into that closed, cold person she was when they met. And she hated herself for it. For shutting them out. Especially Vinnie. But there wasn't a choice right now. And she needed to find out where the Shadow Hunters were stationed. And there was only one person who could lead her to it. She needed a GPS tracker. That was the safest option. Following Ruby wasn't. What if she caught her? Plus, the mice were never gonna let her go out after this. So, a GPS tracker it is then.

Ruby wrapped a bandage around her hands.
"There. All done. Leave the bandage for about three days, after that, let it dry and heal without anything on it, okay?"
Kiwi nodded.
"Yeah. Thanks, Ruby. Really."
Ruby nodded.
Kiwi faked a big yawn.
"Guys, I'm exhausted. If you don't mind, I'm gonna go back to bed…"
They obviously did mind, but they didn't know what to say to stop her.
Vinnie pushed himself off the wall.
"I'll walk with ya, sweetheart", he said.
But she shook her head, and the look on his face almost broke her heart.
"No need, Vin. I'm fine. I just wanna sleep."
He narrowed his eyes, but then he only nodded, crossing his arms before his chest again. She quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek and waved at the rest, before she made her hasty retreat, tears in her eyes.

Throttle sighed. This was bad. She now even was shutting Vinnie out. He looked at Ruby.
"This must have something to do with her parents. She was way too relaxed."
Ruby slowly nodded.
"Yeah, but honestly… can you blame her? I totally understands she wants to know who killed her parents…"
"And then what? Kill him?", Vinnie snapped at her, still leaning against the wall. He felt rejected. And he hated that feeling. It made him angry. And now, Ruby was gonna pay the price.
Ruby looked at the white furred mouse, a little surprised look on her face. Modo lay his hand over hers to stop her and gave Vinnie a warning look. Vinnie put his chin in the air and Modo sighed. No way his younger bro was gonna back down. Oh momma... This was gonna be one hell of a day…
"Vincent, chill. Ruby, I also understands she wants to know, but given her previous reaction, my guess it's better she doesn't. The anger is obviously too much for her. She is gonna do something stupid if she finds out. And that can also bring her into danger." Throttle looked at Ruby.
"Well, yeah, but… Don't you guys think the murderer needs to be punished for what he did?", she asked at the tan furred mouse.
"Maybe. But selling him out to the government is outta the question. They know about Limburger, I just know it. Plutarkians are good at politic games. They use money to get what they want. You'll be surprised what people do for money... I've seen it happen. The government of Mars just sold them our planet. Our home. No way Earthers are any different. So, how exactly are we gonna punish this anonymouse killer?"
Ruby smiled.
"Did you just said anonymouse? That's cute, really", but then her face grew serious again.
"Okay, I'll get your point. The only way to punish him, is to kill him."
"Right. And that's something we just ain't do", Modo added.
"Why not? You guys are soldiers? People die in war. How is this any different?"
Vinnie pushed himself off the wall and walked to the table, his eyes fuming.
"People who die on a battlefield is not the same as looking someone in the eye and pulling the trigger. Trust me, I know, sweetheart. Is that what you want for Kiwi? Turn her into a murderer? It's not gonna make her feel any better. It's gonna tear her up."
He leaned on the table and looked Ruby in the eye, a threatening but also challenging look in his eyes.
But Ruby didn't even flinch. She looked back, also challenging.
"And how do you know what's good for her? You're not really a good example how to deal with certain things, are you?"
She didn't want to say that. But it just happened. She didn't liked to be challenged.
Throttle and Modo looked carefully at Vinnie, ready to intervene. The white furred mouse was obviously upset and he behaved very unpredictable when he was. Vinnie narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth again. The tip of his tail started to twitch.
But the words that came outta his mouth, surprised them all.
"That's the exact reason why I know what's best for her. Because I don't want her to be like me…"
Ruby's face softened.
Modo and Throttle shared a quick look. There were still so many things they didn't know about their white furred bro. About his past. About his deeds. Why he'd become like he was now. They only knew about Jester. But there was more to it. Obviously.
"So, what do you suggest, then?", Ruby asked, still looking at Vinnie. The latter relaxed a little and dropped on a chair with a heavy sigh.
"I dunno… I just wish you never told her…"
A deadly silence.
"She had the right to know…"
"Maybe she did. But she was doing okay. She was starting to feel happy again. Until you told her. That's all I know… Ruby." He added her name with a derogatory tone in his voice.
"Okay, Vincents, that's enough. You made your point", Throttle quickly intervened. He knew his younger bro well enough to know what direction this conversation was gonna take.
"Why don't we all let it sink in, think about it and keep a close eye on Kiwi ma'am in the meantime?", Modo suggested, still holding Ruby's hand.
"I guess that's the only thing we can do right now…", Throttle sighed. The rest agreed. Vinnie climbed on his feet.
"I'm gonna go for a…" For a ride, he wanted to say. But he saw the look on Throttle's face. Okay. It was obvious his older bro didn't want him to be out alone, riding on a bike with enough firepower to destroy the whole city. As if he would do that. Well… Maybe… Sometimes these kinda things just happened to him. He still hadn't figured out why. Maybe it had something to do with his lack of self control. And his ability to get carried away.
"Nap. Yeah. I'm gonna go for a nap", Vinnie quickly said and left to the guesthouse.
Throttle shook his head. He looked at Modo and Ruby and also stood up.
"I'm gonna go read more of those journals Flo left us. Thanks for coming over, Ruby. We'll keep a close eye on her, okay? I promise."
Ruby hesitated.
"Listen, Throttle? It's not that I don't trust you, but maybe I can stay here for a while? You know, to also keep an eye on her? I eh…"
Throttle held up his hand to stop her.
"Sure thing, Ruby. You care about her. You don't need to explain."
"Thanks, Throttle."
The tan furred mouse nodded and walked away, leaving Ruby and Modo alone.
"Are you okay, Ruby?", Modo asked softly, rubbing her hand with his thumb. Ruby stared at it.
"To be honest, I don't know. Maybe Vinnie's right. Maybe I never should have told her…"
"Don't feel bad about it, this ain't your fault. You thought you were doing the right thing and you never knew she was gonna react like this."
"No, but still…"
Modo gently wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. She let him and leaned against his strong, muscular body. It felt good. She was a fighter. She always had been. A woman who was strong, independent and solving her problems by her own. But she had to admit, it felt good to just lean against someone. Someone strong. Who supported her. She was used to doing things by herself. But having someone standing by her side… Well, maybe she could get used to that too…

Meanwhile, Kiwi wasn't sleeping. No surprise there. She was working to make a small GPS tracker by using a old phone. All she had to do was to take the GPS system out of it and place it into a small box. The box wasn't bigger then a coin and she quickly connected the tracker to her phone. Easy peasy.
When she was done, she tiptoed downstairs and heard Modo's heavy voice softly rumbling, interspersed with Ruby's soft voice. No husky voice. No sexy and low voice. Throttle and Vinnie were obviously somewhere else. Good. She sneaked into the living room, knowing the spot where Ruby always dropped her bag. She just hoped this was the bag she also brought with her when she was going to work. But that's a risk she gotta take.
Kiwi opened the bag and cut a small hole in the lining. She let the small tracker slide into the hole and quickly closed it again with some glue. All done.
She quickly walked back up and locked herself into her room. With a heavy sigh she dropped on the bed and before she even could process it, she fell asleep.

Vinnie was lying listless on the couch on his belly. The tv was flickering in his face, but he wasn't watching. He was deep in thoughts. Things were so outta control all of a sudden. A thing he normally had no a problem with. But this whole thing with Kiwi…
Dammit. That she refused to let him walk her to her room looked like a innocent incident. Where he normally wouldn't react on in the way he did now. But it was the look in her eyes who had told him she was pushing him away. And that was the thing that made him upset. He let out a heavy sigh. He was so not good at this. He had no idea what to do. Because he somehow understood why she did it. Because he would've done the same. It was a defending mechanism that he learned himself since he was 16. Pushing people away before they could get too close. That was a long time ago. Ugh. What a depressive thoughts for his usual joyful brain.
The door opened. A gust of wind made him shiver, since his fur was still wet. Ugh. It always took so long till he was dry. The door closed again. Vinnie's sensitive hearing could hear footsteps coming closer. He recognized them as Throttle's.
Oh boy.
The tan furred mouse dropped on the other couch. He snatched the remote outta Vinnie's hand with his tail and turned off the tv.
"Bro, I was watching that…", Vinnie protested, but even in his own ears it sounded weak. He knew Throttle wanted to talk. But honestly… He didn't…
But he just didn't had the strength to walk away.
"No, you weren't. Vincent…", but Vinnie interrupted him.
"We need to talk. Yeah, yeah, I figured…"
"What did she tell you?"
Vinnie blushed, he just couldn't help himself. Luckily he was still lying in the same position and Throttle couldn't see it.
"Nothing. She told me nothing."
"And what did you tell her?"
"That she could talk to me whenever she's ready."
"That's it? That's all that's been said while you were in that bathroom?"
"Honestly, bro, you really don't want me answer that question…"
Throttle shook his head. Of course. It was Vinnie. Stupid question indeed.
"Ahum, right. So ehm… Just so you know, Ruby is gonna stay with us for a while. She's worried about Kiwi too. So… Are you okay with that?"
Vinnie shrugged, as far as that was possible in his position.
"As if I have something to say about that…"
"Vincent, what is up with you, man? This whole attitude of yours, being this introvert… It doesn't suit you."
"I'm just tired, bro. How's Carbine? Saw she managed to send you a letter."
"Rose killed herself."
Throttle closed his mouth. Shit. That wasn't supposed to come out. But as usual, he lost his patience. Talking with Vinnie about this shit was just so exhausting. But it did took Vinnie's attention. T
he white furred mouse jerked upright and his head popped up from behind the armrest.
"Say what?"
Throttle sighed.
"Rose is dead. That's what was in Carbine's letter. And Rimfire made it safe back home."
"That's it? That's all that she wrote?", Vinnie asked, his ruby red eyes narrowed.
Throttle gave him a smile.
"You really don't want me answer that question, bro."
Vinnie stared at him for a moment, but then smiled back.
"Fair enough."
"Don't let her push you away, Vinnie. Just… don't."
Vinnie's ears drooped a little and he almost wanted to say something macho and all, but he suddenly realized it wasn't gonna help him.
"It's her choice, Throttle. I'm not gonna force her to talk. Never", he said shortly, giving his tan furred bro a meaningful look.
Throttle suddenly wasn't sure if they were still talking about Kiwi.
"Not even if it can help her?"
"No. Never."
And with this words, Vinnie dropped back on his belly again. The message was loud and clear. This conversation was over.

"What's this, Kiwi?"
Kiwi looked at the small thing that Ruby lay on the table in front of her.
A few day had past. Kiwi had avoided the mice and Ruby as much as she could. She even hadn't talked to Vinnie. But now, the mice were on patrol and Ruby was standing in front of her, confronting her with the GPS tracker. Shit. She must have found it.
Fuck.
She looked up at Ruby and the look on the red headed woman's face struck her with pain. Disappointment. Gosh, she hated that look. Tears filled her eyes while shame flooded her.
"I eh… God, Ruby… I'm so sorry…"
"So, you're not gonna deny the fact it was you who put it in my bag?"
Kiwi shook her head, her gaze lowered.
"H-how did you find out?", she asked with a shaky voice. Ruby let out a laugh, but it wasn't one of joy.
"Really, Kiwi. I work for the most secret department of the government. You really think I just walk in with a GPS tracker in my bag without someone noticing it?"
Kiwi's head jerked up, suddenly scared. And somehow angry on herself she hadn't been watching the tracker when Ruby was at her work. No she still had no idea where she worked.
"Shit, Ruby, it didn't give you trouble at work, I hope? I would hate myself if…', but Ruby held up her hand.
"Don't worry. The security is a good friend of mine. Anyway, it's time we talk. And I want you to be honest. What is your plan?"
"M-m-my plan?"
"Yeah, your plan to find out who killed your parents. Duh. It's obvious, Kiwi. So, tell me."
Kiwi studied Ruby's face, but the disappointment was gone. There was only… interest.
"Well, first I… Ruby, why do you wanna know? You don't want me to go after him, right?"
Ruby studied her nails.
"The mice don't want you go after him. I never said I agree with them… You know, I was so surprised that night, when we had that second dinner, when you told me you were fine with it. That it wasn't gonna change anything… It's just nothing like you. But it seemed you made up your mind. So why would I force you to do something you didn't thought was necessary anymore? Plus, the mice were very clear. I was gonna risk my life if I would continue my search… But you need to know one thing; I'll do everything for you. Including risking my life. If you're searching for peace, if knowing who did it helps you find it, then I will help you."
Kiwi's eyes filled with tears while listening to her friend.
"Ruby, I don't know what to say, I…"
"Well, why don't you start with telling your plan."
Kiwi smiled, despite the situation. That's Ruby for ya.
"I eh… I wanted to figure out where you work. If I know, I can try to hack into their system…"
Ruby started laughing.
"Kiwi, come on. I just told you, it's the most secret…"
This time, it was Kiwi who interrupted her.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's getting old, you know. But I'm not just a hacker, you know? I'm the daughter of Jack Lavendor. You told me yourself. The apple didn't fall far from the tree. I know what I'm doing."
Ruby smiled, a proud glance on her face.
"You really are his daughter. God, I wish he could see you right now. He would be so proud…"
"You aren't gonna get sentimental on me now, right? Tears doesn't suit you", Kiwi teased, but lovingly.
"Oh god, no. They give you this awful headache. Listen, why don't we drive over there right now? How close do you need get?"
"Ehm, a few blocks around it should do it."
"Right. Let's do this. Right after you answer my last question. What are you gonna do when you know?"
Kiwi fell silent.
"Because I hate to say it, but I agree with the mice on that point. Killing someone is gonna tear you up. I guess they can know…And I know too. I worked with soldiers. Broken soldiers, Kiwi. I don't want that for you..."
I'm already broken, Kiwi wanted to say. But she closed her mouth and fiddled with her fingers. She couldn't tell Ruby.
"I eh… I won't go after him. I just need to know. Like you said; to find peace."
Ruby sighed.
"You're lying, I can tell. Promise me. Promise me you won't go after him and I'll do everything to help you, okay?"
Kiwi took a deep breath and looked into Ruby's eyes.
"I promise."

"Alright, let's do this."
Kiwi grabbed her laptop. They were sitting in Ruby's car closeby City Hall. Ruby had told her the Shadow Hunters operated from under there. Kiwi smiled. So she wasn't that stupid after all to suggest to go to City Hall. Kiwi looked at the red headed woman next her.
"Are you sure about this? This could cost you your job, and that's the less bad scenario…"
But Ruby shrugged.
"I'm sure. Your father wasn't the only one who made good money. I'm not gonna starve if I'll lose my job, don't worry."
"It's not the money that worries me, Ruby. You love what you do."
"Stop thinking about me. Do you thing."
Kiwi nodded. She felt like shit. The mice were on patrol. She was doing this behind their backs. And it made her feel so bad about herself. After all those times they saved her life. All the times Vinnie had risk his life to save hers. And now she was putting herself on the line. Guilt was twisting and curling in her stomach. It made her feel sick. But she needed to do this. I'm sorry guys… I'm so sorry…

After two hours of typing, thinking and bypassing firewalls, Kiwi let out a scream of excitement.
Ruby looked up startled.
"Jesus, woman! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
The red headed woman had been sleeping since hacking into a high secure department wasn't that exciting as it sounded. Actually, it was kinda boring.
"Sorry, not sorry! I'm in!", Kiwi cheered, clapping her hands.
"Okay, so now what?"
"I just need to search for my fathers files."
"Kiwi, if I knew this at the beginning I would've told you this sooner, but your father's files are deleted."
"Not in my book. They always leave a trail. The Shadow Hunters should know that. So, it's gonna be tricky. But everybody, no matter how smart, leaves a trail."
"Okay… Gosh, I'm starving. I'm gonna go grab something to eat, alright? It's already getting dark. Be right back."
"Sure thing", Kiwi answered distracted, already busy with searching into the files.
Ruby shook her head. Yep. She truly was a daughter of her father. And she stepped outta the car and closed the door with a smile.

It maybe had cost a lot of time to break in the system, but finding her father's files was easy. Ruby was only gone for ten minutes when Kiwi found the jackpot. The files were all neatly organized by date and name. God, you would've thought that if you were a mastermind hacker, you didn't organize your files by name. But her father probably had thought the files were good secured by the system. Well, he was wrong. Obviously.
She clicked on the files, one by one. Wow, this was gold. The names meant nothing to her, but every file was filled with enough information to get them into a lot of trouble. Well, most of them already were. The files that were closed meant the person was caught and in jail. Anyway, she wasn't interested in them. She needed to find the one file that cost her parents her life. Ah. There it was.
LOL.
Lawrence Octavius Limburger.
She could feel her heart beating faster and her hands turning sweaty. This is it. Was she gonna find out who killed her parents? She sure hoped. After taking a deep breath, she clicked on the file. It was almost empty and Kiwi cursed softly. But she forced herself to stay focussed and not jump into conclusions too quickly. There were two documents. One was a text document. The other one was a recorded file.
Hmmm.
She clicked on the recorded file first. This must be the tape where Ruby had told her about. She quickly grabbed her headphones and pressed play.
Rustle filled her ears. A scraping sound. And then, a voice she immediately recognized.

"Ahhhh, Chicago… Soon, this whole area will become my magnificent new Limburger industries Mega Plaza. From this central Plaza, my famous holding shall expend worldwide. Stripminin in San Francesco. Clear cutting in Cincinnati. Demolition in Detriot… And then, the whole world is mine to dig... Muawahahahaaaa"

Kiwi stared at the screen. That's it? Ah well, it was a start to know this guy was up to something. She could understand why her father was interested. She opened the text document. She quickly read it. But nothing important caught her eye.
DAMMIT.
She closed her eyes for a moment. Grab yourself together, Kiwi. You didn't came this far to give up that easily. Nobody said this was gonna be easy. Someone had found the files. So, she needed to find out who did. She started typing again. A name appeared on the screen. Only one. That was her father's boss, Blaze Ross. Ruby had told her that.
Hmmm…
Time to dig a little further.

Kiwi let out her breath. Throttle was right. It was the government. Her father's own boss had betrayed him. He had found out that her father was working on this. He'd hired someone to do the job. He didn't even had the balls to do it himself. The guy also died in the crash. So he already paid the price.
Blaze Ross...
He was taking money from the Plutarkians. And it wasn't Limburger. It was, as far as she could trace, coming straight from Plutark. Probably behind Limburgers back. No surprise there. The guy wasn't even able to stop the mice. So, Plutark's government wasn't gonna take any chances. Blaze Ross. She was staring at his name. The letters were almost jumping off the screen. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
Blaze Ross…
Her gaze lowered to his address. He was living in the same neighborhood as her. Of course he was. It was one of the richest neighborhoods in Chicago. And he was rich alright. No surprise there. The Plutarkians gave him a lot of money to keep his eyes open. To spy for them. To take care of people who found out about them. Blaze Ross…
Anger filled her veins. The anger slowly turned into hate. Slowly, she closed the screen. She put her laptop in her back, moving like a robot. Slowly. A little shakely. But controlled. She looked at the driver seat. Ruby still wasn't back. But she left the keys in the contact.
Sorry Ruby. I know I promised. But there was no going back now.

Ruby walked back to the place where the car was parked. She was carrying bags full with sushi. It had been busy in the restaurant, who also did take away. She'd waited for almost 45 minutes. But it was gonna be worth it. She was wondering if Kiwi already made some progress. But when she walked around a corner, she froze. The car was gone. Fuck. She dropped the bags with the food and ran towards the empty spot.
No… No, Kiwi, you promised, god dammit… She stared at the street. Shit.

I took Kiwi with me today to cheer her up a little.
Don't wait for us. And no worries, I'll bring her back home safely.

Ruby

Vinnie was reading the two lines over and over again. Something didn't feel right. Something was bugging him. But what, he just couldn't lay a finger on it. He was sitting on the couch in the living room. His bro's were watching tv.
The patrol had been boring. No sign of Limburger. No opportunity to release some off the stress that was in his body since that morning they'd found Kiwi on the floor of her bedroom, all fucked up. He felt he became more tense at the day. Kiwi hadn't talked to him. Well, only the much needed business. But she was keeping her distance. And it was driving him crazy.
"Bro's, something ain't right", he suddenly said.
"What are you talking about, Vin?", Modo asked, still looking at the tv.
"Kiwi."
"What about her, Vincent?", Throttle asked, looking at his white furred bro.
The guy was tense, alright. He was still looking at the small note Ruby had left on the kitchen table, the one they found when they got home. Well, the one Throttle had found after Vinnie almost lost his shit when he saw the two girls were gone. His hands were shaking a little, the tip of his tail was twitching and so were his ears. His eyes suddenly lost contact with the note and he looked at the small table next to the couch.
"That's it!", Vinnie suddenly called out, jumping at his feet.
Throttle was wondering if he was losing it again, but his eyes were way too clear for that. Vinnie looked at him.
"I just have this feeling something ain't right, but I couldn't understand why. But now I know!"
Throttle and Modo stared at him.
"Okaay… So ehm, care to share it with us?", Modo asked.
Vinnie pointed at the table.
"Her laptop. It's gone", the white furred mouse said, almost triumphant.
But then his face clouded.
"Shit. Her laptop is gone…"
Modo and Throttle finally catched on and they jumped up.
"That ain't good…", Modo slowly said.
"Nope. It can only mean one thing…", Throttle said, looking at Vinnie.
"And that's she still going after the person who killed her parents…", he finished with a low voice.
At that moment, the phone rang. Modo picked it up.
"Lavendor residence, Modo speaking", he said polite. Then his face darkened.
"Ruby? Easy, I can't understand a word you're saying."
Throttle signed to Modo he needed to put the phone on speaker.
"Oh god, I made a terrible mistake, Modo… I shouldn't have trusted her, not like this… Oh god, oh god…"
The always so calm Ruby sounded like she was gonna hyperventilate.
"Wow, easy, Ruby. Try to calm down. What happened?", Throttle intervened.
"Throttle? I eh… Kiwi is gone…"
"WHAT?" Vinnie grabbed the phone. "Where is she, Ruby? What have you done?"
"Vinnie, I'm so sorry, I thought I could trust her… She promised me not to go after him…"
"So, you're saying you helped her, you encouraged her to go on this fucking suicide mission?!"
"God, I don't know what I was thinking… And now she's gone. She took my car…"
Throttle quickly took over the conversation, calm as always.
"Ruby, where are you?"
"Closeby City Hall…"
"Okay. Stay where you are. We're coming to get you."
"Please hurry. My car has a GPS tracker, but I don't know how…"
"The bikes will pick up the signal. We're on our way", and Throttle hung up. He looked at Vinnie.
"Did you know Kiwi had plans to do her research behind our backs?"
Vinnie looked at him as if he just caught on fire.
"What? No way, man. I would've stopped her myself. Let's go."
Vinnie marched to the garage and jumped on his bike.
God dammit, Kiwi. You stupid, stubborn girl.
His bro's followed his example and they sped away.

Kiwi was looking at the house from the car. It had good security, but that wasn't a problem for her. She already had put down the whole system and now, it was time. She opened her bag and took out her gun. The one Vinnie gave her. It felt like ages ago. She knew Blaze didn't had a family and by the looks of things, he was home alone.
Perfect.
With a soft click, she closed the car door behind her and walked over to the house. She opened the gate that was suppose to stop strangers from going in, but it wasn't gonna stop Kiwi. Nothing was gonna stop her. She crossed the big driveway and stopped in front of the front door.
Closing her eyes, she searched for guilt. For fear. For anything that was gonna make her stop from doing this. But there was nothing. She was almost in a trance. The only thing that was going through her head, was that Blaze had to pay. He needed to be broken. He needed to die.
So, after taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

"Guys, thank god…", Ruby called out when the mice stopped in front of her. She quickly ran over to Modo and jumped in his arms. Modo, at first a little surprised, wrapped his arms around her.
"Ssshhh, it's okay. We'll find her", Modo said softly, looking at his bro's.
Vinnie looked like he was gonna explode any minute and Throttle was rubbing his chin, probably already thinking about a plan. There was a silence for a moment, but then, Vinnie broke it.
"We need to track your car, Ruby. Give me your codename and password", he said toneless, typing something on the small screen in his bike.
Ruby gave him what he needed. Vinnie pressed enter and soon, the bike beeped.
"That's weird… She's only a few blocks away from her house…"
Ruby froze. Shit. Blaze.
"My boss lives in the same neighborhood… Shit, she's probably after him!."
"Let's ride!"

Kiwi just walked into the living room as if she was at home and saw a man sitting on the couch, watching tv and drinking some expensive looking whiskey. He still hadn't noticed her presence. She looked at him. He was about her father's age, with brown hair and a slender built. The clothes he was wearing looked very expensive. Time to meet the man who was responsible for destroying her life.
"Hello, Blaze."
Blaze almost fell off the couch and looked behind him. His eyes grew big. He recognized her, she could see it in his eyes. Her father probably had shown him some pictures of her, as the proud father he was.
"I know you know who I am. I know everything. About the Shadow Hunters, about my father…"
Blaze finally recovered a little and he jumped off the couch.
"Kiwi. What the hell are you doing here?"
Kiwi smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"I came to talk."
"But… how did you came in?" Blaze was looking around him, clearly searching for his phone.
Kiwi held up the Iphone.
"Are you looking for this?"
Blaze paled.
"What do you want?"
"Like I said, I came to talk."
"You can't just invade someone's house because you want to talk. You are trespassing. I can have you arrested for this."
"Spare me the bullshit. You have no right, you hear me? You have no right to lecture me, after what you did."
Blaze suddenly started to sweat and his breathing became heavier. Realization hit. Hard.
"I eh… I have no idea what you're talking about…", he stuttered, his eyes still flying into every direction.
"Oh yes, you do. You…", but Blaze suddenly tried to make a run for it. He jumped over the couch and wanted to run past her. He obviously underestimated her. She quickly tackled him with her foot and grabbed her gun. Blaze's head slammed against the floor when he landed and blood streamed down out of his nose. He moaned in pain, but when he saw the gun that was aimed at his head, he grew silent.
"Do I have your attention now? You killed my parents. How could you do that?", Kiwi asked, her voice still toneless.
She'd expected that her hand with the gun would be shaky, but it wasn't.
"I had no choice, I…"
"There's always a choice!", Kiwi spit out, her eyes fuming. "But you decided to take money from the Plutarkians. To stand by their side. You make me sick!"
"How do you know about that?"
"I already told you, I know everything. And you are the one who's responsible for my parents death. You broke me. You destroyed me. You made me shatter into a thousand pieces. I'm damaged. Did you thought about that, when you gave the order? What it would do to me?"
Blaze his eyes filled with tears. He was sitting on his knees now, looking up at her.
"God, Kiwi, I'm so sorry, I… It wasn't the intention. That you would survive. You were supposed to die with them… So you didn't have to live with this pain…"
"Do you even hear yourself? You killed two innocent people, for money! And telling me I was supposed to die too, doesn't make me feel any better. You broke me. And now, I'm gonna break you. You need to pay for what you did…"

Kiwi clenched her teeth and aimed the gun at Blaze his head. Her finger was still on the safety bar, but when it slowly wanted to make its way to the trigger, the door flew open and the mice burst inside.
"Kiwi, stop!", Throttle yelled, stopping death in his tracks when he saw what was going on, grabbing Modo and Vinnie at the same time.
Kiwi didn't even look up. She was staring at the guy in front of her, who was crying and begging for his life now. But she still didn't feel anything. Only hate. Only pain. He needed to pay. That's how she was gonna find peace.
She lay her finger on the trigger.
"Kiwi, you don't wanna do this…", Throttle warned her, still standing on the same spot, his hands in front of his body.
But Kiwi didn't listen. She didn't even hear him.
Shit.
How were they gonna make her stop? Shooting her, but that would be ridiculous. And she was a fine shooter. She had learned it from one of the best. What if she still had time to pull that trigger? For the first time since a very long time, Throttle was absolutely clueless how to stop this.
Vinnie focussed on Kiwi. She was aiming the gun without shaking, the look on her face gave her away her determination. She really was gonna do this. But no matter how angry he was at her right now, he couldn't let her. It was gonna tear her apart. There was only one way to end this. He couldn't save Blaze. The guy was gonna die, no matter what. But he could try to save Kiwi. His girl. His girl who was completely taken over by her demons.
"Is this what you want?", he asked, his voice low.
Kiwi didn't respond.
"ANSWER ME! Is this what you really want?"
He saw her finger slowly bending around the trigger.
"I'll take that as a yes, sweetheart", Vinnie sighed and he grabbed his gun, whirled it around his finger and in one movement, he aimed it at Blaze's head and pulled the trigger, right before Kiwi did.
Blaze fell forward. He was already dead when his head made contact with the floor.
A deadly silence.
Throttle and Modo stared in shock at their younger bro, who put his gun back into his leg holster.
Kiwi was still standing the same position, her eyes wide open. Her breathing was shallow and she slowly looked up at Vinnie, her lower lip trembling.
"Why… Why would you do that?"

Oh Kiwi, why did you go after him in the first place? Gosh... And why is Vinnie doing this?

Puhlease review and thanks for reading my story!

Later guys!