Leonardo felt skittish as he waited in the back of the Battleshell for the signal from Greg that they could make their move. He hadn't been pleased with the news that a cleaning crew was currently inside the closed Travel Agency. The blue-masked turtle was tempted to call off the entire operation for the night, but he honestly didn't want to wait another full 24 hours before getting inside.
Every day that passes is making me more nervous. Takashi said he wanted to take some time to get to "know" the city. I don't know what that means, and I don't want to sit back until the Akiudo takes another shot at innocent people. We've got to act on the information we have.
Greg had confirmed that the Agency existed earlier that day, and had performed some preliminary surveillance on the grounds with Kat and Sayuri. They'd been able to determine that Atesaki was running a real operation, and that it wasn't a mere front that the gang was hiding behind.
The next logical step had been to try to get access to a computer, but Leonardo had asked them to lay off the "distraction" tactic. I think coming back after hours was the right thing to do, so we can get a more thorough look around. Shell, I know Greg thinks we can pull one over on just about anybody, but we don't know what kind of role this Company might have in connection with the Akiudo!
HijutoChem was a separate Company that they only employed for their services, but the gang still managed to use the facility to set a trap. I'm not convinced that this Agency is clear of any wrong-doing, and we're not going to be until we can get a closer look behind the scenes.
Leonardo sighed as he gazed out the back window. The operation was serving as a partial distraction from the fact that the girls had left earlier that day, but his thoughts still drifted back to them. He was grateful that they were on their way to Lotus Salvus; he only prayed that the journey would go smoothly with Olivia and Nate.
The rain had been falling heavily on the roof above them for several minutes. I don't understand why it has to rain for days at a time. We go weeks with hardly any rain, and then it decides to just pour for three days straight. Go figure. But maybe seeing and hearing it will help acclimate Brandon's mind, and remind him that there's nothing to fear. I wish he would have gone with the girls, but it was his choice.
Leonardo's mind drifted from his friend back to his wife. He'd sensed Calley's nerves sharply at their parting, and he could feel the woman's inner turmoil in taking the step to which she'd agreed.
"Promise me," she'd said for the third time that day. "Promise me that you'll stay together and stand together."
Leonardo had reassured her as strongly as he could. He didn't want the group separating into individual factions any more than she did. Calley always seems to see straight to the heart of things. I miss her already, but this can't be helped. It's the right thing for them, and we've got to encourage the rest of our friends to get underground too. It's just not worth the risk of being tracked down by the Akiudo.
The blue-masked turtle's phone buzzed, breaking him out of reverie. He noticed his brothers' heads snap to attention as he answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey, Leo. A temporary window might have opened up for us," Greg said. "We just watched three people leave the Agency. They left the gate up, and there are still lights on inside, so they're probably not done for the night. It's possible that they service the entire building, and not only the storefront."
"But you can't see anyone inside?"
"Not from my vantage point. I'm waiting to hear from your brother again. The security system for the doors was activated, and he's watching the motion sensors too. Donny and I have been texting back and forth for a couple of minutes."
The humans' research on the facility earlier in the day had included discovering the monitoring company that serviced the Agency, and Donatello had taken the initiative of cutting into the feed.
"Either way, it sounds like they're coming back," Leonardo muttered. He wasn't thrilled with the situation.
"True, but you guys have never had a problem disappearing before, and there's more than one way out. I think we should give Don a little more time to watch the motion sensors for disturbances; that, or come back tomorrow when this crew won't be an issue."
Leonardo grunted in irritation. Are we supposed to be scared off by the possibility of a few cleaning girls coming back sooner than we prepared for? We're here now, and there's no sense in wasting another day. We can handle this. We've broken into some of the most locked down places on Earth. If we can't pull this off, we have no business going after the Akiudo.
"Disappearing shouldn't be an issue if we have to do it quickly, " Leonardo agreed. "Kat and Tim are watching our shells, right? They'll be able to tell us if anyone is coming."
"I'm gonna take another look around while I'm waiting to hear from Don. I think Sayuri and I should double-check our entrance point."
"Stay alert," Leo reminded him, before hanging up the phone.
"What's up, Leo?" Raph wanted to know at once.
"We're waiting a bit longer," he announced. "They saw the cleaning crew head out, but the building hasn't been closed up for the night. They're probably coming back."
"Then why are we waiting?" Mike wondered.
"Because there are uncertainties," Leonardo supplied. "Heff told me earlier that their monitoring system is pretty primitive, and there are only a couple of camera views and motion sensors in the main part of the store front. Don's watching to make sure no one else is around, and then we'll make our move."
Raphael rolled his eyes. "Brother. I'm so sick of sitting here."
"You're impatient, Raph? I never woulda known." Mike grinned.
"Look who's talking, shell-head," he shot back.
Leonardo shook his head. "Can we please wait in peace? It shouldn't take much longer." At least I hope not, he added inwardly. I'm not going to complain in front of them, but I'm ready to get in there too. He was also itching to call Calley, but he figured it was better to focus on business first. C'mon, Don, text us already. We're dying back here.
He spent a couple more minutes trying to breathe in the calm and banish the anxiety that was lingering over the thought of his family driving on the open road to North Carolina. Roughly ten minutes passed before he got the desired message from his younger brother.
"I'm not getting anything off the motion detectors in the storefront. It looks safe from where I am. Heff told me he wasn't going to have anyone use the doors, but I can still kill the alarm to be safe. Just give me the word."
Leonardo slowly typed his response for Donatello to flip the switch, then looked up at his brothers.
"What'd he say, Leo?" Mike asked.
"We're going," he answered, yanking up the hood of his sweatshirt. His phone rang before he could make another move, and it turned out to be Greg. "How does it look out there?" he asked.
"It's quiet on the street. I think the rain drives people indoors."
"No complaints from me. Do we have our way in?"
"I chose a window around the right side of the building. We're waiting for you. Sayuri and I won't do anything until you get here. Kat and Tim are holding their position as lookouts."
"We'll meet you over there." Leonardo hung up the phone, and peered out of the back end onto the rain-drenched street. He could smell the harbor in the air the moment he stuck his head outside. The storefront they were going to search was only a couple of miles away from what were usually bustling docks.
He could see Greg's dark green Jeep Liberty halfway down the block from where the Battleshell was parked. Across the street, Luke's Volvo looked dark and empty, but he knew Kat and Tim were holed up watching too.
The rain didn't take long to saturate through their civilian clothes as they silently headed around the building, and Leonardo hated the sense of being weighed down by the gear. He would have preferred to not wear anything, but he kept his mouth shut about it. Leo shook his head at the sight of a soaked Greg and Sayuri, who'd already spent a fair amount of time exposed to the elements.
Greg ignored Leo's sympathetic look and motioned to a window that appeared to lead to an office. "I think we ought to break it, and worry about reimbursing them later."
Leonardo nodded in agreement. Destruction of private property wasn't something they relished, but from time to time, a mission required it. The turtles were adamant about making amends in those cases. He watched as Greg withdrew a glass cutter.
"This will be quieter, and it won't take long," he explained.
Leo nodded again, pointing for his brothers to stay put while Greg got them inside the building. Raphael quickly tired of the careful precision with which the man was working.
"Shell, if we go any slower, we'll be moving backwards," Raphael complained. "Isn't that crew coming back?"
Greg shot him a look. "I almost have it. Excuse me for not wanting to attract attention."
The red-masked turtle shrugged. "Getting caught out here because we took too long to get in won't make things any better."
"Raph, can it!" Leonardo ordered softly. Now isn't the time to have this argument.
Leonardo came forward to help Greg as the man got the pane loose, and they set it down on the ground without shattering it.
"Go ahead, Leo," Greg urged him.
Leonardo carefully maneuvered his hands around the remaining sharp edges, and tucked his head to get through the window. He took in the sight of the darkened room, before looking out at the alley. "C'mon in, guys. Keep it down and watch your step. We're dealing with a limited amount of room inside the office."
He stepped out into the narrow hall to make more room for them to get inside, and watched Greg climb through the window. The man's leap was anything but graceful, but he didn't cut himself in the process, and the turtle was thankful for that. Sayuri came after him, and both humans slipped out to join him in the hall.
The size of the next dark shape that flipped through the window looked like Raphael. Leonardo turned to Greg and was about to ask him where their search was going to begin, when he heard a small crash come from the room.
"Shell, Mikey, are you trying to sabotage us here?" Raphael complained.
"It was an accident. You could have told me that the desk was there!" the orange-masked turtle returned.
"You couldn't see it with them big blue eyes of yours?" Raphael scoffed. "Fearless said there wasn't much room to maneuver; you can't go blaming your clumsiness on someone else."
Leonardo released an irritated breath. "You guys, save the fight for later," he hissed. "We have work to do right now, and a limited time to accomplish it in." He looked at Greg. "What are we searching for?"
"I don't really know, Leo. I figured we'd have more time to pace ourselves, but now that we're constrained, all I can think to do is to start copying hard drives."
The squeal of a door came from a few feet away, catching Leonardo unprepared. In the blink of an eye, a shaggy head of hair was peeking around the open door, too quickly for the turtle to dart out of the way.
It was one of the most unexpected sensations of being cornered that Leo had ever felt. He heard Greg swear in the background, but he was too busy gazing back at the interesting-looking figure staring at him to say anything.
The unique hair which had first given her away appeared almost white from where he was standing, though the face looking back at him was young and unlined. Choppy black and red highlights were interspersed through the hairstyle. Heavy black eyeliner accentuated ghostly grey eyes that looked like they were trapped in a car's headlights. The ripped blue jeans and t-shirt that barely covered her midriff completed the strange ensemble.
Leonardo opened his mouth to break the spell over both of them and to assure the stranger that he wasn't going to hurt her, right before his brothers passed into the hall.
"Are we just gonna stand here all night, Leo, or are we—" Raphael's voice cut off when he got a look at their watcher, and the young woman's scream filled up the silence he left behind.