Tug of War
part 1
"I don't understand. Why did you call me instead of Mike? I didn't know that you even had my number. And why did you want me to come alone?"
"Don't get me wrong, Leonardo," Nobody said, his eyes scanning the street below them. "I have the greatest respect for your brother. He is, after all, the Turtle Titan. I respect and admire all of your brothers. However, I've encountered a situation which requires handling with a certain amount of delicacy."
"O~kay," Leo responded, not quite as puzzled by that admission as his tone might have sounded.
"I meant that as a compliment to you, not as a criticism of your brothers," Nobody said quickly, misinterpreting what he heard in Leo's voice. "As their leader, you not only have a more reasoned approach to problems, but a strategic mind as well. And as the leader, what I have discovered actually falls within your purview."
"Something that affects us? How?" Leo asked.
With a nod of his head, Nobody turned Leo's attention back to the warehouse across from the building upon which they perched. "Recognize that symbol?"
There was a small sign on the personnel entrance into the warehouse. Leo hadn't paid it much mind when they'd arrived, since he didn't know that Nobody's focus was on that warehouse in particular. Even in the dark, Leo's keen eyes picked out the symbol to which Nobody had referred.
"The Foot!" Leo looked up at Nobody again. "That warehouse belongs to the Foot clan? What's inside?"
"Nothing illegal," Nobody told him. "Oroku Karai is a shrewd businesswoman and as far as I can tell, is operating entirely within the law. She has become one of the government's leading weapons' suppliers, taking over that position from Ruffington. Unlike him, she hasn't been smuggling arms or I'd take her down just as I did with that scoundrel."
Leo knew exactly what he was talking about, having been there when Nobody finally proved that Ruffington was involved in illegal arms deals.
"Karai and I have a truce," Leo said. "She remains on the legal side of the law in her dealings and my family stays out of her business. We are no longer at war with the Foot clan."
"She is prospering, both here and in Japan," Nobody said. "There are a few fractious elements inside her organization, but that is not what we are here about. As you may remember, when Ruffington was doing business with Oroku Saki, his dealings were with that man's representative."
"Hun," Leo said. "Is this about Hun? He hates Karai."
"It seems the reverse is true as well," Nobody said.
Leo's lips compressed, his dissatisfaction with that information obvious. "Any war he might decide to wage with Karai will result in many innocent people being hurt. To no good end for him either; the Foot will decimate the Purple Dragons. Hun's people won't stand a chance."
"Apparently he knows that," Nobody said. "I had thought that Hun was a simple street thug, but he's attempting a gambit that shows a certain amount of finesse. I learned about it from one of my informants."
"What sort of gambit?"
Nobody suddenly leaned forward, his gaze caught by movement in the shadows next to the warehouse. With a finger, he drew Leo's attention to that same spot.
"That sort."
A lamp above the warehouse door illuminated four figures slipping around the side of the building. All four were varying shades of green, each sporting a certain signature color bandana. In shape and facial features they appeared to be gigantic turtles.
"What the shell?" Leo couldn't help but gawk at the four figures who looked very much like he and his brothers.
One of them took a shuriken from his belt and threw it at the lamp, shattering it and plunging the area into darkness. Despite the lack of light, Leo could see one of them fiddling with the alarm before signaling another of them, who picked the lock on the door.
"You'll notice that there is a security camera mounted above the door," Nobody said. "They made no attempt to disable it."
"They want Karai to believe that we are behind the break-in," Leo said. "I wouldn't have thought Hun was that smart."
"Two nights ago the group broke into another of the Foot Clan's facilities," Nobody said. "They stole two large shipments of military grade assault rifles and were filmed doing so. My informant told me that Karai has seen that recording and is not pleased."
"She's made no attempt to contact me," Leo said.
"I think she is giving you the benefit of the doubt," Nobody said, glancing at the turtle. "She's had her people looking for the rifles, but they have no orders to attempt to engage with any of you. Yet."
"Karai knows I would never do anything this dishonorable," Leo said.
"She may know that, but Karai also cannot afford to lose face in the eyes of the clan she leads," Nobody said. "I may not have a complete understanding of how it works, but I believe her hold on the leadership of the clan is still somewhat tenuous."
"Certain factions are in disagreement about Karai's shift to entirely legal operations," Leo explained. "There are groups in her organization who have lost both money and prestige."
While Leo was talking, Nobody lifted one of his arms to shoot a cable from his tool gauntlet across to the rooftop of the warehouse.
"Let's go put a stop to this," Nobody said, wrapping an arm around Leo's waist and swinging the pair of them onto the warehouse's roof.
Leonardo was no lightweight, but this was the second time that Nobody had picked him up during their acquaintance, and again it had seemed to be effortless.
It was a simple matter to pry open the rooftop access door, especially as the alarm system had already been disabled. Nobody and Leo dropped silently into an upper floor of the warehouse and quickly located the staircase.
Partway down the stairs they halted, having observed movement from below. Spotting the four fake turtles was easy enough; they were using flashlights as illumination to find their way through the rows of crates.
"Notice how they sometimes flash the lights on themselves?" Nobody asked, his voice low.
"To make certain the cameras see them clearly," Leo said. "I hope Karai knows we'd never be so careless, even if we were tempted to break our truce." Almost as an afterthought, he murmured. "I would hope she knows me better than that."
The glance that Nobody sent his direction was speculative, but Leo didn't see it. His focus remained on the fake turtles.
"There are no trucks here, nor did they arrive in any," Nobody whispered. "What could they be planning to take?"
"Maybe the Purple Dragons are awaiting a signal from them before bringing in the trucks. If that's the case, then Karai will see the drivers and know we're not involved," Leo replied, sounding hopeful. "Or we could just go down there and hog tie those four for her."
The four fake turtles had split up, each going to different areas of the warehouse. Nobody reached into his utility belt and extracted a pair of night vision binoculars.
Though anxious to engage the four fakes and give them a real taste of the turtle, Leo waited to learn what it was that Nobody was observing.
"There won't be any drivers for Karai to see," Nobody said, his voice sharpening. He lowered the binoculars. "They are setting C-4 charges. They aren't planning to steal anything; they're going to destroy it all."
"The wharf this warehouse is on will be destroyed too, along with a lot of other businesses," Leo said. "We have to stop this."
"If they see us coming, they could set off the explosives," Nobody said.
"I'm a ninja, they won't see me," Leo announced just before leaping over the stair railing and disappearing into the dark.
Nobody had no chance to stop him, so rather than trying to follow the turtle, the masked crusader moved off in the opposite direction. His goal was to get a better look at the explosives.
Crouching behind a crate, Leo watched as a fake turtle moved past him. The fake that Leo had chosen to go after first was the one sporting the blue bandana, since he found that to be a personal affront.
As soon as the fake had his back turned, Leo leaped from hiding and pounced on the man from behind. Leo's arm circled the man's neck and then he grabbed his own bicep with the other arm, putting the fake into a chokehold.
The maneuver kept the man from crying out and it took mere seconds for him to slip into unconsciousness. Once he was out, Leo pulled his body behind some boxes and crept off in search of another fake.
Though Nobody heard no sounds, he sensed that Leonardo was dealing with the men in the fake turtle costumes. He did not know the turtle as well as Karai did, but still he found it ludicrous to think that she would believe the costumed version to be the real thing. Leonardo moved swiftly, silently, and with great precision. Nobody had found himself greatly admiring the turtles' leader from the moment they'd met.
As soon as Nobody saw the first brick of C-4 up close, his pulse quickened. Attached to the C-4 was a blasting cap unlike any he had seen before, because there were no wires. Examining the cap up close, he could see that it was electrical in nature and the small, pulsing light on its end meant that it needed only a signal to initiate ignition.
Nobody guessed that the tip of the cap, which was inside the C-4, was in contact with an initiator pellet. Pulling the blasting cap would sever the connection to the pellet and probably result in an immediate explosion.
The only bright spot in the situation was that with no attached wires, one could carefully detach the C-4 brick and remove it from the building. Taking a deep breath, Nobody peeled the claylike substance off of the support beam. Holding it at exactly the same angle in which it had been mounted, he made his way through the warehouse.
On his way to the back door, he spotted Leo. The turtle was sliding an unconscious fake turtle into the center of the room to join three others.
"That was quick work," Nobody said. He indicated the C-4 he was carrying and quickly explained what he'd discovered. "Could you pat them down? If we can find the wireless detonator, we can deactivate these all at once and have some breathing room."
Leonardo swiftly checked each of the four men, but other than additional C-4 and blasting caps in a bag carried by one of them, he found nothing resembling a detonator.
"They don't have it," Leo said as he stood up.
"We'll have to assume someone nearby has the detonator," Nobody said. "We're going to have to do this the hard way. Locate each brick and toss it into the river."
Before they could move, a low, squeaking sound drew their attention. Squatting down again, Leo discovered earpieces attached to the side of each rubberized head. Stripping one off, he stood and held it up so that both he and Nobody could hear.
"Time check."
"That's Hun," Leo said. "I'd know that voice anywhere."
"Eddie, time check," Hun repeated. "Listen up. I'm detonating that explosive in five minutes, whether you guys are out or not. Do you hear me?"
"Should I try to answer?" Leo asked, indicating a tiny button on the side of the earpiece.
Nobody shook his head. "No. There's a chance he'd recognize your voice or that they use code words. We have less than five minutes to clear out as much C-4 as we can and then get out of here ourselves."
They separated, each moving fast. After disposing of the bag of explosives and the one brick he was carrying, Nobody rushed back inside the warehouse, mentally counting off seconds.
He and Leo passed each other. Leo was holding another brick of C-4 and with a jerk of his head, indicated where he'd found it.
Between them, the pair managed to rid the warehouse of seven bricks of the explosive compound. Leonardo was going for an eighth one when Nobody grabbed his arm to stop him.
"No time," Nobody hissed sharply. "We have to get those men out of here."
With a nod, Leo raced alongside Nobody to where they'd left the fake turtles. Getting a good grip on the rubberized suits, they began pulling the men towards the exit.
The first explosion occurred just as they'd gotten outside. Muffled explosions followed, as the C-4 they'd pitched into the river went off.
They managed to make it a few more feet before there was another explosion, this one very near them.
When Leonardo threw himself to the ground, Nobody jumped atop him, curving his body over Leo's and tossing his cape up to cover both of them. Bits of the building rained down around the pair like shrapnel, pelting and bouncing off of Nobody's cape.
After a couple of minutes of waiting, it was clear that there would be no more explosions. Nobody carefully stood up, shaking debris from his cape and then offering Leo a hand.
"Are you okay?" Leo asked.
"My cape is made of a light weight Kevlar. I'm fine," Nobody said.
Spinning around, he checked the four men who lay nearby. They were covered in debris but uninjured.
Sirens suddenly signaled the fast approach of emergency vehicles.
"Time to go," Nobody announced.
Reaching down, Leo yanked the headgear from all four of the fake turtles. Underneath the masks were young men, one of whom Leo recognized as being a member of the Purple Dragon street gang.
Lights flashed across the burning front of the warehouse and out of reflex, both Nobody and Leo ducked. Moving fast, they left the area, taking to the rooftops in order to avoid being seen.
The pair paused long enough to watch as the police took charge of the four men while the fire department began working to douse the flames.
Nobody and Leo raced away from the scene, stopping only when they had put several city blocks between themselves and the warehouse.
"What are you going to do with those?" Nobody asked, indicating the rubber turtle masks that Leo was holding.
"I'm going to take them to Karai," Leo said in a firm tone. "Tonight. If my brothers see them, if Raph sees them, let's just say it won't be good."
"You shouldn't go alone," Nobody told him.
"She and I hammered out this truce between us; I have to be the one to show her that we did not break it," Leo said, sounding stubborn.
"You don't know what kind of reception you'll get," Nobody argued. "Going alone is folly. Have her meet you somewhere neutral and bring back-up; your brothers, me."
"If I arrive en masse, she'll take it as a declaration of war. I can't afford to have my actions misinterpreted. I need for Karai to listen," Leo said.
"Leonardo." Nobody paused, searching for the right words. He settled on a question. "How old are you?"
Frowning, Leo said, "Nineteen. Why?"
"Despite the truce, your family and the Foot clan are still enemies," Nobody said. "It could take years of peaceful coexistence for that to change. You shouldn't misunderstand what this reconciliation means to Karai, nor should you misconstrue her feelings for you."
Leonardo visibly stiffened. "What exactly does that mean?"
As Nobody feared would happen, his words were putting Leo on the defensive. Pulling off his mask, Nobody made certain to look the young turtle directly in the eyes.
"Becoming personally involved with Karai would be a mistake," Nobody said. "Your life is complicated enough. She may certainly be redeemable, but having been a part of that redemption isn't the basis for a relationship."
"You're making a lot of assumptions," Leo said. "What does it matter to you anyway?"
That was a question which Nobody had hoped would not arise. He wasn't one for lying.
"You matter," Nobody said, pulling his mask back on. "You have always mattered. To me."
With that he spun around, running partway across the rooftop before launching a grappling hook onto the adjacent building and swinging away from the turtle. In seconds he had disappeared from sight.
Leonardo remained frozen in place for a much longer period of time as he attempted to understand what it was that Nobody had actually been saying to him.
To be continued...