After finishing her stretches, Stella took the time to cool down before heading upstairs for her own shower. It wasn't long before she and Raphael locked up the apartment and headed out into the dreary winter weather which was quickly developing into one hell of a snow storm. They ended up arriving at the lair just as Mikey and Donatello were finishing putting dinner on the table.
"Thank god, I'm starvin'," Raph declared as he quickly removed his heavy winter gear and rushed into the small dining area. "The slave driver over there didn't let me eat lunch." He jerked his thumb accusingly over her shoulder as he pulled out his chair and snatched up a piece of pizza.
"Because we didn't eat breakfast until after eleven," Stella retorted as she too removed her heavy winter coat before striding toward the table and pressing a kiss to Splinter's furry cheek. "Hey Dad," she greeted before sitting down in her normal seat between Raphael and Michelangelo's hulking forms, making her look even more petite than usual.
"Stel kicked your shell again?" Mikey laughed knowingly as he too helped himself to a large slice of pizza and shoved almost half of it in his mouth with one bite.
"Yeah right, like she could take me," Raph laughed, earning him painful jab in the arm from the girl beside him. "Ow, woman! You have the world's sharpest elbows you know tha'? Geeze," he grumbled unhappily while the rest of his brothers chuckled at his misfortune.
"So Donny, any luck tracking those PD's from last night?" Stella asked between bites since she had manners.
The purple banded turtle swallowed his pizza before answering. "Actually, yeah. I've managed to track them to a warehouse complex in the Lower East Side. From the looks of it, something big is going on down there."
"So surveillance then?" She asked, glancing around the small table.
"Stel, the weather sucks," Raphael pointed out with a bit of a whine.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess that he was not eager to freeze to death sitting on some godforsaken rooftop watching thugs unload stolen computer equipment. While Stella knew he was hesitant to admit weakness, the extreme cold made it hard for him and the rest of her brothers to function for too long being coldblooded.
"S'not a problem," Stella shrugged knowing about how the cold affected her brothers. "I'll just call April and ask her to meet me. We can keep watch from her car, no problem." Taking out her cell phone, she quickly excused herself from the table and went to her room to call April.
Glancing around the table, Leonardo saw the pointedly unhappy looks of his brothers and shrugged. "You know I can't stop her," he reminded him. "Sensei?" He asked hoping his Master might step in and tell Stella it was too dangerous a mission to take on without backup.
"I see no reason why Stella and Miss O'Neil cannot perform this task," Splinter replied. "Unless of course, one of you feels that your sister is incapable of taking care of herself?"
Shoulders slumped in defeat, each of the turtles shook their heads. Not one of them, not even Raphael though he was most likely to try, could honestly argue that Stella was incapable of taking care of herself. She was an accomplished fighter and if anything she was more capable than any of them in situations like this. Being human certainly gave her an advantage none of them possessed as she could blend into the background of New York City much more easily than they could making her their default spy.
"Alright, I'm out," Stella announced a half hour later as she emerged from her small bedroom already dressed for the night ahead and clutching her black motorcycle jacket.
Whistling lowly, Michelangelo surveyed the outfit his older sister had just donned. "I thought you were going to watch PD's from the car, didn't know you were goin' out Stel."
Stella furrowed her brow before looking down at the small dress and heels she had donned before looking back up and smiling crookedly. "Oh I'm going to get some information alright," she assured him, "way more than if I just sat on top of a roof all night and tried to count how many Dragons go in and out of a building."
"Not like that you're not!" Raphael thundered as he jumped to his feet, Leonardo right behind him. "No way in hell you're going anywhere near those lowlifes dressed like that Stella," he declared glaring down at her.
Stella's eyes flashed dangerously as she stood her ground while the two large turtles bore down on her. "Oh no? Well who died and made you king?" she demanded angrily.
"Stella," Leonardo warned.
"Stay out of this Leo," Both Raphael and Stella snapped simultaneously, shooting their older brother looks that could melt stone.
Stella turned her attention back to the pissed off, red banded turtle in front of her. "You have no right to tell me what I can and can't do Raphael," she spat angrily putting her hands on her hips.
"Like hell I don't," he seethed clenching his large fists angrily.
"Oh really, and I suppose you think you're going to stop me?" She jabbed at him with her finger.
He swatted her finger away. "Don't push me Stella," he warned as he too refused to back down.
Sensing an oncoming storm that he was powerless to stop, Leonardo took a step back while he watched the two hotheads go toe to toe. To an outsider, watching Stella standing at only five foot four with her heels on provoking the much bigger, muscle bound turtle would seem like a death wish but Leo knew from experience that the small woman could hold her own against any of them, no matter what she was or wasn't wearing.
"Don't push me Stella," she mocked before turning on the ball of her foot and allowing her long brown hair to slap Raphael in the face, pissing him off even further as she began to stride away.
"Stella," he growled, grabbing for her arm.
"Rookie mistake," Donny whispered out the side of his mouth to Mikey as they watched the show."
"Ten bucks says she gives him a black eye," Michelangelo hissed.
"Hush now my sons," Master Splinter replied, never taking his eyes off of the drama unfolding across the room. "Twenty says she knocks him off his feet completely," he whispered earning grins from both his sons still seated at the table.
"Let go of me," Stella warned as she glared angrily down at the green hand currently gripping her elbow.
"Make me," Raphael growled in response.
Without a sound, Stella spun around and with a series of quick movements, not only freed herself from the large turtle's strong grip she also managed to knock him across the room and into a wall before she strode out the door without a look back.
Jumping up from his chair, Donatello hurried over to Raphael's crumpled form and surveyed the damage. "And he's out," he announced finally as Mikey groaned and got up from his chair to fetch twenty dollars from his room to pay his father.
After walking around for a bit to clear her head and shake off her fight with Raph, Stella headed for the garage where she and the guys kept their vehicles. Striding into the drafty building, she looked longingly toward her motorcycle before glaring at Raphael's own bike parked alongside it. Angrily, she stomped over toward her car, a little black Ford, and climbed inside.
Raphael had made fun of her when she had first brought the car home, teasing her for picking out such a worthless car but he had quickly eaten his words when it had proved invaluable on nights such as this. The point of the car was to blend, not to stand out like a girl in some fancy sports car would. There were so many cars just like it in the city that it was impossible for any of their enemies to immediately identify as one they saw more often than any other. Pushing the button to open the garage door, Stella drove out into the stormy night toward April's apartment in Greenwich Village.
After collecting the redhead who, at Stella's request, had also dressed the part of a girl ready for a night out, Stella began to expertly navigate her way through traffic towards the Lower East Side.
Along the way Stella took the opportunity to gripe about Raphael's overprotective behavior and how stupid males were, something about which April was quick to agree having been dating her vigilante boyfriend Casey Jones for years with no proposal in sight. After a decent complaining session, Stella laid out the night's plan. After asking just a few questions, April was quick to agree that it was fairly easy and pretty brilliant, if executed correctly.
Before too long, Stella locked in on her mark and with a deep breath and a reassuring smile in April's direction she stepped out of the small car and into the storm. With an air of confidence, she sauntered across the road toward a lone Purple Dragon who was doing a piss poor job of keeping watch as he tried to smoke a cigarette in the swirling snowstorm.
"Is she an idiot?" Raph hissed angrily from where he and Mikey were keeping watch from a nearby sewer grate. "No wait, let me rephrase. She's an idiot!" He muttered darkly as he watched Stella approach the thug leaning against the concrete wall smoking a cigarette. Smiling enticingly at the tatted up meathead before her, Stella approached him steadily while clutching her phone in her hand.
"Hey," the man grunted giving her a long once over, his eyes lingering in all of the places that made Stella want to wretch. "What're you doin' out here?" he asked as he snuffed out his cigarette and pushed off the wall. "Girl like you shouldn't be out here," he warned as he licked his lips hungrily.
Stella bit her lip and looked down before looking up at the large man through her long eyelashes, playing her part perfectly. "Actually I was hopin' you could help me and my girl out," she answered as she gestured toward where April sat in the nearby car. "We're supposed to go to this afterhours club, um" she looked down at her phone, "the Mar's Bar but we're a little lost. My fuckin' phone's directions suck. This snow is messin' with my fuckin' GPS and shit," she giggled, making sure the guy got a nice eyeful of her cleavage as she did so. "Think you could help a girl out?"
The thug licked his lips again and leaned forward, invading her space with his presence. "Oh, I know I can," he groaned into her ear as he pressed himself against her suggestively.
Although she wanted to vomit and scrub her skin with acid at that very moment, Stella gave another giggle instead and moved to the side playfully. "Well, then I guess you're just gonna have to come by for a drink then so you can warm up and I can thank you properly," she cooed flirtatiously giving him a suggestive smirk.
"You can count on it babe," the PD replied letting his hands settle on her hips for a moment before giving her directions to a different afterhours dive which was more often frequented by the Purple Dragons than the well know dive Stella had mentioned and promised to meet them there as soon as he was done taking care of business.
After giving him her number, just in case, Stella sauntered back to the car where April was waiting, making sure to give the PD a good show as she walked back. "See you soon Tino," she called out before closing her door and driving away.
Almost as soon as the door was closed, Stella's phone rang and she handed it to April. "It's Raph," she muttered without even looking at the screen. "Asshole followed me here and was watching from the sewer grate across the street. Answer it for me will ya? I don't want to break another phone."
Shaking her head in disbelief, April pushed the little green button and held the phone away from her ear as a fountain of colorful expletives flowed forth from the little phone like a broken fire hydrant. Rather than respond verbally, Stella simply stuck her tongue out at the phone like a child and continued to drive towards the bar.
"And you's had betta put that tongue back in ya fuckin' mouth Stella. Don' tink just because I ain't in da car wit you I don' know what you's doin' right now!" Raphael's voice shouted through the speakers his heavy Brooklyn accent becoming more and more apparent the angrier he got. "Ya had betta not be goin' to that fuckin' ba!" He continued to shout as Stella turned onto a street just around the corner from the dive and parked the car.
"April! April you had betta stop her before I drag her ass outta there!" He warned as the two women climbed out of the small car and stepped into the darkness.
Stella motioned for April to hand her the phone. "G'nite Raphie, sweet dreams. Give Mikey my love alright baby?" Stella simpered before blowing a kiss into the receiver, hitting the end button and putting the phone on silent.
"Oh wow, he's pissed," April laughed as she and Stella linked arms and strode toward the bar. She was more than confident that Stella would keep them safe. "Do you think it was such a good idea to push him like that? He seemed really worked up."
"No, not really," Stella admitted, "but he was way out of line earlier and he needs to learn to respect my judgment. I would never put you in needless danger and I'm more than capable of taking care of the both of us if anything should happen. Besides, it'll be a riot when he busts into the Mar's Bar and finds out it went out of business six months ago. I just wish I could be there to see it. What a goon," she chuckled as she pulled open the door of the dimly lit establishment and stepped inside.
As promised, the two women didn't have to wait long before Tino showed up. While he and Stella began drinking, April's job was simple. She was to remain sober and in constant contact with Donatello through her cell phone in case things went south while Stella would drink the unwitting Purple Dragon under the table, collect as much information as she could, and then invite him over to 'her place' for some more fun. They would not of course be going anywhere near her apartment but Tino didn't need to know that.
After a few hours of heavy drinking, Tino was primed and ready to go. Stella had gotten all of the information out of him that she needed and it was time to erase both April and herself from his memory.
While she distracted the thug, she gave the signal and watched as April slipped a small pill into the man's drink. Urging him to chug the last of his shot, Stella suggested that they take their little party elsewhere and April leaned forward and suggested silkily that they take it back to their place for a little, privacy.
Agreeing stupidly, Tino chugged his drink with gusto before slamming his glass down on the countertop and slinging an arm around both women's' waists stumbled drunkenly out into the night. Climbing unsteadily into the backseat of the small Ford next to Stella, Tino never knew what hit him.
After dropping Tino's unconscious form inside the doorway of a shady apartment building so he wouldn't freeze to death, the two women began the drive back toward the garage. Originally Stella had planned on crashing at April's apartment overnight but given the information they had managed to collect from Tino, it was imperative that she get back to the lair to share her information with Leonardo and Donatello as fast as possible.
"You sure you're going to be alright?" April asked as Stella unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the passenger seat of the small car. April would be taking the car back to her apartment to change her clothes and collect the angry turtle, who would no doubt be wearing a hole in her living room floor, as well as the poor clown who was stuck with him, before coming back to the lair.
The smaller woman waved her off. "No worries April," she assured her friend. "It there's one thing I'm good at, it's holding my alcohol. Anyway, sorry in advance for Raph's attitude."
"Don't worry about it," April replied, "just get that information to the guys before it gets too late. I'll take care of Raph and Mikey."
With a mock salute, Stella turned on the ball of her foot and hurried toward the lift that would take her down into the sewer. Texting Donny as she went, she was not surprised when both he and Leo met her near the door.
"Are you okay Stella?" Leo asked as he reached out to help her over a patch of ice that had formed on the ground. "Mikey had us worried. He called to say they had lost you a few hours ago. If it wasn't for your texts to Donny we would have been out tearing up the city looking for you."
Accepting his helping hand, Stella jumped lithely over the ice patch. "I'm fine, went off without a hitch. Although," she admitted with a grimace, "I am desperately in need of a shower. I feel disgusting." She shivered slightly as she remembered the feel of Tino's sweaty hands on her bare legs.
"Of course but can wait until after you've given your report?" Donny suggested as he followed his older brother and sister back into the lair. "From what April said you were able to get some really good intel and I want to start working on it ASAP."
"Right, right," Stella agreed plopping down on the couch and removing her shoes to give her feet a rest before pulling a large blanket around her shoulders. "Well it turns out we were right, the party we busted up the other night was just moving the last of some equipment into that warehouse. Apparently Stockman is working on some sort of trans-dimensional transporter. Sounds to me like the guy has finally lost it but I wouldn't put anything past him. Security is going to be pretty tight. Stockman has the PD's and a number of hired guns working around the clock to keep this shit under wraps. They rotate every two hours on a staggered schedule so there's no chance of catching anyone napping. Also, they're patrolling in an overlapping pattern while wearing trackers so that if any of them disappear off their patrol for more than twenty seconds it sets of an immediate alarm and that's just the man power, I haven't even gotten to the security system he has in place yet."
Donatello whistled under his breath, "Wow Stella you got all this from one guy?" He asked impressed.
Stella just shrugged and pulled her feet up onto the couch to try and curl up into a tighter ball of warmth. "What can I say, I'm good at what I do," she joked cockily.
"Wha's that, hookin'?" Raphael's voice sneered cruelly from the doorway as a shocked Michelangelo and April froze in place behind him. "Did you have to spread your legs for that info or just get down on ya knees?"
Both Donatello and Leonardo spun around stunned and ready to defend their sister's honor but they were beaten to it by their Master. "Raphael!" the old rat snapped angrily as he stepped into the room from the kitchen where he had been listening to Stella's report while he made tea.
"Sorry Masta' Splinta'," Raphael grumbled not looking sorry at all.
"Forty flips my son," Splinter commanded. "Your sister gathered this information tonight at great personal risk both to herself and Miss O'Neil, and although I agree their methods were, unorthodox, I trust her judgment and know that she would not debase herself in such a way and expect you to do the same."
"But-," Raphael argued.
"Fifty, now begin," Splinter demanded.
With a glare toward Stella that promised a brutal fight in the future, the disgruntled turtle stomped off toward the dojo to begin his punishment.
"Please proceed my daughter," Splinter urged an ashen faced Stella as he placed a comforting paw upon her shoulder.
Never had Raphael spoken to her in such a way and it hurt to think he seemed to actually believed she would stoop so low to gather information. True, she had used her body to her advantage to do what she needed to do but never had she ever lowered herself to that level. She was probably the only frickin' twenty-three year old virgin female living in New York City for cryin' out loud.
Sucking in an uneasy breath, Stella focused on relaying the rest of her information about Stockman's security system to her brothers while keeping track of the steady count coming out of the dojo. She intended to be out of the room by the time Raphael finished his punishment as she wasn't sure she could control herself around him right now.
Stella managed to finish her report by the time Raphael reached his thirty-eighth flip and after giving a murmured excuse about needing to take a shower, she fled the room, desperate to wash the remnants of the night from her body and escape from the supportive yet pitying looks from the rest of her family.
Once she was safely under the pounding spray of the shower, Stella let all of her emotions come pouring out in a deluge of heated tears as she tried to scrub herself clean. No blade had ever managed to cut her quite as deeply as Raphael's words and she had no idea how to respond. With vigor she scrubbed at her skin until she was almost raw, trying her best to wash the vitriol of his words from her flesh.
Disliking the feeling of hurt and betrayal that threatened to overwhelm her, she eventually allowed her emotions to morph into anger. She would not stand for such treatment and she was ready to fight tooth and nail for Raphael's respect. Turning off the shower, she stepped into the steamy room and dried off with a fluffy towel before changing into the pair of more appropriate clothing she had heard April drop off just inside the door some time earlier.
Squaring her shoulders, she stepped out into the lair, ready to fight Raphael with everything she had but instead was startled to find it apparently empty. There were no sounds coming from any of the bedrooms or from the kitchen. Even the televisions in the living area had been turned off.
"Dad?" She called out uncertainly as she padded past the empty living room toward the dojo searching for some sign of life.
"We're in here Stella," April's muffled voice called from behind the decorative screen that separated the dojo from the rest of the living area.
Confused, Stella followed the sound of her friend's voice and found April and her father sharing a pot of tea. "The boys took- they went out for a run," she explained while scooting so Stella could sit down.
"I thought that now that it is quiet, perhaps it would be a good time to review the plans we had been discussing with Miss O'Neil," Master Splinter explained as Stella accepted the cup of tea he offered her.
"Oh, right," Stella bit her lip distractedly as she struggled to refocus her thoughts before turning to a puzzled looking April. "So um, basically I'm leaving or I'd like to anyway, but just for a while, not forever," she rushed to add seeing the look of dismay on April's face. The other woman remained silent but nodded and gestured for her to continue her explanation.
"Um so, some of the merchandise, or a lot actually," she admitted, "that I've been getting sent to the shop is really low quality and not anything that I feel comfortable selling so Dad and I have decided it's probably best if I go on my own scouting mission to find a new supplier. I'm wasting so much money having to ship faulty merchandise back overseas and all so it just makes sense for me to go find someone else."
April nodded along. "Makes sense," she agreed after a moment.
"Right, so you agree? It's a good idea?" Stella asked perking up hopefully.
She nodded her head. "Sure, if you're losing money it makes sense to switch suppliers." April furrowed her brow. "I'm just not sure why you're discussing this with me," she admitted after a moment.
Splinter spoke up. "I believe what my daughter is trying to do is ask you to run her shop for her in her absence," he explained while Stella nodded along. "We are aware that you are not as familiar with her wares as any of her brothers or I would be but as you know, it would not be an easy thing for a rat or a giant turtle to run a shop, even in New York City."
"I'd pay you of course," Stella chimed in clasping her hands in front of her and giving her friend the same pleading look she had used on Raphael less than twenty-four hours before. "Whatever you want just please say yes. I'll owe you forever!"
April couldn't help but laugh at her young friend's antics. "Alright, yes," she agreed earning smiles from both father and daughter. "With my own store closed indefinitely I could certainly use the money so I'll run the shop for as long as you're gone. I'm going to need some serious support though. I have almost no idea what you're selling in there these days."
"Oh no worries," Stella assured her as she hopped to her feet and hurried across the room before coming back with a large binder clutched to her chest. "Everything you need to know about anything and everything in the store is right here and if for some reason you can't find an answer in here, Dad and the guys are only a phone call away, they can answer any questions you have. Plus any new items that get sent your way will come with all the information you could ever need."
"Wow," April breathed as she flipped through the thorough workups Stella had taken the time to make up on literally every item in the store. "So uh, when are you leaving?" She asked finally, not missing the glance Stella exchanged with her father.
"Soon," Stella answered finally. "I got another bad shipment today and I'm not willing to do anymore business with this supplier but I need to talk to the guys first. After the last time one of us left…" she trailed off remembering how Leonardo had left them for training several years earlier and the fallout that had ensued. The last thing she wanted was for Raphael to take to the streets as the Night Watcher again. Shadowing him every night had been hell and this time that job would fall to poor Mikey. "I want to make sure they're okay with it."
"What about Raphael?" April asked addressing the elephant in the room."You know he's not going to like it."
"Well," Stella stalled as she remembered the disgusting and hurtful things he had said to her earlier, "I was originally planning on finding some way to bring him with me but now, I'm not so sure." She glared at the turtle in question's punching bag for a moment.
"Eh hem," Splinter interrupted her train of thought and brought her thoughts back to the present. "Perhaps it would be best if we left that decision for another day."
"Huh, oh right, of course," Stella agreed distractedly as her cell phone began to buzz, indicating she had a new message from Donatello. "Voicemail, that's weird," she mused as she pushed the voicemail button. "It never even rang, must be the storm messing up my service."
As she listened to the message, her facial expression morphed from one of puzzlement to one of frustration and anger in a split second. "Those idiots!" she shouted as she snapped the phone shut and jumped to her feet. Without another word she began rushing around the room, collecting an array of weapons and strapping them to her body.
"What is it my daughter?" Splinter asked with alarm as he and April also rose to their feet.
"They went in without me," Stella grunted as she grabbed her Yumi and strapped it onto her back along with her faithful dual Kama. "Apparently Donny got a reading about some sort of energy spike coming from that warehouse and they decided to go in to stop Stockman, tonight. He called over an hour ago to let me know what's going on but I'm just now getting his message because of this stupid storm. I need to get over there now, before they get themselves killed."
Splinter regarded his only daughter seriously before nodding his head in ascent. "I will go with you," he declared after a moment. "Miss O'Neil-"
"I'm coming too," April replied decisively as she strode over to the weapons rack and selected a Katana. "I'll call Casey on the way, maybe he can meet us there."
"Alright," Stella declared as she straightened up, "but you're going to have to drive April. I'm still not quite street legal." Tossing her keys to her friend, the trio raced toward the lift that would take them directly into the garage and the waiting van.