Chapter Eight
"I'm tellin' ya right now, this is NOT gonna work!"
Oh, ye of little faith, Raphael. But as I watch April fluff up her hair and reapply that ghastly deep red lipstick, I'm starting to wonder...
"I look horrible!" April cries out as she motions downward with hands. Me and Raph both bring our eyes to the black and blue velvet corset and the leather mini skirt that is hung up on the fishnets under them. "I look like a hooker!"
"You're supposed to, remember?" I look around the corner, but no sign of our target yet. "Now, before he gets here, do you remember what our plan is?"
April blows her over-the-top bangs out of her eyes and glares at me. "You mean your plan? I wasn't the one who wanted in on this!"
"Alright, fine! My plan!" Calm it, Don. You don't want to lose your help now. Not when you're this close! "You remember what you're supposed to do, right?"
"Yes," April goes back to the handheld mirror in her hand and sighs. "I go into that nasty bar, get this Rat King guy to buy me a few drinks, and get him to take me to his place where I seduce him into submission."
"Right," I look back around the corner. Ah, crazy bomb guy at twelve o'clock! " Raph and I will follow you."
"Then it'll be our turn ta seduce him into submission!" Raph laughs as he pounds his left fist into his right palm. I think, and this is just a theory, that Raph might be having just a little too much fun with this. But that's just a theory.
"And if you run into trouble-,"
April throws her mirror back into her purse then shoves her hand into my face. "I can handle it myself, Donnie. You don't have to protect me."
Break my heart, why don't you? I know she's tough. I know Leo trained her well. I know she's fully capable of holding her own. But that doesn't stop that breaking heart of mine from wanting to be her shield. At least I know that I would be. I can't say the same for Raph, who's jerking on her arm and talking so loud that he's scattering the rats in the alley.
" I mean it!" Raph pulls her again, making sure she's listening to him. " Don't fuck this up! And don't you dare even think about really sleepin' with this guy!"
Prick. I would love to just rip Raph's arm off of April and right out of its socket.
April grits her teeth and shoots daggers at Raph with her green eyes. "So, explain to me how it would be different from you screwing your secretary on your desk in the middle of the fucking day?"
Whoa, okay, I have no further need to listen to this conversation. I turned my attention back to the street in front of me, but as I shifted my line of sight, I locked my eyes with April's, and it seemed like I could feel every ounce of pain and sadness that she held within her. I shook it off quickly. I can't get sidetracked right now.
The Rat King. That name still gets to me! Where the hell did he come up with that? I'll have to ask him later while I have his balls in a vise grip.
Quick scan of profile. He's about 5'9', 165 pounds, medium build. Short red hair, big, bulging eyes. Can't say much about his face, or his attire for that matter. A long sleeve green shirt, a baggy pair of gray, ripped pants, and a long, black trench coat that reaches his feet. And what is with the gauze wrapped around his hands and his knees? He looks like someone who just escaped from a mental hospital then went back to kill everyone just for some added fun! When Shredder picks them, he really picks them!
The size of the crowd at The Dirt Barn seems about normal tonight. The regulars are all here. This place, despite it's assuming honky-tonk name, is actually anything but. All the area bikers and thieves come here, no cowboys allowed. Why the strange name, you may ask? Leo and I came to this place one night while we were tailing a drug dealer, and we were totally surprise by the raunchy atmosphere. The inside looks like one of those old country barns, hay and all, and in the center, where normal bars would hold a dance floor, was a fenced-in mud pit, where several women in revealing undergarments would wrestle each other to please the horny men around them. Leo was appalled, gave the orders to shut the place down, citing it was degrading to women. But it was only a week, just a week after Leo passed that the owner opened the place back up. Leo's body wasn't even cold, and business carried on like nothing had happened!
It seems the more I think about things like this, the less I'm liking this city. Maybe I should reconsidered moving upstate.
Mr. King lights up a smoke then enters the building, nodding at the bouncer with a large, toothy grin. I turn back to April, but soon find she's already one step ahead of me, sashaying her way down 23rd in that tight corset. Is lusting for my former flame while she swings her curvy hips in a provocative manner considered getting sidetracked?
"Okay, Donnie," Raph jabs me in the side with his elbow, bringing me back to earth. "April's inside. Let's go."
"Right." We shuffle down the alley, then back up 24th . Slowly, I might add, but only I'm to blame for Raph's handicap. I cling tightly to the shadows, as Leo as taught me to do, and I notice Raph is just hanging out there for everyone to see.
"Raph! Move back!" I motion with my hand then pull him towards me. " You have to lay low! Everyone is going to see you!"
"Everyone? Like who?" He lifts a finger and points to the bikers standing outside the front door of the Dirt Barn. "All the drunks dancin' circles around themselves over there? Come on, Donnie! Ya need ta let go of all that Japanese ninja shit that Leo told ya about! This is fuckin' New York City! In America! How the hell is any of that shit relevant here?"
"Hey, that shit you're referring to helped Leo and I to keep thousands of criminals off of the streets!"
Raph jumped back an inch at the sudden anger in my voice, his eyes wide in surprise, and I have to admit, I was pretty shocked myself to hear the harsh tone I had just used. Of course that didn't stop me from spilling my guts out all over the wet ground.
"You know, I'm getting sick and tired of you thinking you're better than everyone else! You're nothing but an arrogant, egotistical asshole who sits up on his pedestal and counts the money he made, not from being the 'fuckin Chief of Police', but from money laundering, drug dealing, and weapons smuggling!"
I had to keep myself from laughing out loud as Raph took another step back, hitting the wall behind him, and the shock grew in his brown eyes.
"Yeah, you didn't think I knew about all of that, huh?" I stepped up into his face. "You thought I wouldn't understand all of it?"
"Donnie, listen, I-I mean, I can explain-,"
I squeezed my fingertips into his shoulders and held him tightly against the wall. "Explain what? I already know how crooked you are, Raph. This town has gone to Hell because you would instead rather watch the people of this city fall under the control of the Foot than help them, like a real cop would!"
Raph pulled on my hands, his fingers sliding on the rain soaked skin. He was starting to panic, the lines on his face twisted in fear. "Come on, Don. You don't think I would really do that-,"
"I know you would, Raph. There's no thinking about it. You're so drunk on the power that you can't see what's actually going on around you! Oh and there's one more thing," I drew myself in closer, filling the space between his neck and shirt collar with my hot breath. "If I ever see you push April around like that again, you're going to regret ever hatching! Got it?"
I didn't wait for an answer. I just released Raph with a little shove and let him fall to his knees, his eyes still wide and wondering why his soft spoken brother had just gone off on him. I do have to admit, I feel a little better. Beating Raph to a bloody pulp would have been more fulfilling, but I don't think it would have helped the situation much. At least he now knows who's really in charge.
I turn back to the street entrance of the bar, just in time to see a very agitated April dragging out a very wasted bandaged bomb expert, his hands finding a cozy spot right below the line of her skirt. A low growl erupts from my throat, unexpectedly, I might add, and I hear Raph move back up to his feet. He uses the brick wall for support, then brushes the mud from his coat and pants. The tension is very thick in the air at the moment, and I'm starting to believe that maybe standing up for myself might have just given Raph the chance to beat my shell in. He moves beside of me, and we make eye contact, and from the look he gives me, I think we've agreed to keep things between us on hold while we go after April.
After tailing the two of them for about ten blocks, Mr. King pulls April into an apartment building, but it's nothing like the ones I was in earlier. The whole neighborhood is cleaner, no druggies, no hookers. There's even a doorman, who seems a little too anxious to open the frosted glass doors for the weapons expert and his lovely escort. The kid must work for tips or something.
Raph starts to move out of the alley, but I quickly pull him back and point to the back of the building. After a hasty look around, we dash around and find a hiding spot just under the fire escape.
"How are we gonna know which apartment is his?" Raph asks without looking at me, his gaze going skyward.
"April is supposed to signal us from a window," I also look up, straining my neck around.
Another uncomfortable silence erupts between us, but I pay no attention to it. I'm still pissed, and if I would even attempt in conversing with him, I'd probably end up kicking the crap out of him, or, vice versa. I'm still debating on whether or not I should arrest him after all of this is over. Maybe make him leave the country. Anywhere that he's not around me. He may be the only brother I have left, but it still doesn't make up for the fact that his hands were washed in Leo and Mikey's blood. Just thinking about all of that again makes me want to shot him in the leg again.
"What's so funny?"
I suddenly realize I had just laughed out loud from my inner thoughts and I try to cover it up with a cough. I shake my head, hoping Raph thinks I had swallowed a bug and it went down the wrong way. But, from the arched eye ridge, I don't think he's buying it. He grunts at me, then looks away, leaving me to feel like the huge idiot I am. I sigh heavily and put myself back into detective mode, but then something happens that I would have never expected in a dozen lifetimes.
Raph starts to apologize to me.
"Donnie, look, I, uh," Raph scratches at his green bald head, keeping his eyes away from mine. " I'm sorry about what I said before, about that ninja stuff." His shoulders shrug and he gives out a small chuckle. " I, uh, actually thought it was neat when Leo showed us all that crap. I just wish I would've paid more attention ta it instead of actin' like I was too good for it."
"Okay..." What? I'm speechless! Seriously, I can't think of anything to say in response to that. But it seems Raph's just getting started.
"And, about April, I, uh," He pauses again. I can tell from his face he's trying to make sure he don't come out of this conversation looking like a big pansy ass. " We've been having, uh, 'problems', and yeah, I've been losin' my temper with her, but I'd never hurt her."
"And slapping her across the face doesn't count as that?" I interrupt him, scaring Raph from his train of thought.
"I was fucked up that night," he uses for an excuse. " That's how it's been every night since..."
I knew exactly what Raph was going to say: every night since Leo died. He's been drowning his guilt away in a pool of liquor, just like I've been doing with my sorrow. Funny how two turtles who are nothing alike can use the same crutch to forget someone.
"I still don't know why April hooked up with me," Raph continues. " I know she was all cryin' and shit after Casey found out about that affair you two had, and he beat the crud outta you-"
Need you remind me?
"And she just showed up at my apartment, saying she wanted to forget everythin'. Just get away for a while."
Alright, Raph. This is not making me like you, not that I ever did. I turn my head away, hoping Raph didn't see my eyes narrow.
"I'm sorry Donnie, but April was the one who came onta me, okay? I tried to push her away, but she kept cryin' and throwin' herself at me!"
I growled again, louder this time, and whipped my head back around. "I really don't care who came on to who, okay? The bottom line is you've got her now and even though you don't deserve someone like her, you better start treating her with more respect!"
Raph backs down, but speaks up again in a hushed tone. " Yer right. I don't deserve her. I don't think she even wants me anymore."
The more Raph talks, the quieter he gets, and it's starting to scare me. He then says something else that takes me by surprise.
"She talks about ya all the time, Donnie. She still cares about ya. I can tell from the way she looks at ya."
I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. It's just too hard to believe. How could she still care about me? I have nothing. I'm a fucking beat cop, for crying out loud! I don't make hardly any money! I snubbed my adoptive parents' fortune upstate in favor of a cheap, roach infested apartment in the city! I don't own a car. I'm lucky if I get to eat once a day! I have nothing to offer her. I close my gapping jaw and sink down to the ground, holding my knees close to my chest, ignoring the plausibly fake look of sympathy I'm getting from Raphael. Like he really gives a shit.
"Hey! Guys! Up here!"
April's whispered voice travels down to us, and I scrambled to my feet, taking care not let my eyes linger on her heaving chest as it almost spills from that tight corset.
"Hurry up! He's in the bathroom!"
Raph is the first to jump to his feet, scaling the ladder like a hyperactive monkey, and waits for me to join him on the creaky, metal balcony before entering the apartment. But as I climb, I can't keep my eyes away from April's.
Or vice versa.
Raph pulls my hand as I reach the top and then follows behind me as the three of us enter the apartment. He gives out a long whistle, obviously impressed with the decor, as am I. The bedroom furniture is a dark cherry. The bed is accented with white and gold bed sheets, and mirrors cover the ceiling and two-halves of the walls. What is the deal with having that many mirrors? This guys must be severely conceited.
"Man, is this guy conceited or what?" Raph responds to the decor as he looks around, sneering at me as I pull my coat off for April.
"Okay, I did my part. It's all up to you guys now." April grabs the coat without looking away from me and slides it on.
"That didn't take very long ta juice him up," Raphael comments, his tongue on the verge of making a smart remark. "Ya musta made him really horny in that outfit."
That was a little too close, but April takes in all in stride. "Too bad I'll never wear it for you. And it wasn't because of me-," She extends her arm towards a small glass table in the corner, and it wouldn't have taken a cop to know what those lines of white powder were.
Just then, the bathroom door swings open, and those creepy bulging eyes grew even wider as The Rat King steps out in a pair of white boxers.
"You!" His raspy, snake-like voice calls out as he points his finger toward me, or towards Raph. Either way, I don't think he's very happy to see either one of us, nor does he explain himself. As quick as lightening flash, Mr. King pulls out this giant hand cannon out of the bathroom, (technically it's a Bushmaster E2S semi-automatic, but that doesn't stop it from scaring the Hell out of me!), and begins to unload two hundred rounds at us. April screams as I shove her through the open bedroom door, then join Raph behind the bed. The bullets fly everywhere, blasting enormous holes into the walls and causing large shards of glass to come crashing down on us. Raph begins to reach for his pistol, but I stop him with a slap on his hand.
"Do you really think that's going to take him out?" I scream over the loud blasts and the high pitched psychotic laughter that accompanies it. "This guy is a weapons expert, remember? He's gotta have a freaking arsenal hidden around here!"
Raph lowers his hand, ducking quick as a bullet ricochets off the bedpost above him. "Well, what are we supposed ta do then, smart guy? Ask him nicely ta stop?"
I smile smugly at Raph's comment, which I should have responded to with a punch across his smart mouth, then begin to let the wheels in my head grind for an answer, and I always start my plans with the same first thought: What would Leo do in a situation like this? My eyes drift upwards, almost scaring myself as my eyes look back at me from the ceiling. Wait, the mirrors! I think that imaginary light bulb just lit up over my head!
"Come out, little turtles," Mr. King coaxed us in a taunting sing-song pitch, his snake tongue lingering on the 'S'. I heard the clatter on the gun as it hit the floor, but held my breath as I hear two clicks this time instead of one. Great, he's doubly armed now. That makes things so much easier...yeah, right.
"Raph, I need you stall him," I whisper, and I'm greeted with narrowed brow and a dropped jaw.
"Are ya crazy?" He whispered back in a panicked tone. "You must really want me dead, don't ya?"
"He knows you! Just make conversation with him! Just be ready to shove the bed at him when I say so!" I force Raph to his feet, and I could see his body go rigid as he was welcomed by a set of twin Colts. I remove my shoes, spin around, lay back on my shell, and pressed my four toes firmly against the heavy bed frame. I just hope my leg muscles can hold out.
"Hey, uh, how ya doin'?" I hear Raph say. "Nice weather we've been havin', huh? Raining all the time now. Sucks, doesn't it?"
Rat Boy doesn't say anything, the shuffling of feet telling me he just moved a step closer. Raph gets stiffer and the fear in his voice becomes more apparent.
"So, uh, have ya talk to the Big Man lately? I, uh, heard his old lady was leavin' him." Raph glances at me out of the corner of his eye, but I wave him off. "Guess he was screwin' around on her, huh?"
"Why are you making pointless comments to me, Raphael?" Mr. King hisses. "I can't stand you. Never could. You were always just like a tapeworm, feeding off of others, just waiting for someone to shit you out so you could find another asshole to crawl into."
Ewww! I stick out my tongue in disgust as I try to block out the vision of a worm with Raph's head that's floating around in my brain. Only someone as crazy as he is would think of something that gross!
" Yeah, well, at least I didn't break into the 15th street morgue and fuck the dead bodies in there!"
Okay, maybe I was mistaken. I hear a few more footsteps through the carpeting, and I bend my neck around to look under the bed. Just a few more inches, that's all I need!
"A strange thing about fucking the living compared to the dead," King continues. "The dead doesn't talk back. Your lady friend is a little too mouthy for me. I guess it was a good thing you showed up. I was about to slap a pillow across her face and push out that pesky life force."
Raph then looks down at me. Evidently I growl louder than I think I do, but it's okay. Mr. King takes a few mores steps forward, and a smile grows on my face.
"NOW!" I scream, pushing with every ounce of strength I could muster up while Raph bends down and pushes with his shoulders. The heavy bed frame flies across the carpet and hits the Rat King in the abdomen before he could even realize what has happened, his guns dropping to his feet. I then flip my legs over my head to regain my footing, and shot myself up, locking my fingers between the ceiling and the rim of the mirror. I pull down on it a few times and after I feel it breaking away from the bolts, I bring it back down with me to the bed, letting go just as it collapses down on Mr. King's head.
And after the loud echoing of the shattering glass fades, Mr. King stands in an awkward position. His toes turned inward, his knees squeezed together. His hands are clenching his aching gut, and his head is leaning to one side, those bulging eyes locked in a state of emptiness, glaring right at me.
"What the Hell, Donnie?" Raph whispers, pointing to the shards of glass that are embedded in various regions of Mr. King's upper body. "Was knockin' the wind outta him not enough for ya?"
I jump down, trying not to look at the streams of blood that begin to run down. "Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I don't think I took in account the size of the mirror." I move closer to the stunned man and waved my hand in front of his face. Did I kill him? He's not moving. I just meant to stun him a little, not kill him. Don't dead people usually fall over when they die? I get my answer as I see his chest rising in shallows breaths. I exhale the air I was holding, almost feeling a tad bit grateful this freak was still alive.
But my gratefulness evaporates rapidly as I watch April stumble through the doorway and point, her eyes telling me that I shouldn't have moved so close to this guy.
I turn back around to find those bugling eyes looking up at me, and the sinful grin that complements the stare sends chills down my spine.
"Oh, you believe yourself to be so clever," he hissed at me. "But not even you can stop what was set into motion years ago."
"What?"
That is all I am able to get out before Mr. King lunges at me and slams me into the wall, his thick, pointy fingernails digging into my neck as he chokes me, forcing his body weight down on me through his thumbs and into my airway. My natural animal instinct stirs and I begin to fight him off, but like a bad case of karma, the years of smoking comes back to haunt me, and the world around me grows black as my windpipe closes. Raph's shouts and April's screams fade in the darkness, and I feel my eyelids growing heavy. It's almost like that moment before you fall asleep I mentioned before. Your body feels like it's floating on some astral plane between here and the next world, and you can see things so much clearer from here. What can I see in this moment of nirvana? Leo, my partner, my brother, holding a dagger in his hand. A strange sight. But as the vision becomes more vivid as I slip away, I realize the dagger is just like the one that killed Casey. A bright light reflects off of the knifes' shiny exterior, and Leo mutters something in a deafening silence that only I can hear.
Listen.
I suddenly snap back into the trashed apartment and stare back at the crazy lunatic that's trying to kill me. I tune out the noise, and focus on the stillness outside. In the distance, a sharp whistle cuts through the falling rain as it sails toward the open balcony doors. I grab The Rat King by the shoulders and spin him around, just as the sharp end of a crooked dagger penetrates his back and stops, just barely ripping at the middle button of my favorite purple dress shirt.
Moving upstate is looking better all the time.