It was a cold night. It had to be about a good 30-something degrees Fahrenheit. Who knew? He wasn't really good with estimating much of anything. Odds are it could be much colder than that. He just knew he was probably one of the very few out in this cold at this time of night. January has been colder than this in the past. It hasn't snowed very much this month and he kind of missed it. The first week had but one day of snow, and he remembered coming topside that day just to see it. There was something peaceful about the snow, calming, relaxing. What he needed to escape the badgering and pestering of his three other brothers. There was no fight like other times that would make him storm away from his home in a huff, there was just his desire to be out of the sewers again, and breathe in the cold air, hear the sounds of cars and enjoy the night sky. Yes, the stars were difficult to see. There were hardly any, but this was just so much better than staring up at the inside of brick and cement. Out here, Raphael could breathe.
He pulled his parka tighter around himself as he found himself a perch atop the roof of an apartment complex that offered him an amazing view of the Statue of Liberty. Well, a side view at least. He dangled his legs off the roof of the building, gazing at the monument and watched as the ferries still sailed by. He took his shell cell from his pocket and looked at the time. 8:30 PM, he thought to himself, maybe it's time to head back now. Raphael was used to staying out longer and later than this, however, he was having such a peaceful night that he just didn't want to ruin it by going home to his older brother, Leonardo, and listen to another one of his lectures about going topside on his own. Raphael and his brothers were turtles. They were mutated when they were much younger and smaller and now they possessed humanlike qualities. However, most humans wouldn't see the glass half full like he would hope. He knew that, but sometimes he felt like Leonardo thought he didn't know that and his older brother would chastise him for his visits to the topside, out of the sewers. So he just wasn't in the mood to fight today. A few more minutes and he would go home.
"Thank you teacher!"
Raphael looked down towards the smaller building next to him, bringing his legs back over the side of the roof and lowering his head just slightly to be able to peer over the wall. A young boy, about eight, was leaving the building holding the hand of a woman who had to be his mother. The woman he was speaking to stepped out from the doorway of the building, smiling at him and his mother, slight worry on her face.
"De nada Angel," she smiled down at the boy, caressed his face and then turned to look at his mother, "Señora, por favor déjame escoltarte a casa?"
Raphael found himself squinting at the exchange. Damn it all… he couldn't speak or understand Spanish.
The older woman smiled and held up her hand, obviously rejecting the younger woman's offer, "Muchas gracias, pero vivimos muy cerca, en ninguna parte cerca de su dirección. Creo que usted necesita para llegar a casa con seguridad también."
The younger woman's eyebrows furrowed with concern, "No es problema Señora. Por favor-"
The older woman held up her hand again, "Estaremos bien, querida. Gracias. No tienes idea de lo mucho que esto significa para nosotros. Lo que enseñas a nuestros pequeños, hace mucho por ellos. Por favor, vuelve a casa a salvo."
The younger woman smiled at the older woman, "Of course, Ms. Lopez. Angel, take care of your mom. Be safe. Remember what I taught you." She playfully pulled the beanie down over the young boy's eyes and he giggled, pulling it back.
"Yes Ms. Samantha. I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you. Get home safe like mom says. Bye."
Ms. Samantha waved them a goodbye, stepping out onto the sidewalk in nothing but a long-sleeved trainer shirt, burgundy shorts with black leggings and funny looking tennis shoes, to watch them disappear around the corner. The light coming from the inside of the building now illuminated her face well. She was a young girl, possibly no older than Raphael, who knew? He wasn't very good at telling age, no less a human's. What he could tell, however, was that she was very pretty. She was Latina, no doubt, with her skin not as dark as most, yet her skin was not light enough for her to be Caucasian. She was probably best described as olive skinned. Her eyes were large, brown and bright. They were so soft, Raphael thought for a second that he could almost get lost in them. They weren't that gorgeous… just that they were so deep and thoughtful, he could almost get lost in there just to find out what she was thinking. Her lips were pink, full and shapely and her nose was small and round as were her cheeks which were rosy from the cold. Her dark, brown hair hung loosely about her shoulders in big, thick curls and she brushed it back with her hand as it attempted to sit in her eyes. . As soon as the boy and his mother were well out of sight, the smile disappeared from her face and she became very serious. She hugged herself tightly to shield herself from the cold and retreated into the building.
Where are you going? Raphael wondered to himself, watching amused as the girl who apparently made every attempt to help the young boy and his mother get home, was now taking her sweet time leaving the building. Raphael pulled his shell cell out from his pocket again. 9 PM. Geez lady, want to take any longer leaving? I need to go home too. Raphael frowned. Yes, he was a tough guy, but he had his soft spots and he felt, at this point, that he was now responsible to see this young girl home. So he waited.
Not ten minutes later, he heard the sound of the door open on the side of the small building in the alley separating the one he was perched upon. The young girl emerged from the side door, now with a long, black trench coat, a white knit beanie upon her head, blue jeans and black winter boots. She carried a gym bag over shoulder and pulled the keys from her pocket to lock the door. An audible click was heard and she yanked on the door to be sure that it was shut tight. Satisfied that it was secure, much to Raphael's annoyance, she turned and headed into the alley rather than take the streets and sidewalks home. Now, Raphael absolutely had to follow her. What if she got jumped? He started to make his way across the rooftop and anticipate her next turn in the alley when she was halted. Damn it, Raphael thought, not even one alley down and already? He instinctively raised his hands at the ready for his sai. The young girl stopped, but the look on her face was not one of fear. It was more like annoyance and it almost shocked Raphael as the man who stepped in front of her was rather large and wore a smug, intimidating look on his face. He bore a tattoo on his neck in the shape of a purple dragon, he wore a long, black coat, a grey shirt, black pants and dark shades.
What the shell? What are the Purple Dragons doing here? Raphael narrowed his eyes. What could they possibly want with her?
"I see that your boss couldn't grace me with his presence today, hm? Sent some weirdo wearing shades at night. I'd rather not waste my time. I'm cold, tired and hungry. I will tell you what I told him." She paused for a second and took a deep breath, "My answer is still, and will always be, no." She stood erect, holding her head eye and she attempted to look down at a man who was obviously much taller than her. He was at least a foot taller.
The man chuckled, "Mamacita, mamacita… My boss would have loved to have been here to see if he could once more attempt to persuade you himself but he had other pressing matters to attend to. He felt it sufficient to send only myself to… handle the transaction." He took a step forward and stopped when he realized she did not back away. She continued to hold her ground.
"There will be no transaction. I-"
"Before you say no again, please hear me out. The boss considers your business to be a noble one." He smiled and placed his hands on his sides, "He understands that you have young ones to protect and he just wants to help. Half of whatever you profit to protect the lives of those who need protecting, yourself and your bus-"
"No! You will not get a dime from me. Pedazos de mierda. Picking on me… I may be poor… but I am not weak!" She grit her teeth, and balled her hands into fist. Raphael could swear he saw a vein pulsing in her neck.
"Temper temper! Careful, you're actually kind of cute when you're angry. You wouldn't want to get me excited now, would you?" He licked his lips and laughed. "I didn't think the boss would have to offer this second option to get you to bend but you're tough. I like it….," he paused and studied her with piercing, dark eyes, "We will buy the school from you… money in your pocket. We will keep your establishment open… the kids will still have a place to go… and many things to learn. Our own teachers we will supply. You will never have to teach another snot-nosed kid again-"
"Puta madre! That's it… my patience is through!" Samantha's eyes sparked with rage and she tossed her gym bag towards the wall of the alley, "You will not have my school… and you will not have my children. You will have nothing more from me. Come on now!" She raised her fists in front of her face, elbows tucked in and lowered her chin. She stepped with her left foot forward and her right slightly behind. "Fight me."
Is she out of her mind? Raphael crouched lower, hands on his sai and ready to pounce. Is she seriously challenging a Purple Dragon? What the shell do they want with her anyway?
The man laughed and began to step towards her, placing his hands in his pockets, "Look sweetheart, you're cute and all but I really don't want to-"
He stepped too close. As he was but a few inches away from coming into contact with Samantha, she jabbed him, painfully… in the nose. Raphael nearly fell from his perch. She was surely in for it now.
The Purple Dragon grabbed at his nose, blood spilling from his nostrils and onto the cold pavement, "Joo lil' bit! I'll kill joo!"
Raphael began to leap down from the building but grasped at the ledge quickly again and climbed back up. It was clear now Samantha did not need his help. The Dragon had let his guard down, not anticipating the flurry of hooks, crosses and uppercuts to his gut, chest and face. It was clear that Samantha was very skilled as the wind left the Dragon's body. He staggered backward away from Samantha's fists, dazed. There was no escaping her fury. Samantha paused, her face wild with anger, "My final answer is no. I won't let any of you… any number of you push me around!" With all the force of her tiny body springing up from her semi-crouched position, she uppercut the purple dragon, square in his chin, a sickening crunch sound resonated through the alley as she made contact with his face. He must have gone up a foot in the air before landing on his back in front of her. Raphael stood there, his mouth agape at what he just saw. That tiny thing, this… possibly 5 foot-something tall creature, maybe a hundred and twenty pounds… took down a Purple Dragon, maybe half her size. Samantha readjusted her beanie on her head and retrieved her gym bag. As she stepped past the Purple Dragon who now lay unconscious on the floor, she looked back at her bleeding masterpiece on the cement and scoffed, "Thanks for the workout. I'm tired… I'm going home." With that, she turned down the alley and walked off.
No, that can't be it. Raphael shook himself from his amazement and began to follow her down the alley. They had to have known what she was like. No way had that come from out of nowhere. There's got to be more in ambush somewhere.
Raphael jumped from one rooftop to another, being careful not to make noise as he followed her to her dingy, little apartment. There had to be some fear in her that would cause her to look back over shoulder every once in a while, making sure she wasn't followed, but no. She did not look back once and showed no feeling of fear in her face whatsoever. She climbed the steps of her small apartment building, opened the door and stepped inside. Still not convinced that she wasn't being followed, Raphael waited perched on a fire escape on the next building over. He waited for a scream, the shattering of glass, or something. Nothing. Not one noise. He climbed the fire escape and leapt for the ledge of the apartment building. He climbed on to the roof and across the other side to jump to the next building over. He kept climbing down the fire escape, looking across to every window until he saw her and stopped at the fire escape across her apartment, making sure to blend into the shadows. She had entered her apartment, placed her gym bag in the corner of her room and tossed her jacket and beanie on a chair beside her door.
The room was very small with nothing but a small kitchen and living space present. Her bathroom must have been that little hole in the wall near her entrance door. She walked into her kitchen and grabbed herself a bottle of water from her near vacant fridge. Why Raphael was still there, he didn't know anymore. There was just some part of him that felt the Purple Dragons would show up any second now. Maybe jump out of her closet or something? No, that was ridiculous. But he couldn't help it. Just what exactly happened all but an hour ago? He kept watching her, until his conscience told him to turn away as she began to strip herself of her clothes and walk over to the door on the far right of the apartment completely naked, opening it to reveal the bathroom and step into her tiny shower. Once he heard her pull the curtain closed, Raphael began to watch again and looked all around the building and down the streets. He couldn't believe it. No one followed her.
If they didn't know what she was like, what the shell were these purple scum doing with the likes of her, Raphael though, he just had to know. It was almost killing him. What do they want with some school?
Samantha emerged from the shower, wrapped in a towel and her head wrapped with a towel as well. She was still pretty. She pulled a tank top from an old, brown dresser in the room and dropped the towel, making Raphael instinctively jerk his head away from looking. He gave her a few minutes before turning back around to see she had dressed in pajama bottoms and a tank top. He continued to wait and not too long after dressing she kneeled beside her bed and began to pray. Raphael rolled his eyes. Once she finished praying, she did the sign of the cross, crawled into bed and finally turned out the lights. Raphael sat down on the steps of the fire escape in waiting. Still nothing. For the last time that night, Raphael pulled out his shell cell and checked the time. Three missed calls from Leonardo. He groaned. Of course there would be. It was going on midnight after all. He gave one last look towards the apartment. There was still silence. No cause for concern. He sighed and decided that this would probably have to be looked into again tomorrow. He hesitantly dialed Leonardo on his shell cell and jump down into the nearest alley from his fire escape perch. He sought out the nearest manhole and as he lifted the cover, His brother answered the cell from the other side.
"Raph? Where are you? I called three times. It's nearly midnight. Splinter-"Leonardo started on the phone, his voice stern.
"Yeah, yeah. Spare me the lecture, Splinter Jr. I'm on my way back, I know what time it is." He looked back up at the apartment before making his way down the manhole.
"Listen Raph, Splinter ordered us directly to stay out of the streets and if you…," Leo's voice droned on and on as far as Raphael could tell and he eventually decided to just "accidentally" hang the shell cell up.
So much for going home and not getting into a fight. Now he just needed to decide if he should tell his brothers what happened tonight. Raphael pondered that on his long walk back to the sewer lair.