Don stared at Kelley, incredulous. "You're not serious."

"I am, actually. I'm not completely without skills, you know. They taught me a few things in school besides reading my own name. It may not compare with your intellect—"

"What are you trying to prove?" Raphael interrupted. "You think we can't handle going out there without you looking over our shoulder?"

"You called me for help," the man said sternly. "That's what I'm doing."

"This isn't the sorta help we want from you," Mike countered. "Isn't it all kinds of risky for you to be tagging along on this mission?"

"He's not coming inside," Leo filled in as he turned around the corner of the second-tier landing from which they were watching three boats heading toward the pier.

"You cleared this, Fearless?" The red-masked turtle was in disbelief.

Donatello couldn't say he felt differently.

"Yes, and no. The Director brought in a second vessel without my knowledge, but when he explained his reasoning, I agreed with him."

Raph crossed his arms. "You agree with him. You agree with him coming along to a possible warzone."

"The last I checked, I don't answer to you," Kelley replied heatedly. "Every good officer needs back up, and I'm not allowing you to go against the unknown without further assistance. Disasters have occurred too many times. And correct

me if I'm wrong, but with the exception of Brandon, none of your people know how to handle a boat. Am I right?"

"Well, Becky has—" Raph started, but was cut off by a dangerous look from the orange-masked turtle.

"Like I said, no one else is going to be able to drive one for you. I'm not asking to be your battle buddy. What I am doing is putting myself into position to assist, just in case. And I'm not asking for permission. I find it amazing that you four would think you can stand there and tell me what to do, when I'm the one making things happen for you."

Donatello cringed inwardly. Of all their human allies, Matthew Kelley had always been the most dangerous. Whereas the rest of their friends were considered members of the family and would readily receive orders, the Director held all the power in his cards.

"They're pulling in now," Kelley volunteered. "The Officers have instructions to leave two vessels, so we'll give them a couple minutes to vacate and leave on the third before we make our move."

Leo glanced over the shadowed edge of the landing and immediately gasped. Donny rushed for a glimpse of what had surprised his brother, and his mouth fell open too. The first craft he laid eyes on was sleek and streamlined, along the lines of what he'd expected. The second heavily armored ship was another matter entirely.

"What is that?" Donatello pointed in awe.

"That's your back-up," Kelley said, matter-of-fact.

"You can drive that thing?" Mike squeaked.

"Believe it or not, I've been trained."

"For what?" Raphael demanded. "No offense, but aren't you like…on desk duty?"

"As far as official FBI business is concerned, yes."

"And what about unofficially?" the blue-masked turtle challenged. "You didn't mention anything like this."

"I'm afraid that's on a 'need to know' basis," the man answered evasively.

Don heard an argument picking up behind him, but he ignored it momentarily. He was too busy getting a closer look of the craft through his digital binoculars. The quality of the metal captured him, until he noticed a fluorescent yellow decal of a lightning bolt, and his stomach dropped. "Kelley," he said loudly, uncharacteristically calling the man by his last name. "Is that thing armed with an EMP?"

The man gazed at him boldly. "I asked for it specifically."

"That…that's a military grade tactical weapon! How did you swing something like that?"

"You ask too many questions."

"We're about to ask a lot more," Leo sharpened. "Since when do you have ties to the military?"

"Thought we established that I don't answer to you."

Leonardo glared. "Begging your pardon, Director, but you do. Being part of our inner circle requires implicit trust, and if we can't rely on you, then it's time we lost your phone number. You seem to be under the impression that we can't get along without you. We did for many years, and we can do it again."

Kelley apparently hadn't expected the response. "You don't mean that."

Leo shook his head. "The sad part is, I do. There's nothing I can do about your presence here tonight, but I have no problem cutting the lines with any future communication."

"That's not what I want!" The man was flustered – a feat that was difficult to accomplish.

"It's not necessarily what we want either, but we've made ourselves completely vulnerable to you, Director. Being deceived in return is a deeply personal offense," Leo told him.

Kelley sighed. "It's a job, and part of the position is secrecy. I don't even discuss it with my wife!"

"And that's fine, Director, until you pull up to one of our missions hauling a small weapon of mass destruction, and expect us not to question it," Don spoke up.

"The nuclear components aren't armed," the man said quickly. "We don't do that on American soil."

Raphael's fists clenched. "Who is we?"

"We is…" Matthew hesitated. "All right. Indian Point changed me as a person. I think I've told you all that before. Coming that close to a nuclear disaster with the Akiudo, and only having knowledge of it because of you lot, opened my eyes to more vulnerabilities than I knew existed. I campaigned hard, and managed to get myself appointed to a joint-terrorism task force. It was a combination of military, CIA, special forces…The FBI wasn't on their radar, with the exception of my prediction over the danger at Indian Point. That's what got me in the door. Over the years my position evolved, and I hold some leadership over the committee."

"So what, you work for the military?" Mike was confused.

"Not on the record. The dealings are strictly classified, as is information about Black Out. I can't tell you a whole lot, you realize."

Donny's eyes widened. "Black Out? Are you talking about the same EMP responsible for sending Cairo back to the dark ages?"

"That was ten years ago, and the debacle in Egypt was due to human error, Donatello. You must know the program has come a long way since. For someone who arms his vehicle with missiles, I'm surprised you're not in favor of another layer of protection."

"They're not remotely the same thing, so don't get me started!" Don's voice rose. "An electromagnetic pulse might seem safer on paper, but you know the truth about an EMP and so do I. You can't really control the energy's damage field, and if it's concentrated too much in a single area, it can take lives as easily as a missile. The possibility of a pulse traveling farther than you intended always exists, and it can cause more widespread destruction than blowing up a few computers and circuit breakers. How about the way it leveled a power plant in Egypt? Let's talk about that."

Michelangelo raised a hand. "Can I just say I don't like the sound of it?"

"Black Out isn't without certain…risks," Kelley allowed. "Still, it's been used effectively post the disaster in Cairo. I'm not suggesting we unleash it to see what happens. It's a tool at our disposal, should we need it. But I'd have to get a little notice to activate it . The code has to be called in to another source. It's not like flipping on a light switch."

"It won't come to that," Leo said firmly. "I still don't like the prospect of such a weapon. It's nice to get some honesty though, even if it's a few years late."

Donny's pulse picked up along with the wind whipping around them off the pier. They were preparing to get underway, but Leonardo insisted in making some changes with the boating arrangement. Namely, Luke wasn't going near the island, and for the moment, neither was Tim. The purple-masked turtle could guess Leo's motivation for moving his father-in-law, but still listened in while his brother quietly explained himself.

"I don't want Kelley alone with those weapons," the blue-masked turtle said. "He may know what he's doing, but I don't like it."

"Babysitting duty, huh?" Timothy wasn't impressed.

"Don't feel too bad," Leo returned. "We're not letting anyone else come onto the island with us except for Shun."

"But he's—"

"A twenty-three year old adult who studied karate, and then ninjutsu under us for the last several years. But he hasn't had the hands on training that the rest of you have 'enjoyed'. He's also less likely to be a loose cannon inside," Leonardo ended flatly.

Tim grimaced. "You're talking about Kat, aren't you?"

Leonardo groaned. "She'll give me a hard time for this, but I can't take the risk. Not with how angry she is. Brandon's got to stay behind in case we need the boat moved. There's no telling where we'll exit from. And even though I'm confident in the skills Greg and Sayuri possess, I feel like we need to travel light going in. If we need their help, they can reinforce."

The man released a soft breath. "Good luck letting them know." He glanced over his shoulder. "I'm gonna go catch my ride. If I don't talk to you again, kick shell and take no prisoners."

Leo smiled. "That's the plan."

As the two turtles moved toward the smaller boat, Donny caught his brother's arm. "When are we gonna tell them?"

Leonardo swallowed. "I suppose the sooner the better, even if it makes for a less enjoyable 'cruise'. I don't really care if they like it. That's how it's going to be this time."

Donatello wanted to reply, but felt his throat constrict upon the looks they received when they got on the boat. It's like they already know something. But they don't. Right? He wasn't generally intimidated by their allies, but the current glares from his friends were pushing it.

"What's with the floating tank?" Brandon waved toward the other boat.

"That's Kelley's doing," Leo said smoothly. "If you're set, Bran, we want to get underway as soon as possible. Don, will you help him with the coordinates?"

Donny was relieved for the instruction, if only to escape the accusing eyes of the others. The purple-masked turtle trailed behind the bronze-haired man as Brandon led the way to the Captain's position.

"It has onboard navigation…which of course, I don't know how to use." Brandon pointed to the screen.

"Not a problem, Bran. I'll load the coordinates, and it should automatically update you to stay on course. Go ahead and pull into the Bay, and head east for the Atlantic. I have time to do this before you'll actually need directions."

Brandon eased the speedster away from the pier and brought it into line with the buoys to steer into the Bay. "So, is our escort going to be able to keep up with us?"

"Not as I understand it. Kelley isn't supposed to be approaching the island. He's hanging out purely for back up. His doing, not ours."

"That boat is no joke. He knows how to drive it?"

"Kelley knows a lot of things he hasn't bothered sharing."

"What do you mean?"

Donny paused in his typing. "I'll have to let him explain it. He's very sensitive about his 'classified' material."

"Classified? You guys were talking to him for a while. What's going on here?"

"Bran, I don't even know. Sufficed to say, Kelley is a bigger threat than we realized."

The man's form went rigid. "How? Is he threatening to expose—"

"Not that type of threat, Bran. Listen, I have no problem telling you, but it's something he should do. Mind if we focus on the mission instead?"

Brandon's creased forehead told the turtle he didn't like it, but the man didn't argue. "I'm not going inside this place, am I?"

Don shook his head. "We need you with the boat."

"And the others?"

"They're not coming either, with the exception of Shun. He needs the experience points."

"Are you serious? My sister is going to kill you."

"We're more concerned about her killing someone else. Kat is in rare form tonight."

"What do you expect?" Bran snapped. "It's her daughter we're talking about."

"That doesn't mean turning her loose is the best option." Donny kept his voice low.

"Obviously you guys will do what you think is right, but I don't understand disregarding so many of your allies at a time like this."

"Don't call it disregarding."

Brandon snorted. "What is it then, protection?"

"You don't understand. We have no clue what we're walking into. We've had no time to study this group, and they appear extremely organized. Kelley's intel says their weapons arsenal could be nasty. We need to stay under the radar for as long as possible, and it's easier to do with fewer numbers."

"Does that mean we should like it?"

"Not necessarily. But don't think you're being demoted."

"How can I be demoted?" Brandon grumbled. "I'm just your blasted water taxi."

The forty-five minute trip had been deathly silent; quieter than any prequel to a mission that Donatello could remember. Some of it could be attributed to the way he separated himself from the others to analyze incoming radio waves. Paranoia had him glued to the screen of his laptop, waiting for the notice that they were being tracked.

While he hadn't expected to catch any signals from far off, they were nearing dangerous territory now, where discovery was certain if he couldn't intercept the radar waves. And it all hinges on technology I haven't even tested. No pressure.

Don sensed someone standing behind him, and knew it was Leonardo without turning around.

"How do we look?" the blue-masked turtle asked.

"I haven't seen anything yet, but it has to show up soon." His voice shook, despite his best effort.

"Breathe, Don. I'm sorry – I'll try not to distract you."

"I'd appreciate it." Donny fixed on the screen and licked dry lips nervously. His device was active and had been ever since they hit the Atlantic. So far it hadn't picked up anything worth noting in the inky blackness of the night. It's possible they don't employ radar technology, but I'm not counting on us being that lucky. It's always something. Nothing can ever go off without a hitch. And here I am, trying to jinx us. Shut up, brain.

A blip of light on the dark screen made him jump. The small pulse repeated, and strengthened into a steady beam. With a deep breath he rapidly adjusted the setting on his "enhanced" disruptor, and waited. Their progress in the direction of the signal continued, but the light flashed rapidly, and suddenly grew fainter. Donatello held his breath for a few more seconds, and watched the blip disappear from sight.

"Did it work?" Leo asked.

Don looked back. "I think we deflected the radar."

The blue-masked turtle sighed softly. "Either way, there's no turning back now."