"So what are we doing here again dudes?" Mike whispered, careful to avoid stumbling on the stacks of crates.
"Maybe if you spent less time playing video games and more time actually contributing…" Donnie rolled his eyes as he shifted his staff over the rough surface of his shell.
"Hey I was about to beat my high score bro. Not my fault Leo's speeches are as boring as a chess match."
"Chess is one the greatest…"
"Cram it lamebrains. What part of undetected don't you understand?" Raph grimaced, his calloused fingers tightening around the thick metal hilt of his sais.
"Raph's right. Master Splinter is depending on us. So try to show a bit of maturity." Leo's shell rose rhythmically, his breathing slowing to a crawl.
"He started it." Both turtles spoke at the same time but were quickly silenced. The Purple Dragons had always been a minor irritation but something was different. There was a new player in town and he didn't play nice. They had found Hun's body washed up in the harbor four days ago. He was mostly mutilated but he was killed by several gunshot wounds that fragmented in his skull. He wasn't the first either. Casey found the bodies of five more Purple Dragons on the Lower East Side. There was nothing particularly suspicious about the death of a few gangbangers but Hun wasn't one to be killed in a petty gang fight. So Donatello did some digging. Didn't take him long to find the connection. Doku, a powerful Japanese diplomat recently flew in from Japan. What the public didn't know is that he was also one of the world's most dangerous crime lords.
Splinter knew that this was too big to be a coincidence. So he sent the Turtles into Doku Tower to find answers. It didn't take long for them to enter the storage level. They quickly approached the elevator shaft but before Raph had a chance to pry it open, they saw a shadow blanketing the wall. Leo clenched his fist in the hand signal of retreat. The sound of soft whistling could be heard as the man's heavy footsteps clanged against the hard metal flooring. Raph slowly relinquished his sais from their sheaths and began to approach the man from behind. The smell of alcohol was blatant. This would be too easy.
"Cowabunga!" Mikey flew over Raph's head, nunchuks swinging. When he landed, the only sound was the heavy thud as the guard's unconscious body hit the floor.
"Mikey, that was mine." Raph's face twisted into a expression of half anger, half exasperation.
"Well you snooze you lose Raph. I thought you were a ninja not a tortoise."
"Well technically…"
"Stop talking, start moving. Raph get that shaft open. Donnie, cover us. And, Mikey, hide the body."
"Closet here we come."
After only a few seconds passed, the hallway was as deserted as when they first came. The four brothers quickly scaled the elevator shafter, careful to listen for any signs of movement. They didn't want to be green smears on the wall.
"Alright, according to the blueprints, this should be our stop." Donatello pointed directly at the ,currently closed, metal doors.
"Alright then. Move aside ladies." Raph groaned as he quickly pried the doors open with his sais.
They moved as one with the shadows. The floor was completely barren ignoring one computer at the far side of the room.
"That's our ticket. Just cover me and I'll see what I can dig up." Donnie cracked his knuckles as he quickly began pressing keys. He shifted his other hand to the tower and plugged in a USB.
It was late but not that late. Certainly not late enough for a top secret floor to be completely unguarded. Something wasn't right, and Leo could smell it.
"There's definitely something major happening. Some sort of new initiative. I managed to crack their firewalls, I'm uploading the info. Just a sec…"
Suddenly the sound of creaking metal boomed out from above them.
"What the shell was that?" Raph looked up and saw exactly what it was. A thin, almost invisible sheet coming down fast to try to block their exit. They all had to leave now but Donnie on his computer.
"Donnie you need to get out of here dude." Michelangelo grabbed Donatello by the shell in tossed him under just in time. But not enough for himself. A loud clang resided as the the sheet crashed to the floor, separating Michelangelo from the others.
"Noooo!" Raph smashed his fist against the sheet.
"Everyone, maybe if we concentrate on one spot we can…"
"You guys need to get out here. I'll be fine. They're going to be here any second dudes. You can't help me."
Just as Mikey uttered those words a panel rose revealing Doku and his henchmen. Leo and Donnie rushed into the elevator shaft, dragging Raph in as well.
"I expected intruders. I did not not expect this green freak. What were you after I wonder? No matter. Kill him."
The turtles heard the shot from the elevator shaft.
"Let me go! We can still save him!"
"Raph, stop. All that would do is get us all killed. He's..gone."
"No he's not dead! He's not dead! Get off me! Let me go!"Leo smashed the hilt of his katana against the back of Raph's skull.
"I'll carry him. We have to get out of here Donnie." The next few moments were a blur. They still heard the sound of the gunshot ringing in their ears, even as they opened the manhole.