Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT.

04

"Son of a –!" Raphael growled, punching the End button on Michelangelo's phone. He threw it back to him. Then he spun and punched the wall hard. "She's still not answering!" There was more panic than anger in his voice, and he didn't know how to hide it. He couldn't focus on that right now. Not with the noise inside his head and the ringing of the phone, making him feel like his head was about to explode.

"Just chill, Raph," Leonardo said, putting his hand on his shoulder. "We don't even know if it was her that called. It was probably just a wrong number or something. It happens."

Donatello looked up at them from his computer. "On an unlisted, encrypted line that only we have access to?" he said, not bothering to hide his skepticism. "Not likely."

"Would you just hurry up and find her!" Raphael shot at him.

Donnie started typing hurriedly on his computer. "I'm trying," he said. "It's not exactly easy, trying to triangulate a cellphone signal in New York City. These things take time."

"All I'm saying is, there's no reason to freak out," Leo said, crossing him arms. "It's only been about two minutes. I'm sure she'll call or something –"

"Yeah, if," Raphael said, pulling out of his grip. "If she's okay." He wasn't sure what was wrong with him. Panic had flooded his chest the instant he had heard Donnie's phone ring, and dread flooded his stomach. He knew it was her. He just knew it, and two minutes was a long time. It was long enough to get shot or to get beat into a bloody pulp. A lot of damage could be done in two minutes.

Why didn't anyone else seem to realize that?

"Raph," Donnie said a minute later. "I think I've got a lock on her location."

"Finally!" Raph said. He jumped over the chem table in the middle of the room, and ran over to Donnie's desk, peering over his shoulder. His eyes narrowed when he saw the spot on the map. "This is right near where we found her the first time."

"Found who?"

Raph looked up to see Splinter standing in the door of the lab, looking at each of them expectantly and the room fell silent. "Master Splinter," he began pleadingly, and the screaming in his head grew even louder because he knew it was pointless to even ask. "Please, please, try to understand. It's the girl I saved from the Dragons – I think she's in trouble. I just have to go make sure she's alright."

Splinter sighed and shook his head. "What, exactly, did you tell this girl, Raphael?" he asked exasperated.

Raphael frowned at him uncertainly. "I-I told her to call if she ever needed anything. I told her that we would protect her – that I would, I mean."

Splinter looked down at him, stern-faced and said, "Then you must keep your word."

Raphael gaped at Splinter silently for a split second. Then he took off running out of the lair without another word.

Mia sat on the floor of her living room and stared down at the phone that had been ringing non-stop for nearly five minutes. She held it tightly in her fist and gaped down at it. She couldn't believe this was happening. She was never supposed to hear from him again, and definitely not because her mute little sister decided to make a prank phone call. But that had been his voice she had heard on the other end of the line. There was no mistaking it.

"Huh?" Mia looked down when she realized the phone had stopped ringing. She stared at it like it was a bomb just waiting to go off. But nothing happened. And that was good, right?

It meant that he had given up. He was done calling. He had probably left her a voice message that she would never retrieve because she didn't know the password, and wait for her to call him back. Which was never going to happen, and that was good. Right?

"Eh!"

Mia looked up to see Clara standing over her with her hand outstretched expectantly. For a split second, Mia stared at her stunned because she had grunted and that was practically a word. Unless she was scared or pain, Clara never made any kind of noise much less anything bearing any resemblance to a word. Then she looked from Clara to the phone and back again, and realization dawned on her.

"No," Mia said, shaking her head frantically, angrily. "You think you can just make a sound and all is forgiven?" She grabbed her crutches off the floor and pushed herself to her feet. "It doesn't work like that, Clara. You're in a big trouble, and you are never touching this thing again." She shoved the phone in her pocket before Clara even had a chance to look disappointed. Then she grabbed her by the arm and led her to their room. "You're going to bed early tonight."

Thanks to all the shortcuts he had discovered on his solo runs, Raphael was now only one mile away from the address Donnie had given him. The closer he got, the louder her screams became inside his head. They were so loud, they blocked out the sounds of his heavy panting as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, running so hard his chest hurt. But what really kept him going was what Leo had said back at the lab.

What if he was wrong – what if it hadn't been her?

Raphael landed on the roof of the Dandelion Bread Factory and lightning flashed, lighting up the sky. Thunder clapped directly overhead and he took off running harder than ever.

Because that was the point. If it hadn't been her, what if it had been a Purple Dragon or a Foot Soldier – or worst?

There was another clap of thunder and then Raphael skidded to a halt on the roof of a crumbling apartment building. He felt the first drops of freezing rain fall on him as he walked to the edge of the roof silently. Then he paused and knelt down, frowning. He had found it.

This was the place where Mia was.

Mia led Clara over to her bed and threw the blankets back. "Just go to bed," she said, and crossed the room to her own bed. She sat down on the bed and pressed her back against the wall. She dropped the crutches on the floor and ran her hands through her hair silently. She twined her fingers together, tying her hair up in knots and trying her best to breathe deeply.

She was losing it, she knew, and it was all because of her own stupidity. All of this was her fault. All of this had happened because she hadn't been watching Clara. If Janie found out about any of it, all hell was going to break loose. The neighbors would call the cops again, and the cops would call CPS again. And all of it would be Mia's fault just like always.

Then, suddenly, lightning flashed outside the window and the lights in the bedroom flickered off.

"What, seriously?" Mia said, grabbing her crutches and climbing out of bed. "Wait here," she added to Clara, who stared back at her from her own bed silently. Mia tried to keep her voice from shaking.

She walked to the doorway of the room and poked her head out, silently praying that it wasn't a power outage. But when she looked out into the kitchen and living room all she could see was darkness. The lights had gone out in those parts of the apartment, too.

"Oh, my god, no," Mia groaned and felt warm, angry tears stinging the corners of her eyes. This was too much. It was all too much. Everything had gone wrong tonight. Literally everything and she just couldn't deal with all of it.

She turned in the doorway to look back at Clara and then she froze when she saw him. He was standing on the fire escape just outside the bedroom window, drenched from the rain and scowling in at her. And Clara wasn't in bed – she was opening the window to let him in.

Fong stood silently the striped awning of the twenty-four-seven market just up the street. Part of his face was still bloody and swollen from his last encounter with the Turtles. He didn't care, though. He was here to work. Not to socialize.

Not that there was much for him to do. The cashier who worked at the store had already told him the girl the Turtles had saved that night – Mia Something, her name was – came here a lot. So now all Fong had left to do was watch, and this spot under the awning gave him a remarkable view of the girl's bedroom window.

Smiling, Fong pulled a cellphone out of his pocket and dialed the first number on speed dial. "You were right, Master," he said in a hushed whisper. "Contact has been made."

Then he hung up the phone and dropped it in the garbage can beside him before he started to walk away.

A/N: Hey, you guys, I'm sorry this chapter is so short and that it took me so long to write. I've been very busy recently, getting ready for the holidays and setting up a new aquarium, but I have a new chapter that's gonna get put up soon hopefully. I hope you guys are looking forward to it and as always, thanks for always reading and reviewing! -MJ