: Chapter 13:
April peeked through the tiny opening of the manhole. Thousands of feet passed her view every second which is how she knew it was probably mid-day in New York City. "How are we supposed to pull this off?" she asked to the two people who were waiting patiently on the ladder below her.
"Well first your ganna get your ass out of my face" Mikey said
"Oh hush up Michelangelo. There are thousands of people out there. How are we ganna get from here to my place without you being seen?" She whispered
"We could stuff him in a bag!" Austria suggested which followed a horrifying shriek from Michelangelo
"Guys be quiet!" April slapped Mikey on the head "Im trying to figure this out"
"Couldn't we just walk down the sewers more until we got closer to your place?" Aus sighed
"No! I am not walking in these sewers anymore then I have too. Here's the plan, Mikey get your coat on"
"It's already on…"
"Ok smartass...let's do this" April slowly pulled the cover off the manhole and poked her head out. Several people walking on the sidewalk gave her funny looks as she crawled out from it and fixed her hair like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.
"A little help here?" Mikey reached his hand out for her to take.
"Where are your gloves? I can see your three fingered green hand from a mile away!" She snapped
"Fine! I'll get out myself" He jumped out from the hole and landed perfectly on his tip toes. His long tan cloak was covering most of his green body except for his hands and feet. He wore and old hat on his head that he fished up from the sewer water just a minute earlier when he had left his other one back at the lair.
"Mikey! Don't draw attention to yourself! No flips, No Nun-Chucking, Nothing!" April scolded
"Try saying that ten times fast…" he snickered
"If you two are done bickering I'd like to get out of this smelly sewer hole!" Austria reached her hand up for assistance. Mike grabbed it and pulled her out onto the busy sidewalk
"What's everyone staring at?" she asked. There was a crowd of at least 10 people just staring at them with open mouths
"What? Haven't you ever cleaned a manhole before?" She asked "On second thought…don't answer that"
"Excuse us but we must be going" April grabbed Aus and Mikey's hand and pulled them along behind her.
: Somewhere close by:
"Are they out?" Raph asked from a building above the streets. Leo was using a pair of Donatello's high tech binoculars to keep a close eye on the troublesome trio.
"Yeah…took them long enough" They were crouched down enough so they couldn't be seen in the broad daylight
"Why are we even doin this? Were riskin ourselves being out here" Raph complained
"We just need to make sure they get to Aprils safely" He continued to keep a close eye on them as the sped walked down the street "If the Purple Dragons are after Austria then they will take any chance they've got to get ahold of her"
"You're really protective of her aren't yah bro?" he grinned
"NO!" He lowered his binoculars and looked at his brother "I would do the same thing if it was any of you out there"
"Sure yah would bro…Sure yah would"
"Whatever Raph. Don't be jealous"
"Excuse meh?" Now they were both looking at each other dead in the eyes "Me jealous of what? You're short stature?"
Leo squinted his brow "My short stature?! At least I can hit a moving target!"
"Why you!.."
"Staying on topic I hope" A voice came from a headpiece that Leo had attached onto him.
"Yeah Don…" he answered
"Good. I took the opportunity to get you some layouts of Hun's lair. Turns out he's not down by the docks anymore" Don said, through the headpiece
"Well if he aint by the docks anymore then where is he?" Raph asked
"He's hiding away in an old subway tunnel that never finished construction a few decades ago. It's actually not that far from where we live now" He said
"Well that's reassuring. Thanks Don, Raph and I will be back soon"
"In one piece I hope by the sounds of it"
"Thank you…Don" Leo pressed a button on the headset that disconnected him from his brother
"If anyone aint goin back in one piece it's you bro" Raph playfully shoved his brother with his shoulder
Leo smirked and picked up the binoculars and looked out onto the busy street "Great now I lost them" He scanned back and forth but the group was nowhere to be seen. "Good God Raphael"
"And...How is this my fault?" They both got into a crouched position and inched their way across the roof. When they got to the edge, Leo pulled out his shell cell and called Mike. "Where are they?" Raph asked
"It's ringing…Hello?"
"Hey Leo! What's up?" Michelangelo was on the other end
"Where are you?" He asked
"Look down Bro"
Leo and Raph slowly looked over the edge of the building where Austria was smiling and waving. "You know you're not very stealthy!" She yelled
They ducked lower out of sight "Is she retarded? She just gave away our position!" Raph yell/whispered
"Mike tell her to stop looking up here! Someone's ganna see us" Leo said
"Oh right" They watched as he pulled Austria away from the building and dragged her along to catch up with April
"Remind me again why we sent Mikey with the girls?" Raph shook his head and rolled his eyes
: Back on the street:
"Guys hurry up!" April yelled behind her where Mikey was pulling Austria at his side
"Sorry" she said
"We just have to cross Central Park and we're there" April pointed to the huge trees and grass across the walkway. Horses were pulling buggies everywhere you looked and people were riding bikes on paths that led into the park.
"That's a park? It's so beautiful! I've never seen anything like it! I wanna get a closer look!" She smiled and started to run across the walkway
"Austria! What are you doing!?" Mike yelled and ran after her
"Michelangelo wait! It's not safe to cross!" April tried to grab him but it was too late. He had already caught up to Austria and grabbed onto her in the middle of the crosswalk. An oncoming car that was heading straight for them, blasted its horn while its brakes made a terrible screeching sound as it began to swerve violently, trying to come to a stop.
"LOOK OUT!" April screamed. People waiting on the other side gasped and screamed in horror as the car slammed right into the two people, sending them flying about 20 feet across the road
"NO!" She ran out into the street to the spot where Mike and Austria were lying still on the ground. The driver of the car stepped out and ran to the scene
"Sorry about that" The fat man dressed in old ragged clothes ran to meet April
"Oh my God…" She fell onto her knees and started crying.
Austria was wrapped safely in the orange turtles arms. He moaned and unwrapped himself from her body.
"Ugh…" His shell cell started to ring and the man picked up off the ground and answered it
"Umm excuse me!" Mikey jumped up and took it from his hand "Rude!" He held it to his ear "Hello?"
"Holy shit what happened!?" Leo was screaming on the other end
"Well I don't know. This IDIOT…" he gave the man a disgusted look "Doesn't know how to hit the brakes!"
"Hey pal what's your problem you had plenty of time to stop!" a pedestrian yelled
The man just stared at him with a blank face but it seemed most of his focus was on Austria who started to moan and get up off the ground ever so slowly. She looked completely unharmed except for a few scratches on her knees. When she was finally on her feet she looked at the man who had gotten strangely close to her.
"Mikey…" Leo said through the phone "Get Austria out of there…NOW!"
"Daddy?" She gasped and couldn't believe her eyes. Her jaw dropped but then she closed it and started to become encumbered with anger "Why are you trying to kill me!"
The man lunged for her out of nowhere with his fingers bent like claws. He went for her throat but was intercepted by Mike who kicked him right in the gut. The crowd of people were screaming and running as Austria's dad pulled out a gun and aimed it at his daughter
"They won't leave me alone till your dead!" He pulled back the hammer on his pistol "Say your prayers…"
"No!" Mikey jumped between them and with one clean swing of his nun chucks, he managed to take of the front of his gun then used one leg to deliver a powerful kick right in his neck, instantly knocking the wind out of him. He flew back and landed on the windshield of his car, shattering the glass and making him fall through.
Police sirens started to echo in the distance. Either the echo was coming from everywhere, or central park was about to be surrounded by cop cars.
"MIKEY!" He still had his shell cell in his hand "Get up here!" They looked up where Leo and Raph were waving for them to come.
"Come on!" He grabbed the girl's hands and led them into the closest ally. They climbed the fire escape and joined the turtles on the roof without being seen.
"Are ya guys alright?!" Raph ran and hugged his little brother then slapped him on the head
"Peachy…." Mike sat down on the roof and laid down "I'm ganna feel that in the morning though"
"How are you two not hurt?" April was looking at Austria's arms and legs for bumps and bruises while Raph did the same to Michelangelo
"Shell…never leave home without it" he slapped his plastron
"I'm fine… I'm sure it would have been worse if Mikey hadn't saved me" She said. She looked over to the edge of the roof where Leo was crouched and looking down onto the street.
"Leo?" She walked over to him and sat down. She watched as an ambulance rolled up with its lights flashing. Four men jumped out with a stretcher and worked together to get her dad out of the car. Police were everywhere. They were questioning pedestrians who looked stunned and horrified. Some of them mimicked the moves that a strange person had done that knocked the man onto his car.
"Why is your dad trying to kill you…" He kept staring onto the street
"I don't know…he said "They won't leave me alone till your dead" whose they?" She started to shiver but not from the 20 degree temperature. She was scared out of her mind
"I'm ganna take a wild guess and say the Purple Dragons" Raph said "Yah did say the Dragons mentioned your dad last night"
"I know. My dad tried to kill me on the bridge a few days ago but I think that was just out of anger and not the reason he tried to kill me again just now" Austria said
"I bet the Dragons confronted your father" April guessed "Maybe they went through with their threat. If he didn't want to pay for his mistake he had to kill you in replacement"
"It sounds disgusting but it's a possibility" Leo said
Austria brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Maybe it would be best…if I wasn't alive anymore" She wiped a stray tear from her face
"How could you ever say such a thing?" Leo was looking at her now "You can't just throw your life away like that. I know it's hard but we're going to get through this I promise. We're going to find these guys and put a stop to them and you'll be safe again" He looked back out onto the street and sighed "Let's get you guys to April's house then. Now that we know your dad wants you too…Raph…" He looked at his brother who nodded his head without an explanation. He would stay with Mikey and the girls too. "Alright…let's go"
Leo ran off the building away from the now busy streets of Central Park. He did flips off the fire escape and landed in the ally next to a manhole cover "Come on guys" He pulled it off and jumped down into the sewer.
"Really? I just got out of the stinky sewer!" April complained
"Heheh don't worry April I'll protect you from the big bad sewer monsters" Mikey grabbed her arm and helped her down the escape
She sighed "Aren't I just the luckiest gal in the City"
They all piled down the ladder while Raph made sure no one had seen them, then put the lid back on the opening.
"Oh this one smells even worse than the last one!" April shrieked as Leo helped her off the ladder
"It's all the same April" He said "Come on this way"
They treaded through the ankle high waters and listened to the sounds of their splashes echo all around them. The sewer was damp and cold and was especially unbearable in winter when the water would begin to freeze.
"I swear the farther we go the more shit I walk in" Aus pinched her nose with her fingers and gaged
After 10 minutes of complaining from the girls, the arrived at a ladder that would lead up to the surface
"OK this is it. Go up here, make a left and you're at April's apartment. NO and I mean NO stops on the way. You go STRIAGHT there got it?" Leo said
"Don't worry Leo I'll make sure they stay in line" Raph gave a three fingered thumbs up and winked. "You be safe to Bro"
"I will, now go"
Raph went up the ladder first and scoped it out "Alright…cmon" He stayed in the shadows of the buildings and out of sight. April went next and after her, Mikey. Austria went to the base of the ladder and hesitated. She looked at Leo who lifted his head at her.
"It would be better…"
"Why would you kill yourself Aus? Don't you think that would make Donatello a bit upset?" He smirked
"Pfft….why would that make Don upset!?" She popped a hip and cocked her head at him
He lost the smirk and rubbed the back of his head. "Umm…."
"Were you eaves dropping on me and April's conversation last night?!"
"Actually Mikey was and he has trouble keeping secrets" Leo said
"So everyone knows…"
"Knows what? You said it wasn't true so what are you worried about?" His smirk returned. Austria stomped her foot and tried to throw a good comeback at him but nothing came out so she just growled and climbed up the ladder. Leo chuckled and shook his head "Be safe guys!" He yelled up the ladder "Go straight there!"
"Yeah Yeah we got it Leo. Cmon guys" Raph led the way through the series of connected ally's. They stayed well out of sight until they reached the shop. Mikey walked sideways so his brother, who wasn't covered, could hide his appearance from the population. April unlocked the door with her key and walked in. Something was beeping in the corner of the room and she rushed over to answer it
"God Casey is probably worried sick" She pushed a button on a machine and listened to the messages.
"Haven't seen this place in years awhile" Mike said while looking around and touching all the antiques
"Can you guys go upstairs please? If people walk in their ganna either scream or call the police"
"Or both" Raph said. They walked through the tiny door in the back and walked up the cramped stairs to her apartment. Austira instantly crashed on the couch and started to snore
"I call raiding the fridge!" Mike ran into the kitchen
"Hey Aus" Raph asked. She moaned in response "Let's see if the accident hit the news yet" He grabbed the remote that controlled the small floor television and flicked it on to life. "Check it out"
There was a well-dressed woman standing in front of some yellow caution tap and behind her was the scenery of Central Park. A caption on the bottom of the screen read "Hit and Run: Ninja's in NYC?"
"At approximately 12:43 this afternoon…" The woman began "Witnesses say two pedestrians were jaywalking across this walkway and were hit by an oncoming vehicle. The driver of the vehicle then pulled a gun on the two victims and was attacked by one of them. He was thrown onto the windshield of his car and had been taking into the hospital. He is currently in critical condition and no information has been released yet concerning his health. What stunned most people, was that the victims vanished right after the accident. A "Hit and Run" in terms" The camera panned over to a civilian then the banner at the bottom said "Jarrett Holden from NYC"
"Yeah I saw the whole thing; this guy comes speeding around that corner. He had plenty of time to stop but he didn't. Then one of the dudes went all ninja on him and beat the living %$^ out of him" The man said
"More information will be released upon a later hour" The woman finished then Raph shut off the TV
"So he didn't die?" Austria said in a quiet voice.
"Unfortunately, but lucky for us we get to do it ourselves now" He grinned
"You're really ganna kill me dad?" She asked
"I aint ganna kill him Aus" Raph pulled out a Sai and spun it between his fingers "Just teach him a lesson. If he happens to die during that then…there's nothing we can do"
"Raph…promise me something…" Her voice sounded cold "If were in a situation…where he has to be killed…you'll let me do it" She said quietly
"If that's really what you want Aus"
"RAPH Please understand!" She raised her voice
"I do understand Aus…I promise"