A/N: Thanks to my wonderful beta-reader and Darkunderworld for beta-ing for. And thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far.
Disclaimer: see chapter one
Raphael could feel every nerve in his body begin to tingle as adrenaline started to pump through his system. His fight or flight reflexes were kicking into overdrive as he fought back the urge to lash out at the humans in front of him. They had him cornered; which was never a good thing. A low growl emitted from deep within his throat as he tried to warn the humans to back off.
"I suggest you move," Raphael snarled menacingly.
A few of the guards faltered, but the rest kept their place. The turtle unconsciously slipped into a defensive position as if the guards were about to attack him. He really didn't have time for this; his brothers needed him to get the next clue, but he couldn't get to it if his path was blocked.
Raphael took several slow, deep breaths to calm himself down as he felt his anger begin to cloud his senses. These were innocent men just doing their job; Leonardo and Splinter would have his head if he attacked innocent humans in a blind rage; he was saving that for Alfredson.
"I'm only going to tell you this once more, move!" Raphael barked sharply.
He ducked to the side as one of the guards shot a taser at him. Fighting back the urge to pull out his sais, Raphael dashed forward, making several guards yell in surprise and pull out their weapons. Raphael lashed out, kicking the weapons out of the hands of the humans and sent most of them to the ground. When his path was clear, Raphael bolted for the door that led to the rooftop stairs.
He yanked the door open and closed it again before gunshots rang out. Breathing heavily, Raphael made his way up the stairs and to the roof where he was faced with the next obstacle; finding the clue. After a few minutes of searching, (he found) no sign of the next clue anywhere on the roof. Raphael nervously looked around one last time before heading back inside.
Must've missed it inside somewhere, he reasoned to himself grimly as he opened a different door cautiously and stepped out into the hallway.
A sharp pain shot through him as every nerve and muscle in his body seized up. He collapsed to the floor, gasping in agonizing pain. Groaning, Raphael looked up to see a guard place a taser gun in his belt before everything went black.
When Raphael finally regained consciousness he felt two things: one, he felt like an idiot for letting someone sneak up on him and taser him; two, he felt like he was about to throw up. The only good thing he noticed was that he was still hidden beneath the bulky human clothing he wore.
Raphael groaned and went to rub his head, but he quickly found out that he was handcuffed. He chuckled, but it was half-hearted.
This just keeps getting better and better, he thought to himself bitterly.
Raphael looked around at the room he was in and immediately determined that he was in an interrogation room of some sort. He would have thought it was funny if he hadn't been on a deadline. He had no idea how long he had been out and how long he had been in the room. These panicked thoughts were interrupted when the door opened, and two police officers walked in. One of them held a large plastic bag and Raphael's heart began to race when he saw Leonardo's second sword tucked neatly inside it. He swallowed hard and tried to keep himself in the chair. The next clue was so close and yet so far away at the same time. One of the men sat down in a chair across the table from Raphael.
"First time being arrested?" the man asked casually.
"There's always a first time for everythin', right?" Raphael asked back cheekily. He suppressed a groan as his head continued to pound. "Was the taser really necessary?"
"You posed a threat," the man coldly replied. He looked at Raphael with an interested look. "Are you some kind of martial artist?"
Raphael shifted slightly in his chair. "I guess you could say that," he answered vaguely. "If you're referring to what happened in the Chrysler Building, your boys got in the way. I was just lookin' for somethin'."
The second man held up the plastic bag with the sword in it. "Was this it?" he questioned.
Raphael swallowed down the lump that was forming in his throat. "Yeah," the turtle replied, knowing that lying wouldn't help his situation. "It belongs to my older brother."
The first man gave Raphael a curious look. "Where did your brother get such a nice sword?" he probed.
Raphael looked over at the sword. He could see the next clue tied to the hilt. Anxiety was quickly beginning to rise in his chest; he didn't have time to play "Twenty Questions" with these humans.
"Well?" the man insisted impatiently. "Where did he get the sword?"
"It was a gift," Raphael half lied smoothly. "He collects swords. And if you must know, that's what I was lookin' for at the Chrysler Building. And I need it."
The man in front of him frowned slightly. "Why do you need it? Surely if your brother is a sword collector he has plenty more."
Raphael ground his teeth together and shook his head. "There's something on that sword that I need," he explained carefully. "And I really don't have time for this interrogation. I need that sword and I have to go."
The man holding the sword looked at the weapon. "Is it the paper you need?" he guessed. "Why is it so important?"
Raphael bit his tongue to keep from yelling. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "My brother's life depends on it. It's the next clue to where my brother is buried."
The men looked at each other in shock and then back at Raphael. "Buried?" the first man echoed in disbelief.
Raphael nodded stiffly. "The Grim Reaper has my brother. He's been terrorizing us ever since he escaped from prison."
The humans paled when Raphael mentioned the Reaper. "How did you know the Grim Reaper escaped?" the second man wanted to know.
"We were the first ones he came after," Raphael answered with a tired sigh. "Look, I know I must not be makin' any sense, but you have to believe me. I only have a certain amount of time before my brother runs out of air. I wasn't lookin' to cause any trouble, I was just lookin' for his sword."
The humans looked at each other again and the first man nodded. The second man placed the sword on the table while his partner went around the table and unlocked the handcuffs. Raphael took the sword and got up.
"Go get your brother," the first officer said.
Raphael smiled at the men and headed out of the room. As soon as he was out of the police station, Raphael took out the remote that would call the Battle Shell and pressed the button. While he waited, Raphael took the sword out of the bag and pulled off the piece of paper from the hilt and read the clue.
Where do thousands of people go from New York to Paris and back again eight times a week?
Raphael smiled a brittle grin at the clue and looked up when the Battle Shell pulled up. He climbed in behind the wheel and pulled back the hood of the sweater. He pulled out into traffic and made his way to his next location: The Majestic Theatre.
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