Chapter 16 The Release

I jack the door open to the dining hall. I step inside slowly. I don't see anyone. I smell something burning in the kitchen and I rush through the swinging doors. "Devin!" I call. But she's not here. I see the source of the smoldering scent; a pot over the flames of a stove, the water has boiled away. I turn off the pilot light and look around… nothing else seems out of place… Wait. What is Truth's tool box doing in here? I walk back through the dining hall.

What is that?

I jog to the back of the room. In the corner I see a bundle of clothes and shoes. I reach for them but they are freezing to the touch. I get a knife from the bar and poke around in the discarded folds of clothing.

Jeans, a red bra, glasses hanging from a chain, knee-high stockings, loafers and work boots.

I'm shaking my head in disbelief. "This can't be…" I ignore the burning low temperature and lift away the clothes… my stomach turns at the smell of frosty bile quickly disintegrating into the air. What's left of the bubbling pool of water under the fabric evaporates in an instant.

"Oh, my God…" I can't even say their names.

I need to get to Sasha and Anya! I run as fast as I can to the elevator. But what if it's not working? I'd have to find a way up there somehow! I get to the end of the hall and wave my hand to call the elevator… nothing.

"Shit!" I feel my way around the door, looking for a control panel when I hear someone come around the corner behind me. I turn and see Gleiv coming toward me slowly, holding a rifle in his hands. "Gleiv? Wait! What are you…!" But he's not stopping. He doesn't look right. His mouth is moving but he's not speaking. "Gleiv?" I pant.

"D-Donatell…"

I look down and see a thick trail of blood following his footsteps. He reaches for the back of his head and stumbles. The crimson stain from his fingers leaves a sickening pattern on the crisp, white walls.

"Gleiv!" He falls forward and I catch him. I pull him back to the elevator. I raise his hand and it activates. I try by best to keep him standing. "Gleiv, what happened!?"

"Carder."

My mouth becomes sour. "Why did he do this? Where is he?"

"Carder is… man from plane… bald man. The bald man who tried to… Anya."

He leans his head on my shoulder. I see the long gash going down the back of his neck, to his shoulder blade, the same infliction Gleiv had left on Carder all of those years ago.

"I got away… tried to slow him but…He's up there." Gleiv chokes.

My mind races. "Just, try not to talk. You'll be ok." I say as the elevator door opens. I try to pull him inside but he weakly pushes me away.

"I can't… slow you…" Gleiv sighs.

I want to protest. Then I see all the blood. His eyes flutter and his arms go limp. "Gleiv… I'm here Gleiv. I'm right here." I lay him down and I kneel beside him. Jesus, there's blood everywhere! He's my age but he had always seemed so young; dutiful and carefree at the same time. He had been so warm toward me. I didn't know he was my friend until now. "Gleiv…" I strain to say.

With is eyes closed he smiles and says. "Call me Donald. It's me f-first name after all."

"Ok… Donald." I say. I grab his hand and hold it until his fingers relax.

I lift my head and a howl explodes out of my mouth. I bow my head and fold Donald's hands over his torso. The elevator door hits my foot over and over, trying to close. I fall back into the elevator and stare out at the lifeless body. I've seen death before. I know what 'the last breath' looks like… sounds like. But it had never left the lungs of someone so close to me before. This is just going to get harder and harder.

The door closes.

How am I going to come out sane every time this has to happen…

"Stop it! You need to focus!" I yell at myself. I shakily stand and push the button for the penthouse. My hands covered in innocent blood, I rip my shirt off and wipe away the dark fluid. Anything can be waiting for me as soon as these doors open. I press myself against the side wall as the light from the penthouse pours in.

I peek out. "Anya!" I yell. She's tied up on the floor at the bottom of the spiral stairs. She looks at me, crying through the gag around her mouth. I move toward her but stop as I see Sasha walking down the steps; behind her, Carder is holding a gun to her back. She looks at the girl on the floor as if she were the strangest thing she's ever seen. She reaches the landing and looks over at me and screams.

"Shut up, you crazy bitch." Carder pushes her to the ground beside Anya. He looks up at me and smiles. The side of his head is bruised, probably by Gleiv trying to get away from him. His glasses are gone revealing a fake right eye. "You, put your hands where I can see, Kame."

I raise my hands. The gun he holds is none like I've ever seen. It's white and the short barrel hole is large. Resting on the top of the gun is a cartridge encasing large bullet-like capsules full of glowing, darkish-purple liquid.

Antigen.

"What the fuck are you doing, Carder… if that's even your real name?"

"Well, you really are a smart animal aren't you? Long story short, no, name's not Carder. It's Rogue Black Ops Officer Christian Restro, or Rex, for short." He says as he shows of his tattoo. He squats behind Anya and knocks on her shell. "I've been looking for this little mutant turtle for almost a decade. I kept tabs on everyone that was involved with the Moscow mission, waiting for a lead. So when I heard that Perry's daughter was getting in contact with the old team, I made a little visit to Pete Carder, the real pilot, and I took his invitation for myself… with little resistance." He snarls. "I would have killed everyone and taken the little runt when I first got here, but the assignment to find you interested me greatly. However, I had to wait until the right time to make my move."

"When was the right time?" I ask.

"When you finally created Protagen." Dr. Troy Albright says as he comes out of Sasha's personal lab. My eyes can't get any wider. Troy is holding a box of, I'm sure, stolen information and tech. "I really didn't think you would find the formula so soon. But when you did, we had to put the plan into motion. Once I found out that Rex was not Carder and Rex found out that I forged my name on the 'List of trusted Fools' we decided that we both could gain more by working together rather than ratting each other out." He drops the box on the floor next to Sasha who runs her hand over the contents therein. Troy brushes her away as if she's a bothersome child. "You see Donnie, Perry and Sasha, although they were brilliant, they were altruistic dreamers. Do you honestly believe the world would accept you and your other mutant brethren just because you created a miracle cure? You walk out there in front of bright lights with a glowing vial and the masses would peg you as an alien trying to take over the world through bio-terrorism." I watch Troy as he pokes Sasha in the head, she just looks at him.

Sasha, please come back to me!

Troy stands and takes a few steps toward me. I can still see the fading purple marks on his face of where I jacked him up. I should have snapped his neck. "It makes much better sense that I take your notes, that I present Protagen as my own, and that I change The Perry Foundation into The Albright Foundation, and Rex…"

"I…" Rex jumps in. "…get to make a shitload of money selling baby freak and daddy freak for millions." He laughs.

"Sell us?" This is getting ridiculous.

Rex spreads his hands out as if it's obvious. "You two are the biggest discovery this side of the Amazon. And in my profession, there are those in the black market who would sell all their oil to own two missing pieces of an unnatural puzzle. I'd keep you for myself but I don't want the publicity. Hell, now that I have a male and female to sell, I wouldn't doubt that whoever pays top dollar would breed the shit out of you to make more… And then, when they finally wear you out and chop your head off and mount it to their wall, and sell your meat for exotic delicacies and your bones to science, I'll hunt your brothers as well and bring in even more money."

As one of my brothers would say, "Carder, you are a crazy fucktard… and Troy, you…"

"I know, I know… I'm such a greedy bastard." He chuckles. "And as for Sasha, well, she's pretty much in Lala Land anyway. We should let her loose in New York, sure she'll blend in just fine, and when the police finally identify her body, this will all be over. Let's go Carder."

"After you." Rex says as he lifts Anya by the ropes and has his gun trained on me. Troy holds the box under one hand and roughly grabs up Sasha with his other. They are walking toward me. I've got think fast!

"Wait! If Rex gets Anya and me and you get the Protagen, then why was the finished formula sent to two different mailboxes?"

"What do you mean two?" Troy stops and looks back at Rex.

Gotcha. "When I completed the equation, my findings were immediately sent to mailboxes 109 and 277… Rex which one is your mailbox number?"

Rex grows stiff and silent. His one eye is raging at me. Troy places a hand on his shoulder and begins to yell. "Rex? You were going to steal Protagen from me? We made a deal!"

Rex rolls his left eye and fiercely headbutts the doctor sending him down on the ground. Rex points his gun at him. "You really are a smart as freak… And YOU, doctor, are no longer needed."

Troy screams and throws himself at Rex, toppling him over at the knees. I barge in and cushion Anya's fall.

"Are you alright?" I ask her. She nods but is still crying. I look around for Sasha and see her crawling into the lab. I look over at Rex and Troy. Rex easily bashes Troy to the floor again and points the Antigen gun at his chest. "Deals are made to be broken. I was always in this for the money, not to make friends… Goodbye, doctor." An electronic pulse resounds as Rex pulls the trigger. The large bullet tags Troy in the skin and the glowing liquid flows into his system. Troy starts to claw at his chest. He's wailing in fright as the atomic deconstruction fluid careens through his veins. Soon he stops screaming. His skin looses all color and opacity. His convulsions grow stiff. He looks completely frozen. Then his form falls away into a steamy puddle of liquid.

I stand and slide Anya toward the lab on her shell and suddenly feel the full weight of big, bulky Rex pinning me to the floor. One of his grimy hands wrap around my neck and the other pierces a pressure point in my shoulder. I beat at his other arm trying to make it bend but he's too strong. I grab at his face and the crazy man tries to bite my fingers! "You killed him! Just like you did Truth and Devin!" I scream. He squeezes my neck tighter.

"I don't wish to kill you, Kame. You're worth much more to me alive. Stand down!"

I can't breathe… can't concentrate… I reach for his eye… must gouge it out… my sight becomes foggy… I can hardly make out the growing figure standing over top of us. They crack something soundly across the back of Rex's head. He loosens his grip on me and falls to the side. I sit up and suck in much-needed oxygen.

"Donnie, are you alright?" Sasha says as she drops the metal stool from her hands. She dives into me and kisses me. "I know who you are…" She says.

I cradle her face and blink away my joyful tears. Thank you… thank you for one more moment. I hear Rex groan. I stand up. "Where's Anya?"

"I'm right here." She says as she runs out of the lab, clinging to my side.

"We have to get out of here." I say. And usher them to the elevator. Sasha activates the lift. "Wait here. I say.

"I almost forgot!" Sasha says as she dashes back into her lab.

"Just hurry!" I say as I cautiously walk around Rex's unconscious body. I step around him, looking for the Antigen gun. I see it by his head. I turn to the sound of Sasha leaving her lab. She rushes over to Anya and straps a black backpack to her shell. I turn back to Rex and his eyes are wide open! He twists his body and kicks up into my stomach. I stumble back, get my footing, and rush forward, kneeing him in the chest. He's not as fast as I am but when he lands a punch, it shakes me entirely. I block his attacks, turn him about and jab him in the back of the neck. I continue to stay on his right side so he has trouble striking me. He reaches for his knife, I kick it away. He punches my face, grabs me by my shell, lifts me off the ground and slams me into the wall. I spring up on my hands and spin kick him twice in his face. He falls, rolls and unveils a small pistol from his thigh pocket. He starts shooting at Sasha and Anya. They run out of the waiting elevator, screaming. I grab his hands, and roughly twist the gun away. I kick him back. Sasha and Anya run upstairs. I grab the Antigen gun and attempt to follow them.

"Freeze freak!" Rex says. I turn around and he has another gun trained at my face. He shrugs and smiles. "Drop the Antigen and kick it over to me, or I shoot you in the head, shoot Sasha in her empty head and sell your pup to a billionaire who has weird animal fetishes. Believe me, I know a few."

My eyes start to cross. I place the Antigen gun on the ground and slide it over to him. He takes it, holsters it and laughs. He walks up to me and crashes the butt of his gun into my head. The searing heat runs over my face.

"You're not at smart as I thought you were." Rex says in my ear. "Get up." He pushes me toward the steps and we climb. When we get to the landing I pretend to stumble, then I thrust my leg back and send him tumbling down the spiral stairs.

"Sasha! Anya!" I shout.

"In here!" Anya says. I run into her room and find Sasha securing a rope ladder that goes up into the ceiling.

"Hurry!" Sasha says. I follow them up the ladder as I hear Rex burst through the door. His shoulder looks dislocated and his mouth is a blood mess. He spits, grits his teeth and pops his arm back in the socket with a sicken crack. He cocks his gun in the air and runs for the ladder. As soon I climb into the ceiling I raise the ladder and close the entrance.

"Fucking turtle!" he fires haphazardly into the ceiling. We are already too far away for him to hurt us. I hear his muffled voice through the tile. "There's only one way out of this crazy place! And that's down in the docking bay! I'm getting the fuck out of here, and heading straight for the rest of your abomination of a family. I will line them up and shoot them and set the whole fucking bookstore on fire! And then I won't come back for you until you're half-starved to death and the stink of the doctor's dead body drives you both totally mad!" He walks away.

…

We sit in the dark gaining our composure. Sasha is able to stop crying and I pry myself from Anya's hold. I activate my flashlight app from my S-Wrist and look around. It's like a very large storage room. Boxes and crates marked for bedrooms, living room and dining room… Anya's room… They really were never going back to England. I see a small stack of something familiar on top of one crate… My fighting gear and my bo. I quickly change, wishing I had my bandana. I kneel beside Sasha and Anya. "Ok you two. We are going to get out of here. Do you know of another way down to the docking bay?"

Sasha tries to speak but can't seem to form the words. She points toward the back of the room. I shine my light and inspect the area. I open a latch in the floor and see a very long ladder disappearing into the darkness. "Ok ladies, let's move. I'll go first. Anya, you come down last."

It is a slow decline. We have to stop a few times. Sasha begins to cry through her losing battle to keep her unraveling mind together. She mumbles to herself, saying that she knows who she is and that she knows who we are. Her movements are becoming slower. She's used up most of her energy. I climb up to her and turn her into me, holding her with one hand and climbing down with the other. Sasha rests her head against my neck. I close my eyes and try to be comforted by her breath evenly hitting my skin, but all I can think about is a countdown to how any breaths she has left. She hums against me. " Remember what you promised me… I love you… Donatello Hamato." She kisses jaw.

Anya keeps up with my increasing speed just fine. We soon reach the bottom hatch. I open the grate and peek out into the docking bay. I am surprised to see no trucks or cars… but three holding lanes for submersibles. Two are missing, only one left. Rex must have taken one.

I jump down and inspect the surroundings. No one's here. I help Sasha and Anya down to the concrete floor. Anya runs over to the yellow submersible and starts to undo the hatch.

"Wait Anya… it may be broken. There is no reason for Rex to leave a perfectly good sub for us to escape in." I walk over to her and the hatch lifts open. She screams as a large hand pulls her inside.

Rex shows himself. He's holding Anya firmly to his side. He doesn't say anything. He just smiles and aims the Antigen gun at me. He shoots and the gun chirps. I holler and fall back on my shell. I look up and feel her weight over me. "Sasha!"

Her eyes meet mine. The rich hazel slowly turns grey. "I know who you are." She smiles. Her body becomes cold as ice as I stare at the eternal serenity in her face. Her hands grow stiff around mine. Then she falls away; anoints me like water. It's so very cold. No matter how tightly I hold her to me I lose my grip on her, only able to grasp at the clothing that she once filled. As her body floods away her essence caresses my face and disappears all too quickly.

She had slipped right through my fingers. Her clothes lie flat out over me. She was right here…she was right here on top of me and now… She couldn't have had more than a handful of days left with me. Why, God? The few heartbeats she had left and you took even them. How selfish you are! I lower my head; the blood is beating loudly in my ears. My lungs are on fire but I don't want to breathe. Rex's chortles snap me back to the present and I look over at him, touching my daughter.

"It never gets old seeing that." He grins.

He closes the hatch, starts up the motor and the sub dives away.

I shake myself back to life and dive after them.

Under the murky water I see faint lights up ahead. I swim effortlessly closer and grab hold of the rear rudder. I jam my bow into the propeller and the sub stalls. I do the same to the left and right propellers. It stops. The emergency floats deploy and the sub begins to rise rapidly. It surfaces beside me and I take a big breath as soon as my face breaks the water. I look around and am startled to see the Statue of Liberty rising toward the moonlit sky to my right… the facility I had been a captor in for three months was under the symbol of freedom…

I forget the unimportant irony quickly as I climb upon the submersible and open the hatch. Rex comes out swinging. I grab his long tail of hair and pull him in the harbor with me. We struggle under the water, him more than me. Then his large boot jabs me in the chest and I lose all my breath. I hurriedly come up and gasp. He elbows me in the skull and forces my head under the water. His flexing muscles are clenched around my neck. I pull us both down into the salty blackness. I know he can't hold his breath longer than I can. I reach behind him and pull his shirt over his head. I struggle to get free. I feel him try to kick back up to the surface but I grab his ankle and pull him back down. I reach for his shoulder and lock my hands around his throat.

Nerves and veins and bones and cartilage tangle, twist and rip inside Rex's neck at my desperate attempt to screw away his head from his body.

The last worthless bubble of air leaves his lungs. His tendons jerk about until his bulky body goes limp. I undo his laces, drag him to the bottom of the bay and tie him to a sunken boulder. Hopefully he'll be too decomposed by the time someone finds him.

I climb into the small submarine. I join Anya on the floor and wrap my arms around her. "It's ok, Anya. I'm right her. You're safe. Donnie's here." I feel her shivering skin beside me. I push her away so I can look at her. Tears are streaming down but her eyes are lost, the golden hazel is a dangerously dark bronze. Her mouth is nothing but a small straight line. I call her name over and over but she won't answer me. She's in shock. My God, did she really see everything that I saw?

I cradle her in my arms and rock her back and forth. I keep calling her back from whatever chasm of despair she's drowning in. I will not lose Anya as well!

"Anya… Anya… Anya, come back. Can you hear me Anya?" I close my eyes tightly; the tears feel warm over my cheek. I feel Anya's little hand cup my face. She looks at me and nods her head.

I embrace her soundly. "Ah, thank God…" I pick her up and take her out of the sub. She clings to the side of the yellow contraption. I close the hatch and jump in the water. I go around the sub, piercing the emergency floaters. The sub sinks. I'll com back for it later. Hell, I'm coming back for everything later.

Anya holds onto my shell as I swim us toward the city lights. We reach the pier and I stop among the wooden poles. "Anya, we have to dive. It shouldn't take us more than three minutes to get into the underground tunnels. You can hold you breath that long… even longer can't you?" I look back at her and she nods. "Ok. On three… one… two… three." And down we go.

...

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A/N: *sigh* That was tough stuff. All comments are desperately encouraged.