April's backpack weighed heavily on her shoulders. It was almost as heavy as her heart.
Baxter. Working for the Shredder. I can't believe it. Guilt, like a rash, began to spread through her soul. Caustic and cold, the feeling ate at her insides. She felt sick. She felt like she failed. Failed to protect him from his father, from their school, and from the world.
Poor Donnie. April's eyes followed a crack in the sidewalk. He loved doing schoolwork with Baxter. He's going to be crushed.
She perked up, electricity racing up the nape of her neck again. She heard it again. She swore, for a split second, someone had said her name. Her eyes, like they were tugged by a magnet, fell on the bus bench across the street. An old man in a heavy coat was reading a newspaper. But next to him, sitting with her legs crossed, was the same woman she saw at the school.
She still couldn't see her eyes beneath her heavy bangs. But the woman lifted a hand and pressed it to her lips in a 'shush'. Then, she pointed somewhere behind April.
She jumped when she heard the crunch of car tires beside her and a window rolling down.
"April O'Neil?" A familiar voice called.
April looked over. "Detective Maza?!"
April stared like she'd just seen a three-headed horse gallop up beside her and ask her for directions to the Kentucky Derby. She looked worse for wear, to be sure. Two sleepless dark circles grew under her eyes. She sat in the driver's seat of an old red classic with tall fins in the back and round headlights. Maybe a Chevy Bel Air or a Ford Fairlane. She couldn't tell, and she didn't care.
"I don't wanna talk to you." April glowered, baring her teeth. "You've already ruined my life, why are you still following me?"
"Look, I'm sorry about that. Really, truly." Maza stepped out of the car. "But this is urgent."
"You've done enough damage, leave me alone." She snapped. "My dad finding out about that subpoena was the worst night of my life. And trust me, I've had a lot of really, really bad nights." She turned in a huff and started walking away.
As she turned, her eyes found the bus bench again. The woman had disappeared again. Unnerved, she shook off her hesitation and kept walking.
"The case was dropped." Elisa said. "You were going to get the letter saying your testimony wasn't needed sometime tomorrow. I wanted to tell you sooner than that."
April stopped, but she didn't look back. "Why? What do you want?"
"Just a chat." Elisa said coolly. "Nothing bad. Actually, I wanted to ask for your help with something."
"Help?" April turned around with an incredulous scoff. "You? Want my help? Jeez, I knew the NYPD sucked, but I didn't think they were needing junior officers that bad. What, you didn't wring enough out of me the night you interrogated me? If you're here for a rematch, I'll oblige."
Angry. Defensive. Not that I blame her. Elisa thought, studying April's tone and posture, carefully dissecting every syllable and movement. If her father finding out about the danger she was in was that bad, then maybe things aren't going well at home. Poor kid.
"I need a word with you about a man named Saki Oroku."
April twitched. Like a cat that just heard a sharp sound. "Oroku Saki."
"Sorry?"
"He's Japanese. Surname first, then given name. You can call him Oroku Saki." She growled.
April's mind raced. How the shell does she know who he is? Does she work for him? We always knew the Shredder had moles in the police department. Did I just find one of them? No, she wouldn't be this civil if she knew about the guys. Then again, that guy Wolf didn't recognize us either. Is Shredder onto us? Or is she onto the Foot?
"Why do you want to know about him?" April asked warily.
"It's… a long story." Elisa admitted. "I've got pizza. Are you hungry?"
"I know better than to get into someone's car when they're offering treats. I'm not five." April leered.
"No. But if you walk away," Elisa opened the door. "You'll never have a clue about what I know already. I promise, April, I'm not your enemy. We probably have more in common than you think. A lot more in common."
April took two steps back, distrust darkening her eyes.
"Pizza's getting cold. Honestly, if it's alright with you, I'm just going to stay parked here and eat my lunch by myself. If you want any, I'm happy to share." Maza tugged the handle of the car door and, true to her word, just sat down in the driver's seat. She creased a slice in half, and took small, delicate bites.
April stared. Nothing about this woman made any sense. One minute, she was hounding her to try and unravel the web of lies she spun to protect her family, the next she was offering pizza and friendship. The more April thought about the situation, the more it made her angry. But at the same time, it fanned a flame of curiosity. There was a story here. Not one she could print for the school paper, but still. There was a story here, and here was a cop just dangling it in front of her.
Elisa looked up when she heard her passenger door shut. April folded her arms. "Alright, you got your interview. But I'm not eating any of your pizza. I dunno if you poisoned it or not."
Elisa smiled. "Well, more for me, then." She was cool and undisturbed on the surface. But underneath that facade, she did an endzone dance. Now, for the next step; convincing her to help.
"So," Elisa asked casually. "I hope school's going alright. After what happened on the 1st, I was worried you weren't going to make it home okay. I'm glad your friends came through. Really."
"How do you know about Oroku Saki?"
Straight to the point. Good. "He's got a record. Last time he had a mugshot was around 1986 for a murder charge, but a good friend of mine sniffed out a lead that connected him to the night we ran into each other. He's a person of interest to me, I figured he'd be a person of interest to you." Elisa wiped a bit of pizza grease off of her lip with a napkin.
"Are you trying to interrogate me without a probable cause?"
Elisa sighed. "Okay. Look. If this were an interrogation, I wouldn't be this up front with you. The psychology of an interrogation hinges on withholding just enough of what you know to tease something you don't know out of another person." She took another slice of pizza out of the box, creasing it down the middle. "It's a delicate bit of work, and it's very difficult to do if you're trying to be genuine. I'm here unofficially. I'm not going to be investigating your friends anymore."
"My friends?" April's heart thudded. "I-I don't know who you're talking about."
"Four of them. Kind of eccentric, into martial arts, have an unlisted address under a sewer lid? I have it on good opinion that they're not out to hurt anyone. After all," Elisa took a bite of the pizza in her hand, chewing it quietly. "You did say that you are the good guys."
April's brain froze.
Elisa took a deep breath. No going back now. Make it count. For Derek, you better damn well make it count. "Can you get a message to the one named Raphael?"
April couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Her heart had stopped in her chest, quivering like a cornered rabbit.
"You…" April breathed. "You know?"
Elisa's smile was a ghost, a whisper of some dead idea of joy. It was hollow, tired. But it still held sincerity. "You're not the only girl who hangs out around strange guys at odd hours of the night. Back when we met, I didn't understand. But I understand now. And… well, 'we' want your help."
April shook her head slowly. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about. You must be crazy. I know nothing about any of this."
"April." Elisa set the pizza down. "My little brother's missing. He's been gone for five days. My friends are trying to help, but there are places they can't go. Not without raising some serious alarms... Your friends are my last chance. I need your help. Please."
The heavy shield finally yielded. April saw the detective with new eyes. This wasn't some soulless cop hunting her like a harpy. She was a woman with a family and a secret, struggling to make the two of them balance. It was strange to think about.
For the first time since that night in the interrogation room, April saw something in her face. It was a look in her eyes. A weariness, an exhaustion that April felt in her bones every single day. But it belied an iron will that refused to yield, no matter how much pain she felt. She knew that look in her eyes well; it was the same one April saw in the mirror every morning when she bandaged last night's cuts and bruises.
They really were the same.
Detective Maza held out a slice of pizza on a napkin. A peace offering. "Tell Raphael that Brooklyn and his clan need to talk to him and his brothers. He wants to meet at the end of the broken pier on 3rd Street and Front Avenue in Wallabout Bay, an hour after sunset tonight."
April found herself trembling, nerves involuntarily convulsing. She folded her fingers into her fists, trying to quell the shaking. "How long?"
"What?"
"How long have you been keeping yours? Your secret family, I mean."
Elisa had to think about that. Secret family? Was that what they were? All this time, she'd avoided trying to place her relationship to the gargoyles in any box of any kind. How could she? It was such a hard thing to describe, let alone categorize. In a way, she didn't bother labeling how she felt about them out of respect. There was something odd in the way that they eschewed naming things that she couldn't help but acknowledge as the wisest approach to big, broad ideas like… well, this whole situation.
But family? In a way–a really weird way–it just… fit.
"Actually, I met them the same night I met you. When I lost you, they promised to help me find you. Turns out, their sons were missing too. We just…" She gestured with her hand, trying to find a way to say it. "Just ended up on the same side, I guess. I didn't plan on them becoming a part of my life the way they have."
April smiled. She reached out and accepted the piece of pizza. "It doesn't get easier. Trust me. I've been doing this for literally half my life."
Elisa raised her eyebrows. "You've been hanging out with monsters since you were how old?"
"Mutants, first of all. Big difference." April corrected, taking a bite of her pizza. Putting on her best Sean Connery impression, she drawled, "And if I told you, I'd have to kill you."
Elisa shook her head slowly. "Where the hell are your parents?"
April laughed.