Chapter 53: Family and friendship
"Meeting is set up – 2 o'clock this afternoon – and she is going to be there" announced Stephen Baker gleefully. He rather expected Nolan to be pleased but if he was his face did not show it. Instead he leaned in closer so that their faces were just inches apart and then he snarled revealing razor sharp teeth. Stephen jumped backwards, lost his footing and fell onto the floor. Nolan collapsed into fits of laughter.
"You should see your face, Mr Baker, you really are an idiot" He straightened himself up and gave Baker another harsh look "Do not act like you're something you're not Baker, I warned you that if you want to still be alive at the end of all this I suggest you play my game and not one of your own"
"But I was only.." he spluttered, trying to get to his feet. Nolan clutched him around the throat and by lifting him up, lifted his feet off the floor.
"I know what you were doing you odd little man and so don't do it again!" and with that he let him go. Coughing and trying to catch his breath, Stephen Baker straightened out his tie and looked at his neck in the mirror.
"Not cut are you?" asked Nolan, not that he was bothered even if he was.
"No, just red"
"Then thank your lucky stars that I am in a good mood today otherwise this floor would be awash with blood and you would have no head!"
Stephen felt physically sick – this guy really was a psycho.
And a psycho that would not hesitate to kill him.
"What can I do you for?" asked Donatello, leaning against his desk trying to sound casual.
"I just wanted to talk to you about, you know, what it said.. if you have time that is, I don't want to presume..." her voice trailed off and she fixed her big blue eyes on his brown ones "I mean you cracked the code, which is brilliant by the way"
Donatello felt himself blushing "It was nothing" he replied, looking away "Always a pleasure to help a lady in need"
Their eyes locked for a moment and he coughed and sat down.
"It says I have a mother" she began "I want to understand why it would say that? My dad always told me I was made – like 'grown' in a lab – why wouldn't he tell me I had a mother? Why would he keep this from me? It's huge"
"Perhaps he didn't know. Maybe she didn't tell him; maybe they didn't tell him; maybe it was done on purpose for a reason I wouldn't know about" explained Donatello
She thought about his words for a moment – they could be true; certainly she hadn't told Leonardo of the possibility that the child she was carrying could perhaps be his.
"Ok, I guess you could be right. How do I found out more? Could I ask them more? Do you think they would be okay with that?"
Donatello shrugged his shoulders "I have no idea, we could try I suppose..."
A silence passed between them during which Donatello leaned forward a little "Try not to think too much – sometimes that can be dangerous"
Rebecca smiled "This coming from a guy who thinks deeper than anyone I know"
Donatello felt his cheeks redden again "Oh c'mon I'm sure that's not accurate"
She touched his hand "Oh it is and you know it"
He giggled; then realising he sounded like a girl he stopped "Is there anything else you want to go through?"
"Well, there is that part about this.." She lowered her hand to her rounded belly "That did freak me out a bit. In your opinion do you think that it's at all possible?"
"Well, personally, I found it all absolutely fascinating - especially that part about DNA switch-over, I really can't believe you can do that! You spontaneously absorb new DNA so that all of your children will appear human whether they are or not. You're like a sponge, the way you can change and adapt, it really is incredible.."
Donatello's voice appeared to become higher - clearly he was excited by this: she, on the other hand, wasn't. She was terrified.
"I'm really worried, I mean I don't know what's really going on, I feel like I know so little about myself and yet here I am - me" Her eyes were getting wider and it looked like they were welling up, Donatello suddenly felt sorry for her – he put the other hand on top of hers in an attempt to provide some comfort.
"Hey don't be upset, it'll be okay"
A tear fell down her face, she quickly wiped it away "Sorry"
"Don't be daft, you don't have to apologize"
"Don't be nice" she sniffed, wiping away more tears.
"It'll be okay, I promise"
"I'm not so sure.." as her words trailed off he gave her hand a squeeze and looked at the computer screen.
"Anything you feel unsure about just give me a nod, we can always talk. Anytime"
Giving him a half smile and a thank you she attempted to look convinced but wasn't particularly sure it was working on any level at all.
Truth was she didn't feel confident that any level of control could be executed here; everything seemed slightly just beyond her reach.
"Okay?" he asked, looking at her expectantly.
"Okay" she whispered.
"Good, now I have to fix this T-phone which Mikey managed to break for the third time but I'll just be over there" He indicated to the corner of the lab "Just let me know if you need me"
Rebecca got up and put her hands in her back pockets "Thanks but I just need to step away from it for a while. You won't say anything to the others will you?"
"No worries about that – your translation is safe with me"
She smiled and after giving him a hug she left him to it; what she really needed was some time out and some time top side to breathe before meeting with Detective Houston and of course her favourite ex-uncle: Mr Stephen Baker.
She found that unusually Raphael was training in the dojo alone with Leonardo – it had been a long time since the two of them had trained one on one – she felt pleased that they appeared to be getting on okay. Standing by the entrance she watched them spar.
"Concentrate Raph, when you don't you get clumsy" scolded Leo "Remember what Master Splinter said"
"How can I forget with you constantly jabbering on about it" replied Raphael in a gruff voice.
They still loved to bicker though! Had to be a brother thing.
Rebecca liked to watch them train – the level of skill involved and the way they were so into the moment she didn't really want to disturb them but also didn't want to leave without saying good –bye either.
As Raphael was knocked off balance his brother thrust a katana at his throat – missing his neck only by a couple of inches "And that's what you get for not concentrating" announced Leo, smiling smugly. Raphael swung his leg forward and kicked his brother over whilst rolling out of the way of the blade "And that's what you get for being an asshole" he replied, dusting off his hands.
He looked round and saw Rebecca, she gave him a smile and stepped forward "I'm going now so I just wanted to say so"
Leonardo had grabbed a towel from the wall and was wiping himself, he chucked a second one to Raphael who was threatening to give Rebecca a hug "How'd it go? Good stuff?"
"Don't you dare, you're all sweaty" she protested, giggling lightly and moving out of the way "It was interesting"
"Sounds ominous, don't you think that sounds ominous Leo?"
Leonardo appeared beside them swinging the towel over his large shoulder "Very" he muttered, giving her a long look.
"Well, I've gotta go.."
Raphael pointed to his cheek and dropped his head "Plant one on me babe"
As she went to he caught her full on the mouth and pulled her forward "We'll talk later okay?" he whispered smacking her on the rear.
She nodded and once he let her go she walked out.
"You think she's okay?" asked Leo, glancing over at Raphael, who didn't look overly concerned
"She'll be fine, she's a tough cookie" he replied "So stop fussing and back off"
He shot his brother a look and exited the dojo.
Leonardo felt irritated, Raphael could never miss the opportunity to have a dig. Just to remind him to keep away. And he was finding that keeping away was becoming more and more difficult each time he saw her. He couldn't help it but he felt drawn – drawn to her in a way he never had before. He had to find out why; what it was that was developing between them and to see if he ever had a chance of winning her back.
Back up amongst the bustle of New York and it's inhabitants, Rebecca took herself to a local eatery and ordered some lunch. As she picked through the food her brain was picking through the previous conversation with Donatello. He obviously thought of her as some sort of great discovery. It made her smile to herself when she recalled his excited face. She knew she could trust him though which was a really worthwhile thing – it felt nice to have an ally in all this chaos and someone who could be described as being as smart as her father.
She still couldn't get her head round the fact that she could have a mother – a real mother – someone whose belly she may have grown inside. She rested her hand on her own compact baby bump. At the back of her mind she knew she should really talk with Leonardo and tell him the truth about the baby but for some reason things just felt weird between them. It was probably because of all these lies and yes there was also that moment they had shared – for some reason she still couldn't shake that.
And then there was also the possibility that she was going to mutate into something reptilian? What if all these skin changes were the start of something bigger? Surely if she took on the cellular make-up each time she would end up being a mish-mash of all sorts. In a way though that was exactly what she was already.
"You do not seem to be yourself my son" Splinter's concerned voice cut through Leonardo's thoughts "Is there something you want to talk about?" He sat down next to him and placed a light hand on his arm.
"No, not really father, I'm okay"
He knew he wasn't really but what could he say? 'Oh hi dad, maybe I'm crazy but I'm still madly in love with a girl who dumped me for my brother and by the way I have no idea why we appear to have an amazing new connection but there you go'
"Perhaps you should talk with Donatello."
Leonardo gave Splinter a brief smile "Maybe.."
He knew he had told Rebecca he wouldn't speak with his brother but he had to talk out his thoughts to someone – and perhaps Donnie would have some answers.
As Rebecca waited in the room for the arrival of Detective Houston and Stephen Baker she couldn't understand it but she felt nervous. It wasn't as if she was the one being interrogated; in fact no-one was really.
"Hello Rebecca"
That voice. She recognised it straight away.
"So good to see you, you look really, really great"
It made her skin crawl.
"Mr Baker" she looked at him but did not register any emotion on her face nor make a move to accept his outstretched hand. He looked disappointed but withdrew it and sat down on the chair offered by Detective Houston.
All Rebecca could think was: don't trust him
"I'd really like to know what you have managed to find out Mr Baker. As you are aware this is a very unusual case"
Stephen turned to Nick and grinned "Oh, I deal with the unusual every day – Rebecca knows all about unusual don't you?"
Rebecca frowned – was he having a dig?
Nick Houston jumped in "She does, and she has been a real help with all of this so far – couldn't have got this far without her"
Baker looked at her, his eyes searching into hers "Really?"
"Really" confirmed Nick.
That's stumped you hasn't it? thought Rebecca to herself. Good.
Moving his chair closer he kept his eyes on her as her opened his file and pushed a few pieces of paper about "You are dealing with an advanced being who by all accounts is indestructible." he began simply "There is only one but this one can use techniques to control others, to possess and to breed" He paused as if hoping that the silence would add to the impact of the statement; holding Rebecca's eyes as he said the last word.
"Where's he – it – come from and how do you know all this so quickly?"
"In answer to your first part – He is from another dimension and I know all this because we've had contact with this dimension for some time, studying it and learning from it. Rebecca's father was the real expert – we worked very closely"
"Didn't stop you stabbing him in the back though did it?" Rebecca could hold her temper no longer: "You betrayed him you shit!"
"Rebecca.." Nick Houston put a hand on her arm "Please"
She lowered her eyes but was not willing to say sorry – the man was a shit! She really hated him.
"I didn't want to upset you Becky, forgive me"
Rebecca was astounded – she went to get up but Nick still had hold of her arm.
"Let's just move on from family matters – let's just talk about this Nolan Carter – after all, he is the reason we wanted help from you"
"Okay"
The two men talked and Stephen shared his findings whilst all the time Rebecca glared at him – not taking in any of the particular words he or Detective Houston were saying to each other. All she could hear in her head were the words 'liar, liar, liar..' repeating over and over. The louder it got, the angrier she became. Suddenly Stephen Baker was thrown backwards out of his chair and across the room knocking his head on the wall opposite. He slid down to a seated position leaving a trail of blood behind him. In that same instance, Nick jumped to his feet and rushed over to him.
"Mr Baker, what was that?"
Getting to his feet Stephen Baker reached to the back of his head and noted the blood on his fingers.
"I'll grab a cloth, hang on a sec"
When Nick left the room Baker turned to Rebecca "You" he muttered "Why?"
"You know why" she snapped "I've had enough of your garbage – don't think that he will be drawn in either – he's smart"
She got up and stepped away from the chair.
"And here I was all ready to tell you something important but owing how you've behaved I doubt whether I should.." his words trailed off.
"Don't bother – I wouldn't be interested anyway" She walked towards the door and saw Detective Houston heading back with a first aid kit in his grasp as well as what looked like a number of paper towels.
"Not even about your mother?" continued Baker, raising his eyebrows and looking at her expectantly.
Rebecca froze "My mother?"
"Yes – I know where she is" he replied simply.
As Nick Houston came back inside he couldn't help but notice the tension in the room.
Rebecca realised now she was trapped - in that one sentence he had her captured. He knew about her mother and he knew where she was.
