Ta da! New chapter! Thank you once again to those of you who reviewed. You're all awesome. I meant to say this last chapter, thanks CelestialSonata7. I love that you think I'm creative. :D Not a whole lot else to say. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: While being arrested- You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. You still do not have the rights to TMNT.
As all four Hamato brothers could attest, Splinter was a very hard man to stump. That being said, "very hard" and "impossible" are two different things. At this moment, Splinter was stumped. His jaw hung for the barest of seconds, lending an air of comedy to the dumbfounded look on his face. "You…you let…you let my sons be taken?" Splinter spluttered in outrage.
Donovan remained composed, not letting himself be intimidated. "Yes, we thought it was the only way to get to the bottom of this."
"How could you possibly think sending my sons into the hands of the enemy would solve anything?" Splinter yelled.
"We weren't making any progress!" Donovan returned in kind, standing to meet Splinter's rage head on. "We had no leads, no clues, no evidence of any kind! We had two explosions in as many days! What could I do? The body count was rising. The streets weren't safe. People are scared, Splinter. They think if they walk down the street they could die in some kind of fiery inferno." Cunningham spread his hands in front of him beseechingly. "Please, Splinter, you have to understand. What could I do? Your boys are trained agents. I had to believe that sending four trained agents into the lion's den was better than creating a mass panic in New York."
Splinter was shaking, trembling from repressed anger. "Why didn't you tell me?" he gritted out between clenched teeth. "For God's sake, why didn't you tell them?"
Cunningham looked down, avoiding Splinter's eyes.
"Don't you dare lie to me again, Donovan," Splinter threatened.
"I couldn't," he muttered.
"Why?" Splinter demanded.
Cunningham adopted the posture of a man who knows he's cornered. "We have a leak."
Splinter stepped back. "What?" he whispered.
"We have a traitor inside TMNT."
April idly stirred her coffee, gazing out the window of the tiny coffee shop. After weeks of working side by side with Agent Sanders' team, she was exhausted, mentally and physically. It was strange; she could count on one hand how many days she'd spent away from her computer in the past couple of months, but when she got up this morning on her first day off in what felt like forever, she could barely go more than a few steps without feeling tired. It was like the long car rides she remembered taking as a child. She couldn't wait to get out and stretch her legs, only to find she tired almost the second her feet touched the pavement.
The tiny bell over the coffee shop jingled as another customer was admitted. April smiled happily as Casey Jones slid into the chair across from her. "Hey, April," he greeted her, "long time no see."
"Casey," April replied warmly, "I know. I haven't been out of the lab in ages."
"It's too bad we gotta meet back up under these circumstances."
April's smile faltered. "I know. I can't believe that about the guys. After everything they went through here…they thought they were safe down there…and now—and now—" Casey came around the table and put his arms around April as she dissolved into tears.
"Shhh, it'll be ok April…They're the guys…They've been through worse…Everythin's gonna be ok…"
"I just…I just wish there was something we could do. I feel so helpless just waiting here," April sniffled.
Casey squeezed her shoulder, "I know, Babe. Me too."
April smiled wetly, "Don't call me babe."
"What?" Splinter repeated again, mind reeling. TMNT agents were all handpicked. For those that weren't selected as teenagers, there was a rigorous background check, a character evaluation, a psychological evaluation, numerous physical examinations and tests. The list went on and on. Not to mention the most important part of the application process: a recommendation from a TMNT operative with five years standing commendable service. For someone to betray the agency…It would mean a grave error in judgment on the part of an established agent, in addition to the betrayal itself.
The only agents on record ever admitted without the complete application process were the agents of Team Renaissance, and of course, there were very extenuating circumstances in their case.
"I know. I couldn't believe it either," Donovan replied, sinking down into his chair.
"Do you have any idea who?"
Donovan shrugged helplessly. "It could be any number of agents. We've narrowed it down to the five teams currently working to take down The Foot, the original assignment I dispatched your team on. With four man squads, that leaves twenty agents. Of course, we can assume your boys aren't the leak, narrowing it down to sixteen."
"Which other teams are on the assignment?" Splinter asked.
Donovan hesitated a moment.
Splinter sighed, exasperated, "Do you honestly suspect me, Van?"
"No, no of course not," Donovan relented. "You'll forgive me though if I'm a touch paranoid."
Splinter flapped a hand dismissing it.
"Well, you already know about Sanders team, Team Atlantian. We also have Teams Nexus, Sentry, and Samurai."
"What are these teams currently engaged in?"
"Nexus and Sentry are working on getting agents into The Foot. Samurai is still investigating the bombing of that warehouse, and Atlantian is running surveillance/technical support for all three teams, in addition to monitoring your team on the island."
"How many teams knew of Team Renaissance's whereabouts?"
"Well, see, there's the other thing. In order to flush out the culprit as it were, I very carefully allowed the location of Team Renaissance to slip out. From there, I intended to monitor all sixteen members of those teams and see which agent repeated the information."
"So you used my sons…as bait," Splinter repeated dangerously.
"Well, when you put it like that…" Donovan trailed off, having the good grace to look sheepish. "It had to be done, Splinter. A spy within these walls is a very dangerous thing indeed."
Splinter clamped down on the anger bubbling in his stomach. There was nothing he could do about the situation now. "So you know who it is then?"
Donovan smiled, sliding his tongue across his teeth, "I wouldn't say we don't know who it is," he began. "I mean, we have some idea of course, but the team I dispatched to monitor the other teams wasn't exactly, how shall we say? In place, I suppose, when the information was leaked, so they didn't actually apprehend anyone red-handed, as they say."
The vein in Splinter's temple began to pulse alarmingly. "You mean to tell me that you used my sons as bait and then failed to identify who used this information?"
"The team sent to monitor the other agents was detained by a small party of Foot members. By the time they were in place, the raid on the island was already beginning. The plan to grab your boys must have been in the making for some time. The assault team was apparently prepared to leave at a moment's notice."
"Maybe you better explain to me this whole convoluted plan from the beginning," Splinter said.
"Very well," Donovan replied. "We discovered the traitor about a week before I sent your team to infiltrate The Foot. Despite our best efforts, we'd been unable to uncover who has been selling information to the enemy. As a last resort, we came up with this plan. I would allow the location of your team to be leaked. This would achieve two goals: one, we would discover the identity of the traitor, and two, we would finally have a lead on who was setting off all those bombs in New York. As I mentioned before, the team I sent to find the spy never actually completed their mission."
"So, my sons kidnapping achieved nothing. You have not found the traitor, and you have no new leads on the mystery bombings," Splinter summarized.
Donovan nodded, "If it makes you feel any better, I'm probably going to lose my job over this debacle."
"It doesn't."
Another satisfying cliffhanger! Yay! See that little box down there? The one where you can, you know, type stuff? You should totally check it out.