Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Fiction ❯ Bad Places ❯ 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Part 7

"I don't get it," Mike said, running behind Raphael, who ran behind Donatello. "Why are we going all over the place instead of right to him?"

They passed through an alley and paused at the opening, scanning for humans before crossing the street and running down another alley, splashing through cold puddles.

"'Cause they have a heck of a jump start on us," Raph said. "I wanna know if they did anything in the last couple of hours besides take a walk."

"I guess it's not worth wondering if we could just ask him?"

"Mike, at this point, I wouldn't trust him to tell me which way is up." Raphael noticed a familiar cracked wall next to a torn rave poster and called ahead, "hey Don, are we going in circles?"

"I'm just following the tracer's motion logs," Donatello said. "It can tell me which direction to go, but not how many times they went. If they circled this place five times, we're gonna go around five times."

"Why would they go in circles?" Mike asked.

Raph shook his head. "I dunno. Maybe they didn't notice what they were doing. If Leo can stand daydreaming in spot for hours, then I wouldn't be surprised if two of 'em can go in circles."

"Aw, man." As they stopped at the same alley opening, Mike leaned against the wall and breathed hard. "I know, why don't I wait here and wait for you guys to do all the circles? No sense in all of us getting out of breath--yikes!" He stumbled along as Raphael grabbed his shell and yanked him backwards for a few yards.

"Not in the mood," Raph said.

"Man, you're no fun. Leo wouldn't have done that."

Don glanced over his shoulder for a moment. "I don't think we guess what Leo will do anymo--whooa!" He tripped and struck the pavement with his shoulder, skimming on his shell for a few feet. He came to a stop against the wall and sat up, rubbing the back of his head as he checked his tracking device. "Nothing broken," he said. "What did I trip over?"

Hard to see in the darkness, Raphael knelt and looked closely at a lump on the ground. He dug the tip of his sai underneath it and gingerly raised it a few inches. Beetles and roaches scuttled out, but the smell and shape told him enough. "Not what, Don. Who."

"Oh...God..." Don scrambled to his feet and turned away, but he saw a second body in front of him. "There's another one."

"I've got like three more back here," Mike said, edging towards Raphael. "I think. They're all tangled up. Did Leo...?"

"Check out the cut," Raph said, tilting the body so that the head fell back, her neck nearly cut in half. A long knife tumbled out of her blue fingers. "They must've tried to jump them and never knew what hit 'em." He looked up at Donatello, now leaning on the opposite wall with his head turned away. Raph sighed and stood up. "C'mon, let's keep going. He can't have gone in circles all night."

There was no joke from Mike, no comment from Donatello. Instead they ran quietly next to him, unwilling to run ahead or behind.

*

The bar was one large room with a countertop running down half of it and a handful of tables in the back, old, peeling pictures of Manhattan on the walls, and over the bar, a huge unfurled American flag. In the back corner of the bar, where the light refused to come and next to the rear exit, Felix and Leonardo sat with their backs to the wall. Although the bar was crowded, no one paid any attention to them, too focused on a basketball game on the television. A cheer went up as New York scored a three point penalty shot and another round was sent off. Felix leaned back and put one leg up on the extra chair, one hand holding a glass.

Leonardo watched the humans interact, finding some like Casey, some like April. A few acted like Raph, a bit too eager to argue and tumble, and a few like himself, arguing with the Raphs. If someone came in through the front, they were welcomed into the circle and somehow a beer fast found its way into his or her hand. If it was a her, faster.

"They're mostly soldiers," Felix said, nodding at the crowd. "You can tell by the haircuts."

"All short?"

"Yup. Your hair only gets long if you're out in the field awhile. Even the girls get it short."

As cool as the night was, the bar itself was warm. Leo closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. His own glass stood empty on the table and the alcohol was slowly working through him, letting him relax and listen to the drone of the crowd and the occasional car passing outside. New York scored again. Cheers. The door opened, someone came in, someone had to go.

"I see why you like it here," Leo said.

Felix nodded once. "It's alive. For a little while, you can let it go."

So many things he couldn't let go, responsibilities heaped on him. Raphael. Michelangelo. Donatello. Splinter. April. Casey. Raphael could go out with Casey and live. Michelangelo had discovered stories and poetry and spending time with big sister April. Donatello had his lab and inventions. Splinter devoted himself to meditation and philosophy. All he had for himself were a few sketches, military history, and defending his family. Was it so hard to see that his room was nearly empty? That his katas had turned fierce?

"Y'ever think about her?" Felix asked.

"All the time." Leo shook his head and remembered her slack face as she passed out. "She didn't deserve to go like that."

"I can't stand thinking he's still alive. Unpunished."

Leonardo opened his eyes and looked at him, realizing what he meant. "I remember you saying we ought to leave him to God."

"I did. Never said how God might handle it."

A bitter laugh, devoid of humor. "Okay," Leo said, considering." You think he's still there?"

"Probably. You think he knows we got out?"

"I'm sure he does." Leo took a deep breath and sat straight. "We're faster than we were three months ago. We could probably do it."

They sat silent for several minutes, either staring into a glass or staring into nothing. The game was coming to its last minute, dragged out by a final time out and several more penalty shots. The bar went quiet as everyone waited.

"Let's do it now," Felix said, "before the beer wears off and I wise up."

"All right," Leo whispered to himself. "All right. But first I need to get a couple things from home."

Felix finished his drink and nodded once. "Same here. I want a little more than a knife when I face him. Put a couple affairs in order just in case. The warehouse one hour from now?"

"Works for me."

New York scored, won. As the crowd cheered and bought another round, they left through the back door and walked into the night, walking in different directions.

Fifteen minutes later, three turtles came to a stop on the roof. Mike looked over the ledge at the soldiers walking out. "Uh, I don't think he's in here, guys."

"Not anymore," Don said, pushing a few buttons on his device. "But he was for a good half hour at least. The signal's still a little strong."

"Oh geez," Mike said, "do you think he was seen?"

Raph shook his head and scanned the streets in all directions. "I don't think so. There's no yelling or nothing." He took a moment to catch his breath. They'd been running for the better part of an hour. As much as he wanted a look inside to see what had interested Leo, there was no time. "Okay, now which way?"

"East," Don said, and they followed him off the building back down to the street. They ran for a few seconds but bumped into Donatello as he abruptly stopped. All of them went down in a tangle.

"Oww..." Mike groaned. "Why'd you stop like that?"

"Hang on..." Donatello fought to get his hands free and picked up the device from where it had fallen. "He's still going straight, but the signal's fainter now. Like there's interference."

"Is he too far away?" Raph asked, kicking Mike off of him.

"No, the signal should be easy to pick up in this radius. Something has to be blocking it." As he struggled back to his feet, he noticed a sewer access close by, nestled just inside an alley. "I think he's underground. That's what's making the signal faint."

"Underground?" Mike followed his look to the access panels. "But that means he's going home. That's good, right?"

"Maybe," Raph said. "All right, we're following him, but remember, there's no way to tell what he might do. Especially with April and Casey heading that way, too."

"Wait a minute," Don said, changing features on his tracker. They heard a high pitched beep and then Splinter's face appeared on the screen. "Master Splinter, are you all still at April's place?"

"Yes. She is still packing--"

Casey's voice came from somewhere behind him. "A toolbox? Why do we gotta pack a toolbox?"

"Look," April yelled back, "I'm not coming back for a few days and I don't want to forget anything."

"But you can borrow Donny's--"

"I am taking my toolbox and that's final!"

Splinter sighed and glanced over his shoulder in time to duck a flying pillow. "They are arguing again, but I think that is preferable to her crying."

On the street, Raphael looked over Donatello's shoulder. "Master, we think Leo's headed back home. It might be a good idea if you keep April and Casey there at the shop for a little bit longer. I don't wanna chance them being there with Leo acting like this."

"I agree. Raphael, you look shaken. Has anything happened?"

Raph nodded once, even though he felt like he was tattling on his brother. "Yes, master. We found a few more bodies. I think they attacked Leo and Felix, and...it was just like in front of the shop."

"...I understand. Be careful when you see him. Though he is your brother, I am beginning to fear for your own safety."

"Yes, master." Raphael stood back as Donatello switched back to the tracking function. As they walked to the sewer access, Raph laughed once, head lowered.

"What's up?" Mike asked.

"I was just thinking. I used to hate it when Leo ratted on me, and now here I am ratting on him."

*

A steady drip of water somewhere in the lair was the only noise as he entered. Leonardo left the lights off as he headed to his room, heading to the table in the back. He knelt before it and raised the top, revealing a large compartment filled with his few personal effects. Everything else in his room came from Splinter, his leftover bookshelf and small tables, a few paper lanterns, and weapons he occasionally practiced with in his large, empty room. But here he kept the several art books he'd managed to get his hands on, trade collections of comics, including the Dark Phoenix Saga, Sandman: The Wake, and Watchmen.

And sketches, dozens of sketches. His brothers, April, Casey, Splinter, the bridge over the stream. The arc of a sword through the air. Several moonlit skylines of Manhattan, some before, some after. And lady liberty in the bay. She was one of his favorite subjects, judging by the sheer number of drawings, sometimes in stark black lines, sometimes in impressionistic rays of light. Sometimes nothing more than a silhouette holding a light in the dark.

He put the sketches aside. This table also held dozens of smoke grenades and flash bombs that Donatello had made for him, and small bottles of poison. He packed away several grenades and bombs, then took off his sheaths and set his swords out. He opened a bottle of cyanide and poured in enough to coat the inside, then resheathed the swords.

Task done, he turned and left, forgetting the table as he focused on meeting Felix and exacting their revenge. He walked out of his room and leaped to the ground, landing on all fours and slowly rising. Before he stood straight, he realized he wasn't alone.

"Raphael..." he said, looking up. The lights came on, momentarily blinding him. He turned his head away until he could bear it and found Michelangelo and Donatello flanking Raphael, standing between him and the door.

"Leonardo," Raph said, nodding once. "Going somewhere?"

"Out of my way."

"Can't do that," Raph said.

"Sure you can. Just step aside."

"Leo, you've killed people. People that didn't need to die."

A short laugh of amusement. "If I didn't kill them tonight, they'd come back again. I ended the problem. Besides, I didn't kill all of them."

"Did you see what you left behind?" Raph growled. "There was blood everywhere, cut up bodies--"

"I left a mess, is that what you're upset about?" Leo started laughing, ignoring how Mike and Don cringed at the sound. "Sorry, next time I'll clean up."

"Leo--"

"No. Swords aren't made for lovetaps. If you can't handle a real battlefield, then get rid of your sais and hide with April. Now get out of my way."

"I can't let you leave. Splinter wants you stay here."

"To hell with him. He survived this long without me, he can damn well do without me again."

Raphael's hand went to his sai. Beside him, Mike and Don did the same. Leonardo watched them and started to smile.

"You saw what I did to the white claws and you still want to fight me?"

Raphael showed no emotion. "If you're willing to do that to us, then I definitely can't let you go."

For a moment, Leo was almost proud of him. Sure, Raph had his brothers for backup, but Leo was sure that even without them, he'd still fight. And he wasn't lunging straight at him, he was staying calm and calculating his next move. He'd come so far in three months. They all had.

"You made one mistake," he said.

"Oh yeah?" Mike said, rising to the bait when Raph wouldn't.

"Yeah." Leo dropped into a fighting stance, breathing shallow. "You should have hit me when the lights came on."

And then he lunged.

TBC...