Chapter 5: Leaving.
For a second, neither party moved. Venus couldn't see anything except for the bright alienating light that was focused intently on her face. Raphael cried even harder in his mother's arms.
Without warning, everything went pitch black as Venus' eyes tried to adjust again when the light was removed from her face. The female turtle stood there in shock as a scuffling was heard, followed by a gun shot. The noise chilled her to the bone and she hugged Raph's child even tighter. The clamor ended with a heavy thud.
Venus' eyes finally adjusted to the very dim lighting. Leonardo stood before her. He was carrying a large drawstring bag on his back whilst holding his single withdrawn sword in his right hand. She observed the blood slide and drip off what was once a silver blade. The police officer was lying face down. A pool of bright red blood silently slid from the gaping fresh slit across his neck.
"Are you alright?" Leonardo asked, breaking Venus' fearful gaze off the body. The female turtle nodded and shakily stepped out from the niche in the wall.
"How did you find me?" Venus asked, voice still quivering. Leonardo simply pointed to the frustrated baby in Venus' arms. The male turtle reached out and gently took Raphael from Venus, allowing her to have a little rest. For some strange reason, Raphael settled down immediately in Leo's arms. Venus sighed with relief. "He's been crying for the past half-hour…"
"Maybe he's just tired, or maybe he actually wanted me," Leo said, staring at the sleepy baby in his arms. He looked up at Venus only to catch her still shaking off the nerves. It concerned him; he had never seen Venus this scared before. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked again.
Venus looked at him and bit her trembling lip. She shook her head as a single tear slid down her cheek. "When I heard that gun shot…"
"I know…" Leo said softly. "But I'm okay, and so is Lil' Raphy here," Leonardo followed up. Venus looked back down at the body.
"He was an innocent… He was just doing his job…" Venus said softly, still uneasy about what had taken place.
"I had to do it to keep our secret. If he alerted anyone else, then we would have to leave the country again. At least when they find his body, they won't know for sure that it was us," Leonardo explained. He could tell that Venus was still unsettled and didn't push her away when she timidly hugged him for comfort, being careful not to squash or wake the baby. During her hug, one of her hands touched the bag on his back.
"What's in the bag?" Venus asked when she stepped back.
"All of our weapons, a couple of blankets, the food that we had stored and one or two books. Anything I could grab in a hurry. I also took the egg incubator, since they are hard to come by… The police are everywhere. I followed the officer that was chasing you. He didn't have time to alert anyone else. I only had a few minutes before another officer would have discovered the lair… We have to move," Leonardo explained the situation softly. Venus nodded.
"Want me to take the bag?" she offered.
"Nah, I'm fine," Leo rejected knowing how worn out Venus was. The female turtle bent down and picked up the officer's flashlight before journeying with Leo and Raph deeper into the sewers.
"How will Mikey know where we are when he comes back from America?" Venus wondered. Leonardo was silent for a moment.
"We've just got to hope that he can find us…" Leonardo answered grimly.
*****
New York City.
Donatello calmly walked through the very familiar sewer tunnels knowing that he had four hours to waste before he would have to board a plane. He arrived at the airport an hour ago and discovered that there weren't any flights to England until nighttime tomorrow. However there was a direct flight to Los Angeles. After doing some research by phoning travel agencies, he found that there was a plane leaving from LA to Australia a couple of hours after he would arrive at LAX. 'Perfect timing,' Donatello thought to himself.
Donatello removed the newspaper article that was tucked inside his bandanna and stared longingly at the photo of his family. He reminisced back to the days when he was with them in the glass prison. Leonardo said that if they escaped, they would either go to London or Sydney depending on available flights. In hindsight, it was a bad plan, mainly because back then they didn't know that Don would become separated and transferred to another state. He didn't know for sure that they would be in Sydney, but he assumed that Mike would have preferred it there because of the beaches and warmer weather and would have persuaded Leo. At any rate, he let fate decide. There wasn't an immediate plane flight to London and that was that.
Donatello sighed happily as his jumped down a familiar ladder. His eyes scanned over the lair, noticing that some things had been disturbed over the months that it had been vacant, obviously due to the scientists bringing back stuff to their labs for analysis. However a lot of useful objects still remained. Donatello carefully rummaged through the abandoned subway lair, placing various things in a large bag for safekeeping. He grabbed the original weapons that were still on the rack next to the ladder, noticing how unused he was to handling them due to the time he spent in captivity.
Don then went carefully through everyone's room, starting with his own. He couldn't take his whole computer system, but he did grab various programs and electrical gadgets that could be set up later once he had made a new lair. He could only gather a few books in Leo's room, mainly because the eldest brother was the least materialistic. Mike's room was a pigsty and was given a thorough search; the most useful objects found were video games, batteries, and sketches and stories that the orange turtle might want back. Donatello, with great reluctance, even collected Venus' Shinobi scrolls and Vam Mi's heart that was still kept neatly in a Chinese medicine herb box.
Don almost decided to not even touch Raphael's room, yet it was the thought of his child that might want to learn more about their father that changed his mind. Bag on his shoulder, Donatello slowly entered the dank room that he barely got to see. Immediately he felt eerie presence, but he shrugged the feeling off as soon as he sensed it, blaming his imagination in the process. There weren't many things to collect, but he did manage to squeeze Raph's favourite videos, spare belt, bandanna, knee and elbow pads into his rather loaded bag. He looked over the room one last time before sighing and leaving the train carriage.
"You turtles are so predictable," Bonesteel sneered as he pointed a tranquilizer dart gun towards Donatello. The turtle froze and stared in shock at the hunter situated three metres away. Don cursed inwardly for being so distracted to not notice the human's entrance.
The human smiled with preconceived success as he fired the weapon. The turtle ducked in reflex and the dart hit the bag harmlessly instead. Bonesteel snarled and attempted to fire again, but Donatello was quick and was already clambering up the ladder to freedom. Don cursed to himself as he climbed as he realised that he could have taken the obsessed hunter down, but it seemed that the fear of being captured had taken over once again.
The turtle raced through the tunnel and turned into a hidden and secluded area; the garage. He wasn't surprised when he saw both the Hummer and Hog still in the same spot they were left in. They had made sure that they kept the garage hidden and separate from the lair just in case of emergencies like this where they'd have to evacuate immediately. Also, if someone found the garage, then they wouldn't necessarily find the lair, and the same vice versa.
With Bonesteel only ten seconds behind, Donatello flung the heavy bag into the back seat of the Hummer and jumped over the driver side door. He froze when he realised that he didn't have the keys. They were still in Leo's room. Donatello swore at his own stupidity for the umpteenth time that day. He was about to start running down the street again when his eyes caught sight of hope. The keys to Raphael's Hog were quietly hanging in the ignition. For once in his life, Donatello thanked Raph for being so lazy and antisocial.
Donatello was trying to balance the large bag on the back of the bike when Bonesteel raised his weapon again. In the blink of an eye, Don straddled the leather seat and revved the engine. The gun fired, but Don dodged the projectile once again by leaning the motorcycle dramatically to the left.
"Stupid animal. Just stay still and get shot!" Bonesteel yelled his normal abusive sayings, although he knew he was the only one to blame for missing the target. Not dumb enough to wait around for the hunter to reload, Donatello took off down one of the many dark streets of Manhattan.
Donatello wobbled on the road and tried to remember the last time he had ridden a motorcycle. 'Have I driven a bike?' the turtle pondered, failing to come up with a memory. He gripped the handles tighter, expecting to fall off at any second. All of a sudden the Hog began to slow. Donatello started to panic, noticing that the vehicle was low on fuel. He knew Bonesteel wouldn't be too far off.
Hopping off the powerless machine, Don began to push the bike down the street, avoiding startled traffic as he went. He only had to walk a block until he luckily stumbled upon a service station. Having no time to dilly-dally, Don refueled Raph's bike in front of many wide-eyed citizens while cheekily giving them a wave. He then sped off as fast as possible without paying.
The mutant roamed around with the bike in the shadows, trying his best not to get spotted for the rest of the night. When he was certain that there were no cars, Don would start up the engine and get as far as possible before retreating back into the darkness of the side alleys. After traveling many twists and turns, in two hours Don had made it back to the airport.
He took out some bolt cutters from the bag and clipped a large hole in the barbed perimeter fence, permitting both himself and his new vehicle through. Don sneaked as best he could towards the terminal, trying his best to not let the machine slow him down. He knew exactly what plane to board from the information he had gathered earlier. The turtle waited patiently in the shadows for the opportune moment when the aircraft would be left unguarded. He didn't have to wait long, thanks to some late tourist's luggage that had to be accounted for. Don cautiously wheeled the Hog onto the plane in the baggage compartment before hiding himself amongst the piles and piles of suitcases. There he held his breath, hoping that he wouldn't be caught. He wasn't. Donatello let out a sigh of relief as the base of the plane was closed in preparation for takeoff. 'LA, here I come'.
*****
Washington DC.
It was only a few minutes before sunrise. Michelangelo calmly strolled through the unfamiliar sewers of the nation's capital; Washington DC. He sighed at the quietness and began to doubt his decision to return to America alone. If he had pockets, Mike would have kept his hands in them. The turtle started to whistle, mainly to fill the eerie void of noise.
Some lost newspaper sheets billowed in the slight draft of the concrete tunnel. Bored, Mike began to kick them as he walked. He continued to do so for about a minute, but stopped when a certain piece of paper caught his eye. Mike bent down in disbelief and timidly picked up the separated newspaper sheet that was dated as the current day's date.
His eyes filled with joy when he read the title of the special article: 'Last Turtle Escapes'. Curiosity overwhelming his body, Mike begged to read on.
'The last mutant turtle still in captivity had escaped from it's cage last night. The 'purple turtle' had been transferred from New York's zoo to a secure Government controlled building a few months ago after learning that the creature possessed a rare intellect. No one knows exactly how the mutant escaped, but a security camera failure has been blamed for not catching the reptile during it's escapade.
The turtle was later spotted downtown in Washington DC, yet specialised army personnel weren't able to apprehend the creature once it had disappeared into a local hospital. Similarly to the other wild mutated turtles, the internal tracking device was once again found separated from the animal.
A few hours after the male turtle had escaped from the Government building, it was spotted once again in New York City by Simon Bonesteel; the person who originally found and captured these mutant animals. "He must of figured out how to travel on an airplane. He wouldn't have been in New York at that time if he hadn't," Simon said. The Government is telling airport personnel to be on high alert, and citizens are being told to report any sightings or relevant information about the four currently missing mutant turtles to the local authorities.'
Michelangelo sighed and tucked the important article into his bandanna for safekeeping. Leonardo would want to read it. The orange clad turtle felt delighted and worried simultaneously about Donatello; happy because he was free, yet concerned because he no longer had any idea on where to look. Obviously he already had plans on leaving the country, otherwise he wouldn't have been spotted in New York. Yet Mike felt helpless as nothing was confirmed. Just because Don was free, it didn't necessarily mean that he would find the rest of his family.
Mike sighed once again, turned around and started to head for the airport, knowing that it was pointless to stay in Washington DC. He knew that he should go back to London as soon as possible, but something else came to mind that would make the trip to the United States worth it.
*****
New York City.
Light grey clouds rolled over the early afternoon sky above Manhattan. Michelangelo cautiously peeked inside a small apartment from the safety of the fire escape. He couldn't really see anything useful. 'Hope this is the place', Mike wished. The turtle pulled up the unsecured window and sneakily climbed inside.
Mike gazed around at his surroundings. Paint chipped cupboards made up most of the kitchen, while faded chairs and a rundown wooden table filled the rest of the room turning that section of the apartment into the living and dining area. Over all, the impression that it gave was that of a person who didn't have enough money for luxuries.
A human suddenly entered from the direction of the bathroom. She stopped immediately and gaped at the turtle in shock. "Mike?!" Sarah uttered in disbelief. "What are you doing here? I mean, how are you going? Where's everyone else?" Sarah blurted out the questions as soon as they came to her head.
The turtle in orange simply gave her a big grin. "I thought I might drop in before I return to London," he said casually.
"London? Cool. I have an aunt who lives in London," Sarah said making small talk, still in disbelief that Mike was in her apartment.
"Really?" Mike said. Sarah simply nodded.
"So why are you in America?"
"I was actually going to rescue Don, but it seems that he beat me to it," Mike explained, showing her the newspaper article he had tucked into his bandanna. She quickly gave the piece of paper a look over.
"So I've heard. It was the third story on the morning news," Sarah informed him. Mike returned the article into his bandanna. The turtle was silent for a few seconds, wondering whether or not he should voice the question that had been nagging at his mind the most.
"You know when you rescued us… what happened after the cops caught you?" Mike said carefully, hoping that Sarah didn't regret her decision in hindsight.
The young lady sighed and flicked back a strand of her dark brown hair in slight annoyance. "I was held in prison for about three weeks before I got my first hearing. Luckily I got a rather soft judge and he let me off with a rather heavy fine, which my family managed to pay by dipping into their savings and by raising some of the money from the population that supported what I had done. But the zoo complained about this and appealed.
I was then sentenced to three months worth of community service where I had to work for the zoo, as the judges wanted an alternative to jail as they wanted to leave the prison cells to more serious offenses. I was lucky that at that time there was this new 'community service movement' where psychologists believed that it was more beneficial to both parties, and that it helped violators restrain from recommitting the crime since they are able to see how they effected their victims. Of course, a lot of people still believe that my punishment was unjust, but, at least for now, I'm a free woman," Sarah explained.
Mike intently listened to the hardships she went through and suddenly became more grateful for all she had done for them. His eyes lay focused on the floor, starting to feel the painful guilt rise from the pit of his stomach. "I'm sorry…" Mike said softly, not making eye contact.
"Don't be. It was worth it. Don't you agree?" Sarah asked as a small reflective smile appeared on her face. Michelangelo made eye contact again and smiled back with affirmation. "So what's happened to you guys in the past couple of months?" Sarah asked.
"Venus had her baby. It's a boy. We called him Raphael," Mike said with fondness. Sarah couldn't help but smile.
"Wow. Congratulations!" Sarah said happily. "Are you guys coping alright?" she asked out of thoughtfulness.
"Well… we're having a few problems. We're coping but… we don't really know enough about how to take care of the baby. So far he's been very unpredictable, like in body development. Venus is also producing milk-"
"Milk?" Sarah cut him off with an astonished tone. Her eyebrows immediately furrowed with confusion. Mike simply nodded to her outburst and didn't complete the rest of his description.
"It'll be really great if we could have someone who knows a bit about animal behaviours and development…" Mike suggested. Sarah suddenly realised the truth behind Mike's surprise visit.
"You want me to go to London with you?" Sarah summarised. Mike gave her a sheepish nod. Sarah stared at him, disbelieving what the turtle wanted her to do. She would have to leave her home, cancel her commitments and find her unused passport. Not to mention that she'd have to fork out a small fortune in plane tickets and accommodation. Yet deep down, Sarah was curious about Venus' child. "I don't believe this…" She muttered. "I… I can't. I can't just pack up and leave… And even if there were a way, I wouldn't get a seat. I'd surely have to wait at least a few days for an available flight," Sarah explained.
"But if they can do it on 'The Amazing Race', I'm sure that you can do it too," Mike justified with his innocent reasoning. Sarah couldn't help but smile at his train of thought. As crazy and as radical as it was, the more Sarah thought about, the more she wanted to travel to London.
'It's not as though I've got a job or a university course to tie me down in New York. I could just pack up and leave. It would give me a good chance to see if I could move there or not, as everyone is too hesitant to employ me in New York due to my record. Maybe leaving the country altogether is the answer for my future? And if I don't like London, then at least it'll be a much needed holiday…' Sarah thought about her option in a positive perspective.
"With all honesty Mike, I'd love to go and see Venus, Leo and the baby… but my only problem is the money…" Sarah explained sadly.
"Don't forget that you could always stay with us in London for free. You also have your aunt…" Mike suggested keenly with a hopeful grin. Sarah looked at him and found it extremely hard to resist his persuasive childlike charm.
"Hmmm… Alright… I actually do have enough money stashed around somewhere, thanks to my birthday last week," Sarah gave in reluctantly. Mike grinned widely in success.
"So how old are you now?" Mike asked out of curiosity.
"Twenty-one."
"Hmm… you're only a month older than me. But that's okay. These days girls are tending to date younger males," Mike said cheekily. Sarah gave him a playful glare.
"Do you want me to go to London or not?" Sarah blackmailed.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop!" Mike pleaded, yet the cheeky grin was still planted firmly on his face.
'That shut him up', Sarah's thoughts humoured.
A/N: Even though it wasn't shown in The Glass Prison, Sarah had a few more conversations with the turtles while they were in their enclosure. That's why she knows about Venus' pregnancy (the turtles would have told her so that she would be more sympathetic towards them) and why she's more casual than she should be. It wasn't written in the fic mainly because I felt it would only slow the pace down.