DISCLAIMER – I only own Gabby and Mindy. Oh, and the nightclub. I don't own the Golden State Freeway or any other highway or pass mentioned, though. These are true points on the map, by the way. Also, the TMNT's and their offspring are owned by other people, namely Eastman and Laird, and Wendy Peabody.
I should note that, after I had this story uploaded, it occurred to me that there was one other story out there whose title began with 'The Price of..." I think it has something to do with a pizza topping? LOL Yes, I love that story; truly hilarious. Just the same, my deepest apologies if my title offends anyone and, especially, if it offends the writer of that story. When I was titling this one, I had a mental block about it. Price of Passion was what finally came to mind.
This chapter, as well as the next two, will entail more of a flashback look at things rather than current events. The story was supposed to be a one-shot, with a brief look at what lead up to Gabby's capture. Yet, as I kept proofreading, adding more here and there, the story kept building on itself (what else is new, right?).
Where the opening chapter of this fic is set at the end, or as close to the end of the search as I will let it get, what happened before Don and the others find themselves in the nightclub is the real story.
Also, I am attempting to have several viewpoints expressed in third person narrative. I'm not certain how faithful I will be with it, though; as it depends on the muses and how they lead.
With that said, enjoy and please review as you feel led to.
Chapter Two – Picking Up the Trail!
Don sipped at his watered-down drink again, wondering why it was taking so long for the performer to make the stage. The pre-show music was still playing and he honestly thought it had already looped around a couple of times. Even the rest of the patrons were becoming antsy, an obvious statement that this delay was out of character for the singer.
As it was, he was becoming impatient, too, and a might concerned. What he felt only a moment ago, felt like someone probing the audience, mentally checking for any threats.
Someone who had ninjitsu ability and someone with whom he was quite familiar!
Just the same, why would she even need to do that? They had only arrived a few hours earlier on one of Don's unmarked jets. He had several at his disposal but would use the plain non-descript airline whenever he was traveling below the watchful radar of intended targets. Although he doubted Gabby would be watching for it, Don was not one to take chances, even less so since his abduction.
Regardless, though, their arrival would not have given Gabby enough time or opportunity for her to chance upon them. Considering the fact that she lived and worked east of town, she wouldn't have had any reason to even be close to the airstrip.
Nevertheless, when they arrived at the nightclub, they did so spordically, not as a group, but in pairs or individually. Don learned that her daily and nightly schedule would have Gabby leaving the house shortly before Thomas would have even arrived in the neighborhood. Don's valet never did sloppy work. He was always very thorough whenever called upon to infiltrate and neutralize a target. Consequently, Don had very little doubt his assistant would have allowed the Inuit woman at the house to see him, not until it was too late.
Even so, their plan was to drug the woman in such a way where she would have woken up the next morning with nothing more than a feeling of having a good night's sleep. After all, she lived there with Gabby, acting as confident, more than likely, and the children's caretaker.
At any rate, if things did not go wrong before then, by morning they would all be on their way back home.
With all the precautions that Don put into place, for Gabby to test the audience with her senses just seemed wrong. Unless the past five years had made her more cautious and, therefore, alert to any potential threat, even one as sublime as an over eager admirer.
Looking around at the gathering of so many who seemed to revere the girl's talent, that possibility would not have been too far fetched, either.
The more Don thought about it, though, the more he was convinced that that was the reason. "With her voice and her rather mysterious way of presenting herself…" he mused silently, "she could quite easily pique a man's interest." He had to chuckle then, realizing that he was over reacting only because they were so close to finally catching her. "Should have known better!" he sniggered quietly.
"Anything wrong, dear?" Cassie asked as she turned towards him, sighing impatiently.
"No, no, nothing's wrong…just - thinking about things is all," he replied, quite amused with his personal reflection.
Nevertheless and despite his previous concerns, Don would have dearly preferred extending some sort of mental feeler. However, he and the others decided from the beginning that they would not verify Gabby's presence with their own ninjitsu sensitivities. If she were on 'high alert' for any reason, no amount of mental shielding would keep her from detecting them.
The last thing they wanted, now, was to scare her into running again.
Consequently, they had gone into the nightclub virtually blind.
In contrast, it was not the way Don liked to do things. By his very nature, he preferred a more informed method of operating, especially considering what had happened in Japan five years earlier.
At the time and with what he had thought was a burgeoning friendship with the businessman, Mr. Musha, Don had allowed his guard to drop. After a set of meetings, he was convinced that the man was nothing more than a simple entrepreneur who specialized in securities. Musha had done an excellent job of portraying one, too.
Yet, Don should have known better.
As it turned out, Musha was the one who had orchestrated the kidnapping and plotted the explosion that destroyed the upper level of Don's hotel in Osaka, supposedly killing him. As it turned out, Don was quite alive, tortured and beaten, maybe, but alive nonetheless. Yet, unbeknown to the clan at the time, Musha had also been on the island when Leo and the others went to rescue their brother.
Nevertheless, though, who the man truly was still remained a mystery to the family.
Yet, one thing they knew for certain - Musha had died in the attack on Busuanga Island.
They discovered that fact when Thomas returned to the scene of Don's rescue a month later to assess the threat. It was there he found Musha's decaying remains and, by that measure alone, verified his death.
Although it ended that particular problem, Thomas was sure that there were other contributors to the plan. However, no amount of sifting through the remaining debris turned up any clues that indicated anyone involved with the rogue Foot and small terrorists cell other than Mr. Musha.
Even though it seemed odd that only one man could conduct such a complicated plot as he did, it appeared he had truly acted alone. Nevertheless, as Don had often found, the more high profile a threat was, the more often it distracted from a bigger and more nefarious perpetrator. In spite of that, though, when the family told him about what Gabby had done, he had to put any investigation aside and focus on finding his niece instead.
When he had first heard the news, Don was livid! "With all that we've given to her and she does THIS?" he had fumed. "Didn't that girl listen to any of the lessons we taught her?"
"Don, we tried. Honestly. I tried talking sense to her; Raph tried talking to her, even Cassie did. But…well, what can I say; the apple rarely falls far from the tree." Leo groaned, knowing how equally stubborn his other brother could be.
"That's acorn and you're most certainly correct," Don had replied. "Just the same, we need to keep only those informed who have the need to know; Gabby must not get into the papers. Otherwise…"
"Yes, I understand. We can't take any chances."
"My god, Leo; if she talks to the wrong people, with what we do…we'll be maligned worldwide." Don then swore under his breath and wished he had put off the Japan meeting at the start when he had the opportunity to do so. With the mysterious kunoichi, Ramiela, in their midst at the time, he had seriously considered postponing getting together with Musha. "What is it they say about hindsight?" he had mused silently to himself. Then, he admitted, with Leo concurring most agreeably, "I worry more about someone catching her, though, before we do; she's worth a lot to us, all things considered."
Although at the time he was still bed-ridden from his injuries, it did not keep Don from making the necessary phone calls to enhance the scouts that Leo had already put into place. Once he had sufficiently recovered from his wounds, however, he threw his very being into the task of finding his wayward niece.
In the end, it had completely taken over his life and, now, with the prospect of ending her little flight to what she considered safety for her children, Don was ready to retire.
Of course, his marriage to Cassandra had been the one highlight over the past four and a half years. More often than not, it alone had managed to keep a smile on his face. Don had finally found love and in all the right places, too. He would have been a perfectly contented turtle, as well, if not for Gabriella.
However, while Don was recovering in Japan and before he had popped the question to Cassie, Leo and the others had headed back to the states. Once they had settled in at Mike's and then began their plan of attack, Leo made a point of keeping Don abreast with each step his family made in recovering Gabriella.
It took some time, filtering through all of the leads and clues that Don's informants and trackers had collected. Where she was reportedly to have cloaked herself from head to toe made it easy for bus drivers and the like to remember her. Considering she was six months pregnant and had a toddler to manage only increased the odds that someone would take notice of her.
At any rate, when Leo finally figured out the girl's route, he learned that Gabriella had left Fresno for Bakersfield. She slipped out from under Don's radar for only a day before his trackers saw her doubling back to Fresno once again on yet another bus. The detective reported that, instead of resting up as she did in Bakersfield, she had taken a smaller public transport that traveled west along the 198 to the Golden State Freeway. From there, she hopped yet another public coach and traveled south until the bus doubled back to Bakersfield. There, she seemed to have disappeared, and no matter how many hotels and motels they searched, not one of Don's detectives could turn up the smallest of clues on the girl.
It was obvious, then, that someone had taken her in and was hiding her. Considering the vast farmlands and ranches in the area, it would have taken an army to flush the girl out and, at the same time, stir up too many questions.
It was something that Don loathed to have happen.
However, a month later and after scouring the city and surrounding countryside, one of the informants happened to see her. Had he taken the lunch break he was contemplating and had he not watched the traffic along the 58 Highway, no one would have ever known she had left town when she did. Yet, as it turned out, the tracker did see her, dressed in her familiar hood and taking a bus along that route and towards Mojave.
So far, it seemed the clan's luck of keeping track of Gabby was still going strong.
It was obvious then that, despite what the cabbie had said, Los Angeles was just a ruse of Gabriella's to distract them from her true destination.
The problem was no one knew what her destination was.
Just the same, Leo had to admire Don's security detail for keeping tabs on her as well as they did.
In addition, though he was greatly irritated with his daughter-in-law, he had to admire Gabriella's cunning, too.
At first, no one gave it a moments thought, although in hindsight, everyone should have. After several of Don's private detectives checked through the small towns and farmlands along the Tehachapi Pass, two weeks had lapsed. Where they had to tread carefully and be very cryptic with their investigation, it took time to scour the area. However and after they came up empty without a trace of the girl, it was then that it finally occurred to Mike that Gabby may have burrowed in at the estate in the Mojave Desert.
Unfortunately, when the detectives investigated the largely ignored compound, they found it vacant, although there were signs of someone jury rigging the security measures. Upon further search, they found debris in the trash bin and one bedroom in a bit of disarray, as if someone had recently used it. There were pans and a few dishes and cups in the dishwasher as well, a testament that Gabby had indeed been there. They had also found one of Mindy's small toys left behind, as well.
"I feel so stupid, Leo!" Mike had grumbled painfully one evening when it was determined that Gabby and Min had been at the estate. How long she had been gone before they investigated the site could not be determined. Just the same, Mike was thoroughly disgusted with himself. "The direction she was going in should have clued us where she was headed," he had lamented sourly.
"Has she ever been there before, though?" Leo asked.
"No, she hasn't. That isn't to say that she didn't know about it, though. Seth was born there so he probably told her about it at one time."
When questioned, Seth did admit to telling his wife a few years before about the brief history he had in Mohave, although he had been only a child at the time. Yet, the worse news was, he had even told Gabby where it was located, although only in conversation and before she would even have need for that knowledge.
Again, hindsight seemed to tease them with every turn in their search.
Another month went by without a single shred of information where she was currently hiding. Again, the family was certain she had befriended someone and that this someone was taking great pains to conceal her from the general population. Either that or she found an abandoned house or shack to 'hole up' inside.
Just the same, where it was already June, she was closing in on her expected due date. Moreover, the weather in the desert of the Antelope Valley was starting to get quite warm. Although Gabby's and Mindy's genetics would predisposition them to cope well with the intense temperatures, they still needed to be close to a medical facility. Considering she was trying to stay below radar would mean finding a place where oddities like theirs were the norm.
That would rule out the desert valley community.
Therefore, the only other logical place to hide and not draw attention to her would be Las Vegas.
Overall, it took three months to get to that point, three very long and frustrating months.
During that time, Seth was beside himself with worry, spending a large part of each day in his sanctuary in the woods. He would spend hours out there, just meditating and praying.
Yet, mostly he went out there to escape the depression that had come over Mike's household. It was nearly suffocating, like a wet wool blanket. Come evening time, it often took Leo to pry his son out from within the comfort of the natural enclosure. Only when they would make short hops to suspect cities would he occasionally get involve with the investigation.
Otherwise, he would either sequester himself in his house or out in the woods.
Consequently, his behavior began to grate against one particular member of the clan.
Obviously, Raph was the most irked with Seth's
behavior, "Leo, what's wrong with that boy of yours? I would think he'd be racing all over this
godforsaken state lookin' for his wife!"
he had complained one evening. It was bad enough that Devon
was in the doldrums with losing Rama, but to have two in the depression pits
irritated Raph to no end.
They had come up empty once again with the second go-round in Bakersfield, just Leo and Raph making the trek to assist the trackers, while everyone else stayed home. It didn't make sense to have the entire family scouring the countryside, in the end only advertising their presence with the locals. Until they knew for certain, until the informants could pinpoint her exact location, and until Gabby settled down somewhere, they would keep their team to a minimum number.
"Seth is going through depression, Raph." Leo explained, "Besides, he thinks he can contact her in some way through meditation."
His brother snorted as he shook his head, "If YOU haven't been able to do that, then what makes him think HE can?"
"He's married to her, he loves her," Leo replied, "and he knows she's frightened."
"And pissed as hell – and, I wonder why THAT is, oh mighty leader-of-the-clan!" Raph seethed angrily as he glared over at his brother.
Shoving his ire down, Leo replied, "I'm not mighty, Raph, I'm flesh and blood like you. I will admit to making the mistake of being a bit overbearing with her. Maybe I should have given her more time to recover from what Rama did; maybe I should have talked with her a bit more. That's all in the past, now." He sighed as he turned away, "But as far as contacting Gabby is concern, I don't have the close relationship that Seth has with her." He looked back at his brother as he said, "They're husband and wife and, because of that, he has an advantage."
"So, why's he having problems contacting her, then?" his brother fumed, plopping himself down on one of the two beds in their hotel room.
"Fear and shutting her mind down. Gabby's running scared, she knows she's probably made a huge mistake, but – due to her inherent stubborn streak…" he paused for emphasis and soon saw the roll of his brother's eyes, only to then continued, "As a result, she's unable to change the course of her decision."
"Well," Raph finally calmed as he sighed, "that I can certainly understand."
Nevertheless and as the clues and leads filtered in over the next month, it seemed as if Vegas had been Gabby's last stop, without any word or evidence that she furthered her travels.
Now, sitting there in the nightclub and waiting for the performance to start, Don grumbled to himself. There had been so many other opportunities after Vegas, but Vegas had been the closest they had come to catching her. Regardless, though, on his 'watch', two months was a long time to locate anyone; especially someone with unique physical attributes that Gabby and her daughter had. Although he was still convalescing in Japan at the time, in retrospect Don had thought on more than one occasion that she might have had outside assistance in Vegas, too.
Either that or a lot of luck.
Just the same, the amount of time it took for them to determine the city she was in would have seen her newest child into the world.
When Don had thought about it back then, it had made perfect sense to hole up in such a busy city as Vegas. With as many oddities that lived in and frequented the chaotic town, one more would hardly stand out.
Don had to admire Gabby's ingenuity and cleverness. Yet, he was also grateful that Gabriella had not furthered her ninjitsu training any more than she had. Otherwise, they might never have found her.
Now, as he waited for the program to start, he was wondering, seriously wondering if maybe there were already too many of them in attendance.
As he looked over at his wife, her head covered in the same fur-lined hood as his, he worried. Despite her own strict training in the 'arts', Cassie was the most emotional of the group. Yes, she could effectively shut herself down when the need arose. However, the search for Gabby had gone on for so long that her mother's resolve had weakened just a little. She was anxious to get her daughter and grandchildren back with the clan.
With as many years that Cassandra had sacrificed to keep Gabbu safe, it seemed ironic that her own daughter would end up slipping away from their reach. Just the same, he could feel the anticipation from her, even as she held herself back. Cassie's eagerness would peak every once in a while, only to be quickly squelched right afterwards.
Maybe that was the reason why 'someone' had mentally scanned the audience.
"My love," Don leaned in, pressing his hooded face against his wife's as he whispered carefully, "You need to back your emotions up a bit."
"I'm trying, Don, really I am…but - it's been so long and we're so close," Cassie moaned quietly.
"I know, I know…but if she senses you're here, she'll know the rest of us are too," her husband responded.
"I don't like what you're planning, you do know that, don't you?" she turned to him, catching the attention of the others as she now faced her mate.
"Trust me, Love, she'll have no other recourse but to follow. Her affection for her children is too strong; it will all work out. Please, trust me," Don cooed encouragingly, smiling a little as he caught just the faintest of irritation from his wife.
Turning back to glance at the stage, Cassandra muttered under her breath, "It better work out, oh husband of mine; otherwise I'm taking a separate flight back home!" and sighed deeply, as if in foreboding.
Don hugged her tightly to him, taking her right hand, and squeezing it, "It will, Love, it will."
COMMENTS –
PRETENDER FANATIC – Yes, I decided to explore a thought or two that I had while writing RR. As it's turned out, my one-shot became a multi-chaptered story. Glad you're not too burned out with Gabriella! I'm not doing this for reviews, though, as much as I'm exploring a bit of the dark side of what that bratty girl might have done had she succeeded in slipping passed the influence of her clan. Ah, I researched a bit on the Inuit words. I found a site that has a few slang words and phrases – some hilarious, btw. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.
PACPHYS – Yes, Alaska. I kept thinking where Gabby might 'hole up' if she were to run away. I thought of having her find the old lair in New York. Then, maybe have her go to Florida. All of these places, though, would be the first locations her family would consider. So, Alaska was it! I thought of you, too. So, if ever I misrepresent that state in any way or get it wrong, please feel free to let me know. I am doing as much research as the Internet allows, so my source – unless volunteered hint hint – will be limited to that. Ah, as far as elements go, fur-lined coats with hoods, gloves, and mukluks will help her survive. I remember that bit of trivia about it having the most easterly point. Something to do about the half-way point on the glove or whatever. My dad had one of those machines and he did say they are a lot of fun. But, expensive to keep up. He sold his after a couple years of use. Hiding is something she used to do and with whatever she learned during her lessons from the clan – before she became pregnant with Mindy – she recalled well enough. Ah, Aunt Roady just sort of popped to mind as I was writing it. Unimportant as far as the story goes, but it did allow Raphers to comment, though. Geese I don't like, but I dearly love the little birdies that frequent my backyard, especially now where they are all 'twitter-paiting'! LOL As far as how long Gabby ran and hid, I wanted enough time to allow for some bitterness to develop. Can we say 'angst'? Anyway, thanks for reading and for your long review! They are always quite interesting and enjoyable to read. Be blessed.
LUNAR-NINJA – Where'd she go is quite the comment and true to chapter two. I have more conflict between Leo and Raph in subsequent chapters, so just sit tight, okay? Where I seem to be adding more and more to each assumed update, it only increases the number of chapters – which is not always a good thing if the plan is to make a short story. SIGHS. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.
GEMDRIVE – Ah, poor Seth indeed. He's anxious, bitter, angry, longing, desperate…all rolled into one very frustrating mutant. He won't know which way to go when the time comes, believe me. As far as Gabby contacting him; she wouldn't dare. Don is an expert in security as well as tracing people. If Gabby called him – and I'm not saying she hasn't since it's only chapter two so far – Don would be onto her so fast she wouldn't have time to even put her coat on. I won't say if she ever contacts him, but for now, let's just leave it as it is, okay? LOL As for Don and Cassie, well, after all those years, something good had to happen between them, eh? GRINS Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.
RAMICA – Well, I done did it; I decided to go with the story. Thanks for your input and encouragements. Then again, like I really need to worry about another story. GAH. So far, no one has sent me hate mail regarding Gabby, yet. Hey, go with those ideas if the muses lead. But, finish your other stories first, though; don't be like me! I wouldn't recommend it, trust me. LOL Researching Alaska has been fun and I was quite excited about how the Inuit's see nature and all. It should fit rather nicely with Gabby's desire to keep hidden. Not that she will for long, of course. Bwahahaha… Hope this chapter isn't boring. It's quite hard to do flashbacking without dragging some things out. As it is, there will be at least two more chapters after this one dedicated to the amount of searching her family did and where it took them. In defense, though, I did gloss over much of it, with only a little extension to the obviously more interesting locations. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.