HONEST LIES
PRESENT
Happy Birthday Mandie!!! Here's yer chapter!
LEONARDO:
I moaned quietly as consciousness hit me and I realized how sore I was. I wasn't even lying down. I was propped between the back and the arm of a couch. And I wasn't alone.
She was curled against my chest, facing the other way and half-sitting like me, her head resting on my arm. I brushed her hair back, out of her eyes, and she stirred but didn't wake up. If I tried to pull my arm away, she would. I resisted the urge to stretch out my cramped muscles and lay my head back down on the back of the couch, remaining still.
What time was it? My eyes darted to the clock. It was almost seven-thirty. I wasn't really surprised that no one was up yet. Mel moaned softly and nuzzled against my arm. She was waking up. And she did it a little more abruptly than I would've cared for. A sharp intake of breath was quickly followed by her springing bolt upright, scrambling to get away from me. I watched her, still and calm, waiting for her to remember where she was and why. "It's okay, Mel," I assured her gently. "Just relax."
She breathed hard for a moment and the look of horrified surprise faded. Her eyes cut away from me and I sat up straight against the back of the couch, stretching my arms above my head as far as I could. Mmm... that felt good. I dropped my hands into my lap and stretched the muscles in my legs before smiling at her slightly. "Good morning," I greeted. "How are you?"
She ran her fingers through her hair and slowly looked up at me again. "I... I'm okay I guess."
I smiled. "It's still early. You don't have to get up yet; I'll be quiet."
She shook her head slightly. "No, I... should get up. If I don't, I won't be able to sleep tonight."
I nodded and she hugged herself, rubbing her upper arms for warmth. I studied her for a minute. "You can stay here and rest a while longer." I grinned. "I'd offer to make you breakfast, but Mike says I'm not allowed in the kitchen."
She laughed quietly and looked away. "I appreciate the thought."
I nodded again. "But I can make coffee. So let me do that and then we can... go for a walk or something. Something productive."
She smiled. "I'd like that."
I rose to my feet and stumbled into the kitchen, casting a lingering glance at the dojo. Don was there. So I wasn't the only one up. I watched him for a brief moment as he ran through the slow kata, his eyes closed. I didn't want to disturb him. Especially when I'd already promised the morning to Mel.
I made coffee, even though I didn't usually drink it, and put a pot of water on the stove. Salome's head poked into the kitchen just as I looked in that direction. "Hey, kiddo," I greeted. "You're up awful early."
She smiled. "Is Mama up yet?"
"No."
"Is Donny?"
"Donny's in the dojo, hon, don't bother him."
She slipped into the kitchen and jumped up on one of the chairs. I sat down in the one across from her, my eyes flickering to the coffee pot again. "Hey Leo?"
I turned back to the little girl. "Yeah?"
"What's a dojo for?"
"For training," I answered her. "Practicing. Sometimes for meditating."
"Is that when you get real quiet like you do sometimes?"
I smiled faintly. "Yes, you've probably seen me meditate before."
She nodded. "I've seen you in the dojo before too," she said confidently. "You're really good. I don't think you have to work as hard as you do 'cause you're already real good."
I laughed quietly. My world was complete now that I had the reassurance of my five-year-old neice-in-training. "Thanks."
Mel appeared in the doorway, clutching her robe closed in front of her. She smiled at Salome. "Good morning."
The little girl grinned back. "G'morning, Mel."
"Mel and I were going to go for a walk," I informed. "Do you want to come?"
She jumped up out of the chair. "Yeah!"
"Go get dressed, then. We're gonna leave in a few minutes."
It would take her a half hour to get dressed, and I knew it. She disappeared and I turned to look at Melanie. "You take cream or sugar?"
She nodded slightly. "Both."
I set them on the table, not entirely sure why we had either, and lifted the coffee pot. Mike and Don were the ones who drank this, and Raph only when he had a hangover, but none of them ever put anything in it. Certainly not - what was this? - Hazelnut creamer. I was just glad we had it, regardless of how it had gotten here.
I poured her a mug of the coffee and finished with my own tea, then made small talk with her for a while. She seemed so shy and insecure. Kat's fear of her seemed totally unjustified. Of course, if she was running from the foot clan, there was likely a reason for that. And probably also the basis for her current insecurity.
She fell silent as she stared down at the mug in front of her and a hint of regret and pain flashed across her features. I studied her for a moment. "Something wrong?" I asked, concerned by the sudden change in her mood.
She sighed deeply and hesitated for a moment. "I did something... really stupid. Last night."
I studied her carefully, my muscles tensing on their own. Uh oh... "What did you do?"
She shifted nervously and studied the floor. "I'd... been drinking and... I kind of hit on Raphael."
I cringed and hid my face in my hands. That was about the worst thing she could've done. "Why on Earth would you do that?"
"I don't know," she sighed. "I just... I'd gone out earlier and got this."
I was just about to ask her what "this" was when I saw it. She'd opened her robe and flashed me with lacy, see-through lingerie. I looked away quickly, before my body had a chance to react. "Why?" I asked, staring at the refridgerator.
She shifted and retied the robe, clasping it closed in her fist when it was secure. "I don't know. I guess I just... wanted to feel... I dunno." She sighed deeply, her eyes dropping to the floor. "I do a lot of things I don't know why I did them."
"Well, hitting on my brother wasn't one of the more intelligent things you've done thus far, Melanie," I informed her, turning back slowly.
She sighed. "I know that. I just... I don't know what I was thinking. I was a little tipsy and..." She shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry. I feel like I've really screwed things up. And here you are trying to help me."
I studied her for a moment, then sighed. "Don't worry about it. Just don't do it again, okay? I'll try to work some damage control as soon as I can."
She forced a tight smile. "Thank you, Leonardo."
I nodded. "No problem."
Of all the things she could have done, why did she have to do that? I needed Raphael's support on this. Without him behind me, Kat would never listen to reason. And she might have just killed any hopes of establishing any kind of alliance.
KATARINA:
I woke up alone. As I journeyed into the living room, I knew where Raphael was. I could hear him in the dojo, with Donatello. I left them alone and walked to the couch. I didn't feel much like being awake right now, but I wasn't tired. I pulled my legs up under me as I sat down, and stared blankly at the TV. I wasn't sure how much time had passed by the time I heard unfamiliar noises.
I glanced toward the entrance as Leo stepped down onto the floor and glanced at me. Mel and Salome were right behind him. I glared, then looked away. I didn't feel like fighting right now.
There was some conversation. Something about Barbies, and Melanie disappeared with the little girl into her room. I let them go. There wasn't a whole hell of a lot of damage she could do locked in an enclosed area. Leonardo walked to me and sat down on the edge of the chair beside the couch. I could feel his eyes on me, but he said nothing for a long moment.
"Mel told me about last night," he mumbled. He hesitated for a moment. "She told me you were there." I said nothing. Why was this any of his business? "She was drunk and... it's not going to happen again."
I sighed. "What's not? She's not going to get drunk or hit on my husband? Because frankly, you can't guarantee either one."
He glanced away and it was silent for a moment. "What are you not telling me?" he finally asked, his voice perfectly serious.
I glared at the floor. "Why can't you just trust me, Leo?"
"I do trust you," he answered. "If I didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"Look, if she remembers how she got down to the lair, you guys are screwed," I informed plainly. "There's nothing either one of us can do about that now unless you wanna let me kill her."
"Why?" he demanded. "Why are you so sure of that?"
"She works for my father, Leo," I snapped.
"Shredder is dead, Kat."
I sighed. "No, he's not."
"You know that for a fact?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Because he contacted me," I mumbled. "He threatened me. Those shaken you used were only tipped with a sedative, not a poison."
He sat down in the chair across from me. For a long time, it was silent. "Okay," he finally answered. "But that still doesn't answer my question." My eyes slid closed. He just wasn't getting this. "She told us up front that she had connections to the foot clan. That she was running from them. From her husband, who was involved."
"Involved?" she laughed. "Leonardo, her husband was Shredder's right hand man for years."
"Yeah, and you were his daughter," he reminded me.
I raised my eyes and glared at him, anger sparking inside of me. "What's your point?" I growled.
He stared back, his gaze unwavering. "My point is that she's running from the foot clan and she needs shelter," he answered emotionlessly. "What's to say they're not a legitimate threat to her?"
"What's to say she's not a spy!" I cried, exasperated.
"She was up front with us from the beginning and her story makes sense."
"So did mine," I shot. "How can you know she's not feeding you a line?"
"How can you know she is?"
I looked away. "Because I know her, Leonardo!"
"Look, if she's not lying the foot clan is gonna find her and kill her," he mumbled. "The only chance she has for life is with us. Why would she betray that?"
"If she's not lying. And I'm telling you right now that she is."
"You don't know that, Katarina!" he cried.
I glanced up and studied him carefully, trying to read him. Dread crept into the pit of my stomach as I searched him. She looked a lot like Madonna; she'd always tried to. I didn't want to think that Leo saw that as clearly as I did, but I knew it was very likely. He hadn't been with anyone since my best friend, at least to the best of my knowledge. He'd mourned her for years. I didn't like it, but it didn't really surprise me. He seemed the type to only let himself love once in his life. But if he was going to fall in love again, I did not want it to be with Melanie. Because on the thin surface layer, she was like Madonna. But beneath that, she would rip him apart.
"Don't you fall for her, Leo," I warned.
He sighed deeply, sadness creeping into his eyes. "I'm not falling for her," he assured me.
For some reason, his words didn't comfort me. I wasn't exactly sure what I'd been hoping for. I doubted he would admit if he was falling for her. "Make sure you don't," I ordered. "She's bad news; I don't care if she says she's changed or not."
He shook his head, eyes down. "Kat, it's not like that."
"You swear?"
"Yes."
"On your honor?"
"Yes."
The lack of consideration he gave to that answer put my mind at ease just slightly. I let the thought go and leaned forward, resting my head in my hands. I couldn't protect him. It was pointless to try. He'd been warned, and at this point it was no one else's business. If he chose to put himself through pain, I couldn't stop him. But somehow, that didn't make it any easier to watch. I prayed he would listen to me.
"She's spent her whole life feeding off the foot clan," I mumbled. "If she did something to piss them off bad enough to kill her, not you or I or anyone else has any reason or right to get involved."
"Except she came to us for help," he sighed.
I looked up. "Did she come to you? Or did you find her?"
He studied me closely for a minute. "What difference does that make?" he questioned suspiciously. "What significance?"
"It makes a lot of difference," I answered. "In what she might want."
He shook his head slightly. "Kat, what are you talking about?"
"My father set me up to follow you and destroy you from the inside out," I explained. "He didn't know where the lair was or really anything about you and he wanted to."
"Did you tell him?"
I shook my head. "Very little. But that doesn't mean he couldn't have found out another way."
He leaned back and sighed, crossing his arms over his plastron. "What do you mean?"
"I mean if she came walking through the front door of the lair, he wants something else from her. It's the difference between infiltrating and observing and setting up an all-out war."
He sighed deeply. "Kat..."
"No matter what I say, you're not gonna believe me, Leo, so why are we even talking?" I shot.
"Because I thought there might be some substantial reason why you're so suspicious of her."
I stared at him, dumbfounded. "She's part of the foot clan, Leo!" I cried. "You're providing shelter for a foot soldier!"
"Former," he corrected. "And you can't prove otherwise."
"And you can't prove she's not lying! And you're gonna put our lives on the lines for her? Mine included? You've got no right!"
A hint of anger sparked in his eyes. "Listen, Kat, for as long as you're a part of this clan, I do have a right. As the leader of this family, I have a responsibility to make a decision that's going to affect all of us, and I know that. It's gonna affect you, it's gonna affect her, and it's gonna affect everyone in between."
"She's not a part of your clan, Leonardo," I reminded him. "She's part of my father's."
"We kick her out, they find her, she's dead," he continued, undeterred. "End of story. And if she's innocent, I don't want her blood on my hands."
"Innocent of what?" I shot. "Did she even tell you why they want to kill her? If she's not outright lying, I can think of a few reasons why they might be after her, and believe me, you don't want to get in the middle of it."
"She is our responsibility right now. My responsibility. You got a problem with her, you come to me. But I'm not just going to let them kill her."
I bit my tongue to keep my anger in check. I was about ready to rip him up one side and down the other. He had no idea what he was dealing with. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raphael and Donny both watching us from the doorway to the training room. "You're going to do what you're going to do," I growled at Leo, careful to think every word through before I spoke it. "And I can't stop you. But I'm warning you, Leonardo. You can call it a gut feeling, you can call it an educated guess, you can call it whatever the hell you want. She is bad news. And she is going to rip you apart. And God help you if you fall in love with her. Because at that point, I sure as hell won't be able to."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "I told you, it's not like that."
"Good," I snarled. "Don't let it get like that. She's not Madonna. And she'll fuck you up twice as bad."
I wasn't sure what happened first. His eyes blazed with anger as Raph's hand came to rest on my shoulder and pulled me to my feet, whether I wanted to cooperate or not. Raphael stepped between us. Leo was already on his feet, and looked ready to kill. Raph held his shoulders and leaned into him, whispering something too quiet to hear. Leonardo listened, then his eyes closed and he spun away, throwing Raph's hands off of him. He walked to his room and slammed the door.
Raphael watched the hallway for a moment, then turned to me, shooting a pathetic look in my direction. "Are you trying to get yourself killed, Kat?" he asked.
I shrug. "I'm not gonna lie to him," I answered.
He sighed. "If you insist on getting my brother that angry again, he's going to be a bigger threat to you than Melanie ever was."
I glanced over toward the dojo and saw that Donny had left. Raphael's fingers came up under my chin and he turned my face to him. "Hey." I turned my eyes to him reluctantly and he kissed my lips lightly. "Do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Don't fight with him."
"I'm not gonna lie, Raph."
"I want you to lie," he whispered.
"I can't do that."
"Humor him, Kat," he directed. "Please. You're not in his league."
I glared at him for a moment, but I realized that hadn't been meant as an insult. He brushed my hair behind my ear and dropped his hand to his side again. "You've made your point. Now just try not to raise hell. Let me deal with Leo, okay? I been doin' it my whole life and I know how."
I considered that for a long moment, staring down at the floor, then finally nodded. "Fine," I whispered. "But I'm not gonna lie to him." I looked up and met his stare. "And if she finds out, if he tells her, what happened with Madonna... she'll try to make him fall in love with her. And she'll hurt him. I guarantee it."
LEONARDO:
My senses tingled with the nearness of the danger. But there was not a whole lot I could do about it, so I just watched. The scent of the fire swirled in every breath of air I drew into my lungs. In the street below, red lights flashed on the tops of the fire engines. Ambulances remained parked, a trip to the hospital unnecessary for the victims. The family watched, huddled beneath a blanket in the back of one of the trucks, tears streaming down their faces. There was no one inside, but the house was a total loss. Crews were just trying to prevent the flames from jumping over the alley and spreading down the entire block.
I glanced up at the eastern sky. The sun had not risen yet, but it would shortly. Over the past few nights, it had become harder and harder to sleep at night. I wasn't totally sure why, but I had an idea. The tension in the lair, particularly between Melanie and Katarina, was reaching a new height, and that didn't make it any easier to relax.
I sighed and leaned my head back against the shingled wall behind me. These were houses, not the typical high rise apartments of downtown. I was a long way from home, not entirely sure how I'd gotten here. I'd just run, until I'd ended up in a place where there was something interesting to see. My eyes slid closed and watered for a moment, reacting to the smoke. I could feel the heat from here, warming my skin. Uncomfortable, yes. But not painful. Yet.
I heard no telltale sound, saw no movement, but I knew I was not alone. In the darkness behind me, there was a figure on the roof. I glanced down at the sword in my hand, resting in my lap for no good reason other than that I'd been inspecting the knicks and stains on it moments before. My fingers ran lightly over the cold steel and I sighed, then looked across the street again. The flames poured from the windows of the upstairs bedrooms.
He didn't make a sound as he approached, but I felt him. Moreover, I identified him. "What are you doing here?" I asked quietly.
He stepped closer and sat down, leaning on the slightly raised ledge I was seated on. I glanced at him, watching the flames' shadows dance over his face. "I saw the smoke," he mumbled.
"And?" I prodded, wondering whether or not he was going to lie to me.
He didn't look up. "And I followed you," he answered with very little emotion.
I glanced away. He wasn't defensive; that meant he wasn't here to argue. I was glad. My relationship with my brother had greatly improved over the past few years, but every so often, we reverted back to the bickering of our teenage days.
There was a long silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, and lasted for several minutes. I relaxed back against the wall and sighed, lifting the katana to stare at it. It reflected the red-orange glow of the flames. Beyond it, I saw Raphael tilt his head back and look up at the smoke-filled sky.
I knew what was on his mind. I knew he wasn't sure how to approach it without starting a battle. He wasn't one to beat around the bush, and he didn't know how to even start the conversation if not to flat-out accuse me.
"I know what you're thinking," I offered after a long silence. "I know you've got to ask. But the answer is no."
He didn't respond for a long moment. Then he sighed. "And I know you've got to say that whether it's true or not. But I'm not sure I believe it."
"No," I protested quietly. "I might not answer, but I wouldn't lie."
"You would if you felt it was the only way to lay off."
I glanced at him. "Is it?" I challenged. "Is there anything I can tell you that would make you just lay off?"
He didn't look up at me. It was silent for a moment, then I sighed. "If she were a threat to me, I wouldn't disagree with you so strongly about kicking her out."
His hand raised to cover his eyes. "Okay, one, she is a threat to you and if it gets far enough for you to see that, it's gone on way too long. And two, you don't want to kick her out because of the danger she could possibly be in. And you'd feel like that regardless of what she was saying or doing until she outright defied you like Sasha did and someone got hurt."
His tone was accusing and my defenses immediately raised at the mention of Sasha's name. "Sasha was different," I shot back, my eyes narrowing at him.
"Yeah, Sasha was different," he answered. "Because she posed a threat to me and not to you."
I straightened, my grip on the hilt of the katana tightening slightly. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
He sighed deeply and turned to face me. "Leo, Sasha played the same damn mindgames with you while she went after me. The only difference between her and Mel is that Melanie is targeting you while she's manipulating you into believing that she needs to stay with us and that she'd never do anything to hurt us."
"Raph..."
"But I'm telling you," he continued, not allowing me to interrupt him. "She's not the innocent victim she's pretending to be. And whatever went down between her and Kat needs to be taken into account if for no other reason than because there is a possibility, however slim you want to make it seem, that Mel would put us all in danger for the sake of getting even with Kat."
"For what!" I cried, getting frustrated with him. "What happened, that we need to take into account?"
He stopped. I watched him. He wasn't going to tell me anything. I doubted he even knew anything to tell me in the first place. He was as lost as I was on this whole thing, except that his side was chosen before he ever met Mel. And it had to be. He had no choice but to support Kat, and I wouldn't ask him to come against her on something she believed so strongly. But I had to keep a clear head on this. I couldn't let her past grudges, however big they may be, end the life of a woman who may not have done anything wrong.
I sighed. "Just go home, Raph," I pleaded. "And stop worrying about me. I can take care of myself just fine."
He hesitated for a long moment and I heard him sigh, but he didn't protest as he got up and walked away. Down in the street, the cracking flames leaped to the next house.
