Emily stared into the middle distance, sipping at her whiskey. JJ was already asleep in their shared hotel room, so Prentiss had retreated to the hotel bar for a quiet nightcap to think over the incredibly awkward call with Claudia Sullivan's errant sons. Everything had sort of fallen apart after they dropped the bombshell about their father.
Yoshi Hamato was alive and had been raising his sons off grid to protect them from the people that abducted him; AND there were two more boys, mother(s) unknown. She shook her head a bit and picked at her order of fries. To raise four boys, by himself, all but on the streets in New York City while being hunted? There was more to the old B-list celebrity than she'd thought.
There was also the matter that there was still a threat to their lives. A threat serious enough that they didn't think the FBI could protect them. "Please, they're not even on your radar," had been Leo's response to the offer of government intervention; "If you don't even know they exist, how're you gonna help?"
It'd taken some outright begging from the Sullivans to even keep the boys talking once the agents had started speaking. "We knew you'd be listening, but we're here for our grandparents. Not you." Donatello had been even more dismissive than his brother.
To keep them from hanging up, all law enforcement had left the room, though the twins had to know they were being recorded. Reviewing the call later, the BAU had been frustrated at a lack of any real answers and rapidly multiplying questions. Garcia at least had SOME information.
"Othello Von Ryan. That's his hacker handle. Man is LEGENDARY in the dark web. Young; only popped up a few years ago, but he runs circles around everyone, and I mean EVERYONE." She paused for breath, bringing up an FBI dossier. "His digital fingerprints are all over the place, he's taken credit for several major database hacks, mostly large banks and stockbrokers, though he's done a little hacktivist work too."
"So not the sort of person they could hire to do this for them." Aaron had speculated, reading over the file Penelope sent him.
She'd shaken her head, blonde curls bouncing. "Nope, normies wouldn't even know he exists."
Emily took another sip, savouring the burn. Hotch had then speculated that Von Ryan must be personally connected to the Hamatos, "Maybe even one of them." She wiped the grease from her fries off on a napkin. Could be Donatello. He was absolutely certain that we couldn't do anything.
She smirked as she remembered the beleaguered detective that'd interrupted them, hauling in a banker's box containing the evidence and physical record of Yoshi Hamato's missing person case. The woman must have been newly promoted or transferred if they were making her schlep for the feebs. Delicate features had crinkled when Spencer dived face first into the files and evidence bags contained. Morgan had taken pity on her and waved the blonde off from Reid's intellectual feeding frenzy.
Their resident info gremlin quickly narrowed down one possibility for the Hamato's mysterious threat. "Agatha Kumo. British/Japanese national. She was Yoshi Hamato's girlfriend at the time of his disappearance." Emily had marvelled again at the speed he could tear through hard copy records. "There was some suspicion of her, a lot of people said that she was two-faced. Really sweet with Yoshi, but nasty and entitled when he wasn't around. Ultimately there was no evidence, so the police moved on. She's a major real estate developer and hotelier now. Owns a large hotel in downtown New York."
"Lots of dangerous folks connected to New York real estate." Morgan had mused.
"Lots more connected to dangerous families too." Rossi'd drawled while typing on his phone, probably requesting any information the FBI had on Ms Kumo.
Emily and Rossi had decided to go pay Yoshi's former flame a visit the next day; see if they could get a bead on her possible involvement.
Swallowing the last of her drink, the brunette left enough money under her empty glass and started heading back to the room. It's already been in the news that Yoshi Hamato is connected to the Sullivan abduction, so she has to know eyes are on his case again. We can keep her from learning that he's still alive though; need to really if she was involved.
Carefully opening the door to her and JJ's room, Prentiss slowly got ready for bed, doing her best to not wake her sleeping roommate. Hopefully the Sullivan's can build more trust the next time they talk to the boys. If it's as bad as they say, Yoshi's abductor/s have been deeply entrenched for a long time and the sooner we get a handle on this, the better.
Mikey lost the fight to focus. He'd been trying to watch a video about a new painting technique he wanted to try, but family issues kept pushing to the forefront. A couple hours earlier Leo had burst from Donnie's lab, clearly agitated and stormed into his med bay. Prying … talking to Donnie had revealed that they'd disclosed more information than Leo'd been comfortable with. Not that he'd been comfortable with any of this anyway.
Any attempt to try and help Leo had been quickly blocked by the slider calling his … apprentice? Son? Whatever, in for Casey's weekly checkup. Leon had been aghast at the teen's general condition once the slider had been back on his feet and made it his mission in life to get Junior into tip top modern-day condition.
Leo's turmoil over contacting the Sullivans confused Michelangelo. Sure, he got not wanting to draw the FBI's attention, but Donnie was all over that.
Honestly, post invasion New York was as close to ideal for mutants to step into the public eye. The turtles hadn't been the only ones fighting to protect people from the Krang zombies. Videos of mutants defending humans had run wild across the internet and now there were rumblings of a mutant rights movement taking shape. There were some people opposed to it, because of course there were, but public sentiment had never been better. So, while it would be understandable for Leo to be nervous of the Sullivans learning the truth about their grandsons, Mikey didn't think it would upset him this much. Donnie certainly wasn't that bothered about it, and arguably, he was more invested in gaining adult family members.
Could that be it? Leo'd always resisted considering Draxum family or extending an olive branch to Big Mama. Though, they'd threatened Leo's family at one point so… But so did Casey Senior, and he likes her ok. He's always after April to introduce us to her parents too. The boxshell groaned, falling back into his hammock, hands over his eyes. The other two are so straightforward, why does Leo have to be one of those Russian doll things? Michelangelo sighed, rolling to dangle above his painted floor. And nailing him down for a convo is like grabbing a fish.
This whole situation with Draxum had probably reinforced Leo's trust issues all over again. Tracing a finger along a green line on the bricks, Angelo couldn't help but think, how could you Barry? How could you do that to someone? He knew really, he got it. Draxum had hated humans, whether that hatred was justified or not could be debated. Afterall, the Krang were gonna kill everyone, and I hate them. But all krang wanted to do it, not all humans want to kill non-humans. April being the prime shining example that made a blanket hatred of her species impossible for the turtles, even before they found out their father had been one too.
Planting his hand more firmly on the floor, Mikey set up a rocking motion, back and forth, letting it soothe him. The spotted turtle knew he'd have to have his own personal reckoning with their maker's actions, having put it off far too long, but he was more concerned with his brothers right now.
It all keeps coming back to fear with Leo, doesn't it? Fear of rejection. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of getting hurt. So … how can we help him be less afraid? The obvious was pointing out reasons why he shouldn't be afraid, but rational arguments don't work on irrational fears. Doesn't help that his fears aren't entirely irrational either. Fact of the matter was, it could all go fine, or it could blow up in their faces. Probably gonna be somewhere in the middle.
"Turtles! I have returned! Where is my son?!"
Startled, Mikey flinched all the way back into his shell, upsetting the hammock and plummeting to his floor. Casey Sr was back.
Across town, another family was in turmoil.
"How can you even be sure its them?"
Bruce sighed then answered his youngest son. "They knew what was written inside the coffin lid. That was deliberately held back just for something like this."
Jake huffed, clearly unhappy with his father's reply. The young, brown haired man stopped pacing, running both hands down his face. "They're really her kids?" He asked, eyes locked onto his solemn parents sitting on their couch.
Maria smiled softly. "They're really her kids."
"They're my nephews?" She reached up to pull him down to sit next to them. "They are."
A snort from the other blue couch interrupted her. Their remaining two children, Sofia and Mark, were having even more trouble with this. Blinking back tears, Sofia rebutted, "Claudia had NO say in making those kids. We have no idea how she'd feel about it; if she'd claim them…" the dark blonde took a deep breath, then leaned forward. "Look, it's not their fault, I don't blame them. But the fact is we don't know them, what sort of people they are, and we can finally put all of this behind us. I'm not comfortable with drawing this out for ALL of us over strangers when we can all just go live our lives like they were before. No harm, no foul." Sofia finished hands spread beseechingly.
Maria started to talk, then closed her trembling mouth before trying and failing again. Bruce stepped in, taking his wife's hand. "Sweetie, however they got here, they ARE our grandchildren, that's just a fact of biology. We have no reason to reject them."
Fighting her own tears, his daughter stared into her father's eyes. "Blood doesn't entitle them to a place in our family."
Maria finally found her found, "No. But it does entitle them to a chance. Is it really so bad to give them one?"
"Is it really so bad that I don't want living reminders around of my sister being murdered?!" Sofia shouted, getting to her feet, "That psycho practically ra…." She trailed off, shook her head and stormed out the front door into the night.
Maria shuddered a bit at being confronted with something she'd been resolutely ignoring, not wanting to add to the mental horror of her daughter being murdered. Bruce scooted a little closer and wrapped and arm around her. "Give her time. It's still fresh."
The red head nodded, leaning in for comfort. Looking up, she focused on her eldest living child. "Mark?"
"I… I don't know Mom." He was hugging himself, staring at his feet. "I… get what you're saying, but I see what's Sof is saying too. I just… don't know. I think I need some time too."
She couldn't leave him feeling like this. "Of course, Honey. It's a lot to take in. Your Dad and I've got this. We'll handle the boys, the rest of you take your time working through it, there's no rush." He nodded, got up, hugged his parents and brother then headed out.
Jake leaned back into the couch cushions. "He'll probably come around after he talks to Brooke and his therapist." He chuckled to himself a little, "Mine's gonna be getting an earful later."
"It's a good investment." Bruce murmured, recalling all the money they'd spent on therapists for their family over the years.
Maria echoed their daughter's snort. "We've probably put a whole class of their kids through school at this point."
Bruce huffed a bit and rubbed her back. "All we can do is take it one step at a time, for everyone. Deal with stuff as it comes up and do our best. Hopefully, we can all get through it together."
Eleven A.M. sharp the following morning, Prentiss and Rossi strode into the Grand Nexus Hotel's front lobby, glad to get out of the snow. It was the earliest appointment they could get with Ms Kumo; she'd likely been working late the night before on something or other, but the hotelier had made room for them the very next day once Lou Jitsu was mentioned.
They must've been pegged by staff as soon as they walked in, being intercepted by a wirey, red headed gentleman in an old-fashioned uniform half-way to the reception desk. "The FBI agents I presume?" Rough voice at odds with his formal tone.
"That's us." David answered, going for a handshake. A look of distaste rippled across the man's face and was rapidly smothered. Swiftly shaking hands with each, he quickly ushered them into an elevator and escorted the pair to his employer's office on the top floor. "Ms Kumo will see you immediately." He said before walking off, wiping his hand against his uniform.
"Germaphobe?" Emily asked her companion through an uncomfortable smile.
"Something." He replied, knocking lightly on the door before pushing it open. Spotting a woman at the other end of the room large, gaudily appointed room he called, "Ms Kumo? We're Agents Prentiss and Rossi. You were expecting us?"
The woman in question sat up taller smiling slightly and waving the agents in. "Ah yes, come in, come in. Please have a seat." She stood and bowed ever so slightly, hands together.
Agatha Kumo painted an odd picture; a bizarre mixture of businesswoman and rich heiress with a touch of spooky. Silver hair stood out against her purple power suit lined with thick, white fur, and her perfume was just as dominating.
Once in comfortable chairs, their host sat back down behind her desk and got to business. "I'm not surprised you called. I saw that news conference. I've often wondered what happened to my dearest Lou. It is most distressing to hear that he was abducted and used in such …. a discombottly fashion."
Her sing song voice and use of … inappropriately childish talk threw Dave off for a second. Thankfully, Emily was a little more desensitized to nonsense from a fellow woman. "Ah, yes. After we discovered his involvement in the Sullivan case, we reviewed what we had on Mr… Jitsu. Your name came up quite a bit." She left hanging, leaving Kumo to show them how Yoshi Hamato's former flame would choose to fill in the blanks.
"I imagine it did. The police were rather suspicious of me, given they couldn't find anyone that'd seen my huggy wumpus after I did." Lips pursed, Agatha leaned back, hugging herself. "I understand of course, but it was rather distressing at the time. I had no idea if my dearest was dead or alive or running out of time." The elder woman sighed, blinking rapidly. "I guess we know now. Poor dear Louie. I wish I'd ignored the copperly coppers and paid for investigators myself; maybe he would've been found in time."
Shaking her head before rubbing a delicate finger under one eye, she asked, "At the risk of being morbily orbid, have you found his body? With his family gone, I thought I would commission a worthy memorial for my love."
Dave fought a shudder as her flat, dead stare landed on him. Holy crap, she's a psychopath. It shouldn't have been overly surprising; her described manipulative behaviour, seeming lack of any real relationships since Hamato, massive business with very little known about it; all these were things that would make sense with a psychopath. Didn't change the fact that every time Rossi encountered a true psychopath in his life, his brain started screaming predator! Run! Kumo's mask was one of the oddest he'd ever seen though; worn through, cracked and filled in with a bizarre cutesiness that she probably thought came across as endearing. All it really did was add a level of disgust to Dave's more primal response.
Setting all that aside, "No, we haven't yet. Until we do, though, we're operating as if he's still alive; just so you aren't upset by anything that you might hear, Ma'am." Ain't no way we're letting her know he's still alive and kicking. We may have just found what the Hamatos are hiding from.
"Oh please, call me Agatha." Her attempt at a winsome smile was JUST this side of wrong. "I hope you catch the absolute monster," That's some actual venom there. "that did this. Lou was such a wonderful man. There's nothing he could've dimbly done to deserve this."
"Agatha," Emily diverted her attention from Rossi, "in the years since, has anything new come up? Anyone told you something, you maybe remembered a thing you forgot before or that didn't seem off at the time?"
Ms Kumo leaned back, looking up, clearly trying to appear reflective. "I have asked myself that same question many times over the years. I'm afraid not. I've become something of a … recluse, since losing my honey badger; and none of the few friends I have left have the will to upset me by bringing him up. I wish I could help you, I really do. None of us are safe while his killer is still loose."
"Not to mention his sons." Kumo's attention snapped back to him like a laser sight. "I'm sorry Mr Rossi?"
Not agent huh? "The boys he was used to father with Claudia Sullivan. The killer would be a threat to them too."
She blinked, once, twice, "Yes of course. I do hope they're safe. Have you had any progress finding them?"
The baby talk disappeared. Those kids MEAN something to her. "Nothing we can share. You know how it is, gotta keep things close to the vest."
"Yes," her eyes twinkled, something stirring behind the mask, "discretion is so very key." A smile abruptly spread her purple lips. "Well, I wish I could be of more help, but I simply don't have anything to add so long after the fact. If there's any further informational assistance I can offer, please do call. My re sorry orces are at your dispense." Kumo stood, reaching to shake hands across her massive desk. The agents reciprocated, made their goodbyes, and left.
Out on the sidewalk, entering a cab, Emily finally caught David's eyes. "What was that?"
"Dangerous." He murmured back.
Morgan looked up as Prentiss and Rossi's return was announced by Emily's "That woman is cold."
"Oh," Aaron asked, putting his tablet down, "how'd it go?"
Rossi pulled out a chair, shaking his head, "Kumo didn't have anything new to add but I'm sure she's a psychopath. Except for a couple moments, there was no genuine emotion. She also kept up this odd, cutesy speech pattern in an attempt at making herself seem sweet and harmless. It was more than a little jarring."
"Not to mention annoying." Emily piped up, "If we hadn't left when we did, I was going to scream. And did you notice how possessive she was?" Talking to the group at large, "Every time she referred to Yoshi Hamato she called him her something or other, usually with the weirdest pet names." The brunette made a face at that, sticking her tongue out. "The only times there was any real feeling was when someone else's power over, or connection to Yoshi was mentioned. She always called him Lou too!" Emily exclaimed, snapping her fingers and looking to Rossi for confirmation.
The senior agent nodded along. "His Lou Jitsu persona is all he was to her. It could be that he just stopped going by his real name after coming to America; wouldn't be the first immigrant to do that. But his kids always referred to him by his Japanese name, not his pseudonym. So that's probably how he identified himself to them."
"And she's British/Japanese herself, isn't she?" Morgan mused, "So wouldn't it be more natural for her to use his Japanese name than that weird whitewashing name the studios gave him?"
Emily rocked her head back and forth a bit. "I mean, her accent was definitely British, so who knows how much exposure she's actually had to Japanese culture, and she's been in America for at least thirty-five years."
"Fair point." Derek conceded.
"Do you think she was involved in the abduction?" Reid asked, leaning forward eager for new information.
David's face screwed up with scepticism. "I'm not sure. Do I think she could do it? Possessive as she is, sure. But I don't see that same possessiveness letting her give access to Dr Eugenics."
"Unless she's the infertile 'partner'." JJ offered, "If she couldn't have a child with Yoshi, she's mixed white/asian heritage herself; could she have hired Draxum to make a custom baby for her? Using Yoshi and suitable women?"
"Then Yoshi escapes and takes the kids with him? It's plausible." Morgan said, looking to see what the others thought. Wish he'd talk to us though. It'd frustrated the former cop to no end that the twins had resolutely refused to put their father on the phone. "He's been traumatized enough. Dad's finally getting better and this mess is already threatening his recovery. Sorry, but no." It was the most emphatic Leo'd been the entire call, with Donnie deferring to his brother. So long as the family felt staying hidden was in their best interests, this investigation was dead in its tracks.
A faint building buzz at the back of his mind finally pulled Donatello from the finicky soldering he'd been engrossed in all day. Glancing in the reflection of his golden bust, the softshell identified his twin lingering by the lab's primary entrance. "I appreciate that basking in my greatness would be highly beneficial, but I 'get the feeling', air quotes, that you are seeking more."
His younger brother huffed and sauntered in, rubbing at his side. "How're you doing?"
"I am well. I'm sure you have notice that I am … anxious for this evening's phone call, but otherwise unbothered….. yourself?" Reciprocal concern. Well remembered Donatello. Out of the corner of his eye, Donnie observed Leo slowly lowering into his designated bean bag. "I mean…. Probably can't go worse than yesterday."
Leo had fled from the call, cutting off his participation after refusing to get their father involved. Once Donnie had finally been able to get his blue brother alone in the wee hours of the morning, he informed Leon that another call had been arranged for the next day. The engineer's fears of an explosive reaction had proven unfounded when Leonardo simply sighed and said "Ok" while preparing a cup of sleepy time tea. Now Don wasn't sure if his brother's subdued reaction was due to resignation, sadness or some maddening combination of the two. I hate emotions.
"The FBI will likely still be recording, but our Grandparents will be speaking to us from their home and the proverbial ice has already been broken; so, theoretically, the call should be more relaxed." Finally at a good leaving off point, Don dabbed clean the end of his soldering iron, turned it off and placed it in the stand. "Perhaps preparing a list of questions we wish answered in advance would help?"
The recumbent leader smiled slightly. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Nice thinking Don."
"All my thinking is nice."
Leon rolled his eyes. "Uh huh."
Silence reigned for longer than Leonardo usually let it when he didn't have a distraction. Donnie decided to break it. "You are far quieter than is normal for you. Even your… emoting is quiet. I am asking this with all seriousness, are you alright Nardo?"
Deep blue eyes got shimmery as they locked with dark brown. "I… thank you."
Startled, Donnie blinked rapidly, trying to process the wholly unexpected response. Leo continued; "I know you hate talking about feelings, so thank you for pushing yourself. I appreciate it. And thank you for being thoughtful about the questions, you're really helping me with all this and I…" He sucked down a deep, fortifying breath and closed his eyes. "I owe you the same effort. The way you feel about feelings in general is how I feel about talking about serious emotions, my real thoughts and feelings." A cautious touch tingled along the edge of Donnie's mind. "I'm … scared. I'm scared of the FBI, I'm scared of the Sullivans, I'm scared of what it'll do to all of us. I'm tired and I'm stressed and I don't see that changing any time soon."
Don's face started to get hot and tight, sympathetic sorrow rising up, but Leo wasn't done.
"But I get what you and Mikey and everybody is saying. This could go wrong, but it could also go really right and there's only one way to find out. I know you want this, and … if it goes right, it's what I want to… I mean it. I just, if it doesn't?..." He started to cry now, curling up on the bag.
Donnie launched across and wrapped himself around his twin. "If it doesn't, we still have everything we started out with and nothing of value will have been lost." He whispered fiercely into his little brother's ear. "And you will always have this family, no matter what, no matter where we are. Anatawa hitorijanai. Hermano." Leo shook with a little laugh through his tears… and BELIEVED him.
Later that evening, they were settled into Don's lab again, getting ready to call. While Donnie set up his routing programs then double and treble checked their readiness, Leo set out cups and a steaming pot of soothing tea that Splinter had dropped off. Reaching into his pouch, he brought out the list of questions they'd ironed out earlier and set that between them on the desk. Spinning slightly back and forth on his rolly chair, he watched Don's fingers fly as he finished up.
Before long, the genius turned, question in his eyes, and at Leo's answering nod, initiated the call. One ring, two and the call connected. "Hello?" Their grandfather's questioning voice answered.
Leo shuddered a little at Don's side and leaned over seeking comfort. Donatello absently noted that Leo's touch didn't seem to bother him as much anymore as that from others and turned his attention back to more immediate matters.
"It's us." Leo shoved him slightly. Dude. Rude.
He didn't have a chance to retaliate appropriately before the conversation truly began.
"Oh good." The relief in Bruce Sullivan's voice was obvious. "We're glad you were still able to call. I hope you boys are doing ok."
"We're alright." Leo answered, only a slight croak in his voice. "Actually, we were hoping that we could ask you guys some questions this time."
"Sure." Maria answered, "And just so you know, our younger son, Jake is here too."
Another male voice chimed in this time. "Hey.. uh… I'm Jake?"
There were some awkward chuckles all around and the questions began.
Slowly the twins learned more about their maternal family, mostly things that Donnie could've just looked up himself, but Mikey had convinced him it would be a better bonding experience to ask them personally.
The Sullivans were an upper middle-class family, her being a marine biologist and he being a former navy chef. This had led to them meeting on a scientific expedition where Maria was a researcher and Bruce had gotten a job in the galley after he'd finished his service. Eventually the couple had settled in New York where Maria took a position with Columbia University as a teacher/researcher who also was leant out to local aquariums.
Bruce had found a job as head chef at an old age home nearby with residents that turned out to be pickier than any captain or admiral he'd cooked for in the past. Their grandfather started to tell many entertaining stories about antics of the elderly that brought a smile to Leo's anxious face, finally getting the slider to uncurl in his chair a bit.
Jake, it turned out, was a single father of two who worked in software development. Soon uncle and nephew were embroiled in a drawn-out conversation that left everyone else just observing on the sidelines. The tech nerds eventually petered out, allowing their relatives to join back in. The rabid geek session, though, had dissipated more tension.
Now it moved on to other family members not present. Jake's children were two girls, three and five years of age that were currently visiting their mother in New Jersey. Leo thankfully managed to keep his beak shut at the mention of their neighbour state.
The Sullivan's other living children were Sofia and Mark, both older than Jake, who sadly were not available at the moment. Mark was in a long-term relationship with a woman named Brooke with whom he owned a moderately successful fusion grill, and Sofia was not currently interested in any sort of romance or kids while she pursued her career in paediatrics.
Finally, they all seemed a bit talked out for the late hour and began to plan another call, this time on the weekend. "So, three o'clock, Sunday afternoon. We'll call you then Mr an' Missus Sullivan." Leo said, setting up multiple alarms on his phone.
"Oh Leo," Maria answered, "you don't have to be so formal. You can call us by name or…" her voice cautiously hopeful, "you could call us Nonna and Poppa…. Or something like that… that's what the girls call us anyway…." She tapered off softly, seemingly afraid she'd overstepped.
Leo sat stunned, frozen silent by the offer leaving their answer to Donatello. "That would…. That would be… nice. … Nonna." A little sob on the other end. A little more distance bridged. A little stitch in a wounded heart.