Chapter 14: Bark and Bite
A/N: Hey, guys, sorry it took me so long to get this story going again. I've just been dealing with a lot of sinus problems and haven't been in the mood. But even though I have a bit of a headache now, I'm still putting this out there because I've kept you guys waiting long enough. Thanks to all of those who have read, reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story. It means so much to me to know that you guys like what I'm doing with this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter, too.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. Lucindra is property of Mirage Comic. Robyn is also property of Mirage Comics as far as I know. The plot for this story is mine alone.
Raph made his way to Robyn's apartment, anxious to get stared with their mission. The plan was to go to Lucindra's apartment and bring her along so she could help out. He hadn't told his brothers what they were planning to do because he knew Leo would jump down his throat if he did. So he just told them they were going to Lucindra's to hang out and watch TV.
"You better not drink any beer, Raph," Leo warned him.
"I won't, Leo," he answered. "I told Cindra we can't do that anymore, and she gets it. Get a grip." Why did Leo always have to get on his case? It wasn't like he couldn't take care of himself.
Raph snapped out of his thoughts as he approached Robyn's apartment. He was determined to solve this mystery his way since Don had failed at it. He knocked on Robyn's window and hoped that she remembered her promise.
Robyn opened her window and smiled at Raph. "Right on time," she said.
"You ready for this?" Raph asked her.
Robyn shrugged. "I guess. What are we doing exactly?"
"I can't talk about it here," Raph told her. "You'll find out when we get to Cindra's. Got it?"
"Got it, Mr. Grumpy Gus," Robyn quipped.
Raph pointed a finger at her. "Don't get smart with me. I ain't in the mood. Now, let's go."
Lucindra was waiting for them when they arrived. She led them inside and offered them drinks, but Raph declined.
"We don't' have time for that," he told her.
"Raph got up on the wrong side of the bed today," teased Robyn.
"Ah, so that explains his angry mood," Lucindra quipped. "Either that or he has male PMS."
"You only wish I did," Raph retorted. "Enough with the jokes. We've got work to do."
"I still don't get what this is about," said Robyn.
"We're tryin' to find out who sent those messages," answered Raph. "You and Don tried trackin' the origin, but that didn't work. So, we're gonna patrol the rooftops and see if we can catch them in the act. We'll look at anyone sendin' text messages and see if they're A."
"Okay, but how are we gonna know if it's them if we can't see what they're texting?" asked Robyn.
"We can with these." He produced what looked like ordinary binoculars and set them on the coffee table.
"I don't think binoculars are gonna cut it, Raph," said Lucindra.
"These babies have special lenses that can zoom in closer and see what regular binoculars can't," answered Raph. "Don invented them, but he hasn't had a chance to take them out yet. This will be their first test run."
"Does Don know you took them?" Lucindra asked him.
Raph grinned at her. "Nope, I snuck them out of his lab," he said proudly. "He'll probably kill me for it, but it's worth it. Now we can finally put an end to all of this."
As they left, Robyn whispered to Lucindra, "Is he always this mean?"
Lucindra laughed. "Nah, he's pretty chill most of the time," she answered. "His bark is worse than his bite."
"Have you experienced both?"
"No, but Mikey told me about the time Raph bit him when they were little. I definitely wouldn't want to cross him."
"Here we are," Raph declared. "A perfect spot." He tossed binoculars to the girls and instructed them to look for anyone who was texting. "With any luck, we'll catch the idiot who's doin' this."
And so, they began, but each time they saw someone who looked suspicious, it turned out the text was to a loved one or a friend. The lack of any leads was getting to Raph, and after two hours, he declared the mission a failure.
"Ah, screw this!" he grumbled. "There's no way we're gonna catch anybody."
"I could've told you that," Lucindra muttered.
They headed back to Lucindra's for some pizza and drinks to kill some time. Lucindra talked about her job and some of the customers she had to deal with. Raph could tell she hated working there, but she had no choice if she wanted to stay on her own. She could never go back to her mother.
"So, what do you plan to do with yourself?" Lucindra asked Robyn.
"My aunt's giving me the apartment over the antique shop," Robyn replied. "I'm going to work there in exchange for getting to live there. I think it's a fair trade."
"Man, I wish I could move out," Raph said wistfully. "I love my dad and my bros, but I just feel like I could be doin' more with my life, you know?"
Both Robyn and Lucindra nodded. They knew what it was like living a better life and how wonderful it could be.
"Oh, I'd better get home," Robyn announced. "I don't want my dad to freak out that I'm not there. It'll be better when I have my own place."
"When are you gonna get it?" asked Lucindra.
"Soon," answered Robyn. "The antique shop apartment is just temporary until I save up enough for my own place. Then I can come and go as I please."
"Will your dad go back to California?" Raph asked her.
"No, he's going to transfer back here," answered Robyn. "He hates the idea of leaving me here alone."
"But you won't be living with him," pointed out Lucindra.
"I know, but he doesn't want to leave me. He wants to make up for the times he's missed out on spending time with me."
"I'd better walk you home," said Raph.
"You don't have to, Raph," answered Robyn. "I'll be fine."
"There are all sorts of weirdo out on the street," protested Raph. "The last thing I want to do is let one of them mess with you."
"I can walk home on my own!" retorted Robyn. "I've got a can of pepper spray, and I have my cell phone. If I get into trouble, I can just call you."
Raph sighed in frustration. "Okay, fine," he said. "Go home. I'll talk to you later."
"Yep, talk to you later. Nice meeting you, Lucindra."
"You too," replied Lucindra. "Stay safe out there."
Robyn thanked her and headed out. Raph waited a few minutes and left, saying goodbye to Lucindra. He followed her via the rooftops. There was no way he was letting her go home by herself after what happened to her sister. And, as it turned out, it was a good thing Raph was tailing her because she ran into two men.
One of them smiled as he spotted Robyn. "Hey, you look just like April," he said. "Are you related to her?"
"Yeah, I'm her twin sister," Robyn replied.
"No kidding," the second man said. "We used to go to school with her. I always thought April was smokin' hot. It's too bad I never got to go out with her."
"Too bad for you," replied Robyn. It was clear she didn't want anything to do with him. She tried to get past them, but they blocked her way.
"But now that you're here, maybe I could get my chance," the first man said.
"Yeah, we can take turns," the second one said.
Robyn leveled them with a stare. "I wouldn't go out with either of you if you were the last things on this planet," she told them.
"Ah, now that's no way for a lady to behave," the first man said as he and the second one closed in on Robyn.
"And that's my cue to enter," Raph muttered as he leapt down. "I'd back away from her if I were you."
"Stay outta this, freak!" the first man snarled. "You're too ugly for her."
Raph gritted his teeth at the remark and pulled out his sais. "Say that again!" he shouted. "I dare you!"
"Oh, look at that, Jay," the first man said. "He's got some pitchforks."
"No, they look like salad tongs to me, Dave," Jay replied.
"Yeah, you're right," Dave answered. "So, what are you gonna do, freak?"
Rap got into a fighting stance. "Why don't you stick around and find out?" he taunted. "Give me your best shot."
Dave ran at Raph, poised to throw a punch. Smirking, Raph dodged it and swept Dave's legs out from under him. Enraged that his friend had been taken down, Jay grabbed a discarded piece of wood and came at the red-clad Turtle. Raph parried Jay's attacks and countered with some moves of his own. He managed to knock Jay's weapon out of his hand and gave him a roundhouse kick to the stomach. Realizing they were no match for Raph, the two men fled. Raph wanted to go after them, but the sound of clapping reminded him that he needed to take Robyn home.
"Wow, Raph, I think Lucindra was wrong," she said. "Your bite is definitely worse than your bark."
Raph rounded on her. "Now do you see why I wanted to take you home?" he snapped. "The streets ain't safe at night. It's not smart to go in an alley either. That's when you become a target. Now, let's go."
After he dropped Robyn off, Raph went home, mumbling about how stupid Robyn was to go off like that. Then his phone chimed, indicating that he had a text. Thinking it was Don ready to bawl him out for taking his equipment he sighed and opened the text. He read it and let out a growl of frustration. When would this ever end?
Nice try, Raph, but you're going to have to do better than that to catch me.—A.
A/N: And so it keeps happening. I'm so glad I could get this chapter out to you. I'll try and be better about updating, but if I'm not, feel free to throw tomatoes at me. So, we still don't know who A is, but things are starting to heat up. Next chapter will be even better. Feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.