A/N: Big thanks to Ravenshell for being my beta!
Chapter 66
When I took the blue one down with my tranquilizer gun, the serum worked fast as the turtle creature fell toward the ground. That's when big beast showed up and caught blue one in its hand. It was hiding in plain sight! When it puts the blue one down, the Jones kid and the red turtle creature run to help the smaller creature. The fifteen-foot lizard takes several steps in front of the other three, baring its teeth as it lowers itself on all four. It gives a vicious battle cry before it lunges.
"Tranq it, now!" I command as I aim my own tranquilizer gun at the beast. Several darts pepper across its body, but it's still going strong as it flips several vehicles and tosses a tank across the street. It's finally starting to stagger but not enough to keep it from injuring several members of my team. Our air forces hover above and drop a giant net over the animal. It stops attacking as it struggles to untangle itself. "Alright, guys, activate the electric field now," I shout over my walkie-talkie to the men controlling the net from the helicopter. I watch with intensity as electricity courses through the beast. It twitches as it fights the currents, but its struggle is in vain as it drops to its knees and then crashes completely to the ground. Its body jerks twice more before it stills. I smirk. It's finally down for the count.
"Is it dead?" Johnson asks as he wipes blood from his brow.
"No," I answer as I see the shallow breaths escape its nostrils. "Bishop wants it alive. Is the containment van here?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Shackle it and load it, but give it a few more tranquilizers first. We have a long drive to the base. The last thing we need is it to wake up mid-route." I step over the monstrosity's tail trying to see where the other three disappeared to. There's nothing but a dumpster and bricked dead end. Just as I take a step toward the large bin, the monster's tail moves slightly before becoming still again. That's when I catch sight of something small flashing on the underside of the tail. Watching the beast for signs of any additional movements, I reach down and pluck a small device off the beast. It looks like a tracker. I smirk. Smart little boogers. They're probably long gone by now if they left a tracking device. I toss the tracker idly in my hand, as I spot stray dog across the street trying to make sense of this huge animal blocking the alleyway. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out a plastic-wrapped peanut butter cookie I never finished at breakfast.
"Come here, boy. C'mere." I squat making sweet noises and waving the snack at the small dog. Curiosity forgotten, the dog finds the treat in my hand more interesting. Unwrapping the cookie, I feed it to the famish animal. "Good boy." I pet him, discreetly placing the tracker behind his ear. Those green creatures maybe be smart but no one pulls a fast one on Maria Sage.
"Sage!" One of my guys calls out to me just as I'm ready to lift the dumpster lid. "We've got three guys down over here, we need you over here!" My crew is more important at the moment. Those other reptiles may have escaped but at least we know they have a connection with that Casey Jones kid. That's curious case for another time. We got what we came here for. Mission Accomplished.
My breath catches when I hear someone fidgeting with the dumpster lid. I hate hiding, cringing in a dumpster like a coward. I press my fingers to Leo's neck for the third time. His pulse is slow but steady. That tranquilizer really did a number on Fearless. He was pretty much dead weight when Casey and I hauled him into the dumpster.
With Leo out of commission, I was next in command. I had to make a choice. I couldn't save them both, so Donnie made the choice for me by sacrificing his cover to keep us from being captured. We were outnumbered and outgunned. It was only a matter of time before they tranq'ed Donnie and all of us. I couldn't let his sacrifice be in vain. I tagged his tail with a tracker so we could find him after we regroup. They didn't kill him on the spot, so they're not going to kill him anytime soon. I heard them say they wanted Donnie alive to take him to a base. Hopefully, their dumb curiosity will buy us some time. Don't worry, Don. We're coming back for you.
My t-phone has been vibrating like crazy for the past ten minutes but I can't risk checking it right now, not until I know the coast is clear. When I hear the fading rumble of vehicles leaving the alley, I wait a few minutes before slamming the lid open. Jumping out, I hold my arms out as Casey passes an unconscious Leo off to me.
"Here, grab him for a sec." I push Leo into Casey's arms once he's out of the dumpster. He stumbles a bit at the unexpected weight as he glares at me. I check my phone. April called like ten times. Something's up.
"Dude. They took him." Casey looks forlorn as he stares at the empty opening of the alleyway.
"We'll get 'im back, but we gotta head back to the lair pronto," I tell him as I listen to the message Sensei left on my phone.
"Why, what's up?"
"It's Mikey. I'll explain on the way." I take my brother back from Casey, carrying him across my back as we take the manhole back to the lair.
TBC
A/N: Thanks for reading! Just a few more chapters to go! As always feel free to leave a review, I enjoy hearing from you guys!
See you next chapter,
Poetique