Reliable Intel

On her second visit to the turtles' secret lair in the sewer, April offered to bring back gifts for her friends from the surface world. No sooner had the words left her mouth than she found herself quickly drowning in a long list of increasingly outrageous requests.

Naturally, these all came from Michelangelo, who seemed to think April was the teenage female equivalent of Santa Claus. Fortunately for her, his brothers were sensible enough to explain that jet packs did not exist and that there was no place in the lair to keep a pony. After that, April restated her offer, careful to point out that she had only enough money to buy one thing for each of them. She had also offered to get something for Splinter. At first he refused, saying he didn't want to impose on her, but he gave in after she insisted. In the end, Leonardo had asked for Space Heroes trading cards, Michelangelo wanted the new issue of Martial Pain magazine featuring Chris Bradford, Raphael wanted a Corps Cadaver comic book, and Donatello had asked for a book called From the Big Bang to Black Holes. The only thing Splinter wanted was green tea.

The next day after school, April took the bus to the convenience store. There she was able to find the trading cards, magazine and comic book very easily. She found a used copy of From the Big Bang to Black Holes at a secondhand book store. The tea was the most difficult item to track down. Splinter had told her he didn't care what kind of green tea it was, so long as she didn't spend too much money on it. April, however, wanted to get him the best green tea she could afford, and by golly, that was exactly what she was going to do. And there was no better place to buy green tea than in Chinatown. She knew a tiny grocery store there that sold authentic Chinese food products at decent prices. The signs were written in both English and Chinese, and all the customers appeared to be Chinese, too. Instead of feeling out-of-place, April took this as a sign that the store had just what she was looking for. Sure enough, the store carried authentic Chinese green tea, and the cheapest one was $7.99. Jackpot!

Feeling very triumphant, April made her purchase and left the store with her head held high. As she made her way to the nearest bus stop, plastic and paper bags crinkling in either hand, she started imagining the looks on her friends' faces when she gave them their gifts. Then she turned a corner and saw a sight that turned her blood to ice and her feet to lead. Standing at the crosswalk among the crowd waiting for the light to change, was a tall, expressionless, black-haired man wearing a dark, pinstriped suit. His appearance was so ordinary that no one else seemed to notice he was even there. The man seemed to be just as oblivious to the people around him, his dull eyes staring straight ahead.

April recognized the man instantly. She had seen several men who all looked exactly like him only a few weeks ago. Their images were burned into her memory. This was one of the men who had kidnapped her father, one of the men who were actually cleverly disguised robots piloted by pink, brain-like aliens in their chests. This man was one of the Kraang.

Her stomach twisted in a violent rushing, tumultuous mixture of terror and rage. She wanted both to run away before the man could see her, and to shove him headfirst into the speeding traffic. Before she could decide on either course of action, her cell phone rang. Startled, she quickly fished it out of her pocket and ducked behind the corner of the nearest building to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, April! It's me, Donnie!" His voice buzzed a bit when he spoke. "I'm just calling to test if the cell phone I put together works. Can you hear me?"

She felt calmer hearing a friendly voice, but she still hadn't taken her eyes off the man. He was still waiting at the crosswalk, seemingly unaware that he'd been noticed. "Yeah, I can hear you just fine."

Donatello's voice became concerned. "What's wrong? Are you okay? You sound kind of tense."

"I…" April started to say, her mouth going dry. Should she tell Donatello that she was looking at a Kraang now? No, that was a bad idea. He would try to come to her rescue immediately, and too many people would see him. Plus, fast as he was, he still wouldn't make it in time to catch the robot. The moment it crossed the street, it would be gone forever. Just then, the crosswalk light turned from red to green. The cars stopped and the people waiting at the curb began to cross. The man in the pinstriped suit walked with them.

Without thinking, April left her hiding spot and walked after him. She stayed several paces behind him, still well out of earshot. The sound of her hurried steps and quick breaths carried through the phone.

"April?" Donatello's worried voice crackled. "What's going on?"

At that moment, April made a reckless decision. She had to follow the Kraang robot and find out where it was going. And she had to do it without the help of Donatello and his brothers.

She took a deep breath, cleared her throat and spoke. "Sorry, Donnie, I can't talk now. I'll call you back later." Then she hung up before he could say anything.

Turning off the phone and pocketing it, she focused all her attention on the man in the pinstriped suit walking ahead of her. I'm not gonna start a fight, she told herself. I won't even let him see me. I'm just gonna follow him to see what he's up to. If I need Donnie's help, I'll call him back.

Part of her felt guilty for not telling Donatello the truth, but if he knew what she was doing now he would certainly try to stop her. She knew he just wanted to keep her safe, and any other time she would welcome his protection. This was different, though. This was their first big break in a seemingly unsolvable case. Weeks of scouring the Internet and listening to the news had left them all with no clues about the Kraang's plans or whereabouts and no clues to what they had done with her father. Now one of them was right in front of her, and she would let no force in the universe get in her way.

April continued to shadow the man for about six blocks, stopping when he stopped and walking when he walked. She was careful to hang back just far enough so that it didn't look like she was following him. Then, when she had trailed him all the way to a different neighborhood, he stopped walking and stood perfectly still. April also stopped and finally noticed where she was. Most of the buildings seemed to be red brick apartment housing but there were a few stores around. On her left was a shop with big yellow image of a fortune cookie over the storefront. On her right was another business that had a smaller sign with a picture of a red car on it. There were also no other people in sight except for her and the man who was still standing perfectly still at the end of the sidewalk.

The sound of a car approaching made her heart jump into her throat. Realizing how exposed she was, she ducked behind a wall covered with posters and graffiti, her shopping bags rustling noisily as she moved. Fortunately, the car was loud enough that the man didn't hear her. Quietly setting down her bags, she peeked around the corner of the wall just enough to see that the car was in fact a white van bearing a familiar blue and orange logo. It pulled to a stop in front of the man. For one heart-pounding moment she feared that he would get into it and drive away. Instead, the van parked and three more men, all of them identical to the first, stepped out on the sidewalk and joined him.

One of them spoke, but it was impossible to tell which. The voice was somber and very robotic. "You are late, Kraang."

"I have knowledge of that." said another, his voice as somber and robotic as the first. "Is this the place with the things that we need for what we are doing in this place?"

"Yes, the things that we need for what we are doing in this place are in this place."

"This place is called a laboratory, Kraang."

"Yes, Kraang, I have knowledge of that."

April rolled her eyes. She'd forgotten how annoying their way of talking was. Poking her head out a bit further, she saw the place they were talking about. It was a shabby old building with no visible signage on it. The only notable features she could make out where some stairs, a wide overhang, and a fire escape. It was so plain that it must have been the back of the laboratory.

The Kraang were still talking. "We will take the things that we need for what we are doing in this place from this place."

"No, we cannot take the things that we need from this place at this time. We must come back to this place at another time when we know we will not be seen."

"Then at what time will we come back to this place?"

"We will come back to this place tonight when the humans are asleep. Then we will take the things that we need from this place and use them for what we are doing in this place and other places."

"That is a good plan, Kraang."

"Thank you, Kraang."

With that, all four of them climbed into the van. April pulled her head back behind the wall as the vehicle drove past her. She waited until she couldn't hear it anymore. Then she exhaled loudly, releasing the breath she'd been holding for so long. Gathering her shopping bags, she walked over to the spot where the Kraang had stood to get a better look at the building they'd been talking about. They had called it a laboratory but it certainly didn't look like one to her. She crossed the street and peered in through one of the windows. It was dark in there, but she could make out the forms of tables, shelves and boxes. If this place really was a lab, it looked like it was shut down a long time ago and its previous owners had left a lot of equipment behind. No doubt the Kraang were already aware of this fact and ready to exploit it.

Now there was only one thing left for April to do; call Donatello back and tell him everything. Just to make sure no one would hear her, she went back to her hiding spot behind the wall. Crouching beside a dumpster for extra cover, she took her phone from her pocket and turned it on. To her surprise she had eight missed calls, all of them from Donatello's number. She started to feel guilty again. He was worried about her. While she was wondering how to explain all this to him, her phone rang. Of course it was him. April picked up quickly, trying to keep her tone light and casual when she spoke. "Hey, Donnie, what's up?"

Donatello's frantic voice nearly shouted at her. "That's my line! What's going on, April? You hung up and then I couldn't get through for thirty-six minutes! I tried to call you eight times!"

She sighed and put her hand against her forehead. "Yeah, I noticed. I'm sorry about that, but it couldn't be helped. Something came up."

His tone became concerned. "Are you in trouble? Do you need us to come get you?"

"No, no, I'm fine!" she said quickly. Then she sighed again. He wouldn't listen to her if he was all anxious like this. "Listen, Donnie. I'm about to tell you something big, and I need you to promise me that you won't freak out."

There was a long, uncomfortable pause. "Um…Okay, I promise. So what's this big thing you want to tell me?"

She glanced around one more time to make sure that she was still alone. Her voice was an urgent whisper. "I just found out where the Kraang are gonna strike next."

He gasped audibly. "You did? That's…April, that's great! But how? Where? When?"

She sighed again, this time with relief. "I heard a bunch of them making plans to break into a lab out here in Chinatown. I can text you the address and a photo if you want."

"Sure, thanks! That would be…Wait a second." His tone had changed from excited to serious. "You heard them? As in, you were actually there when this happened? And you were close enough to hear them talking?"

Oops, she thought. "Um…Maybe..."

"What?!" He shouted this loudly enough that the crackling static hurt her ears. "Those guys are dangerous, April! They could have done something horrible to you!"

April glared at the phone, growing frustrated. "Donnie, you promised you wouldn't freak out." she retorted, her voice steadily rising in volume. "And I already know just how dangerous the Kraang are!"

He was more frantic than ever now. "Then why? Why did you knowingly put yourself in danger like that? Why didn't you call me as soon as you saw them? You should have let us handle it!"

"Let you handle it? Sure, Donnie, that's a great idea!" She waved her free hand dramatically and her voice was heavy with sarcasm. "Bring your mutant turtle brothers outside in the middle of the day and start a fight with alien robots! That won't cause a panic at all!"

This time Donatello sighed. "Okay, fine, you're right. But you still shouldn't have been there."

"Hey, it's not like I knew they were gonna be in Chinatown today!" She was so indignant by now that she didn't care how loud she was talking. "It was a total coincidence! I just went to buy some tea for Splinter, and the guy was right there at the crosswalk when I left the store! I had to follow him!"

Donatello could hardly believe what he was hearing. "You actually followed him? Why would you do that?"

"I'm your secret agent, remember?!" As soon as she said that, she realized she was shouting. She continued in more hushed tones, jabbing her finger at the phone for emphasis. "It's my job to get information from dangerous people, and then I tell you about it so you can stop them. That's what I just did right now. So are you going to stop them or not?"

Donatello let out a heavy groan. He was smart enough to know that this battle was one that he just couldn't win. April could be amazingly stubborn when she made up her mind about something, and the worst part was that she was right this time. It was pointless to tell her what she should or should not have done in this situation with the Kraang because she had already done it and it had all turned out for the best. She had successfully gotten valuable information and come away without getting caught, just like any reliable secret agent. The least he could do was accept the information she'd just given him.

"All right." he said, his voice noticeably calmer. "Did the Kraang say when they were gonna break into this lab?"

Glad to have him listening again, April grinned. "They didn't say what time they'd be back, just that they'd be back tonight. Do you need the address?"

"Actually, I think I can find the place by tracking your phone's signal. Are you there right now?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, just give me a second." There was a pause, followed by some typing noises. A moment of silence followed, then a light chiming sound. "Bingo! There you are on the map. Wow, you're pretty far from home. You didn't have to go as far as Chinatown for Splinter's tea."

"Yeah, I did." April said as she dusted herself off, picked up her shopping bags and stood up. "Convenience store tea is nasty. Okay, I'm gonna start heading back now." She started making her way down the sidewalk. Then she frowned. "Um, Donnie, can you still see my signal?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I think I'm lost. Where's the closest bus stop?"

The End