Chapter 10

The elevator shafts changed between the private quarters and the workers levels. Until tonight Don had never wondered why. Now his mind was slipping into over drive. Why had his Father made a deal with those things? Why was he dressed like one of the demons that haunted his nightmares? And why, oh why, did those things insist on hunting him?

Sprinting across the open landing he ducked into the nearby hall way. (Lockdown) That would give him some extra time. Doubling back he passed by the closed entrance to the fire escape to enter the small work area that served as a security station. Pulling the door to with his foot he began to boot up the computer system, his ears straining for the merest of sounds.

x-x-x-x

Due to the reflection Mikey sidestepped the tripped mass that made up a hurtling Hun. Looking up to his brother he cheerfully quipped, "Lift's here."

"Good." Stepping into the small cubicle Leo slid his swords away. It would be so easy to just slide one, or even both of his blades into the black satin back of the currently unconscious Hun … shaking his head to clear the thought he gave Mike a small smile.

"Gotta love Lady Gravity eh?" Mike continued, completely oblivious to the blatantly obvious.

"We're on the 17th floor, in a glass cube Little Brother." Was all Leo said before striking the 'door close' button.

"Oh …" Suppressing a smile Leo wasn't surprised to see Mikey struggle for a few seconds longer. "Don't worry about it … Ol' Tin-Skin aint gonna run with shoddy merchandise."

It was at that point the lift lurched to a halt.

x-x-x-x

(Lockdown Initiated)

The green letters flashed onto the small black monitor. And along with them the service lights of the floor, and every other shut off. Next both elevator shafts shut down. Outside metal shutters slammed down over the main entrance as well as the car pool door. Over every work floor metal grate doors began to slowly descend, cutting off all potential to hide in the office stations. And to top it off similar metal grates, much like the doors that slid down over mall entrances at night, began their snail's pace descent, securing each and every sector on the upper levels.

In five short minutes the only way in or out would be via the fire escape, and service corridor. And with Cerberus Inc. closed for the evening there would be no freedom for those trapped until the following morning. A weight lifted from his shoulders and Don let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding. He was safe …

x-x-x-x

The sudden stop knocked the two brothers from their feet. Crashing side ways Leo very nearly bowled Mikey over. Turning his head slowly he stared at his brother in the dimming light before dead panning "Really?"

"You know this smacks of Don dontcha?" Mikey offered in his best philosophical over tones. Shrugging he approached the cab door. They had barely moved an inch which probably meant getting out would be much easier. "Itsa good thing he's being all Don-ny right?"

"When we haven't plunged to our deaths, and we catch up with him, I'll be sure to check."

"Sword me." Whether or not Mikey registered the discomfort in his brother's voice wasn't clear. Never the less he got to work on breaking them out of the small space. Working on the rubber seal with the tip of one katana he added after a few moments, "Pacing isn't going to help."

"Well it's helping me."

That was something new. In front of the boardroom door a thick metal plate had appeared. Leo stared at it in a state of surprise, whilst Mikey took it in his stride. As normal.

"Look at it this way" Mikey was saying "If Shreds on that side and we're on this side its gonna make getting outta here much easier." Tossing an arm over Leo's shoulder he directed him towards the fire escape.

"I suppose that is one way to look at it."

"One?" Mikey shook his head before taking off down the stairs that Raph had pounded down earlier. "Dude it's the only."

x-x-x-x

"Donny!"

What the Hell was going on? Raphael wasn't sure if having an entire building plunge into a black out was a good thing or not. In the same manner that the elevator shafts changed on the 14th floor so did the fire escapes. Sliding out onto the floor his eyes strained in the darkness. "C'mon …" he muttered to himself, "Come out, come out where eva yo'are."

Don's hand tightened around the harmonica he still clutched in his hand. In the reflective glare from the monitor screen he could just make out the inscription on the back of the instrument. Lifting his feet off the floor he observed the silent footsteps of Raphael. The barely visible light carefully picked up the silhouette of two feet in the narrow slat beneath the door. (Keep moving) he willed his brother, (Just keep moving)

It was difficult to make out which way the door was supposed to open. Having reached it Raph passed it by before pressing his shell into the wall. So far, so good. No additional Foot, no Elite and no invisible Tech Ninjas. If he could just find Don he would be on target for a job well done. In his left hand he drew a sai, with his right he reached towards the door handle. Wrapping his fingers around the smooth sphere he twisted the knob slowly, pleased to hear it click open. (So this is where yo'at) he smiled to himself.

For a moment Don believed he had got away with it. Then the …click… of the door cut through the still atmosphere. With his body perched against the lip of the Pottery Barn wooden desk his eyes, and feet came to rest on the large chair security normally situated them selves in. Reaching out slowly the balls of his feet pressed against the base of the seat, his eyes raising to the now opening door. From Raphael's point of view his brother appeared to be waiting for him, sitting patiently on the desk, the thin terrified smile that was plastered across his face taken as an invitation to come on in.

"There yo'are. Dammit Donny …" the sai he held in his spare hand remained drawn, "Lets getcha outta here 'fore the welcomin' committee gets its braids an' bangs out."

Don could feel his lower lip quivering, nodding his head he continued to calculate in his head. Tensing his leg muscles he shoved the chair forward with all the force he could muster, the collision between sibling and furniture proving to be far more successful than even he expected.

The back of the seat hit Raph full in the chest, whilst one of the wheeled legs ran over the top of his foot. Taking in a deep breath he wasn't able to release the string of curses that stood on the tip of his tongue. With first contact initiated Don chose that moment to continue his improvised attack. Leaping from his seat he grabbed a hold of the arms of the chair and drove it further back, knocking his brother clean off his feet. Darting up and over the mass of writhing torso, pinned legs and flailing arms, he was forced to his knees by Raph's sharp blow to the back of one leg. Kicking him self free, Raph approached his brother, "I don't care what Shreds bloody well done, but if yo'pull another stunt like that I swear I'm …"

He didn't know where it came from. For that matter neither did Raph though he should at least have expected it. In his hand Don felt the cold weight of his harmonica, rolling around on the carpet he struggled up and onto his knees. Looking up at the furious turtle he gasped, "Don't hurt me …"

"Jeez Don, I aint gonna hurtcha." Shaking his head Raph took a moment to come down from straight out pissed to gently boiling.

"Good…" he responded mutely, his teeth biting down onto his lower lip. It was a tell. Something the Don of old always did before he tried a stunt. Straightening up his back his eyes didn't leave Raph's almost calm face. Extending his spare hand he waited to be helped up, feeling his brother's palm slide into his, he tugged downwards, dropping his knees, he used the second Raphael was distracted correcting his centre of gravity to bring his other hand up in a full round house weighted right hook. Harmonica, fist and eye collided with an almighty thud that left both attacker and attacked stunned.

"FxxK!" falling back onto the carpeted floor Raph clutched his left eye. Rolling on the floor he didn't think twice about the hollow threat, "I'm gonna kill yo'fer this Donny!"

For a second he felt like apologising for lashing out so. Violence, or rather violence like that, simply wasn't in his nature. Hearing Raphael's screech he changed his mind. Breaking free Don raced towards the fire escape leading to the lower floors.

x-x-x-x

He held the cream of New York's criminal underworld in the palm of his hand and yet there was absolutely nothing Oroku Saki could do. He was trapped in the boardroom of his own fortress with half a dozen Foot. His CCTV was down, and in a matter of seconds he knew the building would go into full lockdown.

"Try again." He ordered the soldiers coldly; around the metal door the sheets of pane glass lay shattered. Using the metal prongs from his own gauntlet the men struggled to force the metal door upwards. Sealed with an electromagnet.

One of the men looked up and gave his Sensei a fearful shrug. Grinding a piece of glass beneath his heel Saki merely snapped "Again!"

x-x-x-x

Crashing out of the service door entrance freedom didn't feel as sweet, or as victorious as he felt it should. His heart thudded against his chest, and the angry screams of the one he had hit haunted his ears. Doubling over he gasped again and again, licking his lips he closed his eyes.

"Donny?"

Instinctively the muscles in his body tensed. When was this ordeal going to end? Half expecting another one of the green turtles to confront him he thought he would faint at the sight of the curious man. (Jason Voochries). The man towered over him, in the poor light he estimated he was even taller than his Father. By a good two or three inches A stream of curly, dark, hair hung to his shoulder, his body a shrine to a punishing work out that had rewarded him with bulging, carefully cultivated biceps. The white vest he wore was stained with dirt, and quite possibly blood, whilst his blue jeans appeared crisp with dust. The army boots he wore were scuffed. And finally, there was a white hockey mask shielding his face, which left him with an expressionless plastic void to interact with. Add to that the hollow metal baseball bat that he held loosely in one hand and it was easy to see where his initial impression came from.

"An' here I was hopin' for a lil outside action. Guess you guys really cleared up in there."

Having finally made it into the 'real world' Don didn't want to be there any longer. Taking a small step away from Casey he decided to retreat into the safety of his Father's tower. Sure, he had just spent five minutes on a mad dash for his very life, but there were plenty of places to hide within the tower. And with any luck they would be trapped by now.

"No! Yo'don't wanna be goin' back in there man!"

Pausing at the doorway he glanced back at 'Jason'. "Th – thanks. But …" in the alleyway he was surrounded by darkness. Stomach churning, nerve tingling dark.

"Dude! Seriously, yo'got rocks fer brains all of a sudden?"

Don's expression became quizzical, "N-no." His right fist was beginning to tingle and he flexed it slowly. "I …" the words dried up in his mouth. At the far end of the service corridor his eyes focused on flickering shadows. "Are you with them?" he whispered.

"Yo'bros?" It was Casey's turn to sound puzzled. "Yea … sorta …" Don began to back away from him. "No! Not really!" he paused and began to laugh, "I'm here cos yo'Father sent me!" Yea, that was it. That sounded plausible. He didn't really have a clue what was going on but when in Rome … "Friend o'Hun's." And yet Don continued to retreat from him. Taking a step closer, Casey continued to spin cotton "We gotta jet like … " Looking in through the open service entrance he made out the three lingering silhouettes of his brothers "now."

"No …" he murmured. Reaching out with one arm he pulled a nearby bin out into the space between human and turtle. "You're with them!"

Tossing his bat to one side Casey took the physical approach to restraining Donatello. Once again survivor's instinct came to the fore, when 'Jason's' arms wrapped around his middle he slammed both of his fists into the larger man's still moving back. Kicking his legs back and forth he felt the wind get knocked out of him as the two descended onto the hard ground, "Get off me!" stretching out he succeeded in getting a hold of something sleek and smooth. Pulling the shattered glass bottle free from the upset bin he waved it at Casey's exposed neck.

"Jesus, Mary an' Joseph Don!" Jerking backwards, Don slashed at his exposed chest. Backing up again Casey retreated away again, he wasn't entirely sure what to make of this. But there was a fire in his eyes that Casey could only put down to one emotion.

Fear.

Don was piss-shit scared of not only his brothers but him too. Putting his hands up be backed away from the boy, but he had a feeling the damage was done here too. "I'm backin' up see. Now, why don't you an' me go talk? I got this sweet lil place that those freaks aint ever gonna dream o'lookin'." Shrugging his shoulders he attempted friendly conversation once again. Sure things had looked a lil weird when they had hooked up a couple of seconds ago, but he hadn't bolted on sight. "Whaddya say?"

"You're with them." He repeated coldly, clutching the bottle he continued to back up towards the wire fence that separated Saki Industries from its neighbour. Putting a good metre between them both he glanced over his shoulder just the once. In doing so he gave Casey, and his now quietly appearing brothers' one final opportunity to capture him. Turning sharply, he hurled the glass bottle at the nearest moving target. Next he turned up the nearest bin he passed, closely followed by twisting out of Casey's determined grip with a swift kick to the chest area.

Pulling himself over the top of the wire fence he landed on the far side to stare into the eyes of his eldest brother. With his swords sheathed Leo studied his brother's face, he could clear the fence in half the time Donny had, and could no doubt wrestle him into the ground. But that wasn't the point, lingering in the door way Raphael nursed a damaged eye that wept tears of blood, and Casey was wheezing on the ground. Mikey's earlier altercation with Hun had left him with now very visible, very tender bruises that had definitely caused him to hold back just then. Just because he didn't want to hurt Donatello didn't mean that Donatello wouldn't intentionally hurt him. It would be wrong of him to put his brother in that sort of position.

Bringing his hands up he made a simple gesture of surrender, there was nothing more deadly than a cornered animal. And right now Donny was twice as dangerous as any armada of Elite. He simply wasn't aware of how incredibly powerful he was. Raph wasn't going to agree with him, but right now he had a responsibility to the family that could at least remember his name.

"Go …" he instructed softly. They would pick up his trail and find him later. "You win."