A/N: I do not own the TMNT's, the New York City skyline, Liberty Island or The Statue of Liberty, the Red Hook district or any of its warehouses. Neither do I own David Copperfield. If I did, I'd have him 'magically' make Min disappear to somewhere safe! I do own Min, Jack, and Oruku Akina, but not her family name of Oruku. I do not own Saki, either. Good thing, cuz I'd kick his rear all the way back to Japan! -} Y'all be blessed and please review if you have a chance! Thanks!

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I had been forced to sit in the car for more hours than I cared to. I was getting antsy and I was tired. With only the driver for company, I envied the rest of them who were able to go outside to stretch their legs.

I felt it completely unfair. I mean, if they were going to confine me like this they could at least stick it out with me.

Like I should even expect that?

After a very long while, I was finally allowed to leave the car. I still had to wear that blasted hood on my head but at least my legs could stretch after sitting for so long.

As I slipped out of the car I felt a strong grip take my right arm and then another person grab my left. Ah well, it looked like my getting away was out of the question; at least for now, anyway.

"Just don't bruise the merchandise, okay? I have to look my best if I'm going to get rescued!" I teased.

One of them caught the humor and chuckled just a little. But he was immediately reprimanded by Akina. I don't know what she said to him, since it was in Japanese, but he immediately quieted down. He then jerked my arm a little to impress upon me to keep quiet. Considering the strength he exhibited with that minor little move, I didn't have any problems complying!

While I stood there with my imagination on overdrive, the coffee I had earlier started working on me, as well. So, I asked for a restroom.

However, I was denied.

Akina thought it quite hilarious when I tried to appeal to her as one woman to another. How silly of me.

"Look, you know as well as I do that women need a few more trips to the john than men. I'm sure you have a restroom somewhere, right?"

Her laugh was so cold and steely, I actually wondered if maybe she did indeed wear aftershave.

Her only comment was, "In a little while, my dear Baka, it will not matter any more! So be patient."

Oh to kick that little bi... But I realized I couldn't lower myself to her level. She might have thought she was superior but I knew better. Plus, she'd probably run circles around me anyway if I decided to duke it out with her.

Let's face it, watching someone execute martial art moves is not quite the same as actually doing it. If it were – well – I'd still be helpless.

I was getting pretty tired of having the hood on my head, though. It was stuffy and itchy, plus I was getting fed up with the dark. I didn't like someone keeping a hold of me, either. It felt confining and it made me feel like I was being held as a prisoner. Wait, I was a prisoner.

Silly me.

Well, despite my need for a commode, I was thirsty. "Say, even 'bait' needs hydrating. Could someone at least give me a glass of water?" I asked, complaining.

There was some jostling as if they were digging into a bag. Then a water bottle was shoved into my hands.

"Just don't take the hood off, Min." Jack commented evenly.

"Or what? You'll have to kill me?" I laughed.

Akina replied dryly, "Exactly."

Hmm...that pretty much simplified things. Yes siree, the dark was looking mighty good right about then. I managed to get a few swigs of water in me, all the while keeping that hood snug over my head.

I thought about their plan to use me as bait. How would they do that anyway? Would they dangle me from a pole with a sign that said, "Dare to Rescue Her"? I wasn't sure if they realized how smart my turtle friends were. At least I was hoping they were that smart! They better be smart, otherwise this was going to be a one way trip for all of us.

******

Finally it was decided that I could have that dreaded hood removed. I was elated. As soon as it was off I felt instant relief. The fresh air was wonderful. But then I noticed that it was quite dark in the warehouse. All I could see was the silhouettes of the driver, the one man that had sat next to me in the backseat of the sedan, plus Jack and Akina.

Oh and the two who were keeping me from running away. I couldn't exactly forget about them, now could I?

I looked around and found that it was quite difficult to make anything out in particular. It was shrewd of them to wait until it was night time. Had I been in their possession for that long?

I noticed Akina right away, only because she was much shorter than the others who were there. Just around my height, in fact. I tried not to stare at her, though. I was sure they didn't want me to identify anyone since they had allowed me to take the hood off once the sun had set. However I could tell that Akina wore her hair long and when a rare bit of light graced her face I could see that she was Asian. When she talked I found it interesting that she did not have the typical Japanese accent. How long had she been living in the U.S. anyway?

I knew from Splinter that her brother had moved over here from Japan just before the turtles were mutated. I also knew that his sister was several years younger than him. She may have even been younger than me.

Either way, it was really too dark for me to see much else. So, with nothing more to do, I stood there and waited.

I saw that Jack was off to one side, talking in hushed whispers to Akina. I looked at my 'guards' and then noticed that they didn't seem to have faces. That was odd. But, their grip tightened at that moment, so I realized they didn't want to be stared at. What were they afraid of; my identifying them? As if I could. With the lack of lighting in that building it was pretty certain they didn't want to take any chances.

Finally, after a couple of hours of just standing around, I heard Akina give some command in Japanese. The men then took me and led me outside through a door. Their grip was so strong that I knew if I had resisted they would have easily broken my arm. I complied, though certainly not of my own free will.

The moment we were clear of the building and under the natural lighting from the moon and stars, I was able to see them much better. I was stunned. They were both dressed completely in black - like my attacker had been!

Even though my arms were held fast, I instinctively lashed out. I kicked and struggled to free myself. It was only a delayed response from that fateful night. But seeing another like the one who beat me up triggered my reaction.

However, I was no match for these guys. One of them clocked me one good in the jaw, knocking me silly. In the end, it made their job all the easier. By the time I came to, I was already tied up to a post at the edge of the dock. I could see the water just to my right as I looked in that direction.

With exception to where I was bound up, the general area was nearly pitch black. I knew that if and when my rescuers arrived, it was going to be nearly impossible for them to sneak in under the light that illuminated my position. My heart sank in that moment; it would take a miracle to come out of this alive and I knew it.

******

All I was to them was bait and they were going to use me to rid themselves of the turtles. Why I had to die, as well, was beyond me. But maybe it meant something to Jack. I could not for the life of me figure it out. If anyone had a vendetta to mete out it would have been me. For all that Jack had done to me I was more entitled.

Maybe he wanted that bed and killing me was the only way to get it? Well, he'd have a dilly of a time trying to find if that's what he wanted. I doubted it, though. There had to be better reasons for Jack wanting to have me killed other than to just get at the bed.

As I stood there tied to the post I noticed that the surrounding area of the wharf was not as busy as I would have expected. I also noticed that the temperature was quite cool. The last bit of winter chill was stubbornly hanging around and fighting off the approaching warmth of spring. Thank goodness Jack allowed me my coat.

From my vantage point, I had a beautiful view of the bay on one side with the warehouse on the other. There was about a twenty foot span of road in between myself and that building; which I figured was the Foot's headquarters. There were a few people on the second story posing as look- outs; all dressed in that familiar black. They appeared to be carrying weapons of some sort. Was one of them packing a rifle? More importantly, were they expecting company?

My anxieties heightened right about then. But I knew I couldn't do anything about it presently, so I decided to take in the 'sights'.

Looking towards the bay I noticed ships slowly making their way up the harbor. As I peered around I could make out the outline of New York City. If I assumed correctly I knew then that we were near the Red Hook district; famous for its warehouses and longshoreman history. It had been in decline over the past few years. But recently there had been some visionaries who saw the warehouses as ideal remodeling jobs. The old buildings were slowly being turned from ugly storage houses into beautiful, if not unique, residences and businesses.

Personally, I'd much rather take a nice two-story with acreage in the Hampton's!

I could also see Liberty Island with the Statue standing tall just about halfway across New York Harbor. The Lady was all lit up and quite beautiful. I mused that if I had to die tonight at least I would be able to see her one last time.

Recognizing my location I knew then that I was only about ten minutes from the coffee shop where I crossed paths with Jack. It made me wonder why he had the driver do all that cruising around. Was it to distract me or were we being followed at the time? Hmm...

However, I dismissed that since my jaw was aching terribly from where I had been slugged. My face was still a bit tender, as well, from when Akina had struck me earlier. I wasn't sure what I looked like, but I figured at the very least it added a few more interesting attributes to my already botched complexion.

I wondered then how they were going to let Don and his brothers know where I was at. A very large part of me hoped that my friends wouldn't find me. But, the truth of the matter was, I felt a much stronger desire to be rescued.

******

How I longed to lie down; especially on my beloved bed. But, unless my fortunes changed and quickly, too, I didn't think I would ever see it again.

I really didn't know anything about what Don and his brothers did with their ninjitsu skills. I knew that they were very adept in martial arts. From what I remembered of Jack and his abilities, my turtle friends would have considered him a walk in the park. They were quite impressive to watch, believe me!

Sometimes their skills with their weapons frightened me and more often than not I would end up in my 'room', reading one of my books while they went at it in their training room, or dojo. None of them challenged me on my feelings about violence begetting violence. After all, up until my beating I never had to worry about people trying to kill me simply because of what I was. Because of that I forgave them for the way they were forced to protect themselves. Would I have acted or lived any differently if my life was in jeopardy on a daily basis? I think not.

I also knew that they could creep up on you unaware. Mikey had nearly given me a heart attack on multiple occasions in his attempt to get a rise out of me. But one time in particular I had rewarded him with a glass of milk in his face. It was purely instinctive on my part; at least that's what I told him anyway. Don had smirked and did his best not to let on that I had threatened to get back in some form or another. It was my good luck, or Mike's bad luck, that I had just poured myself a nice tall glass of milk right before he crept into the kitchen to scare me one more time. I nearly died from hysterics seeing him with that milk all over his face. If only I had a camera; his shocked expression was priceless.

Don later explained that Mike's sneaking around was more for training purposes rather than to just be annoying. I had not been amused and immediately shot back that creeping up on one of his brothers would take far more skill that for Mike to victimize someone as untrained as me.

Mike's only excuse for doing what he did to me was that my expressions of surprise were funnier than if he had done the same to Raphael, for instance. I had to agree with him there. Raph would have beaten him to a pulp!

Now with my current predicament I was hoping for one of Mike's surprise 'attacks'. In fact, I wouldn't be the least disappointed if all of them decided to steal their way in unaware. Not that they could, given the amount of lighting I was standing under.

******

I don't know how long it had been, but at one point I must have dozed off. It must have been near to midnight and I was exhausted. The ropes kept me upright but even with that I just couldn't stay awake.

I startled suddenly out of my nap. Someone was fiddling with the ties that held me fast to the post. I started to look around, but a familiar voice told me to keep still. "Don't move, Min. Act like you just woke up and that's all."

It was Leo! I nearly wanted to jump for joy and elation but the bindings kept me quite stationary. I wanted to shout out my relief but I knew he was right. Jack, Akina, and their cohorts were somewhere in the warehouse. I was sure they had lookouts and cameras at every angle. If they even had a hint at what was currently happening to me, things would go south in a hurry.

But how Leo was going to get me out of there without being seen would take an act worthy of David Copperfield! At least I knew one thing for certain.

My heroes had finally arrived!