Disclaimer: See Chapter One
Tmntleonardo19: Sorry to make you wait, hope this is good enough to make up for it.
Crystal Violeta: Welcome to the story, glad you like it so far! No Leo hasn't lost his leg, I'm not that cruel, just a chunk of the muscle. As for Splinter, sometimes little birds need a nudge to get out of the nest. Unfortunately, they don't always manage to fly.
Yukio87: What to say, what to say? …. You'll see. Lol
LeonardoTheLeader: Sorry I lost you there. I was trying to convey the feeling that the drugs had him so out of it, he wasn't really aware of the passage of time.
Dondena: What about his story so far makes you think he would be so fortunate? A hint though, which zoo was he at in the news story? They're not likely to ship him cross country.
Keekee0807: Thankyou so much!
Isabell Brehm: My Leo for now, unfortunately for him. Hehehehe
Sav: Yes, I think you have bemoaned his poor fortunes every chapter. Lol. I thank you for your patience though.
WhoIAm649: Excitement crests. Hopefully to build again.
Dragonflylj: I'm glad, I always want to bring something new, recycling old ideas makes them into clichés. As for the drugs, I was thinking along the same lines, glad that came across. I'm relieved my portrayal of Leo is working, and don't worry, you'll get your family angst, but I don't want to rush it.
I love my job. This thought ran through Mick Gates mind several times a day with no sarcasm attached. As someone that grew up on fishing trawlers, being on the ocean was second nature, not to mention serving in the coast guard meant that he could do it and not have to deal with fish smell and crusty fishermen. The best thing though, was getting to work on the water and take down bad guys. Adventure and the ocean were the two things in life that made his blood sing. So unlike many others in law enforcement, Mick welcomed joint operations, especially with the DEA. Today was the culmination of years of investigation and undercover work. A multipoint attack on one of the drug cartels was being carried out simultaneously on many fronts, their cutter charged with stopping a shipment of drugs headed for the states off the California coast.
The small freighter had complied with their order to heave to and now it was a race to get aboard and secure the crew before they had the chance to throw the incriminating cargo overboard to the depths.
"United States coast guard! Surrender your weapons and get on the floor!"
Mick aimed his gun at the shaking sailors in front of him and followed them to the floor as they slid their knives to the side. They had been in the process of cutting crates loose when he'd come around the corner. His walkie crackled as the all clear was called and a DEA agent scooted forward to secure the prisoners. The device buzzed again, "Good work boys. The crew is secure and it looks as though they didn't get to jettison any of the cargo."
Mick sighed in relief and lowered his weapon as the satisfaction of a job well done ran through him. Agent Moran smiled, "I'm gonna take these guys over to the ship, why don't you have a look around and see what we've netted here."
"Sure, no problem."
As Moran shoved the two handcuffed men ahead through the hatch, Mick sauntered around the hold, examining the various containers and casually checking for unusual wires. This particular cartel wasn't in the habit of using booby traps on their ships, rough waves shifted cargo around after all, but there was always a slight chance. As he neared the back corner, a large wooden crate caught his eye. Handle with care? Live animal? He reached for his comm, "Gates here, are these guys known for trafficking animals?"
Moran responded, "Well, one of their bosses is known as a collector of exotic animals. Sometimes he trades in them. Why?"
"I think we've got something here. There's a crate and I think there's an animal in it. Don't know what it is or what kind of condition it's in though."
There was a pause. "Ok. I'll get ahold of the USDA. See what they say. Don't open it up, but try and see what it is."
"Got it." Mick approached the crate and called to whatever was inside. "Hey there, you okay? Hmmm? You ok in there fella?" He crouched next to the wooden slats and listened carefully, trying to ignore the smell. Whatever the poor thing was, it was either dead, or badly in need of new bedding. A soft rumbling whine reached his ears. Well, it's alive, but it really doesn't sound good. Have they even been taking care of it? The sailor cautiously leaned forward and peered through a gap in the wood, hoping he wasn't about to get a claw in the eye. The light from his barrel mounted flashlight revealed a large form covered in dirty green scales. There was no shine off a bowl, so he doubted the creature had any food or water.
"Moran? Gates here again. It's alive, I think it's some kind of reptile, but, I don't think it's in very good shape. It's not moving, I don't see any food or water in with it, and the bedding really stinks. I know you told me not to open the crate, but … I really think this thing needs some attention."
He anxiously waited for an answer.
"Moran here. I've been questioning a couple of the prisoners about it. They say it's some ultra rare turtle. But since it's a reptile, one of these genius' didn't think it would need anything. Guess they watched some thing on Discovery that said a lot of reptiles don't need much food or water and figured they could be lazy and just clean it up when they got stateside. If you're right, it might not make it to port. Open the crate, carefully. I'll be down with some water and see what we've got."
"Acknowledged."
Mick looked around and spied a crowbar. He decided to come at it from the top and pried off one of the slats that made the roof of the container. The extra light and space let him finally get a clear look at the unfortunate animal. It was easily the largest land turtle he'd ever seen, and the strangest. Long limbs connected to a body encased in a giant dark green shell. The dirt covering the scales made it hard to tell what shade of green the creature was but that wasn't what caught his attention the most. It was clearly emaciated. Limbs that thin would never support such a large shell. He pried off another slat and haunted eyes raised to meet his own. Morons! Mick wasn't really much of an animal person himself, but how could they be so stupid to neglect such an incredible creature. Another whine cut through his anger.
"Hey there big guy. It's ok. You're okay. Shhh."
He kept up a stream of soothing noises and words as he continued removing the top of the crate, no longer afraid of attack. The turtle clearly wasn't going anywhere, especially now that he could see the large gaping scar in one of its hind legs. Not going anywhere any time soon. Boots drew his attention back to the hatch where Moran was returning with a large bowl of water. "How's it look?"
Mick shook his head. "Not good, it's a turtle alright. And rare for sure, but I doubt it would have survived these idiots. Here, I'll take that."
Moran handed him the bowl and Mick carefully leaned over the side of the crate to put the bowl in reach of the now trembling reptile. "Easy big guy, it's ok, it's just water. Hey Moran back up a sec. I thinks it's more than a little afraid of us."
They both eased back a couple feet and sat on top of crates so they could still see the animal. It in turn never took its eyes off them, but the large nostrils in its beak flared. Ever so slowly it reached out with a forepaw and drew the bowl closer to itself. The nose flared again and it lowered its head to drink deeply. The men smiled at each other, the more it drank, the more chance it would make it to shore.
Gates leaned to Moran slightly, "Did you get ahold of the USDA?"
Moran nodded while still watching the turtle drink. "Yeah. They said they would contact the San Francisco zoo. They're the best facility in the area to care for something like this. Some of their people will meet us at the dock to pick him up. Before we get there though, we have to take some video for evidence. But they asked that we not take pictures with flash so we don't scare it any more than it already is."
"Sounds good. Hear that big guy? You're safe now, and soon you'll be in the best of hands."
