Castoff
part 7

"Shilo!" Don exclaimed. Spinning around, he dashed up the stairs and took the baby turtle from April. "We can't all leave. I'll stay with him."

"You can't," Leo said. "We need your tech skills if we're going to find out anything about Colón or locate Bebop and Rocksteady."

"We have a baby now Leo," Don said as he rocked Shilo. "We have to adjust."

"That baby needs for us to find out what happened to his mother," Leo responded.

"I can keep track of your progress from here," Don said, nodding towards his computers.

Leo walked up the stairs, making sure he had Don's attention. "We need you and your diagnostic equipment there on the ground with us Donnie. We could easily overlook important clues."

"You've got Casey," Don argued. "He's been trained to know what to look for."

"Granted, Casey can be a big help in understanding what we're looking for or what we're seeing," Leo said. "He can't analyze any of it or see the trace elements of whatever stuff you usually find floating around."

Don stared at Leo, then blinked and lowered his head to look at Shilo. The baby was sucking on his pacifier, his brown eyes turned up towards Don's face.

The others had been patient as they listened to the discussion, but Raph was getting tired of standing around. "Time's ticking bros," he said. "That window of opportunity to stay ahead of the cops is closing."

Breaking out his most winning smile, Mikey said, "Maybe April could . . . ."

"Oh no," April said, quickly cutting him off. "I could stay for maybe three hours, but I have an early morning newscast."

Master Splinter had remained out of it, curious as to where the conversation would lead and to see how his sons would handle their first quandary since becoming 'fathers'. He decided to step in.

"I will watch Shilo while you go in search of answers," Master Splinter offered. "However, you must remember that the responsibility for this child belongs to all four of you now. Caring for children requires that you make sacrifices. Your time is no longer your own."

As the others jumped into the back of the garbage truck, April gently took Shilo from Don's arms and passed the turtle baby over to Master Splinter. "Go on; leave. We've got this. Find out what happened to his mother. He'll want to know when he gets older."

Don nodded and after one last look at Shilo, descended the stairs with Leo and got into the garbage truck. Taking his place behind the wheel, Don drove out of the tunnel and onto the street.

Noting the amount of traffic that was still out, Leo said, "Head towards West 34th first. Most of the public places in that area should be closed now. There are too many residential buildings near Marcus Garvey Park; we'll need to wait until people settle in for the night to investigate where Colón disappeared."

"Right," Don said, making a turn so that they were headed in the correct direction.

Raph began beating a steady rhythm against his punching bag. Seated on the couch, Casey watched as Mikey battled a video game. The three began tossing comments back and forth in order to pass the time.

It wasn't long before Leo noticed how quiet Don was, something that was unusual for the genius, who tended to prattle on about whatever was in his head.

"You okay, Donnie?" Leo asked.

Don's eyes shifted to the side as he glanced at Leo and then looked back at the road. "I was thinking about how much I didn't want to leave Shilo. I can't get him out of my head, Leo. I'm sorry."

Frowning, Leo said, "You don't have to apologize. Why would you think you needed to?"

For a moment, he didn't think Don would answer. Leo watched his brother, trying to read his thoughts from the expressions that flitted across his face.

"I made a snap decision without consulting you guys," Don said quietly. "Now we've got this new responsibility that means we can't just go out and do whatever we want whenever we want anymore. I've really messed up our lives, haven't I?"

"You have not," Leo said. "I would say that having a baby will enrich our lives."

Don seemed almost not to hear him. "For the first time in my life I acted on instinct rather than intellect. I should have realized what would happen. Now we have a baby and that's going to hamper all of our activities."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe you did know what would happen and wanted it?" Leo asked.

"You think I wanted a baby?" Don asked in surprise.

Leo shrugged. "Maybe not consciously, but a deeper part of you could have recognized that need and acted on it. I have to admit that after the initial shock, I found the idea of having a younger generation to raise pretty appealing."

"You did?" Don asked. "Do you still feel that way now that we know how much we'll have to adjust in order to care for Shilo?"

"I do. Humans make that kind of adjustment all the time," Leo said. "If they can do it, so can we."

"Humans have on average forty weeks in which to prepare for a child and to get used to the idea of having one," Don said dryly.

"And turtles normally lay a clutch of eggs and then swim off, leaving the hatchlings to fend for themselves," Leo said. "We're parents, Donnie. I've never even entertained that idea because I knew it wouldn't happen for us. I can't help but feel ecstatic about having a baby."

"I feel the same way when I'm holding Shilo," Don admitted. "Having to walk away from him was much harder than I thought it would be."

"He's in good hands," Leo said. "There is no one on this planet more qualified to care for a mutated baby turtle than Master Splinter. And don't forget that April is there with him."

"Just for a couple of hours," Don said.

Leo sighed. "I'd tell you to stop worrying, but that never does any good and I know you won't listen. How about you try to focus on our mission for a little while? We need your head in the game right now."

"I can do that," Don said. "I'm taking West End Avenue to West 57th so we can stay away from the Lincoln Center. That will put us in the area where the food thefts occurred."

"Do a slow drive-by of each location," Leo instructed. "Let's see if they have anything in common."

Punching up the street map that Don had uploaded to the truck's computer system, Leo navigated their route to each of the spots where food thefts had occurred.

"One thing I can see right off, they ain't going past Avenue of the Americas," Raph pointed out. "They're stealing food within a nice rectangular area of the city."

"A nice big area," Mikey said.

"Criminals tend to stick close to home," Casey said. "Somewhere within this area is their base of operations."

"Possibly Karai's base as well," Leo said. "Bebop and Rocksteady combined don't have the brainpower to stay hidden for this long. They must have been responsible for the large thefts and Karai put a stop to it to keep them from being found."

"We're gonna find them 'cause of their appetites," Raph said. "It's not like they're gonna stop eating. One big theft or a bunch of small ones on the same night are pretty much the same thing in my book."

"How much time between each theft, Don?" Leo asked.

When he didn't receive an immediate answer, Leo repeated himself. "Donnie?"

Don's attention was on a small monitor on the dashboard to the left of his steering wheel. Leo leaned over and saw that he was watching a video feed of the inside of the lair showing Master Splinter seated on the couch with Shilo.

Leo's movement caught Don's attention. "Oh right. Between thefts? About three days. They steal a lot of food."

"That means we can probably expect another theft to occur two nights from now," Leo said.

Casey got up and braced himself on the backs of Don and Leo's seats in order to look at the map. "It may be a large area, but if Karai is calling the shots, they won't hit the same places. That narrows the possibilities for the next theft. Maybe we could be on stand-by in a couple of vehicles and wait for something to happen."

"I can hack into the traffic cameras," Don said. "It would be easy to program an algorithm that would identify Bebop and Rocksteady's individual heat signatures and those produced by a human body covered head to toe in black. As soon as we got a hit we'd know exactly where to converge."

"I'm liking this plan," Casey said with enthusiasm. "Those two need to be taken off the streets permanently."

"So do Karai and her goon squad," Raph said.

"If Shredder finds his way back here, he'll be all alone," Mikey said, sounding pleased. "Couldn't happen to a nicer villain."

Don had come to a stop across the street from where the last food theft had occurred. The entire block was quiet and dark, other than the few street lights that did little to disperse the gloom.

"When Shredder was around, the Foot didn't worry overmuch about being seen," Leo said. "If it's Karai who's leading them now, she's being careful about sticking to places that are mostly deserted at night."

"That would help narrow our search grid even more," Don said. "The thefts occur after midnight, but there are clubs and restaurants that stay open until two a.m. She'll make sure those places are avoided."

"Good, we have a working plan," Leo said, settling back in his seat. "It's close to eleven; most of the people near the park where Colón vanished should be in their homes. Let's head over there."

Don put the truck into gear and sped off. On the chance that their quarry might be out, Casey sat down at one of the side monitors and surveyed the streets.

Taking West End Avenue again, Don headed towards their next destination. Though Leo was also keeping an eye out for Foot activity, from time to time he glanced at Don. His brother's attention seemed to be divided between the road and the video feed from the lair.

Ahead of them brake lights flashed as a taxi cab slowed to a stop and double parked. Don's head was turned towards his monitor.

"Watch the road!" Leo shouted, grabbing the steering wheel.

"Oh crap!" Don yelled, stepping on the brake pedal and jerking the wheel from Leo's hands as he completed the swerve to the side that his brother had started.

"Damn Donnie!" Raph exclaimed, clutching at his punching bag to steady himself.

"Sorry guys," Don said, looking embarrassed.

Leo reached across his brother and turned off the monitor. "No more spying on Master Splinter. If he needs us, he'll call."

"Okay," Don said. "I suppose I'm obsessing."

"You do tend to do that," Leo said with amusement.

When they finally reached Mount Morris Park West, Don pulled over and parked. After ensuring themselves that no one was around, the turtles and Casey exited the truck.

"We'll take to the rooftops and follow her route from up there," Leo said, addressing Casey. "You all right to walk the route from down here?"

"Sure. Maybe I'll run across someone who might know something about Colón. I've got a mug shot of the woman that I can show to people," Casey said. "Meet up in the alley where she dumped her baby?"

"Yes," Leo said. "We'll wait for your signal that the coast is clear before we come down."

"We're a jump ahead of the detectives," Casey said. "I'm sure that once Chief Vincent passes along the information I gave her, the guys assigned to Colón's murder will blanket this place with investigators."

"The cameras that we used to track Colón will find you too," Don warned. "Fortunately for us, there aren't any in that alley."

"I can explain my snooping easily enough," Casey said. "The guys in the detective squad are getting used to it."

After a last quick look around, the turtles darted across the street and were on the roof of the nearest building almost before Casey could reach the sidewalk.

Casey walked the route that Lia Colón had taken on her last night alive. Though he knew the turtles would reach the alley quickly, he took his time and surveyed the neighborhood.

Row after row of homes lined the narrow street, as did parked cars. There were trees all along the route and for the most part, the areaways were well kept. Although it was a nice night, no one was out, and it appeared that every street facing window was well covered.

That was Casey's first clue that the area might have gang problems. He realized he wasn't going to find anyone in the neighborhood who would admit to seeing or knowing Colón. In all probability, none of them had witnessed her trip to the alley and back again.

By the time he reached the alley, Casey hadn't encountered another soul. Approaching the dumpster, he lifted his hand in the air and made a circular motion. A second later four large forms dropped out of the darkness to join him.

"I didn't see a single person during my entire walk," Casey said. "I should have; there should have been people sitting on stoops or even just having a smoke, but there was no one. The windows are covered so you can't even see lights inside the houses and I'll bet you the doors are triple locked."

"It was the same on the night we were here," Leo said. "Granted it was later, but in a neighborhood inside the city? There should be someone outside."

"This area's got a gang problem, don't it?" Raph asked. "Was Colón mixed up with some gang?"

"It's a good working theory," Casey said. "Even the way she was killed and tossed out fits. This the dumpster where she left Shilo?"

"Yes," Don said, lifting the lid. The smell of decaying garbage wafted out at them. "There's a lot more trash now. It was only half full when she put Shilo in here."

"Are you sure that's all she threw out?" Casey asked. "Any chance I need to do some dumpster diving?"

"All she had in her hands was the baby bundled in newspaper," Don said.

"Then the detectives can play in the trash," Casey said as Don lowered the dumpster's lid. "My guess is that she lived someplace near the park. This is the only alley in the area with a large dumpster. Anyone not familiar with the neighborhoods around here wouldn't know about it."

"What's the next step?" Mikey asked.

"Canvas the neighborhood during the day and see if anyone recognizes her picture. That's a job for the detectives too. I'll see if I can insinuate myself into the investigation. I have a feeling they'll want me where they can direct my actions," Casey said with a grin.

"If the people around here are afraid of a gang, they ain't gonna admit to knowing the woman," Raph pointed out.

"We're used to that," Casey said. "It's part of our training. We don't only go by what they say, we observe how they say it. Even something as small as the way their eyes dilate when they see her picture will tell us if someone is familiar with the victim."

"So we spent a few hours driving around just to get nothing," Raph griped. "Not only that, we gotta leave the hunt for Colón's killer to the police."

"You guys didn't need me after all," Don said.

"We didn't know that," Leo said. "It was a good idea for us to get a feel for the neighborhood anyway, it might come in handy."

"There's nothing else to do tonight," Casey said. "I'll meet you guys back at the truck."

He watched the turtles ascend to the rooftops, marveling at how fast and silent they were. For such big guys, they were damn agile.

This time the brothers kept pace with Casey, moving slower so they could memorize every areaway, every basement entry, every residence, and every landmark. It was something they'd trained to be able to do in case instant recall became necessary.

Don recorded their progress as well, the infrared feature on his goggles showing him heat signatures inside the homes. He noted that the occupants were careful to avoid staying in the front part of their homes for any length of time. The enhanced view provided by his goggles showed him why they were so cautious; the fronts of several buildings were marred by bullet holes.

There hadn't been much traffic on the street, but Don studied each vehicle that drove by. Below them, Casey took his time, his actions clearly emulating those of the turtles. Apparently he didn't like leaving empty handed either.

A large, older model car turned the corner off of 7th Avenue, driving slowly. It slowed even more once it was on the same block as Casey, seeming to keep pace with him. Because it was so quiet, Don was sure that Casey had to know it was behind him from the sound of the engine, but he didn't turn his head.

"Casey's got company," Raph growled.

"Don, can you see anything?" Leo asked, his eyes fixed on the car.

Using the binocular features on his goggles, Don zoomed in on the car in order to peer through the front windshield. "I can just make out two men in the front seat. Hang on."

Switching back to infrared, Don surveyed the car. First he read the heat from the engine, then adjusted his line of sight to see inside the vehicle.

There were four figures in the car and from their shapes, they appeared to be men. Each of them held something on their laps, but those objects appeared black against the heat of the men's legs.

With a sudden gasp, Don realized what he was seeing.

"Don?" Leo asked.

"Guns," Don said, his voice rising in pitch. "They've got guns."

TBC…