*Happy one day closer to Christmas all! It's been a long time since I said anything this way, hasn't it? I am alive over here. I'm not just some mindless drone posting chapter after chapter. I hope you're all having a good holiday season. On a side note, last night I opened up my stories to Anonymous reviews. I don't know why I'd never enabled them. So now if you don't have an account or don't feel like signing in (meh, sometimes it irritates me even), you can still review. Much love.
Leonardo was surprised to be roused by the phone ringing around 5:00 in the morning. He didn't bother checking the Caller ID before he snapped it open. "Hello?"
"It's Indian Point; it has to be!" the caller informed him without identifying himself.
"Director Kelley?" Leonardo sat up in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"They're shutting the Plant down – all operations are being rescinded."
"That's bad news, but where are you going with this?"
"I think that the Akiudo is up to something that involves the Power Plant. The dead body we pulled from the firefight at the docks? His remains tested with a high concentration of strontium 90."
"The stuff the Plant was leaking into the Hudson?"
"The Plant has had their safety issues for years, Leonardo, but a complete shutdown? The environmental threat suddenly comes to the forefront, at the same time that we pick up a terrorist who's so radioactive that he ought to be glowing? There's nothing typical about this."
"Do the authorities know he's radioactive? Are they going to do anything about this, Director?"
"It's an ongoing investigation. I suggested the possibility of a link between the suspect and Indian Point, but no one else wants to make the connection. A lot of important people want that Plant shut down; they've been lobbying for this for years. They want to portray this as safety issues on the part of the facility."
"What's going to happen with power in the city?"
"There could be instability and rolling blackouts. But that's the least of our worries if the Akiudo is plotting an attack that involves the Plant!"
"Isn't there anyone else out there who's willing to consider the chance that this 'accident' could have been intentional?"
"Some of them are willing to look into it. I told you that there's an open investigation, but you can't imagine how long this might take! The Akiudo will have a boatload of time to act before anything definitive is uncovered!"
"Doesn't the Plant have security?"
"In times past, it's been considered a major terrorist target. If you go to research Indian Point on Google Earth, you won't even find it on the map. The authorities have blocked out the image. There's a permanent National Guard Outpost nearby, but that doesn't guarantee protection. You said these men would go to any length to accomplish their goal!"
"They will, Director, that's just a fact. I'm not questioning whether or not they could be attempting to pull something off at the Plant. I'm just trying to think things through."
"I'm on my way down there, Leonardo, and we can think together."
"Uh…okay. Do you remember where the van entrance is?"
"I do."
"I'll meet you out there with a Slider, and I'll ask someone to set the coffeemaker."
Less than an hour later, Leonardo was warily sitting in the living area with Kelley, and Luke, Katherine, Greg, and Sayuri had joined the party. Matthew Kelley looked like he hadn't slept in about 48 hours, but the man barely let anyone else get a word in edgewise.
"It doesn't make sense, the Akiudo being silent for this long. They have Greg's number; why haven't they called him back? Why didn't they say a word after the battle at the docks?" Kelley wondered.
Greg shrugged. "I don't know why, Sir, but I swear they haven't contacted me, and I don't have any missed calls."
"Maybe I'm being paranoid," Kelley allowed. "Maybe I'm searching for a disaster where it doesn't exist, but that man's radioactivity levels…I talked to experts, people who know about the isotopes. The substance can be ingested or inhaled, and then it sticks around for a long time. Strontium 90 behaves like calcium in the body, building up deposits in the bones and teeth.
"A high enough concentration will kill you in the long run. There's always the chance the man could have been exposed through another source, but this feels fishy to me. Will someone else either agree with me, or tell me I'm off my rocker?"
"If you'd give us the chance to agree with you, I would," Leonardo said mildly.
The man's shoulders slumped wearily. "I'm sorry for busting in like this. I haven't even been home in three days. Been too busy trying to sort out this mess with Indian Point and the authorities."
"I think some sleep would do you good," Greg said.
"I will, I'll sleep. I just need to talk this through a little more…" Kelley trailed off as the main door to the Den opened, and another figure entered the room.
Tim looked around the living area in confusion as he stripped off his NYPD jacket. "Uh…hi, everyone. You all got up to meet me?" he offered impishly.
"It's Indian Point," Luke volunteered. "The authorities are shutting it down, and Director Kelley has reason to believe that the Akiudo may have been involved with the latest accident."
Timothy shook his head. "I'm going to need some coffee before I can deal with any of this."
Katherine rose. "I'll get you some." Kelley raised his hand, and she gave him a stern look. "You look like you've already consumed your fair share of caffeine, Sir. You need sleep."
Leonardo felt himself drawn to gaze at Sayuri as the rest of the conversation faded into the background. The Asian woman looked like she'd withdrawn from the room.
"Sayuri?" Leonardo said questioningly.
Her head jerked as if he'd startled her. "Leonardo-san?"
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I am here – I was just thinking," she answered.
"About what?" Greg asked. "No one has more years of research invested into this gang than you do."
"I am considering their motivation, Greg-chan. It's important to discover what they are doing, but I feel it's necessary to learn why they are behaving this way too."
"Stopping them is what matters, isn't it?" Luke asked. "We know their motivation doesn't come from a good place. What else is there?"
Sayuri fixed the doctor with a stern look. "There is much else, Luke-san. It's a matter of how far they are willing to go, and who they want to hurt. To perform an attack involving the Indian Point would send a powerful message, and I don't think it is only intended for the turtles."
She glanced at Leonardo. "They want to make a point to a large group of people – perhaps the entire country."
"What makes you say that?" Tim asked. "Do you think Takashi would knowingly put himself in danger of a nuclear meltdown?"
"No, but…if he was far away from here, then he would not stand the risk for exposure," Sayuri replied.
"The thing is, nuclear reactors can melt down, but they're not designed to blow up," Luke said. "The environmental impact would be large and it could make many people sick in the long run. But an attack on Indian Point doesn't seem like it would have the instantaneous gratification of taking human lives."
The Asian woman sighed anxiously. "All I am trying to say is that whatever Takashi intends to do with Indian Point, it likely has nothing to do with the turtles. I don't think they're the only reason the Akiudo is here." Sayuri looked back at Leonardo. "We have been under the impression that the gang has another purpose for existing than we originally thought. Perhaps it was their true goal all along, and the slave trade was little more than a vehicle to help Takashi get where he wanted to go.
"The Akiudo came to the United States years ago, before Takashi ever knew anything about the 'Shitenno'. Why did they come here to begin with? Have any of you considered asking yourselves that question?" she finished.
"I think we assumed that they were trying to grow their business," Leo replied.
"But it was a great risk to take, making the jump to the United States," Sayuri persisted. "They were much better off staying in Okinawa, where the authorities weren't acknowledging their existence."
"What are you saying then?" Kelley asked. "Do you think they have a personal vendetta against our country?"
"It's beginning to seem more likely," Sayuri affirmed.
Leonardo rested his chin in his hand. "In that case…it really doesn't matter what we do," he said softly. "The Akiudo is interested in carrying out a large scale attack against the city, whether they get their hands on us or not." Calley's words from days before concering devastation were coming back to mind, and he suddenly felt dizzy. "We need to find out what's going on at that facility."
"Officials are still crawling all over it. There's no way the Akiudo has moved in yet," Kelley filled in.
"That's true for the moment," Greg said. "But the gang always has a plan."
"What the shell, Man?" Raphael demanded from the banister on the second story above them. "Who decided to throw a breakfast meeting and not invite us?"
"C'mon down, Bro," Leo invited him. "There's no breakfast yet, but we can fill you in on the details."
"Not me," Kelley said at once. "I need to go home and talk to my wife."
"About the Akiudo?" Leonardo almost choked on the words.
"No, I told you I'm not involving my family in any part of this. I haven't figured out what to tell her, but I have to get her and my daughter to leave the city. There's big trouble on the horizon, and I want them gone before the gang tries to trigger something that changes all our lives forever."
Matthew Kelley felt as if he weighed a thousand pounds as he finally walked through the front door of the three-story Victorian in Chelsea that was Ellen's dream house. It was close to 8am by the time he arrived, which meant that his daughter had already left for school.
When he didn't find his wife inside the house, there was only one other logical place to search for her. Kelley peered out the window above the sink in the kitchen, and saw the raven-haired woman kneeling in the remnants of her garden. Most of the flowers had already died, but the vibrant colors of the hardy mums she'd planted weeks ago were a stark contrast to his dark mood.
He crossed out of the kitchen door onto the back porch. "Ellen?"
Her short black hair flipped as she spun in his direction. "Matthew! I wasn't expecting you so early. I thought you said—"
The man bounded off the porch to meet her. "I know what I said, Ellen, but things have changed. I need you to do something for me, without understanding why."
Her brow furrowed and her delicate nose wrinkled slightly, the way it always did when he said something that perplexed her. "Matthew, you look terrible. Have you had any sleep?"
"No, but that's not the point. I want you to take Laurie and go to your Mother's house in Indiana for a few days."
Ellen got to her feet. "You want us to get out of the city."
"Yes."
"And you think I'm going to uproot out daughter from school and leave everything behind without any explanation?"
"You know how complicated these things are—"
"I'm not interested in hearing classified information, Matthew! But I'm not abandoning you and our home without a clue as to what I'm running from."
He was silent for a moment. "If you saw the News this morning, you know they're shutting down Indian Point."
"They said there's been a large accident—"
"That's what most people believe, but I'm not one of them. I have reason to suspect that the same men who attacked the subways may be tampering with the Plant."
Ellen stared at him. "But…they attributed it to the Plant's safety record. They have a history of leaks."
"I know that, Ellen, but that may not be the case. I don't want to take the risk. I want you to leave."
"And you won't come with us."
"I can't," he said tightly.
"Why?" she demanded. "Because the job is more important than we are?"
"Ellen, the Officials aren't making the connections with the terrorists that I have."
"Are you saying you know more than the rest of them?"
"I'm saying that the city could be in tremendous danger, and the only thing these people are concerned with is closing the Plant for good. They don't see the possibility for an attack from an outside source. That's why I have to stay. That's why I can't leave."
She turned away from him and stalked toward the house.
He hurried after her. "Ellen, you can't be angry with me for this! It's my job. I have to help protect this city."
"I can be angry with you if I want to! I'm your wife and I'm the one who loves you." Her voice broke as she stared down at the sink.
"Ellen—"
"I don't want to hear it."
"You need to hear it. I swore an oath, and I have a responsibility to uphold it. You are going to run with our daughter, because you have the opportunity to do so."
"And you get to die because it's your duty," she said tersely.
"I never said I was going to die, Ellen. There's no guarantee that the city is under a nuclear threat. I don't want to take any chances though, not with you or Laurie. Please, go."
She finally turned around the face him, and allowed him to draw her into his arms.
"This scares me," Ellen told him.
"It scares me too; I wouldn't send you otherwise."
The woman brushed a hand through her hair to straighten it. "I suppose I should pack a few things and go pick up Laurie."
Matthew nodded as Ellen impulsively wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Are you going to go save the world?" she asked ironically.
"I'm going to try."