Chapter 21:

Casey drove the Battleshell around the side of the townhome they had singled out earlier. He looked through the windshield to watch the bright moon shine off the dark bricks of the building. A little more light than he had hoped for night, but he couldn't control the moon. He tilted his head and then looked over the seat to the two girls and the giant rat in the back seat. Both young women were dressed in dark clothes and woven belts around their waists. Deidra had her hair covered as the bright red may tip someone off, while Analise had her dark brown hair tied up in a high ponytail. She twirled a strand or two around her finger in nervousness- it was her first raid after all.

Deidra shifted her shoulder blades to shift the weight of her katanas. She had used them before, but she never had to get used to their weight on her back. The shurikens were placed high against her outer thighs and the shinobigatana, the smaller sword, was against her leg in her tall boots.

Analise had the rope hanging with a strong snap at the side of her left hip. It was a comfortable weight and reminded her of some of the larger radios she wore during her work at a police department when was still in college. The kusarigama was tied around her waist and hung off her other hip in such a way it didn't catch on her clothes. Splinter taught her how to unwrap herself from it and use it in a one quick movement. It took until sunset to perfect, but she knew it by heart if anyone asked her now.

Splinter pushed his cane to the bottom of the van to gain some stability. He stood up and faced Casey, "Is everyone ready?"

"We may have a little bit of a problem, rescue party," Casey said and turned back to the building. The girls both leaned over the back seats to look at what he was motioning to. The windows were all covered with what looked like steel or metal plating, except for the top window. The doors probably had the same kind of protection right behind it.

"You have got to be kidding me," Analise groaned.

"You think that they knew we were comin'?" Casey asked.

Deidra growled and knew that it meant they would be prepared for them.

"Or that someone tried to get out," Analise said and opened the side of the Battleshell.

"Ana!" Deidra yelled after her, "What are you thinking?"

"That everyone was gone," Analise jogged over to the side of the next building and ran her hand over the side of the building which was filled with huge caliber bullet holes. She turned back to Deidra who had run after her, "What if the guys managed to get out?"

"Then the bad guys wouldn't stay around for long. I think that they had the skill to get away from this guy and I see no blood to say that they were hit…" Deidra shook her head and then turned back to the building, "But let's make a house call to make sure."

"How are we going to get in there?" Analise asked as she followed her back to stand next to Splinter and Casey in front of the building.

"We could try to bust the front door," Casey said as he took out his favorite bat and bring down his face mask.

"Direct way, I think is too direct," Deidra shook her head and looked up at the top window, "What about that top window?"

"Problems I see with that," Analise said as she looked up and then around her, "They know it's the only way in and will have it protected. Another is the fact that is more than likely the window they shot from, which means there is a ready weapon in there."

"So where is an opening we can use?" Splinter asked as he also scanned the building.

Analise's eyes were immediately drawn to the small alley between the two townhouses and walked toward it. Deidra noticed her movements and followed her closely.

"What do you got?" she asked as soon as Analise stopped at the top of some cement steps.

"Where do people usually put their secrets?" she asked randomly as she narrowed her eyes down the cement pathway.

Deidra lifted an eyebrow in question and then turned to look in the same direction that Analise was. She suddenly understood and looked at her friend, "The basement."

"Bingo," Analise nodded and began to climb down the stairs.

Deidra turned back to the other two, "Come on. I think Analise found a jackpot."

Splinter and Casey ran to them and followed Deidra in as Analise unwrapped her weapon from around her and held it tightly as she stepped in before them. She saw the small lights that lit the metal walls and floor of what looked like a small laboratory. She kept her ears open and heard Deidra, Casey and Splinter enter the room after her. Her eyes changed in dilation to take in as much light as they could manage and she made out a few shapes. There was a large bed in the corner, a few panels on the walls and what looked like a couple of body outlines on the floor.

Deidra came up next to her and narrowed on the couple of bodies that were on the ground, "You see what I see?"

"Yeah, dragons from the look of their haircuts," Analise answered and then closed her eyes as lights flooded the area. Both girls looked back to see Splinter at one of the light panels on the wall.

"I thought that we would need some light for this situation," he explained.

Casey went over to the closest dragon and picked him up by the front of his shirt, "'Ey! You alive?"

The young man in his grip grumbled despite the sting of a black eye and probably a broken jaw.

"Good," Casey pushed him against the wall, "Then you can tell me where they took my best friend."

"I… I don-" he tried to talk through his malfunctioning jaw.

"Don' tell me you don' know," Casey raged, "You dragons know how I operate, don'cha?"

The guy nodded his head once he recognized the hockey mask.

"Then tell me… what happened?"

"The four guys," he mumbled out and began to talk against the pain in his jaw to save him the pain of more bodily injury, "They fought us. Tried to get the girl out when she helped them out of their cage."

"The girl?" Deidra's head turned toward him as Analise and Splinter tried to wake up the other dragon left behind. She walked next to Casey and stared the dragon in the eye, "Do you mean Cherise Velmont?"

"What's left of her," he chuckled and then began to cough.

Deidra growled and hit her fist into what looked like a really nasty bruise, "Where is she?"

"Ah!" he yelled and gritted his teeth.

"Tell me!" she yelled in his face.

"Hun took her up the stairs!" he yelled back and looked at the door to the side of one large container.

Analise looked at the door and the back to her friend, "Is he still here?"

When the dragon didn't answer it was Casey's turn to do some damage. He put his forearm to the guy's throat and then pushed on his stomach where there more than likely was a long bruise forming.

"The lady asked a question," Casey reminded him.

"I don't know. Those four freaks knocked us out. They tried to get to her, but Hun shut the door. I blacked out. He left us here. Judging from the black outside, it's been a few hours at least."

Splinter put his hand on the container and closed his eyes to concentrate. He felt his sons' presence and then felt it fade. He followed it out the door they came through, but nothing on the upper levels. He opened his eyes to a worried Analise and Deidra standing near Casey.

"My sons escaped here," he nodded, "I do not know of Miss Velmont."

"Thank God, Mikey," Analise whispered and then looked at the door that Hun must have used. She walked quickly to it and then put her hand gently over the bent wood. She concentrated on Miss Velmont as she had done before and what had happened hours before they arrived. She felt her fear as Hun grabbed her and pulled her through the door. She saw her view from the other side of the door. It bent inward as she heard voices call for her and then footfalls toward the basement door. She opened her eyes again, "She was taken upstairs by force. The guys couldn't get through and tried outside."

"How do we get up there?" Deidra asked the still struggling dragon.

He gritted his teeth and let a breath escape. He rolled his eyes as he knew he wasn't going to get out of this. He pounded his hand against the smooth wall and a small panel appeared not to far from him. A small key pad appeared.

"You better not enter the self destruct on that thing," Casey warned and looked at Deidra's skeptical look, "What? I know what these mad scientists can do."

"Just do it," Deidra instructed the dragon.

He punched in a code and the whole group heard the metal panel click out of place and the door swung open, "There."

"Good boy," Deidra nodded and looked at Analise, "Ana let's put that arresting rope to good use."

Analise looked at the two dragons before she gave a smart smirk to Deidra, "And you thought that we wouldn't need it."

"Fine, it was a good choice," Deidra rolled her eyes, "Hand it over."

The group tied their helpful dragon to his unconscious buddy and a large pipe and began to walk up the stairs to the first floor. Deidra kept a close eye on Analise and Splinter to see if they had picked up anything. Analise had always been the more in tuned to spiritual things than she was so she picked up the sensing part of ninja training much faster than Deidra. The first floor looked empty and only a few scuff marks on the floor shown any clue that there was any furniture there to begin with.

"Either he lived with very little, or moved in a big hurry," Deidra said and put her hands on her hips as she looked over the front room and kitchen.

"I'm thinking the latter of the two," Analise said as she crouched down to touch one of the scuff marks, "They are recent. And there isn't enough dust here to depict abandonment."

"You sure you didn't want to become a detective?" Deidra asked as they followed Splinter up the second flight of stairs.

"Once upon a time," Analise smiled, "But I will stick with my day job."

On the second story of the home there were only two bedrooms. One the door was torn completely off and was empty, save for a few scuffmarks like the living room. The second door was closed and Deidra looked at Analise for a nod before she opened it. Casey took the initiative and opened the door to a scene none of them really anticipated.

At their feet was a small pool of blood and a body that looked part human and part animal nearly torn apart. Analise gasped and shook her head at the scene. Deidra took a step toward the body as Casey sat down on a nearby clean box. Splinter stood back and looked over what was left of the poor woman.

Analise let out a deep breath and stood beside Deidra, "No wonder I was only picking up her past feelings. How long, do you think?"

Deidra knelt down next to the body and felt no heat coming from her and the blood around her seemed cooled as well. She sighed and got up and away from where she could step in the blood, "It's been a few hours. Probably around the same time that the guys got out of here."

"What he do to her?" Casey asked from his box seat.

"Mutated her," Analise looked at the canine features on her face. Even with the deep gouges and claw marks over her, she could tell that much, "Then killed her… viciously."

"Because he felt betrayed by her," Deidra explained and looked softer at what was Cherise Velmont, "She helped the guys escape, remember? She had a chance to get away from him. And she took it. He probably took that as a betrayal. She was dispensable at that point and needed to be dealt with immediately."

Splinter suddenly stepped forward and walked around the blood to kneel by Cherise in a spot unsoiled by her blood. He held his hands an inch over her body and closed his eyes. The two girls and vigilante watched his expressions changed as his hands seemed to scan her from head to toe. He ended his scan with a smile on his face and opened his eyes to the others.

"Why the smile, Master?" Analise asked.

"Two reasons," he noted and looked out the window, "Despite Hun trying to hunt my sons through that window, he missed. They survive."

"And?" Casey asked.

"Miss Velmont was happy when she was killed."

"How could she be happy being murdered?" Deidra asked.

"Because she will bring the end of the reign of her murderer," he said and stroked some of Cherise's hair from her face where she was staring off into space, but held a small canine smile, "And she knew that. And she knew that he did too."

"Explains the quick clear out," Analise surmised and looked at Cherise's expression, "She does look happy, though."

"We got to put in an anonymous tip tonight on the hot line," Deidra said and looked at the window, "That way her family can finally rest and we can get Edmunds and Darson on this. Maybe she will hold something of use to us."

"Deidra," Analise went to put and hand on her shoulder, but Deidra moved away before she could. Analise then held her hand against her own chest. It was hard for Deidra. She worked hard to find and bring Cherise home alive. Now she was only bringing her home.

"It's a good thing we didn't come through the window," Deidra noted and plucked carefully at a string attached to the windowsill, "We would have gotten a head full of lead."

"Unpleasant," Analise noted and began to wrap her kusarigama around her waist to secure it, "Let's get that call placed and out of here. The guys are still out there somewhere. Alive, but we don't know if they are injured or anything else."

"Okay," Deidra nodded her head, but didn't turn from the window.

"I'll get the dragons to the first floor where the cops could find 'em," Casey offered and lifted his mask up. He looked from the body to Deidra and then finally to Splinter and Analise. Analise shook her head at him and took a step toward him, knowing that Deidra wouldn't want to talk about it at that moment. She would be there for her when she did, but it wasn't then. Casey and Analise both walked out the door and down to the basement.

"Do not place guilt where it does not belong," Splinter said as he got off the floor with use of his cane.

Deidra didn't turn back toward him. She studied the gun a little more and wondered how a gang like Hun's would be able to find fire power like it. Or if his benefactor was the owner- either way she would be back to look at it closer later. She finally turned back to Splinter who was now only a few inches from her. How he could still do that with no sound astounded her.

"She died in a fight she knew you were going to win."

"In a fight she shouldn't have been in to begin with," Deidra explained, "We should have caught this guy when he became Alfred Sinclair."

"When you didn't even know he existed?" Splinter argued back and put both of his hands over her shoulders, "You take the burdens of your victims and the consequences that should be for the ones you hunt. You place them on your own shoulders; your soul will be crushed under the pressure."

"My soul has been extinguished a few times over before I met you, Master. The last time it did, I met Analise not too long afterward, and she relit it for me with her friendship. She really helps, be it her spirituality or just her being my opposite, yet complement. She kept me going through some hard times, just like I have for her the past few years," she looked down at Cherise's body once more, "Now, I just got to keep it glowing. And it keeps growing brighter every time I find a way to stop them from doing stuff like this. By protecting people like Cherise Velmont."

"Then do so," he focused her attention back to him, "Remember, if you are to avenge those who fall to death. Then do so with pure intent. Be the stronger soul then those that chose to stay extinguished."

She suddenly felt his words in her chest and nodded, "Yes, Master Splinter."

"Come now," he turned to the door, "You will be back in a few hours if your lieutenant has anything to say about it."

"Hope we can find the boys before then," she said as he left the room. She stood at the edge of the blood pool and looked into Cherise's staring eyes, "I'm sorry. And I will catch him. I promise you."

She then turned and walked out the room, ready to take down the bastard.

"Leo," Michelangelo said in a near whine to grab the lead turtle- or now man's attention, "So we going underground, or what? I don't feel right out in the air like this. I mean, I would feel better someone seeing me back in my shell than out as a human in his birthday suit."

"Just one more street, Mikey," Leonardo said with an agitated sigh. They all came up against a few large dumpsters at the edge of a large hospital. One was marked 'Pickup for charity' and looked like a few sleeves were hanging out the side. Leonardo looked around the corner toward the side of the hospital and didn't see anyone or cameras to catch their pictures, "Clear. Let's see if they have anything in them."

He opened the charity bin and found a few large shirts and even some patient scrubs. Michelangelo caught one as clothing was being tossed back and put it on like a jacket only to be disappointed at the coverage in the front, "No wonder I dislike hospitals."

"Take that off, Mike," Raphael groaned and tossed him a brown t-shirt that was a little snug on him, "Try to focus on getting something on your lower half, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah," Michelangelo put the shirt on and found a lose pair of jean shorts. It was better than nothing, he supposed.

Donatello found an old grey jacket that he wore over some matching, wrinkled slacks. Leonardo found a purple sleeveless shirt and smaller than he wanted jeans. Raphael grabbed the first black wife beater he saw and shoved that one with some old exercise shorts that seemed a bit baggy.

"Now, let's get home," Leonardo said as he stuffed the clothes they didn't use back into the bin.

Suddenly a patrol car drove by and flashed a light into the alleyway where the dumpsters and bins were. It was empty from the looks of it.

"182 to dispatch, area is clear," the officer spoke into his car radio, "They must have caught just a group of kids going through the alleyway."

"10-4, 182," dispatch answered, "Continue to fifth and sixtieth. We have an anonymous call."

"10-4."