Ring Around The Rosy
Chaper 1: Exposed
A/N: Hey, everyone. Sorry it took me so long to get going on this sequel, but now I'm here. If you haven't read Hide and Seek, I suggest you read that story first as this one will take place right where HAS left off. I really hope you enjoy this story as much as the last one. It will definitely get bumpier from here on out. So sit back, relax, and immerse yourself in the second story in the Deadly Game series.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon Studios. I own Aubree Hennigan and any other characters not associated with TMNT.
Summary: The Turtles are exposed and New York is divided on whether mutants are accepted into society. Aubree is caught in the middle of this war, and enemies of both Aubree and the Turtles seek to capitalize on this crisis. Second in the Deadly Game series.
I stared at the TV screen in shock. There was another news story, but I couldn't hear what was going on. I started gasping for air, and the world started spinning. I felt someone take my arm and guide me to the couch, but I couldn't tell who it was. I heard Don's voice as he said, "Put your head between your legs." I did as he said, trying to gain control of myself.
"Are you okay?" Cynthia asked me.
No, I wasn't okay. I was far from okay. There was a picture of me kissing Leo that the whole city had been exposed to. Not only would it affect my job, but the Turtles were now exposed to the world. There was no way we could recover from this one.
"What do we do now?" Mikey asked.
"I suggest that we all get some rest and discuss this tomorrow," Splinter suggested. "It has been a trying day for all of us."
"I guess we'd better head to my place, girls," I said.
Splinter laid a paw on my shoulder. "No, Miss Hennigan, you and the girls will stay here tonight," he declared.
"Sensei, maybe it would be best if Aubree goes home," Leo replied. "She has to go to work tomorrow, and she doesn't have any clothes to change into."
"Then perhaps you should escort her so she can obtain those clothes," Splinter suggested.
"That works for me," I said. "What do you say, Leo?"
"I guess that would be fine," he said guardedly. He looked like he didn't even want to look at me.
"Good," Splinter said. "Just remember to be careful."
Leo bowed to him. "I'll keep her safe, Master," he promised.
I followed him out of the Lair, wondering what was wrong with him. I could tell he was angry, but I wasn't sure if he was angry at me or at Rosolli. I waited until we were on the rooftops to ask him.
"Leo, are you mad at me?"
"Yes, I am," he replied.
"Look, I'm sorry Rosolli exposed you guys," I said. "I didn't know he was going to do that."
"I'm not mad at you for our exposure," he told me. "That wasn't your fault. I'm mad at you for being so reckless and almost getting yourself killed and that you wanted to spare Rosolli's life."
Okay, I had expected the first reason, but not the second one. "Why would you be angry about that?" I questioned. "That's what I wanted to do all along."
"Because there's a chance he could go free," said Leo sternly. "And if he does, there's no question he'll come after you."
"I doubt that," I told him. "And even if I had let you kill him, what would be the point? It would have given him an easy out. By keeping him alive, he has to face the consequences of his actions."
"And you blindly trust that keeping him alive is the answer," he stated. "You can't just trust that someone will do what you want them to do. I did that, and I regretted it."
"You did? How?"
"By blindly trusting someone who was supposed to be my enemy," he answered. Then he went on to talk about Karai, who was the Shredder's daughter, and how he thought she was nothing like her father. How she'd helped them numerous times and then how she's stabbed Leo with his own katana.
"Whoa," I whispered. "That had to be bad for you."
"You have no idea," he replied. "I went into a serious bout of depression and anger. I blamed myself for what we almost had to do to get out of that mess and for blindly trusting Karai. It got really bad when I cut Splinter in a rage. He saw I needed help, so he sent me to the Ancient One. In the end, that's what I needed to get back to myself."
"So, do you still hate Karai?"
"No, we have a civil truce now that she's no longer in the Foot," he explained. "I don't really trust her after all she's done though. She's going to have to prove her loyalty to me and to my family and prove that she's really sorry for what she did."
"I get why you feel that way, but what does that have to do with me?" I asked him.
"It's the fact that you trust that Rosolli will stay in jail," Leo responded. "I've seen lots of Purple Dragons get out of jail within days of going in. You just can't assume he'll stay in there."
"Well, if he does get out, I guess I'll have to find a way to put him back in," I declared.
Leo laughed. "Good luck with that," he teased.
"What, you don't think I can?" I teased back.
"No, I think you can, but it won't be an easy task," he answered.
"Well, you know me. I like a challenge," I countered. "So, am I forgiven?"
Leo smiled. "I guess I can forgive you as long as you promise not to do it again," he replied.
"I'll do my best," I said.
He frowned. "That wasn't the answer I was looking for."
"I know, but it's the best I can do," I told him.
"Then I guess I'll have to settle for it," said Leo. "Well, here we are. You go retrieve your things while I stand watch."
"Sure thing," I replied. As I headed into my apartment to get my things, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. I knew that Chief would ask me about Leo, and I would have to come clean. I was afraid of how he would react when I revealed that Leo was a mutant. Would he get angry and demand that Leo and his family leave New York, or would he accept the fact that there were mutants in the sewers? Would I be able to keep my job, or would I be fired?
After I gathered my things and we were on our way to the Lair, I brought up the subject. "Leo, you know that I'm going to have to tell Chief the truth when he asks me about the picture," I said.
"I know that, Aubree," he replied. "I wouldn't ask you to lie to your boss."
"Yeah, but you realize that it could go wrong," I cautioned him. "What if he tells the mayor to have you guys taken to a laboratory to get dissected?"
"Then we'll have to fight," he said, a determined look in his eye. "We won't allow that to happen."
"I won't either, Leo," I promised. "I'll fight for you, even if means losing my job."
"Don't risk your job for us, Aubree," Leo begged me. "You need to earn a living. Besides, isn't that what your dad wanted?"
"I don't think he would care, Leo," I replied. "He never said he wanted us to be cops. I can always do something else." But even as I said it, I knew it would hurt to leave. I had always wanted to be a cop because I owed it to my father, and I always wanted to be like him. And what would that do to Ben? We were so close to each other and were doing well as partners. If I left, he'd have to find someone else to be his partner. I really didn't want to do that to him, but if it meant protecting Leo and his family, I would do it in a heartbeat.
When we arrived at the Lair we saw Mikey, Brianna, and Cynthia watching an episode of Family Guy. They had the closed captioning on so that Brianna wasn't left out. I wanted to laugh at the sight, but the look on Leo's face stopped me.
"I don't think this show is suitable for the girls, Mikey," he chastised.
Mikey laughed and grinned at his brother. "Well, there isn't anything else on at night," he said.
"Don't worry, Leo, we won't repeat any of the bad words," Cynthia reassured him.
"It's time for you girls to go to bed," I told her. "You have a big day tomorrow since you have to be questioned about what happened to you."
She nodded. "Yeah, you're right. So, where are we sleeping?"
"In the guest room," Mikey answered. "This way, ladies." He led us to a room on the bottom floor. It was fairly big with a dresser, a bean bag chair, and three sleeping bags. It definitely wasn't what I expected, but I knew beggars couldn't be choosers when it came to things like this.
"Sorry that we don't have a bed," Mikey apologized. "April and Casey don't stay down here anymore now that they've got Shadow, so we haven't really thought about putting a bed in."
"That's okay, Mikey," I reassured him. "This will work for now."
He smiled, wished us a good night, and headed off to bed, pausing long enough to turn off the TV. Leo, Don, and Raph also wished us a good night. I was ready to crawl into my sleeping bag when Splinter came in.
"Good night, you three," he said. "May you have pleasant dreams."
"Good night, Master Splinter," I said. "I'm sorry about what's happened."
The Rat smiled gently. "It is not your fault, Miss Hennigan," he assured me. "Sometimes Fate can be a harsh mistress. We must move in whatever direction Fate travels and do as she commands. Good night."
His words brought me comfort, and I was glad he didn't blame me for the picture getting out. I was determined to protect my friends and make sure that no scientist would get their grubby hands on them.
22222
The next morning I was a bundle of nerves as I got myself and the girls ready to go to the station. I really hoped Chief would accept my explanation and wouldn't suggest that the Turtles and Splinter be taken to scientists for further study. I managed to eat two pieces of toast, but that was all I could force down my throat. The girls ate all of their breakfast and didn't appear to be nervous like I was.
As we got ready to leave, Splinter put a paw on my shoulder. "It will be fine, Miss Hennigan," he reassured me. "Do not be afraid."
I nodded but didn't say anything. I walked to the station at a brisk pace, looking around for news cameras to ambush me. I didn't see any until we approached the station. As soon as they saw me, the reporters hurried toward me, eager to be the first to get my comments.
"Miss Hennigan, can you comment on the picture that was released to the press?"
"Are there really mutant turtles in the city?"
"Were you aware that the picture was being taken?"
"I'm sorry, but Miss Hennigan is not available for comment," a voice said. I gave a sigh of relief as Ben came down the steps. I hurried to him and whispered, "Thanks for having my back, bro."
"No problem, sis," he said. "It's what I'm here for."
We followed him into the station, happy to get away from the reporters. But before we could do anything else, Chief opened his door and motioned for me to come in. I looked fearfully at Ben.
"Can you look after the girls?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Yeah, I'll take care of them," he reassured me, squeezing my hand. "Good luck in there, sis. You'll be fine."
"Thanks," I whispered. I took a deep breath and made my way to Chief's office, ready to face the music.
"Sit down, Hennigan," ordered Chief.
I did so, making sure my back was straight.
"Well, I hope you're proud of yourself," began Chief. "What the hell possessed you to go down to the abandoned warehouse?"
"I received a text message telling me to go there," I replied.
"I see," he mused. "Why didn't you report it to us?"
"Because I wanted to handle it myself," I told him. "Also, the text told me not to say anything to you guys."
"Was that the only text you received?"
I shook my head. "No, one was sent to me after we found Randy Turner's body. The second one was the picture that was shown on the news."
"Wait, you mean that picture of you kissing that guy in the turtle costume?"
"Yes, but that's not a costume," I corrected.
"It's not a costume?" he repeated. "What do you mean?"
"Just what I said. It's not a guy in a turtle costume. He's a mutant turtle."
"Yeah, right, Hennigan," Chief said sarcastically. "This isn't some kind of game."
"I'm telling the truth," I insisted. "Leo and his brothers were the ones who rescued me the night I got jumped by the Dragons. They patched me up and took me back home, and I've been friends with them ever since. They even helped me when I was at the warehouse."
"Then why didn't they stay?"
"Because they didn't want to be seen," I replied. "They're also ninjas."
"I can't believe this," groaned Chief. "First we had that nut in the hockey mask, then that Nightwatcher guy, and now you're telling me we've got mutant ninja turtles roaming the city and rescuing people?"
"Yeah, they've helped a lot of people, Chief," I told him.
"Well, we can't have that," he said. "These mutants are taking away our jobs. Something has to be done about it. Hennigan, I want you to tell these mutants that I have an offer for them to join the police force. I think we could benefit from this by having some trained ninjas on the force. You should talk to the mayor as well and see if he'll give them full rights as citizens of the city, since you're so close to him and all."
"You would do that?" I asked him. "You'd give them a job?"
"Yes, I would," he replied. "But you have to convince them of the opportunity, Hennigan. They can't pass on this."
"Okay, but what if I can't convince them to join you?"
"Then you can consider yourself fired and your friends would either be arrested or taken to scientists," he replied with a sly smile.
Great, I knew there had to be a catch. "I'll see what I can do," I told him. "I may not be able to get all of them to join, but if I can convince one of them to do so, would you spare them and let me keep my job?"
Chief contemplated my question, and I had a feeling he'd refuse me. But then he looked up at me and said, "If you can get one of them to join us, I'll spare them and let you keep your job. That's my offer. If you can't do it, then my condition still stands. But I hope you can do this. I'd hate to lose you, Hennigan."
"Thank you, Chief," I said politely. "I promise I won't let you down."
"I hope you don't," he answered. I could hear the meaning in his tone quite clearly. If I did let him down, I was out of a job and my friends would be at the mercy of scientists. I just hoped the Turtles would agree and get me out of this mess. If not, we were all doomed.
A/N: So, that's the end of this chapter. A bit of a cliffie, isn't it? I told you things were going to be bumpy with this story, and it's not going to end here. Feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.