A/N: I've had a glitch in my FFNet account, I suspect from the 25th November 2006, that meant I was not receiving reviews at all. So if you have sent a review, and haven't received a reply from me for it, I haven't gotten it! I think it's workin' again now. Many thanks to artykidd for helping me identify this problem and for persevering to send me through her reviews regardless of glitches, gremlins and a suspected Leo-lover conspiracy against Raph-centric fics!!! LOL! Thanks heaps chica! Three's my lucky number now! –grin-

Many thanks too to The REAL Cheese Monkey for the review I got that proved my account had been fixed! Heh, probably shouldn't have taken that sugar over-dose before replying to ya chica. Sorry if I was a bit weird(er)… than usual anyway, lol!

And ta muchly to CPQ for beta-reading this; you always help me figure out where the dialogue might need a bit of an explanation or not.

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward to a Happy New Year! Just make sure it's a safe one! I actually got a copy of Sun Tzu: The Art of War (I've been hanging out to read the complete text of that for ages!) so, not too surprisingly, there's a couple of quotes from him at the end of this chapter. The first is my interpretation of an aspect of his philosophy, whereas the second is a direct quote from the translation I've got.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the TMNT, or any related characters (much to their relief, I'm sure!) If there is anything else in this story you recognise from somewhere else, then I don't own that either.

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"Are you sure you're sure about this?"
"Yes!" assured Tau impatiently, nervously straightening the smart black jacket April had lent her to go over her grey, square-cut dress; though the seat belt running over her shoulder pulled the dark material out of alignment slightly again as they rounded a corner.
"I just don't think it's a good idea, we'll save the money eventually; you don't need to do this! What if someone sees ya, huh? What if they decide to turn you in? What if…"
"'What if' you realise that I'm gonna do this no matter what you say Raph; or how many times you say it!" interrupted Tau, giving him a sharp glare "I promised you all I'd get a job if I could, and I'm not gonna go back on that. Besides, I do wanna go home… hopefully before I have to apply for a 'mature-aged student' placement at a university!" she grimaced as she slid a finger under her wig, trying not to displace it as she took this last opportunity to scratch the annoying spot on her nape the hair-piece always made itch, especially since she was having to wear it for the second day in a row.

Raph bared his own teeth in frustration, about to retort when Mikey trying to hide a giggle caught his attention. The scowl he gave his brother quickly became apoplectic as Mikey gave a flick of his hand that was curled as if holding the handle of something invisible, mouthing 'Whipish!'
"YOU LITTLE…Graah!" Raph lunged, his seat-belt pulling him up just short of being able to reach Mike, though his brother still jerked back against his own swivel seat with enough impetus to send his hat tumbling off his head to land on the floor behind him.
"Keep it down guys!" admonished Don, looking back from his spot in the front passengers' seat, "We're almost there."

Leo guided the Battle-shell down the alley and into one of the parking spots next to the loading bay. A second after the vehicle stopped all the turtles were on their feet, Leo to break-up the imminent scuffle, and Don making his way back to where Tau was seated taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, fingering the blue stone dolphin she wore on a thin leather necklace.
"Do you want to test the alert again?" asked Don softly, completely ignoring the ruckus behind him. With a grateful nod and smile she felt for the small button affixed to the back of the smooth stone resting just below her throat; the sudden loud 'BEEP' that sounded in the van getting the attention of all.

"GAH! What was that?" demanded Raph, his coat continuing the movement of his quick turn, one sai ready in hand at the alarm.
"GEES! Give a guy a heart-attack!" admonished Mike, hand to his chest.
"If you'd been paying attention, instead of acting like a pair of fools, you'd have realised that Tau was about to test her panic button." stated Leo brusquely, continuing in a gentler tone "Good work Donnie." as his two errant brothers fidgeted sheepishly.

Don nodded, giving a wide smile to acknowledge the compliment,
"It's not much, but it's the best I could come up with at such short notice." He turned back to the girl and gave her shoulder a light, encouraging clasp. "Well, you're pretty much ready to go. Just remember, we'll be right here waiting for you. If you get into any trouble, one touch of that button and we'll be there as fast as we can, ok?" he assured, getting a resolute nod from her in reply.

Standing, she quickly fussed about needlessly smoothing her dress and jacket again, glancing at the clock on the dash to see she was still had a few minutes to spare, then looked up at her friends with a brave half-smile.
"Thanks guys. Time to go!" she declared, determination in her stride as she stepped out of the vans' back door. She had barely made it a couple of steps away from the vehicle when the sound of the rear door clicking shut a second time came as her only warning, an instant before a strong hand gripped the top of her arm, pulled her about and back along-side the truck.

"Raph! What do you think…?"
"Shhh!" he silenced her harsh whisper with his own, gripping her other arm as well to draw her close. "Listen. I really don't like you doin' this. It's too dangerous. Don't give a shit about what Leo or anyone else might say, I c'n deal with 'em. But please, don't do this?" Her brave veneer dropped, her eyes suddenly so soft and sad they caused an ache in his chest. After searching his gaze for a moment, she dropped hers to timidly move her face closer, making him catch his breath. He almost expected her to kiss him, but she opted for tenderly nuzzling his cheek with hers, bringing her own hands up to rest on the thick material of his coat over his shoulders.

"I'm sorry Raph. I have to at least try..." she murmured by his ear, running her hands down his arms to free herself from his hold. She didn't use any force at all and, despite not wanting too, he felt compelled to follow her silent, gentle directive. She held his hands as she pulled back slightly to try to look him in the eye again, though he seemed fascinated with something beyond her shoulder.
"Wish me luck?" asked Tau softly.
"Luck." he grumped, still staring at the alley wall. She gave him a grateful smile regardless then turned to walk down the alleyway towards the front of the building.

He watched her leave, feeling too numb to move until she disappeared from sight. Then, leaning back against the Battle-shell, he thumped the back of his head lightly against the metal muttering;
"Stupid stubborn fool…"
"Uh-huh." he jumped at the sound of his brothers' deadpan remark, glaring over to see him leaning out the driver side window.
"Damn it Mikey!" growled Raph "I meant… her!" he scrabbled to cover himself.
"Uh-huh" nodded his brother again, the slightest hint of irony in his tone. Raph favoured him with a dark scowl in reply, turning his back on Mike to stalk to the rear of the van. There he issued another glower for Leo stood propping the back door open,
"This isn't necessarily a bad thing Raph. You have to accept she is going to leave, sooner or later, and…" Deciding he really didn't want the company of his brothers at the moment, Raph opted for stalking away to patrol the alley instead.

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"Hmm. I still don't-a know. I'm not sure we'd have enough work for you, if-a you can't serve on the front counter…" Mr Valentino rubbed his smooth chin with his un-bound hand, his arm set in a cast resting on the counter in front of him. Tausha shifted nervously under the old mans' scrutiny. At first he had seemed dismissive of her. But now, after half an hour of questioning her relentlessly, he had developed what she feared was a suspicious gleam to his eye.

Mrs Valentino was seated next to her husband on the far side of the metal bench, and was starting to look a little uneasy, but suddenly smiled to herself and leaned over to whisper something in his ear. He cocked his head in thought for a moment.
"Can you-a sing?" he asked. Taken aback by the unexpected question, Tau flustered;
"Uh, yeah, sorta. I…I haven't had any training in it or anything…"
"Sing for us then." he ordered, leaning back on his stool and running his hand through his black hair, peppered with grey and flour.
"Uh…" Tau dithered, trying to think of a tune.
"'We Wish You A Merry Christmas'. Come on now!" urged Mr Valentino abruptly.

After a nervous gulp Tau started singing the carol, slowly getting into the swing of it as she went. Even so her heart fell as the couple opposite grimaced at her less-than-stellar performance.
"She could still-a do spoken word, poetry." suggested Mrs Valentino optimistically to her husband. He finally nodded once in agreement, leaning forward to address Tausha again.
"It's a service we used to offer…"
"Enrico used to do, before he-a got too busy." interjected Mrs Valentino, beaming proudly at the mention of her son; Mr Valentino only nodded once in acknowledgement whilst giving his wife a slightly darkened look for her un-required input before he continued his explanation.
"…delivering cakes and the like. For those willing to pay a little more Enrico would deliver a message with-a the goods; sing…"
"He has such a beautiful voice…" put in Mrs Valentino wistfully, her husband sighed wearily.
"…or speak, whatever the patron wanted. You cannot-a sing. But your legs work just fine, si? You would be willing to do too?"

"Uh, well, I wouldn't say 'no', but for the risk of someone recognising me. Like I said, I'd rather lay low, if I could… and I wouldn't want to cause trouble for you if one of my old gang decided to stir it up if they spotted me. You know, steal what I was delivering… or something…" she tried a sheepish smile. To her surprise Mr Valentino simply gave a knowing grin and turned to his wife.
"Why don't you fetch it out, see if it-a fits her?" he asked nonchalantly. Nodding enthusiastically Mrs Valentino practically leapt off her stool.
"Si! Si, I'll be right-a back!" she assured, dashing off to a second door set near to the one leading to the loading bay. The 'inset' wall seemed to continue past the end of the external alcove, and Tau soon realised why as the older lady used a key to open the second door and practically raced up the stairwell behind it.

"She will be a while." predicted Mr Valentino with confidence "Which is-a good. I want to see what you can-a do with the dishes." he indicated to the massive pile of dirty trays, pans and such that towered over the sink at the end of the kitchen. Tau was sure every utensil they owned was stacked there. Biting back on a sigh and plastering a determined smile on her face instead she rose, fiddling with her jacket for a brief moment in indecision. She didn't want to get Aprils' coat wet, but taking it off…

In the end she removed the garment to leave it neatly on a clean section of bench, since she'd already told them which gang she'd had her trouble with. It was hard enough having to remember her name was different, so she'd decided not to make things any more complicated for herself. Besides, if she'd lied, they'd catch her out as soon as they saw her tattoo anyway. And chances were it'd show sooner or later, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. However, she hadn't anticipated it would be so soon.

To Taushas' relief Mr Valentino didn't so much as a bat an eye-lid at the image, following her over to the sink to stand cross-armed behind her as she set-to scouring the dishes with gusto, no regard for how the suds dampened the front of her dress slightly. He watched her work for a couple of minutes in silence.
"Your Father, he is a smart man, taught you the value of hard work, si?" Tau started at the mention of her Dad, but figuring Mr Valentino was just making conversation she nodded hesitantly.
"Yeah, though my Grandad helped a lot too. I've spent a lot of time scrubbing his stables and tack over the years." she grinned.

"Your Father, he teach-a you good business sense as well?"
"Um…" she stalled nervously for a moment, grabbing another dirty pot.
"When we first came to America, the Purple Dragons were just starting out here too. Every business in this-a neighbourhood, they beat-down for 'protection' money. But not-a me, I refused. It was a hard time for us. Hun, he is a hard man, give me this for my trouble." he pointed out an old, wide burn scar on the side of his neck. Tau grimaced slightly; partly in sympathy, partly in worry about where this conversation was headed.
"But in the end he-a come to respect me, that I would not give-in no matter what he threatened. He realised; I know, he did not want-a to destroy us completely. He had a good liking for my muffins and breads." the old man smiled proudly at that. "So we work out a deal we could all live with, his gang leaves us alone, and anyone with a tattoo like-a that…" he pointed at the dragon on her shoulder "gets a discount here. Not much, mind you, never more than ten percent, if that. But I don't give discount to anyone else. Especially not these new hooligans, they have-a no sense what-so-ever. They couldn't and think they could get away with working-over these streets for long. Hun was not-a happy to hear of that at all!"

Unsure what to say Tau gave a sickly grin, murmuring;
"Oh, I'm glad you worked it out with them…"
"With-a him. I am-a not blind, I can see who you are. But I'm wondering now if you have as much business sense as your Father?" Slowly Tau turned away from the sink to face him, her hand resting nervously on the dolphin at her throat, she petitioned as calmly as she could;
"I know you could get a lot of money for turning me in to him. But, please, just let me walk away…"
"Pfft, the money?" he scoffed, to her surprise "It would be-a nice, very nice, but I've known Hun for more than 20 years. I'd think he's only using the reward as-a bait to find those helping to keep you hidden from him. He would not give away so much if he saw a way out of it; probably a way that's-a not so good or healthy for me and my family! And having his-a daughter scrub my dishes? That's-a very nice too! So, here's the deal. You work for me, consider it re-payment for all the money he's-a cost me over the years, and I don't turn-a you over to him, if you keep doing a good job."

Tau took a moment to contemplate, dredging up the courage to say;
"I won't work for free…"
"No, no, of course not; I'll give you four dollars an hour, cash at the end of the week. I don't want you here in the mornings; I don't want you spying on my recipes. So, one to six o'clock everyday we're-a open; do the cleaning up, deliveries and any other odd jobs I have for you. If you don't work, I don't pay you. No holidays, sick-leave, nothing. Deal?"
"Um… make it four dollars fifty, and we'll have a deal." Tau negotiated hesitantly, jumping as Mr Valentino gave a hearty laugh.
"Ho! You are your Fathers' daughter. Four twenty five, I won't pay any more than that." he countered, grinning at her expectantly.

Figuring a low paying job was better than none at all, Tau nodded, saying;
"Then we have a deal, but I don't understand how I can deliver…" Mrs Valentino bustling back into the kitchen answered her question as she held up floppy grey costume with over-sized feet and gloves sewn to it. A large, rabbit-head held proudly aloft in her other hand - featuring a big, shiny red heart on its collar with 'Valentino's' written across it in a flowing black script - completed the get-up. Mr Valentino simply grinned even wider as Tau glanced at him to get confirmation of her fear…

Tau let her face fall in despair, not bothering to hide it anymore since the rabbit-mask hid her expression. Its mouth and eyes were made of a painted mesh, allowing her to breathe (sort of), speak and see. Still it seemed to get warm inside of it pretty quickly and the bulk of it, plus the ears sticking out of the top, made it difficult to balance the head-piece easily; especially with the over-sized gloves on her hands being of little help. The body of the suit hung very loose on her small frame, but Mrs Valentino was busy moving around her, mumbling to herself about how best to take in the material past a mouthful of dress-pins.

"We're not-a open on Sundays, so you good to start on-a Monday?" asked Mr Valentino, leaning over his crouching wife to peer into eyes of the mask, his smug grin still firmly in place. With a sigh Tausha agreed with a slow nod, quickly having to steady the rabbit-head again at her movement. This was going to take a bit of getting used to…

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It had been a tough week, but Tau felt proud of herself as she looked down at the small envelope in her hands; the edges of the few coins within beside the notes making indentations on the thin paper. All things considered, her job had worked out quite well. She still got to join-in with the morning training sessions with the turtles, and although he worked her hard, she'd found her employment with Mr Valentino wasn't quite as bad as she'd first feared.

She'd spent most of her time in the bakery scrubbing dishes, cleaning floors and scouring ovens. Once he'd set her to a task Mr Valentino left her pretty much to her own devices, without any gloating or needless nit-picking. It seemed he was satisfied with just having her do his menial jobs without wanting to rub it in, which Tau was grateful for.

Leo had seized her job as an opportunity for he and his brothers to get some extra training in, namely in surveillance and staying disguised on the surface during daylight. At least two of the brothers dropped her off in the loading bay before utilising the hours to their advantage so before picking her up again; Raph and Leo invariably among them.

The only time Tau had seen them at all during her work was the one time she'd made a delivery, luckily just a quick drop-off to a local office without any need for a performance. Enrico had driven her there, cursing the red motorbike that had blatantly cut in front of his Lancer at the start of their journey before it raced away between the lines of traffic regardless. Even so, a couple of minutes later, only Tau spotted the same bike lane-hopping a few cars behind them again in the side-mirror.

If it hadn't been for that she would have used the alarm button on her necklace the next day when she realised the Battle-shell was no-where in sight as she took some rubbish out to the dumpsters in the alleyway, an unfamiliar bird call echoing between the walls putting her on edge and making her rush back into the kitchen.

Somehow she had managed to stop herself from panicking for the last half-hour she had to work, relieved to find the van back in the loading bay when she'd finished for the day. However, she was thankful for the way Raph had warmly returned her hug, only breaking their embrace to give Mike a smack up-side the head as he teased her with his imitation of a Blue Jay again.

Now, she had survived her first week, gotten her first payment, and was desperately looking forward to having an afternoon off to relax the next day. There was just one more thing she had to do before dinner and spending the rest of this evening lazing on the couch watching B-grade horror movies with the guys.

"Come in." came the soft reply to her knocking. A little nervously she slid back the screen door, bowing as she closed it behind her. Splinter was seated on his meditation cushion and he invited her to take a seat in front of him with a sweep of his paw and a warm smile. Quickly Tau made her way over to kneel where he'd indicated.

"You do not trust yourself to save this money?" he asked gently, a note of concern in his voice as she settled, fidgeting uneasily with the envelope in her hands.
"It's not that… really. I'd just feel better if… you kept it." she explained hesitantly.
"Why?"
"I don't know… out of sight, out of mind?" she chewed her lip for a moment then continued in a rush "And you have it handy if you need it."

Splinters' brow furrowed slightly.
"This is your money Tausha. You have earned it and it is for an important cause. Neither I nor my sons have any right to it." he asserted firmly, benignly.
"I understand." she nodded quickly, "But I want to do something to repay you all for everything you've helped me with…" She was stopped by an upraised paw, the Sensei taking a moment to appraise her with shrewd eyes.

"I have said to you before that money is not our motivation. I do not expect any payment in return for your staying with us. Why, then, do you insist on it?"
"Um… because I do feel I owe you board. And I've done a bit of planning this week; if I can continue to work without too many interruptions I should be able to save around two grand by March, which is plenty for the plane ticket and even leaves a bit extra to help me get settled back home again. But…, I'd like to stay until May, if you're happy to let me, and anything I earn over and above the two grand in that time, I want you to have."

Silence descended for a minute as Splinter considered her proposal, slowly stroking the small tuft of fur under his chin.
"Why May?" he queried.
"As a bit of a contingency if I do need to work longer… and I've missed too much school to just slot back into high-school, so I'll have to enrol in a college to get my secondary certificate. There's a few in Melbourne that do it, but enrolments for the start of next year have closed already, not that I'd be able to get over there for the start of term anyway. So the earliest I could get in is the mid-year intake starting in July. John, my kendo-sensei, is happy for me to stay with his family, but if I can stay here a little longer it'll mean less strain on them, and heading over in May still gives me a month or so to get myself sorted out before I start school again."

"You cannot stay on your Grandfathers' property, surely that belongs to you now?" persisted Splinter, his tone still gentle. Tau dropped her gaze to the floor before answering.
"It does." she sighed, "When I left I thought I'd be gone for years, if not for good. I didn't know things would go so badly living with my Dad. So I made a deal with our neighbour; Mr Reynolds. He got full use of our… my property in return for up-keeping it." She gave a sad laugh, "It's funny really 'cos my solicitor wanted me to sell it, rather than 'give it away' as he put it. But Dad put him in his place for me. Anyway, Mr Reynolds has leased the house out, and the tenants still have almost a year left on the contract. When I emailed him a couple of days ago he did say he'd be willing to break the lease, but it might take a while and could end-up causing a bit of a mess for him, and I don't want to do that. Besides Dad's probably got tabs on the place anyway."

Again Splinter took a long moment to contemplate before he caught her eye with a firm, discerning look.
"It would seem you have given this much thought. However, I can't help but wonder why you have changed your mind from wanting to leave as soon as possible to delaying your departure. You have reasons for the change of heart, but none that cannot be over-come. It is also clear you will be taking a risk your Father will be able to trace you if you return to your home-land, perhaps more so than if you remain here. Are you still so committed to leaving then?"

"Yes, definitely. It's…, something I have to do." stated Tau, shrugging slightly as Splinter quirked a grey brow in curiosity. "I know it's stupid in a way, and my own fault. When my folks died Dad came over as soon as he heard. It was really good of him actually, and he was there for me to help sort out everything and for the funeral. But I knew he needed to get back to his own business." She shook her head sadly, "After the funeral he even asked me if I wanted some time alone… with them. I was an idiot and said 'no' and we flew out the next day. I… now I just need to… I don't know, say 'goodbye' to them in private I guess. Besides I owe it to Mum to get a good education."
"Grief and circumstance are neither 'stupid' nor a 'fault'." he asserted firmly. "Did your Mother ask that you strive so to continue your learning?"
"No." admitted Tau after knuckling her eye, "But I know I cost her hers. And she and Grandad worked so hard to put me through school and everything…, I can't let them down now." her voice broke as she studied the ground again.

She sniffled slightly, breaking the quiet, and then started as Splinter took her hand gently in his paws, patting it consolingly a couple of times before resting his paw over it.
"I know, very well, that the past can dictate your future, but you cannot allow it to overwhelm you. I am sure your family are, and will be proud of you, regardless of how you achieve happiness in your life. Joy comes only from walking your own path. Just be sure it is your path you are making these sacrifices for. If it is then I wish you every success and will offer any help I can. Neither I, nor your family, would wish to see you burdened with regret." he assured solemnly.

Tau gave a slight nod and another snuffle.
"Thank-you. It is my path, I know it is. It's pretty much the same goal I've had since I first came over here and this whole mess started… Not that I regret meeting you or your family at all! I just… didn't plan on it. And as well as promising… myself I'd do this, I did make a promise to Leo, all of you, too." she murmured, regaining her composure.
"Hmmm, yes, Leonardo." the sage rat smiled ruefully. "I hold hope that this experience will teach my son some valuable lessons as well. Most, he knows already, but he needs to learn to apply them outside of a logistical setting. One lesson you would be wise to heed as well is 'every plan benefits from being adaptable'."

"Is that from some ancient Japanese philosopher?" she asked, with a small half-smile. Splinter released her hand and sat straight on his cushion again with a benevolent smile.
"Chinese, I believe; Sun Tzu." Tau frowned a little in confusion.
"Didn't he write books on war?" she questioned, wondering about the relevance of the quote.
"Hai. And his central philosophy was; 'the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting'." He contemplated that for a moment, from the puzzled look on Taus' face she was too. "Hmmm, perhaps that is a lesson many of us could benefit from revisiting. I think I will make that the focus of our meditation tomorrow." he mused to himself with a wry smile.

Despite her giving a slow nod after a minute, the bafflement didn't leave her eyes as she spoke,
"So… are you happy to look after this for me?" she asked tentatively, offering him the envelope. Splinter took it gently in both hands, holding it on his lap for a moment.
"You do not wish to keep a small amount for yourself?"
"No, I still have a little money in my room from before. I'll use that if I need too." she assured. With a nod of understanding Splinter turned, lifting a plate-like candle holder on the chest behind him to slip the envelope beneath it.
"It will be safe with me." he promised, bowing from his waist. Returning the gesture, along with a smile of relief, Tau stood and left the Sensei to his meditation… or tried to, at least. Mike yelling "Grub's up!" from the dining table at the top of his lungs as she opened the sliding door shattered the peace.