Michelangelo and Donatello made their way silently through the side-streets, sticking completely to shadows wherever it was possible.
Mike suddenly cleared his throat to get his brother's attention. "I've been thinking...and this might be the TV talking..."
"TV?"
"I caught part of a movie the other night. It just got me thinking...well, this is gonna sound stupid."
"Talk, Mikey."
"It was about these terrorists who wanted to hijack like the most secure plane on the planet, okay? But they couldn't bring any weapons with them. And there was so much security on board, it was impossible for them to take over. Somebody on the inside, one of the people on the good guy's team had to help them. He provided the opportunity and then the advantage. What if something like that is happening here?"
Donatello nodded while his brother explained what he was thinking. "It's certainly not unheard of, and it would explain a lot. There's only so much a tail can learn from following and tracking movement. In fact...Jenna said the first time they picked her up at the Museum, they had to use a safe phrase."
"How many people would know what it is?"
"I doubt it's common knowledge. Mike, I think you might be on to something."
"But that would be bad." Michelangelo frowned. "If it's somebody they trust, how are any of them supposed to be safe?"
Before Donatello could answer him, he heard Jenna calling over his ear-piece. "Just a second, Mike. Yeah, I copy you, Jenna. What's up?"
"Donnie, I've been studying Luke's car. It looks like someone's in there, and the Volvo has definitely been moved from where he originally parked. Whatever I'm looking at hasn't budged since you sent me up here."
"Okay, do me a favor, and just keep watching for traffic. If you see anything that looks remotely like the bad guy's van, let me know. We're going in."
They emerged out of the neighborhood and stole across the street towards Luke's Volvo. Donatello drew his flashlight as they approached with some trepidation, unsure of what he was going to find. He tried the driver's side door, and found it unlocked.
Don handed off his flashlight to Mike. "Would you point the light for me, but keep watch out here?"
After the orange-masked turtle nodded, Donatello pulled back the seat to investigate the object in the rear. He gasped sharply when the lump shifted, and the turtle squirmed his way further into the car for a closer look.
It was Luke. Relief was Donnie's first emotion, and then bewilderment. The young man bound and gagged, was barely able to rise more than a couple inches off the seat.
"Aw, crap." Don was actually grateful to see him move at all."Hang on, Doc. Hold on a minute." He carefully worked the duct tape loose from his mouth.
Luke exhaled deeply, and then his breathing sped up like he was making up for lost oxygen.
"Easy, Doc. Are you okay?"
"I think so," he answered, but was clearly shaken.
Donatello drew a knife from the sheath on his belt. "Stay still, Doc. I'm going to turn you loose. Let's get you on your side."
Donnie carefully cut the thongs that were binding his wrists, and then his feet. He gave him a hand up off the seat, and then backed out of the car so the man could get out too.
"Where is your sling?" Luke challenged at once.
Don shook his head. "I only took it off for a little bit."
"With whose permission exactly?"
The purple-masked turtle was saved from answering, because the man stumbled against him. Mike darted toward him to take Luke's weight from Don.
"Donnie, I told you to stay at the house." Amazingly, the man was still trying to chide him.
"And I told you to stay out of sight," Donatello retorted.
"I know. I screwed up," Luke admitted with a grimace.
Donatello turned the beam of his flashlight on Luke. "You're hurt." The realization made the turtle much more sympathetic. "Good grief, Doc. I'm gonna call Raph to come get us."
"No! We still don't know where those men are for sure. I don't want them getting another chance to chase the Battleshell. If Mike helps me, I'll be fine."
As they walked toward the house, Mike's arm never left the man's back.
Raphael was waiting to let them in the gate. His expression immediately darkened with a curse when he saw Luke up close.
"I swear I'm gonna get a piece of these fools." He seethed.
"I think they're gone, for now at least," the man wavered. "Can we get out of sight anyway?"
Back inside the van in the garage, Donatello wanted to get a better look at Luke, and everyone was anxious to hear what had happened. The doctor slowly relayed the events, shuddering as he recalled the knife wielding man who'd scared him more than the others.
"I'm sorry, guys. You were right. I shouldn't have been here."
"Let's not go there for now," Donatello suggested.
Jenna climbed over the seat with a guilty look. "It's not your fault, Luke. It's mine - just like Leo, and Donnie. You guys need to ditch me before somebody gets killed."
"No, Jenna," Mike countered instantly. "It's not your fault at all. You know...Donnie and I were actually talking a few minutes ago..." He trailed off, and looked at his brother for assistance.
"C'mon, Mike, it was your brainstorm. Tell her," Don encouraged him.
"Tell me what, Mikey?" Jenna persisted.
"Jenna, what if somebody's giving information to these goons? One of the people on your dad's team, I mean. It just seems like they know an awful lot."
She paused while considering the idea, and dug her fingers into the seat as if it were a form of stress relief. "I hadn't thought of it like that. But it would make sense."
"How well do you know the people in your father's inner circle, Jenna? Do many of them have access to the safe phrases you use?" Donatello asked carefully.
"I'm not sure. Maybe eight or nine people, but it includes my parents. Speaking of which...I guess I ought to call them, and mention the fact that I'm not coming back tonight."
Donatello handed her his cell, and she dialed her father as everyone else in the van got quiet.
"Dad? No...actually, I'm not." Jenna started slowly, and then her voice grew in intensity. "Wait, listen to me! I got set up again tonight! Those men were back to get me, and would have succeeded if not for my friends. Two of them got hurt badly because of me! Stop, just stop, and let me talk. You've got to start looking at this from another angle, and consider the possibility that someone is feeding information to them! You might find it hard to believe, but–"
"Owen Helms," Luke suddenly raised his voice, cutting off her sentence.
Jenna looked at him in surprise. "Dad, hold on a minute." Covering the phone, she glanced at the doctor. "Where'd you hear that name?"
"The hotel, the directions. It was all so they could find somebody. The guy with the knife said they needed to pay Mr. Owen Helms a visit. Does he mean anything to you?"
"He's my father's Chief of Security." Disbelief tinged her voice, and she cursed under her breath. Jenna turned back to the phone. "Dad, y' need to talk to someone." She handed the phone over to Luke. "Tell him what you know, okay?"
Luke swallowed and pulled the phone to his ear. "Hello, sir...Well, I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't deserve it. I'm not responsible for any of the 'hero' stuff. I'm only a tag-along on this trip. I was a look-out tonight. Put myself in the wrong place, and got caught by the same men threatening your daughter.
"They jumped me, threatened me, and then asked for directions. No, I'm going to be all right. They just freaked me out. They were looking for a hotel, the Gold Falcon. Yes, I told them. Maybe I shouldn't have, but there was a knife involved at the time and...anyway. One of them said they needed to visit Owen Helms.
"No...not too much more. I got knocked out, and woke up back in my car. I was fortunate they didn't do worse. Their ringleader seemed to think I could be involved, but they had somewhere more important to be. Yes, that's pretty much everything...I wish I could tell you where we are now, sir, but I can't. Frankly, your daughter isn't the only one at risk. I'm going to give you back to her now, okay?" Luke returned the phone to Jenna and braced a hand on the back of his head.
"Let me see, Doc," Donatello insisted, and gently probed where he'd been touching. "You've got a bad knot. This makes me sick. You were out there all alone. They could have killed you."
"I know, and I'm sorry," the man agreed. "It was a bad, bad idea on my part."
"Maybe it was. But your information might crack this thing wide open. In any case, I'm glad you're alive and in one piece."
Luke managed a faint smile. "So am I."
It was a little after 2:30 AM when they finally got back to the den. Everyone looked tired, but no one could really unwind right away. With Luke's tentative permission and lecture to be careful, Donatello set the sling aside again so he and Splinter could work on Leonardo first.
Luke dozed a little fitfully while they took care of the blue-masked turtle. The disinfecting and stitching of Leo's head injury took longer than it normally would have.
By the time they had finished it was pushing 4 AM, and Donatello felt the toll the night had taken. He knew for a fact that the activity had been a little too much for him, but refused to admit it in front of his Sensei. No sense in confirming what he already knows.
When Don moved toward Luke, Splinter stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder. "My son, go to bed - I will see to Luke. You are worn thin as it is."
There was no point in wasting the energy to argue with his father, especially since he was right. Donnie's whole body was tingling from the exertion of standing upright - even the last hour had been pushing it.
"All right, Sensei." He still cast another glance back at Leonardo.
"Do not worry about him, Donatello. April is going to arrive here within the hour, and she will keep watch so that all of us can rest as well," Splinter assured him.
"Okay - I'll get out here."
As he turned to leave, Splinter stopped him again, this time with an embrace.
"You did well, my son."
"It could have gone better, but it could have been a lot worse too. I suppose I should be thankful for that."
"Your life and those of your loved ones are an appropriate thing to be grateful for, Donatello. Go to bed. Get enough rest. I will see you in a few hours."
When Don departed to the living area, he found the others sitting around waiting.
"Hey, guys. Sensei is sending me up, and you might want to think about getting to bed too."
Raphael stood, but didn't move for the stairs. "How are they doing?"
"They're okay. Leo's asleep now. Doc's probably got a concussion, but Master's going to keep an eye on him until April gets here." He headed for the stairs so his brothers would follow. "You guys were great tonight."
Raphael smirked. "Look who's talking. You're barely standing on your own two feet, and still rescuing everyone else. Get some rest, Genius."
"I have dibs on the bathroom," Mike inserted.
"Not if I'm there first, Chucklehead." Raph bounded up the stairs with energy Don wished he had, and the youngest turtle thundered after him.
Donatello found himself left alone with Jenna in the hallway. She had been staring at him without speaking since he'd come out of the Lab.
"You all right, Jen?"
Without warning, she flung herself at him. Don bit his lip to avoid giving away the pain in his shoulder, and held her a little awkwardly as she sobbed. One hand lightly hovered over silken black strands, but he couldn't bring himself to touch her head.
"It's okay. You're safe. Nothing is going to happen to you," he told her quietly. "I promise."
Nearly a minute passed before she raised her head, but didn't meet his eyes. The embarrassment in her features was so obvious he wanted to reassure her, but didn't know how to without drawing attention the source of her discomfort .
"Go on. Go to bed. I'll see you later," she said finally.
The teen practically ran away from him, leaving Don wondering what on Earth had just happened.