A/N: Thanks to Amonraphoenix and Darkunderworld for beta-ing for me.
Disclaimer: see chapter one
Hidden beneath the shroud of human clothing, Raphael walked through the front entrance of the Empire State Building. Humans hurried about their business, not taking the time to notice a lost and confused teenager wandering blindly around the foyer.
Raphael ducked into a corner and contemplated his options. Alfredson wouldn't hide a clue in the same place twice; so it was possible that more effort had to be made to find the next clue; which was fine with Raphael since he wasn't in the mood to scale the building in search of the next piece of paper.
Raphael's eyes darted around the foyer. Even though he was hidden by his clothing, being in the presence of so many humans unnerved him. He wanted nothing more than to go back out to the Battle Shell and go home. But he knew that the next clue to his brothers' location was somewhere in this building.
Raphael glanced over at the front desk, and for a moment he wondered if the next clue could possibly be with the receptionist. It seemed almost too easy, but it meant that he would have to interact with a human, which was something that he and his brothers tried to avoid unless it was with humans that they knew.
Swallowing down his fear and uncertainty, Raphael made his way over to the front desk, and looked across at the young woman. She was busy typing something into a computer. Raphael subtly cleared his throat and shifted nervously on his feet. The woman looked up when she heard the soft sound. She smiled warmly as she turned to face Raphael fully.
"Welcome to the Empire State Building," she greeted warmly. "How may I help you?"
"I was wondering if you had anything...unusual dropped off here recently," Raphael replied slowly.
The woman frowned slightly. "Unusual, how?" she asked politely.
Raphael resisted the urge to bolt for the front door. This went against everything Splinter had ever taught him and his brothers. Only under extreme emergencies, like when they saved April from the mousers, were they allowed to reveal themselves to humans. Sure, every now and then they would slip up and a pedestrian would spot them, and by now the Purple Dragons were wary and watched the alleys for fear of being busted by the Turtles.
"Sir?" the woman asked, breaking Raphael out of his thoughts. "What do you mean by 'unusual'?" she asked respectfully.
Raphael fingered his sais that lay in the front pocket of his sweater. "Like a letter or package," he hazarded a guess.
The woman's expression became thoughtful for a moment before her eyes lit up as if she remembered something. "As a matter of fact," she started as she got up and went to the back of the desk. "A man came in a few hours ago and left something with us." She turned back to Raphael. "What was the name?" she asked.
"Raphael," the turtle replied.
The woman nodded and picked up something from a shelf in the back. She walked back to the front and placed a strangely shaped package on the desk. A piece of paper with the name "Raphael" was taped to the top.
"The man said someone would be by to pick it up," the woman concluded.
"Did he give you his name?" Raphael questioned.
The woman shook her head. "No, sorry," she apologized. "He just said he was a friend."
Raphael nodded in understanding and took the package. He smiled at the woman. "Thank you," he said.
"You're welcome," the woman replied with a sincere smile.
Raphael slipped the package into his sweater pocket and headed back out to where he had left the Battle Shell in a nearby alley. He opened the back door and climbed in. After shutting the door, Raphael took out his weapons and the package from the sweater before pulling it off. He sighed in relief when he was finally free of the constricting piece of clothing. He dropped the sweater onto the floor and then kicked off the pants. He dropped the pants on top of the sweater and placed his sais in his belt. His eyes went to the brown paper wrapped package. He had a sinking feeling of knowing what lay inside.
Raphael sat down in one of the back seats and picked up the package, tearing off the brown paper. He swallowed hard when he found himself holding one of Michelangelo's nunchucks. It was tied together with a piece of string and another piece of paper was wedged under it. Raphael untied the string and picked up the piece of folded paper. He opened it up and discovered it was another piece of a picture, but it didn't fit with the piece he already had. Raphael turned the paper over and let out an irritated huff.
Although I am originally from France, I am now the quintessential New Yorker,
And even though I am over 100 years old, I have only had work done on my face once.
Who am I?
A smile slowly spread across Raphael's face. Even Michelangelo would have been able to solve this riddle. Raphael put the nunchuck in a compartment with Leonardo's sword and made his way to the front of the Battle Shell. He buckled himself in and turned the van on. After putting the van into "drive", Raphael pulled out into traffic and headed deeper into the city.
Leonardo woke up when he heard Michelangelo begin to hum. The sound was hauntingly lonely. It pained Leonardo to hear his brothers, but unable to do anything to help them. He leaned back and gazed up at the distorted image of the moon far above his head. His mind wandered to his sensei and human friends. Did Splinter sense that his sons were in danger? he wondered to himself.
Was he on his way home at this very moment? And if so, how many sons would be left by the time he got home?
Leonardo shook his head to rid his mind of the heavy thoughts. He needed to have faith that Raphael would get them out in time. The blue masked turtle looked back up at the distant surface of the water and willed his hot-headed brother to come crashing through the water. Sadly, he knew Raphael wouldn't be arriving any time soon; so, he settled back, closed his eyes, and listened to Michelangelo's humming. After a while, the humming stopped and someone spoke.
"Why is this happening again?" Donatello questioned. "The police should have caught him, why is he back?"
Leonardo swallowed hard. He could almost picture the accusing look that no doubt was crossing Donatello's face at that moment. The blue clad turtle curled into a ball and waited for the accusations to begin.
"You knew," Donatello said, directing the words at Leonardo. "You knew what Raph was up to when he disappeared for those few hours."
"No, I didn't," Leonardo replied. "I didn't know what he was doing until I ran into him near Alfredson's apartment."
He jumped when a loud bang sounded through the speaker.
"You should have gone back!" Donatello shouted.
"Donny...I..." Leonardo started.
"You should have made sure he was caught!" Donatello almost shrieked.
Michelangelo cringed and covered his ears, curling into a ball. He hated it when his brothers shouted and yelled, especially when it was Donatello doing the shouting. He was used to hearing Raphael and Leonardo yelling at each other, but it was so rare to hear Donatello shout that it grated on Michelangelo's nerves to the point of being maddening.
"Donny, stop it," Michelangelo pleaded.
"No, Mikey, I won't stop it," Donatello stated. "It was poor judgement on your part that led to this."
Leonardo felt his anger rise at the statement. "Poor judgement?" he repeated, his voice rising. "Poor judgement? You would have done the same thing! Raph said he got Alfredson and I trusted him."
"And look where that got us!" Donatello screamed. "Use your common sense, Leonardo. The Grim Reaper escaped once before, what made you think he wouldn't do so a second time?"
"Raph said he got him!" It was Leonardo's turn to yell. "It was Raphael! Knowing Raph he probably pounded the guy so hard it must have taken every ounce of strength he had left just to breathe, let alone move!"
"Stop it!" Michelangelo shouted. "Stop it, both of you! This isn't helping! All you're doing is wasting air and energy."
Leonardo and Donatello fell silent, but no doubt they were both still fuming.
Michelangelo lowered his hands from his ears and relaxed when he didn't hear any shouting coming through the speaker.
"Donny, this is no one's fault," the youngest continued in a calm and soft voice. "Leo's right; we would have done the same thing. It's Raph we're talking about. We would have taken him up on his word and thought nothing more of it."
Donatello looked down at the floor of his cell, shame washing over him like a wave. He had spoken out in anger and frustration. This was the second time he had been buried alive and he was sick and tired of fighting the Grim Reaper. The man had haunted them for too long and it was time for his reign of terror to end. The purple clad turtle placed a hand to the back of his neck and touched the cursed brand that marred his skin. He really needed to find a way to remove the thing.
"I'm sorry, Leo," Donatello apologized in a quiet and meek voice.
"It's okay, Donny," Leonardo replied in a soothing tone. "It's the frustration talking. And you're right; we should have gone back to double check."
The brothers fell silent. Michelangelo drummed his fingers against his knee and sighed quietly. His eyes drifted up to the top of the cell and to the surface of the water beyond.
Please hurry, Raphie, he silently prayed. I don't know how much longer we can last down here.