Chapter 6: Holding Back Grudges.
Flight 301, New York to London. 4am.
Bonesteel gloomily flicked through his newspaper out of boredom. 'Only half an hour before we land in England,' he thought with impatience. He looked at his watch for the umpteenth time before returning his stare towards the back of the chair in front of him.
After discovering that the turtles were smart enough to travel by plane, Bonesteel thought it was now possible that they could be living outside of the United States. Knowing their habits like the back of his hand, he believed that the troublesome reptiles would be living unnoticed in a big city, as they had to live beside humans for shelter and food resources. At first he was going to try his luck in Canada, but when he heard about a mysterious death in the deep depths of the sewers of London, he knew immediately that the turtles were responsible; the blue one to be exact.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins at the idea of a hunt. The human fidgeted in his seat out of excitement. Suddenly all of the expensive First Class margaritas and champagne could be felt in his abdomen. Bonesteel snarled; he hated going to the toilet on airplanes.
The hunter made his way to the tiny bathroom, only to snarl once again at the 'occupied' red lettering. He looked to the cubicle opposite. It seemed that he wasn't the only one to drink too much alcohol. Bonesteel made his way over to the Economy Class, hoping that he'd have better luck there. He looked around and sniggered when he saw how little leg room those passengers had. There weren't many people on the overnight flight, mainly because it was in the middle of the school term and only businessmen had the chance to fly. Yet a certain person caught his eye and glare.
Sarah looked from where she was sitting at the recently famous hunter. He knew her and she knew him. Her heart skipped a beat as his gaze remained on her, worried if he knew that Michelangelo was hiding below in storage. Not knowing what to say to her, Bonesteel continued his journey to the toilet cubicle. He didn't hate her. In fact, if it weren't for her, he wouldn't have anything to hunt. But he decided to keep a close eye on her just in case she did have something to do with the turtles.
Sarah let out a sigh and began to wonder what she was getting herself into. She thought this trip would be a nice break from the accusing stares of the people of New York, and packed her rather light bag and backpack in a record time of twenty minutes. But with Bonesteel on the plane, she feared that she would only lead the turtles into danger.
When Bonesteel returned to his seat, the plane was preparing to land. Sarah grabbed her small backpack in readiness. If she was to meet Mike at the agreed destination, then she couldn't let Bonesteel follow. She had to make a quick exit. Up in First Class, the hunter did the same thing, gathering his belongings in order to swiftly and effectively spy on the mischievous young adult in Economy to see if she still had anything to do with the overgrown reptiles.
The plane bumped and jostled as it landed before slowly rolling towards one of the many gates. Both Sarah and Bonesteel intently stared at the illuminated seat belt symbol. All of a sudden the light went off. Both humans unbuckled and jumped out of their seat immediately, hurriedly pulling out anything they had kept in the overhead compartment. Trying to look as calm as possible, Sarah sneakily made her way as close as she could to the air-locked door. As soon as the slightly suspicious flight attendant allowed the passengers to leave the aircraft, Sarah was out the door closely followed by Bonesteel.
She quickened her pace so that she was power walking, not wanting to run for fear that an airport officer would stop her because she looked too suspicious. Bonesteel wouldn't let her get out of his sights. She swiftly made her way over to the baggage claim area. This was going to be the deciding factor about whether or not she would lose Bonesteel.
As she nervously waited, the hunter stood beside her, also looking for his luggage among other things. Her eyes opened wide in victory as she spotted her lightweight bag on the black conveyor belt. Sarah picked it up and smirked at Bonesteel before leaving the area. The hunter snarled but remained where he stood, not wanting to make too much of a big deal of it. He couldn't prove that she had any connections with the turtles, but if she did, then the authorities would be the first to know.
*****
London sewers. 6am.
Michelangelo led Sarah through a number of twisting tunnels, both of them getting more and more worried as time passed. "So if they weren't in the lair, where could they be?" Sarah asked quietly in concern. Mike couldn't answer her question. An ominous feeling swirled around his gut. Something major had happened while he was away. He wished he knew the reason why his family had to move so abruptly.
As they neared a cross section in the tunnels, Mike slowed down to a halt. "What is it?" Sarah whispered. Mike immediately covered her mouth and held her back to the side of the dark brick wall. Ten seconds later, Bonesteel appeared at the cross section and thankfully traveled down a different tunnel. Mike silently waited for another minute before he let Sarah move away from the wall.
"That was close," Mike whispered with a slight smile, finding the incident scary yet fun at the same time. Sarah however didn't mimic his expression.
"He's searching for Leo and Venus," Sarah whispered worriedly.
"I know. But we'll just have to find them before he does," Mike whispered in response. Taking her by the hand, Mike led Sarah in the opposite direction from Bonesteel.
*****
"We have to go back!" Venus argued with a loud and slightly wavering voice.
"We can't Venus. It's too dangerous! The cops are still searching the sewers. We've just got to hope that Mike can find us," Leo explained, trying his best to calm her down. They had never argued between themselves before.
"Hope?! But what if he doesn't? Leo… I don't want to lose someone else! I don't want to lose Mike," Venus said, still raising her voice, yet an upset tone could still be heard underneath. Leonardo continued to watch in silence as Venus complained in front of him. He could tell that she was fighting the urge to slap him across the face, but he knew she'd never do it. Leo looked past her frustrated stance only to see a tired mother. Her eyes had bags underneath them, her body looked stressed and her bandanna looked limp. Caring for a baby had finally taken its toll. Raphael had exhausted her.
The baby fidgeted in his sleep, causing Venus to stop her arguing immediately, not wanting to wake him up. She stared at the floor as she couldn't find the strength to look Leo in the eyes, not after everything she had said to him. A small tear rolled down her right cheek which she quickly wiped away. "Look at me. I'm a mess. I probably look like a monster," Venus said as she wiped away even more tears. The two turtles giggled lightly when Venus realised the irony in what she had said.
"I'm sorry," Venus apologised for yelling at him. "I'm just so tired and emotional these days…"
"I know," Leo understood. The two turtles were silent for a moment. Venus walked over to observe her lightly sleeping child when awkwardness was starting to settle amongst the two. Leonardo silently watched as Venus gently caressed the baby's face with compassion and remorse. Leo couldn't hold it in anymore and finally asked her the question that had been bothering him for months.
"Did you love him?… Did you love Raphael?" Leonardo questioned boldly. Slightly startled by the directness of what he had asked, Venus gave him an uncertain look before returning her gaze to her son.
"… I don't know anymore." She answered so softly that it could have been classified as a whisper. "It's hard to say now in hindsight. But I did care about him greatly," Venus added. "I'll never forget him. How can I? Whenever I look at his son, I see him instead," Venus admitted.
"What are we going to tell him about his father?" Leo asked the inevitable.
"…I don't know. Whatever seems natural and honest at the time I suppose," Venus answered softly, eyes still glued to the restless baby turtle. "But I'd never tell him that he was a mistake. Raphy's a blessing… He's all we have left to remind us about his father," Venus analysed. Leonardo let out a quiet sigh and walked over to stand beside Venus to look at the turtle infant.
"I hope he doesn't grow up to hate me," Leonardo said seriously. A small smile slowly appeared across Venus' face.
"Why would he hate you?" Venus asked even though she knew the answer.
"Because he's half of his father," Leo said smugly, allowing a smile to creep across his face as well.
"But don't forget that he's also half of his mother. So things should even out," Venus replied smartly. The awkward feeling returned and settled itself between the two adults once more. Like Leo, Venus finally built up the courage to ask the question that had been plaguing her for months.
"Leo… That day, back in the glass prison, when you said you loved me… did you really mean it?" Venus asked timidly. Leonardo looked her directly in the eyes and only took a few moments to think about his answer.
"Every word," he whispered simply. A shy yet uncontrollable smile appeared on his face when Venus began to quietly blush. Grasping the rare moment, Leo slowly moved in closer, and so did Venus. He stared into her suddenly fascinating eyes just inches away from her face, before closing his own to move even closer. Venus' heart fluttered when she realised that she would experience what she had dreamed of for the past couple of months… a kiss from Leo.
Naturally Raphael decided it was time to cry before the female's wish could be answered. Disrupted, the two turtles backed away before anything happened between them. Leonardo groaned inwardly while Venus sighed in annoyance.
"I'll fix him up," Leo offered kindly as Venus looked tired enough as she was. He picked Raph up and immediately he calmed down. A yellow smelly liquid rolled down Leo's arms. The male turtle glared at the toothless grinning baby. "I'm telling you… this child has it in for me," Leo said grimly. Venus couldn't help but laugh.
"No he doesn't," she said with a smirk, handing him a towel.
"Yes he does! First he kicks me, then he won't smile around me, and the only time he does is when he's peeing on me!" Leonardo argued his case. Venus giggled and shook her head.
"It's all just coincidence," she reasoned with a cheeky grin.
"Coincidence my ass," Leo muttered under his breath as he cleaned both Raph and himself up. Raphael baby-chuckled from on top of the blankets, flimsily waving about his chubby limbs as he lay on his tiny carapace. Leonardo couldn't find it in his heart to hold a grudge on the seemingly innocent baby, and soon the smile had reappeared on his face.
Noticing that Raphael had been properly seen to, Venus gently took hold of Leo's hand. He gazed at her tender grip before looking unknowingly into her eyes once more. Blushing slightly, heart spinning faster, Venus somehow found the courage in herself to move in closer and initiate what had been interrupted moments before. Leonardo had no intention to reject her advances. He raised a hand to nimbly embrace her soft cheek while their lips intermingled with infatuation. Both of them had their eyes closed, savouring every single moment of this forever-yearning kiss. Venus wrapped her arms around his waist in response to her instincts, and inwardly admired how such a strong ninja could produce such delicate touches to both her cheek and lips.
Then, with no warning at all, Leo's kiss seemed to go limp. The hand caressing her face began to shake slightly, his breath became wavered, and he no longer responded to Venus' touches. Confused and worried at the same time, Venus stepped back to ask what was wrong. But she never had to ask. Her jaw gaped in surprise and horror when she observed the single silent tranquilizer dart lodged in Leo's neck.