When Donatello returned to the room a couple of hours later, it was with a much more relaxed expression.
Leonardo peered at him curiously. "You look like you've got something, bro."
"Got something?" the purple-masked turtle repeated. "Oh, the evidence. Yeah, I found their records."
"And?" Leonardo persisted. Donatello sounded happy enough to have found the objects of his concern, but he had a feeling that his lighter step couldn't be attributed to that alone.
The smallest trace of a smile came over Donny. "Jen called me."
"Told ya she couldn't burn forever, Genius!" Raphael called from across the room.
Donatello shot a sheepish look in his direction, before choosing a perch on the couch.
Greg grabbed a chair beside him. "Okay, Donny. Where are we at?"
"Sorry it took me so long to decipher information."
"Don't apologize, Don. What did you find out?"
"There have been several evidence entries under her case number, including a laptop computer."
Greg shook his head. "I didn't really expect them to let me see any of it, even though I threatened charges against those cops who beat me up. I didn't want it to come to this."
"Come to what, Heff?" Michelangelo wondered. "Are we gonna have to get a hand on this stuff ourselves?"
"It's entirely possible that the authorities are missing clues on the hard drive, because they don't know what they're looking for," Greg replied. "The problem is, if we steal it...We risk the possibility of suspicion falling on the rest of the items in the Lab. It could cause evidence in other cases to be ruled inadmissible, just by tampering with Sayuri's stuff."
The solution felt obvious to Leonardo. "Then we don't let them know that we tampered with it. We don't need the computer - just the information."
Greg stared at him for a few seconds, his eyes widening a little. "I've always liked the way you think, Leo."
"We'd still have to go in person," Donatello mentioned. "Which means I'm going to have to mess with their regular operating procedures...for a little while. I need to turn off a couple of security features, and we have to find a way to get the building emptied out. So help me, Heff, don't say 'bomb threat'. I'm really uncomfortable going that route. It seems to be some people's logical fall-back, but I only caved that one time-"
"To save Mike, yeah, I know, Don. What about a fire drill?"
The purple-masked turtle sighed. "I'm not fond of that either, but we don't have many options."
"Can I assume that you're going to insist on going?" Leonardo asked.
Donny nodded. "The sooner the better - I was thinking like tonight even."
Leonardo frowned. "Do you have enough time to make it work?"
"It isn't that complicated, Leo, and I don't want to allow anyone the opportunity to discover my worm program. It isn't invisible; we've only got a small window under which to operate."
"Then I'm going with you," Leonardo replied.
"So am I," Greg added.
"That probably isn't necessary, Heff," Donatello countered.
"You haven't even been inside the building, Donny - I have. I also know how to handle the evidence like we were never there."
Leonardo exchanged a look with Donatello, and nodded firmly. "This is kind of his baby, Don."
"Okay," Donatello agreed quietly. "I'm going to take a closer look at their fire monitoring system, and see how I can manipulate it. I'll get back to this, and hopefully have something worked out in the next couple of hours."
Nightfall found Donatello and Leonardo sitting alone in the back of the van, around the side of the Prefectural Police Headquarters in Naha. Donatello was poised to set off the false fire alarm, but he wanted to make contact with the others first. The purple-masked turtle flipped through a couple of channels to get to the one everyone was supposed to be using, and began running through names.
"Brandon, are you in position?"
"I'm set on this end, Donny. Got a pretty good view of the masses from up here. Things look a little...uneasy."
"Keep us aware of the conditions, all right? Raph, where are you and Mike at?"
"Watching the building from that spot you picked out. Our view is kinda obstructed because of all this mess; we're probably gonna have to find another position. I don't really like this, Genius."
"Stay together, and don't let any of them get a good look at you."
"Duh." The red-masked turtle sounded exasperated. "It won't be hard to blend in, at least for now. I've got a feeling in my gut that we're gonna have a situation out here. The cops have stepped up their patrols in just the last few minutes - seems like they feel it too."
"Keep yourselves out of trouble, Raph, and try not to incite any fights," Donatello added impishly. "Heff, are you ready inside?"
"I'm set, Donny, just waiting for you to do your thing."
"How long do you think it will take for the building to empty out?"
"I say give it a good ten minutes before you attempt it. You know where you're going, right?"
"Yup, and I'll let you know when we're on our way. I'm going to trip the computerized sensors to set off the alarm, and shut down the key camera angles. Everyone hold your positions until further notice."
Donatello was already logged in to the correct program; he just needed to force the resolve to perform the needed action. His distasteful expression must have read from a mile away, because Leonardo nodded at him sympathetically. "Just once, I'd like to use these skills for something besides breaking and entering, Leo."
"Keep our real goal in mind, Donny. This isn't about taking advantage of the authorities. We just have to go around them."
With a flourish, Donatello finished the job with the smoke detectors, and then killed the main video feed that was serving the building.
"Now we wait, Fearless."
Leonardo watched the minutes tick away, and pulled on a floor-length duster over his katanas as they were getting closer to leaving. The coats felt a little more conspicuous than the hoodies with which Raphael and Michelangelo disguised themselves, but he and Donatello carried weapons that were much more difficult to conceal. Leonardo didn't expect to need his blades inside, but their weight was still reassuring.
He glanced over at Donatello, in time to see his younger brother adjusting another bandana over the top of his head to draw away from his physiology.
"Ready?" Leo asked.
Donatello nodded and cautiously opened the back doors. The first waft of night air hit Leonardo, carrying a mixture of scents that related to several types of food and drink. The sight of the throng that had gathered over the length of a couple city blocks was startling. Leonardo sensed the unrest in the air like an electric shock, but he didn't have time to focus on it.
They made their way silently around the van, and Donatello shot a thumbs-up toward the driver's side where Rebecca was waiting. She lowered the window a couple of inches.
"Stay put, okay, Becky?" Leonardo instructed. "Keep the doors locked. I don't like the look of these people."
"I will, Leo. Be careful you guys!"
The blue-masked turtle nodded, and they picked up the pace to get to the side entrance that Greg had chosen ahead of time. The turtles didn't see anyone as they approached the door, and found it partially ajar. Leonardo had just reached for it, when someone pushed the bar from the other side.
"C'mon, guys - we've got to be quick," Greg urged them. "Between the traffic and the mob outside we should have enough time. EMS response should be slowed down, but it won't stop them from coming. We have to get this done."
Neither turtle wasted any breath on words. They followed Greg through a couple of connecting hallways, over to the closest elevator. Leonardo noticed his brother bracing an arm heavily against the sidewall of the car, but didn't say anything about it. He mentally reminded himself to watch Donatello like a hawk. His gaze flicked over to Greg, and he could tell the man was striving to control his nerves.
The elevator stopped on the selected floor, and Greg led the way out into the hallway.
"I didn't see the Evidence Bunker while I was here. If the plans we studied were correct, then we should take a left turn to-"
"I believe it's actually a right turn, Heff," Donatello spoke up.
Greg hesitated, but then followed the purple-masked turtle's advice. "I trust your memory more than mine, Donny. Why don't you take the lead?"
"You forget I have the scanner," he replied wryly. "I've got the blueprints right in front of me."
Donatello led the way at a steady walk, which Leonardo was trying hard not to pick apart. He wasn't intentionally looking for signs of weariness in Donny, but he could still feel the falter in his step every so often, and never missed the way his brother grazed the walls for additional support. They traveled in silence, except for the sound Greg's feet made echoing across the hall.
Donatello pulled up short after a couple of minutes, and paused to read the Japanese characters on a door. "This is it, guys. Now we can-oh shell!"
The purple-masked turtle had just finished peering through the cut-out window on the other side of the door, when he flattened himself under it so fast that he hardly contained the sound of striking the floor.
"Stay back, get down," he hissed. "Someone's in there; I know I saw a shadow moving."
"Now what?" Greg muttered.
Leonardo edged over to the window beside his brother, and cast a look between him and Greg. "We didn't go to all this trouble for nothing," he said coolly. "Are you sure there's only one, Donny?"
"I only saw one, Fearless."
"What have you got in your bag of tricks? Did you bring an epi?"
Donatello retrieved the pen from his bag and handed it to him.
The blue-masked turtle exhaled softly. "Okay. I'm going in. You guys stay here for a minute, and I'm going to get this guy out of our way."
Leonardo didn't relish the idea of drugging an officer any more than Donny would have, but he wasn't about to let his injured brother's efforts go to waste. Leonardo slipped through the door of the darkened room, which had only two small overhead lights illuminating the space. He moved silently along the wall, holding his breath as he ducked past an empty desk.
Would someone actually be double-checking inventory at a time like this? It doesn't make any sense.
He heard the sound of the man moving, and peered around the corner for his first unobstructed look at the stranger. The human was facing his direction, but he was also completely engrossed in the box through which he was digging. He didn't notice when Leonardo slid across the floor, nor when he took up position behind a row of shelving.
The turtle inched closer to his target, and his curiosity intensified.
What is he doing? Did he honestly not notice the fire alarm going off?
The Asian man suddenly turned from the box he'd been emptying, and went back to the wheeled ladder a couple steps away. As he started ascending, Leonardo took his engraved opportunity. The turtle dashed out of hiding, and planted the epi-pen in the back of the man's leg before he could climb any further.
The startled human wavered for an instant before the sedative took full effect, and then toppled. Leonardo caught him carefully, and maneuvered him out of the way.
"Donny, Greg, it's clear! Get in here; we've just bought ourselves another time limit!"
The pair appeared around the corner a moment later, ready to go to work. Greg's first move was to start reading off case numbers on the shelving, but Leonardo noticed that his brother had been drawn to the crate already sitting on the table.
"It doesn't make any sense," Donny murmured. "He could have been risking his life to stay here; he didn't know the alarm was a fake. Why would he be so driven? What could have been so important that..."
Donatello trailed off, and Leonardo noticed his eyes widen as he got a closer look at the label on the box.
"What, Donny?"
The purple-masked turtle looked down at the screen on his scanner before answering, and tapped a couple of keys to refresh the screen. "That guy was sifting through Sayuri's caseload! I'm afraid to ask what that could possibly mean."