Danger

Word on the street was, if you was smart, you stayed away from the one called Raphael. He had a nasty habit of showing up at the most critical time of any given gang job and beating the crap outta you. That is, if you was a ganger hanging around on the lower east side.

Chinowa didn't know what the word on the street might be in other parts of the city, but he figured the way Raph and his brothers moved around, it was likely the same. Of course, most of the gang members had never really seen Raphael, even when they were getting smashed by 'em. If they had, they'd probably be even more afraid.

The sneaky bastard loved to work in the shadows. He was so fast, most people knew only two things about him. His deep, grating voice tauntin' you, and the painful bruises or broken bones he left behind.

Chinowa was one of the few members of his gang to have actually held a conversation with the guy. And it was pretty one-sided the first time. But the thing was, you had to respect him. Not just because he could beat you silly, but because he held to his own sorta street justice.

If you were gettin' the beat down, he didn't care who you were or what your past might be, he just stepped in an' put a stop to it.

He did expected you to pay it forward though, and if he ever caught you doin' the beatin', well he didn't give second chances.

It happened like that to Chinowa. One night he'd stepped over the line, so to speak, with a rival gang and discovered the consequences a little too late. He'd thought that dark alley and the piss and the puddles were gonna' be the last things he ever saw, considerin' the number of booted feet flyin' at his person that night.

Chinowa couldn't tell if Raph came from the roof, the fire escape or just boiled up outta hell, but in a sudden flurry of arms, legs, and shadows the bodies around him all just stopped what they was doin' and dropped down to the pavement.

There was a long silence before Chinowa finally decided he was gonna live and scrambled to his feet. Then a scary voice came outta the darkness.

"There's stuff ya' do and stuff ya' just don't do in this world, kid. Sometimes life don't give ya' much to work wit' but even here in the unda-ground ya' can make choices. Choices between right and wrong."

"Tonight I made a choice, to step in and stop this. Because of me, tomorrow, you get to make one."

"Choose to give a little more than ya' take. Choose to not go whalin' on the helpless. Choose to save ya' violence, for those that really deserve it. Choose these things, and I got your back. Choose otherwise..."

The voice trailed off menacingly, and huge green, bulky figure stepped out of the shadows of the fire escape into the light of a street lamp.

"I'll be comin' ta put ya' down."

Chinowa had cringed back from this new threat, but it stopped and tossed him somethin'

"Take dis."

It was small metal cylinder attached to a keychain. The end opposite the chain, had a funky little dial with a button, and the side had a digital readout with a phone number that changed every 3 minutes. The figure disappeared, but the voice came again, echoing down the alleyway.

"That little gadget does 3 things. Ya' see somethin ya don't like goin' down, or ya' higher ups, plannin' somethin' really wrong, you dial that number and leave a message. Ya' get cornered ya'self, ya' turn the dial and press down that button. You'll get backup. Ya' feel it buzz, ya call tha' number and listen up."

Chinowa stood up shakily, peering into the darkness of the alley.

"Why me?" he yelled.

"Ya' got a good head on ya' shoulders kid. I've seen ya' around. Don't make me have to take that away from ya'. K?" Came the voice.

"Who are you?" Chinowa called.

"They call me Raphael"

Chinowa hadn't exactly been on the straight and narrow since then, but he understood what Raph was gettin' at. He'd actually been pleased the couple of times he'd been buzzed and asked to help out with some things. It hadn't been anything too major but he suddenly had the feeling his life could make a difference. That was somethin' he hadn't felt in a long time.

He'd run into Raph a couple of other times. Mostly to do with things he'd been on the fringes of. Raph would give him a nod to let him know the message had been appreciated, even if it was some small time stuff. Chinowa would hang back 'til Raph was done, then have a quiet word. That's how he met Raph's bro's one night.

Now, for the first time, he actually had somethin' bigger to report, and he was feelin' pretty spiffy about it since it had to do with that girl Don had been askin' about a few weeks back.

He had the feelin' somethin' huge was about to go down, he just didn't know he was gonna be that big a part of it.

Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello concealed themselves on the top of a 4 story brownstone near where Luna had been attacked on the lower east side, and watched the alleyway below them cautiously. If the information Chinowa called in panned out, one of Luna's assailants would be meeting him down there shortly. Or at least someone who knew one of them.

Leo knew them all, he'd seen them in his dreams night after night, and he would recognize them instantly, but Don rather doubted it would be one of those actually responsible for Luna's injuries. The report Chinowa had called in was of an unusual suspect cruisin through his neighborhood, not a street thug.

The guy asked questions about the remains of a girl who had died on gang turf, with the excuse that she had stolen important property from him. He was offering a reward to anyone that could tell him the location of the body. Chinowa had arranged to meet with him tonight.

Leonardo was tense as he watched the alley intently from his position above. When the man showed up, what would he do? If he saw the face of one who had violated his mate, he was likely to lose all self control. Even picturing them in his mind made his blood boil and caused his usual calm to shatter like a crystal dropped on concrete.

Unfortunately, they needed information and that meant taking the man alive.

Of course, Leo was not in the mood to grant a quick death to any of her assailants anyway. No, they were going to suffer, and beg for death, long before he would grant them that privilege. Leo looked up and silently met the eyes of his two brothers. He knew they could see the fury and anxiety in his eyes, and that worried him.

Raph grinned grimly in support and waited impatiently, toying with one of his sai. He kept slapping the handle into his palm over and over while watching the alley. Leo knew Raph would support any kind of punishment he might wish to dole out, but Leo didn't know how far Don would let him go.

"Donatello," Leo said softly, trying to assess his mood, "If we get this guy, can you make him talk?"

Don turned his eyes from the street below and carefully studied his older brother. When he finally moved, it was with a lethal grace, and he came toward Leo slowly, his chocolate brown eyes hardening into chunks of agate.

"After what they did to Luna? I'll make him scream."