Turk was nervous; he couldn't say why. The other turtles watched as he walked over to the meeting place, following him in the shadows. Turk looked up and saw a luminous sign that read "Burkins' Mattresses"; the pet shop had closed down and another store replaced it. A man in a suit was standing with his back to a phone post, his arms crossed; he looked bored, or annoyed.

Turk approached him, and the twins, from where they were, could hear him saying something odd to the man in the suit, something he apparently replied in the same odd way. After that, the man made a sign for Turk to follow him to the alley; Turk nodded, and the turtles sneaked in closer to try and see what they were doing.

- Good evening, Turvak.

- Good evening… Dad.

- Although it brings me great relief to see that you are unscathed, I'm still very angry that you disobeyed my orders and activated the Telemat without permission; its unauthorized use could have been detected by either the Federation or the Triceratons. So, what do you have to say for yourself?

He sighed. - Huh, look, I know I shouldn't have done that, okay, I'm sorry, but look at things this way: if I hadn't, I wouldn't be able to find my brothers the way I did; it was a one in a million chance encounter, a storm covered most of the pulse EM tracers, there was no way it could have gone any better!

- No way?! My son, your course of action was totally irrational; I told you we were doing our best to finish the DNA tracker based on your genetic code, that so far we couldn't make any readings, but you still chose to ignore me and foolishly run into harm's way! Why, my son? As intelligent as you are, sometimes you seem to make a deliberate effort so the opposite seem more likely.

- I'm sorry, okay, but I just had to; you couldn't expect me to sit comfortably back in Utrom knowing that my brothers were still out there, perhaps at a dissection table, a pot of soup, or all alone in the streets; and guess what, it turns out that it was exactly the case!

After he heard that, it was the man's turn to sigh; he spoke at a softer tune: - I understand your anxiety in finding the whereabouts of your siblings, but it was a hasty, thoughtless decision of yours, and I'm still very disappointed. Speaking of them, where are they? How are they?

- They are fine, no thanks to us; their names are Jacob and Arthur, by the way.

- So it is true, then… you haven't been able to locate the fourth one.

Turk turned his head down. - No.

The man stepped closer and put a friendly shoulder on Turk's shoulder: - I'm very sorry to hear that… but one as intelligent as yourself might have by now considered the possibility that your lost brother most likely is…

- No! I'll never believe that! Not till I see undeniable proof of it with my own two eyes, and I'll keep searching till then! - he turned his face at the man; his eyes were a little wet, and his jaw shook as he clenched his teeth. - Please, father… won't you help me find him? Tell me more about the pet store, the search, just anything I don't know!

The man took his hand off Turk's shoulder. - I told you everything; everything, from the reports to the files that I gave you when you came of age.

- What about the fish bowl? Was it broken, or intact? We think there might be something to it, if it was intact, then there must have been someone there that day, someone that for some reason took my brothers from me…

The man shook his head. - The bowl was smashed to smithereens. - and, after saying that, he took a plastic bag from the inner pocket of his suit; it contained many shards of glass. - No, my son, your hypothesis is flawed; there was no one at the shop at the time it happened, it was way past its closing time. I remember it as if it were yesterday: it was raining, a heavy rain – much like the storm in which you found your two siblings –; the canister rolled down the streets and accelerated to great speed before smashing through the front window of the shop, and basically exploded after encountering resistance, spilling the mutagen all over the cages, aquaria and boxes that were there; your bowl was found far away from where it was supposed to be, pretty much smashed to pieces; I believe that it was in the way of the canister, and if so it is not unlikely that the impact must have thrown away your brothers from the aquarium and outside the window, where they were washed up by the flow to the water drains. However, perhaps fate, or fortune, had it that you weren't propelled outside the shop; you were found crawling among the remnants of the aquarium, gravely injured, yet we could see that the mutagenic process was starting, which undoubtedly had a hand in your salvation. We almost lost you that night.

Turk looked appalled at his adoptive father. - You never told me that.

He returned the plastic bag to his pocket. - Perhaps all of this was my fault; I couldn't bear to remind myself of that frightful night, and in doing so I failed to pass to you the gravity of the situation, which could have changed your mind on this endeavor; but now, do you understand why I was so convinced that your brothers should be most likely dead by now?

- Yes… I see now. But, anyway, it turns out that two of them are fine! It means that there's still hope, there's still a chance! Please… you must help me to find him! We will be able to find him if we work together!

- No, my son; if your brother is still alive, he will be found, of that you may have not a doubt; but it is not "we" who are going to do so. Tell me… - he started, as he turned his head around casually at the streets - where are your siblings? I still haven't got the chance to meet them.

Turk took a step backwards, looking intently at the man. - Hiding.

The man nodded in approval. - I see you still have not lost your cunningness, my crafty one. - he shot a sharp look at him, and spoke in a commanding tone: - The three of you shall come back to Utrom with me. Now.

Turk backed down for a moment, and then he dashed around and sprinted for the street. I'm sorry, dad…

- SEIZE HIM! - as the man shouted, other men in suits jumped from the shadows and made a run for Turk; one of them grabbed his arm, but he managed to get loose by swinging a garbage can over his legs; after that, he ran for the open, shouting: - Guys, beat it! Don't let them follow you!

Jack and Artie saw the commotion and obeyed Turk's command as soon as he spoke it in English; they turned to the shadows and started to make their way, when Artie hesitated; Jack noticed and whispered to him: - Artie, c'mon, whatcha waitin' for? Didn'tcha hear the turtle?

- But what about Turk? He knows nothing about the streets, and I don't wanna think what will happen if he gets lost out there in the middle of the night…

- He'll be fine, okay? Besides, we've got those Turtlemajigs, we'll just phone and catch up with him after he loses those bozos.

- I sure hope so… c'mon, I know a shortcut to get them out of our backs.

They made a sharp turn and ran to a manhole in the alleyway; they climbed the stairs down, and, guided blindly by Artie, who had to trust on his memory alone, they made for an isolated corner where they sat in silence for a few minutes, panting heavily from the race; after that they felt they could try to call Turk. – Turk, are you there? Turk?

A lot of static was coming from the phone, but they could clearly recognize Turk's voice coming out. – Are you guys okay?

Artie sighed in relief before answering. – Yeah, we're fine; how about you? Have you lost them?

- Yeah, I did, but I don't know where I ended up… wait, I think I recognize some of the buildings here, I think I'm close to the storehouse…

- Great! Stay in the shadows, I'll tell you how to get to the subway entrance… we'll meet at that spot from earlier.

- Roger! See you there.