Sorry for the delay! Things got out of hand. This is the FINAL chapter, so no... I'm not doing a sequel or continuing it further. As of now, this is the end of the story. I have other turtle projects I want to get out of my head!
...
In the words of the late, great Paul Harvey….
And now….. The Rest of the Story….
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Leonardo was the last to rise. His brothers were all in various stages of waking up, though the clock read it was only three in the afternoon. After their adventures into adulthood the night before, none of them wanted to repeat their epic failures.
Except Raph.
He was smirking at his phone and much to Leo's confusion, kept sniffing his bandana. When one of his brothers gave him a curious look, he'd scowl and shove the electronic into his pocket and glare at everyone around him.
Stretching and yawning, Leo raided the kitchen, getting a bowl of cereal before following the sounds of Donnie's maddening keystrokes. Leo chewed thoughtfully, watching the icons on the multiple screens go flying by at a dizzying pace. After a minute, he spoke.
"What are you doing, Donnie?"
"Data encryption,' Donnie said absently. He finished a line of code and glance away from the main screen. Making sure Splinter wasn't around, he dropped his voice. "Been getting us a little bit of spending cash for later tonight."
Leo paused mid-bite, the spoon halfway in his mouth. Slowly he lowered it. "Donnie, I'm not sure it's a good idea to go back to the club after our bad luck last night."
Donnie momentarily looked aghast, then waved his hands. "No, no no! Not that. I meant at the diner."
Leo breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn't think he could survive another trauma like last night. Those wounds were going to take a long time to heal.
Except for Raph, who was once again smiling at his phone.
"We promised Evie a tip, remember?" Donnie whispered.
Leo gave a slow nod in acknowledgement. Since none of the turtles could work, lacking standard human education and no form of degree, their finances were reliant on Donnie's ability to hack.
Namely bank accounts.
But never from those who had so little. He only targeted big corporations. Businesses that doctored their books and did some skimming on the side to eliminate taxes and get away with fraud.
Donnie ferreted out the top dozen or so guilty parties and when the turtles needed a cash infusion, Donnie's technical genius made sure they were well funded. Hence why each went to the club the night before with a thousand dollars in their pocket. Except Mikey.
Donnie bit his tongue, scanning the corporate files with expert eyes. He found a willing contributor, a big name corporation who happened to have a lucrative account in the Cayman Islands, and glanced to Leo.
"How much do you think we need to take out?"
Leo swallowed his cereal.
"How much have they funneled?" Leo countered.
Donnie checked a screen opposite. "Approximately 100 million dollars." He tapped an Ipad, running calculations. "Some was donated by another company, no doubt a kickback of some kind, transferred via secured network, bounced from a dozen servers, and was suppose to go for charity."
Leo took another bite and chewed it halfway before waving his spoon. "Which it never arrived, obviously."
"Yup," Donnie said, running a second program. "Gonna transfer the funds to the charity they were originally slated for, take out a bit for us to live on, then set up the Trojan to infiltrate their system and innocuously send a transmission to the IRS the next time a donation exceeds 50 grand, which will immediately broadcast the full transcript of donations."
"Minus us," Leo said, dipping his spoon into the bowl.
"Yes, well they haven't found out who's been hacking the system and helping them find tax evaders and money laundering schemes." Donnie pushed his glasses up his short snout. He was a genius. And most didn't realize it, but he was also quite ruthless. Especially when there was an injustice. The normally docile, easy going, nerdy turtle became a force to be reckoned with when he was fixing a gross injustice. "And as long as they keep getting feeds from donors, and the places laundering and hiding their wealth, I don't think they'll be looking too deep for the person supplying the information."
Leo smirked at his whistleblower brother.
Donnie blushed, ducking his head a little. "I also have covered my tracks with using mobile ISPs and data encryption devices of my own design. If they can figure out the knots I twisted them into, they deserve to find me."
"Mikey!" Leo yelled, hearing a distant thumping noise that meant the youngest was starting to get a full head of steam on his daily dose of chaos.
"Yo!" Mikey said, trotting around the corner and leaning on Leo's larger shell. "Whatcha need boss turtle?"
"You'll need to go on a cash run," Donnie said, motioning toward the screens.
Mikey grinned, his bad humor from the previous night long forgotten.
"Righty-o! Trenchcoat time it is!" Mikey offered a sloppy salute and scampered off to don his favorite disguise.
Being the smallest, it was easier for Mikey to dress in over coat, hat, and glasses to escape notice. Not that most New Yorkers paid attention to fellow commuters. But even they would notice when a larger than life body moved among them, hence why Raph never did cash runs.
Donnie's scheme was ingénues, as the turtle himself. Mikey donned his long coat and stationed himself with an ATM in full view. When Donnie alerted him to the hack, and subsequent ATM ejection of money, Mikey strolled nonchalantly by. His hand was fast, snatching the cash from the slot without breaking his stride. If anyone searched the camera footage, they would find only regular foot traffic passing by, and not someone standing at the machine to pilfer its cash. Donnie made sure the machine didn't eject too much cash, as to not draw attention to his hack. Mikey usually had to hit up at least a dozen ATMs on such runs.
Mikey strolled around the corner, pulling his favorite grey trenchcoat around his shell. "Don't forget the bill at the pizzeria. We'll have to pay them too."
Donnie calculated the turtles debts and doubled the amount to get them by in food and supplies for the next couple of weeks. Their food bill would be much less if Mikey didn't inhale everything he saw.
Leo finished off his cereal, waving Mikey goodbye as the dressed turtle exited the lair singing "Secret Agent Turtle" at the top of his lungs. Donnie was on a headset, directing their youngest to the first ATM he had hacked.
Master Splinter was in the kitchen, searching through the fridge when Leo arrived to put his bowl in the sink. Leo put on a big, broad smile.
"Afternoon, Sensei."
Splinter narrowed his beady eyes. He knew when Leo smiled in such a fashion, he was hiding something. He had a terrible poker face. All his sons did. But Splinter never pointed out their many tells. Too risky they would adapt and he'd lose his edge.
"Enjoy your evening?" Splinter asked, expecting Leo's false smile to outshine the sun. To his surprise, Leo's expression darkened.
"It was okay," Leo shrugged and grabbed an Orange Crush from the fridge. "Humans were cool for the most part. One or two weren't as accepting."
Splinter didn't want his sons to spend all night out partying, but given how much they were looking forward to running around on the town, it broke his heart to see Leo so disheartened.
Wanting to give his eldest hope, Splinter spoke. "Most of the humans were accepting? That is considerable progress. I had feared quite the opposite, and my sons would return scorned and brokenhearted. But if only a few weren't accepting, that is more than we could have hoped."
Leo gave another shrug. He couldn't tell his dad exactly why he was upset, but now that he had time to think, and the lingering burn of alcohol disappeared, he took in the events as a whole, and not focus on the one bad thing. Humans had been quite agreeable with having the turtles in their midst. They danced and laughed, and cheered during dancing competitions. Add the fact that each had found a female companion who actively sought their attention, and took them home for a more intimate setting, perhaps the evening hadn't been as big of a loss as Leo felt. His own experience fell flat, and given his brother's reactions, they too had met with bedroom disasters.
Except for Raph. Bastard was smugly smiling at his phone and sniffing on his bandana again.
Raph noticed Leo's attention and offered a curled lip in challenge, flipping the red fabric over his shoulder as he got up from the couch and headed to the gym to work out.
Leo returned his gaze to his father, who had been watching him closely. This time, a genuine smile curved Leo's lips.
"Best part of our birthday was having breakfast at the diner," Leo said fondly. He had enjoyed the company of the homeless, who lived as isolated and forgotten as the turtles.
Splinter followed Leo to the couch. He was interested in learning everything that had transpired with his sons on their first official night out among the humans.
"Wandered around the street for a little. Rode the subway. There were some young humans who were flirting with a young lady and making her uncomfortable, so I stepped in to remind them to act like civilized humans." Leo prattled on, glossing over the exact details. "I think we startled some of the humans on the train, but once they realized we'd defend a female, they were more accepting."
Splinter nodded for Leo to continue.
"Didn't realize how big the city was when you have to walk on busy streets," Leo said, not relaying the events at the club. If Splinter found out they lied their way into a club, imbibed in alcohol, then went home with strange women and subsequently lost their virginity, their father's wrath would become a force to reckon with. No. Some things were better left unsaid.
"Mikey wandered around in a daze, so we had to keep our eye on him." Leo gave Splinter a knowing look, which Splinter sighed. Try as he might, the old ninja couldn't teach his youngest to stay focused.
"We went to the diner really early and spent most of the night there," Leo continued. "We still had some cash so I asked the waitress to invite the homeless in to eat with us." Leo offered a distant smile that made his blue eyes twinkle in fondness. "They were very accepting. Thanking us and having conversations. They weren't afraid at all. It was nice. Friendly even."
"Those who share similar stories tend to gravitate to those who likewise understanding," Splinter said sagely. He knew his sons longed to be a part of the human world. It was especially difficult when they were growing up, watching the world above, never being able to join it.
"It felt good, helping them out," Leo said, picking at a spot on the couch. "They were accepted. Not ignored. Someone saw past their dirty clothes and hungry bellies to see the people they are. Those who have fallen on bad times. Who are helpless. Many of them are alone. Their families abandoning them. Some have no living family left."
Splinter remained silent, studying his eldest closely. Though he feared the mischief his sons could get into, it appeared as if they had learned a valuable lesson. One that was unintended, but as all things, unfolded at the right time.
"But on the street, they form their own families," Leo said wistfully. Some of the stories of their dining companions had struck a nerve with the brooding leader. He had learned more important things. Much more important. Things that made his bedroom failures pale in comparison to the grand scheme of things.
"We're going back again tonight. To offer a meal and conversation with those society has ignored and shunned." Leo gave a lopsided shrug. "We have a lot in common."
"Those with the least tend to give more than they have, seeing the heart instead of the skin," Splinter said, patting Leo on the hand. His ancient eyes saw beyond the words. His sons had taken solace with those who shared similar stories, being in isolation and looked down upon by society as a whole.
Leo stretched and sighed. "Better get in a couple hours of training. We're heading out at eleven."
Splinter gave an approving nod, and picked up the remote to watch The Price Is Right. "Leonardo?"
"Yes, master?" Leo paused halfway to the dojo.
"Wash the lipstick off your neck first," Splinter suggested over his shoulder.
Leo hastily rubbed his neck. Sure enough, Jade's red warpaint stained his green fingers. He blushed, casting a sheepish look to his father, but Splinter was engrossed in the TV.
Some things were better off left unexplained.
When the clock chimed eleven pm, the turtles left the lair, minus Raph, who had left an hour earlier. Mikey watched his biggest brother leave, pouting at Raph's disinterest in their invitation to the diner. Mikey pined away until it was time to leave, then his sorrow melted away and was replaced with joy and his usual annoying exuberance. He lead the way to the diner, waving to Evie who was tying her apron around her waist. As before, the place was deserted.
Donnie withdrew an envelope with Evie's name on it and when she approached, he grinned, showing his dimples.
Handing her the thick envelope he said, "Thank you for trusting us to honor our debt."
Evie took the envelope, frowning at its thickness. "Okay," she said slowly, taking a peek to its contents.
"OH MY GOD!" Evie shouted, staring at the collection of one hundred dollar bills. She wavered for a second, then fell into a dead faint.
Leo caught her before she could hit the floor. Scooping her up, he placed her in a nearby booth, looking to Donnie for direction. "What do we do?"
"She fainted," Donnie said, wishing he had brought his analyzing goggles. Since he took off all his tech the night before, he was reluctant to put it back on. The weight was more than what he realized. "Give her a few minutes. She'll come round."
Leo's panic dissipated. Quirking a brow at the dropped envelope, he asked, "How much did you give her?"
Donnie sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "$1500.00."
"Wha?" Leo gaped.
Donnie shrugged. "Wanted to help her out. Since she was so nice to us."
Leo laughed softly at his geeky brother. "Do we have enough to eat or do you need to do another cash run?"
"Oh, I got us enough to last while," Donnie said, missing Leo's humor. "We can eat with the homeless every night for at least a month. If we want."
"You do realize this isn't going to be a habit, right?" Leo asked. "We have duties to perform and training regimes and patrols to keep. We can't spend every single night in a diner."
"Why not?" Mikey asked, placing the dropped envelope on the table in front of Evie.
"We're accepted here. They like us. Don't treat us like animals. And… they need our help. Some of them don't eat for days, Leo. You know what it's like to be hungry."
Leo's expression darkened. Yes, he knew. All of them knew. Many times they had gone a day or two without food. It was a gnawing, clawing, biting agony that Leo loathed to repeat.
"We can do our training during the day, evening we can patrol, and early morning, before we go to bed, we can have breakfast with the nice people who sleep on the street." Mikey supplied.
Strangely enough, his logic was sound.
The turtles didn't require a lot of sleep to function. Donnie least of all. His brain rarely shut down. Though out of respect for his brothers and father, he kept to himself and didn't create a lot of noise, opting to scribble thoughts and equations in notebooks and even random doodles on walls and chairs. If the thought crossed his mind and struck a chord, his hand was already in motion, cataloguing the thought for later contemplation.
Evie made a noise, coming out of her faint. Her eyes fluttered for a second then centered on Leo, who was partially hovering over her, his eyes creased in concern.
"Are you alright?" Leo asked, retreating a little as Evie sat up, rubbing the side of her head.
"Yes, I'm fine," she muttered. Her eyes caught sight of the envelope on the table where Mikey had left it. She turned to Leo, "All of this… is…mine?"
Leo gave a nod and what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Yes. We appreciate your trust in us."
Tears blurred Evie's vision and rolled down her cheeks in rivers. Choking back a sob, she rose, throwing her arms around Leo's neck and crying uncontrollably.
Leo panicked. Eyes wide with fright, he glared at Donnie for direction. Donnie rolled his eyes and mimicked patting someone on the back in reassurance. Leo copied the move, awkwardly tapping around Evie's back in an effort to console her. After a couple of minutes, she drew back, hiccupping and dabbing at her face.
"My rent is due in two days and business has been really slow," Evie explained while she caught her breath and wiped her eyes. "I've been terrified I couldn't make payment and get tossed out and be homeless again. This," she picked up the envelope, tears threatening to fall from the emotion, "this is the blessing I've been praying for."
Mikey handed her a wad of napkins, his boyish face shining with happiness. Evie took the offering and dried her face, smiling at the unexpected angels that unknowingly helped her avoid eviction. The dark cloud that had been haunting her was now lifted. Collecting herself, she rose and pulled out her order pad.
"Whatever you guys want, it's on the house," she said, patting the cash in her apron.
Leo smirked, withdrawing his wallet from his pocket and counting out five hundred dollars. "Appreciated, but unnecessary. We can pay." It warmed his heart that though Evie was obviously in need of the money, she was willing to share what she had to show gratitude. Maybe humans weren't so bad after all.
"And if you think someone else would need a meal, we won't mind if you invite them to join us," Donnie put in.
Mikey beamed. "I'll have the same from last night but double the crap."
"Crepes," Donnie corrected automatically, shaking his head at his little brother.
Evie scribbled in her pad and giggled. "Coming right up, gentlemen."
As she turned to leave she paused, just noticing their weapons. Brow quirked, she eyed Leo's katanas. Her expression faltered when she noticed his big boyish smile, showing off his even, white teeth. Normally weapons bothered her, but she relaxed, finding safety and solace in their presence. Those who wielded them wouldn't use them in anger or to commit a crime. If anything she felt… safer.
Placing their order, she sat down their drinks and then exited the diner, returning a few moments later with the first hungry denizens. As with the previous night, they initiated easy conversation with the turtles, seeing beyond the green and finding the young, naïve, socially stunted beings who were judged on their appearance instead of their heart.
Everyone fell into a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere…at least until near midnight, when the doors opened and a woman ushered three small children over the threshold. The children were small, filthy and clung to their mother. They retracted into her shadow a little further upon finding three big turtles sitting at a table. Their innocent faces were smudged with dirt, making the whites of their eyes seem even brighter.
"They're so young,' Mikey breathed, taking in the children who were less than eight years old.
"Hardship knows no age," Leo added softly.
"Were we ever that young and innocent?" Donnie asked, smiling to the mother who was hesitant to bring her children near the mutants.
Mikey offered a huge goofy grin with a jovial wave.
The kids returned his smile though didn't emerge from their mom's shadow.
The only available seat was a booth in the back, close to the turtles. Three hungry faces looked up to their mom who took a deep breath and guided them to the available place, her eye on the three mutants. The one clad in orange seemed safe enough, but the largest one had swords on his back and they made her uncomfortable. Still, she had three mouths who needed fed, and apparently, these green beings were providing meals for locals. She couldn't pass up a free meal, especially when it was so rare in coming.
As soon as the children sat down, there was no mistaken the sound of growling bellies. Two blushed in shame.
Leo felt like crying. And much to his shock, several of the homeless who were eating, picked up toast, muffins, bacon, and sausage from their own plates, and placed it in front of the children. It amazed him how those who had so little were so generous, offering to help those less fortunate than themselves. He glanced over to Donnie who had been watching the scene unfold.
"Tomorrow, you up for another cash run?" he asked his techy brother.
Donnie nodded, watching as the children wolfed down the food. Evie approached and took their orders, flashing the turtles a smile that made her eyes glitter. Or perhaps it was tears that made them shine so bright?
"I think that would be a good idea," Donnie muttered.
Mikey picked up a plate of untouched crepes and placed them on the table in front of the mother, his expression beaming with undisguised childishness. She offered a word of gratitude, returning his smile and digging into the sugary dish.
Grinning happily, Mikey spoke to his brothers in a low voice. "I'll get my trenchcoat pressed." He threw a glance toward the mother and children. "And maybe do more than one run."
Leo raised his coffee cup in salute. "Sounds like a plan."
"I should get a change of clothes or two," Mikey put in out of the blue. "Just in case someone pieces it together that the same dude in a trenchcoat keeps walking by when the machines malfunction."
Donnie was halfway to taking a bite. Mouth open, he turned in slow motion to his brother, shocked at such a revelation.
"Well done, Mikey," Leo praised. "Good thinking."
Mikey did a little happy dance in his seat, earning strange looks from his dining companions.
A tapping on Mikey's shoulder drew his attention to the tot standing beside him. The little boy was no older than four, with blue eyes to rival Mikey in beauty and innocence. Mikey smiled at the kid, who held up a strip of bacon to share with the turtle. Mikey leaned down, whispering, "Thank you, but I have plenty. You eat that."
Bashful giggle and a tiny fist clutched around bacon, the kid took a bite. And to everyone's shock, crawled up on Mikey's lap, tucking close to his chest. Grubby little hand lifted up to share a bite and Mikey, being a sucker for kids, pretended to nibble.
Leo and Donnie stared open mouthed as Mikey rocked the kid and shared food, finding himself a new friend. Usually their youngest was careless and flamboyant, often times creating havoc and accidents. But Mikey showed remarkable restraint, carefully holding the small human and acting as a responsible adult.
Until he made a fart noise and pointed a finger at the kid, who took offense at the blame.
Leo smiled behind his cup. It appeared Mikey had found a playmate. Which wasn't surprising. He was the easiest to get along with. If not annoyingly rambunctious at times.
It felt nice being surrounded by all these people. They may have been dirty and ragged, forgotten and discarded by society, but they were still people. Most had fallen on hard times, hit by the housing and stock market failure a few years ago, where so many big corporations had to receive bail outs. What people didn't realize was, most of the bail out came at the expense of hard working humans. Savings were drained, prices went up, and those who lived paycheck to paycheck, found themselves slipping further down the slope into poverty and despair, unable to keep their head above water from the growing costs for survival.
But here and now, they were accepting to the big talking turtles, judging them not by their species, but by their manners and presentation in public. Mutual respect and genuine gratitude for kindness.
If only Raph could join in the conversation and sense of camaraderie. Maybe then he wouldn't be so surly. Then again, it wasn't in Raph's nature to be docile and friendly toward strangers.
Little did Leo know, Raph was across town enjoying his own version of acceptance and conversation.
In the form of being tied to Margo's bed while she playfully chastised him with a riding crop for being a naughty turtle.
And he had every intention on being naughty …all …night …long!
The End