Book 2 of Cat and Mouse
Title: Better Off Dead
Author: Jayde
Rating: PG-13 for Language, Violence, and Adult Content
Credits: Thanks to Sassy for the beta read. (Hope I didn't mess up your studying!)
Summary: FBI agent Samantha Gallagher, now a friend of the turtles, starts working on a new case that may spell the end of her career.
Author's Notes: Wow! Thanks for the great response to the second installment. To Fallen Hikari – yes, I do like to string people along. How did you guess? (evil laughter). Thanks to chibiroseangel, Reinbeauchaser, and pacphys. And pacphys, for the record, I don't own a drip coffee maker either. Because coffee pots are expensive.
Chapter 2:
12 years earlier …
"It's okay, Daddy."
John Gallagher looked over at the 14-year-old redhead seated next to him in the pew. He scrubbed at his face with his hand, and returned his attention to the gleaming dark coffin in front of him. His heart started to pound again, and he swallowed thickly to keep the tears at bay. A soft hand rested on his, and he squeezed the fingers gently.
"Thank you, sweetheart," he replied gruffly.
"When I grow up, I'm gonna be a cop, too," his daughter said firmly. John glanced around the church at the uniforms around him. Nearly everyone present was with the police department, or married to a cop.
"Why don't you go help your cousin with the guest book?" John said, ignoring his daughter's statement.
"Daddy …," the girl began to protest.
"Just go, Samantha," John ordered.
-
The lair was mostly dark, save for the flickering television screen at one end. Sam walked through, her tennis shoes almost silent, and passed the couch. She noted the occupants with a tired smile. Mike was there, with a little human girl curled on each side. They were watching 'Power Puff Girls'.
"What are these?" Rachel asked sleepily, touching the nunchuck in Mike's belt. He gazed down at the little girl, and smiled.
"It's a weapon."
"Is it sharp?"
"Nah, but it hurts if you get hit with it," Mike answered. Sam continued on her way and stepped into Don's lab. The lights were on in here, and Juliet was sitting on one of the stools.
"I think you need to give me a little more information about your case," Sam ordered as she joined the others. Don nodded to a vacant stool, but Sam was too agitated to sit down.
"It's my ex," Juliet started. Leo was leaning against the wall, and Raphael was sitting on the edge of Don's desk. Juliet ran her fingers along the bottom row of keys of Don's keyboard. "My ex-husband is a senior agent in the FBI. He's … obsessed with us getting back together. He broke into my apartment repeatedly, scared off my employer, my friends …" Juliet ran out of steam, and just looked at her hands. "I think … I think he killed a friend of mine, back in D.C."
"You think?" Don queried from his spot on another stool.
"She was shot to death in her own house. The police said it was a home invasion," Juliet explained. "After that, I ran. We arrived in New York three days ago, and the local field office found us almost immediately."
"Jesus," Sam whispered. She sank down onto the stool she had refused earlier. "And he's using the bureau to do all this."
Juliet nodded, and wrapped her arms around herself. "What are you going to do?" Juliet asked the agent.
"I don't know," Sam responded honestly. "I'm not going to tell him where you are, but … I don't know. Can I ask why you divorced?"
"He was abusive to me, and a few times to Noelle," Juliet admitted, her eyes downcast. "He didn't want Noelle. I wasn't … I wasn't supposed to get pregnant again."
"Asshole," Raphael noted softly.
"You're safe here," Leo insisted, his tone unyielding. "No one will harm you, and you do not have to go back. I promise."
Juliet released a pent up breath, relief evident on her face as she stood up. "I should get the girls to bed." Sam nodded blindly, still reeling from the information. "Thank you, for everything you've done. I didn't know if I should trust you, but I'm glad I did."
-
"Girls," Juliet said, stepping out of Don's lab. "Time for bed."
"Can Mike read us a story?" Rachel asked. Juliet took in the tableaux – when had her daughters ever looked this comfortable around a stranger? And there had been entirely too many strangers lately.
"If it's okay with Mike …?" Juliet said, faintly questioning as she met the eyes of the turtle.
"Absolutely," Mike readily agreed. "Who wants to get carried to bed?"
"Me," Rachel responded quickly, followed immediately by Noelle, who had wrapped her little arms around Mike's forearm.
"Me, too," Sam jested, from behind Juliet.
"Get Donnie to carry you," Mike shot back with an evil grin. Sam replied with a little smile, and took his place on the couch as he stood up. Mike lifted the two girls, one in each arm, and turned towards the stairs. Rachel squealed with glee.
"Mommy, look! Mike can carry both of us!"
"I see, sweetie," Juliet commented. She followed Mike on his journey to the bedroom that had been cleaned out for the little girls. Seeing that his hands were occupied, Juliet stepped around him and opened the door. Inside was a good-sized mattress on the floor, and a basket of toys that the guys had gathered together.
Mike set both girls on their feet, although Noelle wobbled a little before she got her balance.
"You have to leave," Rachel said, pointing at Mike. Mike staggered back, his hand to his chest.
"I thought you wanted a story?" Mike questioned upon being thrown out.
"We have to change into our 'jammies first," Rachel explained in a 'duh' tone. Mike gasped in mock horror, and put a hand over his eyes. Then he bounced around like a pinball searching for the door. Rachel and Noelle laughed at his antics, and Juliet found herself smiling along. Finally, Mike went outside the door. Juliet noted that her luggage had made its way in here, and she dug out nightgowns for both girls. Once she had battled both girls into their sleepwear, she tucked them under the covers.
"It's safe," Juliet called out. Mike came in, his hand still over his eyes, and groped for the bed. Rachel squealed in delight as Mike flopped on the end of the mattress.
"You can look now," Rachel instructed. Mike took his hand away and peeked at the girls with one eye.
"What story do you guys want?" Mike inquired, leaning on one elbow.
"Cinderella," Rachel responded with a cheery shout. Mike made a sour face, and Juliet hid a grin behind a hand. Mike stuck out his tongue at the young mother.
"Cinderella, huh?" Mike said. He sighed – the deep, put-upon sigh of the overburdened storyteller. "Okay. Once upon a time, there was a girl, and she lived a really miserable life with her two hideous stepsisters. Their names were Leonara and Raphaela …"
Juliet settled down, her back against the wall, and watched as the turtle mesmerized the two children with his slightly unusual telling of the classic tale. For whatever reason, the fates had thrown her here with these strange beings. But the fates had been kind this time – Juliet relaxed as she watched her daughters' eyes growing heavy as the turtle's voice grew softer. She felt her own eyes begin to close.
"And so Cinderella was able to go to the ball with the help of her fairy godmother, Samantha, and got to dance with the dashing prince Michaelangelo."
Juliet smiled, and let her eyes drift shut, lulled by the momentary peace of safety.
-
"You've got a problem."
"No shit," Samantha sighed. She stopped walking, and leaned against the brick wall of the sewer tunnel. Once, she had been sort of disgusted by her trips down here. Now it was almost comforting to be in this fragrant darkness.
"What are you going to do?" Don queried. He, too, had halted, and he sat down on the metal pipes that ran along the wall. They were about the right height for a seat.
"I have absolutely no idea," Sam breathed.
"You're going to have a fight on your hands if you try to take her topside and turn her in to the feds," Don explained. It wasn't a threat, but there were shadings of warning in his tone. Sam studied him across the width of the tunnel. "Leo made a promise to keep her safe. You know him."
Sam nodded. She did know. Leo would keep his word no matter what the cost to her, personally.
"I could lose my job," Sam stated. "Here husband is a senior agent …"
"Ex-husband, and Juliet could lose her life."
Closing her eyes, Sam slumped against the wall. She seemed to curl in on herself a little. "God knows I don't want that," Sam said
"But you don't want to lose your job, either." Sam opened one eye, and peered at the turtle. She saw no sign of judgment or disgust on his wide face.
"Pretty selfish of me," Sam confessed softly.
"No," Don said, standing up. "Pretty human, actually." Sam winced a little.
"Those darn human traits," she retorted. "I just have to spend more time with you, I guess." Don crossed to her side of the tunnel, and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't beat yourself up," he instructed gently. "That's Raph's job." Sam chuckled. She rested her cheek on his hand.
"You're about the best friend I have, you know that?" Sam said. Her eyes were closed, and she didn't see the pained expression cross Don's face.
"Yeah, I know."
-
"The rules," Leo began, resting his hands on the back of the kitchen chair. Juliet listened attentively while Rachel and Noelle spooned up their breakfast cereal. "No leaving the lair unescorted. In fact, no trips topside at all."
"Too dangerous," Don added. "If anyone sees you, then it will be that much harder to keep you safe. Your picture was on the news this morning."
Juliet nodded in response to the prohibition.
"No phone calls or emails to anyone," Leo continued in a firm tone. "I know there must be people you would like to reassure."
"No, it's okay," Juliet responded. She toyed with her spoon as she spoke. "I've lost touch with most people in the last couple of years."
"Hey Jules," Mike greeted, wandering into the kitchen. He ruffled Rachel's hair in passing, and the girl grinned up at him.
"Mikey," Noelle crowed, spitting out half of her mouth full of cereal on to the table. Leo grimaced at the mess, and Don laughed. Mike fetched a paper towel from the counter, and scooped up the debris. He tossed it in the garbage, and then sat down next to the younger girl.
"Noelle, sweetheart, say it, don't spray it," Mike advised seriously. Rachel giggled, but managed to keep from spitting out any of her breakfast. She was eight, after all, and had more self-control.
"Are you going to play with us today?" Rachel demanded breathlessly.
"Yup," Mike said. "But after we have our practice, okay? I gotta go beat up Raph for a while, or he gets lonely."
"I heard that," Raphael called from somewhere outside the kitchen. Mike winced, knowing he would pay for that little joke on the practice floor.
"Can we watch you?" Rachel asked. Leo shrugged, and Don got up to clear up the breakfast table.
"Sure," Mike answered. "You just gotta stay out of the way."
Later, sitting between her mother and Master Splinter, Rachel watched wide-eyed as the four turtles sparred.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Her mother questioned. Splinter turned kind eyes on the worried woman.
"My sons are very competent in their skills. You must not fear for their safety in this training environment," Splinter reassured. "Have you considered learning some form of self defense for yourself? Rachel has learned something from her martial arts class, but she could learn much more from us on protecting herself," Splinter offered.
Juliet nodded. "Our lives will never be the same. I can't …," she paused, and tried to find the right words. "I can't go back to who I was before, and neither can they. He's never going to give up and let us have a regular life. We have to hide – probably forever. I want them to know everything they need to survive." Juliet flinched as her little speech was punctuated by Raphael throwing Mike to the floor with a heavy thud.
"That was so cool," Rachel said, awed. "I wanna learn how to do that."
Splinter and Juliet exchanged amused glances over the girl's head.
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