Trouble Thirteen

 

 

Raphael sat on a rooftop, high above the roar of the city that washed over him cooling his anger slightly.  Tenderly he caressed the blade of his sai, entranced in the labyrinth of his own mind.  The faint shrills of a distant siren spun him back to reality.  He was going to get to the bottom of this and the best way to get the truth was straight from the whore’s mouth.  It was only a matter of time; all he had to do was wait.

 

“How the hell did you get in here?”  Carrie demanded.  Jon approached the bed, a twisted smile smeared across his repulsive face.

“Tha Boss was worried about ya, so I decided to pay you a little visit.”

“How did you find me?  What do you want?” 

“It wasn’t hard.” Jon chuckled, “The Boss knows what you’ve taken and he wants it back.”   Jon’s mouth curled up into an ugly sneer that flashed his crooked yellowing teeth.  Carrie was certain she saw something in his hand glint in the lamplight; she shuffled further up in her bed wrapping the sheets tight around her quivering body.

“If you don’t leave, I’ll call for the nurse!”  She spat.  The smile fell from Jon’s face as a bitter scowl took hold.

“Well you won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, I’ll be back, and next time I won’t be so nice!”  Jon slipped quietly through the door, leaving Carrie alone with the sounds of her own tortured sobbing.

 

Leonardo eased the door to April’s empty apartment open; he tossed the car keys onto the side and fell into the couch heavily.  The day’s events and the bitter cold ached in his body, rubbing his temples and let out a long sigh.  Maybe a shower would help, at the very lest it would warm him up and he had no intentions of falling into a cold educed hibernation.  He ran the faucets and waited a while before sliding into the calming water.  The darkness of the apartment made him feel more comfortable, slowly he began to relax.  He needed sleep and he needed it badly. He rested the palms of his hands flat against the tiled wall and watched as the clear water trickled down the drain.  He let his thoughts drift back to Carrie and the baby, back to the hospital. How he had managed to get out of there alive was still a mystery to him. Shaking his head he refocused his thoughts towards his own life and purpose and that of his brothers.  Everyday for them death was never more then a heart beat away; but what was there to come after?  It stopped there, with them; there was no one to carry on after they had gone. Nothing left behind; there would be no children.  So what was the point in all of this?  Leonardo turned the faucets off and allowed the last of the water to swirl away.

 

Carrie feverishly gathered what few belongings she had with her.  She had to get away from here, go some place safe with the baby.  One thing was sure, she wasn’t sticking around to find out what Jon and his intellectually challenged lackeys had in store for her.  She cracked the door open and quickly glanced up and down the corridor.  Empty.  Hurrying as fast as her condition would allow she heading in the direction of the Nursery.  Peeping through the small greenish window in the door she silently cursed, there was a nurse attending the babies.  The nurse picked up her clipboard and walked towards the door, Carrie spun round and pressed her back hard against the wall, she held her breath as the work absorbed nurse scuttled off to her next task, noticing nothing.  Carrie tiptoed over the cot that cocooned her sleeping daughter.  “Shh shh.”  She hushed gently scooping the tiny child into her arms, hugging her close to her chest.

 

Jon waited patiently; cupping his hands against the blustering wind, he lit the cigarette clamped between his thin lips bathing his face in a grotesque light.  He kept his sights firmly on the entrance to the hospital.  He knew Carrie too well; she wouldn’t stick around and wait for things to happen.  It was only a matter of time; all he had to do was wait.  A young woman clutching something close to her as if her life depended on it snatched his attention.  She looked around nervously before battling against the wind and snow.  Jon puffed on the cigarette, smiled and tossed it into the gutter.  Just the simple job of following her and getting what he came for left, shame he couldn’t leave any witnesses, how hard would that be?

 

Carefully he pushed the door open and stood there a while, watching.  Donatello’s face was illuminated by a blue glow as he continued to stare at the computer monitor.  Seemingly oblivious he thundered away on the keys, finally he acknowledged the presence.   “What do you want Mikey?”  Michaelangelo remained silent, forcing Donatello to swivel in his chair to face him; “Well?” he pushed.

“I’m worried Raph’s going to do somethin’ stupid.”  Michaelangelo blurted. 

“Hmm.”  Donatello thoughtfully placed his hand on his chin and rocked back in his chair.  “Like what?”

“Like, start a fight with Leo.”

“Mike that always happens and anyway,” Donatello turned back to his computer, “you know as well as I do, it’s best to keep out of it and let them sort it out, themselves.”  Donatello put a lot of emphasis on the last word.

“I really think we should be there.  You gonna come?” 

Donatello sighed inwardly.  “We’re not involved.”

“But other’s are!”  Michaelangelo argued, “please?”  Donatello turned to look at his brother again.  Aggh there they were, those puppy dog eyes, Michaelangelo always pulled them in a bid to get his own way and when that failed he turned on the waterworks.

“Please Donny!”

 

Carrie forced herself to carry on through the battering wind, stopping only to glance back along the path she had travelled.  Waves of dull pain had started to throb across her scar, be she willed herself on regardless.  She prayed bitterly, hoping against hope that she could remember the way; that she could reach him in time.  Jon had relentlessly dogged her journey ever since she left the hospital, sooner or later she would lead him to what he wanted and then all his problems would be over.  Carrie felt her heart surge with hope as she came upon the street she’d been searching for.

 

The pounding became louder until it jarred Leonardo from his sleep.  Who could that be at this hour?  No one knew anyone was here, as far as everyone was concerned the apartment was empty.  Carrie hammered at the door, please be there, please be there she whispered to herself.  “It’s me, please if your there open the door!”  Leonardo quickly opened the door.

“Carrie?”