Chapter 15

NOTE: This is going to be a dual story for this chapter, going to give it a little spice, as if April possibly finding out about the turtles wasn't enough, they will soon have to deal with Ghost Labs trying to get their hands not only on Rose, but the turtles as well.

I should also note that, if y'all want to know which version of turtles go with the 2014 bodies, here goes. Raph's voice is from the 2014 movie, Mikey's is none other than lovable Greg Cipes, Donnie is, of course Rob Paulsen, Leo is Jason Biggs and Splinter would be from the TMNT 1990's movies. April's is from the 1980's cartoons, so is Vern's.

Sometimes Life Deals You Bad Things

April was at her work desk combing through pages upon pages of stories about the McDougal's. She wanted to find out all she could about that family, since they were the richest family in New York, people wanted to know every aspect of their lives. Rose had been in the spotlight numerous times, mainly for her charity 'Returning Home'; it was, of course for any military member coming back from overseas, and also those who needed help who were stationed here in the U.S. Rose had also made appearances with the Symphony throughout the years, spoke to high school students about life choices, helped special needs kids get the correct equipment that they needed, hired only veterans to work on her farm and also coordinated jobs for them through local businesses in their home states. She taught dance classes for a few years but had to pass it on to someone else because she just didn't have time for it anymore. Rose and her friend Brissen also taught a self-defense class once a week at the local women's shelter for free, and a host of other things that were too numerous to mention.

"What are you hiding Ms. McDougal? "April mumbled to herself, tapping her temple softly. There had to be something; everyone had a secret, and she was going to find this one out, it was going to be her break into the big time news.

Opening her top desk drawer, April pulled out several pieces of paper and lined them up; it was a map of the McDougal estate. She knew that the place was crawling with surveillance, but there just had to be a way in, and she was gonna find it. Carefully, she combed over every inch of the map, hoping to find a way inside to her story.

-Ghost Labs-

Dr. Smith was on the phone making the finishing touches to his new plan. "Alright Wayne so we have everything that's needed for this, correct?"

"Yes sir Doctor! We will disable the camera at the most southern corner of the house to gain entry. From there we will plant the cameras in various rooms in the house, and then take our leave."

"Good!" Smith was anxious for this part to succeed, if they were found out before it's done, he was going to be in a shit load of trouble with his bosses." Call me when it's done."

"Um, Doc, what if we're found out, what do we do then?"

"Call me you idiot! However, it better NOT go wrong, do we have an understanding?" Smith couldn't emphasize this part enough. "NO failing, got it!"

Swallowing hard, Wayne nervously said, "Yes sir."

Hanging up the phone Richard ran his hand over his tired eyes; this was going to be another long night. Getting up from behind his desk, he picked up his briefcase and made his way to the door of his office. No sense in starving himself waiting. Walking towards the elevator he was thinking about which restaurant he would go to for dinner.

As the doors closed on the elevator, his phone rang. The caller left a message…

"Hello Dr. Smith, this is April O'Neil from Channel six news. I wanted to speak with you regarding a Ms. Isleen Murry; she was an employee there not too long ago, and now lives with Rose McDougal. I was wondering if you could tell me how Ms. Murry came to know Ms. McDougal and what she did while working at your company. I am doing an article on the McDougal's and was looking for any information that could help in it. Please call me back at 521-0092 at your earliest convince. Thank you."

*Channel Six Newsroom; O'Neil's desk*

After studying the map for what seemed forever, April may have just found what she was looking for; a way onto the McDougal estate. Talking softly, mainly to herself, she put a hasty plan together for that same night. "So, the area towards the back of the house, where the pool is doesn't look like a bad spot for me to get in." Tapping the place she was mumbling about, April continued on. "I am sure she has some type of security, but I do not want to go inside; I just wanna get a good look, and possibly I can also get some pictures of this mystery man of hers."

A voice from behind her took her from her thoughts, and scared the hell out of her as well. "What in the world are you mumbling about O'Neil?" Vern's voiced boomed, a little too loudly. "You have been sitting there for the past several minutes mumbling about some kind of plan and a mystery guy or something; just what is it you are trying to work on now?"

"Jesus Vern, you scared five years off of me!" Horridly gathering the papers together, April put them in a folder and slipped them into her bag. "It's nothing; just doing some research on Rose McDougal is all."

"McDougal, huh? She's that really rich chick, right?"

"Yeah, REALLY rich; we are talking in the hundreds of BILLIONS Vern… and she has a mysterious man in her life that people really wanna know about!" April started to get excited about the possibility of being the first reporter to uncover the name of this man, and hopefully a lot of other information about him as well.

"Oh yeah, she does a lot of work for the military and all… I just heard that she may be tied into some sort of hit on a… ah, what was the name… Mohammed something or another, those names all sound alike to me." Vern started to ramble on about it, telling April about how the police found a piece of that guy out by the burned down warehouse on Bruston Street; some bad shit went down there it looks like, found a whole bunch of burnt bodies, and there were enough guns and ammo to supply a small army. The police are speaking with General Dempsey today to see if he knows anything about it."

April looked up at him like he was an alien or something. "What? When did this happen and how come I didn't know about it till now?" Finally, some juicy news she could start with! "Vern, can you get me all the info you can on this, I need it ASAP!"

Standing there with his hands on his hips, it was Vern's turn to look at her like SHE was the alien. "Where have you been O'Neil, hiding under a rock or something? This has been all over the news for days now!"

"Ah, sorry, I've been working a lot on this McDougal story; mainly their past, but that can be put on hold now, because THIS is what I've been waiting for!" April's eyes shone, this was HER story, the one piece that would send her from this hell that was a local news station and brings her to the big time! "So, Vern; can you get that info for me, please."

"Alright, fine, I'll get it for ya!" Vern turned to go back into his office, but stopped long enough to let her know, "This story had BETTER turn out good O'Neil… or else!"

"Oh, it will Vern, trust me, I got this covered!"

Vern was mumbling to himself as he made his way towards his office. It was going to take a few hours or more to gather all the information April wanted because, let's face it, when it comes to a McDougal doing anything; it's big news all over the place. He also had no idea how we was going to get his hands on the police report that had to do with, not only Rose McDougal, but what was said by Dempsey. It was gonna be the start of a long, long day.

Grabbing her bag, April got her purse and left in such a hurry, she forgot her mobile phone. While she literally ran down to her car to get out to the McDougal estate, her phone rang. She had it set on silent because she didn't want it ringing at an inopportune moment, even the people in her office had no idea that there was a call coming in because it was also face down.

"Hello Ms. O'Neil, this is Doctor Richard Smith from Ghost Labs returning your call. I am not at liberty to speak with you over the phone about Ms. Murry at the present, however if you wish, we can set up a meeting here at my office at your earliest convince. I can be reached at 555-1579. Thank you."

*Ghost Labs, Dr. Smith's office*

Hanging up the phone, Richard sat back in his black leather chair. 'Great," he thought to himself, turning his chair around to look out one of the few windows in the building, "Now I have to deal with a nosy TV News reporter as well!' He really did NOT want to do this… things at Ghost Labs lately were NOT going well at all. There was the one 'study' that was testing a… let's just say another 'serum' that could change a person; give them special 'traits'. We all know that at mutagen, however, it is being labeled at Ghost Labs as 'The Athletic Project'. The company chose that name because the funding they were getting by the government, well, we all know how the government works, they wanted to know everything possible about it, so Ghost Labs made up a whole study on how it was supposed to make our military members more stronger and faster. This was gonna be the drug of the century; the one thing that would bring the USA back to the top; that would make the country one who nobody will ever mess with again, superior to all, and bow down to none. And the government bought it; hook, line and sinker; no other questions asked!

Turning once more to his desk, Richard pressed a button on his phone; a moment later a female voice answered, 'Yes Dr. Smith, what can I do for you?"

"Mrs. Galloway, could you please bring me in Isleen Murry's file."

"Yes sir, right away; will there be anything else you need?"

"No, that would be it." Heaving a deep sigh, Richard prepared himself for another stressful, long day.

*Back at the McDougal estate*

Everyone is at poolside enjoying a much needed break after what happened a few weeks ago. Rose was still pissed off about the video, however, for the most part Raph and the others could mostly keep her occupied and off of that topic. The pool was indoors, there was an outdoor one, but lately, they have been staying inside. Rose hired several people to tend to the farm; she just didn't want to deal with ANY type of media for right now. She hired Veterans for this, like she always did when there was extra work, or a big day like harvesting, and then there was the whole month of October when a good portion of the outer southern fields were converted to a haunted hayride; all the money from it went to vets who needed medical equipment to make their lives livable.

Michelangelo sat on the edge of the pool, dangling his feet in the water. He really would rather by outside, and was getting a little bit of cabin fever going on. *big, over reactive sigh* "The sun looks sooooooo nice out there; can't we go out, just for a little bit Leo?"

"No Mikey, we cannot." Leonardo rolled his eyes; Mikey did this at least once a day, and each time, the answer was the same. "We have to stay in for now; would you like it if the media found out about us?"

Mikey's answer was always the same as well. *grumbling* "No."

"Well then, until we can figure something out, NO OUTDOORS, for any of us. Look at it this way, when we lived in the sewers, we had NO sunlight whatsoever, now, we have light coming in, so make do with that, ok." Leo was feeling for Mikey, they all were; even he was getting a little antsy constantly being indoors, however, they could not take ANY chances, if in the slightest. "Sorry buddy."

"Yeah, me too." Mikey began to think; and when he does that, you know that things are going to get interesting real quick!

Rose was curled up in Raph's lap, her head on his shoulder, arms wrapped around him and resting nicely. The nightmares were coming back; again. PTSD Donnie and Isleen said; too much violence, too much war, too much of seeing destruction and death of not only her fellow military members, but women and children overseas. The nightmares came and went over the years, and seemed to only rear their ugly head when she was very stressed out. This was one of those times.

Raph, as always, was her savior, her guardian, and the one she could vent to when the others just didn't understand. He calmed her when she would wake screaming, he soothed her concerns away when she felt so overwhelmed that she thought she'd explode. He was her rock, and she loved him for it more and more every day. He loved her as well; and together, they helped each other. She helped him by listening, giving him advice, and assisting him in getting a reign on his temper… most of the time. Her humor made him laugh when he wanted to scream, her thoughtfulness and caring towards others made him realize that he and his brothers mattered in this world, and that helping others would become second nature to them. They were indeed the perfect couple.

However, I regress; let's get back to Mikey and his 'thinking'. He remembered that three weeks ago, Seren went out and bought a whole bunch of balloons. 'Now, if I can remember where she put them at…' Mikey was thinking hard about it, so hard in fact, that he fell completely still. Leo noticed it first, then Donnie and Raph; the girls, with the exception of Rose, Raph didn't wanna wake her.

Leo cocked an eyebrow, wondering what his youngest brother was up to; might as well ask and get it over with. "Hey Mikey, what ya thinkin' 'bout?"

"Yeah," Donnie quipped, "It better not be another food fight; that mess was hell to clean up in the kitchen the last time!"

"Nah… it's all good guys, don't worry!" Mikey finally remembered where those balloons were at! "Uh… Yeah, I'll be back in a moment, k!" And with that, off he went, to get god knows what, for god knows what; with him, it was ALWAYS a surprise.

"Should I follow him?" Donnie wondered aloud. Rose had a really bad night, and he gave her a mild sedative to help her sleep. He didn't want his younger brother to be rowdy and wake her.

"Nah," Raph answered back, "From how he was lookin' he either has bad gas, or had to use the bathroom. Either way, I don't think you wanna be followin' him Donnie."

Giggles escaped Seren's lips, and then it abruptly stopped. "Jesus, he better not have bad gas; I gotta sleep next to him tonight!"

Everyone started laughing at that, knowing how bad Mikey could clean a room when he let one rip. Hell, there was fresher air in the barn then there was in the house when Mikey got to farting!

The laughter woke Rose, and everyone stopped. Rubbing her eyes, a sleepy Rose asked, "What did Mikey do now?"

Laughter again; even asleep Rose know it had to be Mikey… it usually was. "Ok, what did he do this time?" Raph filled her in, and Rose wrinkled her nose. "EW, I pray it's not gas, remember Christmas morning and the eggs? I couldn't eat an egg for weeks after that!"

More laughter. That was a… shall we say that, for most of the day, they were outside while every window in the house was open; it was THAT bad. And what made it worse what that the youngest turtle was PROUD of it!

The laughter was cut short by a splash; of a water balloon on Leonardo's head. Then the only laughter you heard was Mikey's. "Doctor Prankenstein strikes again!" Mikey's voice boomed out.

"HEY!" Leo shouted, wiping his hand over his face. "What the…" Not even able to finish the sentence, another balloon sailed right at him again; however, this time he was ready and ducked out of the way. Leonardo had forgotten that Brissen was right behind him.

"Michelangelo, I'm gonna kill you!" Brissen part yelled and part laughed it. "You little shit!"

"Ah yeah boy, the master is in da house today!" Mikey was on a roll, firing out water balloons, one right after another.

However, there were two that Mikey was not aiming for, Rose and Raph. Rose, well he didn't wanna upset her, he wanted to make her laugh; and he was succeeding in it too! Raph; well, Rose was still on his lap; at least, that's what he told himself.

As the water balloon fight went on; Leo got hold of a bunch, Seren went and filled HER stockpile of balloons as well; Rose repositioned herself on Raph's lap, squirming some to get comfortable. She smiled up at him and noticed he was making a weird face. "Big guy, what is it, is something wrong?"

Returning her smile, Raph leaned in and whispered, "Nah babes, least nothin' bad is wrong; Yer squirming is wakin' somthin' up, ya know." He winked at her before nuzzling her neck.

Her eyes got big, then she giggled softly, "Oh; well, I can squirm some more if ya want; or we could go to the bedroom and I can squirm, and do other things to ya if ya want." She moaned ever so softly as he gently nipped her neck.

"Yeah, but then the others would know what we're gonna be doin." Pulling her closer to him, he was oblivious to the balloon fight now, eyes only on her.

"That never stopped us before." Rose had that mischievous grin, and that meant she wanted more than Raph was giving her at the moment. "We could go upstairs and I doubt they'd even realize we were gone!"

Chuckling, Raphael got up from the chaise with Rose in his arms. Holding her close, he loudly announced, "Ok people, me and Rosie are goin' upstairs, if I were you's, I'd stay out here for a while; got it!"

Stopping momentarily, Michelangelo answered for everyone. "We'll stay here, now go already!" As they walked passed him, Mikey quickly gave Rose a wink, "It's good to see ya smile sis! Love ya!"

That brought a huge smile to Rosie's face. "Love ya too little bro!" She returned with. The two went upstairs where they stayed for… let's just say it was a while… a nice long while…

Driving south on 43, April O'Neil was piecing her plan together for how she was going to access the McDougal estate. Little did she know there were three others who were on their way to the same place, with a somewhat similar plan… gain entry to McDougal estate?