Chapter 5

Raph stood behind Don, looking over his shoulder at the computer screen. He really couldn't make heads or tails of what Donny was reading with how fast his brother was scrolling, but as long as someone knew what they were doing, he really couldn't complain too much. "Find anything?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, lots of stuff, but nothing pertaining to what we need…" Don slowly trailed off.

"What, what, what?" Mikey demanded. "What'd you find?"

"A wrinkle…"

Raph frowned and looked a little harder at the screen, still not understanding. "What kind of wrinkle?"

"Well, a boat entered and left Saki's port five days ago. It wasn't docked for long, but it could've been enough time to get Leo on the boat and secured before they took off."

"Ya sure it woulda been this one?"

"Well no, I can't get into the camera feeds yet… give me a second."

The red banded turtle exchanged a look with Mikey who just shrugged. Since when couldn't Donny get into a camera feed?

"I'm in!" Don exclaimed. "It looks like…" The purple banded turtle slammed a hand on the desk. "There's no tape for that date!"

"So… what's that have to do with camera?" Mikey asked.

"It's how we see what was recorded. Like a VCR Mikey, only this is going to be a little more high tech."

"Oh, yeah. I knew that," Mikey murmured.

"Ya think someone just took it?" Raph asked gruffly.

"Possibly, or it was never put in for that day for some reason."

"I could guess one reason," he muttered under his breath. He could tell both Don and Mikey were thinking the same thing. "So let's make a bet on the boat. Where is it heading?"

Don began typing at the keyboard furiously. Raph could just imagine the look crossing his brother's face as his mind raced. Leaning a little closer, he watched impatiently as more words scrolled across the screen too fast for him to read.

"Doesn't say," the purple banded turtle finally admitted after a few minutes. "I see the name of the boat, the time it was docked, the time it left, but no record of destination."

Raph growled and walked away from the chair his brother sat in. Couldn't they just having a working lead? The boat could be sailing anywhere. They now knew Leo was nowhere in the country, but there were so many places they could be shipping him off to, where would they begin?

"Where are you Leo?" Mikey whined softly.

"Don't worry Mikey. Where there's a will, there's a way," Don comforted.

He snorted at his brothers, but knew Don was right. They would find Leo one way or another. A second thought entered his mind, forcing him back to Don's side. "What about this Asian guy? Anything on him?"

"One way to find out."

Keys clicked quickly once more, nearly drowning out the sound of footsteps.

Quickly looking towards the door, Raph nudged Don's shoulder and crept to the slightly open door. Two men were walking up the stairs to the control room.

"Think anything good's going to happen today?" one voiced. "I'm tired of the same thing day in and day out. When are these ships ever going to have any interesting cargo?"

"As soon as hell freezes over," the second replied with a roll of his eyes. "I've been here fifteen years and have yet to see anything of interest. You'll just have to get used to it."

The younger man visibly pouted, running a hand through his short dark hair. "I can always dream, can't I?"

The older man laughed. "You sure can my boy. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise."

Both men stopped at the computer, the older one taking a seat. "Hey, you mess with my chair?"

The young man shook his head. "Don't think so, but I guess it's possible."

"Nevermind, let's just get these ships set to go for the morning."

Raph slipped fully out into the hall, glaring between his two brothers.

"What?" Mike whispered. "I wanted to sit in the chair before we slipped out."

"You nearly blew our cover Mike."

"Sorry…"

"Let's go. I saw something interesting before they came in," Don whispered.

Taking the lead, Raph slipped down the hall, peering through each one before continuing on. He would have made Leo proud, looking out more for his brothers' well being than charging right in and out. Scowling to keep the mushy feelings at bay, he quickly made his way out of the building and through a couple alleyways, stopping as soon as they were a good distance away. "So what'd ya find?" he asked impatiently, turning to his brother.

"The Asian man's name is Basir," Don reported. "Don't know if it's his whole name, but it's something. Some cross-reference and logs show that he makes the trip over here every six months to do business with someone, a man by the name of Dorin. Records show that he lives out in the countryside, a day or so drive past the farmhouse by my thoughts."

"Really? You got all that in that little time?" Mikey asked incredulously.

Don grinned smugly. "Sure did baby bro."

Raph smirked. "Way to go Don. Let's go find him," he demanded starting to walk off.

"Hold on, we should probably let Sensei know what's up. Plus grabbing the Battle Shell might be a good idea."

The red banded turtle stopped in his tracks. Don did have a point. "Fine. Pit stop at home then we go find this guy."

"Whoo! Let's get a going," Mikey said in a sing song voice, running ahead.

He quickly ran off after Mikey with a rueful shake of his head, Don right behind him. They were on the move again and Raph was ready to kick more butt to get to Leo.

Basir rubbed his temples with both hands as he leaned forward against his quarter's desk. The men had almost let the turtle out of its crate again. They had waited another day since the last time the crate was opened to try the first feeding. He had seen the look in the creature's eyes. He wanted to be sure it wouldn't try to escape. He made sure water was hosed in through one of the holes for a few minutes each night as to not dehydrate the creature and thought it was time for some food. However, since the feeding had not gone well, he honestly didn't think the creature had gotten anything to eat. He could not have his prize fighter losing strength if he was to gain winnings in the ring and go on to take control of his country. He would be sure to try again in a couple days. By weakening the creature, they would be able to safely feed it.

He pushed out a sigh. The creature was resourceful, he'd give it that. If he had not accompanied the men again, he'd be out at least a couple men. Not that he really cared about these hired help, but good men were so hard to come by and they were expensive too. Just another day and they would be off the boat. Finally, he never thought he'd long for solid ground or the sand in his home country so much.

A knock sounded at his door, followed by it opening as a man strode in.

"I hope things will be secure when we arrive. What will we do if the other tribes hear of this creature?" Omar asked.

With a sigh, he nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Everything will be secure. You have no need to worry about anything other than these… men that will be handling the crate so that they will do as they are told. I don't want another feeding accident so we will not feed him again until he is secure on our own property under our more capable men."

"Agreed. I do not trust these men and while I see the need for them, I could not help but think the trip would have gone easier if we had but two of our own men."

"Yes. As I would've preferred, but then again, we did not know we would be bringing home such a prize." Basir gave another sigh. "Just another day and things will be as secure as we would like."

Omar nodded. "One more day. If anything is needed, I will be watching over the men."

"Good."

With Omar gone, Basir rubbed his forehead once more. "One more day," he whispered to himself again. Oh how he loathed the pathetic men for hire right about now.