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Chapter 11

"Casey, you stay up here and keep watch. We'll make Mikey scream if we need you."

As much as he liked Casey, stealth wasn't really his thing, and Donny knew they couldn't muck this up. Casey nodded, knowing full well why they didn't want him inside with them, but as he looked around him and saw how high up they were, and isolated from any nearby buildings, he kind of wished they would trust him for once. They were on a small roof segment which held a little skylight above a storeroom door, a couple hundred metres below the spiked point that topped the Foot's tower. He gulped, avoiding looking down at all costs.

"Okay guys, just don't be long. It's not exactly…warm up here."

"Quit whining Case. Just cuz you don't like heights." Raph snapped, prising open the window Donny had just unlocked.

"What?! I ain't afraid of nuthin' Raph, you know that. Especially not heights."

"Of course not Casey," Mikey smirked. "So Don, how much damage do you think a fall from up here could do?"

Casey gulped even louder, gripping onto the railing surrounding the small roof segment. Donny rolled his eyes.

"Keep it down Mikey, we need to keep this as a re-claim mission only. We get in and then get out, got it?" Donny ordered, jumping down through the window. Mikey shrugged his shoulders and leapt down after his brother while Raph handed a piece of rope to Casey. He noted his pale complexion and chuckled a little as Casey lowered his mask onto his face.

"Alright Case, it's not so bad up here as long as you don't look down, okay?"

Casey nodded, and gripped the rope tightly.

"Now, when we call your name, you drop that rope through the window and help us up. Once we get out of here we need to leg it. The sooner we get to April, the better, got it?"

"Yeah Raph, I got it. And listen, I ain't afraid okay?" Casey answered, his face stern. Raph merely nodded.

"Sure thing Case. I wasn't gonna tell anyone anything." He smirked as he lowered himself down through the window. "But I can't say the same for Mikey!" He cried as he dropped down to the floor below, laughing at Casey's growls of annoyance. Raph earned a stern look from Donny before he returned his gaze to a map he'd acquired of all the security systems and rooms in the Foot's headquarters a few months ago, which had proved vital when they needed to break in as they had found an un-alarmed window.

"Do we even know where we've got to go?" Mikey asked, looking around him. He'd always hated this place. There just seemed to be metal spikes everywhere.

Donny consulted his map and traced a finger over a cluster of red rooms. "It says that the holding cells are on this floor, just left of the training room."

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's go!" Raph ordered, impatient to get out of the place. Donny took his place in front and led his brothers down several corridors, moving as quick as he could whilst reading map and dodging all the cameras they came across.

It wasn't long until they came across a series of rooms, each numbered 1-6. Donatello quickly went up to the cameras on the wall, staying out of their view and plugged a device in each one.

"That should freeze the image in the security room." He turned to face the doors.

"Don, which one is it?" Mikey asked, staring at the doors blankly.

"I don't know Mikey, do I?" Don answered, a little too sharply. Mikey stepped back, sensing his brother's bad mood and Don immediately felt bad. However, he was very aware that they were on a time limit: If the Foot soldiers patrolled each corridor on intervals, which he suspected they did, then they would be found eventually. And if they managed to take them out silently, the security guards would wonder why a patrol hadn't passed through that certain corridor for a while due to the frozen image. They needed to be quick but if they rushed things then they could mess up the mission, or worse, get captured. Plus, it was stressful having to come up with the plan; that was normally Leo's job. "How does he do it?" Donny wondered before he caught his brothers staring at him, Raph expectantly and Mikey apprehensively. Donny sighed and softened his tone.

"You keep watch with Raph while I unlock these doors." He pulled out his code encryption device as his brothers took their places either end of the corridor. He pulled out the small cable and plugged it into the door's electronic lock. It began to make a whirring noise while different sequences of numbers flashed up on its screen. After a couple of minutes a quiet beeping began emanating from the device while the screen flashed green. The locked clicked and Donny slowly opened the door. He cursed under his breath. Empty.

In fact, the first three cells held no luck; Mikey was becoming increasingly impatient, jumping from foot to foot. He was nervous while Raph stood still, fists tight around the hilts of his Sais. How long was this going to take? As Donny worked on the fourth door, Mikey froze, hearing voices come from the end of his side of the corridor. He swallowed, knowing that if he whispered to the others he'd give them away, but he didn't exactly want to face them alone. He crept around the corner slightly, hiding behind the wall before looking at Don. Donny saw his brother move in his peripheral vision and realized what he was doing. He nodded at Mikey and willed the machine to work faster. The footsteps got closer, and as soon as Mikey saw a speck of black come round the corner he lashed out with his nunchucks, knocking the pair of soldiers out. They fell to the floor with a thud and Mikey was so proud of his stealth that he opened his mouth ready to cry out in victory before he caught Donny's look of fury.

"Put them in the cupboard behind you, quietly." Don ordered, and Mikey closed his mouth slowly before attempting to shift the soldiers inside a broom cupboard. He did his best to be quiet, earning a death stare every time he grunted out of exertion.

"What? These guys are heavier than they look." Mikey wined, cramming the pair inside the small space.

Just be quiet, Mikey." Don then sighed when the fourth door revealed nothing. He shifted to the right and began on the fifth.

"Donny, what's taking so long?" Raph asked, impatience steaming off him.

"This is delicate work Raph, and it doesn't help that all the cells so far have been empty."

Suddenly, they heard more voices, this time from Raph's direction. Mikey slammed the door behind him, earning a glare from the others.

"What?"He asked.

Don just shook his head.

"This one's all me." Raph smiled, drawing his Sais and cracking his neck loudly. He jumped round the corner and all his brothers heard were thuds and grunts. Don's machine beeped again and unlocked the fifth door. Empty.

"Well this has been a waste of time," he muttered, moving onto the sixth door. Raph came round the corner.

"Mikey, clear this up will ya?"

"Why do I have to do it?"

"Just do it Mikey!" Donny whispered. Mikey scowled at his brothers before moving towards Raph and attempting to drag the soldiers to the cupboard. A sudden beeping from Donny's device signalled the unlocking of the final door. Don walked in, closely followed by Raph, slightly apprehensive as to what they would find. The room was plain, bare and cold, but someone had definitely occupied it.

There was a bag on the floor, containing a box of what looked like herbs and some rolls of parchment. Donny carefully opened one, finding it covered in Chinese script and small drawings of animals and plants, including a blue dragon. He frowned.

"How do we know that this was even Mei Pieh Chi's room?"

"It was hers alright," Raph suddenly answered. He was holding a wooden picture frame. Inside was a photo of an aged Chinese man and a young turtle wearing a light blue mask. In front of them sat a small cake with 12 candles on it. They didn't recognise the man, but the turtle was definitely Mei Pieh Chi.

"That must be her master." Don whispered, before Mikey's voice made him turn round.

"Err, guys. We have a problem."

Raph and Donny stepped out of the room to find Mikey surrounded by Foot soldiers.

All three drew their weapons as Raph stuffed the photo into the bag.

"Donny, you take this. Get to Casey, we'll catch up."

Donny didn't want to leave his brothers, but knew Raph and Mikey made a strong team. They charged, Donny using his staff to whack a gap in the Foot's ranks to run through. A group followed him, as did Mikey and Raph. He used the map to find his way through the labyrinth of corridors, hitting a few soldiers with his staff when they tried to grab onto the bag. It didn't take long for them to reach the open window.

"Casey!"

Their friend looked down, rain drenching his hair and face.

"Oh hey guys. So, the weather's nice and cheery, as expected." He chuckled sarcastically, not impressed at having to sit through a rainstorm. "I thought you were gonna be sneaky?"

"Change of plan." Donny yelled back as his brothers fought off the ever growing contingent of soldiers. "Here, grab this." He threw the bag up to Casey who in turn threw down the rope Raph had given him earlier. Donny began to climb it, Casey pulling him up onto the roof. The turtle gasped at the sudden change of weather: A harsh thunderstorm was well underway, rain lashing at the glass walls of the tower with lightning streaking across the sky. He could only just about see, the rainfall was so heavy.

Donny twisted round sharply, desperate to get home. "Guys, come on!" He cried, and Mikey immediately followed him, pulling Raph along. The latter kicked a Foot soldier down before they shut the window. Donny was busy attaching two grappling hooks to the above window ledge as his brothers caught their breath, trying not to slip on the water slick glass. He secured his gadgets in Pieh Chi's bag, tying it tightly in his shoulders.

"Ready guys?" The turtles nodded, grabbing the other rope, one above the other. Casey frowned.

"How are we...? NO WAY! I am not hanging onto a rope to get down from this height!" An alarm within the building suddenly went off.

"Dude, you don't have a choice." Mikey pointed out. "Cowabunga!" He cried, throwing himself down, kicking off the building occasionally to stop him from simply falling. Raphael followed suit, and then Donny on the other rope. Casey sighed and followed Don, gripping tightly to the rope and trying desperately to not shut his eyes. All four of them struggled to keep their hold as the rain soaked the rope, causing it to burn their hands as they slipped a little faster than they were comfortable with. Mikey screamed when his foot slipped against the glass, nearly sending him flying to the ground below, but he tried to laugh it off noticing the mocking look on Raphael's face. The alarms had been activated on every floor, Donny noticed, and was glad that April had seen fit to park just a couple of alleyways away. His hands suddenly lost their grip on the rope but thanks to his reflexes he landed swiftly on the ground at the back of the building. Raph and Mikey soon leapt down next to him, rubbing their hands a little before looking upwards.

"Come on Case, go back to your monkey-heritage and get down here!" Raph hollered up to his friend, who was taking ages to climb down.

"What did you call me?!" Casey called back, before letting out a shout and promptly falling on top of Raph, the ropes not far behind them.

"Ah jeesh man, who knew a shell could be so painful." Casey groaned, sitting up slightly and rubbing his back. Raph growled.

"Get off me, you great lug." Raph muttered, pushing Casey off him, rubbing his head as his friend flopped onto the soaking wet pavement.

"They cut the ropes." Donny pointed out. He sighed at Casey and Raph, the former's hair drenched and hanging limp across his mask-covered face. "Come on, let's go."

They gathered up the ropes and ran down the street until they found the battle shell. April unlocked the doors and simply stared at their drenched features. When Casey clambered in however, she cracked up in laughter, causing the guys to smirk at their friend.

"Humph." Casey moaned before Raph threw a dry towel at his face.

"So," April began, catching her breath after laughing so much. She started up the Battle-Shell and started to drive through the streets of Manhattan. "Did you find what you needed?"

"Of course we did April," Mikey grinned, wringing out the ties of his mask. "We are ninjas of ultimate skill."

"And did you keep it a stealth mission?"

There was a pause, causing April to look in her rear view mirror to see the guys' slightly guilty facial expressions.

"Well… there was a little bit of…unperceived violence." Don answered, earning approving nods from his brothers.

"Yeah, but Master Splinter doesn't need to know that, does he?" Raph added.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to worry him, would we?" Mikey replied, looking directly at April, who merely smiled at the slight fear in his eyes.

"I won't tell a soul." She simply stated before pulling into the old warehouse.