Donatello was a little surprised when Leonardo called upon Greg to take a position up front with the purple-masked turtle, but he didn't bother saying anything about it.
"Does any of this seem familiar to you, Heff?" Don asked.
The man shrugged. "A lot of these halls look the same to me anyway. I can tell you what I'm thinking, if you want to hear it."
"Of course I want to hear it, Heff! You know this building better than any of us."
"There are a number of elevators that can access Javits from the Civic Center. Based on Brandon's coordinates, I'm guessing he took the main set of stairs. They're located by the busiest bank of elevators on the Mezzanine level."
"Does that mean any backtracking?"
"We're headed in the right direction to get there; it's just a matter of descending to the correct floor. I think our goal should be to infiltrate one of the elevator shafts from there."
Donatello nodded. "I'm just praying we can get access to their stairwell, Heff. Or what's left of it."
The purple-masked turtle hesitated on the stairs they were currently using, as a creaking overhead caught his attention. He paused for a few seconds and eyed the ceiling warily before glancing down at his feet.
I don't even like using these stairs.
"Guys...I think we need to consider getting off at the next stop," he announced.
Donatello caught a nod from Leonardo, encouraging him to continue. Greg motioned to the exit door on the following landing.
"Hold on a second," the man urged.
Greg studied a non-descriptive map posted by the door, describing what their current location was. "Okay. Let's just try this, and see what happens."
Donatello willingly followed the man out the door into the next hallway, and glanced back at his brothers. They were both breathing easily through the oxis, without any evidence of difficulty from the smoke. The masks were supposed to sufficiently protect them, but it was relieving to see them stand up to the test.
Greg picked up a little speed in front of him, and Donatello realized that the hallway was widening out, no longer closed in on both sides. They circled around an airy overlook with a railing that gave the purple-masked turtle a full view of the Civic Center.
"The Mezzanine," Greg offered, his eyes scanning left and right below. "The elevators we need are just across from that fountain. I wish we could access them from these floors, but we've got no choice except to get down from here. And uh...I see lights. There are definitely people already down there."
Leonardo shook his head. "There's no way around it. It's not as if we have time to find another way through that might not even exist. We just have to do what we have to." The blue-masked turtle eyed a narrow pillar on the other side of the railing. "We could probably get to the Mezzanine without a real issue."
Donatello stared over the edge at the same pillar on which his brother was focused. "It's not that far of a drop. If we time it right so that no one's nearby, maybe give Greg a hand..."
"We'll do it," Leonardo said decisively.
Raphael growled from behind them. "More of those National Guard guys are down there? Couldn't they be doing something useful, besides getting in our way?"
"Do we have a plan?" Greg asked.
"Yeah," Leonardo replied. "We're gonna shimmy down this pillar."
"Okay...and am I just going to fly?"
"Not unless you feel like trying your wings out, Heff." Leonardo grinned.
The sight of Leonardo's smirk was strangely comforting to Donatello.
"In all seriousness, Heff, I think you can do it," Leo continued.
"I dunno, Fearless, this is the guy who couldn't walk in a straight line outside." Raphael snickered.
"I didn't hear you laughing when I got your shell away from that fire!" Greg shot back, and glanced over the edge where Leonardo had motioned. "It looks like I could reach the pillar okay, but it still makes me a little nervous."
"I'll go first, and provide you with some insurance," Leonardo offered. "Then you can decide for certain."
The blue-masked turtle stretched over the edge of the railing, and wrapped both legs around the pillar. He cast a glance over his shoulder at Greg, and nodded before he began shifting his way down to the floor.
Greg shrugged as he watched Leonardo slide to the Mezzanine. "Well...it's not the craziest thing I've ever done."
Donatello watched the man inhale as he climbed over the railing. Greg reached both arms around the pillar, and held on tightly as he got his bearings.
"I'm right below you, Heff. Slowly, you can start inching you way down. Take your time."
"No problem," Greg wavered slightly.
Raphael knuckled Donatello's shoulder with a grin. "Talk about making a big deal out of nothing."
Donatello shook his head. "Greg's not as helpless as we act like he is sometimes."
Raphael snorted. "You can't say that in his earshot, Donny. You trying to give him a big head or something? After you, Bro."
Donatello peered over the railing, nodding when he saw Greg's feet hit the floor. He had to squint to be able to see Leonardo waiting in the shadows, and then he scanned the area as a couple more figures walked through the middle of the Mezzanine. Don waited for them to move out of sight before sliding down the pillar himself.
He backed up to join Leonardo and Greg closer to the wall. His older brother's face looked grim.
"What is it, Leo?"
"We need to get past them." Leonardo's gaze was fixed on the cluster of shadows across the room. "Greg said the connecting elevators are through there."
"There must be some way to divert them." Donatello glanced at Greg hopefully.
"They're not just standing around, Don, they're helping transport people out of the building," Greg explained.
The purple-masked turtle shook his head. "There's gotta be a way."
Raphael darted away from the pillar to join them by the wall. "What are we doing?"
"Observing for a moment," Leonardo responded.
"We need to get past them goons, huh?"
"They're not goons, Raph," Greg said a little defensively. "They're rescuing people out of one of those elevators."
"You know what I mean, Heff. They're still in our way."
"Let me think," Greg murmured. "Maybe I could draw them away temporarily..."
"But that could mean being forced to leave you behind," Leo interjected.
"You've already done that once. If it's the only way, I'm up for it."
"I'd rather not lose you unless we don't have a choice," the blue-masked turtle said. "Let's wait a couple of minutes, and see if an opportunity presents itself."
Wait? There's no time for waiting, we have to move! Donatello felt like screaming. He cast Leonardo an anxious look, as the soldiers' voices suddenly went high with excitement.
"All hands - I need all hands!" One voice rose above the others.
Donatello watched keenly as the men crowded around the bank of elevators, and he saw some of their lights disappear inside the shaft.
"C'mon, now," Leonardo said at once. "While they're occupied!"
Donatello ignored the alarm that screamed in his mind as they dashed toward the greatest objects of their concern. Greg took the lead as they approached the elevators, and he tried to hurry them directly past the soldiers. For a moment it looked like the intense effort would be enough to sufficiently keep the men occupied, but inevitably, one of the soldiers took notice of them.
"Act normal, and stay back a little," Greg instructed them quickly.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" The soldier didn't so much sound accusing as he did concerned.
"We have a job to do, the same as you!" Greg barked. "Mind your rescue, and we'll take care of ours!"
The stranger seemed satisfied with his self-assured answer, and went back to heeding what his own comrades were doing. Greg directed the group to the elevator two doors down, closest to the stairwell.
"We need to get the doors open." Donatello glanced at Raphael. "Wanna give it a go?"
The red-masked turtle drew his sai, and worked the tip through the narrow opening between the doors to force them apart. Donatello took a position on one side of Raphael, while Leonardo joined him on the other. They each grabbed a hold of one of the doors as Raphael separated them.
A dark empty shaft greeted them, and Donatello ducked his head inside to see how the mechanism had held up. He grimaced as he gazed at broken cables, and immediately looked down. The car looked like it was still intact, several feet from where he was standing.
These elevators have a lot more built in safety features than the cables alone provide, he reasoned. I hope it holds out long enough. We're in no position to get caught in the middle of the soldiers' operation.
"Don, hurry up," Leonardo hissed. "We're kind of exposed here, in case you've forgotten."
Donny nodded and leaped onto the hydraulic rail in the center of the shaft. Okay, the best way to do this...we may be stuck using the grappling guns. I don't like the idea of using this rail to get around without being sure of its stability.
He turned his gaze overhead and searched for something solid they might be able to easily hook. The purple-masked turtle knew his brothers had to be getting antsy, but he was responsible for getting them to the next level safely. Donatello didn't like most of what he was seeing.
"Donny." Raphael growled softly.
When he looked in their direction again, his head-lamp lit across a row of indentations that marred the otherwise smooth wall of the shaft. Donatello leaned toward them curiously, and grinned when he saw how deep the pockets were. He swung one leg toward them, and breathed in relief when he found a place for his hands too.
Like a built-in ladder...that's perfect.
Donatello climbed a couple of feet, and called back over his shoulder to get his brothers' attention. "Guys! Feel inside the shaft, about a foot and a half to your left! There are small ledges with built- in metal grips. I think it's the safest way for us to do this."
He ascended a little further, and flashed his light as he noticed one of his brothers ducking into the shaft. Don hovered in position until Leonardo called back to him.
"This works, Don! Keep going. How many levels do you want to go up?"
"I'm going to start with two, and see where that gets us, Leo."
Donatello continued climbing steadily hand over hand, turning his head occasionally to watch for the reassuring flash of one of the other lights behind him. He sucked in a sharp breath when he heard a shudder echo loudly through the shaft.
C'mon, we've gotten this far. No way it's going to give out on us now.
"Pick up the pace, guys!" he yelled warningly, and began ascending faster.
When he realized he was approaching another entrance to the shaft, Donatello drew a knife from his side and pulled himself onto to the ledge by the doors. He wedged his blade between the doors, but then realized he couldn't exert the necessary pressure to separate each side simultaneously. He waited for the others to catch up so they could help him, leaning his weight against the doors to steady his balance on the narrow ledge.
"Donny?" Leonardo sounded like he was close by.
"I'm right up here, Leo, I want to try abandoning the shaft. I need help getting the doors separated."
The blue-masked turtle drew up onto the ledge beside him. "There's not enough space for all of us at once. If I grab this side, can you get the other?"
They yanked the metal doors apart, to reveal destruction on the other side. Donatello stared at the sparking electrical wiring overhead, and his heart skipped a beat.
"We need to make this work, Don," Leonardo said in a low voice. "I felt the walls of the shaft vibrating too much for my liking."
"I don't think we're going to want to come back this way."
The blue-masked turtle shook his head. "No. The soldiers were getting ready to move on this elevator as it was. We'll have to find another way out."
Donatello climbed over ceiling tiles and concrete, stopping out of range of the damaged electrical wiring. He shifted from one foot to the other as he waited for Raphael and Greg to get out of the shaft, clenching his fists when the floor creaked beneath him. He glanced over at Leonardo, and noticed his brother was already gazing down the hallway, fixated on an exit sign.
The purple-masked turtle took a couple of steps toward the door, and drew out his scanner to check on Brandon's coordinates again.
His signal is so strong...this has to be it.
Tentatively he wrapped a hand around the door and opened it carefully. In the scant light of his head-lamp he saw what looked like part of the landing, with edges sawed off where the stairs should have been. Donatello took a quick look up, then focused his light down into the wide chasm below him. Leonardo came up behind him, and he turned around to face him.
"This looks like the place," Donatello told him.
"Let's find somewhere to get hooked up, Don. We have to get down there."