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Chapter 38: Taking The Tower

Karai sent her men toting Leonardo between their thick shoulders off to get the turtle situated in his cell, then she headed for her office. Two of her soldiers stood by the large door to her office with stock bodies. They were her new guards, her old ones; the Elites were all dead. Karai mentally reminded herself that she needed replacement men to fill those empty spots as well.

I must contact the Japanese faction of the Foot to have more soldiers sent to New York.

The Mistress of the Foot ran over more details in her head as one of the thickly built Foot soldiers opened the door for her. Karai stepped into the room still thinking more to herself than actually paying attention to her surroundings. She got three feet into the room when she felt a presence and froze. The creepy man with fiery red hair and listless eyes, Patrick Hanson, sat at her desk. Karai crossed her arms, annoyed yet again that this man had the audacity to sit in her father's chair yet again.

Karai stood straight as a pin, ready for anything and spoke to the red-haired man, "I did not kill the turtle who killed my father only because you told me to bring him here. You said you wanted to speak with him before I killed him. Now is the time to talk with him because he will die soon," she added with a smug chime in her voice. The words 'he will die soon' slid from her mouth pleasantly.

Patrick Hanson, his arms cockily placed behind his head smiled and laughed with his mouth closed. It sounded like more of a hum.

"Oh, Karai," he leaned back in Karai's father's chair then pulled up is long legs only to place them on her desk, crinkling the files, maps and papers that were organized there. "The stupidity you harbor is astounding."

Karai grabbed the hilt of her short sword threateningly. She had had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach from the moment she laid eyes on the man. But, money speaks louder than gut feelings sometimes. Four million dollars speaks loudest of all. The man had given her four million in American cash in order to have a talk with Leonardo upon his arrival to the Foot headquarters.

Hanson looked a little too comfortable leaning back, lounging in Oroku Saki's chair.

Karai looked at the man with an iron gaze, "You will not threaten me in my own home, in the stronghold of the Foot headquarters. I do not take threats lightly... Foot Ninja!" She yelled still looking at Hanson who was lounging in the chair at her desk with his feet resting on her table in complete comfort. Karai expected to hear the padding of ninjas feet come to her aid but her eyes widened when none of her soldiers rushed to her call. They always ran to her when she called.

"Foot Ninja!" She yelled again, ordering her men to charge into her office. She waited five more seconds before her heart truly sank. Something was wrong.

"What have you done with my men?" She glared at the red haired man, her voice betraying her calm demeanor as it hitched at the end with unease.

Hanson smiled again. Taking his feet off Karai's desk he stood up straightening his black tailored suit and tie as he did. He cleared his throat while running a pale hand over his red hair, fixing the strays that escaped from the heavy jell.

"Guards!" He called with a strong voice to the door to Karai's office. The black-haired woman turned around mentally collecting herself. She was the Mistress of the Foot and as such she would not show fear to this man.

The door opened wide revealing six guards with tanned skin shrouded in green uniforms. They held pistols on their hips and long semi automatic rifles strapped to their backs. All the men were thickly built; muscles bulged from forest uniforms making them look fierce. But, Oroku Karai was not easily frightened by the large men.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall, she thought dismissively.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded turning away from the armed men and back to Hanson. She silently damned herself for only having her short sword at her hip to defend herself. She had not thought she would need her other sword for just walking into her office so she had given it to her guards as she always did after away missions. She was by no means defenseless but another sword would've been nice right about now…

Hanson walked around the desk, still smiling to himself. He kept walking until he was standing in front of his men facing Karai. The men were silent, standing in a line formation of three on one side and three on the other all facing Hanson.

The man collected his hands behind his back and rocked on his heals seemingly pleasant. "You see Karai, I am a very patient man," he pointed to himself with his right hand before placing both behind his back again. "But, there comes a time when I just have to say fuck it and do what I want… and I should warn you, I want something you have."

The woman racked her brain trying to think of what this man could possibly want from her that his riches couldn't obtain himself. The headquarters held billions by way of money, hundreds by way of Foot soldiers and countless by way of technology.

Speaking of Foot soldiers, Karai took a step away from Hanson remembering the emergency button strategically housed inside one of her drawers. One press to the button and this room would be filled with men loyal to her.

"I wouldn't take another step if I were you Karai," smiled Hanson. "I know about the button in your top right drawer just like I know where each and every one of your Foot soldiers are at this very moment. That is, except for the chosen few you took with you to retrieve the turtle."

Karai glanced behind her at her desk quickly then squared her shoulders to Hanson, "And where are all of my men, Patrick?" She spat his name like poison.

Hanson put up one finger, a smile still revenging his features, "One, call me Hanson and two, they are in the bottom floor of this tower. They were all ordered, by you, to meet in the bottom level for an emergency meeting involving every member of this building. And just so you know that I am in fact telling the truth I can tell you there are six-hundred-and-forty-three Foot soldiers, not including the men you took with you to get Leonardo. And fifty-nine scientists. Also there are thirty-seven medical personal including nurses. They are all in the bottom level of this tower as we speak."

Karai knew how many soldiers, scientists and doctors stood in her ranks, Hanson was right. That is how many people she trained and were loyal to her. She dug her fingernails into her hands in frustration.

The man, still holding up one long finger swung it in a clockwise motion, "I have my men stationed all around this building awaiting my orders."

Karai shook her head, "that is not possible, you-"

"Oh, I assure you it is very possible. You are not calling the shots anymore, Karai. We are taking this tower."

"Who is we? Bishop, Angelo?" Karai was desperate to keep Hanson talking; he needed time to figure out a plan of attack.

A crazed glint speckled in Hanson's eyes at the mention of Bishop and Angelo. "Angelo was a power hungry fool and Bishop, the king of fools. Bishop," he spat his name like it was the plague, "wanted me to let the turtle go after he ran away. He said Leonardo would just kill himself in the jungle," Hanson's voice was steadily rising. "He told me not to worry about the turtle anymore... worry," he gave one short bark of a laugh then rocked back on his heels and looked up at the posh ceiling of Karai's office. "One year and millions in torture and technology for experiments and Bishop, the idiot, ordered me to let the turtle go after I killed the girls who we constructed to break him with their deaths! Let him go... huh," he huffed. "So no, the idiot did not send me. I am here by my own accord."

"Why are you here?" questioned Karai feeling her hands shake with fury that she could not lash out at the man and slice his head off. She had one short sword and they had over twelve guns. Guns beat blades every time, no matter what the movies say. A bullet is faster and Karai knew that. She was a master ninja but being a ninja would be useless if she had a bullet in her skull.

"How did you find out about those two girls, Karai?" answered Hanson with his own question. "You just happened to stumbled upon them searching the Internet? You heard by word of mouth that there were two rather special young ladies with gifts like none you'd ever seen? Did you have an epiphany and think 'I bet there are people out there with powers that I could buy like cattle?' How did you find out about them Karai?" Hanson asked sarcastically, the glint in his eyes became slightly more crazed.

"One of my scientists-"

"Who worked for me told you about them," Hanson finished her sentence smugly. "Told you that one could read minds and the other could move water. But, what that spy didn't tell you was that I had a third in my hands. Leonardo, to be specific. I had him in the palm of my hand for a YEAR!" He screamed momentarily becoming unhinged. Red hair flew into his face, "a year! I took samples, ran tests, pain tests just to see what made him tick. Then when I thought I had him, he was on the verge of breaking. Bishop had me surgically altar two 'other' girls to make them look the ones Leonardo had been trapped with in his cell. I told Bishop it wouldn't work. I told the idiot that killing the girls would do nothing. But he didn't listen to me. I wanted to break the turtle but I only ended up giving him strength! And he got away God dammit!" He screamed again in anger, more hair flew into his face. Slowly Hanson stood back up to his full height and ran his fingers over his head correcting the strays. He took a deep calming breath, "But now, now I have him in my clutches and I intend to finish what I started."

"What if I do not allow you to kill the turtle? That is my right. He killed my father," growled Karai taking a step closer to Hanson. One of the guards drew his gun in a flash pointing it at her. Karai stared at the barrel of the gun with unblinking eyes.

Hanson crossed his arms, "I told you you are not in control anymore. I suggest you do exactly what I say... or all of your soldiers will die."

That did it. Karai was not a heartless monster as she made her men believe. She cared for her people. She taught each one and knew them all by name. It was something she learned while leading the Japanese Foot Clan. Her clan was tight; she taught them to fight for the person who fought next to them. She taught her soldiers that their fellow clansmen would always look out for them and they better always look after for their clansmen. After the fall of her father she had made it her goal to strengthen the Clan into an unbeatable force. That entitled her to get to know her men even more. She respected her soldiers like a General to his army.

The thought of all of her men dying chilled her to the bone. She stayed silent, waiting for Hanson to elaborate on his plan.

"I have a bomb… well, more than one actually but that doesn't matter because, let's be honest, you only need one bomb to do the trick, right?," he chuckled. "All of your men were ordered into the bottom floor of this tower, all six-hundred-and-forty-three Foot soldiers, fifty-nine scientists, and thirty-seven medical personal are on the bottom level. All the exits are blocked with my men on the outside. I press this button," he reached into his back pocket and brought up a remote with two buttons on it. One was black the other red. He put his finger on the black button, "and all the explosives I have charged and ready will explode, instantly killing all of your men and demolishing your tower."

"But you would die too; you'd doom yourself along with my men!" Karai raised her voice.

Hanson shook his head, "You are truly an idiot, aren't you?" He asked slyly. "You think I would detonate the bombs with me still in this building? Ha!" He barked out another laugh, "No, no, no, I will be miles away in my helicopter, that is currently waiting on the roof, watching the demolition by the time I press this button. It will take me exactly four minutes to reach the roof and take off. Tell me, how long do you think it will take for your men to evacuate? Four minutes? Five? Fifteen? Thirty? How long will it take every scientist, medical personnel, and soldier to leave this building? Less than four minutes I would hope. Do you want to test my question? See how long it'll take for your men to get the hell away?" Hanson was talking slowly, as if he was speaking to a child. Karai's arms were stiff, her back pin straight. She was shaking in anger but said nothing. "So, I suggest you don't anger me Karai."

She looked at the remote shaking as she thought of the single red buttoned remote she had threatened Anna with. She didn't really understand this new feeling burning through her chest.

Is this was true fear feels like? She had never known true fear.

"You said you only wanted Leonardo," she pointed out desperately. "What does my Clan or my tower have to do with any of this? Take the turtle and get out."

"As I've said, you have no room to order me anymore Karai. Yes, I want the turtle but I also want this tower. It is a beacon to all the other crime lords in all of New York City. This tower represents power and I want power. I should warn you daughter of the Shredder, I always get what I want." To prove his point the guard to his right grabbed his semi automatic machine gun from his back and took aim at the large flag bearing the Foot Clans' insignia on it. The guard fired tearing the flag down by riddling through it with bullets. In seconds the flag crumpled to the ground. Karai swallowed thickly.

"Now here is what you are going to do," Hanson started walking away from his guards to Karai's desk. He then sat down in her father's chair, making himself more comfortable. "You are going to go down to your men and tell them everything is okay and for them not to worry. You will order them to stay down there until further notice. If I see you even hinting as to what is really going on I will set off the bombs and kill everyone down there, including yourself. After that you will report back to me."

Hanson smiled at Karai, "Dismissed," he ordered.

A few minutes earlier...

Karai's soldiers dropped Leonardo on the ground in a white room that resembled the hellish white room he had woken up in when Patrick Hanson had fist captured him over a year and a half ago. Although the difference was that this white room was long, seeming to never end. At even intervals chains with shackles hung down from the ceiling. Two thicker restraints were welded to the ground below those protruding from the top of the room. Leo guessed those were for his legs. The soldiers drug Leo past countless metal bonds until they came to the middle of the long white room. Without stopping they pushed him to the wall. Leo, his legs too weak to hold his weight, slowly slid down the wall. His shell made a sickening sound as the soldiers forced Leo to his knees then grabbed his arms roughly. He sucked in a quick breath as the tug of his arms pulled on his bloodied chest. The entire bottom part of his plastron was painted with dried blood. If it wasn't burning through his body it would've itched, like blood always seemed to do when it dried and peeled away on his skin. It made him want to throw up, if he had anything in his stomach. Instead he just felt bile snake its way up his throat. The Foot ninjas forced both his arms up and away over his head, stretching his chest out wide. They swiftly shackled his wrists with thick, unforgiving metal that bit into his wrists painfully. They shackled his arms so high he was forced to sit on his knees because sitting cross legged was too painful on the pull in his chest and shoulders. With his arms jerked painfully in the air the Foot soldiers were content with how tight the chains were, they moved to encase his ankles and knees with heavier metal bonds.

The sounds of clicking metal filled the room as five ninjas hurried to chain down the injured turtle.

They had underestimated the Blue Demon before; they had thought he was injured before during battle only to find out the hard way from the bite of the turtle's blade that he was not so hurt. This time however, the Blue Demon didn't even try to force his legs away as they encased them in thick shackles. The Demon looked utterly defeated; it made the Foot smile under their masks.

The soldiers finished placing smaller but thick cuffs around his ankles to keep them together then moved to encase his knees with larger cuffs. The bonds on his knees were made so he was forced to put all his weight on his knees and couldn't sit back, even though he honestly didn't want to sit back anyway, it was too painful.

The only good thing to come out of the entire situation was that the soldiers let Leo's legs have some slack in the chains. His legs were chained together and chained to the floor but they were folded under him in a dignified position. Hanson had often chained his legs apart making him blush unwillingly with the indecent and undignified position of his legs. Leo felt slightly grateful that they let him keep a feather of his pride as they tied him up like an animal.

Another soldier, taller than the others, walked into the large white room. He had no mask covering his face as he strolled into the cell then down to where Leo was being held. Leo only saw him out of the corner of his eye. He refused to meet any of the soldiers faces. He had been caught so easily it hurt to look into the masks of the soldiers and see the crinkle in their masks where smiles had formed.

"Is he restrained?" The unmasked Foot inquired to another Foot.

"Yes sir. He is chained securely to the wall," affirmed the ninja.

Leo leaned forward subtly testing his restrains yet knowing he didn't have the strength to break them even if they were weak. He just didn't have the fight in him anymore. It was gone, just like his family and everything he loved and held most dear. Gone like his prized Katana that they ripped off his back. Gone like his mind when he escaped from the prison in Central America.

Gone.

The man with no mask came to stand in front of Leo. Leonardo refused to look up at him. He would not show these men the brokenness in his eyes.

"Look at me turtle," came a voice that sparked familiarity inside of Leo. Though, he still refused to look up.

"I said look at me!" ordered the voice again. This time a black cloth-covered hand went under his chin to jerk his head up to look at the man. Leo gasped, his arms clenched trying to grab for his chest that was still split open. He barely held in his cry of pain as more fire licked at his plastron.

Leo looked the man - or rather - the boy in the eyes. This soldier could not have been older than Leo himself. He still had the plump cheeks of a baby gracing his features. The boy's hair was a deep brown that melted into an almost black. His eyes were brown with speckles of black that seemed to mirror Leo's own golden speckled eyes.

"Do you remember me, turtle?" questioned the boy with a familiar snarl. It was the snarl that did it, Leo finally placed where he had heard that voice before.

"You're the soldier from the roof, the one that saved me," he whispered with cracks in his voice. His mouth was too dry to let him speak any louder.

"Yes," the boy nodded, "I am Kin and I saved your worthless ass for reasons that are still unknown to me... Soldiers!" He yelled surprising Leo. "You are dismissed. Four of you, guard the door. No one gets in or out without permission. You, tell the Mistress he is secure," the ninjas padded off silently. Kin crouched back down to Leo who was still slumped forward and grabbed a small black pack from his belt.

"What," a fit of coughs racked Leo's chest forcing him to pause. He let the coughs consume his body, too weak to try to fight them off. More blood seeped from the large slash on his chest adding to the blood that already painted his plastron. Kin sat on his knees looking at the turtle. He was annoyed he had to wait to do what he was sent for. Finally, Leo regained control of himself and sat gasping for breath leaning heavily on his metal restraints.

Kin unzipped his small bag before leaning forward to touch Leo's chest with whatever he had in his hands.

"Get-Get away from me!" Leo whispered hoarsely jerking away from him.

"Look turtle, I was sent here to do a job and that job is to make it so you don't die. You were stupid enough to get sliced so now I'm bandaging you up so you don't die, got it?" Kin snarled.

The boy leaned forward again, this time persisting to touch Leo's bloody chest with cold hands. He made short work of cleaning then bandaging the blue turtle then checked him over for more injuries. Kin was surprised to see a large gash where his shell met his skin. The cut looked older, the blood was a rusty red color.

"How old are you?" Leo muttered, his eyes closed. They were too heavy to keep open. He was tired again.

"Nineteen," Kin murmured back concentrating on his work and not really noticing what he was saying. "I'm nineteen and the best God damned field medic of the Foot. Also I'm First Rank and leader of the Fourth Quadrant of the Foot Clan so I guess one would say I'm pretty kick-ass," Kin praised himself finishing up dressing the turtles wounds.

"I'm nineteen too," said Leonardo in a quiet tone. This made Kin stop, but only for a second.

He's just trying to get into my mind, he thought to himself before packing up his things and walking away from the chained turtle.

"Wait!" Leo called in a louder whisper making Kin turn back around. "Why did you help me?"

Kin smirked, "I didn't help you freak, I had orders."

"Orders from who? Karai wouldn't want me bandaged up. She wants me to suffer." Leo turned his head to look at the young Foot Ninja with brown and black speckled eyes.

"Idiot, the Mistress didn't send me. It was another man, his name started with an 'H' or something. It was Hannable... or Hollond... or…"

Leo's heart sank. Fear made him panic. He sucked in a breath that did nothing. His vision narrowed until it was just Kin and himself. He tried to take another breath but his lugs weren't working.

He found me.

"Hanson! That's it, his name is Hanson and oh, I almost forgot," Kin had his hand on the door ready to push it open. "He told me to give you a message. He said to tell the turtle that… you have fallen but you haven't hit the ground yet. Leonardo, the ground is fast approaching," with that Kin closed the door with a bang behind him.

Oh Leonardo, how the mighty have fallen...

Leo's gasped for breath. His chest tightened. The room around him spun. He felt his body go slack now only being held up by his restraints that forced him to stay upright. He couldn't get his breath; it ran from him and forced his chest to heave faster to try to catch it. He was breathing quickly now, hyperventilating.

His body seared with pain, it engulfed his vision with colors and stars he had never seen before. His chest screamed demanding he stop moving with such jerky motions. He felt like a knife was being twisted into the back of his mind where he knew the chip was.

He found me. He found me.

He tried to protest the twitching in his body but it didn't stop, Leo wasn't in control anymore. His mind shut down letting his abused body commandeer him. The chains rustled with loud metallic dings and clanks as they shook against themselves and the wall mirroring Leo's thrashing.

Leonardo, alone and shackled to the wall by his arms and legs which were bloody from biting at him, convulsed violently and loudly in the large white room. Vaguely Leo had enough sense about him to realize he had just panicked himself into a seizure but that is just about how far his sense of reason took him.

He found me… He found me… HE FOUND ME!

Something inside Leonardo broke then. As he thrashed something in his heart clenched more painfully than any seizure could. He felt himself loose something… but he didn't know what exactly.

He'd never felt so alone in his entire life.

Thoughts?

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