Chapter 11: The Wharves Revisited.
"Raphael wake up," Leonardo gently nudged the child that was still sleeping soundly in his arms. The boy groaned and slowly opened his eyes while Leo took that as a cue to place him back on the ground. Still holding onto the adult's hand, Raphael observed the disturbed sight of the lair.
"Where's Mummy?" he asked, staring worriedly into Leo's eyes. When Leonardo didn't answer immediately, Raphael's bottom lip began to quiver in sadness and fright.
"Hey, it's going to be okay," Leo soothed, bending down and giving the already troubled child a much needed hug. "But we both have to be strong now. You've got to help me out," Leonardo instructed him. Raphael slowly nodded his head, sniffled, and wiped away the tears starting to form in his eyes. Leo gave him an encouraging smile, even though he didn't feel like smiling right at that particular moment.
Leonardo stood back up and let out a sigh of despair, realising that he was in quite a predicament. He knew he had to return to Bonesteel's warehouse to rescue the rest of the family, but the real problem was what he was going to do with Raphael in the meantime. Leo couldn't leave him at the lair as it was too much of a risk that Bonesteel might return, and also because they'd have to relocate their home and coming back with Venus and Mike to pick up Raphael would slow the escape down. He had no choice but to take Raphael with him.
"Raph, gather up your things. We're moving again," Leo said. He watched as the little boy waded through the mess on the floor, trying to collect his belongings. With another sigh, Leo started to clean up as well; gathering up the weapons, maps, spare food and books, before putting them all into one single large bag. As they packed, Leo wondered if the boy would mention the shell coffee table he saw, yet he never did in his extreme quietness.
Raphael silently watched as Leonardo fished out a few bottles of liquid. The adult gave him a small smile, before beginning to carefully make a couple of potions. "What, what are you doing?" the boy finally opened his mouth to ask. Leonardo appreciated the break from silence.
"I'm making some special stimulants," he answered. Raphael gave him a confused look. Leo chuckled. "Well, if Mummy and Mikey are acting funny and sleepy, I can give them this and they should wake up and return to normal in no time," Leonardo explained more simply. Raphael gave him a tiny nod. Leo could see that the boy was still rather shaken from his encounter with Bonesteel.
Five minutes later, Leonardo felt he was prepared, however he knew that Raphael didn't feel the same way. Bag on his back and stimulant potions in his belt, Leo looked at the child in worry. What was he going to do with him? Raphael shuffled his feet uncomfortably, not really knowing what was going on. The child watched as Leo lowered the bag to ground, zipped it open and then fished through its contents. Raphael stared at the weapon Leo presented before him. "Raph, I want you to hold this. If you ever get in trouble, don't be afraid to use it," Leonardo explained before handing him a single sai. He knew that Raphael was way too young to hold a weapon, but he hoped that it would give the child some extra courage and make him feel more secure and safe.
Raphael looked at the heavy sai in his little hand, admiring the sleekness of the metal and the smooth and ornate handle. Although he had no idea on how to use it, he felt more confident with it in his grasp. Raph traced the prongs with a finger, slowly moving it towards the tip. "Watch out. It's very sharp," Leo cautioned him. Raphael nodded while his eyes still remained on the polished weapon. Taking a deep meditative breath, Leonardo knew it was time to leave.
Hand in hand, Leo led the child out of the lair for the last time and headed back towards Bonesteel's warehouse. It was a long walk and Raphael's legs became tired easily, yet this time Leo couldn't carry anymore weight due to the large bag on his back, unless he wanted to tire himself out before they even got there. About three blocks away from the wharf, Leonardo thought it would be wise to surface from the sewers there and then, worried about the possibility that the hunter could have left a trap in the upcoming tunnels.
Raphael slowly climbed up the nearest ladder with Leo following close behind. His little legs shook with fear as he looked down into the engulfing blackness below. "Don't look down. Just keep going up. We're almost there. You're doing great," Leo encouraged. Raphael gulped and continued to climb, stopping when he reached the manhole at the top. Leonardo carefully placed an extended arm out in front, and, with a grunt of effort, slid the metal cover to the side.
Raphael climbed out and stepped into the cobblestone alley. His eyes darted in wonderment at all the new sights and smells. Various cars drove past only a few metres away at the entrance of the alley, the moon shined in his face and the cold wind chilled his reptilian skin. A whispered instruction from Leo distracted him from his absorbed state. The adult once again took his hand and led him into the deep and darkening shadows.
The two turtles moved silently through the streets as best they could, Raphael trying his best to follow Leo, knowing what it meant to be spotted by unknown humans. They waited in the shadows till there were no immediate cars before crossing the road, slowly but surely getting closer and closer to Bonesteel. It wasn't long till the wharves and the warehouse were in sight, causing Raphael to grip Leo's hand even tighter. Leonardo sighed, knowing full well that they could all be captured tonight.
"C'mon. Let's go in," Leo whispered to Raphael, regardless of the consequences. The warehouse was two stories high with a corrugated iron roof halfway up the wall on one side to shelter the ground floor. Leo pulled out a grappling hook and threw it towards a gutter on the low roofing. Leo gave it two tugs to make sure it was stable before allowing Raphael to climb onto his back and sit upon the bag. The turtle slowly climbed up the rope, placing one hand strongly in front of the other.
Holding Raph's scared hand, Leonardo silently led him across the corrugated iron roof, desperately looking for the open window on the second floor that he had used to get in the first time. A sigh of relief swept over him when he found the particular entrance again. Using ninja stealth, Leonardo stepped in, quickly checking that there was no danger about. Raphael naturally followed, not wanting to be left alone, but his little legs stumbled over the windowsill causing him to fall.
Leonardo swiftly picked the boy up and covered his mouth, scared that the hunter would have heard them from downstairs. When there was no noise, Leo let out the breath that he had been holding and placed Raphael back down, placing a finger on his lips to signal complete silence. Raphael nodded with fearful eyes and held onto the adult's hand for comfort once again.
From the top of the stairs that led down to the ground floor, Leonardo spied the hunter on the couch with his feet on the coffee table, causing Leo nearly scream out in rage. Trying to keep calm, Leo noticed that Leeroy was still unconscious from their last encounter. In preparation, Leo tucked Raphael under his arm, and waited till Bonesteel had turned around. Timing was everything. All of a sudden a baby started wailing and caught the human's attention for the moment. Leonardo used the precious opening to jump over the stair's banister and silently land on the concrete ground floor of the warehouse.
The turtles were lucky that there were so many crates and junk littering the place as Leo found a new hiding spot in no time. From there he could get a better view of the area. Mike, Venus and Diana were all in the one cage. Diana was currently crying her eyes out, trying to get the attention of her mother. Venus however looked like she had been drugged, obviously so she could still somewhat care for Diana. Mikey on the other hand was clearly tranquilized because apart from his deep breathing pattern, he wasn't moving at all.
Bonesteel had his back turned away from Leo and Raph, staring intently at the screaming baby in the cage. Leaving Raphael where he was, Leonardo made his move. Sword raised, Leo tentatively shifted closer and closer, until he was right behind the hunter. Sensing the turtle, Bonesteel turned around and immediately pointed the tranquil gun in his hand towards the reptile. But Leo was quicker. With a swift movement, Leo hit Bonesteel over the head with the hilt of his sword rendering him unconscious. Leonardo almost laughed when he realised that the same simple attack worked for the second time that day.
Leo stepped over the hunter's body, deciding to deal with him later. After a quick search the keys were found and the cage was opened was once again. With a bit of effort, he pulled Venus out. Barely being able to stand, the female turtle flung her body onto Leo, allowing him to support her. Leonardo wasn't too worried until Venus started to seductively kiss his neck. "Not now Venus," he rejected as he stepped away, arms outstretched as he held her unstable shoulders. Venus only giggled in response and tried to hug him again, completely not self-conscious. Leo raised an eye-ridge at her tempting antics. Venus had never drunken alcohol before, but if she did, Leo could easily imagine that she would act this way.
Leonardo took a small bottle of one of the stimulant potions he had made earlier out of his belt. He unplugged the top and held the object under Venus' nose, allowing the strong scent to snap her out of the drugged state she was in. Still recovering, Leo gently laid her on the ground knowing that he would need her help in moving Mike back down into the sewers. Leonardo then withdrew Diana from the cage, cradling her in his arms in hopes of calming her down.
Raphael cautiously emerged from his hiding place and walked over to the rest of his family. He shuddered at the sight of Bonesteel even though the hunter was still unconscious. Yet for some reason, the human seemed intriguing. Raph watched intently as Bonesteel harmlessly breathed in and out, stepping closer with confidence to observe the usually dangerous sight. Raphael's eyes furrowed when he thought he saw Bonesteel's hand twitch, and moved in even closer to inspect it more carefully. "Stay away from him Raph," Leo cautioned, still trying his best to calm Diana. But Raphael was too curious and gave the hunter a little poke in the leg.
Bonesteel snapped awake and grabbed the boy's leg causing Raphael's to scream with terror, dropping his sai in the midst of the drama. With Diana still being carried, Leo withdrew his single sword and swiftly advanced towards the hunter. Grinning with preconceived success, Bonesteel reached for his gun with his spare hand. Yet he was too late.
A bloody gash from his right hip to his left shoulder appeared; Leo's sword was stained with Bonesteel's blood. The turtle kicked the gun out of arm's reach, put away his sword and pulled Raphael out of the hunter's dying grip. Bonesteel gasped for air as he angrily locked eyes with Leonardo. Blood continued to gush out of his stomach. Leo could have finished him off, yet he wanted him to suffer for what he had done to his brother. Bonesteel would die from blood loss in ten minutes.
Venus wiped her eyes and slowly stood up, finally regaining consciousness. She stared at the human gasping for air on the ground. "What happened?" she asked.
"I'll tell you later," Leo said briskly, wanting to get out of the warehouse as quickly as possible. "I'll need your help with Mike," Leo stated while handing Diana over to Raphael. Venus nodded and helped Leo drag out the large unconscious turtle. They both tried to stand Mike upright before moving either side of him to support his weight on their shoulders.
Taking one last look at the dying human, the turtle family began to leave the warehouse. Although Leo wanted to see Bonesteel's final moments, he knew that they shouldn't waste anymore time as Mike was already going to slow them down. 'Besides', he thought. 'The last thing Raphael needs to see right now is someone die'. A short while later, the turtles were safely in the sewers, slowly making their way towards what hoped to be a new lair.
Bonesteel clutched at his chest in absolute pain, hopelessly trying to compress the wound by himself. His hands shivered as they lost more and more blood. Knowing he didn't have much time left, Bonesteel screamed for help, but the only response he heard was a groan from Leeroy. Head still in agony from being hit with the hilt of Leo's sword, Leeroy groggily sat up and looked around. Nothing could prepare him for what he saw in front of him. Visibly shaking himself out of his shocked state, Leeroy rushed over to the warehouse's only phone and called the number reserved for emergencies. As Leeroy frantically spoke to the person on the other end, he kept a constant watch on Bonesteel as he struggled to cling on for life.