"Donny, I can't do this!" Marcus said shakily. "I don't know what I'm doing!"
"Marc, I want you to take a deep breath, okay?" Donatello said calmly. "Now I know you didn't sign up for any of this, but you're the only one available to handle the Battleshell. I would never ask you to risk your life—"
"That's not what I mean, Don! You have to realize that I'll do whatever it takes to help the others, but I don't think I'm capable of handling these guns. I've never used anything like it."
"It isn't as difficult as you think it is."
"Raph told me that the manual for this thing is over 200 hundred pages!"
"That's the extended version, and I'm going to condense it for you. I'll walk you through setting things up, and all you need to do is follow my instructions. I wouldn't say you could do it if I didn't think you could."
"Oh my word…" Marcus groaned. "I chose the wrong team to tail tonight."
Donatello fought down a chuckle in spite of the circumstances. "I'd love to trade places with you, Marc, I really would. I'm so sorry about this."
"Don't be – it's just a good thing the 'loose cannons' brought the Battleshell, or this plan would be up a creek without a paddle."
"Sit tight for a couple more minutes, okay? I'm going to check in with Tim and Sayuri, and I'll call you back," Don told him.
"You're not going to leave me hanging?"
"Wouldn't dream of it, Marc. I need to make a couple more calls, and find out where Brandon and Jazz are too."
"I hope it was necessary for them to be in there, Donny. It seems like an awful risk for both of them," Marcus complained.
It was more necessary than you realize yet, Don thought inwardly. "We'll get into that later. I'll call you back."
Donatello hung up with Marcus and took a shuddering breath as he focused on Jenna. "I don't like this," he said. "Making Marc a distraction…if something goes wrong, he's dead."
"Way to inspire some confidence, Donny," she replied.
The purple-masked turtle sighed. "Not funny, Jen. This is absurd. He shouldn't be in this position at all, let alone by himself. It's too dangerous!"
The young woman rested a hand on his arm. "It's the way it is, Donny. It's frustrating, but he's the one who's there. All you can do is help him and the others to the best of your ability. You still have an impact."
"It's not about me making an impact, Jen. I'm about to send Marc off to battle using weapons he's never laid hands on!"
"You didn't send him, Don, no more than you sent any of them. Calm down, and call the others like you told Marc you were going to."
Donatello exhaled deeply. "Yeah. You're right." He hit Timothy's speed-dial without another word. "Are you still okay out there?"
"Yes," Tim answered quietly. "But we can't move on the building yet. There's no way to tell how many are close by. We can't go barging in on them, but we're not just going to leave Greg and Kelley behind either." The man sounded irritated.
"Tim, Marc is close to the gate with the Battleshell, and he's prepared to do what he has to."
"That's insane, Donny! Almost as crazy as Brandon and Jazz being out there somewhere."
"It's not a perfect situation, but we have to work with what we've got." Donny heard the call waiting clicking on him. "Hold up where you are for a little longer, and I'll let you know what's going on."
He switched over to the next line, expecting it to be Marcus. "I'm working out details with Tim, Marc—"
"Don, it's me," Brandon cut in. "Can you help us find the others?"
"Uh…I could try, but I don't have a good lay-out of the property itself. Tim and Sayuri had to hole up out of the way."
"I just think we'd be better off if we could regroup, especially since Jazz and I aren't armed."
"No," the turtle said suddenly. "You two need to stay the shell out of the way. We're planning the raid to get Greg and Kelley back, and Marcus is about to create a distraction to draw men off the building."
"Do you understand how ridiculous that sounds?"
"Yes, I do," Donatello said sharply. "But you guys can't afford to get caught with those components you're carrying!"
Brandon drew a nervous breath. "I know. Okay, Donny. We'll stay put until you say so."
"Really? You're going to do what someone says?"
"Yes. Don't come down on me too hard, okay? We're the ones who found the weapon."
Donatello rolled his eyes. "We won't get into it right now. Just promise me that you'll stay hidden."
"On my honor, Don."
"Good. I'll call you back when it's safe to move. If you hear some big guns go off, don't be afraid."
"We'll do our best."
The turtle hung up and called Marcus back. "Are you ready for a crash course on the weapons system?"
"It doesn't sound like I have a choice," Marc said glibly. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. What the heck am I supposed to do with all these buttons?"
Sayuri adjusted the earpiece of the radio she'd swiped off a lone man they'd jumped a few minutes prior. She and Timothy had done their best to stay out of sight, merely because they were the only ones who could get to the others. The Asian woman was upset that they'd split up at all, but even more so because Greg and Kelley had been captured.
Sayuri hated waiting in the dark for something to happen. She wanted to find their friends before the Akiudo had the chance to harm them badly or kill them. The woman turned up the volume to listen over the radio as the Japanese chatter increased. She held her breath as though they would be able to tell she was listening on the line.
"…I am going out to confirm a visual for myself. He swore it is the same vehicle,"someone was saying.
"We already received word from Takashi-sama that the Shitenno have invaded the building in New York City."
"That does not mean we aren't in trouble here too! There are more enemies out there, and we have yet to locate them. That alone gives me reason for concern!"
Sayuri looked over at Tim. "It sounds like the van has been spotted. I think it is almost time to move, Timothy-san."
The man nodded grimly. "We have to get back in there. I don't know if Donny was going to call us again, or-"
Sayuri held up a hand to stop him as a panicked transmission over the radio made her smile, until she thought of Marcus behind the wheel. I pray that he is all right. He has a formidable weapon in his hands, if he can use it correctly.
She took off the earpiece so that she could listen to their surroundings more closely, and peered out of hiding. "We may not have very much time to do this," Sayuri murmured. "Perhaps we should start now, so that we will be in better position once the men are out of the way."
Timothy nodded his agreement, slipping the strap of his rifle back over his shoulder. Sayuri felt a pang of regret as they emerged into the shadows to walk back to the unit containing the fuel pools. Donatello had already communicated the results of the raid on the ghostscraper. She was relieved that they were untouched with the exception of Leonardo, but she was sorry that she hadn't been there to help deal with the Akiudo. This was not about you, she chided herself. It still isn't. Your loved ones are yet in danger.
Sayuri squinted as she noticed small flashes in the distance, and heard the sound of rifles firing. Her breath caught in her throat as she hesitated. "It has begun, Timothy-san."
The man reached for his belt to retrieve a pair of Donatello's digital binoculars. "Yes. It has. Then we need to pick up the pace too."
The Asian woman shoved the earpiece for the radio back on and listened to the ensuing mad dash of men that were hurrying to join the fray out near the main gate. "This is our best chance," she said. "Are you ready to run?"
Out of the corner of her eye she saw him nod, and they took off together in the direction of the building where they'd first been spotted. Donatello had assured them that Greg's signal had never strayed far from where disaster had struck.
He and Kelley must be together, and they are going to be all right, she tried to think positively, and looked over her shoulder toward the gate. "I expected the guns to sound louder," she told him.
"He's not using the missiles yet," Tim said knowingly. "That sounds smaller, more like machine gunfire. If I had to guess, he's probably only trying to keep them busy."
"I hope he won't hesitate to actually shoot someone if he has to," she murmured.
Sayuri spun and flattened against the side of a compressor as she heard someone running. She and Tim waited while three men dashed by, probably on their way to the gate with the rest. The Asian woman barely gave the warriors time to get out sight before she started running again.
With great trepidation they ventured inside the original building. The deep pools built into the bedrock were illuminated this time, and Sayuri shook her head at the tin ceiling that felt entirely too flimsy. They protect some things well, and others so poorly. There is little reason in any of it. She felt naked and exposed as they hurried across the large room, but she was past the point of caring. Only now did she turn the volume knob down on the radio in order to focus on where they were. We are coming, Greg-chan.
Sayuri held her service weapon high in anticipation of meeting someone else. Emotion threatened in the back of her mind as she edged along the wall. The years of investigations and the entire journey from the beginning with the Akiudo was coming back at a very inopportune moment.
She swallowed as much of the emotion as she could. I already laid them to rest once, when we thought they were finished on Yonaguni. This is the real end for the criminals, but we have to make certain that it is not the end for Greg or Kelley.
She heard someone coming rapidly down a hallway they'd were approaching, and backed up against the corner on the other side to avoid being seen immediately. As the man was nearly on top of them she was about to move, when her companion reacted first.
Timothy threw out his leg to trip the Asian mid-stride as he raced around the corner, and stomped his foot down on the warrior's gun to pin it to the ground. He swung the butt of his rifle around like a club on the stranger's head.
Sayuri nodded approvingly as she glanced down the corridor. "There's another at the opposite end, standing outside a door. We may have a point of entry."
"Let's get his attention," Tim suggested.
She nodded once more, and he lifted the downed warrior partially off the ground so that he could heave him a couple of feet across the open hallway. Sayuri bit her lip to conceal a smile as she heard the shout of the remaining man.
As his footsteps neared she motioned to Tim, and they burst around the corner with guns drawn. The man stared at them dumbly for an instant, with his own weapon still in hand.
"Put it down, and we will neither kill you nor let the Shitenno touch you," Sayuri proclaimed.
The man looked back and forth between them uncertainly.
"You have only to look outside, and you will know that they have come," she bluffed.
"I do not fear death," he returned, his voice shaking slightly.
"I should think not; but the Shitenno?" she challenged. "They are another matter entirely."
The war taking place in his mind was clear from the anguished look in his dark eyes. The barrel of his rifle lowered, though he didn't release it completely. Timothy lunged forward and wrenched the gun from the indecisive man's hands.
The warrior backpedaled, holding out his arms plaintively. "Mercy! Do not let the demons destroy me."
"Take us to our friends," Sayuri demanded. "Keep your hands in plain sight. Now walk!"
The man stumbled back towards the door that he'd been positioned by. A loud explosion reverberated from outside the building, causing Sayuri to jerk tensely. Their "captive" covered his head with his hands as he fell to his knees.
"It is over. It is over and we are all going to die! Takashi will force them to trigger—"
"Takashi is dead," Sayuri informed him. "You will receive no further orders from him; only from myself. If our friends are in one piece, then we can remain friendly. Otherwise, you are in grave danger indeed."
"We did not harm them! The stun only caused temporary paralysis! It was meant for the demons; Takashi wanted to catch them all…"
"And you see where that plan has gotten you? Pick up your feet, fool."
The man obediently straightened his legs out underneath him and kept going. Sayuri still didn't trust the warrior, and kept her handgun against his head the entire time as he led them into another interior room.
In the faint light from the hall she could see both missing men chained against the wall and released a massive sigh of relief.
"It's about time," Greg said dryly, as though he wasn't surprised to see her. "What took you so long?"