The Buckaroo Diamond

Chapter 2

Kirby O'neil was a strange man. That was the first impression the turtles had. Mikey had heard of Donnie's unlikely friend found in Kirby (probably only because of his family ties with the red-headed beauty), and had been serving as Donnie's confidant. Sheriff Leo was always busy, and Deputy Raph wasn't patient (or trustworthy) enough for Donnie to even consider.

Donnie led his brothers off the main streets to a grassy trail leading uphill to a shabby looking log cabin. It was larger than most homes, since Kirby was a pack-rat and always needed more room to accommodate for his research. The lawn wasn't tended and sported tall grass and unruly weeds, with April being the Kirby's only child, and nobody to help the busy man with his lawn, the house had a slightly dreary look to it.

Donnie walked up the creaky front porch steps and knocked on the door. He nervously shuffled his feet (which did not go unnoticed by the others), and when the door opened, his brothers started to understand why Donnie was interested in her. The petite young woman was dressed in a casual yellow dress and corset, her hair was pulled into a bun that was covered by a simple bonnet, and stray locks of red hair framed her face. Her blue eyes lit up, "Donnie! It's good to see you again." She opened the door a little wider and saw the officers. "Oh, and you brought friends. Come in."

April deflated a little at the sight of the other officers. Being visited by those in the police force was hardly ever a good thing. Donnie of course was completely oblivious and proceeded to engage in small talk. "How's your cat?"

Raph mentally slapped his dorky brother. The cat? Really? He'd never felt such strong second-hand embarrassment, and he coughed, "Well, what we really came here for was to ask about the Buckaroo Diamond…" April led them through the kitchen and started chattering good naturedly. "Of course! The diamond was my father's biggest project, one of his best works yet. He spent years searching for it." April opened the door to a messy room. A thin middle-aged man with thinning red hair bent over a very messy desk. Along the wall that the desk faced were newspaper clippings and articles from books of his recognition and achievements. The rest of the walls were taped up with pages from college books and clippings and blurry pictures from mentally questionable hunters, different papers were connected across the wall with colored string to mark the potential connections and clues of the myths that Kirby O'neil was so fascinated with.

Donnie cleared his throat. "Hi, Mr. O'neil. I was just wondering if-"Kirby stood up immediately, knocking over his chair and sending some loose papers flying. "Oh, Donatello! It's so good to see you again." Kirby rushed over and started to furiously shake Donnie's hand and blather on about his latest project, "It's been awhile! I've been working on something really interesting; I think you might have some insight to this. I'm investigating the possibilities of the existence of other sentient life forms in the Milky Way." Donnie perked up, and Mikey scratched his head and whispered to Leo, "Dude, I didn't know there was another person out there who spoke fluent 'nerd' as much as Donnie."

Leo cleared his throat. "Mr. O'neill, we are here to discuss the security of the Buckaroo Diamond." Kirby sobered up very quickly at the mention of the diamond. "Oh, oh I see. Is everything okay?" Donnie scratched the back of his head. "We aren't sure. There have been a series of robberies targeting the banks owned by Oroku Saki. We think that they might be trying to find the diamond."

Kirby rubbed his chin. "I see. That could be very unfortunate. The diamond could be worth millions."

Mikey perked up, "Just tell us where the diamond is hidden and we can keep it safe."

Kirby nervously rubbed his hands together. "Ah, yes. You see, the thing is, I don't know where it is."

The turtles' eyes bugged out of their heads and Raph yelled "What do you mean you don't know?!"

Kirby ran a hand through his disheveled thin hair. "You see… I cut a deal with Oroku Saki's young charge, Miss Karai." Raph bristled and hissed "That snake?" Leo pulled Raph back, "She's not that bad!"

Kirby backtracked. "I'm sorry. I wanted to keep the diamond completely safe, and Karai proposed to me that she could set up the best security and guards to keep it hidden. If you need to talk to her, she manages a hair salon uptown called 'Klear Kutz'."

Leo and Raph looked at each other. About a year and a half ago, they'd gotten reports that some of her, err, "employees" had been spotted transporting questionable substances. It was time to pull out that file again. At that moment, April decided to join them in her father's office and held on a tray steaming cups of tea. "Is anyone thirsty?" Donnie's attention was immediately stolen away from the nervous archeologist and he started to reach for a cup, "Of course! Thanks April."

Raph pulled down Donnie's hand and Leo quickly apologized, "Actually, we really need to go, thanks Mr. O'neil!" Raph dragged Donnie away who called back a 'goodbye' to April. Mikey waved at each of them and Leo simply tipped his hat before heading out.

Raph glared at Leo. "I told you we should've gone tougher on her. There's no telling what will happen if she decides to get her claws on that diamond." Leo ground his teeth together. "I happen to trust Karai, and you should too." Mikey shoved in between the two brothers as they walked. "Um, would anyone care to clue me in?" Raph sneered, "Listen up, rookie. Karai is bad news, and she hides it behind a face only Leo could love."

Leo sputtered. "She happens to be quite pretty. And she's not bad news, Mikey. Just a little misguided, that's all." Donnie muttered, "'Misguided' is the term used for teens and kids selling drugs or stealing. Karai is… something else." Leo held out an arm as a signal to halt. "Let me make something clear: we will go back to the station and pull up the files we need. But I want everyone on this team to keep an open mind. Got it?"

Raph rolled his neck and shrugged. "Whatever you say, 'fearless leader'. Let's just get this over with."

Mikey hadn't caught what Leo said at all, though. He had seen something. Something… so different and so colorful… something… something that could let him escape to a completely different world…

Mikey's mouth opened and his mouth started watering. "Dudes… I have seen the future." That got their attention. The three stared at the youngest and Donnie so much as waved a hand in front of his face. This went unnoticed by the rookie. Raph sighed and lightly smacked the back of his head. "What's your deal, man?" Mikey dramatically waved a hand towards the words painted on a window across the street. "I have seen the future, and the future involves the eating of the uncharted food known as, 'Pizza Gyoza'!" Donnie looked at the restaurant. "Mr. Muricami must have some new specials."

Leo adjusted his hat and looked at the sign. "We really should keep working…" Mikey gasped, "Dude! We've been working all day, its past noon and we haven't eaten, and that pizza gyoza is calling my name. I'm starving!" Leo sighed in defeat. "Alright. But make it quick."

Mr. Muricami owned a small family restaurant that revolved around foreign cuisine. It wasn't super popular, but the food was good and the service was the best in town. Mr. Muricami lost his sight 27 years ago from unknown circumstances, but he was such a talented cook that it didn't hinder his business in the slightest. When Mikey opened the door the bell sounded and Mr. Muricami greeted them without turning from his work. "Ah, turtles please come in and sit down." Raph whispered to Donnie, "I still can't get used to that." Each of the turtles took a seat at the bar where Muricami busily flipped and chopped with a smile on his face. "What can I get you boys today?"

Mikey couldn't sit still, "We'd all like an order of your 'pizza gyoza'!" Leo took note of Mikey's bouncing knees and tapping fingers and spoke up, "Uh, does that gyoza have any caffeine in it?" Muricami chuckled. "No, Leonardo-san. All pizza gyoza is decaffeinated."

A door marked "Employees Only" swung open and a shaggy haired teenager with a bandana around his forehead wiped his hands on a towel. "We got another takeout order for the O'neils. They want the usual." When he spoke, the turtles noticed a missing front tooth. At the mention of the customers' name, Donnie raised an eye-ridge. Muricami turned to the messy boy. "Of course, Mr. Jones. I will send you to deliver it when it is done." Donnie looked the guy over and didn't like what he saw. "Uh, would that be an April O'neil?"

The teen lazily leaned against the counter. "We don't give out information of our customers to strangers. Who are you supposed to be?" Donnie's guard went up. "I'm Donnie, and I happen to be a close friend to the O'neils. I could take the food to them myself on our way out." The toothless stranger smirked. "Oh really? Because, I deliver food there quite often, and she hasn't mentioned you before…" Donnie was on the defensive. Just how often did he visit the household? And how much did he talk to April?

Muricami sensed the tension in the room and quickly shoved a box into the delivery boy's hands. "Casey, just make sure you make it brief. I don't need you wasting time with chit chat again." Casey's cheeks turned pink and he sent one last glare to Donnie before heading out the door.

Donnie suddenly lost his appetite. "Mr. Muricami, can we take that order to go?"