Author's note: I apologize for letting this story sit un-updated for so long. I was getting other inspirations and started writing other stories. I'd always planned to return to this one, so here I am! I hope you like it.
Liz tapped the file in front of her impatiently while she waited for her boss. He'd given her a call early that morning at precisely 7:30am, as her nightstand clock had told her. Gonzo had told her it was important and that she needed to meet with him right away. Rarely did his cool exterior ever waver so she knew this was a big deal.
And so, here she sat while he kept her waiting.
The file in front of Liz was handed to her by the secretary with explicit instructions not to open it until Gonzo was there with her.
The room could be designed to look more cheerful, Liz thought. It had plain white walls with two grey filing cabinets leaning against one of the walls. A long table lined with black, plastic chairs was the centerpiece of the room. The only thing the room had going for it was the huge window looking out over the city.
"Mornin' Liz." A thick, Irish-accented voice said. Liz immediately knew this voice as Damon's, one of her cohorts.
"Morning, Damon. Gonzo drag you up early too, eh?"
Damon yawned and nodded. "He gave me this file too." He held one up that matched the one Liz had in front of her.
The big Irishman stretched this time, making his six foot five height all the more obvious. Despite his size, he could blend into any crowd with ease because of his years of training.
However, this didn't stop women from noticing his prominent cheekbones, sharp green eyes, and shoulder-length black hair which was done up in cornrows. And, of course, his trim well muscled figure didn't hurt either.
Any woman with a pulse would want him and want they did. Damon, however, could care less since he'd been married to a wonderful woman he was crazy about for the last 10 years.
A moment later, Damon's sister, and the third member of their team, Jeraldine Reynolds also known as Hellcat, entered the room.
She was clutching an extra-large Tim Horton's coffee in her hands as if her life depended on it. Liz smiled at Hellcat. The woman had never been a morning person and wasn't about to start now.
"Morning, you two." She took a long sip from her coffee. "It's inhumane to be awake this early."
Hellcat looked much like her brother only her features were softer and her hair was down to the middle of her back and done up in a thick braid. The two were close in height, with Damon only having about 4 inches on her.
It was people like this that made Liz feel short at her own modest five foot eight.
Gonzo strode into the room not a moment later, carrying two files. One, he handed to Hellcat and the other he hung on to, tapping it against the chair in front of him.
Gonzo, Liz had decided upon meeting him all those years ago, was that he was a gritty sort of guy. He had short brown hair that always seemed to be a mess. His eyes were also brown, but to Liz they looked almost black. He was slender but built with a single tattoo on his right shoulder.
Normally, he was also clean-shaven but this morning stubble adorned his jaw. Liz tried to keep from grinning as she thought of her often teasing him that he looked like a certain goateed boy-band member.
"I called you all here at this early hour for a good reason." Gonzo began, his gruff baritone voice filling the room.
The three of them watched intently as he opened his file and then went around and opened theirs.
"In these files," he explained, "are copies of the newest evidence in Damon's case."
This caught Liz's attention.
"What does it tell us?" she asked, desperate to know this new information.
"It tells us that we have concrete evidence that Damon was indeed helping the citizen."
Liz smiled. The 'concrete evidence' her boss spoke of were three surveillance tapes that had disappeared at the time of the incident.
Hellcat patted Liz on the back.
"However," their boss continued, "they won't negotiate about the bond amount. We still need those turtles."
Raphael flashed into Liz's mind and guilt stung her. She was really going to hate doing this. After all, he'd saved her life. Frowning, she cursed the people who held her uncle for putting her in this position.
Gonzo now turned his gaze to Liz. "Agents discovered that you had had contact with one of the turtles."
Liz nodded. "I did, on two occasions. One was outside my bar and the other was while I was driving home." She detailed her fellow agents on the incidents as her boss knew about them already.
Damon and Hellcat's eyes both went wide while Liz spoke. "He showed you the manhole they use to get home, eh? Can you show us?"
Liz mentally apologized for what she was about to do, but as she had reasoned with herself, she had no other choice.
Taking a deep breath, she recited its location. Gonzo scribbled it down on a pad of paper he produced from within his file.
"Good work, Liz. This saves us a lot of legwork and man hours."
"So," Damon asked, "do we go in and get them?"
Gonzo shook his head. "From our observations of them, they all have the ability to fight and fight well. So, storming in won't work. Instead we are going to send one of our agents in to gain their trust and to lure them where we can subdue them and make sure they get to where they are supposed to go as fast as possible."
Gonzo pointed at Liz and her heart sank. Damn, he was going to pick her.
"I want you to go in, Liz." She simply nodded. "I would also like you to send us daily reports. I want you to tell me all you can about them. Any information we can use."
Liz nodded again, affirming that she understood him.
"Hellcat and Damon will assist you by tracking them and observing them while they are above ground. Just let them know every time that happens."
Once everyone understood and knew what their jobs were, he dismissed them.
"I noticed you were looking grim through that whole meeting, Liz." Hellcat said her voice full of concern for her fellow agent and best friend.
"Yeah…" Liz said, sighing. Never could Liz tell Hellcat that the reason she was down wasn't the reason Hellcat thought it was. No, her fear was not for her uncle at the moment…it was for a certain red bandana-wearing turtle who made her feel…
Liz shook those thoughts away. "I just hope this all goes well and my uncle gets back home."
Hellcat smiled and nodded. "I'm sure he will. You're one of the best agents here. You'll rock this assignment."
And with that, the two women left the building.
Raphael, as he was prone to do, was twirling his sai impatiently while he waited for his brothers to meet him topside. They always seemed to take too long, especially Mikey who had a girlfriend to 'canoodle' with as Donny put it once. Sighing, he put his weapons back in his belt.
It was then that he heard two female voices. Once he recognized as Liz's and the other he didn't know.
"See you around, Hellcat!" Liz called to the other woman.
"Right back at you, Liz!"
Raph watched as Liz walked down the street and down towards a Starbucks that wasn't far from where he was.
Despite his desire to follow her and say hello, he didn't. There were others around and he couldn't risk being seen by them and inciting panic. Instead, he watched her intently while she waited in line, ordered, and left again a while later with her beverage.
Liz took a sip of her drink. Then, as if she knew Raph was there, caught his eye. The smile she gave him quickened his pulse and made him a little too warm under his shell.
The turtle couldn't help but grin as she made her way towards him.
"Still hard to believe you actually exist, Raphael." Liz commented once she reached him.
Raph simply shrugged. "Yeah, I get that a lot." He joked. Liz chuckled.
"So, how's your leg?" she asked, gesturing at his bandage.
"Ah, it's healin' great. Thanks again for that, by the way."
"You're most welcome." Liz took a long sip of her drink.
Before either could say a word, Donny, Leo, and Mikey hopped down to where Raphael was standing with Liz.
"Woah," Mikey exclaimed upon seeing her, "who's the girl, Raph?"
"This is Liz. She's the one who gave me the bandage."
They all nodded, remembering Raph telling them about her.
"These are my brothers," Raph continued, looking at Liz once again, "Donny, Mikey, and Leo."
Liz smiled and shook each of their three-fingered hands. "Nice to meet you." And that was the truth, she really was.
Liz hadn't imagined she'd meet all four of them so fast. This was definitely a stroke of luck for her, which would make completing the mission that much easier.
Still, her conscience refused to stop telling her this might not be a good idea. Liz squashed it. This mission meant her uncle's life and for that, she was willing to engage in a little deception.
"Well, fellas," Leo said after a moment, "let the foraging begin."
Liz cocked a questioning eyebrow at Raph.
"We check out places where we can pick up unwanted items. I mean, hey…it's not like we can shop like you do." Raph gestured at himself.
Liz nodded, unable to argue with that logic. "Wanna come with? You'd have to hop on my shell, though 'cause we run fast."
She pondered this for a moment, thinking about what the turtle was suggesting. If she went with this invitation, she would have to be on his back…right against him…
Now for a true mystery: why did her heart pick up speed at the idea?
Before she could lose her courage, Liz did just that. Seconds later, the turtles were in motion and Liz realized that Raph hadn't been exaggerating or boasting about their speed.
It was as if they were flying, Liz thought as she clung to Raphael. Each leap to each rooftop was smooth and graceful, not jarring her or them at all.
It was no wonder the trackers on her team had such a difficult time keeping up with these turtles.
They were truly amazing…
Respect and admiration swelled inside her for the four of them.
Bugger…this will make it difficult too…
And so will the fact that she was enjoying the feeling of Raph's rough hands on her thighs…
Liz! He's your MISSION! You cannot compromise it! And…he's a TURTLE! Her mind screamed at her. Shaking her head, she concentrated on the stunning view she was getting from the rooftops.
Raph struggled to keep his concentration on moving forward instead of on how good it felt to have Liz pressed right up against his shell. Never mind that her skin was soft…
The red masked turtle shook himself mentally and focused on the next rooftop in front of him. He hoped to the high heavens that they would get to where they were going soon. Raph wasn't sure how long he could last before he simply swung her around and…
Again, he shook himself. Raph, ya gotta stay with it, man…
And this was his mantra, the whole rest of the journey…
