Donatello was sound asleep, when the vibration from his watchband jerked him rudely awake. He tried to sit up as fast as he normally would have, and swayed as a light head prevailed. The purple-masked turtle punched the button to illuminate the watch's screen, and realized Greg had set off an SOS.
Shell. Now what?
Donatello laid eyes on his oldest brother, who already had a cell-phone pressed to his ear.
"C'mon, pick up," Leonardo muttered. "Pick up!"
"Fearless, we know where he is." Raphael sounded agitated. "Let's just go get him."
"We're going to have to check around the perimeter first, Raph; we can't go rushing blindly into that building."
"The shell we can't," the red-masked turtle returned.
Before Leonardo could respond to Raphael's baiting, Mike spoke up. "Maybe we ought to look him up on Don's thingy first, before we go searching for him?"
"Hang on, guys." Donatello reached for his scanner within easy reach, but groaned as his joints cracked under pressure. "Let me get this booted up, and I'll get the exact location nailed down from his watch."
"We already know he's in that building!" Raphael argued. "When somebody sets off an alarm, it's usually 'cause they're in trouble! We shouldn't be hesitating right now!"
The red-masked turtle's hand was already on the back door, and Leonardo moved smoothly to brace against the metal before he could open it.
"Whatever we do, we'll do it together, Raph! Now keep your shell on, and wait a minute. This won't take Donny long."
It was a longer wait for the software to load than it was for Donatello to decipher Greg's coordinates. He unconsciously paled, and his fingers trembled slightly as he lifted them from the keypad.
"Guys, he's gone, he's not in there!"
"What do you mean he's not in there?" Mike squeaked.
"His signal is moving, it's been moving anyway. It looks stationary right now."
"Don, will you help Brandon or Becky nail down the directions?" Leonardo asked at once.
"Yeah, I'll pop up front, then we've got to get after him!"
Donatello's legs felt steadier than before, but he could tell Leonardo was still eyeing him. He decided not to say anything when Leonardo chose to accompany him up front. Donatello sent Becky ride in the back with the others, and climbed into the passenger side across from Brandon.
"Get going, Bran - take a right turn out of this lot; we need to head back to the freeway."
"I knew I should have gone with him." Brandon fumed. "I swear, nothing bad happens until we separate!"
"Just drive, okay? We need to get west; we have some ground to make up."
Donatello directed him continually for the next few minutes, and quickly steered Brandon from the wrong exit that would have taken them further north instead of west.
"Do you suppose this whole thing was a set-up, Donny?"
"I don't know, Bran, I hope not. I wish he could just answer his phone, and tell us setting off the panic button was a mistake. His coordinates are telling us a different story. You're going to stay on this road for another four miles or so..."
"How far are we from intercepting them?"
"It's hard to say for certain, and his signal is moving again."
"Do you have an objection to me speeding up?"
"No, Brandon, just don't get pulled over. I left my ID in my other shell."
Golden brown eyes glanced at him in confusion. "Do you have another shell?"
"It's an expression, Brandon - don't take me literally."
The man shrugged. "Other creatures grow out of their shells."
"Do I look like a crustacean to you?"
"No, not really," he replied meekly, missing Donatello's head-shake in the darkness.
"Just watch the road. Feel free to go faster, but we have to watch for cops too."
Greg figured the woman probably couldn't see the evil eye he was giving her, but that didn't stop him. He had already strained his wrists to the point that it felt like they were bleeding in an effort to get loose.
"Why did you have to pick tonight, of all nights?" Sayuri snapped out of the blue.
"It seemed like a good night to get kidnapped," he shot in return. "Honestly, I can't stop you from doing anything. Why don't you give me some clue what's up? No one's listening, it's not like I'm wired-"
"I know that. I checked."
"Does this have something to do with HijutoChem?"
The woman said nothing, simply kept her eyes on the road.
"It does, doesn't it?"
"What I am doing is my business."
"Geez, you're unbelievable, woman! You're not at all who I thought you were."
"You try running for your life for weeks and being falsely accused by your people, Gregory-san, and then tell me what that does to you. I will admit that my paranoia is at an all-time high - with good reason!"
"Will you pull over please?"
"I have work-"
"Yeah, I know. Just pull over."
Sayuri at least pulled onto the shoulder more softly this time.
"Now look at me," he ordered.
After a couple of beats of hesitation, she met his gaze.
"I didn't come here to mess you up, Sayuri. I didn't have to come at all, and I had no reason to make a deal with the police. Your people have nothing on me - it was all theories and intimidation on their part. Maybe I haven't known you forever, but it's still long enough to care about what happens to you."
"I do not need or want your sympathy. I want to end this."
"Do you realize that it's possible to finish this, and still get out alive?"
Her posture indicated that she might be faltering, but then Sayuri stiffened again. "This is something I must do myself, Gregory-san."
"Why? You really refuse to trust me at all?"
She pulled the car back onto the road without answering him. Greg fumed in silence for the next ten minutes, worn out from lack of sleep and trying to plead his case with her. His silence didn't appear to bother Sayuri - she stayed quiet too. Greg didn't perk up again until he saw the faint lights of a sizeable complex in the distance, and chanced raising his head a couple more inches.
Sayuri didn't push him down this time, and the buildings slowly came into better view. Presently the woman pulled off the road once more, alongside a shadowed thicket that skirted the outer edge of the property. He cast the woman a glance as she leaned her seat back to give herself more space to work, and began to transform before his eyes.
The dark brown wig that he'd somewhat suspected all along came off, and she shook out shoulder-length glossy black hair, before pulling it back up off her face. Sayuri reached into the backseat to retrieve a dark-colored jacket, and pulled it on over her lighter top. While he watched she began taking inventory of the supplies in her bag.
She's definitely gearing up to go in there.
When the woman closed her bag, she looked at her watch. Her gaze remained fixed there, as though she was waiting for a specific time.
"You're going in, huh?" Greg broke the silence.
"Someone has to," she replied. "I was gifted something that will help me get access to the records I need, but I have a short time frame to act within. Sit tight, Gregory-san; I have to wait a few minutes before I can move from here."
"Then what? You're just gonna leave me?"
Sayuri didn't even glance at him. Now her eyes were focused on the rear-view mirror. After several seconds, she reached over to his seat and jerked Greg hard by his collar. "I have seen lights behind us, but I thought nothing of it. Now another vehicle has pulled off less than a quarter of a mile from us. There is no reason for others to be stopping out here. Are these people coming after you?"
"I really couldn't say."
He saw her raise a hand as if to strike him, but she slowly withdrew it.
"You carry something they can track."
"I don't know what you're referring to."
"Gregory-san, do not make me hurt you! Are those your people, or not?"
"I can't even see them, Sayuri."
With an irritated grunt she pulled him up further on the seat, and he shook his head again.
"I still can't see them."
"But you have some way to check."
"I told you not to ignore that phone call. It only made them slip into 'rescue mode' faster."
Sayuri dug his phone out from where she'd stowed it. "Then call them. Tell them to come out where I can see them."
"No."
She cocked her head at him. "Why do you say no?"
"Because these guys are special, and you're not meeting them unless I can trust you. For some crazy reason, I'm just not sure I can anymore."
"I do not need this, Gregory-san! My window is running too close - I have to act!"
"No you don't," he said bluntly. "You don't have to do this alone. I'm here to help you, remember? And that team back there, they're like Delta Force. If there's a mission that needs to go down, then give us some time. Let us help, and we'll finish it together."
Greg could feel the suspicion radiating off her.
"No. That is not how this is going to work."
"Then how's it going down, Sayuri? If you're gonna go, then go. It's fine. My true friends will come along to get me."
"That is not going to happen," she said icily. "And I am going to make sure of it right now. You will tell me what numbers to dial, and we will contact your team. You will tell them that you are accompanying me inside, and that they are not to interfere."
"You want to take me with you now?"
"I cannot afford to let you out of my sight with them sitting there!"
"Do you really know what you're doing, Sayuri? I'm telling you, it would be wiser to get my team involved in this."
"I want nothing to do with them, or you for that matter. But now you are here, and there does not seem to be another choice. You will tell them to hold their position."
"And if I don't?"
"I have a gun, Gregory-san; I know how to use it. If you try to escape on foot, you will be sorry. Tell them to stand down, and we can go in together as partners, if that is how you prefer to imagine it. You are coming with me regardless, but I will not be responsible for shooting anyone who tries to approach us. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," he replied through gritted teeth.
"I am ready to dial."
