Raphael hated running from a few Akiudo that they could have dealt with in their sleep, but he wasn't about to disobey Leonardo's orders either. His oldest brother was moving as quickly as he could in the lead without making a sound, and Katherine was keeping up easily, to the red-masked turtle's relief. She's probably less of a liability to have around than Greg or Brandon is. We've been hauling around the wrong accomplices, he thought ironically.
He saw Leonardo rapidly testing doorknobs, no doubt trying to find some place where they could hide until it was clear. So far, nothing had opened. Shell, they can't all be locked up tight! Those scum are gonna come through that exit door any second! Why they ain't here already?
Raphael actually knew the answer to the question. The men were taking their time up the flights of stairs, completely relaxed and not expecting an attack. Now would be a better time to take 'em down than ever, but no! The big man and his chief witch are nowhere to be found, so we have to—
His thought immediately cut off as he watched Leonardo swing a door open. The oldest turtle looked inside swiftly, before waving for everyone to follow him. Raphael gave Mike a small push to get him moving again, and pressed into the interior behind him.
The room was faintly illuminated by the light coming in from the window on the opposite wall. By the time Raphael was taking in the sight of the bathroom stalls and curtained partitions, Leonardo was already working on the window.
"Is it big enough?" he heard Katherine hiss. "Leo, you've got to figure it out quick!"
Leonardo shifted carefully, twisting his frame to see if it would fit through the window. "We can do it," he affirmed. "We've fought our way through tighter spaces," he directed toward Raphael meaningfully.
"That's great, Fearless, now can we get outta here? Do you see a way down?" the red-masked turtle asked.
"There's a ledge right outside the window, and another a few feet below it. It looks like the architecture will allow us to scale straight down, but…" Leonardo trailed off, looking at Katherine.
"I'm light on my feet for an old married woman," she said sarcastically.
"We don't have a choice," Leonardo agreed. "We'll take it slowly, unless disaster strikes. I'm going out on the ledge, and I want you to follow me, Kat. I'm not trying to baby you; I've just never seen you operate in this capacity before."
"That's about to change," she retorted.
"Kat, seriously," Michelangelo whispered. "Don't go showing off just on our account. Do what Leo says, and save your best moves for a stable environment."
"You guys are so overprotective," she scoffed.
"That's what we do best," Leo returned. "Now c'mon. We need to move."
The blue-masked turtle disappeared around the outside edge of the window pane, and Katherine easily slipped out behind him. Raphael started toward the window to track their progress, but the sound of raucous voices stopped him in his tracks. Shell, they're way too close for comfort.
"Mikey, they're right out there," he warned softly.
The orange-masked turtle stood still beside him, his chest heaving slightly. Raphael cocked his head as he listened closely, and detected footsteps outside the door. He swore under his breath as he gave his youngest brother another push. "Hide – fast!"
Raphael launched into the last stall on the right side, seconds before he heard the bathroom door swinging open. He held his breath as the overhead light flashed on, and balanced on the back of the toilet so that no one would see his feet from below. Please don't come down here and make me bust you up. Leo would kill me.
"Why don't you understand why it makes me nervous? If something goes wrong with the Shitenno, you must realize that we are as good as dead," he heard someone say.
Something's gonna go wrong with the Shitenno all right, Raphael thought silently. I'd take you apart right now if I was allowed to.
"Takashi-sama is ready for them. He has made proper preparations this time," a second voice returned.
He has, has he? Keep talking, you idiot.
"This time," the first stated bitterly. "If he was capable of containing them, he would have done it before! I say kill them, and let that be the end of it. I don't want to be within range when the technicians are finished. Maybe you would not mind dying for Takashi—"
"We are not going to die, Maiko, and we will not be within six hundred miles of here when the job is done. Everything Takashi-sama is doing is by design, even the meeting tonight."
"You speak as if you know so much," Maiko replied. "But you don't know what he's doing any more than the rest of us!"
"I know that it has to be related to our exit from this stinking region."
"What makes you say that?"
"Common sense, fool! Do you think Takashi-sama is acting randomly? I tell you, he has planned things thoroughly, down to the scientists that are aiding us. He has been courting those three from North Korea for years!"
"What do you know about it?" Maiko demanded.
"They like to talk," the second said triumphantly. "They are proud of what they are going to accomplish here. The challenge is almost incentive enough for them without the compensation."
"How much do you think he's paying them?"
The other man laughed. "More than you or I are worth, and don't forget it. Just be glad that we have plane tickets out of here."
"What about plane tickets?"
"What does Takashi-sama always say to us? Allow him to take care of the details. There is nothing to worry about, my friend. Our leader did not orchestrate his way out of prison only to come to the United States to die. We will be long gone before anything is triggered."
Don't like the sound of that, Raphael thought grimly.
"Provided that everything goes according to his plans!" Maiko saidnervously.
"There is no reason for it not to."
"I can think of a few reasons, and they are repetitive. They are the same obstacles we ran into in the past! Why does Takashi-sama think it will be different this time?"
"You would have to ask him that. Go ahead and approach him when he gets back." The second man snickered.
"I'm glad it is funny to you. Our lives hang in the balance!"
"Why are you so fearful, Maiko? Even in death there is honor, if you die for the right reasons."
"I would rather not die for any reason!"
"Then don't allow Yukiko to hear a single word you have breathed. She will make an example of you; mark my words. She is probably timing how long we have been inside here as I speak."
"She does not really do that, does she?"
"No; she does worse. I hope you got all the whining out, because you don't want Yukiko to get an opportunity to know of it."
Something struck the side of the bathroom stalls so hard that the entire set shook, and Raphael winced.
"This is not what I signed up for!"
"It will get better, Maiko. Takashi-sama's dealings with the United States are short-lived. When we go home, things are going to be different. This is the chance we have been waiting for, to finally be free."
"Free? We are practically prisoners inside this building, unless Takashi or Yukiko escorts us out!"
"This is temporary, and mind how you describe their treatment! You may just end up as a prisoner, Maiko!"
"You are not going to tell them, are you? You would not repeat what I have said?" The first man sounded a little desperate suddenly.
"No, Maiko, I will not turn you in. I am only warning you that not everyone is as kind as I…"
Raphael heard the sound of their voices retreating, and the wind of the large door swinging as they entered the hall. He remained motionless under the stark overhead lighting for several more seconds.
"Raphy!" Mike called quietly. "We've gotta go."
The red-masked turtle climbed down carefully and met his brother outside the stall. Raphael eyed the door to the hall, and motioned Mike toward the window. "Move – I'm right behind ya."
Michelangelo squirmed his way through the opening and Raphael watched for him to make room on the ledge for him to escape too. He rolled his eyes as he scraped against the window frame in his own attempt to fit through. Easy does it, he chided himself.
Raphael didn't take another breath until he wedged his shell through the space, and he emerged onto the ledge. He didn't see Mike, but a low whistle called him to look down. Then he caught sight of a shadow nimbly descending, and decided to get himself in gear too.
Raphael moved away from the window, avoiding as many of the panes as possible as he worked his way down to the ground using one ledge and one foothold at a time. He heard a soft scuff from Michelangelo every now and then, but saw nothing of Leonardo or Katherine on the ground.
I hope that's a good thing.
His muscles were still tingling with anxious energy as he landed on his feet beside the building. Raphael found Mike backed up against the stone facing, waiting for him.
"Hey, have you seen—" Raphael started to ask, right before the beam of a flashlight shot around the corner.
"C'mon, you guys!" Leo insisted quietly. "We have to get away from here."
Raphael shook his head. Brother, you're telling me.
Luke sounded like he was almost beside himself. "What was the point of nearly getting yourselves caught in there?"
"We coulda taken them," Raphael stated defensively.
Leonardo shot him a sharp look, but it quickly softened. "We had our reasons for going, Doc, and we found what we were looking for. There's plenty of evidence that the Akiudo is using this building as a hub. It might seem abandoned from some angles, but it definitely isn't. They're even paying somebody off for electricity and water."
"As if Takashi would live any other way." Katherine rolled her eyes.
"That ain't all we found out, Fearless," Raphael reminded him. "They're planning something, and they think they're gonna be ready for us. This smells like a trap; I'd bet my shell on it."
The blue-masked turtle nodded. "But they can't get us to show up anywhere without contacting Greg again first. We're going to have to play this by ear a little bit."
"Leo, we can't play their game!" Raphael protested.
"That isn't what I'm suggesting," Leo said calmly. "But we still have to know what they want us to do, so that we know how much time we have to cut them off." There was a troubled look in his brother's eyes that belied his even tone. "It sounds like they have big plans for the Plant, what with their talk of technicians. I don't like it. North Korea has to be significant, and we're only learning this now?"
Raphael shrugged. "We're not really supernatural, Leo. They got all kinds of secrets we don't know nothing about."
"They're planning something big." Mike's voice sounded hollow. "They don't wanna be anywhere near here when it goes off. Leo, it sounded like a lot of people could be in trouble."
Leonardo took a sharp breath. "Then we have to stop them, period."
"I think we should get out of this neighborhood," Luke mentioned.
"Get back in the Volvo, and we'll follow you," Leo told him.
Raphael could tell his older brother's mind was reeling with possibilities and strategies. He didn't say anything to Leonardo as he crawled over into the driver's seat of Marc's Avalanche and started the car. Part of him wanted to discuss with Leo just how badly they were going to kick the Akiudo's tail, but the seriousness in his countenance made Raphael refrain. Better to let him be for a little while, let him figure some things out.
Michelangelo was quiet too, but Raphael knew from experience that his youngest brother probably felt more like talking.
"You all right, Mikey?" he asked to get the ball rolling.
"I feel like we just looked inside Pandora's box and got this tiny glimpse of all the evil that's about to be unleashed," Mike replied.
"No it ain't, Bro," Raphael returned firmly. "It's not gonna happen, because we're going to stop it. We were in the right place to hear some stuff tonight, and maybe get an advantage that we wouldn't have had otherwise. The city's not going down without a fight, Mike. Not while we're breathing."
"They don't even know it," Mike said sadly. "The people are going about their regular business, thinking everything is normal…and they don't realize the need to duck and cover."
"We don't always get to know this far in advance before disaster strikes," Raphael replied. "This time we can do something about it. We're not gonna sit back and wait for the count-down to start."
"No, we're not," Leonardo said. "We will catch this thing before it goes too far, no matter what it costs us. At least that's how I feel about it."
Raphael glanced at Leonardo in the rear-view mirror and nodded. "Whatever it takes," he murmured. "We've said it to each other how many times? Now we're getting to say it for a few million lives."
Mike chuckled, seeming to brighten somewhat. "The Watchmen are gonna be busy, that's for sure."
"The what?" Raphael looked at his orange-masked brother.
"Watchmen," he repeated. "You know, 'cause the Phantom thing was so ten years ago."
"You changed our persona without telling anyone? Can he do that, Fearless?"
Leonardo heaved a breath. "Whether it's by the Watchmen or the Phantoms, the Akiudo are finished."