Thief in the Night

Ch. 5

Searching

The Purple Dragons walked into the room where Shredder was, expectant to receive their hard earned money. They walked a little ways before kneeling down on one knee, bowing their heads and waiting for Shredder to speak to them. They heard the Shredder shift in his seat before he spoke.

"I have gotten word that you all have helped capture the second one." Shredder said, looking down at them.

"Yeah, we got him." Fong answered, looking up at the man.

"He was alone too." Sid added with a nod. "He was up on the rooftops by himself so we thought it would be the perfect moment to strike."

"I see." Shredder said. "Well done." He then snapped his fingers and his assistant, Tigerclaw, appeared with a black briefcase clutched in his paw. He handed it over to Shredder who slid it over to the group of thugs. "Here is your money. Fifteen grand."

Fong greedily opened the case, staring at the many stacks of one-hundred dollar bills. Tsoi picked one up and held it up to the light to see if it was legit. He nodded towards Fong, confirming it was indeed real and then put it back under the rubber band. The three guys stood up, closing the briefcase.

"It was a pleasure doing buisness with you, uh, Master Shredder." Fong said with a smirk, clutching the case of money tightly. "Finally those turtles will get what they deserve."

"Indeed they will." Shredder nodded. "Now go. I have no more use for you."

Fong just nodded in response to Shredder's statement and he and his two allies walked towards the door, which was being held open by a Foot member. They walked out, giving each other fist bumps and slaps on the back from a job well done. Then, the Foot ninja closed the door, leaving Shredder and Tigerclaw in the throne room alone.

"How will we get the other two, Master?" Tigerclaw asked, glancing over at him. He was curious. They had no idea where they lived, so how could they possibly capture them?

"The last two will be easier to catch." Shredder muttered. "Especially the purple one. He is the weakest out of them all. The orange one seems quick on his feet. We will need a bigger army to catch him."

"You will use the Foot soldiers to do this task?" Tigerclaw added. "And us?"

"Yes." Shredder replied. "This plan must be successful in order to crush Hamato Yoshi. His spirit will be broken if the only family he has left is destroyed right in front of his eyes. I will easily be able to defeat him then." Shredder then let out a chuckle at this, and Tigerclaw just nodded his head.

"I understand, Master." Tigerclaw said. "We will be sure to patrol every night to see if we can spot them."

"Yes, you will." Shredder answered, quickly glancing at the mutant tiger before looking back towards the door. "And later today...you make sure to do harm to the two captives."

Raph's eyes slowly fluttered open and a low groan escaped his lips due to his throbbing head. He had no idea where he was, he just felt like he was going somewhere. He then realized he was thrown over someone's shoulder and this person was walking. But who were they? And where were they going?

He soon realized that the person carrying him was a Foot soldier because of his uniform and the place he was in was dark and musty. He assumed it was where Shredder kept his prisoners. Raph made sure to scan around the area to see if he could find Leo. He most likely was here, after all. He'd seen the Foot take him.

But, he didn't see him. Maybe he was in one of the cells? He just hoped that he wasn't getting put into an opposite one than his brother. Brothers need to stick together, especially in a time like this.

Raph then felt the ninja stop and he heard the jingle of the familiar sound of keys. He knew that the door was being unlocked because he could hear the faint click of the key turning inside the key hole. Raph knew what was coming next, and he sure wasn't going to like it. And, just as he predicted, the ninja threw him into the room as if he were a worthless rag doll and another Foot ninja went in and chained his ankle to the wall, just so he wouldn't be able to attack or anything.

Then, the ninjas left and closed the heavy metal door, leaving Raph to get himself up. Leo looked over and saw Raph, his heart sinking when he figured out that Raph was here because of Shredder's plan. He scooted closer, seeing that the younger brother was rubbing the back of his head and putting himself on his knees.

"Raph." Leo whispered, looking at Raph.

"Leo?" Raph asked, looking up at the leader as he sat back. "So they did bring you here."

"Well, yeah." Leo answered. "Why are you here? Did you go topside?"

"Yeah, I did."

Leo's eyes widened and then narrowed quickly, a look of disapproval flashing over his features. "Raph! Are you insane! The Foot were-"

"Well how was I suppose to know?!" Raph answered, raising his voice a little. "We all thought they captured you to get us to go to them! Not them getting us! I went up topside to get some fresh air! I didn't even know they'd attack! I thought they were remaining here!"

Leo sighed and shook his head. He knew Raph had no way of knowing. After all, he had just found out what Shredder was planning to do yesterday before Raph was even captured too. Leo looked at the ground, hearing Raph sigh too.

"So, what's Shredder's plan, huh?" Raph asked. "It's obviously not good considering I'm here."

"You're right, it's not." Leo answered. "He's planning on getting us one by one to lure Sensei in. This is all a trap! He's wanting to hurt us so badly to the point where Splinter will be full of despair. Then, he wants to take him down and make us watch."

Raph shuddered. "We can't let that happen…" he whispered, letting those horrifying words sink in.

"Of course we can't…" Leo sighed. "I think he's going in birth order...that means...he wants to get Donnie next."

Raph stared ahead for a bit, not sure what to say. The thought of another one of his brothers in harms way was terrifying, especially if that person doing the harm was Shredder.

"When did you go topside?" Leo then asked, getting rid of the silence.

"I think it was a few minutes till eight." Raph answered, leaning his pounding head against the wall. "Why? Something up?"

"That's about the time they captured me, remember? We wanted to catch them at eight! There's gotta be some pattern here still!"

"So, you're saying if Donnie goes out at that time…"

Leo nodded. "Or before." he added. He sighed, hanging his head down and slowly closing his eyes. "I wish there was some way to warn him and Mikey...if they go looking for us, it has GOT to be way after eight."

Raph nodded. He wished he could find a way to warn them too. But, he knew that that was impossible. What he had to do now was focus on the situation he and his brother were both in and try to find a way to get out of it. Raph glanced over at Leo, noticing the wrappings around his upper arm for the first time.

"Did they hurt you?" Raph asked, concern creeping in his voice.

"Well, it's the Shredder's Lair." Leo answered, lifting his head up. "Don't worry. I took care of it." He then looked over at the red masked brother. "What about you? Are you alright?"

"Doing good besides the pounding in my head." Raph mumbled. "But what about eating, huh? Have you even eaten at all?"

Then, as if by cue, one of Shredder's henchmen, who was known as Rhazar, opened the metal door. He held something in his bony hand, but the two turtles couldn't make out what exactly the thing could be.

"Eat up, freaks." the mutant growled. "We can't let you die of starvation now can we?"

A tray was then slid over, which had just a small bowl of rice and a cup of water, which was pretty small as well. It was only just enough food to feed a child. "Have fun sharing such a puny meal." he chuckled.

The turtles then saw the door slam shut and they looked at the rice, afraid to eat it or even to touch it. What if they'd done something to it, like poisoned it or it was expired? What if it would make them sick? Getting sick was something that they could not afford at the moment and could delete any chance of escape. But, they had to eat. Raph looked over, and Leo looked back.

"Take it." Raph said. "When did you last eat?"

"Dinner...last night." Leo muttered quietly. "I'm not taking all of it. You need some too."

"The last time I ate was only a couple hours ago." Raph protested. "You haven't eaten in over twenty four hours. Just eat."

"Not until you eat some." Leo insisted.

Raph let out a huff, trying his very best not to yell at his brother. But, he knew he was also right. They both needed to be strong. So, Raph gave in. He picked up the spoon next to the small, paper bowl, filling the spoon with it. Just one spoonful was all he would allow himself to eat for the sake of making Leo shut up.

He put the rice in his mouth, only to wrinkle up his nose at the stale, bland, undercooked spoonful. The rice was somewhat crunchy but also chewy, which was very dissatisfying. But, it would have to do. It was food. He saw Leo gesture to the cup, telling him to take a sip.

So, Raph took a sip of the water, washing down the rice. Raph was done. He passed the tray to Leo, who looked at him with a slight glare.

"You gotta eat." Raph muttered. "You need it more than I do, okay? Now just eat."

Leo gave him one last stare before turning his head to the food tray. Whether he wanted to admit or not, his stomach begged for food and if he didn't get it soon, he'd be too weak to do anything. He picked up the bowl, eating the nasty rice spoonful by spoonful as Raph watched him out of the corner of his eye, making sure that he ate every last piece. Leo then drank some water afterwards, but left a little at the bottom, which gave him a look from Raph.

"Well?" Raph asked rather harshly. "You gonna drink it or not? And don't you dare tell me it's for me."

"No, Raph." Leo sighed. "It's for me. But I'm not going to drink it."

Raph's eyebrows furrowed, confusion growing more and more at every second. "What do ya mean by…"

"I mean I am using it to clean this bandage." Leo replied, gesturing towards the wrapping from his wrist around his arm. "I'm worse off if this cut gets infected. The least I can do is keep it clean."

Raph nodded at this, secretly wishing Donnie would poof out of nowhere and magically heal the wound. But, he knew that was physically impossible and be sure didn't want his younger brother here. And so, he watched as Leo removed the bloody wrapping from his arm and put water over it. He then saw him squeeze it out, just do it wouldn't be wet when he put it back on. He then set it on top of his leg to dry for a few minutes.

They sat in silence, listening to the natural sounds around the small room, like the water dripping from Leo's wrapping. They wanted to stay quiet for a bit, wanting to get as much of it as they could before Shredder came. But they both could not stop thinking about Mikey and Donnie. They were in trouble and there was no way to get them to know.

"What do we do…?" Raph whispered, his head tilted up to the ceiling.

"I don't know…" Leo whispered back, his brow arching in worry at those words. He hated saying them, especially if he was the one who was suppose to know the plans and what to do. He didn't know, but he wished he did with all his heart. He wished a plan would come up, a way of escaping, a way of communicating. But, there was absolutely nothing.

"I just don't know…"

Mikey glanced at his T-phone again, getting very worried at the time. It was almost ten at night, and Raph should've been back an hour ago. A nervous feeling grew in the pit of his stomach, a feeling that told him that something was definitely up. He looked over at Donnie and Splinter, who were still discussing how to put the map together. They seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Raph had not returned yet, but every now and again, they'd give a nervous glance over at Donnie's T-phone.

"Where is he?" Mikey asked, urgency creeping in his voice. "He should've been back, dude!"

"You know Raph." Donnie answered. "He must've ran into some gang members and decided to teach them a lesson. I'm sure he'll be home."

But Donnie was only trying to convince himself. He wanted to believe that Raph had gotten distracted and decided to beat up some thugs. But part of him told him that that wasn't the case. He let out a soft sigh as he hand hovered over the phone sitting next to him. He contemplated whether or not to call his brother. But, he knew that if Raph had ran into any trouble at all, he would've called. He always did.

"I'm going to try calling him…" he muttered, picking up his phone. "I know you've called him multiple times, Mikey. When was the last time you called him?"

"Uhh…" Mikey looked up at the ceiling, sticking his tongue out. "Twenty minutes ago?"

"It would not hurt to try again, I suppose." Splinter added, watching Donnie's finger hover over Raph's contact button. "Go ahead, Donatello."

Donnie nodded his head, lowering his finger on the button and then putting the phone on speaker. It rang once, twice. He half expected Raph to pick up, shouting at the number of missed calls he had.

Three rings. Four. Voice box. No one had answered. And so Donnie tried again, just in case, only to be just as disappointed as the last time.

"He's not answering." Donnie said softly as he slowly lowered the phone down. "Where do you think he is?" He thought about this for several minutes and no positive solutions came to mind. At this time, he was starting to think something bad happened.

"Could we go look, Master Splinter?" Mikey asked. "Please? Just for a little bit?"

Splinter sighed wearily as he glanced at the clock. It was a minute till ten and he knew that people were still bustling about. There was an outdoor concert going on, despite the cold weather. He looked back at his sons.

"Very well." Splinter replied. "Stay out for only a few hours. And be very careful; there are lots of people out tonight."

The two turtles nodded their heads and then instantly ran out and jumped over the turnstiles. They wanted to have as much time to look as possible. They ran through the sewer tunnels, looking for a manhole cover. When they found one, they quickly and carefully climbed up it, careful not to slip of course.

As soon as the reached topside, they could immediately hear the distant pulse of rock music. Donnie listened for a second, concluding it was to the east. But it wasn't far away, only a few miles. So they would have to be very cautious.

The turtles climbed up the fire escape and onto the rooftops, looking around for a second or two. Donnie let out a soft sigh, looking towards the night sky.

"Drat…" he muttered. "It's a new moon! There's no light."

"We can still see...right?" Mikey asked, feeling the hope drain from him.

"Yeah, but it'll be difficult." Donnie replied. "Let's get searching."

The two brothers searched around on the rooftops, trying their best not to make any noise so that the people below wouldn't hear them. The entire time they searched, Donnie couldn't help but think how stupid these people were to go to an outdoor concert in the winter time. But he shrugged it off eventually. His instincts told him they should be inside but that wasn't of his concern.

Besides that, he had Raph and Leo to worry about. He wondered what was happening to them and he could tell Mikey was wondering the same exact thing. He looked over, realizing they'd searched well over an hour already, though it didn't feel like it.

"I'm sure we'll find something." Donnie said with a small smile, trying to convince Mikey the best he was able. "Anything can help us at this point."

"But what if we don't find anything?" Mikey asked.

Donnie let out a soft exhale, mostly from stress. It was past eleven and he knew that this concert would go on for hours. "Then there's always tomorrow, right?"

He put on a sad grin, looking up at the sky to avoid Mikey's sad gaze. "We'll search for a few more hours. If we don't find anything, maybe we'll have better luck tomorrow. The moon will be at a waxing crescent, so there will at least be a little bit of light unlike tonight."

Mikey hung his head, letting out a sight his time. He nodded, despite him wanting to stay out all night. He knew Donnie was right though. They were already having to be extra cautious and there was no light out. Along with that, they would have to sleep at some point and Splinter wouldn't approve them staying out till dawn.

They heard hoots and hollers of excitement from the concert a few blocks away, hearing the thump of the rock music as well. They ran on, searching everywhere for some kind of clue, some kind of sign, anything at all.

Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned to hours and before they knew it, it was a few minutes past two in the morning. People were just leaving the concert, being picked up in taxis and wandering around the sidewalks talking and babbling on about how drunk they were.

Mikey let out a yawn, stretching his arms up above his head. "Didn't find anything D…" he muttered sleepily.

"Yeah, we didn't." Donnie answered, feeling totally hopeless. He had hoped they'd find at least one thing. But they didn't, and that really upset him. He took one last glance down at the drunken teens and adults before he looked to Mikey again.

"Alright…" he sighed. "Let's head back home…"

Mikey nodded and they both started shuffling back to their home, trying to avoid being spotted in the meantime. They hung their heads and didn't say a word, too tired and upset to do fancy flips over the gaps of the rooftops.

They knew when they got home, Master Splinter would be waiting for them, anxious for some good news. But they would have none to deliver.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm really sorry for putting such a long pause on this. I have been so so busy with work and other things. Along with that, I haven't really been feeling the greatest emotion-wise. So, sorry for taking so long. I'll try to have Ch.6 posted up as soon as I can.

~Trip