Thanks for the reviews! Really appreciate it! Here is the next chapter! A little more action this time.

Chapter four

Earlier that night, Vinnie drove straight to bar Black. It was a dark environment, full with criminals and garbage off the city. It was not a safe place to go, but Vinnie didn't care. He just needed a drink so the pain would go away. He parked his bike outside and walked straight to the bar inside.
"A double whiskey", he said to the bartender.
The man narrowed his eyes at this unknown customer, but didn't say anything. He poured the whiskey into a glass and put it on the bar. Vinnie emptied the glass in a draft and asked for another. After ten glasses he could finally feel that the pain began to fade away. It was still there, but just not so heavy anymore. Vinnie sighed from relief. He felt numb, but that was a welcome feeling right now. He could breathe a little. He stared at his half full glass and was deep in thoughts.
Suddenly, he heard commotion outside. The sound of a motorcycle that revved her engine and the familiar sound of cannons popping out. Vinnie jumped of his seat and stumbled outside. What he saw, fired the rage inside him again. Five man stood by his precious red bike, and by the looks of things one of them was trying to get on his bike. HIS bike. Vinnie knew his bike could take care of herself, but NO one was allowed to touch his bike beside him. That was crossing a line.

Vinnie gritted his teeth and launched himself at the man who was trying to steal his bike. The man let out a sound of surprise when he suddenly was pinned at the ground by someone very strong.
Vinnie looked at him with eyes full of rage. "Didn't your mother tell you to get your filthy hands off of other people's stuff? You might get hurt."
The man opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Vinnie clenched his fist and punched the man so hard in the face that he could feel the nose break. The man was out cold. The other four man, at first too surprised to help their friend, attacked Vinnie.
Vinnie took one man with his tail and threw him into the wall from the bar, as if the man didn't weigh eighty kilo.
The other three cornered Vinnie and one man took a hit at Vinnie's head. Vinnie's helmet fell off and the three man stood still and stared at him in shock.
"You're… you're a mouse?", one of them asked in disbelief.
"Boo", Vinnie said and punched the man in the stomach. The man bent over in pain and with a perfect uppercut, Vinnie knocked the man down.
"Three down, two to go", he smirked.
The two remain man looked at each other. One grabbed a knife and tried to stab Vinnie. Vinnie dodged the attack, but couldn't prevent that the knife cut his arm.
He didn't feel the pain, but saw the blood coming out of the wound, turning his precious white fur red. He glared at the man, narrowing his eyes.
"This better not leave a scar."
The man felt fear by hearing the ice cold tone of the creature in front of him. He looked around to see his other friend running away.
"Well, I guess it's just you and me then", Vinnie said with an evil smile.
The man stepped back in fear and Vinnie attacked. He kicked the man in the stomach and the poor guy fell on his back. Vinnie kicked hard against the man's knee. A loud crack and the man howled in pain.
Vinnie grabbed the man by his color and started hitting him. The rage inside him made his blood boil and was growing bigger, fed bij grieve, guilt and alcohol.

Suddenly, two pairs of hands grab him by the arms and drag him away from the man.
Vinnie screamed in rage, trying to get loose from whoever was holding him. He struggled as hard as he could, but it didn't made any difference.
"Vinnie, stop! This is not who you are!"
He recognized Modo's voice. He kept struggling.
"Vincent, stop. This is as far as you can go. You've crossed too many lines today. I know you are in immense pain, but torturing or killing people is not going to take the pain away", Throttle said softly in his ear. And then, when Vinnie was still trying to fight them off, he used his "dangerous" voice. He only used it when it was really necessary and to make very clear there was no other way then obey.
"Vincent, enough is enough. We are going and you are coming with us. Even if I have to drag you the whole way there."
Vinnie's body went limp.
"They tried to steal my bike", he said, pouting.
Throttle shook his head. "Your bike can take care of herself and you know that. You are drunk. You can ride with Modo back to the score board, you can't drive by yourself."
"Come on little bro", Modo said, gently pushing Vinnie to Little Hoss. Modo took his seat and Vinnie climbed behind him. Modo wrapped his tail around Vinnie's waist and felt the weight of Vinnie leaning against his back.
Throttle picked up Vinnie's helmet and gently placed it on Vinnie's head. Then he jumped on his own bike and whistled to 'Sweetheart'.
"Come on girl, let's ride".
When they drove away, the people of the bar stared at them until they were gone. At that moment, the police arrived. But they were too late, the 'suspect' was already gone and nobody dared to say who he was and were he went.

Back at the scoreboard, Modo was helping Vinnie of his bike. He noticed the cut in his arm.
"We need to clean that up, Vin."
Vinnie stared at him with half closed eyes and pouted.
"No man, it hurts!" and he stumbled away from Modo.
Luckily, Modo knew how to treat a drunken Vinnie, since this wasn't the first time. It was important to stay calm and be kind, and be strict at the right moment.
"I know it hurts, little bro, but I need to clean it because otherwise it will get infected. Infected wounds give ugly scars and that's something we don't want on your studly body, right?"
Vinnie thought about it for a second, then he nodded.
"Right! But I have to say, my body is perfect, with or without scars" and he flexed his muscles.
Modo smiled at himself. If you wanted something from Vinnie, the best way to get it was giving his ego a boost.
"Sit down, Vinnie", Modo said, gesturing at the chair next to him.
Vinnie walked unsteady to the chair. Now the adrenaline from the fight wore off, he could feel how drunk he really was. Throttle walked in with the first aid kit.
"Heeeeeey Throttle! Our fearless leader!", Vinnie cheered.
Throttle ignored him.
"How bad is it, Modo?"
Modo looked at the wound on Vinnie's arm.
"He need stitches", he said, frowning.
Vinnie jumped at his feet by the word stitches.
"No way!", he yelled and he tried to escape. Unfortunately, with all the alcohol in his system, that failed. He tripped over his tail and fell face forward on the ground.

Throttle and Modo both sighed. This was gonna be a long night. Modo picked the white mouse off the ground and threw him back in the chair.
"You are gonna sit down and you don't move until I tell you otherwise. Or else, I will chain you to this chair and you know I will!"
Vinnie snickered and saluted. "Yes sir!"
Modo looked at the wound again and tried to clean it. It was a hard task, because one: the blood was very difficult to remove from the snow white fur and second: the body attached to it couldn't sit still.
"Sit still!", Modo demanded.
"But Modo, it hurts!", Vinnie whined.
"Oh shut up! The baddest mamma jammer off the whole universe can't handle a little battle wound?!"
Vinnie glared at him and without any warning, he started singing. Very off key of course.
"Do your ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro?"
Modo sighed and started stitching the wound. Luckily for him, Vinnie was distracted by trying to find the words of the song since he was too drunk to remember. When Modo was done with the stitching, he wrapped a bandage around Vinnie's arm.
"There you go, little bro."
Vinnie stopped singing, to relief of Throttle and Modo.
"Thanks bro, but tell me; how can I look studly with this stupid bandage on my arm? I have a reputation to hold on, you know?", he said pouting.
"I'm sure a little piece of bandage wouldn't destroy your reputation, if there even is a reputation."
Modo ducked when Vinnie tried to punch him in the face.
Vinnie smiled arrogantly. "Well, at least Charley…"

As soon he spoke her name, he stopped talking. His ears drooped. Modo grabbed him by the arm.
"Come on, little man, lets get you to bed." He helped Vinnie to get out of his booth's, pants and bandoliers and into his hammock. He put the blanket over his white furred bro.
"Modo?", Vinnie asked with a small voice. Modo looked at him and felt a pang of sadness when he saw the lost expression on Vinnie's face. He looked so young and innocent.
"Yes Vin?"
"She is really gone, isn't she?"
Modo swallowed hard and answered with a voice thick of emotion.
"I'm afraid she is, bro."
Vinnie clamped himself at Modo.
"I've let her down, Modo. I couldn't protect her.." He could barely speak, overwhelmed by guilt.
Modo gently made himself loose from the devastated mouse and looked him in the eye.
"Don't you do this to yourself, Vin. It's not your fault!", he said firmly, but had the same feeling of guilt. They all let Charley down. And now they were paying the price. And that hurted like hell.
One single tear escaped Vinnie's eye. He lied back on his pillow.
"I wasn't fast enough..", he mumbled, his eyes closed. After a few minutes he was out like a light, exhausted from all the emotions from this day and the alcohol.

Modo watched him with heavy heart. He'd never saw his bro cry, always busy hiding behind a mask. Blowing up things, pulling dangerous stunts and putting his life at risk.. that was how Vinnie dealt with emotions. Making fun of everything, the more danger, the better. It was the first time that he showed his real emotions. But, that was a good thing, Modo thought. It is better to let it out than holding it back. This would be a good start for recovery. He had hope for his bro.

Unknown to Modo, this was the first and also the last time that he would see Vincent van Wham cry.

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