Mask and the Rescue
"Come on, Mask. What's the problem girl?" Raph asked as his dog continued to pull him along.
"Dude, we've been walking around for an hour," Mikey complained. "Maybe she doesn't even need to go."
"Damn Mikey, ya' see how she acts every time I try ta lead her back home," Raph said. "She squats and strains; then when nothin' happens, she starts walking again."
Mikey rolled his eyes. "Great. Your dog is constipated. Maybe you need to change her dog food."
Oblivious to their conversation, Mask walked rapidly through the sewers, her nose to the ground. If she had any idea that her new master was becoming frustrated with her, she gave no indication of it.
"This is why cats are better," Mikey said with a grin. It was a debate he'd started when Mask first came to live with them and he welcomed any chance to score points. "Klunk has a litter box and I do not have to do anything other than police the commode once a day."
"That only proves that you're lazy," Raph retorted. "Walking the dog is good exercise and an opportunity ta bond with your pet. Klunk doesn't even know ya' exist unless the cat food bowl is empty."
Engrossed in their conversation, neither brother noticed the low whine coming from deep in Mask's throat. Nose down, she started to tug on the leash, forcing Raph to walk faster before she finally began to pull him into a lope.
When Mikey had to jump to catch up to them, he asked, "Why are we running?"
"I don't know," Raph called to him as Mask's head came up, her eyes fixed on a tunnel directly in front of them.
"She's after something dude," Mikey guessed, drawing his conclusion from the pit bull's frantic dash.
They both heard her whining then; the sound loud and needy, as though telling them to go faster.
"Let her off of the leash," Mikey said.
"No!" Raph exclaimed. "We don't know what she's after; there might be something nasty and dangerous up ahead."
"She'd be growling and barking if it was bad," Mikey told him. "It's something else dude. Let her have her head; she won't outrun us."
Figuring it would be easier to run without trying to anticipate where the leashed animal was going, Raph leaned down as they jogged and released the leash clip from Mask's collar.
Mask immediately sensed her freedom and all four legs kicked into high gear. With her muscular back haunches propelling her, Mask would have easily outpaced a human, but the two ninjitsu practitioners had no problem keeping up.
They were forced to slow down a bit when Mask dove into complete darkness.
"Ya' got a light on ya'?" Raph asked after patting his belt and coming up empty handed.
"Yeah, hang on."
Mikey's pen light flashed on in time for them to catch a glimpse of Mask's hindquarters disappearing around a bend in the tunnel. Following quickly, they heard her begin barking before they reached the turn.
Rounding the corner, Mikey swung his light up ahead of them and Mask's eyes glowed. She had stopped running and was seated next to a small bundle at the base of one wall. The tunnel was damp and muddy; the object in the driest location possible, yet still incredibly filthy.
"Great, she brought us to a pile of dirty rags," Mikey said in disgust.
Just as he said that, the entire bundle moved.
"Holy crap!" Raph shouted, leaping towards it. "That's a kid!"
Going down on his knees next to the little girl, Raph swiftly placed his fingers to her neck, feeling for a pulse. At his touch, her head came up and she squealed in fright, pushing herself away from him by digging her muddy sandals into the ground.
Mikey stopped a few feet away to avoid alarming her further. "It's okay honey, we're here to help," he crooned in his softest voice.
Mask whimpered and lay down. From her prone position, she crawled towards the child, her eyes soft with compassion.
The girl caught the movement from the corner of her eyes and looked down at the dog.
"Doggie," she called in a small voice.
Raph placed both of his hands on his legs and remained perfectly still. "That's right sweetheart. Doggie. The doggie came ta help you. She called us so we could help, too."
Mask had worked herself right up against the little girl's knees and then stopped moving. The child reached out a tentative hand and stroked the dog's fur. When Mask remained motionless, the girl bent down and wrapped both arms around her neck.
"Nice doggie," she said.
"What's your name?" Mikey asked.
The little girl didn't answer, simply pressing her face into Mask's neck and refusing to look at the brothers.
"Where's your mom and dad, little girl?" Raph tried, using his most gentle voice.
The child shook her head without lifting it. Raph turned to look at Mikey, raising his hands in a questioning gesture.
"You know what Raph?" Mikey asked as he tiptoed a bit closer. "I think this is the little girl that's been on the news. The one that went missing day before yesterday from the park."
Raph leaned closer, trying to see her face. When that failed, his eyes dropped to her sandals and he saw the Hello Kitty emblem on the strap.
"You're right Mikey," Raph said excitedly. "This is the girl the babysitter managed to lose. They described her clothes in the newspaper; she's wearing those cat sandals."
"Hello Kitty," Mikey corrected. "Her parents are hysterical. We need to make sure she's not hurt before moving her and then we gotta get her home."
Raph watched the girl hug Mask and said, "My dog's name is Mask, 'cause she has a mask just like me. Can ya' see her mask?"
Curious, the girl looked up, first at Mask and then at the giant green man kneeling in front of her.
"Red," she said, pointing at Raph's face.
"That's right," Raph said encouragingly. "My brother has a mask too. What color is his mask?"
The little girl brought her head up further and glanced at Mikey. "Orange," she pronounced slowly and carefully.
Mikey kneeled down and nodded. "It is. What color is your sweater, Sally?"
The little girl smiled at him and chirped, "Pink!"
"Would ya' like ta go home now, Sally?" Raph asked.
Her face wrinkled up as she began nodding vigorously. "Mommy be mad," she said.
"Your mommy isn't mad," Mikey told her. "She is very worried about you. Your mommy told us she wants you to come home."
"Doggie too," Sally said, once more rubbing her face against Mask's fur.
"I don't . . . ." Raph began but stopped when he saw Mikey shaking his head.
Clearing his throat, Raph said, "The doggie will help us take ya' home. So will my other brothers. Do ya' want ta see their masks?"
Sally lifted her face. "Y~es," she said tentatively.
Raph turned to Mikey and whispered, "Call Don and tell him where we are and ta bring the Battle Shell ta the nearest sewer entrance. I don't wanna move her until he checks ta see if any of her bones are broken. I don't know how she got down here, but if she fell I ain't gonna make things worse by trying ta pick her up."
Mikey backed away and made the call while Raph watched Sally snuggle with Mask. The dog seemed content to just lie there and offer the child comfort.
It took Don about twenty minutes to reach them and he was followed by Leo. Sally heard them and a frightened sound escaped her throat. Knowing how leery Mask was of Leo, Raph lifted a hand to keep them back and when he did, he saw that Leo wasn't wearing his katanas.
Mask barely rolled her eyes at the newcomers and Raph said, "It's okay, Sally. These are my brothers that I told ya' about." Crooking his finger at Don brought the olive skinned turtle closer. "This is my brother Donny. He's a doctor. Is it all right if he makes sure ya' ain't hurt?"
Mask's tail wagged as soon as Don knelt down and Sally took that as a good sign.
"'Kay," she said, looking at Don. "Pur-ple."
Don smiled gently and then very carefully examined the girl. Sally retained her hold on Mask while he worked, gasping once when he touched her side, but otherwise ignoring him.
Sitting back on his heels, Don told his brothers, "She's okay. Her ribs are tender on one side, but I'm fairly certain they aren't broken. What now?"
Before Raph could respond, Leo said, "We can't take her straight to her house. The police are all over the place waiting for someone to deliver a ransom demand. They think she was kidnapped."
"What then?" Raph demanded. He didn't want Sally to sit in a dark sewer tunnel any longer than necessary.
"Fire station," Mikey said. When his brothers looked at him, he told them, "We can take her to a fire station near her parent's house. They have a program where people drop off kids no questions asked. In fact, they even have an area that's free of cameras so people don't have to worry about being caught on tape."
Raph looked at Don and then Leo. Both nodded their agreement to the plan.
"Time ta go home, Sally," Raph said as he stood up.
His brothers backed away while Raph curved his arms under the little girl preparatory to lifting her.
"No! Want doggie!" Sally yelled, clinging to Mask's neck.
For a moment Raph was stymied. He didn't want to force the two of them apart and lose the little trust he'd spent the better part of an hour building. Then he saw the simplest answer was to not separate Sally and Mask.
"Okay Sally, doggie goes too," Raph told her and scooped both of them into his strong arms.
Once they were all safely inside the Battle Shell, Raph deposited Sally on one of the bench seats with Mask right next to her. He managed to snake the seat belt between them and clicked it into place around her.
Don drove them to a fire station that was only two miles from Sally's house. Parking a block away, they sat and watched the intermittent flow of traffic, making sure that everything appeared normal.
Sally was sitting up, one hand twisted in the fur on the nape of Mask's neck. Raph left his seat and came over to remove her seatbelt.
"We gotta take ya' ta the fireman, Sally. The fireman knows where your house is," he said, kneeling so that he was eye level with the girl.
"Doggie come," Sally said, her lower lip pushing out.
"Doggie has ta stay with us, Sally," Raph told her as gently as possible. "Mask is scared of grownups."
"M . . . Mask live with m . . . me," Sally stammered, her eyes brimming with tears.
Don left the driver's seat and came back to them. "I have an idea," he said as he reached into one of the overhead storage bins.
Pulling down a digital camera, Don took a picture of Sally and Mask together. Quickly plugging the memory stick into the onboard computer, Don printed out of a copy of the photo.
He handed it and an ink pen to Raph, who wrote across the top edge, 'To Sally' and then on the bottom edge he added, 'From Mask'.
Don took an ink pad out of a small drawer and Raph smeared Mask's paw with ink before pressing her paw to the picture.
"There," Raph said triumphantly. "Now Mask will always be with ya'. When your mommy asks ya' who saved ya', show her this picture and tell her it was a dog."
Sally's eyes lit up and she took the picture from Raph's hand. Clutching it tightly, she reached down to pat Mask's head.
"I wuv you Mask," she whispered softly and Mask's ears twitched, her head lifting so that she could lick the little girls face. Sally started to giggle.
Taking a deep breath, Raph looked up at Leo. "Your turn shadow ninja."
Leo grinned at his brother and stooped to lift Sally into his arms. She waved at the turtles as Leo carried her out of the side door, even lifting a palm to her mouth and blowing a kiss to Raph.
And then they disappeared. Don counted to thirty and then called the fire station, telling the woman who answered that a child had just been left at their door.
About three minutes later Leo climbed back into the Battle Shell.
"Did they get her?" Raph asked anxiously.
"Yep," Leo said, taking his seat up front next to Don. "About ten seconds after I put her down."
"She say anything?" Mikey asked as he buckled himself in.
"She pointed at me and said 'blue'," Leo told them, chuckling.
Raph settled into the seat Sally had vacated and scratched Mask behind her ears. She lifted her head and draped it across one of his thighs with a long, breathy exhale.
Raph grinned and looked over at his youngest brother. "Hey Mikey," he said, "your cat Klunk ever rescued anybody?"