Rated 'M' for violence, language, sexual content and a plethora of potentially offensive material including but not limited to drug use and underage drinking.
Disclaimer: I still don't own them. They're much too clever to fall into one of my traps, cursed!
Authors Notes: I'd like to thank Reinbeauchaser for the helpful hints when it comes to writing dialogue. I appreciate everyone's reviews; they're the reason that I'm typing this up during my precious sleep time before work. Ta da, a longer chapter.
Equilibrium
-A Thief's Word-
A street lamp flickered, trying desperately to fight the darkness. An old newspaper was blown into a gutter, causing a wild-eyed rat to scamper across the alley. A storm was coming- clouds were already moving into position like soldiers on a war front. The wind was picking up, sending cups, papers, and other abandoned refuse to tumble about frantically. The scent of oncoming rain would be palpable if it weren't for the overpowering stench of urine and neglect.
A high-power scope was expertly secured to a top of the line automatic. A twist, and the infrared was activated.
With an ominous "blink," the street lamp ended its long and unappreciated life, throwing the alley into blindness. A familiar scampering was heard, followed by a resounding shot, a squeal, then silence.
A storm was coming.
X
"Would you two hurry up?"
Donatello bound ahead of his brothers, his bag clutched dearly to his chest and his eyes filled with the innocent joy of a seven year old on his way to the Christmas parade. Leonardo stayed a rooftop away to his right, and the other two were lagging behind.
"Did ya hear that, Mikey? This stuff has been sittin' around for a hundred years, collecting dust, but it won't last twenty more minutes." Mike chuckled while keeping a steady pace beside his red-wearing brother. Don ignored the sarcasm and instead, corrected his misinformed brother with enthusiasm.
"Actually, the entire exhibit predates a thousand years."
Raph snorted. "In that case, we'd better step on it."
Leo hid his smile by diligently scanning the buildings to his right. He didn't want Don to think that he was being laughed at, and the last thing Raph needed was encouragement.. Michaelangelo, not one to be left out on verbal banter, somersaulted to the next rooftop and commented, "It's not that we don't appreciate the exercise…" He ducked as Raph leapt over him to gain a better vaulting point. "It's just that we could really go for a hockey game or something. You know, an event that has something to do with this century." He grabbed a nearby rail and propelled himself forward, nearly knocking Raphael over in the process.
Leonardo motioned toward an industrial park, suggesting that a shortcut was in order. Don quickly complied, heading for the large flat roofs. He decided to enlighten his brothers along the way. "Even a thousand years ago, this so-called primitive civilization was mapping out the universe. Stars, planets, and orbits- even today, their projection of the moon's orbit around the earth is only off by nine seconds. Accuracy that withstands the test of time."
He flipped onto a fire escape railing, then pulled himself over the roof's ledge to sprint alongside his brother in blue. Feeling that his point had been missed entirely, he called back to his less enthusiastic brothers, "It doesn't matter how long ago something was discovered, it can still have relevance to the present day."
Lightning flashed and thunder crashed overhead, promising heavy rain. Michaelangelo let out a moan whereas Raph was pleased by the prospect of a good thunderstorm. The latter said a little too pleasantly, "Here comes the rain…"
Mike piped up in an off-key tune, "…Falling on my head like a memory."
He tensed, waiting for the whack that was sure to come from a particular turtle in red. To his surprise, it never came; everyone just groaned at the 80's reference. Leo was about to comment on his brother's not so bright singing career when movement caught his eye. Someone was on the roof of a large gray building on the other side of the industrial park.
The others had seen it as well. Leo asked, "Is that the museum?"
Don nodded and Mike pointed out, "Someone else must have stolen our idea. And here I thought that we were V.I.P."
Leo peered across the 100-yard distance. "Who wants to bet that they're doing more than looking?"
Raph twirled his sai casually and smirked. "Maybe this'll be fun after all."
Lightening streaked across the sky, illuminating four figures as they made their way quickly through the park. They were, however, unnoticed by their sighted target.
A woman in her early twenties had just secured the window from which she had entered and exited. Dressed neck to toe in black, she checked the perimeter of the building before choosing a ledge. Readjusting her bag so that it was secure on her back, she carefully made her descent to the ground.
"That 's one way to avoid an admission fee."
No sooner than her feet touched the ground, did a voice from the dark startle her. Scanning the area, she could guess at the direction from which the voice came, but she couldn't distinguish any figures from the shadows.
"And it looks like she's got some souvenirs."
At the sound of a different voice, she whirled around to face…darkness still. They were keeping their distance and she was becoming more certain that these weren't security guards.
"That's funny. I'm sure the gift shop's closed at this hour."
The humor in their voices kept her from feeling overly threatened, but this third voice sounded closer. She still couldn't see anyone. She raised her right arm slowly to her back, over her shoulder to pull free the double-bladed sword…
"Uh, uh, uh. I wouldn't do that if I were you."
As if this last voice wasn't intimidating enough, she caught a glimpse of some kind of reflective metal. Though she couldn't make out what it was, the message was clear enough. She was surrounded by four, if not more, armed men who she couldn't see, but could see her. She lowered her arm slowly to her side, leaving the weapon in its scabbard.
"Smart girl."
It was the last voice again, and she detected a hint of arrogance. What happened to the other voices that were making jokes?
"I think that you'd better return what you have to the authorities."
There was the first one again. She spoke to the shadows, knowing that they would hear. "You're right." She started off in a direction that she hadn't heard a voice from. "The police station's this way, right?"
Someone moved in front of her, and she could barely make out a few features…
"Is that a shell?"
As she was preoccupied trying to get a better look at Michaelangelo, Raph crept up behind her with the intention of knocking her unconscious. Maybe a lump on her head would keep her from taking things that don't belong to her. He stopped, however, when she continued to speak.
"You've got bigger balls than I do, to be running around in the open with such a price on your heads. And here I thought turtles were cautious creatures."
Mike was about to make a balls comment, but Leo was quicker. "What do you mean by price? Are you referring to a professional hit?"
Raph shook his head at Leo's inquiries. How many enemies did they have? It shouldn't surprise any of them if there were a couple of hired professionals involved; it's the life of a ninja. A thousand, or even five thousand dollar hit was just another night in New York.
The girl adjusted the tie that was keeping the long brown mess of hair up and secured. It was an obvious nervous gesture- there's a reason behind the saying, "shoot the messenger." Or was it, "don't."
"Unless there's a different set of four, five-foot-tall turtles running around, yes, there's a hit out for you. Two hundred and fifty thousand a head."
Silence stretched as the number sank in. "A million dollars for the four of us…that's bound to attract some attention."
She could finally make out the one speaking; he had what appeared to be two katana strapped to his shell and a blue mask around his eyes. She noticed that Blue, and the first one, Orange, were both staring intently at her. She took a step back toward the museum's wall. "I'm no mercenary. Just out for a casual Thursday night heist."
"That reminds me, you were about to hand over the bag."
The one that she previously noted as arrogant stepped into view, and she saw what had glinted earlier: a pair of sai.
"Actually, I was hoping to make a deal."
The one in blue arched his eye ridge expectantly, and the sai-man folded his arms over his chest in a 'like I care' pose. She continued, "I happened to have passed by a sniper on my way here. I could give you his location if you drop this citizen patrol thing."
She could make out all four of them now, and two of them were looking to Blue for a decision. After some thought, he spoke. "I think that could be arranged."
"He's set up at the brownstone, about three buildings that way, "she pointed in the direction. "When I passed, he was set up in a north window."
Raph nodded to the girl. "And how do we know that she's not making this up to get us off her back?"
Leo stated firmly, "We don't. That's why Don's staying here. If this guy is where she says he is, then we shouldn't have any problems, with the three of us. If he's not, then Don's here."
Two minutes later, the three of them had disappeared, leaving the thief under Don's supervision. Babysitter slash backup. He wasn't pleased.
After five minutes of silence, she sat down, her back to the wall, and fished around in her pocket. Finding what she was looking for, she pulled it out and placed it between her lips. Finding a lighter to go with it, she cupped her hands around the end, lit it, and inhaled.
"That stuff kills your brain cells."
She leaned her head back against the wall and looked at the turtle. "It's been an...interesting night Don." She paused. "I'm Kine." She held the joint out to Donatello, who looked at it in disgust.
"You're kidding, right? I'd rather not lower myself to the level of stupidity in which I opt to kill my own brain cells."
She took another drag and closed her eyes. She replied dryly, "I'll pretend that that wasn't an insult."
He was about to say something else, but was cut short by the sound of multiple gunshots. The turtle jumped and sprinted toward the sound. His brothers' safety was more important than babysitting.
As if on cue, the rain that had been threatening all night finally decided to fall, pelting the speeding turtle. He was confident in his brothers' abilities, but you can never stop worrying when it's your family in danger. Gunshots were never a good sign- images of his family raced through his mind, each one more gruesome than the last.
It took three agonizing minutes to find their location. When he did however, he realized that there was no need. A man lay slumped over a rifle by the window, a deep chest would implying that he died within seconds. The shots must have come unexpected from the doorway, where a blonde woman was sprawled. The blunt trauma to the head was most likely caused by a pair of nunchukus. It looked as if his brothers took care of the sniper first, but didn't know about his partner with the handgun.
"You're late for the party, Don."
Raph was leaning casually against the wall as Leo cleaned off his sword. Relieved that his brothers were all in one piece, Donatello let out a sigh.
"Hey guys," Mike held up a piece of paper. "I guess this makes us America's Most Wanted."
The sheet had only a simple math problem:
250,000 x 4 1,000,000