"So who's this backup you talked about? You sure its ok that they know about the guys?" April asked skeptically as herself, Eva and Casey waited in a deserted parking lot next to the garbage truck the boys had rebuilt in their image.
"If I told you, there's no way you would agree to it. Casey is probably going to fly off the handle so I just need you guys to trust me. They're good guys and just want to look out for Mikey" Evangeline explained, leaning against the cold metal of the truck. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Eva was freezing. She wore a coat yes but underneath the young woman had chosen a thin, black turtleneck and leggings. It would make infiltration easier and maneuverability would be fluid.
Two large shadows walking on the sidewalk drew their attention, Casey being the first to step forward, obviously non too happy.
"Anton! Ivan! You made it!" Evangeline greeted, stepping between Casey and the two mutants.
"These guys are the backup you called?" snapped the smaller male from behind her, who was also being held back by his wife. She was just as bewildered as he was.
"Aye man, trust me, we aren't doing this for you. Miz Evangeline called us because Mikey needs help" Anton, or Bebop to most, stated firmly, crossing his arms.
"Mikey? He never told us he was on speaking terms with you two" April questioned finally getting her his husband to stop his rampage and take a step back.
"Yea, well, we hadn't gotten around to it yet" Ivan, or Rocksteady, rubbing behind his head.
"How do we even know we can trust you guys?" Casey snapped as his eyes narrowed at the two mutants.
"Because you can trust me" Eva spoke up, her voice traveling much more than before, "I get you have a beef with these two but for the sake of getting them back safe, put it aside. Afterword you can yell at me if you want"
"Eva's right" Donatello's voice came fro the computer sitting inside the remodeled truck, "As much as I don't like it, we need the help. For now, we have to trust them"
Casey let this roll around in his head for a moment before giving a grunt and climbing into the truck.
"Whatever. Let's just get them back"
April gave the three of them a nod, taking the driver's seat while the rest of them strapped in. The drive to the building was quiet, the air being so thick you could cut it with a butcher's knife. Once they drove by, April parked the truck in an alleyway two buildings down.
"So what's the plan here?" Anton asked, watching the redhead pull on the lab coat and pin a fake I.D to it.
"April is going to set some explosives in the opposite wing the guys are located and plant a hacking drive in their system. Luckily Donnie was able to get some data on where they're located" Evangeline explained, tightening her bootstraps, "The explosion is going to be your cue. We'll need you to bust through the wall to get into the building and carry the guys out. I'll need one of you to toss me up so I can get into the duct though. We don't have a definite location, so my job is to find it and get in"
"Sounds good" Ivan stated putting in an earpiece that April had handed him.
"Everyone ready?" April asked, switching on the communication line. Casey gave a thumbs up while the rest of them nodded and watched the red head leave. Eva waited until April was around the corner before she ditched her coat and hopped out to sneak down to investigate the building. It didn't take long to find the duct on the third story covered by a screen. Luckily there was a window ledge close by.
"Hey Ivan, give me a good toss" Eva stated, pointing up to the window.
"You got it" the Rhino complied without a second thought setting a firm grip on Eva's hip. He hardly had to put any effort into it. Evangeline's frame flew easily up to the window where she managed to grip onto the concrete sill. Quickly, the young woman fished out a multi-tool pocket knife from her bra which she used to pry the screen off and drop it to the ground.
The ducts were definitely small, almost too small but she managed to slip into the tiny space without much difficulty.
"I'm in.." she whispered into the earpiece, slightly wriggling her way through the metal. Eva had to lift the fabric of her turtleneck over her nose and mouth due to it being hard to breath in the constantly flowing air.
"Are you sure they aren't in the basement?" she asked, glancing into the small opening to see several white coats tapping on computers and operating strange machines she didn't recognize.
"What they have as a basement appears to be main hardware storage for their programs. More than likely they're on a higher floor" Donnie replied, most likely scanning through several screens at once. Eva only nodded and continued her slow crawl through the ducts. There was no word yet from April so that meant there was still time. Hopefully it would be enough.
After spending what seemed like forever on the first floor, Eva came to the conclusion that more than likely they weren't there. The security was much too loose and the white coats were mostly transporting paper.
"Don, where's the nearest elevated airway? They aren't down here"
"You're close, there should be one just ahead. Hurry though, April is almost to the main frame in the basement" the purple loving turtle urged.
Evangeline cursed under her breath and pressed on. Shimmying her way up the slanted airway to the fourth floor. It didn't take long, however for her to notice the different atmosphere. The workers were a bit more pressing, walking with a quicker pace than before, either carrying boxes or pushing carts full of what looked like labeled vials.
Bingo.
Eva paused for a moment, peeking through the thin metal vent to get a better look at what was happening below. Most of the doors weren't encoded, but right off the young woman noticed some of the that dangled from the white coats were different. Maybe she could save herself some crawling around!
"Is it possible for you to check the security clearances here on the fourth floor?"
"I should be able to, just give me a second" Donnie replied. Eva could almost hear the furious tapping on his keyboard,
"It looks like there are some clearance levels, three in fact. Most of the lower levels are right where you are, but if you head straight there should be one level two and a level three down the hall across from it"
"How much you wanna bet they're in the level three?" Eva mumbled quickening her pace toward the directed area.
"My thoughts exactly, but there's an issue. The ducts end just by the door and it's sealed"
"Let's assume that room is practically bomb proof then. How do we get in?" Evangeline inquired, pausing to glance at the while coats passing below.
"You could steal an I.D" Don suggested.
"Donnie, I'm in an air duct. I can't do wall-crawl-spider-mode unlike some ninjas I know. Hell I wouldn't know which tag to steal" she protested, leaning her cheek on her fist.
"Point...I'm sure we'll figure something out"
Sighing to herself, Eva continued forward until the small space came to an end. Great, now to just wait.
Suddenly, the florescent lights in the building flashed and burned out right as a big 'BOOM' rattled the walls. Red lights kicked on as several employees ran through the halls, a voice on an intercom instructing them to evacuate safely.
BOOM
Eva took her chance, and knocked the vent out, dropping to the floor.
"Alright Don, how do I open this? There's a card insert, number code, and what I'm guessing is a print scanner" she stated glancing back down the hallway cautiously. Anton, Ivon and Casey should have busted through the wall on the first floor by now.
"Do you have anything you could plug into it? Technically anything with a signal will do if I can short circuit it" Donatello asked, his voice carrying urgency and a tinge of what the young woman could guess was fear. Most likely because at any moment, this plan could potentially go horribly wrong.
"I do, but you may not like it" Eva replied, pulling the earpiece from her ear, "Use my earpiece"
"What? No! We need to-"
"Donatello Hamato we don't have time to debate, just fry the damned thing!" Evangeline snapped, shoving the communicator into the I.D slot. Seconds felt like an eternity before the sensors stated to beep, turn red them started to smoke.
"Yo, Donnie work his magic?" Casey's voice pricked Eva's attention. Anton and Ivan's footsteps close behind him.
"One way to find out" Evangeline replied, grabbing the door handle, finding no resistance. Once inside, the young woman felt her stomach turn upside down. Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo were all there, each one laying on a metal table with dozens of wires attached to their bodies. An IV needle was tapped to their arms, leading up to a monitor and a bag of what appeared to be a type of sedative.
"Christ, what the hell is all this" Casey mumbled, grabbing onto the needle hooked into Raph's arm.
"Hang on!" Anton exclaimed, grabbing the smaller male's shoulder, "We can't just yank those out"
The warthog pointed to the various sensors that were strapped to the turtles.
"We yank those off and every one of these goes off. Just give me a sec"
Casey and Evangeline exchanged surprised glances while the large mutant rapidly worked on dismantling the sensors. One by one, Casey, Ivan and Anton each took one of the boys to carry out of the building. The plan was succeeding, that is, until Ivan glanced back and saw that they were no longer alone.
"Shit. We got company!"
Marching down the hallway were the very androids they had hoped to avoid. There were only four, but with their current luggage, making it out unscathed would be impossible.
"Get them out of here, I'll be right behind you" Evangeline stated, turning to face the threat.
"Miz Evangeline you can't take'em by yourself!" Anton protested, hoisting his burden.
"I'm just buying you time, now go!"
The three of them nodded before hurrying as best the could down the stairs. Meanwhile Eva stood facing the enemy, the metal of their feet clanking on the floor. The lighting was dim, but that wasn't a bother for her, if anything it was better. Her eyes had always worked best in little to no light. Now the question was how to buy the time they needed and with no earpiece, there would be no telling when it was safe to make a break for it.
"Aye, Eva!" Casey's voice cut through her thoughts, making the young woman glance down the stairway in time for an object to come barreling through the air. She fumbled with it for a moment before realizing it was one of the steel bats he carried.
"I better get that back!"
A very slight grin tugged at the corner of Ava's lips. She turned to face the metal enemy who had drawn up their arms, most likely to fire.
Here was to not dying, right?
Evangeline drew a deep breath, summoning her strength before charging toward the androids. They opened fire, the narrow hallway only allowing Eva to duck and attempt to get close. Searing pain burned through her left thigh and ribs as two bullets grazed her skin. Eva fought the urge to yelp, diving to the floor and changing directions. Out of sheer luck she managed to make it within swinging range. The metal bat met with a set of android legs, though she lacked the force to break them, she did succeed in knocking it off balance.
The young woman took her chance as the other robots opened fire on their own, destroying it as she rolled out of the way and attempted to run. The collar of her shirt suddenly yanked against Evangeline's neck as her body was thrown across the hallway with alarming strength. The side of her body collided hard against the wall, jarring a scream of pain from her throat. Clicks from the androids reloading their weaponry pricked her ringing ears.
She needed to get up!
Move!
Move!
Survive!
Evangeline's blood burned with adrenaline and fear tainted her sense of rationality. Everything started slipping away.
"Easy...in ya go..." Ivan mumbled as he helped Casey load the three turtles into the truck that April had brought around to the back of the blazing building.
"Where's Eva?" April asked, looking back to the smoking building. They needed to leave before emergency services and the press showed up.
"I knew she couldn't handle it by herself! I'll go-" Casey started to exclaim, that is until a window on the fourth floor shattered.
"Oh shit! Miz Eva!" Ivan cried out, as the giant mutant charged forward, arms outstretched for the body that plummeted to the ground. It was lucky for Evangeline her friend was there as her beaten body was caught by the large rhino.
"Eva!" April exclaimed as she rushed over.
"I'm ok..." the battered female mustered, "We need to get out of here"
"She's right! Let's book it!" Casey called, waving toward the truck, the distant sounds of sirens coming from the streets.
One by one they crowded into the altered trick and sped away just in time.
