Gargoyles X TMNT: Shadows of New York

Never Talk to Cops

"Anything on your end, guys?"

<"Nope."> <"Negatory."> <"Nothing in Central Park.">

April's head bumped against the brick wall. This would be going so much faster if Casey could use his phone. But there was too much cell interference at the stadium, they couldn't get a single call out to him. Out of all of them, he had the best chance of finding Raph undetected. But, cast your nets wide, especially when you're looking for a ninja. If it were just in Manhattan, then Raph would have been fine. But none of them were at all familiar with the underground on the other side of the river. Raph was running blind, and had no guaranteed safe escape back to the sewers. And with a crowd of humans that big...

"Dammit." She grunted into the mouthpiece of the cell phone. "I've been listening to the police scanner all night. No mutant sightings, turtle or otherwise."

<"April, this is Splinter. Have you gone to speak with the authorities?">

"Yeah, the taxi just dropped me off at the precinct. I'm going to see if I can use my student press pass to get in and follow some cops around. If I hear anything about Raphael, you'll be the first one I call, Master Splinter."

<"April, this is Donnie."> Her friend's voice crackled over the line. <"Don't wave around your press pass unless you have to, cops don't talk to journalists. Even if they're just for the high school paper. Just stick to the missing car story. If it goes south, call us and we'll do the thing.">

"Got it."

Mikey whined over the receiver. <"Aww. Why do you get to be the grandma? I wanted to be the grandma this time!">

April chuckled. "It was your turn last time, Mikey. I gotta go before a cop sees me. I'll text you as soon as I turn anything up."

<"Good luck, Miss O'Neil."> <"Ciao for now!"> <"Contact us as soon as anything happens.">

With a click, April folded up her cell phone and slipped it back into her yellow coat's front pocket. She brushed a strand of red hair out of her eyes, and pushed her glasses up her nose. She took in a deep breath, and let it out. She put her hand on the handle of the front door of the police precinct.

"If you're trying to be sneaky, kid, you're not doing a good job of it."

A woman's voice, right behind her! April yelped, whirling around and putting up her fists in a stance that protected her face–and left her entire midriff exposed–as she tried to face her attacker for a fight. She scrunched her face up, ready for a Foot Clan attack.

"Relax kid. Unless you want to punch a detective." The woman laughs. She holds out a hand like sun-browned wheat to her, gently pushing down April's balled up and useless fists.

The detective, a woman as dark and stormy as the clouds overhead with a long and wavy mane of black hair, folded her arms over her jacket and smugly smiled down at the lanky and gangly teenage girl. She had lean legs and a set to her jaw and shoulders that made her seem much taller than she actually was. She had a magnetic feel to her, some charisma that shook the ideas of a grandma with dementia and stolen cars out of April's head and replaced them with meaningless, babbling words.

April stammered over her words. "Grandma. Car. Stolen!" She yelped out.

"Your grandma stole a car, or her car was stolen? Whichever excuse you're going to make for being on the footsteps of a police precinct at eleven o'clock at night had better be a damn good one."

"I... I'm a journalist for the school paper." She forced out. "I-I have my student press pass and everything." April held up her school ID proudly, her yearbook picture smiling above her name and her treasured role in her school. "April O'Neil, Editor in Chief at Rob Paulsen High, Class of '04."