Chapter Three: Turtles and Cops Don't Mix

I began to have doubts even before we had climbed up his rope to the casement of the clock tower's wide balcony. For starters, Leo and the others were already long gone, chasing down the car with Donnie's tracer on it. I was pretty sure we were going to get an earful from Leo for running off on our own, but I had to admit that I was curious now that I'd seen the images of the statues Mikey had mentioned. He might not be the most brilliant individual, but he had a way of seeing things others might miss; a way of pointing out the seemingly insignificant- yet obvious in hindsight- details that more often than not proved crucial. I had a feeling this might be one of them.

Once we stood on the lookout that surrounded the base of the clock tower itself, I dropped down from Mikey's back, and glanced around cautiously. Sometimes I think hanging around with those boys has made me paranoid. "What now?" I asked, hoping he had some kind of plan.

"Um, dunno yet. I guess we should look around for clues. That's what the Scooby Gang would do," he said, shrugging.

I rolled my eyes, chuckling at his remark. "Why does it NOT surprise me that you'd take your cues from a cartoon?" I asked, as I looked up at the huge clock. Its face stared blindly out into the bright lights of a New York night, the hands forever pointing to the eight and the four. I had a brief mental image of some old woman down on the street handing out flyers and telling people to "Save the clock tower!". I decided I'd been spending too much time in the sewers watching 80's movie marathons.

"Well, have you got a better idea?" Mikey asked bluntly, drawing me out of my reverie. I had to admit that I didn't.

We began to examine the area, and almost right away came across something strange. There were odd piles of what appeared to be gravel dust and small stone flakes on the balcony beneath almost every cornice, and even a few deep scratches in the stone of the casement. From the shape and placement, it was obvious that they were made by claws- really BIG claws, at that. I started to worry that maybe Mikey WAS right. What if whatever made those marks was hostile, and what if they came back while we were right there in their territory?

"What do you make of these?" Michelangelo asked curiously, holding up a handful of the flakes of dark gray stone. They were thin and brittle, crumbling easily, even though they seemed to be made of granite. And some of the larger pieces were curved slightly, and even looked as if they had covered something else.

I knelt down by the largest pile, in the middle of the casement in front of the big clock. I began to shift through the pile, and found a piece that looked like part of a claw or a horn, and another that could have been an eye. "This is strange," I mused. "It's like they shed their skins or something. There's enough dust and debris here to coat all of those statues we saw in the photos. Do you think they hibernate during the day somehow? That would explain why they're only in the daytime photos."

"Yeah, that makes sense," he answered, coming over to lean down over me, studying the bits I had pieced together. I'd already put together part of what might have been a taloned foot from the pile in front of the clock. He looked around, scratching his head with a puzzled scowl. "Seems kid of weird that they just disappear, though. Where did they go?" Then he straightened, and pointed toward the clock face. "Hey, there's a door over there in the clock! Let's check out the inside."

I started to protest, but he was already heading for the small door. I jumped up, rushing past him to block it before he could simply barge inside. "Wait! We need to be careful. What if those things are inside? They might not be friendly, and they sure won't be if we go marching right in there. Think- we don't know what kind of creatures we're dealing with. They could be dangerous!"

Mikey looked crestfallen for a moment, but quickly shrugged it off. "Yeah, you're right. Guess I'm just so excited to find proof, I almost got carried away. I can't WAIT to find out what those things are! So, do ya' think they can talk?" He really did seem excited, almost as if he expected these living statues to walk up and shake his hand. Personally, I was more inclined to think they would bite our heads off. From what I'd seen in the photos, at least two of them were larger than a human, and if they could put claw marks in solid stone, I had no doubt they could do far worse to flesh if they were hostile.

"Mikey, maybe I should go in first," I said, as he moved to open the door. "If we run into any cops inside, I can always pretend to be lost up here. Just be ready to disappear if we get caught." I had just remembered where we were, and I knew there was always a possibility that someone might be up here.

"Uh, good idea." Yup, That's my Mikey- a real way with words, that one….

I turned and tried the knob of the narrow door; I was surprised to find it unlocked. So I opened it. And that was when I first realized we had forgotten to take into account the possibility that we might not be the only ones who knew those so-called "statues" were more than mere stone embellishments. I hadn't taken a single step inside when I found myself staring down the barrel of a gun. A Glock .9mm police issue, to be exact. I stood gaping for a moment, and heard a soft gasp of surprise from behind me, followed by the almost inaudible swish of movement as Mikey pulled a ninja disappearing act that would have made David Copperfield envious.

"Not another step. You're trespassing in a restricted area. Who are you and what are you doing up here? This area isn't open to the public. Now back up nice and slow, with your hands up." I was being addressed by an attractive woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, with long black hair, a dusky complexion that seemed a mix of Latino and African-American, and a red leather jacket over a simple black top and comfortable jeans. I didn't miss the badge pinned on her belt, either.

"I'm sorry, and YOU are….?" I asked, aware that getting cheeky with a cop might not be in my best interests. I just needed to keep her attention on me, and hope she hadn't seen my green companion. "I was here to make a statement about a gang fight, and got curious to see what was up here. Didn't know it was off-limits." I hoped that my deceptive skills as a kunoichi were good enough to get past this officer without getting myself arrested. To be honest, I've never felt good about lying, and I had never considered lying to a cop before! I really need to spend more time with humans- I'm starting to THINK like a ninja….

"Detective Elisa Maza, 23rd precinct. Nice try, but there are signs posted downstairs, and there's only one way in- and that door was locked. Now, why don't you start over with the truth, and while you're at it, tell your friend to come out where I can see him." Damn. She didn't miss much, evidently.

I tried to stall, hoping Mikey would take a hint and make himself scarce in case she decided to look around outside. "There's no one else here!" I protested, looking around as if wondering who she meant. "Look, I wasn't hurting anything, I just came up to check out the view. No big deal, I'll just be going." I started to move toward the door, as though to go back down the way I'd supposedly come up. But the lady cop wasn't buying, from the suspicious gaze she leveled on me.

"I HEARD you talking to someone else out here, so don't try to play games with me. Where is he? And you still haven't answered my question- what's your name, miss? For that matter, why are you dressed like a cat-burglar? You didn't come up here just for the view- you're obviously up to something. So spill it." She was persistent, I had to give her that. She was also still holding a gun on me, which made me distinctly nervous. The fact that she had noticed I was wearing close-fitting black leggings, my calf-high boots, and a long-sleeved black shirt, with a simple belt with my tool pouch on it and my hair in a low ponytail, didn't help, either.

"I told you, I'm alone. I just wanted to see what was up here." I knew she didn't believe me, but then, she wouldn't believe the truth, either, so it couldn't hurt to stick to my story. "Weren't there supposed to be a bunch of gargoyles up here? They seem to be missing," I added, giving her a suspicious stare of my own. Maybe I could rattle her enough to get out of this without giving anything away.

"Tell your friend to come out of wherever he's hiding, or I'll have to take you both in for trespassing. Your choice. And I know he can hear me, so he might as well answer, too. Who are you?" I was starting to dislike this particular member of New York's Finest.

Mikey chose that time to speak up, though he stayed out of sight. "Uh, no offense, Detective, but you REALLY don't want me to come out there, and I ain't movin' as long as you're wavin' that pea-shooter around. I've already been shot at enough for one night." I almost groaned at his last comment. Great. Did he HAVE to be so damned chatty? Now she knew he was there, and she knew we had been involved in a shooting. He's sweet, but sometimes he doesn't know when to shut up.

"Did you say you've been shot at? Just who ARE you two? Gang members? Would-be thieves? Or maybe terrorists? And how did you two even get up here? I happen to know you didn't come up the drop-down steps that lead up from the station. Someone would have seen you." This just kept getting better. This detective was full of questions, and we couldn't reasonably answer a single one.

"Mikey! Way to go, lover-boy. You just HAD to open your big mouth!" I carped, and grumbled in annoyance. "You want to tell her your life story while you're at it?" I could just imagine the lecture we were going to get from Leo when he found out about this little escapade. It was bad enough that we'd been caught somewhere we clearly weren't supposed to be, but now he was at risk of being exposed. And by a cop, no less. I was pretty sure Raph would jump our case, too. He was always quick to back up Fearless when it suited his purpose- namely when it involved someone other than himself getting into trouble. He's such an altruistic soul….

"Uh-huh, and YOU just told her my name! At least I wasn't THAT careless!" He shot back from somewhere in the shadows, and I kicked myself mentally. Oops.

"Would someone like to tell me what's going on here? I asked you nicely, but if I don't start getting some answers, someone's going to spend the night in jail." That was the detective, and it was evident that she was fast loosing patience. I started to say something in reply, but Mikey beat me to it.

"Okay, I'll explain, but first you gotta' put that thing away. I don't want to get shot at on sight. Been there, done that- more times than I care to count." I turned toward where I knew he was hiding, fear sending an icy shiver down my spine. "But I gotta' warn ya'- I'm not your average dude. Let's just say I'm not like anyone you've ever met."

"Don't be so sure," muttered the cop. I wondered what that meant, but kept my mouth shut.

"Michelangelo Hamato, don't you DARE! Leo will KILL you!" I yelled at the shadows. The last thing we needed was to reveal to the NYPD that mutants were running around in the city- especially mutant NINJAS.

"Relax, babe. It's cool. I think we can trust her- if she can keep ONE secret, she can keep ours, too. Right?" I whipped around to stare at the detective. He still hadn't shown himself, but I could barely hear him moving closer. I knew exactly where he was, even if Detective Maza didn't.

"What?" Now he had me confused. What did that even mean?

"I think she knows somethin' about those missing statues. DON'T ya'? That's why she's UP here!" Mikey replied. I gaped at the woman, who had lowered her gun and stood eyeing the shadows closely, searching for him. At last she sighed, and holstered the weapon.

"I don't know how you know about them, but your friend is right. I DO know something. Your name is Mikey? Why don't you both step inside, and we'll talk." I noticed that she kept her hand near the gun. She moved back inside the door, and I slowly followed. After a few seconds, a shape melted out of the darkness out on the balcony, and Mikey stepped into the dim light from inside the tower. The detective's eyes widened, and she stepped back with a look of utter astonishment for a moment. Yet she seemed to recover quickly from the shock of seeing her first mutant turtle, and didn't even flinch when he offered his hand.

"Hi. I'm Michelangelo, but my friends call me Mikey." He smiled at her warmly, and after a moment of hesitation, she shook his hand for a brief shake, before remembering where she was.

"What ARE you?" She asked, staring at him curiously. "I've seen plenty of strange things in this city, but nothing like you! No offense."

"Eh, none taken. I'm a mutant. Uh, mutant turtle, that is. Chrysemys scripta elegans, to be specific. At least, that's what Donnie says. That's a red-eared slider, just so you know. We were born in a pet shop, but we've spent most of our lives in the sewers hidin' from humans, for obvious reasons. Actually, you're probably one of the only people who hasn't totally freaked when they see us. I'd call this an improvement over the kind of reactions we usually get." Mikey shrugged, and Detective Maza kept watching him with intense interest, no doubt wondering where he had come from.

"WE?! You mean there's more than one of you?" She glanced from Mikey to me, and I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I've got three older brothers! Well, we're not really sure who's older, but since father picked out our birthdays when he named us, we just sort of go with it. There's really no way to know when we were bor- uh, hatched." He gave her a half-smile and shrugged again, before turning to move closer to me. He wrapped one arm around me protectively, but I realized it was as much for his own comfort and support as for mine. He was nervous in the strange surroundings, meeting a stranger who might well decide to expose him to the world. But he seemed to think he could trust her, so I let him take the lead in this encounter. I just hoped his instincts were right.

We followed her down a set of stairs just inside, to a large area that had been turned into a sort of living space. Mikey gazed around cautiously, ever alert for danger. We heard a soft growling from somewhere nearby, and turned to see a large, dog-like creature approaching us slowly, teeth bared menacingly. It stood on four muscular legs, with large claws on its feet. It was about the size of a Saint Barnard, with a short muzzle like a bulldog, but it was furless, gray, and had bat-like ears, a stubby tail, and three spikes down the middle of its back. I was reminded of the demon dog from Ghostbusters; I just hoped THIS beast was friendlier! It growled again, and only Detective Maza's hand on its head held it back.

"Whoa! Easy, Bronx. These two are with me. It's okay, boy- go keep Hudson company." She said, and the beast cocked its head almost as if it understood her, then whined and lowered its head as if disappointed. It shuffled over to sniff Mikey closely, circling him as if studying him carefully, its head cocked curiously.

Michelangelo cautiously knelt down, reaching out with one hand toward the huge creature to let it see he was harmless. "Hi there, fella. You must be the one I saw in those pictures that was different from the others. I bet you wish you had wings like they do, huh?" He grinned when the big dog-beast snorted and seemed to nod. It sat down just in front of him and nudged his hand with its massive head, then licked his face. He laughed. "Hey! You're just a big softie, huh, boy?" He said, and I was amazed at how easily he had made friends with the creature.

The detective stared at the two, clearly stunned. I watched in complete astonishment at Mikey's uncanny ability to befriend almost anything. It was one of his gifts, something I'd discovered while watching him with Klunk, or when he would secretly go out to feed some of the strays that lived near the garage where the guys kept their van.

"I don't believe it," Maza said after a moment. "Bronx has never taken such a liking to a stranger that way before!"

Michelangelo glanced up from where he was now scratching behind the big beast's ears and grinned. "Guess he must like turtles!" He said, and laughed again as the creature gave a snort and playfully knocked him over. "Wow, our bros are gonna' FLIP when they hear about this! A real, live gargoyle dog! I bet April would LOVE to see him! You think it'd make a good news report?" He turned to me, with a questioning look. I just shook my head emphatically.

"I wouldn't, Mikey. Not our secret to tell. Besides, I'm sure these- whatever they are- don't want to be exposed any more than you guys do. Ninjutsu IS the art of invisibility, remember?" I decided it might be a good idea to remind him of what we were, to drive home the need for discretion.

He grimaced, and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess not." He rose, giving the strange dog-beast a last pat on the head, and looked around at the space inside the tower. There were steps down from the inside of the clock, and the huge gears that once ran it were perched high above us, while the main floor was mostly empty save for a small area that had been turned into a makeshift kitchen, and a corner with a television and a comfortable old recliner and footrest, with a table beside it and a rack of DVD's. Another area held a workbench covered with tools and several small appliances in various states of repair, and a bookshelf half-filled with books on mechanical repairs, building projects, and computers. Mikey's eyes lit up when he saw it all.

"Wow! Not a bad place ya' got here. So where are the guys that live here?" He asked, turning to the woman with us. She tried to hide a smile behind one hand, as she looked at something just beyond his left shoulder. I gaped, while a large shape approached him from behind, half-hidden in the darkness below the steps leading down from the giant clock-face. Mikey saw my stunned expression, and looked puzzled for an instant; then realization kicked in, and he paled. "There's one behind me, isn't there?" He asked, not even waiting for a response before he slowly swiveled his head to look.

"Aye, lad. There is indeed." The reply came from a nearly six-foot, winged creature with long white hair and a thick beard, a wrinkled, aged face, and a scar slashing down over one eye. It was clearly male, muscular and fit in spite of his obvious old age, with some sort of ancient leather armor and a belted loincloth over a pair of short leggings, with a curved sword at his side. A long tail and a pair of short head-spikes over his brows completed the intimidating appearance.

"Oh, boy. Th- they're a LOT scarier up close than I thought they'd be!" Mikey said, backing away slowly. I tensed, ready for anything. Suddenly, I stared to think we should have gone with Leo and the others…..