What, another chapter already? Apparently, while on small breaks from major, stressful papers this author...writes. Thanks a ton for the reviews, favs and follows, and for reading! It's really cool to see your guesses about Raph. I'm not going to say just yet whether they're right or not, but I will say that there is an explanation for what's going on. :)
CHAPTER FIVE
"Donnie. Donnie, did you hear me? Get the shell outta there!"
Donnie tensed, his fingers gripping the table. The monitor of the computer before him was right where he left off. But the damage was done. Raph was right, Bishop had found him. He couldn't possibly have missed Don hack into his mainframe, if he was looking for it. Which he was.
This wasn't good. Donnie needed to act. Now. He had no idea when Bishop would get there, but knowing Bishop…just great. He had only just got there, for Pete's sake! His coffee was even still hot.
Snatching up his shellcell and placing it in his belt without hanging up on his brother, Donnie left the computer on as he raced into the kitchen.
"Donnie?" Raph's voice sounded faint coming from his belt.
"Still here Raph, a little busy right now," Donnie responded.
He grabbed a large grocery bag and stuffed into it as much food and bottled water from the pantry as he dared, then threw it over his shoulder Santa-style and raced for the old barn. He didn't even bother to close the farmhouse door, and he regretfully pushed aside the thought of taking the tools which were in the living room. Instead he focused all his energy on getting to the vehicle he had hidden in the barn the night before.
He yanked open the car door, which he had not bothered to lock since the car was in the barn. Throwing the bag of supplies into the backseat, he frantically began searching for the key. Where was it? Had he taken the keys inside? Should he go back in to get them? Would that be safe? Approximately how far away was Bishop, and what was the closest distance he could be in miles if he left as soon as Donnie hacked the computer? Where were those keys?
Oh, here they were: still in the ignition. Donnie got into the car and started the engine, then drove the car quickly through the half-closed barn doors. Thankfully they opened outwards for him as the car pushed through them, and so seemed unharmed, but he made a mental note to check them for Casey later.
The sound of a helicopter appeared above him, from somewhere in the trees on the other side of the house. Donnie tensed. He didn't want to believe it, but there was no doubt this belonged to Bishop. It couldn't belong to anyone else; Don had never seen or heard anything fly near that house that wasn't either a kite or Casey dressed as a squirrel. And that helicopter sure sounded close.
Oh boy, Bishop was faster than he had reckoned.
It was already too late to take the driveway to the main road; the helicopter would see it as soon as it came into view. But the driveway wasn't the only thing that led to the main street. Donatello turned the wheel and drove the vehicle directly into the woods. Instantly, he wished he had worked on the shock absorbers when he had fixed up this old abandoned car the night before. It was obvious that no man or Turtle had ever driven through this section of the woods before.
Hopefully they wouldn't discover his tracks until long after he had used his new 'shortcut' to reach the main road.
"Donnie, you still there?" Raph asked, his voice faint since the shellcell was still in Don's belt.
"Yeah," said Don, holding the wheel with both hands, "I'm currently escaping the farmhouse. I heard a helicopter; I think Bishop is already here."
As he spoke Donatello made it out of the woods and reached the main road, nearly crashing into an incoming car as he pulled out into the road and turned to the left.
"Did you lose him?" Raph asked.
"I don't know," said Donnie, driving down the road at what he assumed was a normal speed while trying to look for the helicopter behind him, "I made it to the main road. I don't see the copter yet…wait, there it is. It finally came into view."
"What's he doing?" Raph asked.
Donnie stared at the helicopter through his rearview mirrors. "He's circling the farmhouse. That means he didn't see me leave it. I think I'm safe, for now."
Donnie slumped into his seat in relief.
"Good." said Raph, "Inventory."
"Car, self, shellcell, sack of food and water." Donnie rattled off, "That's it. I left behind all weapons except my staff, and I left the disguises we keep in the closet, blankets, spare tools…you know what, I'm not even going to continue. I left behind almost everything, and only barely made it out."
"Plan?" asked Raph.
"Let's see. Clothing and blankets from Goodwill. Stop at the library for internet-" said Donnie.
"Think again."
Donnie paused. "Huh?" he asked.
"You almost got caught back there," Raph said angrily, "Bishop even saw it coming. You're too predictable sometimes, Don. New plan: stay away from technology. Let me do the computer stuff. I got a computer, after all."
Donnie laughed. "No offense Raph, but computers aren't your strong suit."
"Yeah, and my attack plans aren't your strong points either." said Raph, a smile in his voice, "But the way I see it, they're the only way for you ta get past Bishop."
"What?"
"You want a plan? I'll give it to ya. You're going to do what Bishop will never expect. I'll help as much as I can, but Don, ya gotta change your strategy. Act like me or somethin'."
"Raph, are you serious?"
"Of course I am," said Raph,
"Raphael," said Donnie, "That's insane."
"Insane enough to keep ya alive, Donatello," said Raph, "You can do it, you just don't want to. And right now, because you don't want to is why Bishop will never see it coming."
Donnie took a deep breath. As much as he hated to admit it, Raph was right. Even if what he said still sounded a little crazy.
"Alright," he said, "So what do I do instead of going to the library?"
"Well, right now Bishop is too close. You know how good he is; he'll be on your trail soon enough as it is. Following your tire tracks or something. You're gonna have to ditch the car anyway, might as well be soon."
"Ok," said Donnie. This made sense, at least.
"So we have two choices: fight or flight." Raph continued, "I'd choose fight, but we want to save that for later. So fer now, you're going ta go into the nearby city and ditch the car a mile away from the bus stop."
"Right," said Donnie, "Only, instead of getting on the bus, I'm going to head somewhere else. Probably in the completely opposite direction, like Canada or the Rockies."
"And that's where you're wrong," said Raph, "You're gonna get on that bus, and you're gonna head straight back to good ol' New York City."
"What? That's suicide! Bishop thinks like a chess player, remember? So he'd expect me to head back to New York right away. Besides, the city is still under lockdown. Trust me Raph, it's better if I go to Canada. Or maybe I should make him think I'm heading to Canada, and I should really be heading…"
"Oh for cryin' out loud!" interrupted Raph, "Just head straight for New York. He probably won't expect ya to go for the straight route, anyway."
Donnie was silent, pondering that over. Could it really be so simple with Bishop?
"If you want, you can pull a Leo and go past the city," said Raph, "He probably won't expect that either, since ya obviously want to rescue us."
"Um," said Don, "I don't think-"
"But for now," interrupted Raph, "Concentrate on abandoning the car and getting on that bus. Um, let's see, how do I find the bus schedule? No, that's solitaire…and that's the computer's operating system…wait...here it is. Finally got the internet. The next bus leaves in half an hour."
"Um, alright," said Donnie, spotting the Goodwill near the road. He mentally noted to ask Raph which system the computer used, it seemed to be pretty fast. Either that or his brother had gotten a whole lot better at using search engines. Donnie pulled the car into the parking lot, and drove around the back of the building.
"I think I can book ya a hotel somewhere halfway between here and New York," said Raph, "That way, it'll be harder for Bishop to find ya, and we can come up with a better rescue plan as we go. Got it?"
"Yup. Hey, how are you going to book a hotel without Bishop finding out?"
"Leave that to me."
"O-kay," said Donnie hesitantly, "Do you even know how to book a room at a hotel?"
"Shell," said Raph, "I gotta go."
"What is it? What's happening?" Donnie asked.
"Bishop. It's Bishop. He's here."
"What? But I thought he was at the farmhouse," said Donnie, "Raph, are you near the farmhouse?"
"No. Guess he sent other people to the farmhouse, 'cause he's coming my way. I need to hang up before he gets here," Raph said, "I'll call you at the hotel, alright? I'll uh, I'll text you which one. Stay away from computers and stuff, okay? Remember, Bishop has it all rigged to find ya. Just lay low, and stay on that bus unless I tell ya not to."
"Wait," said Donnie, "Are you going to be all right? Where is Bishop keeping you?"
"Gotta go. Good luck, bro." said Raph, hanging up the phone.
Silence reigned in the car, until Donnie put his shellcell back in his belt and finally turned off the car's engine.
Donatello's overused mind took advantage of the quiet moment to sneak in a few thoughts.
"Did he just say he'd text me?" Don asked himself aloud. Raphael never texted anyone if he could help it. He must be in big trouble to feel the need to resort to that.
How Raph had kept the shellcell while in Bishop's prison was a mystery, but how he was going to pay for a hotel on Bishop's computer without Bishop knowing about it was an even bigger mystery. Even though Bishop didn't know Raph had access to the computer, he would know Raph booked a hotel as soon as he saw the bill. So was it a good idea to follow Raphael's plan? And why wouldn't Raph tell him where he was being held captive?
What was it that Raph was hiding from him?
In a bored fit of having nothing better to do, Michelangelo had decided to have a staring contest with the cyborg guard. He was probably losing of course, since the guard's face was completely masked by the exosuit. But still, it was a great distraction, and it gave him something to do while Leo attempted to think up a plan to get them out of there.
Suddenly the cyborg, who had remained completely still with arms at his sides-Bishop had said the person wearing the suit was a man, right? Mikey hoped so, it would have been weird if it was a girl-inclined his head towards the door. Leo tensed, and Mikey dared to speak, inadvertently averting his eyes from the guard to address his brother.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Bishop," said Leo, sensing that something was very wrong, "Bishop is coming."
The next few moments were very tense, but within half a minute the door slammed open to reveal a very angry Bishop, followed by two men again-only this time, the men were different.
His first action was to punch a hole in the cell wall.
"Your brother," Bishop seethed, not even hurt from his own punch, "Was caught hacking into my computer. From a small farmhouse in the countryside."
Leo and Mikey looked at one another in astonishment. Donnie had gotten to the farmhouse?
"He escaped my city," said Bishop, "How did he leave my city?"
"Um, he escaped?" Mikey joked, stating the obvious.
But his sense of humor went unappreciated. Bishop glared at him, then turned to the cyborg guard who was still standing by the door.
"Seize the turtle," Bishop ordered, and instantly the cyborg complied. He took three steps forward and grabbed Mikey by the throat, lifting him easily up into the air, chain and all.
Instantly Leo was on his feet, but Bishop's men rushed forward and held him back.
"Wait!" said Leo, trying to force himself out of their grasp, "He was only joking. He shouldn't have been, but he was. Let him go!"
"Well?" Bishop said, ignoring Leonardo, "Why is the turtle still able to breathe?"
The grip on Mikey's throat tightened, both marginally and painfully.
"Wait!" Leo shouted, "Let him go! Take me instead."
Bishop smiled, and signaled to the cyborg. He promptly let go of Mikey, causing him to land gasping for breath on the floor.
"You heard the turtle," Bishop said, "Take him into the other room. And use the arms. They haven't been tested yet."
The cyborg approached Leo slowly, and untied his chains from the wall. Instantly Leo tried to escape, but the cyborg was wearing an exosuit. He tied Leo's hands together before he roughly stood him on his feet and dragged him out of the room. Bishop's two men followed them out the door, leaving Mikey alone with Bishop.
When the cyborg finally returned with Leo who knows how much later, Mikey was a nervous wreck. Bishop had been smiling at him the entire time, probably deciding that the best way to punish Michelangelo was to unnerve him as much as possible. Mikey was so nervous by the time the cyborg came back carrying Leo, with the two henchmen trailing behind them, that he gave an audible sigh of relief. That caused the cyborg to pause and look in his direction, but he thankfully chose to ignore the turtle and continued into the room.
It was obvious that Leo had gotten his shell kicked pretty badly. The cyborg set him down on the ground and chained him back to the wall, then turned to face Bishop for further instructions.
"Let this be a lesson. I am not to be insulted. Is that understood?"
Silence, except for Leonardo's labored breathing.
"Very good," said Bishop, "Now, where was I? Ah yes. Donatello has somehow made it out of New York. But not for long. We will capture him shortly, and he will not evade my grasp again."
He stepped towards the door, then signaled to the cyborg.
"There has been a change of plans," he said to the cyborg, "I require the suit to capture Donatello, and as such, you are hereby relieved from guard duty. Besides, the arms of the suit have demonstrated themselves to be weak; Leonardo is still conscious, I see. It must be a problem with the suit's settings. Follow me. We will fix the suit in preparation for our capture of the final turtle."
The cyborg obediently left the room after Bishop, and the door locked behind them. That left Leo and Mikey sitting with each other in silence once again. Mikey's throat still hurt a little, but he was more concerned about the way his brother was breathing.
"I'm sorry," Mikey finally whispered.
"Don't-don't take it personally," said Leo, "Bishop was pretty mad at Donnie. He was probably going to attack us for any reason we gave him."
"I'm still sorry though," said Mikey.
"Don't be," smiled Leo, "I'm already over it. The guard didn't hit me too hard, a few bruises here and there, but not even a broken rib. It could have been a lot worse."
"Still, I'd hate to see that guy when the suit is at full strength," Mikey said, shivering-likely from the cold, "He gives me the creeps."
"That's the problem," said Leo, "Bishop is going to send that thing out to capture Donnie."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth Leo wished he hadn't said that. It made the whole situation somehow real. The two brothers took another look at one another.
"Is he going to be alright?" Mikey asked, his eyes begging for consolation.
Leo didn't answer right away.
Mikey sighed, and moved to sit up against his brother. It was getting cold in the cell again, and his brother was warm.
"I hope so Mikey," Leo finally answered, "I hope so."
The cell was quiet again.
"Yeah," said Mikey softly, breaking the silence, "Me too."