Michelangelo felt sick to his stomach as he rode in the back of Marc's Avalanche. The orange-masked turtle didn't know how to feel about Kelley helping them, when the others weren't even sure how far they could trust the man.
There's no turning back now I guess.
He glanced around the vehicle, focusing on Donny in the front passenger seat, before eyeing Leonardo beside him. They looked calm on the surface, but Mike knew his brothers well enough to sense the tension lying underneath.
A muffled whimper had him looking over his shoulder at the red-masked turtle lying in the very back of the car. Marcus was driving slowly, but even with that effort, it had been impossible to create a completely smooth ride. On an impulse Mike climbed over the seat, and squeezed onto the floor by Raphael.
His brother's eyes were closed, but the minute Mike found a new position, he opened them.
"What're you doin', Chucklehead?" Raphael's voice wasn't as strong as it normally was, but he was still in there.
"Nothing - same thing I've been doing, Raphy. But we have to be getting close to the harbor," he offered hopefully.
"Yeah," he agreed faintly. "You never did get through to Bran, did ya?"
Mike shook his head in frustration. "Don thinks the power to his phone died. I can't believe we're leaving, and I won't even get to talk to him first."
"Well he's not going anywhere, Mikey. Brandon will be okay." Raphael sounded troubled, even as he tried to reassure him.
"That's what Heff said," Mike replied. "But he's not happy about leaving him either."
"It's hard to leave people behind, Mike, no matter-"
Even the smallest of jolts under the tires of the vehicle made Raphael cut off with a grimace. Mike reached for his hand comfortingly, and was surprised by the force with which his brother returned the grip.
"Raph, I'll tell Marc to pull over."
"No," he returned fiercely. "We have to get this over with."
"They could make this easier on you. If you're in too much pain-"
"Talking about it makes it harder not to think about it, Mike. The pain meds have to come in stages to work the best, 'least that's what Doc already said." Raphael inhaled deeply, and let the breath out again. "It'll be over soon."
Mike nodded mournfully, and wished that Karina was there. The women had been gone for most of the day, trying to replace things they'd lost in the less ravaged parts of the city. That commerce was still flowing at all was amazing to Michelangelo.
But then, everything can't stop. People still need stuff, and I'm glad they had the chance to get a few things. I wish we could have reunited sooner than this though. Karina has a way of driving every line out of Raph's face, no matter how much pain he's in.
"Is Olivia okay?" Raphael asked him.
Mike cast another look over the seat to where Olivia had been strapped in between him and Leonardo, and felt a sense of relief that the baby was asleep. It had been a rough day for the little turtle with the confusion of her mother being absent, her father being injured, and the general chaos of their world.
"Olivia's fine," he replied. "Sleeping like a log."
"Good - maybe she can stay that way for awhile. It's been hard to listen to her cry when I can't go get her."
"I know, Raph, but she is okay...just confused probably."
Raphael settled back into silence with slow even breaths. Mike leaned his head against the cool window as nerves assailed him all over again. He was anxious about Kelley and leaving some of their friends behind, but he was also dreading the flight. The orange-masked turtle normally loved the Gulfstream, but the docs' concern over the effect the change in air pressure could have on his lungs had ruined it for him.
"We're almost there, guys," Marc called from behind the wheel. "How's everyone holding up?"
Meaning, how's Raph doing?
"We're all right," Mike responded. "I think Raph's in a lot of pain though."
"Mike..." his brother hissed dangerously.
"We've tried to time it out to make the flight more comfortable for him, but I can start the dose early," Marcus returned.
"I'll be fine, Marc. Just get us there." Raphael achieved some power in his voice, and gave Michelangelo a dirty look at the same time.
The orange-masked turtle shrugged. "It's not like you can fake it, bro."
"I've got this, Mike," he said stiffly.
"Don't be mad at me for speaking up if you won't, Raphy. You'd do the same thing if it was one of us."
The red-masked turtle's gaze turned a little vacant. "I'm holding on the only way I know how to, Mike. I really don't want the extra attention."
Mike felt like rolling his eyes, but he resisted the urge. He knew that Raphael's pride was taking a serious hit from being this helpless, but that didn't mean he was going to watch him suffer silently. Neither of them said anything else for the next five minutes or so, until Mike realized how close they were to the Marina.
"Is everyone else here, Marc?" Leo asked.
"They're supposed to be...and I see Greg's Jeep. I'm going to pull over here, and I want you guys to stay put for a minute while I make sure that the coast is clear."
Marcus parked the Avalanche and got out to check the status on things. He was only gone for a short while before he came around back and opened the hatch. "Everything is set in place," he announced. "Greg and Kelley have the Captain sequestered at the controls, and Tim already cleared the rest of the boat. There's no other crew present, so we can go ahead and move."
Leonardo was so occupied with making sure that everyone was where they needed to be, he didn't pay attention to Greg as the man hovered on the fringe of the group. The ferry was already moving, and the butterflies were still chasing each other around his stomach, even as Leo tried to reason with himself.
There's only one stranger to worry about. It's nothing at all like last night, when we were trying to blend in with an entire crowd.
Greg cleared his throat, and Leonardo suddenly realized the man was waiting on him. The blue-masked turtle trotted over to him curiously.
"What's up, Heff? I thought you were going to stay with Kelley and the Captain."
"I'm going to return to the Captain in a minute, but...Leo, my boss wants to talk to you, alone. I don't know what's in his head, and I don't like it. You don't have to do this."
Leo glanced around the lower deck at the others before turning to face Greg. "We've sort of put all of our eggs into his basket, Heff. If I'm not willing to talk to him, what are we even doing here?"
"I just don't think you have to do it alone."
"Greg. I can handle him. I've been through my share of interrogations."
Greg winced. "I still don't think you should tell him anything significant, but it's your call."
Leonardo nodded as Donatello came over to join them.
"What's going on?" Don asked.
"I'm going to talk to Kelley," Leo answered. "Hold down the fort, okay?"
Donatello opened his mouth, but then appeared to change his mind. "All right, Leo. You know what you're doing."
Leonardo followed Greg up to the main deck to where Matthew Kelley was already standing against the railing. Leo automatically looked around for unfriendly eyes.
Kelley shook his head. "Your other man is with the Captain. This deck is secure, I assure you."
"Then I'll go join Tim, and um...I'll check on you guys in a little while," Greg faltered.
Leonardo gave his friend a calm smile, which the man couldn't begin to reproduce. Then he folded his arms, and silently tried to size up Director Kelley. The man had been badly shaken the night before, but the combination of the earthquake, being trapped, and the shock of meeting the turtles could have had something to do with it.
Gazing at him now, Leonardo felt like he had a better grasp on who the man's true nature. At first glance, someone could easily judge Kelley's larger-than-life personality as the sum of his existence, but the turtle detected the shrewd intelligence behind his dark eyes. While Leonardo hesitated, he had the distinct sensation that Kelley was attempting to get a read on him too.
Kelley's much more complex than he appears to be on the surface. His huge personality feels more like a cover, to offset other people from realizing how good he actually is.
Leonardo waited, but Kelley still didn't say anything. The turtle leaned against the railing, and let his eyes be drawn back to the retreating city skyline. The sense of loss permeated his spirit as he watched the lights disappear behind him. The cold breeze that whipped by him at the moment left him feeling numb and even further removed from the city.
"Do you want to sit down?" Kelley asked.
Leonardo shook his head. "No."
"Well...listen, I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I understand that there are things you don't want to share with me...and truthfully, I'm not sure if I want to know," Kelley started slowly. "But I didn't sleep last night, and I have a feeling that all of this is going to affect my working relationship with Greg and Brandon, if I don't get some closure."
He hesitated, and went on. "When Heffernan came back from Okinawa amid suspicious circumstances...I asked him what the most important thing to him was. That question has a canned answer, at least as far as an Agent is concerned: upholding the law, and a firm commitment to the oaths we've sworn. Greg wouldn't say that...his answer was 'doing the right thing.' The deviation felt intentional; like a veiled message you don't understand unless you're in on the joke. It makes sense now that I've met you. A lot of things make sense."
"Like what?" Leo asked cautiously.
"Hillsboro, when Luke went missing? Kidnappers got tracked down, defeated, and left behind for the cops to clean up?"
The blue-masked turtle knew he didn't have to say anything, but Kelley didn't have to help them either...and he was.
"Yes," he replied before he could stop the word from coming up.
Kelley nodded. "And Dayton? You were the ones who saved Heffernan and James?"
"It was a little more complicated than that, but...yes, that was our doing too."
"What about Okinawa? Were you there with Greg and Brandon? Did you have anything to do with taking down the Akiudo?"
"We had everything to do with it," Leonardo replied.
"It's obvious to me that you possess extraordinary skills. The real question I have is what are you doing with those talents on a regular basis?"
Leonardo guessed that Kelley already had some suspicions, and in that second, all he wanted was for the man to know the truth. "You've heard of the Phantoms?"
Kelley didn't bat an eye at the reference. "I've heard stories."
"Now you've met them."
The man's brow furrowed. "I see. And...your methods for dealing with criminals..."
"We're trained in the art of ninjutsu."
"Mmhm...and would you say that your activities are completely legal?"
"You know better than that," Leo said softly. "The very fact that we engage in being vigilantes means that we're breaking the law, every time we do it."
"Why do you do it?" Kelley asked pointedly.
"We didn't set out to become what we have, Sir. When our father taught us ninjutsu, it was for self-defense. That's still our main objective. We don't fight unless someone else initiates it. My brothers and I live under a strict code of honor, and deal with suspects accordingly. We don't use more force than necessary, and we don't take a life unless..unless we have no other choice.
"The only way I can think to explain it to you, is that we get things done that probably wouldn't happen otherwise. I can't tell you how many people we've prevented from being killed. What's the right thing in that moment, when we see someone in immediate danger? Should we just walk by and let it happen? Should we call the police, and hope that they get there in time to stop it? I don't expect you to like it, but I hope you can understand why we do it."
"The lifestyle that you pursue involves walking a very fine line, Leonardo. If all citizens were allowed to take justice into their own hands, chaos and anarchy would be just around the corner. We have an imperfect legal system, but it's designed to work. I can't knowingly support your actions...even as admirable as your intentions are.
"What that means is that I can't have anything to do with you and your family. I have my own family, and keeping this kind of secret from them alone...you must know how difficult that is. I'm not trying to sound cold or ungrateful, but taking a role in the lives you live could prove disastrous for the ones I love. That's a risk I can't afford to take."
"I understand," Leonardo said quietly. "You won't hear from us."
"Should you return to the city and resume your activities, I'll try to turn a blind eye. My only wish is that you'd keep a low profile to protect yourselves."
"And leave the crime fighting to the police?"
Kelley raised his hands helplessly. "According to the law I'm bound to, that's what I have to tell you."
"What about you personally?" Leo asked. "If this was your choice alone, would you still want us to stop?"
"It's not my choice. Just...stay out of trouble if you come back."
"We'll be back, Director. It's only a matter of time. Are you going to pose a threat to us?"
"You mean, am I going to hunt you down or expose you? No. This talk is only to let you know that I can't play a part in this, the way I know the others do."
"Does it change how you think of Greg or Katherine?"
"I wouldn't say...I don't know. I'm not sure how I feel about any of it - it's still digesting." Kelley sighed. "What about your brother, Raphael? Will your doctors be able to help him?"
"We have somewhere to go, but we don't have the equipment we need yet. It's going to take some time to amass everything, before they can operate. That concrete almost crushed his left leg."
Kelley winced, and Leonardo read honest concern in his eyes. "If...if your people will give me information regarding the supplier they're using, I may be able to expedite things."
Leonardo's eye ridges rose. "You'd do that? It wouldn't be aiding or abetting law-breakers?"
"He saved my life, and he deserves medical treatment. If I can help him get it, I'm going to."