As Leo crawled through the ventilation shaft, he replayed what happened nine days ago. Angel's brother Ryan had been ambushed by the Purple Dragons. Leo only arrived at the tail end of the confrontation, but he still blamed himself for not getting there sooner. A sullen guy with a gun put Ryan in critical condition, and Leo just barely got him to the hospital in time. Since then Leo had buckled down on everyone. Extra training. More running. Spars until they dropped. So they'd be prepared. So none of his brothers would ever have to feel what Leo himself had felt when that gun went off. But of course Raph wouldn't have any of it and threw a fit, so now Leo was infiltrating a hospital in the middle of the night just to quell his own insecurities.
Past the vent slats in Ryan's room Leo saw a nurse checking vitals and Angel curled up in a chair by the bed. She held her brother's hand.
"Visiting hours are almost over," said the nurse. "He's stable. Why don't you go home and get some rest? He's in good hands here."
"Are 'good hands' why he's still unconscious?" Angel shuddered and softened her tone. "Sorry. Just. Could you give us some space? I've still got fifteen minutes."
The nurse nodded politely and left.
"Angel," said Leo. "It's me. Leonardo."
Angel moved to sit under the vent and angled her face away from the door like the turtles had taught her. "What're you doing here?"
"Checking in. How is he?"
"Not awake."
Where there should've been silence there were machines beeping. The electrical hum grated on Leo's nerves.
"Stable." Angel shifted in the chair. "Or that's what they say anyway."
"Stable's good at least."
"Why're you really here, Leo?"
"The Purple Dragons. They've been making messes outside their usual turf lately. I was wondering if maybe you could tell me why."
"Do I look like I could tell you why?"
"I'm sorry, it's just. You're my only lead. Or your brother is."
"Does he look like he could tell you why?"
Shame turned Leo's throat slimy with disgust. Remorse. And he was angry. At himself. At the guy who put a bullet in Ryan. At the entire Purple Dragon gang for everything they'd ever done. He seethed there in the ventilation shaft, not daring to speak. If he spoke up now it would just be another failure.
"Word on the street is they're recruiting." Angel crossed one leg over the other. Then she switched which leg was on top. Then she did it again. "But way more than normal and not with their usual m.o. I haven't heard anything on why."
"Thank you. And I'm sorry. I can't say that enough."
"You check with Casey?"
"Not yet."
"Sounds to me like you better get on that."
"Right." Leo opened his mouth to ask how Angel herself was holding up, even though he knew that was a stupid question on account of the shadows under her eyes, but before he could say anything the nurse reentered the room and the moment was gone.
"Visiting hours are over." The nurse gave Angel a few more seconds with Ryan then ushered her out the door. "Your grandmother is waiting for you in the lobby."
As he crawled back through the vents Leo told himself to focus on the task at hand. Find Casey, which meant find Raph, and figure out if either of them knew anything about this Purple Dragon turf pushing nonsense. He didn't want to, because he didn't want to deal with any more of Raph's attitude, but it looked like he was going to have to. Whatever. If it took another fight with Raph to keep everyone out of harm's way then Leo would do it. Not like he hadn't sacrificed his brothers' opinions of him before in order to keep them safe.
Outside he dropped from the ventilation shaft into alleyway shadow and found a manhole cover. There was a possibility Raph would be out on the town, but more likely by now he'd be back in the Lair. Out of habit Leo moved through the sewers with efficiency, but this time also hesitancy. When he approached the entrance to the Lair the scent of blood hit him hard and he moved faster. Dread clutched his heart and squeezed. Who was hurt? What happened?
Leo entered his home with katanas drawn and counted family members. Don by the entertainment center, unharmed, Raph by the couch, also unharmed, Master Splinter in the kitchen, unharmed. And—
"Hi, Leo!" There was Mikey right in front of him. Also unharmed. "You'll never guess what Raph brought home!"
If something had happened to Klunk then Mikey wouldn't be so chipper. If something had happened to April or Casey then everyone would be freaking out. So did that mean there was nothing amiss? Confused, Leo sheathed one katana. "Guys, there's blood by the entrance."
"Sorry," said a voice Leo didn't recognize. "That's my fault. I'll clean it up."
The scent of tea wafted closer as Master Splinter walked by with a tray. "Please sit down, Miss Williams. There is no need."
The mysterious new person who could only be Miss Williams sat back against the couch. Sensing a family gathering underway, Leo followed after Master Splinter in the hopes that all would be explained.
"Behold." Mikey swept out an arm in presentation. "Leo, meet Cateyana. Or as I like to call her, Kit Kat."
"Michelangelo, enough." Master Splinter handed Cateyana a cup of tea, which she accepted in her right hand but didn't sip. Her fingernails were set in her skin unevenly, discolored and trimmed to the quick. The bandage on her left arm explained the blood at the entrance but not anything about where she might've come from or why she was hurt. "I am sure she would prefer to be called by her proper name."
"Kit or Cat's fine." She stared into her tea. "Just not together."
"Um. Well. Hello." Leo stowed his curiosity for now, sheathed his second katana, and bowed. From the looks of it she'd been through a lot. "I'm Leonardo."
"Hello, Leonardo." The paleness from blood loss intensified her eyes' honeyed color. Her hair might've been kempt once but wasn't anymore. Leo sensed an emotion bigger than fear in her. Darker. But her posture revealed nothing. If anything it mirrored Leo's, upright and polite. Odd, since she was in such bad shape. "I can clean up the blood if someone lets me. Really."
"Would you cut that out already," said Raph. "It ain't your fault that Purple Dragon thug opened fire."
As Leo connected the dots his heart sank. Another shooting. The Purple Dragons really were upping their game. It wasn't just his imagination. He knelt to meet Cateyana at eye level. "They shot you?"
She nodded, her expression icy. It was like a mask fell over her face to block all emotion.
"Leo, about that." Raph paced and avoided eye contact like he always did when he was about to lay out an apology. He talked with his hands as he chose what words to use. "I been thinking about things, what's been going on lately, what with what happened to Angel's brother, and I gotta say I'm sorry. I didn't get it before. But now, after this, well I guess I kinda do get it. You were being hard on us cuz you were trying to protect us. Ain't nothing wrong with that."
"Raph." Leo spared him a glance because if he didn't then Raph might not see the sincerity. "I appreciate the sentiment, but it looks like we might have bigger problems at the moment."
"You mean like why a Purple Dragon would shoot Cateyana in the first place?" asked Don in that astute way of his. "Because I've been wondering that myself. Especially considering the timeframe between Ryan's ambush and now. It's not that far apart."
"Yeah." Mikey flopped over the back of the couch and eyeballed Cateyana. "Unless maybe you did something that pissed them off."
She closed her eyes. Inhaled through her nose.
"Hey," said Raph. "No one asks to get shot."
"No one said that," said Leo. He had to diffuse Raph's temper or they'd never get anywhere. "But there still might be some connection. We have to cover all our bases here. I get the feeling there's more to this whole Purple Dragon escalation than we first thought."
"They shot me because I wouldn't complete my initiation. They wanted me to kill someone. I wouldn't. So they tried to kill me instead."
Silence.
Leo could practically hear the steam drifting off the tea. The connection could be former initiates. He hadn't considered that before. But it was Angel who was the initiate last time, not her brother.
Cateyana took her first sip and placed the cup on the floor.
Leo watched as she collected herself. In the span of a few seconds Cateyana went from a shocked victim of circumstance huddled over her tea to a calculated individual with an erect spine. The effect lasted all of two seconds before she winced and slouched, but the transformation had definitely been there. Leo knew then he was right. There was more to this, and now he got the feeling there was more to her too.
A quick glance to Don confirmed he and Leo were thinking on the same wavelength.
"It's systematic," said Cateyana. "The victims."
"Systematic how?" asked Don.
Raph, Master Splinter, and even Mikey gave their full attention.
"As far as I can tell the gang's power is switching hands," she elaborated. "Recruits pass their initiation by killing a veteran member who disagrees with the new leader. The guy I was supposed to kill went by Dragon Face. Supposedly he's been in the gang for a long time."
"Dragon Face does sound familiar," said Mikey.
"So they're getting the new recruits to do their dirty work." Leo had all sorts of feelings about that. Anger fought concern for dominance. He kept his voice level. "If you don't mind me asking, do you have any idea who this new leader is? Could you give us a name, or maybe describe what they look like?"
"I don't know his real name," said Cateyana. "Just what he goes by. But Raphael, you saw him. He was there in the alley. Burly guy, weapon of choice was a broken bottle."
Recognition dawned on Raph's face.
"And what is it he goes by?" asked Leo in a tone he hoped sounded patient.
"Basilisk."
"You mean like that giant snake thingy from Harry Potter?" asked Mikey.
"Technically that 'giant snake thingy' was based off a mythical creature," said Don. "They got the name right at least."
"Shell of an ego if that's what he chose for his nickname," said Raph. "But come to think of it I did see someone who fit that description back in the alley. If memory serves, you slammed a drop ladder down on his foot and stole his broken bottle for yourself."
"I did do that." Cateyana reached back toward the floor for her tea. "That is a thing that I did."
Leo had to get this conversation back on track. "So this… Basilisk… person. Do you have any more information on him? His usual whereabouts, favorite haunts, that sort of thing? Maybe even his agenda when it comes to the Purple Dragons?"
"And what is it you propose to do with this information, Leonardo?" asked Master Splinter.
The conversation morphed into a thoughtful quiet that to Leo felt like silent judgment.
Cateyana shattered it by sipping tea. "Don't know the overall agenda. But not all gang members are bad people." She put the cup back on the floor and picked at her fingernails. "At least half the current members got coerced into joining. And once a recruit completes initiation there's no way out. The other members serve as witness to the murder. Anyone could blab. It keeps everyone in line."
"Coercion." Leo thought of Ryan and Angel in that hospital room. "What kind of coercion?"
"Mainly they threaten those close to the initiates," said Cateyana as if talking about this were the most natural thing in the world. "Family or friends, whichever they think is the best leverage."
The weight in Leo's chest went from pebble to anvil.
"If that's true," said Raph. "Then who they got on you?"
"Oh I joined voluntarily." She took another sip of tea.
"I repeat," said Don. "That's not suspicious or anything."
"Maybe I don't have anyone I care about."
"Everyone's got someone," said Mikey.
Cateyana shrugged.
A rare disturbed expression crossed Raph's face, and in that moment Leo knew Raph knew something more. But now wasn't the time to ask. Later. When they were alone.
"It seems this situation grows more complex the more information arises." Master Splinter stared Cateyana down. "Tell me, Miss Williams, do you know of any pattern that dictates who is recruited?"
"Since I volunteered that's not my expertise."
"Okay, I gotta ask." Don scrutinized her as much as Master Splinter but in a different way. Analytical instead of spiritual. "What made you want to join the Purple Dragons in the first place?"
Leo saw Cateyana squirm. The reaction was subtle but undeniable. That seemed to be the pattern with her. A calm façade with a current of emotion underneath, if someone bothered to look close enough. Leo resolved to always look close enough.
"She wanted to get away from her father," said Raph. "From the sound of it the guy's a real piece of work."
Cateyana didn't comment.
"Okay," said Mikey. "Does anyone else get the feeling we're about to get pulled into another gigantic mess?"
That was rhetorical. They were already in and everyone knew it.