Family Night

23rd Precinct Station-

Leonardo sat across the table from the gargoyles' leader, contemplating the board between them intently. Goliath rumbled softly to himself, stroking his chin, brows furrowed in deep concentration; then he picked up a black rook, moving it a half dozen squares across the board to take Leonardo's queen. He raised his eyes to gauge his opponent's reaction, smiling in satisfaction.

"I've taken your queen, Leonardo. How do you plan to win from a position of such weakness?" The giant gargoyle asked, chuckling.

Leo stared down at the board for a few moments, before he finally looked up at Goliath with a cocky smirk. Very deliberately, he slid a white bishop more than halfway down the board, taking Goliath's own bishop. "Checkmate. You left that piece open, and it was the only thing protecting your king. It's cornered with no moves to get out of check since my knight and rook guard the other squares, and you have no other piece in position to take them out."

"Very clever. I did not even see that coming," The black-maned gargoyle nodded appreciatively.

Leo grinned. "A wise leader plans for every contingency, always thinking at least five steps ahead of his opposition. I had you beaten ten moves ago. I just had to wait for you to fall into my trap." He replied smugly.

"You are indeed well-suited to the position your sensei has given you. Most impressive." I glanced over at the pair, to see Leo almost glowing at the gargoyle clan leader's praise. He gave a slight bow.

"Thank you. I try very hard to be worthy of his trust in my abilities, though it is often difficult." Leo didn't often talk about his responsibilities as leader, but he had quickly found a kindred soul in Goliath, and the two had discovered many common interests, chess among them.

At another, larger table, the rest of the turtles sat with Lex, Brooklyn, and Broadway, engaged in a cut-throat game of Hold 'Em, using M&M's as poker chips. "I see your four orange and raise you two green," Mikey said, pushing the colored candies into the middle of the table. Already the pile was fairly large, as each player had made his bets while the hand progressed.

Broadway looked down at his cards, then at the cards lying face-up in the middle. Showing were a five of diamonds, the king of spades, the eight of hearts, the ace of clubs, and the six of diamonds. "Too rich for my blood," Broadway said, putting down his cards. "I fold."

"He's bluffin'." Raph stated bluntly in reply. "No way Mikey's got anythin' better than a pair of eights. I call." He tossed out his "chips" and turned to look his little brother in the eye. Mikey just grinned back at him.

"You sure about that, Raphie?" He asked, challenging Raphael.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Raph," Donnie said from Raph's left. "Mikey almost never bluffs. He must have something good." He tapped his chin for a moment, and finally dropped his M&M's into the pile. "I call."

Lexington sighed. "I'm out. I'm almost out of chips anyway." He had already placed most of his candies into the pile, and only had a couple of red ones and three yellows left. "Brooklyn?" He looked questioningly at the remaining player.

"I call," the red-skinned gargoyle said, sliding his pieces out into the pile. "Show us what you got, Mike," He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms and settling his gaze on the youngest turtle.

Mikey made a dramatic show of placing his cards down on the table with a flourish, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Read 'em and weep, fella's. Triple Crowns!" He replied smugly, as all three of the remaining players saw what he had put down, and groaned. In his hand were the kings of clubs and hearts. Raph swore, thumping his fist on the table; Donnie shook his head, and Brooklyn tossed his cards down in disgust.

"How does he DO it?" The red-skinned gargoyle asked in disbelief. "I've never seen anyone get lucky THAT often!" He watched as the orange-clad mutant raked the pile of M&M's toward him. Mikey plucked up a small handful and popped them in his mouth, grinning smugly as he ate his winnings. I grabbed another handful from my perch on his right thigh, and glanced around at the others as I ate the sweet morsels. The game had been going on for some time, and with almost every hand, Mikey's pile had grown larger, earning grumbles from the two most belligerent players.

Raph glared at his little brother darkly. "Yeah, I shoulda' known he had somethin' when he started fidgetin' with his 'chips'. He only does that when he's got a good hand." He paused, as if realizing he'd just revealed an important secret. His eyes narrowed, and he suddenly sprouted a wolfish grin of his own. "That's his tell. He don't do that when he's got nothin'."

"Heh, that's what you think. How do you know I haven't just been screwin' with ya'?" Mikey replied slyly. I giggled, only vaguely aware of his arm curling tighter around my waist in a light squeeze. I knew very well that he was fond of using a false front to hide his real intentions. In this case, it seemed to have worked- perhaps better than he had anticipated.

"Yeah, sure, bro. I got your number, now!" Raph shot back.

"Uh-huh. I've been doin' that on purpose just so you'd think that." He paused, suddenly doing his best impression of Splinter, "'Deception is a ninja's greatest weapon,' What better way to convince ya' ya' found my tell than to make one up?" He grinned even wider, and I laughed out loud at Raph's stunned expression as his jaw fell.

"Son of a snapper!" Raph swore, glaring at his brother. "You set this up!" He grew even more annoyed when the rest of the table erupted in laughter.

"Looks like you underestimated him, Raphael," Brooklyn chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "So much for MIKEY being the dumb one!" Raph turned to give him a dirty look at the friendly dig, as Donatello nodded agreement.

"Raph, I keep telling you our baby brother's not as dumb as he acts! Maybe now you'll believe me!" He chortled, snorting as he nearly fell backwards in his chair. From across the room, we heard a snort of assent from Bronx, who was keeping Hudson company while he watched Letterman.

"Bunch'a jerks," Raph muttered disgustedly. "Yeah, laugh it up, you clowns. Next time, he ain't gonna get away wit' 'dat, though. Can't pull the same trick on me twice, Mike."

"Nah, that just means I'll just come up with another way to mess with ya'. Face it dude, you're just no match for the Mikester!"

Just then, the movie Hudson was watching was interrupted by April doing a Channel Six news bulletin. "We interrut our regular programming for this special news report. As of ten minutes ago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has been the scene of a stand-off between police and the former TV stars turned criminals known as The Pack. The gang, led by siblings Jackal and Hyena, have reportedly taken several security guards hostage while attempting to steal a priceless Japanese relic from the museum. And in a bizarre twist, a second group of what appear to be ninjas has also become involved. We now go live to the scene, where NYPD negotiators are trying to resolve the situation."

Leo stood up swiftly, knocking over the chess pieces he had been resetting for a new game. "Shredder!" He cried, pointing at the television. Sure enough, a large cylindrical vehicle with tank treads on one side and a huge drill on its nose poked up from the ground.

Brooklyn and Lex both rose at the same time, bounding over to gape at the screen. "The Pack! I knew those guys would show up again sooner or later." Lex growled angrily. From the way his eyes began to glow, it was clear that he had a deep hatred for the gang.

"I'd say it's time to put those creeps away for good. Let's go, guys!" Brooklyn said, his tail lashing in agitation. From the way all the others were reacting, and Leo's angry glare, I decided that our night of fun was at an end. Even Mikey shoved back his chair, sliding me off his leg as he got up, growling softly deep in his throat as his eyes fell on the image of the transport vehicle on the television. I suddenly had a very bad feeling, as if disaster was about to strike. As it turned out, I was more right than I could have imagined….