Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Ninja Turtles and make no profit from the writing of this fic. I'm bringing in a little mix of the 2007 cartoon and the newer Bay movies, mixing Joi Reynard in with the boys and dragging her out of Wales with a nasty background full of baggage. Hoping it'll be a fun ride! :) Enjoy all!
Prologue
The room was rank with the smell of nervous sweat, bad coffee and stale cigarette smoke that clung to the mortar between the bricks like the nervous caress of a lover that had been wronged but couldn't seem to let go of the one who had wronged them. And there was a silence there that drug, long and heavy – filled with anticipation and caution punctuated with disbelief.
It was the one room in the precinct Rebecca Vincent could not stand. A room that held it's sent like it held it's secrets. And there were plenty of secrets here.
With a sigh, she ran her hands back through her hair, loath to stare at the woman across from her.
"This is a joke," the blonde said, snapping the file shut and tossing it across the table before retrieving her cigarette from the ash tray and taking a long drag, praying like hell that the slight tremble of her fingers wasn't noticeable.
"We wouldn't be here if this was a joke, Joi," Rebecca muttered. Her eyes were bloodshot and tired from long hours. Hours that had been spent trying to take care of what had been presented to her before they had to give up and had to call her in.
"So what…you want me to find this guy for you? That name hits a little close to home. I'm sure you realize that."
"Yes...I'm aware." She picked up the folder and set it aside, taking another and handing it to Joi. "Your job is to bring him in. Nothing more. We'll take it from there."
"Having a hard time tracking him down, are you?"Joi flipped open the folder, wincing at her own checkered history splattered all over the pages. "Seems as if your men should be a little better at that, don't you think?"
The Welsh accent, one Rebecca could usually brush off, grated on her nerves this time. Every small lilt was like a grate a fork over plate. "There is a reason we pay you. A reason we call you our contingency plan."
"Good to know that's what you see me as."
"You chose to join us, Joi. To wipe the slate clean and gain the protection you need. Be as jaded about that as you want, but you never had to say yes when we offered you a position."
Joi sneered, her gray eyes blazing "I have my priorities...you used them against me. I wouldn't consider your offer a choice. I would consider it mandatory."
"Consider it whatever you want. Bottom line…you work for us…and this is the job we have for you. Find him. Bring him in."
Joi ground her cigarette out in the ashtray, pushed her chair back and stood. Reaching across the table, she collected the paperwork. "Pay me better and I'll stop ending these little meetings of ours by telling you to go fuck yourself."
Rebecca smiled darkly, shaking her head. "If it weren't for us, you wouldn't have what you have now. That's an awful lot of greed for someone living in a fortress that we paid for."
Joi turned and went to the door, jerking it open and letting it slam behind her. Rebecca winced, then relaxed in her seat, releasing a breath on a low expletive. The deal was done. At least part of it.
It was sheer determination and a lack of time that pushed her to stand and make her way back to her office where another call would bring in the second asset.
Hopefully with both, she could manage to save New York before Sack's tried to take it down again. Luck had been on the cities side once before. She hoped to God it was this time.