See, I kept my promise :) This doesn't end in a cliffie (ok, don't anybody faint) So hopefully this will be ok until I can get the next update out.
Chapter : 20 Ups and Downs
Mikey quickly pushed the button to the elevator but the doors remained closed. His attention then turned to Jeff, who was now halfway down the hall.
"He's gonna call for help," Mikey told Casey.
Casey must have thought the same thing because the vigilante rushed to catch him. He tackled the shorter man at the waist, sending them both to the ground. The small, black communicator slipped out of Hale's hand and clattered down the hall.
"Bad idea, buddy," Casey snarled at the man. He quickly flipped the man over and delivered a right cross. It knocked him out cold.
"Wimp," Casey hissed as he stood. He turned and ran back to Mikey.
"He ain't callin' for help anytime soon," Casey said. "Now what?"
"The elevator is going up," Mikey said as he ran to the stairs. "Give me that card!"
Casey handed the card to Mikey as they both took the stairs two and three steps at a time.
"We gotta get ahead of the elevator!" Mikey said in between short, quick breaths.
Casey didn't ask questions. He trusted that Mike knew what he was doing.
Mikey opened the door to the hall and quickly checked for soldiers.
It was empty.
He pushed out a relieved breath when he saw that the elevator was a few floors below them. He swiped the card, pushed the button and prayed that it stop at that floor.
Raph jumped up as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, the black clad ninja did too. The space was too small to pull out any weapons and it was difficult to throw a decent punch. Raph found himself backed against a wall, his brother blocked from his view.
One soldier threw a punch and Raph crouched down. The move brought the ninja closer and Raph was able to deliver a uppercut. It sent the soldier into one of his comrades. It cleared a path and Raph finally got a glimpse of his brother.
Leo was slumped against the far wall of the elevator, his arms pulled behind his shell and his sight blocked by the dark hood over his head.
Raph's breath caught in his throat. His older brother wasn't moving…Raph couldn't even tell if he was breathing.
With a growl, Raph lunged forward and caught another ninja with his elbow. The soldier staggered back and landed on Leo.
"No, Leo," Raph breathed out.
The remaining ninja used that distraction and caught Raph with a quick jab. It snapped him back and Raph let out a groan when his head connected with wall. He was grabbed around the neck before he could slide to the floor. More hands seized his arms and held him against the wall. He struggled, but their fingers dug deeper into his arms and the hand around his throat tightened. He tried to blink the dark spots from his eyes.
"No! No, no, no!" his mind screamed. "Leo…Don…I'm sorry."
"Did you really think you would win, freak?" the soldier's face was inches away from Raph's. He could feel the heat from the ninja's breath through his mask.
"I'm going to make sure you and the one in blue die slowly!"
The ninja turned quickly to the door when he felt the elevator grind to a stop. He glanced at the floor number.
They were several floors below the Master's chamber.
The door slid open and the soldiers barely had enough time to gasp before a blur of green and orange barreled into the elevator.
Mikey crashed into the soldiers, sending them and Raph crashing to the floor.
Casey was seconds behind Mikey. He pushed the button to close the doors and then the one for the ground floor.
"Goin' down!" Casey whooped as he joined the fight and evened the odds.
Raph was still taking in deep gulps of air as Mikey helped him to his feet. He looked around the tiny area at the ninja sprawled out on the floor. Casey had the last soldier by the collar of his uniform, he cracked a smile at Raph and let the unconscious man fall to the floor.
"M-Mike," Raph gasped out.
"It's a'right, Raphie." Mikey smiled.
Raph smiled back and quickly stepped over the ninja to get to Leo. He and Mikey knelt next to him while Casey watched the soldiers. He wanted to make sure none of the ninja interrupted the family reunion.
Now that he was getting a closer look, Raph was relieved that his brother was breathing.
"Leo?" Raph hesitantly reached for his arm.
Leo tried to move away.
"It's a'right, bro." Raph reached up and carefully removed the hood.
Mikey and Raph sucked in a sharp breath when they saw their brother's face. It was covered in blood and bruises. His blue mask showed no hints of it's original color. Leo's eyes were unfocused and glazed as he tried to survey his surroundings.
Raph let a small growl rumble from his throat as his brother still struggled to get away from their grip.
"Hey, hey!" Raph raised his voice and grabbed the sides of Leo's face. "It's us, Leo. Raph an' Mikey…you're ok!"
Leo's eyes widened at the sight of his red banded brother. Raph smiled when recognition replaced the fear.
Leo tried to say Raph's name. His voice muffled behind the gag.
Raph's eyes narrowed. "Don't talk, Leo."
He motioned for Mikey to start on the shackles. Leo's glassy gaze fell to his baby brother as he carefully started picking the locks.
"When ya get those off, Mike, find somethin' to hold against tha'." Raph pointed to the wound that was still oozing blood on the side of Leo's head.
Mikey nodded and managed to give Leo a shaky smile.
"Leo?" Raph said.
Leo looked back at him and Raph noticed his eyes started to droop.
"No, buddy…stay with us. Ok?"
Leo barely nodded.
"I'm gonna get this gag off of ya," Raph tugged on the tape a little. "It may hurt some…I'm sorry."
Leo slowly shook his head, silently telling him to go ahead.
"It's gonna be ok, now…April will fix ya up," Raph said quietly as he started to pull the tape off.
Leo winced and let out a small whimper. Raph managed to get the tape off and he pulled the cloth out of Leo's mouth. Leo gagged and coughed before he was able to pull full breaths in. The shackles fell to the floor with a clank and Mikey carefully held a piece of fabric he ripped from one of the ninja's uniform against the gash on Leo's head.
"R-Raph?" Leo's voice was small and strained.
"Don't talk," Raph repeated. "Save your strength, bro. We're getting' outta here."
"Don.."
"Shhh."
The elevator slowed and then stopped at the ground floor. Raph patted his brother on the arm and stood up.
"Casey, you and Mikey grab Leo. I'll make sure the way is clear," Raph said as the doors opened.
Raph peeked out of the elevator. The hall was clear and Raph could see the door that led to the alley.
Raph glanced over his shoulder. "We're good."
Casey and Mikey pulled Leo to his feet. "C'mon, dude."
Leo's legs buckled and they had to hold all of his weight.
"We'll have to carry him, Case," Mikey instructed as he slid his arm under Leo's legs. Casey did the same and they lifted him.
"I-I can walk," Leo breathed out as his head lolled to the side and then tilted forward.
"I know, Leo," Mikey grunted. "Maybe later."
Once they had Leo out in the hall, Raph reached down and grabbed one of the soldiers. He pulled him halfway out of the elevator and left him on the floor. The doors started to shut, but opened again when it hit the ninja's shoulders.
Raph turned to his friend and brothers. "Tha' will be a nice lil' surprise for Karai." Raph laughed.
"Yeah," Mikey laughed. "Ground floor: Unconscious ninja, an escape route and whoa…dead bodies!"
Raph's eyes widened when he saw what had Mikey's attention. At the end of the hall was a gurney with black body bag on it.
Raph opened the door. "Go on, get Leo outta here. I'll catch up."
Mikey nervously bit his lip, he didn't want to leave his brother alone. He hesitantly nodded and continued carrying his injured brother out of the building.
Raph unsheathed his sai and slowly made his way to the gurney. He took a deep breath and unzipped the body bag a little….
Mikey let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when he saw Raph exit the building. Raph quickly jogged to the end of the alley.
"Well?" Mikey asked.
"It was Starcher," Raph whispered. He watched Leo for a reaction.
He didn't even stir.
"Leo, you with us?" Raph gently patted his cheek.
"Hmmm…" Leo's eyes fluttered open.
"You may have a concussion, bro. Stay awake."
Leo nodded.
"Let's go," Raph said.
Mikey and Casey gave him a puzzled look.
"We'll talk about it later." Raph started across the street.
Casey shrugged. "One less goon to worry about."
"Yeah," Mikey agreed as they followed Raph to the parking lot.