*Merry Christmas to all. :) I hope you're enjoying family and friends today. counting blessings and laughing until it hurts. Have a wonderful day.
Michelangelo was vibrating so hard that he could feel the chair shaking beneath him. Good thing I decided to sit by myself, he thought ironically. Being still at a time like this doesn't feel like an option.
He shot a grin at his purple-masked brother, who'd been transferred to the living area for a meeting that was far too important for him to miss. Don gave him a faint smile in return; he looked tired, but he also appeared satisfied. He should be satisfied. Donny pulled off something huge, and it's gonna change everything.
"Are you comfortable, Bro?" Mike asked.
Donny made a face. "That's not important right now."
Jenna circled Donatello's recliner and pulled up a folding chair beside him. "Speak up if you need something, hon."
Don gave her a withering look, and Mike could imagine what he was thinking. Donny just wants to be treated normally for a few minutes. I'm glad he's out here with us. We need his voice, even if we can't have him for the action.
"Can I have some coffee?" Donatello requested hopefully, shooting a look in Luke's direction.
The blond-haired doctor appeared to be thinking about it.
"Boy, you're one tough warden, aren't you?" Jazz spoke up. "Don't you know there's such a thing as getting time off for good behavior? He did make the impossible happen."
Donatello chuckled. "I should hire you to be my lawyer, Jazz. And we made it happen together."
The young woman made a scoffing sound. "Yeah, that was a 'team' effort like an Administrative Assistant runs a big Corporation."
"Some of them know more about the every day dealings of the businesses than the CEO's," Don offered.
"Yes, you can have coffee," Luke inserted finally. "But that doesn't equate an entire pot."
"You're the best, Doc," Donny told him.
"Sure, because I'm giving you what you want. Don't think I'm going to become your pushover."
"Wouldn't dream of it, Doc," Don replied.
Michelangelo smiled as he watched Molly lay her head on the armrest of Donny's chair.
"Your buddy's glad to see you out here too," Mike commented impishly.
Donatello scratched the Border Collie's white ears. "Hey, good girl."
The orange-masked turtle chuckled softly. That dog thinks Don's the greatest thing that ever walked the planet. She's not far off either.
Mike heard the sound of the main door opening, and jolted to his feet so fast that it startled the orange and white cat that had been lounging across the back of his chair. Tiger went tearing across the floor as if Olivia was hot on her tail, while a voice filtered inside from the tunnel.
"…but if we can nail him down to a specific location, it makes sense to call in the bigger guns! Surely you haven't forgotten about the encounter at the docks!" Kelley's booming tone filled the space.
"Director, we'll get into all of that," Leo returned patiently. "It's far more complicated than it sounds."
Mike's eyes traveled to the stairs as he heard someone coming down, and he noticed a rare shadow across Katherine's face. The woman rubbed reddened eyes as if she was tired, but the turtle knew better. Kat must be miserable without her little girl. I miss Nate like crazy, and I've only known him a few months.
Luke noticed Kat appear too, and got up to meet her. It seemed like Katherine was going to shy away from his advance initially, but then she accepted his hand to lead her to the couch. Her face was flat and emotionless in the light of the living area, but it was impossible to hide the strain completely.
Mike turned his head so that she wouldn't catch his gaze and feel worse than she already did. Shell, it's hard to feel like you're choosing your job over your kid, if it can even be called that. I mean, it's not like we're going around delivering newspapers or something. We're trying to save the city from another disaster.
We can't leave New York to fend for themselves against the threat they don't understand, but that does mean pushing other important things to the side. This must be sorta like what a soldier feels when he goes overseas and leaves everything behind. The Akiudo were polite enough to come to us this time, but for the sake of the city, I'd rather be forced to commute.
"Please sit down, Director," Leonardo urged. The blue-masked turtle cast a swift glance at Donatello, and the younger turtle nodded.
I wonder what that's supposed to mean. I'm sure we'll all find out soon enough.
Don opened the lid of his laptop and began typing while the rest of the room was still settling down. Mike couldn't hear the sound of the keys over the voices in the room, but the look on Donatello's face was one of familiar control. He knows exactly what he's doing. This seemed to be authentic genius mode for his brother, and it excited Michelangelo to see
All throughout his brother's ordeal, Mike had experienced nagging doubt in the back of his mind that fed into the fear that Donatello might never be the same again. Things still aren't perfect with him, but I think his mind is stronger than any of the docs had dared to hope for.
Michelangelo broke away from Don to scan the rest of the room, which had settled into heavy silence. Leonardo was the only one not sitting down. The blue-masked turtle remained on his feet, standing near Donatello.
"All right," Leo said decisively. "For the first time in days, we have reliable information that we can act upon, but we have to tread extremely carefully. Where does Takashi's signal currently stand, Don?"
Donny looked back at Leonardo before addressing the rest of the room. "It was traveling outside city limits, but it's falling into a much slower holding pattern. I waited until the phone was basically stationary before I tried to trace the specific coordinates I'm receiving from the digital signature.
"The phone is located inside of a building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I did some digging on the address and found out that it's a 'ghostscraper', one of the high rises that were abandoned after the earthquake. It feels like a bold move for the Akiudo, but you have to remember that we're the only ones looking for them, and the only ones who know that they're here. There's no way to be certain that Takashi is carrying the phone, but I am certain of where the signal is leading me."
Kelley appeared to be holding his breath. "Then we have something to rely upon, a stable signal that's not going to fail?"
"Not unless he discards the phone for some reason," Don answered.
"Can you explain the complications to me, Leonardo?" Kelley asked. "Why are you insisting that we have to continue operating independently on this mission?"
"You pose a good question, Director," Leonardo replied. "From your standpoint, I can see how it seems like a good idea to get the police or military involved. But we're not dealing with a typical set of bad guys here, and I can give you two very good reasons why we can't bring the authorities in yet: the safe house in Okinawa, and the compound they used the last time they came to the United States.
"Sayuri told you what happened when her team converged quietly on the safe house. The Akiudo destroyed the place, with all of them inside. They tried to do the same thing with their compound in New York."
"That's right," Donatello agreed. "Their building was wired with enough C4 to blow up a city block, and they tried to set it off. It was only with a little luck that we were able to diffuse the detonator before it could activate the rounds of C4."
"Yeah, luck. You had nothing to do with that failure," Leonardo said sarcastically, then gazed at Kelley. "Do you see the pattern here? When law enforcement is closing in, when the Akiudo is about to be compromised, they'll try to destroy all the evidence, even when it means leaving their own men behind."
"But if we approach them when they're not expecting it, that kind of action can be averted," Kelley pressed.
"Possibly," Leo allowed. "But there's also the chance that it could expedite whatever their plans for Indian Point are. If we attack their building outright, Takashi may trigger the disaster at the Plant, especially if he doesn't think he's going to make it out. The man has never struck me as being suicidal, but the attitude he had with me on the phone…It has me concerned. I think he has a plan to retaliate against the United States for something he perceives the country did to him, and I don't think he'll let anything stop him now that he's this close."
"Not to him – to Okinawa," Sayuri corrected. "What else can it be? The United States' presence in the country since the last World War is viewed as an occupation by some. The perception of US Navel Base is hardly a positive one. Takashi must feel as if the country is being controlled by two unwanted sources; the States, and Japan itself.
"In his mind, he fights for the freedom of Okinawa. If he was successful in pulling off an attack on your country, Japan would probably be next," she finished.
"We know that the gang has access to heavy duty chemical weapons, and the nerve to use them," Leonardo added. "The possibilities of where he could go next or who they'd try to kill are endless. We have no choice except to cut him off before it has a chance to go any further."
"So let's say we do this independently," Kelley said. "What's to stop Takashi from triggering something at Indian Point the moment he realizes he's been invaded by us?"
The way Leonardo cleared his throat indicated his discomfort with what he was about to suggest. "We have to split up and approach both targets simultaneously. One team would take the Akiudo head on, while the other would be at Indian Point, preventing a disaster from happening there."
"That could mean suicide for whoever takes on the ghostscraper!" Kelley exclaimed.
Raphael laughed. "You ain't never been on one of our operations before. They're all one part suicide. This is what we were made to do, Kelley."
Leonardo nodded. "We need to get some surveillance on their building. It's unlikely that Takashi is living without power, so there may be some type of security on the premises too."
"What if there is?" Tim asked.
"They won't have anything fancy, not in a place like that," Donny said. "If anything, you could gain access by scaling the building itself. It shouldn't be hard to break in."
"No, but you don't know how many of them there are," Brandon said warily.
Mike shrugged. "We never do. Isn't anyone excited? I hate being the only one who's about to flip my shell over finding them."
The blue-masked turtle gave him a tolerant smile. "Work first, celebrate later. The sooner we sift through the logistics, the better. Takashi doesn't know we're onto his building or the Plant. The element of surprise is the best weapon in our disposal."
"How are we going to determine Team Suicide and Team Prevention?" Kat asked. "Do we get any votes?"
Leonardo gave the woman a look. "As far as going after the gang—"
"Don't say that right is reserved for you and your brothers, Leo. Don't say it," Katherine interrupted.
"I was going to say it would probably be a lengthy topic of discussion."
Michelangelo shook his head. Shell, I rather nobody else was in there, and I know Leo's got to feel the same way. Whether or not it'll happen is anyone's guess.
Kelley heaved a sigh. "Is this typical of how you go into an operation, with so little information and preparation?"
"Not exactly," Leo said. "But we're down our technician, and sometimes you have to take an opportunity when it presents itself, even if it resembles suicide."
"Nice to know what we're getting into," Kelley murmured.
"Hey, we've always survived suicide before." Mike grinned. "The Akiudo is about to get a shock of their own."
"You said it, Mikey." Raphael chuckled. "I'm excited too; I'm just saving all of my energy for Yukiko."
Michelangelo laughed in return. "If there's time, Raphy, I'd love to watch."