Trouble Three
April left Splinters room and followed Leonardo into the training room. Leo retrieved his sheathed katana blades, pushing past April on his way out. The scene in the living room had hardly changed, the other three were now giving Carrie a wide birth as if she had something catching. Everyone turned to see Leo enter the room closely followed by April. Leo stood in front of Carrie tightly holding on to the hilt of his katana. Carrie felt strangely nervous as she looked up at the obviously annoyed turtle towering over her. To her and everyone else’s surprise Leo knelt down in front of her, he bowed his head and held one katana in his outstretched hands. Carrie looked round at the other faces for help. Raphael’s face had dropped like thunder.
‘Take it.’ Donatello mouthed.
Carrie carefully took the weapon from Leo with shaking hands. The last time she had seen a katana, Leo had threatened to run her through with it. Leonardo looked up.
“From this moment forward you have my protection.” He then stood up. “Call me when you’re ready to leave.” He hissed at April before taking his remaining katana and walking to his room. Raphael left to follow him.
“You wanna tell me what the hell is going on?” Raphael demanded as he pushed through the door while Leo tried to close it.
“That’s none of your business. Now go!” Leo growled as he pushed the door harder.
“Bull! You were glad to see that back of that woman, now she back pregnant and you’re offering her your protection! There’s something you’re not telling me.” Raphael was using all his strength to keep Leo from shutting the door. His eyes narrowed. “Is it yours?”
Leo let go of the door causing Raphael to unbalance and fall through.
“No!” Leo snarled catching hold of his brother’s shoulder. “I’m not in the mood, so kindly piss off!” Leo shoved Raphael out and slammed the door.
“She’s trouble and you know it!” Raphael hissed through the door, only to be met by silence.
Leo lay back on his bed and stared at the brick ceiling. He wasn’t sure what to feel first; Raphael was right, this woman was trouble. She had been a pain in the arse ever since he had run into her or rather she had run into him. He wondered what he must have done to deserve karma like this. A knock on the door broke his chain of thought.
“Leo, we’re ready to leave now.” April’s voice came through the door.
“Okay, I’ll be out in a minute.” He said pulling a face. Leo listened and waited until the footsteps had faded away. Sighing he sat up and swung his legs round, he grabbed his katana and strapped it to his belt for easy access. He stood up and picked his coat up from the back of a chair and slipped it on. Leo left his room only to be confronted by Raphael standing in the hall in an all too familiar pose. Raphael lent against the wall his arms folded tightly across his chest glaring at Leo. Leo returned the look as he walked out into the living room. April was trying to haul Carrie out of the armchair but wasn’t having much luck. “I feel like a beached whale.” Carrie moaned.
“You know that’s funny, because you kinda look. Ow!” Donatello kicked Michaelangelo before he could finish the sentence. After a large amount of pulling and pushing Carrie made it to her feet.
“Ready?” Leo asked as he placed a large hat on his head.
“Just about.” April answered as she helped Carrie with her coat.
Three figures slowly walked down the sewer tunnel, Leonardo taking the lead.
“Why are we going this way?” April asked.
“There’s a loose storm grate up ahead. It will be easier for mom to get through.”
Carrie felt herself grow hot with embarrassment, this wasn’t what she had imagined when she decided to come back. She watched as Leo held on to an overhead pipe and pulled himself up. Leo looked through the grate; at least it had stopped raining.
“It looks clear.” He announced dropping down beside April and wiping his hands on his coat. “I’ll go up first and then pull April up, I have a feeling I’m going to need all the help I can get to pull you up.” He looked at Carrie, who looked at the ground rather than meet Leo’s eyes. Leo grabbed hold of the pipe and pulled himself up again, he pushed the storm grate open and then with a quick twist of his body pulled himself out. April and Carrie stood under the open grate looking up at the night sky for what seemed like forever.
“Where is he?” April wondered out aloud.
“Boo!” Leo yelled as he hung through the hole upside down.
“You stupid!” April gasped clutching her chest. “Are you trying to kill me? What took you so long?”
“I was just making sure the coast was clear. Going up?” Leo smiled
April grabbed hold of Leo’s arms and he started to lift her up.
“Have you put on weight?” He smirked.
“No I have not!” April snapped.
April and Leo disappeared from view leaving Carrie standing under the hole. Leo looked down the storm drain at her.
“Are you coming?” He asked. Carrie stood on her tiptoes and stretched up as high as she could. This was a moment she really wished she was tall like her brother. Leo took one arm and April took the other.
“Okay, on the count of three.” Leo instructed April. Carrie wondered where she had heard that before. “One, Two, Three. Pull!” Carrie started to slowly rise from the sewer floor; she was almost out when something stopped her. Her bump was caught under the rim of the storm drain. “Turn, turn!” Leo and April said at the same time. Carrie tried to twist herself, but at the same time she could feel April’s grip on her arm slipping.
“Please don’t drop me.” She pleaded looking up at the struggling pair. Just then April lost her grip, Carrie swung to the left, which released her bump enabling Leo to pull her clear through the hole.
Carrie sat hyperventilating in alley she had been pulled in to.
“Are you okay?” April asked putting an arm around her shoulder. Carrie looked up and nodded.
“Where are we?” She asked between breaths.
“Not far from my apartment.” April helped Carrie to her feet. “It’s just a short walk. Do you think you can manage it?”
“If I got out of there alive, I’m sure a walk won’t kill me.” Carrie said pointing to the storm drain.
At a hotel not too far away two well-dressed men climbed out of a cab. “Here!” The elder one said throwing money at the driver through the open window. “Keep the change.”
“Jackass!” The cabbie snarled under his breath before speeding off.
“What makes you so sure she would have come to New York?” The younger man asked his boss.
“She came here before, from what I got out of her sister she had a friend here. Now come on.” The elder man lit a cigarette before entering the building; a little bell above the door rang out.
“Can I help you?” The manager asked looking up from his paper.
“Maybe.” The elder man sneered blowing smoking into the manager’s face.
“No smoking I’m afraid.” The manager spluttered pointing to the sign on the wall.
“That sign says thank you for not smoking, since I am smoking I don’t expect you to thank me.” The man growled reaching into his inside jacket pocket. The manager froze expecting to see a gun, instead the man pulled out a small photo of a young woman.
“Have you seen her?” He demanded. “Only she’s run away from home and her poor mother’s worrying herself sick.”
The manager studied the photo. “No I haven’t, but you could try the local hostels.”
“Thank you for your time.” The man said before stubbing his cigarette out on the desk. “Come on Jon, I don’t pay you to stand around and look pretty!” With that both men left and walked off in the direction of the hostel.