Love Don't Come Easy
Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adult or adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonians.
Chapter Seven: The G.A's
Rama sighed heavily, knowing that in spite of the bad way things had ended last night, she would still have to do her work for the day. She gave a longing look to her bed wanting to jump back in and pull the covers over her head, to become in essence, the true meaning of the word turtle, and hide from the world until she was ready and willing to face it. She took a deep breath, ' It is my curse to die a virgin.'She mused, causing herself to wonder if maybe she ought to have taken Steven up on his offer of going to his apartment earlier in the evening.
'Of course now it is a bit too late for that.' Rama reminded herself, he had seemed so cold and distant last night, not that she blamed him for it, she knew that she, herself, would be right furious if someone had so mislead her, and she was very much opposed to doing it to someone else, especially with someone she wanted to be totally truthful with. However she couldn't deny that many people would find it difficult enough accepting the fact that there was a race of sentient turtles without causing any problems for them. Then add that little factor that these turtle happened to be ninja, and carried weapons, well, it could call to mind thoughts of assassins, or terrorist activities and such thoughts could lead to...Rama shuddered not wanting to even think of where such thoughts could lead to, knowing only that it would not be good for her, or her family, was quite enough.
Rama did a bit of meditation before leaving her room to prepare Leo's tea and taking it to him half dreading going near her mentor because she knew, exactly what it meant. He would ask questions to find out how Steven had taken the news of their being ninja and stopping crime out in the city, this was information that was pertinent for him and of course he needed an appropriate answer, even if the one with the answers just didn't feel up to revealing them due to the whole scenario that had caused the truth to be revealed in perhaps a less then complimentary light.
' But what were you supposed to do? Leave that woman to be brutally raped by those, thugs?" She asked herself, ' You know that no matter what the consequences you could not ignore her need for assistance. To do so would have lost you honour. You were there, and fate obviously decreed that it was meant for you to be there, or else you would have been elsewhere. But you were able to prevent it and if it has lost you Steven's friendship, and possibly more, is it not worth it? You can not be less then what you are, what you are trained to be, no matter what it costs you.' She nodded knowing this was true but wishing, that it made intervening easier upon her.
She padded softly out to the kitchen and began to prepare the tea hoping silently that in time, Steven would come to accept her words, perhaps she ought to have told Steven she still loved him last night, but seeing as he was in a quandary over her behaviour she didn't want to throw those words in, because she didn't want to manipulate him in any way. If he was going to come back to her he had to accept the truth of her words no matter what the circumstances had been when those words had been revealed. Still Ramiela knew without any doubt that he could have accepted her words better if he had not seen with his own eyes what it was she could do.
When the tea was ready she gently reached out to figure out where Leo was, he was in his office or study area, in stead of the meditation room. ' Either someone ran into trouble last night, or he started his day earlier then usual.' She told herself, as she picked up the tea tray and headed for the office.
Leo looked up and smiled gratefully at her entrance, "Thank you Ramiela, I was starting to think I might have to make my own."
"Didn't you sleep last night?" Rama chided gently, as she set the tray down on a clear spot on the large wooden desk.
"Sleep is over rated" Leo replied with a smile, "So how did Steven take the news?"
Rama took a breath doing her best to calm the turbulent emotions, as she concentrated on pouring the tea.
"Ramiela?" Leo asked softly his voice full of concern he quirked one eye ridge up, then he sighed, "I take it things didn't go well?"
"No, not at all. Maybe if well circumstances had been different but well..." Rama gave a faint weak smile before explaining how the evening had deteriorated.
Leo got up from his seat and walked around the desk, he reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder, he could sense the pain and hurt she was trying to keep back as she relayed the events. "I'm sorry Ramiela, I know you were hoping to reveal things in a better light, but you may not have lost Steven yet."
"I know a part of me wants to call him though" Rama confessed.
"No" Leo gave a shake of his head, "Let him come to you. If you phone and persist too much it might make him wonder, after all, one who is innocent doesn't have to keep insisting that they are. Give him a chance to digest what he has heard and seen. After all he had firm proof last night that you were everything you claimed to be." Leo advised. "All is not lost, he might still be a friend to us."
Rama nodded silently not having the heart to say the one thing that cried out in her mind, that she wanted Steven to be more than her friend in this.
XXX
Steven couldn't believe the audacity of Rama, 'How could she hide that from me? Doesn't she trust me? Then to take the law, matters into her own hands. She said they even carry weapons illegal dangerous weapons and they are using them in confrontations. What exactly have I gotten myself into?' He had been furious when she had just seemed to take command sending him off to get help, he had expected she would at least stick around.
However as his irritation died down and common sense returned Steven had to accept the fact that Ramiela had no choice in sticking around, she was different enough that her presence at a crime scene might be enough for some prejudiced people to lay the blame upon her. True she could not stay, or file a report nor could she testify in any court of law, for him to be irate at her for not hanging around to follow procedure who would trust her word, especially over that of a human. He sighed as he sat back in his office chair and sipped his coffee. In hindsight he realized, that he shouldn't even be upset that she had stepped in to break up the crime that was in process.
In fact he admired her willingness to plough in and come to the aid of someone instead of turning a blind eye and a deaf ear as so many other citizens of New York might, but it was...well it still bothered him. He set down his coffee mug staring at it in frustration, glowering at it sharply as if it were the cause of all his sudden turmoil. He drummed his fingers on the desk and tried to focus on a file with a client in it, yet the harder he tried to concentrate the more he found himself thinking of Rama.
'All right what is it, that is bothering you about the whole thing?' he inquired of himself, reluctantly giving in to these thoughts so that maybe if he found out what was bothering him he could get it out of his mind so he could actually get some work done.
She lied. Yes, and he as a lawyer, usually knew when someone was lying about something or not coming clean about everything, true such a talent wasn't as pertinent in this aspect of law as it was in trying criminal cases, but often he had dealt with clients who had tried to hide an unsavory past, for fear they would not get their citizenship, or those who pretended to be married for citizenship. Keeping these things hidden often ended up in denial of citizenship, simply because that person may be trying to hide something else. So what else could she be trying to hide is the real question, Steven realized, She talked about another ninja clan in New York, but I've never heard of such a thing.
Steven smiled a bit as he recognized that he was on to something, due to their unique looks the turtles might not be able to adhere to every aspect of the law, and yet if they were going out to aid those who might need help was one thing, but what if they were taking their weapons and training and harassing good, moral, upstanding citizens that the turtle family felt were deserving of such harassment. Suddenly the turtle clan looked almost as bad as the crooks and criminals they said they were against.
So, is it a guilt complex at work do they feel bad for causing trouble to some people, so prevent such things elsewhere so they can feel good? Steven wondered, it was a possibility. Ninja were supposed to be hired killers of sorts weren't they? Steven reached for he phone on his desk and punched in a number for a police friend, waiting silently before hearing the voice message "Bob,I'm interested in any rumours or things you might be able to tell me, of anonymous guardian angels who are working around New York stopping crimes, I'm talking large stuff as well as small minor incidents. Call me back." Steven left his number and hung up satisfied he had done all he could for the time being he bent to the file on his desk.
His police friend Robert Giles, Bob to his friends, managed to meet him for dinner. Bob had the start of a pot belly, he loved his food, but he worked out hard and usually managed to insure the belly didn't grow too large, Bob grinned "Man what ya ask for Steve, well let me tell you it covers a lot of ground. I mean a lot. For years our precinct and quite a few others around New York get anonymous angels as ya called 'em." He chuckled, "But there are some that just stand out in your mind and a lot of the police departments in the New York area have one group, the green angels they are called."
Steven quirked up an eyebrow "Green Angels?"
"Yeah reports from victims or perpetrators of beings that have green skin, who step in and stop trouble using hand-to-hand techniques or simple weapons. Like knives or something. The Green Angels have busted up a lot, or at least they are credited to it, child abuse cases, big drug or illegal weapons smuggling, bank heists, things the police might just be getting wind of, or know about but lack man power to stop. Let me tell ya Steve, crime rate in New York is down and most people on the beat credit it to the Green Angels" Bob gave a knowing nod.
"Has anyone really seen these Green Angels up close or get a good description?" Steven asked, then he noticed the waitress coming and they ordered their meal.
"No, that is just it. The Green Angels use darkness as their cover, just once in a while certain things sort of tip us off that it's them. Or someone might catch them in a bit of light from a torch or something like that." Bob chuckled " Some of our operators recognize the voices as they call in tips of what can be found and where, plenty of times when officials arrive it is to find the crooks hog tied. Fact is there was a report the other night that was credited to the Green Angels, you were apart of it, or came across it" Bob grinned in a Cheshire cat kind of way.
"If there was a Green Angel there Bob I didn't see him." Steven replied casually, "Don't know how you can be sure. I just saw two people running out of the bush as if their life depended on it and the other person knocked out."
"Yeah if he was knocked out who tied him up? The G.A's use special knots on their crooks, it is a big calling card, that and one fellow came stumbling into the station last night with a wild story about some hard bodied female trashing him just cause he and his buddies were going have some sport with a girl. He confessed later." Bob laughed, "Nothing scares crooks like the G.A's another clue, hard bodies, like they are wrapped in armour or something like that."
"So things like that let you know that it is the work of the G.A's as you call them." Steven concluded.
"Sure there is a lot we believe might be attributed to them, but we have nothing to go on to verify their participation in it or not." Bob shrugged. "The city, hell the citizens of New York owe a lot to the G.A's. Man I wish one day I could meet them, better yet get them to pin a medal on them, but they don't seem interested in any of that. Don't stick around for any awards or the like."
Steven glanced down at the table top afraid to look at his friend, the Green Angels could only be Rama and her family. "How long have the G.A's been active?" he asked curiously.
"Lets see reports of G.A's, or what we later attributed to them, have been going on for some," Bob paused as he considered, mentally working it out, "A good twenty six years or more at least, probably darn near thirty years."
Steven gaped on hearing this, he knew Rama was only in her early twenties and yet her father and uncles had to be the ones who had been protecting the city for the greater part of that time frame. Their meals arrived and Steven took a mouthful of steak.
"You seem surprised there Steve, that they'd do it for so long, but they do seem to be very committed to stopping crime in the city. I've talked to a lot of people who were rescued by them, all of them would love to meet their protectors face to face. Ever read people's letters to the paper, every once in a while there are ones thanking rescuers, and most of us know that they were saved by the G. A's. Most gangs the police department wants to put a stop to, but not them" Bob assured him.
Steven smiled to himself, most people would probably be freaked to meet their rescuers face to face especially if it was the Green Angels. "Bob tell me something have you ever heard of ninja activity or crimes going on in New York?"
Bob sat back giving him a hard suspicious look "Why?" Bob inquired.
"I had a client from Japan who said there are ninja active in New York. I find that hard to believe." Steven answered easily, it was more or less true.
"Look no one outside the station is to know this, it is off record, I know you won't use it." Bob murmured softly, "But yes there is certain crimes that are being attributed to ninja, and a lot of them keep turning up one name, but we haven't been able to get the goods on the fellow yet. He's good and slippery but cop instincts say that he is guilty."
Steven hadn't been expecting to hear that there were ninjas active around New York, it seemed too ridiculous, especially this far from Japan in their age of technology. Rama had told him the truth, and perhaps it was a truth she had kept hidden simply because she felt he would laugh at her before hand figuring it was absurd.
"Let me tell you something we attribute the G. A's to everything we have on this guy so far, they are helping us build towards conviction and trial." Bob stated.
"You sure they aren't planting evidence, or ...misleading you in some way, perhaps by framing this fellow?" Steven wondered. He felt it was an honest question, though he was sure that any police officer worth his salt would also be checking into the idea as well.
Bob was quick to assure him that there just wasn't any way. Steve meanwhile filed all this information into a corner of his mind to mull over later on. He still wanted to do some more checking into things before he came to a final decision about Ramiela.
XXX
Jessie escaped back to his dorm room, his grades had slipped a little and most of the professors felt it was due to the fact that he was still grieving for his mother, and to be truthful he did think about her a great deal, he missed her and it felt so strange to know he was alone in the world now. Well not quite alone, Jessie mused, I do have Rama's family and they have done so much for me. Then again they always have. He smiled as he thought about Rama, he recalled the kiss he had shared with her, when returning from Coney Island, the fun they always had together. Face it Jess, you are crazy about her...and maybe you always have been.
Jess swallowed as the last thought popped into his head, wondering how much truth there was in it. He didn't want to look at it too closely pushing it aside and recalled the first time he had kissed Rama, they were twelve and a half, and had started a talk, Jessie couldn't recall who had really started the conversation, about kissing and what it was really like. They had then decided to see if everything they heard and had seen, from TV, movies or other sources were true and nervously kissed each other. That something had been lacking was an understatement at best. They had come to a rather quick conclusion that perhaps it wasn't really meant for them.
They had never tried anything more after that failure. and Jessie had eventually moved on to other females from school, he found that until he did get more familiar with kissing it was a rather uncomfortable experience. His mom of course had been very happy that he had been with girls from school. Often encouraging him to bring his new 'girlfriend' home and doing her best to make the girl at ease. Between school, sports and relationships he had drifted away from Rama, except for occasional visits.
It was good to know Rama was still full of fun and mischief,if not the devilish plans for mayhem that used to be such a trademark with her, course being trained as future Jonin had taken it's toll. Jessie moaned as he closed his eyes clearly seeing his friend, she was beautiful, course she had always been beautiful to him. Jessie sighed a bit as he realized he had to call her, he had to hear her sweet voice once more. He knew she had been going with that Steven person, and just the thought of Rama with...that lawyer, was enough to cause him to clench his fists in anger.
'He doesn't know Rama the way I do. he doesn't deserve her. He will never know as much about Rama and her family as I do.' He ranted inwardly as he flopped on his bed and picked up the phone dialing the number from memory and waiting with baited breath for her to answer, hoping she wasn't out with him.
In moments Rama was on the phone "Hi Jessie, how's school?" she asked her voice low, soft and slightly sad but full of caring.
"S'okay same old stuff for the most part. You okay Rama?" Jessie asked tenderly.
"Oh well, I'm all right it is just that...well...I think Steven may have given up on us." Rama stated with a heavy sigh, "I haven't seen or heard from him in well over a week."
"I'm sorry Rama" Jessie murmured sympathetically but inside he felt giddy and excited about the idea. Maybe he did stand a chance after all.
Before their conversation had ended Jessie had come to an important decision he had determined that no matter what it took, or how long it would be but he wanted nothing more than to have Rama for his wife as well as his friend and he was willing to see his plan come to light.
TBC