Thanks for the reviews. :D
_____________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
Raph had been training in the dojo for the past hour. Attacking the spinning block as if it were the Shredder himself. But even after all that work, it still didn't help him. He growled and gave it one last whack. "I can't take it anymore!"
Don stowed his staff on his back. "I can't either."
Mikey put his chucks in his belt. He had been sparring with Don. Training. Trying to get back to normal.
But it wasn't working. No. It wasn't just not working. It was far from working.
Raph clenched his fist. "I'm going up for a run."
"Me too," Don said. "I think we all need a breather."
Raph ignored Don and Mikey and strode for the lair door. Let them come if they wanted. He just needed to get out and now.
"Be careful my sons," Splinter said, sitting a few feet away, still drinking that tea.
Raph grunted and led the way up to the surface. Like they weren't careful. They were always careful. But wasn't Leo always careful? And now he was dead. Raph forcefully shook the thoughts from his mind and jumped up to the rooftops running off in a dead sprint.
---
The stranger in the black trench coat walks into the largest chamber at the Foot's tower. Shredder or aka Oruku Saki stands behind his desk arms crossed, whispering to a young lady next to him.
The lady's short hair hung just above her shoulders and her green eyes sparkled mischief. She nods and bows to Saki. She straightens, smirks at the stranger, and leaves the room.
Saki faced his new comer. "And who is my new associate?"
The stranger stares at Saki a moment longer before answering. "I go by many names. But you can call me Shade."
Saki nods slightly. "I trust you know the nature of our plans?"
"Yes. Destroy three freaks called turtles and their rat master," Shade answers.
"True. But now I will tell you the whole plan." Saki paused, smirked. "Find them and force them to Central Park where I'll be waiting. And don't tell them who you're working for. I want it to be a surprise."
Shaded nods. "Aright, now what's in this for me?"
Saki's smirk grew. "You'll get to live and you'll become one of us."
"Fair enough. I've seen your work. Very... devious. I would be glad to join you for good." Shade smirks and turns toward the exit with confidence. This was going to be easy. "See you at the park."
He left Saki and all his ninjas, glad to be away from him. There were some guys he just didn't like. And Saki was one of them. The guy had failed too many times. And failure bugged him to no end. He most certainly would not enjoy working with Saki, even for such a little time as this. But Saki didn't need to know that. Shade stopped outside one of the rooms of the hall he was in. He took a deep breath. He might not like Saki, but his building was sure impressive. Engineered to perfection. Built sturdy and strong.
"Careful! We don't want to get poisoned ourselves!"
He peeked into the room to his left.
"I'm careful." The flunky smirked. "Those green domes won't know what hit them."
"Yeah, you can say that again," a third one chuckled.
"Don't." The first one glared. "Is the cure ready?"
"Yeah, but I don't know why we need it."
"In case something goes wrong." The lady that had been talking to Saki walks in another door from farther into the room.
Shade pulls back into the hallway and leans against the wall.
"Karai?! I'm sorry," one voice said quickly. "It's not our place to ask."
"You are lucky my father did not hear you," Karai says sternly.
Silence from the flunkys.
Footsteps near the door where Shade was standing next to. He jumps up to the dark doorway to his right, standing on the frame where he wouldn't be seen. He didn't relish a run in with Karai. She would ask too many questions. One of them being why wasn't he already out of the building.
Karai exits the room, stops in the hallway, and listens. Seconds later she huffs and walks down the hall.
Shade leaps down as soon as she was gone from his sight. He creeps back to the room Karai had just left and looks in. No flunkys. They must have left through the other doorway. He had to have that cure. If there was even the slightest chance Saki was going to use this on him, he wanted to be prepared.
Two cameras watches the room. Shade ducks back as one swivels to the doorway. The other slowly scans the room. He'd have to avoid the cameras to get to the cure.
He smirks, takes a deep breath, and peeks in again. Clear. He darts in, staying just out of the camera's view. Swiping the cure, he replaces it with a vile that looked just like it. He slips into a corner, waits until the cameras move, and darts out when it clears. If Saki had it in for him, the man wouldn't succeed. That was Shade's game. Stay one step ahead of everybody.
