Chapter 6

Awaking suddenly, drenched in stale sweat, I blink and stare. In front of me is a woman, scowling at me as though I'm an unpleasant odor. Which, considering the stale sweat, I probably am. She is young, with sharp angular features, dark hair, and dark eyes. I can see a katana hilt peeking over her shoulder, as well. As she grabs me by the wrists and yanks me to my feet, I try to remember where I've seen her before. Because I have seen her before. After I'm standing, she picks up my bag and, without ceremony or comment, and shoves it into my arms.

And then it all clicks into place—Don's secretary. She's the woman who let me into his office when I came to … All of a sudden my thoughts slam to a halt. Donatello! The last time I was conscious, I was with Don. I was in the Saki building. Turning my head from side to side, clearing the cobwebs and getting a better look at my surroundings, I realize that I'm still in the Saki building. Yes. Though I'm still a bit disoriented, I'm beginning to remember.

Finally I look at the young woman, who is still glaring. Ignoring the blatant ill will, I ask her, "Where's Don?"

"Mr. Hamato is dead," she replies and turns away. She only makes it half a dozen steps before I'm on top of her, slamming her against the nearest wall. But even as I press my forearm into the soft flesh of her throat, she never loses her scowl.

"Where," I begin again, my voice dangerously low, "is Donatello?"

"Mr. Hamato is dead." She raises an eyebrow, as if to say how unimpressed she is with me. "As I already told you, Ms. O'Neil."

I let her go. Taking in a deep breath, I lean against the wall and study the hallway we're in. The walls are Swiss cheese, peppered with holes from innumerable bullets and laser blasts, and dried blood stains all kinds of surfaces. I can't believe how much blood there is. Then, as I notice the hideaway that the woman has just pulled me from, I feel a faint smile cross my lips. Genius. It is a large pedestal, on which sits a Japanese vase which appears rather old. Though the pedestal looks like stone, the still-open door reveals it to be hollow inside.

Way to go, Donny. And to think of it when he was—oh, God. I remember now. I remember. Ignoring the sudden sting at the back of my eyes, I murmur, "How did you know where to find me?"

"I know many things. I was Mr. Hamato's assistant for a long time." Her tone softens, just a little. "Among other things, I know that he would have wanted to protect you."

I don't have anything to say to that. So I merely nod and keep silent.

She sighs. "Come, we must leave. The men are momentarily gone, but they will return for you before long."

While following her through the labyrinthine hallways of the Saki Industries building—or, rather, what remains of the Saki building—I think quietly of last night. Stockman. Donatello. Guns.

Too many guns.

The bio-weapon. It had been Bishop's outbreak virus. Or a version of it, anyways. At first I hadn't been able to see what was going on, from all the smoke. But I'd definitely been able to hear his growl. After I finally could force my eyes back open, the first thing I had seen was Don towering over me in that terrible, all-too-familiar form. Gameradon, we'd called him so many years ago. Incredibly tall, his head brushed the vaulted ceiling, and his red eyes glowed through the remaining smoke.

He took out a few gunmen, while the rest wisely chose to flee. Then he looked down at me. Immediately I froze. He looked unmistakably and disturbingly hungry. He took a step towards me, and I remember having thought that I'd rather die by gunfire than by devouring. But just as he opened his jaws, he blinked and seemed confused. After shaking his head, like a wet dog shaking himself dry, he looked back down at me with an entirely different expression.

Red though they were, his eyes were also soft, searching, even worried. The last time I had seen eyes like those was when a twenty-year-old mutant turtle was bursting with excitement to show me his blueprints for a portable holographic projector.

He must have tweaked the virus' RNA. So that he could mutate but retain mental control. At the time I'd only felt relief that I wasn't about to be eaten but now I feel a sudden surge of admiration. Donny had learned how to tame the beast. Amazing.

Before I know it, we're on the roof, and my new companion is leading me to the Saki company helicopter. She climbs in and thrusts out her hand. For a moment I stare numbly at the surprisingly small hand, lost in my own thoughts, until I realize she is offering me assistance.

Once we're settled inside, I face her. I'm not sure I trust this katana-toting secretary, but I don't have a better plan at the moment. And damn, do I hate not having a plan. The helicopter takes off, and for a while we listen to the furious roar of the propeller. Absentmindedly I wonder where I'm now being taken.

The woman clears her throat, and my attention focuses again. "My name is Hiroko," she offers, with a slight smile and nod in my direction.

"I'm April." Though I imagine she remembers very well who I am. Smiling in return, I add, "I'm a friend of Don's from a long time ago."

She looks out the window. "Yes, I know. You were friends with all his brothers."

A million questions immediately flood my mind. How does she know about Don's brothers? Does she know about Don himself? How much? But none of these are things I can ask. Besides, all the questions are moot, anyways.

So instead I ask something relevant: "Will Saki Industries go to you, then?"

"Partly." She turns back to me. "As his assistant, I am quite familiar with Mr. Hamato's last will and testament. He left half of his shares of the company to me."

Trying to figure out who might be getting the other half, I come up blank. So I ask.

"You," is Hiroko's succinct reply. She sounds faintly amused.

Donny, Donny, Donny. Full of surprises, even after death. Oh, God … dead. Dead? Is he really? I feel a sudden pressure in my chest and find it hard to breathe. Could the Don Hamato really be dead? It had sure sounded like it. Before passing out from pain and sheer exhaustion, I had heard the laser blasts. Had heard his anguished howls. And I had heard both the lasers and the howls finally come to an end, leaving in their place only deafening silence. My poor, poor Donatello.

Despite everything he did, I never stopped hoping. And I never stopped loving.

Then again, this isn't the first time Don has been dead. Perhaps—just perhaps—it won't be the last. Suddenly realizing that I never did see Don's body in the hallways, I make a mental note to later interrogate Hiroko on just how she knows her employer is dead.

She, meanwhile, is staring out the window again, and I follow her gaze. Her eyes are locked on the Saki building, which looks dollhouse-sized from how far below us it is. Sensing my gaze in the way only ninjas can, she turns to me and says, "We will have to rebuild. There is a lot of damage inside, but I think the underlying structure of the building remains sound."

"We?" I repeat, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes, April. We." Her voice is polished steel—not dissimilar to the katana she carries or, for that matter, to the voice of another katana-wielder I used to know.

There's a lot I can do with half of a large international tech company. I relax into the plush seat behind me. Pulling my bag into my lap, I open it and take a look inside. The computer disc is still exactly where I put it. I smile. Yes, there's quite a lot I can do now. Zipping the bag closed again, I study my new business partner.

"Hiroko, may we make a small detour?"

She studies me in return. "Where would you like to go?"

"The District of Columbia." I pat the bag sitting in my lap. "For our first business meeting, I was thinking we could have a chat with President Bishop."

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Author's Notes: I had some big hesitations with this chapter, as I've never really done an OC before. But this chapter seemed to require someone since I, y'know, killed off Don. (Or did I? Bwa ha ha ha. I'm not telling, and neither is Hiroko.) There's still the epilogue to go, wherein some of the mysteries of Don Hamato, Leonardo, Karai, and even Hiroko shall be revealed.

Minor revision 3/28: Thanks to Reinbeuchaser for the "his/her" catch!