Raphael felt intimidated as he gazed at the massive stonework of the building which was simply called "Central", though he refused to admit it out loud. The structure stretched high above the ground, but according to the elohim, the vital workings of Central were located beneath the surface of the earth.
It was close to 2am, and they'd been camped near the building in their "camouflage" vehicle for almost an hour, waiting for the communications disruption that would kick off the entire raid. He glanced at Leonardo, noting that his brother hadn't said anything for quite a while. It felt different to have someone else running the show, and the red-masked turtle didn't like it.
Leo reached out to tap his arm. "It's going to be all right, Raph. At least we know they've thought this through."
"Yeah, and it only took 'em five days. If we always waited that long to act, a lot of people would be dead before we got to them," Raphael muttered. But that ain't true of our bros. It can't be. Yasir wants them alive so he can do stuff with them. He sighed softly. Like that's supposed to make me feel better.
Raphael felt someone else's eyes, and turned his head to see Ezra. The human wasn't accompanying them inside Central, but he could read the man's nerves loud and clear.
Ezra was silent for a couple more seconds before venturing to speak. "Be careful in there."
Raphael snorted. "Leo and I gotta be the most experienced break-in artists of the bunch – not that it means anything to you or your buddies."
"I wish you would give me another chance, turtle."
"Now ain't the time for this talk, Ezra. If we get out of this mess intact, then I'll think about it," he said dismissively.
Raphael broke away from the Irishman, and turned to watch Achaz. The Ruairi was hovering by the hatch, as if he knew something was about to happen. He folded his arms impatiently while the alien stood poised, but another three minutes passed before the panel was suddenly released.
"Our clock has started," Bahri called through the opening. "We must move quickly!"
Raphael hesitated with his brother until the Ruairi had descended into the back of the craft. He glanced around suspiciously before climbing down to the ground.
The neighborhood felt quiet, bearing no evidence to anyone being on guard in the area. The two turtles stuck to the back of the group as they started moving, wearing nothing more than the cloaks they'd been using for warmth. It wouldn't matter how they dressed us up, we'd still stand out. We don't look like anyone from around here: shorter than the elohim and the Ruairi, broader than the ducaz. Even on an alien planet we're still the freaks.
"I kind of thought we might hear something from their disturbance," he remarked to Leo.
His brother shook his head. "The tactical weapon was set off several miles away from the city. It has the effect of setting up a chain reaction."
Raphael nodded slowly. "I guess we have to trust they know what the shell they're doing then, huh?"
The blue-masked turtle rolled his eyes. "God knows they can't trust us for anything."
"It's okay, Fearless; I'll listen to you over any of them."
Leonardo sighed. "We should be listening to them, Raph," he said apologetically. "I just don't appreciate feeling like baggage."
"If there's one thing we ain't, Leo, it's dead weight dragging them down. They're gonna figure that out soon, Bro."
"All that matters is getting to our brothers," Leonardo said firmly. "Let's keep our mouths shut and do what we've come for."
Raphael took a sharp breath as he noticed Bahri pause in front of a hatch around the right side of the building. Before the elohim made a move, the panel hissed open of its own accord. The red-masked turtle stiffened as another alien emerged from the opening, but relaxed when the elohim bowed his head toward Bahri.
The two aliens exchanged a few quiet words, and then the stranger stepped aside to let them through. While waiting to get inside, Raphael exchanged another mute look with Leonardo.
Leo offered him a smile and held out his fist. "We're still in this together, Raph."
He bumped his fist in return. "True that, Leo. Let's hope these punks don't weigh us down."
They silently filed into the building after the others. Even as the hatch closed behind them, Raphael felt conspicuous. Six Ruairi, two turtles, and two defected elohim. That's way too many people to be running together on a secret raid.
Raphael didn't mention his reservations, instead reaching for the dirk that Leonardo had given him to carry. It wasn't the weapon he wanted in hand, but it was better than nothing. His pulse was beginning to race, and he fought to breathe more quietly.
The red-masked turtle glanced over his shoulder warily, but the elohim who'd admitted them into Central wasn't moving. The alien was standing by the door where they'd left him, like he was waiting for something else. This has got to be one of the creepiest things we've ever done, and that's saying a lot.
Raphael picked up speed with the rest of the group, but he couldn't resist the temptation to continue looking back. On the surface everything appeared calm, as it probably did on every other normal night-shift. Maybe there won't be any panic over their communications going down for a little while. I mean, what's the harm, right? Few minutes, a little more than an hour, and they'll be back online. They don't know what caused the disruption or that we're here now. We just can't let the wrong person see us or—
A softened thud came from around a blind corner, and he instantly drew his green-handled dirk. He kept pace with Leonardo while his brother rushed to the other side. Raphael caught his breath when he saw an unconscious Overlord being lifted between two Ruairi.
"It is all right," Bahri said quietly. "I expected that we would run into a number of normal sentries. He is only temporarily incapacitated."
"And what are you gonna do with him?" Raphael hissed. "You can't leave him here, or someone else could find him. They can still set off an alarm, can't them?"
Bahri nodded. "Yes – you can see they still have power. Only their communications is down, which also hinders their surveillance abilities. Let us move this one out of sight, and then we should continue. We cannot afford to linger."
When the trek resumed the Ruairi seemed to be moving faster, and Raphael saw Leonardo wince.
"They're so loud," the blue-masked turtle complained softly. "I feel like I'm following a herd of elephants."
"You wanna ditch them, Leo?"
Leonardo actually smiled. "If only."
Raphael smirked at the aliens' backs. All the technology in the world doesn't make these guys better than us.
He jolted when he saw another Overlord up ahead, but Bahri and Ghyath surged forward to meet this one. The new arrival spurred a change in direction that Raphael didn't understand, but he was just along for the ride.
The light blue hallways turned into a maze as the mini tour progressed, carrying them further off the track they'd been following. The unfamiliar elohim at the head of the pack inexplicably stopped at one point, and appeared to be searching for something.
Raphael felt like asking questions, but kept quiet while the stranger ran his fingers over the solid surface of the wall. After a few seconds Bahri began seeking in the same manner, apparently trying to help his comrade find the invisible object that eluded him. Ghyath exclaimed something in their own tongue and went to assist them too.
How many Overlords does it take to open a door? Let's find out.
Ghyath said something a little louder, but Raphael couldn't tell what was happening with the three elohim in the way. Not until Bahri and Ghyath stepped to the side did he see an open instrument panel. Their odd "guide" was typing something over the keys in a rapid pattern.
When the hatch hissed open, a five-foot section of the wall suddenly disappeared with it. The turtles stood back for a minute to survey the new development while the elohim immediately went into the small room.
"It is a transporter," Achaz informed them.
"Come!" Bahri urged. "We must get below the surface. They are waiting for us."
"Who's waiting for us?" Leo asked coolly.
"I will explain, but first please get on," the elohim returned.
After the door closed behind the entire group, Bahri worked his way over to the turtles.
"The captives we seek are separated by some distance, and a couple of my contacts have suggested splitting up to go after them. I agree it would be a beneficial course of action. It would both save us time and enable us to move more quietly with smaller teams."
"My brother and I don't have a problem with moving quietly," Leonardo clipped. "Is splitting up the best thing for us to be doing? In our experience, it often leads to trouble."
"That may be, Leonardo, but we are under tight time constraints. If we want to recover all of our targets to divide is to conquer. Is that not what earthlings say?"
"Close, but no cigar," Raphael muttered. "I don't like the idea either."
"You do not need to like it," Achaz said dryly. "This is the fastest way to complete our mission."
"Leo?" Raphael said questioningly.
The blue-masked turtle had his "thinking" look. "We are posing a greater risk of being caught by sticking together. If we—"
Leonardo cut off as the transporter started descending faster than either turtle were prepared for, and they urched to keep their balance.
"So if we split up, how's it gonna work?" Raphael was irritated. He hated feeling like his hand was being forced.
"Three captives, three teams," Bahri replied.
Leonardo nodded. "I guess…you and I should separate, Raph."
"Lajos and Akeem will also accompany one of the groups, and the rest of the Ruairi can come with me," Achaz determined.
"How do we know where we're going?" Raphael demanded.
"Help is waiting," Bahri reminded him.
Raphael felt an almost imperceptible shift in their acceleration, and looked over at the display listing their level. They'd barely come to a complete step when the doors released, and two more elohim were blocking their path. He drew his dirk with a flash, but the aliens merely nodded instead of reaching for weapons.
Raphael exhaled as he released the death-grip of his blade. Not being able to tell the difference between friendlies and enemies is hard on the nerves.
When one of them began to say something in their tongue, Raphael threw up a hand to stop him. "Can we get some English? Not everyone here speaks your stupid language."
"We need to separate," the speaker continued. "We each have certain targets in mind, and we will lead you to them."
The guide which led them to the elevator stepped off into the hallway. "I can take you to the Ruairi hostage."
"Let's do this then and stop talking about it," Raphael said sharply.
Leonardo reached for his shoulder as the members separated with respective elohim. "Hey. Keep it together, okay? It'd be nice if all of us could get out of this."
"I'm cool, Leo," Raphael insisted.
Ghyath came up on his right side and Akeem crowded in behind him. The golden-eyed elohim held up a device which looked no larger than a lighter.
"We will be in touch," Ghyath told those standing with Leonardo, and looked at Raphael. "Come, let us go. Khalil is going to take us to one of your brothers."
Raphael hardly had time to give Leonardo a parting glance before Ghyath began following their "guide". The red-masked turtle hurried to get beside the elohim.
"How can you communicate if everything is down?" he asked.
"This link operates on a lower frequency and has a limited range," Ghyath explained. "It will be enough."
"I hope so," Raphael said under his breath.
The other elohim looked over his shoulder at him, and his vivid green eyes caught Raphael off guard. "Your brother is not far from here," Khalil volunteered. "We must take a moment to meet someone else first."
"What for?" the turtle wanted to know.
"Shukri has supplies and information you will need," Khalil answered.
The sterile white hallways were even more dizzying than the floors above them were, and Raphael sensed a headache coming on over the complicated maze. I'm sure glad they know where they're going.
Khalil stopped with a jolt and looked up and down the corridor as if confused.
"You're not lost, are ya?" Raphael spoke up.
"No, terrapin, he was supposed to b-" the guide trailed off when a figure emerged from an open doorway, then smiled. "How did you get rid of the sentries, Shukri?"
The new one smiled in return. "They are sleeping off the last of the extract I gave them two hours ago." His face grew serious as he surveyed the rest of the group. "Do you know how to handle the infusion, Ghyath?"
"Bahri will know," Ghyath replied.
"What are you talking about?" Raphael asked.
"Your brother has been under heavy sedation," Shukri explained. "I was supposed to continue administering the drug, but he has not received it for several hours now. I am sending an antidote along with you that should help purge what remains in his system."
"What did you punks DO with my brother?" Raphael's voice immediately rose.
The elohim shuddered under Raphael's glare. "He is not injured and his mind is intact," Shukri assured him. "Have Bahri use the cleanser, and he should be fine."
"He'd better be," the turtle said threateningly. "Where is he?"
"Follow me." Shukri stepped across the hall, and entered the manual override on another panel.
A previously hidden window and entrance came into view, and Raphael shoved his way past the elohim to see his youngest brother face down on a cot. When the panel opened, the others were wise enough to let him go forward alone.
Raphael darted into the small space and knelt swiftly beside Michelangelo. "Mikey?" he said softly, patting his brother's face.
"He has grown very distant," Shukri told him from the door. "He will likely not be aware of you or anything else. Administer the antidote, and he will come around."
Raphael supported his brother's head as Mike opened unseeing blue eyes. Anxiety immediately struck him like a lightning bolt, but Michelangelo was here in one piece. He couldn't ask for more than that at the moment.
He lifted Mike in his arms, scowling when Ghyath came to help him. "Ain't no one else touching him yet. Just figure out where we're going next so we can get the shell out of here."