You're the Boss Ma'am

Part 7

The odd apparitions that seemed to always coddle her never appeared in any of this panic - which both worried and relieved me. Having flesh-shredding, unpredictable projectiles would have made it much harder to concentrate - but the tendrils were a form of natural protection; which means she either used up all the energy it took to use them during the brawl, or an enemy knew about her how to make them docile enough to strike her down.

I ordered the nurses to watch over her and clean the wound out while I exited the room, my brothers almost instantly turning their attention towards me as I came into view from one of the smaller studies.

"How's she holding up, Doc?" Michael asked, genuine worry written all over his face.

I sat in the squashy, overstuffed chair; letting out an unknowingly held breath.

"She's doing better than when we got her out," I started, looking at Leo and Raph to see how the news was faring with them. "The poison was hemlock-based, but I highly doubt that it was purely that. I may need to stay in the infirmary and try a few things before she'll be back up and running."

Leo ran a hand across the top of his head, making it apparent that he was incredibly stressed. He started pacing across the front of fireplace, well on his way to wearing a track into the rug.

"We're barely 2 days in and Anya was almost in the grave at least what - 4 times? Splinter was right, this was never just a babysitting job." He pondered, "We'll need to be on high alert from now on - and keep tabs on everyone she sees on a daily basis."

I believe that's my cue.

"Unless you personally think you'll be able to to do all of that, I think it's time to introduce ourselves to Anya's lackeys. If anyone knows how to get information and keep quiet, it'd be them we'd need to talk to," I added. Leo looked at me curiously.

"How did you-"

"While you were escorting her, I took the time to meet with the rest of her higher-ups. They're a pretty resilient group, I have to admit."

I could physically imagine every gear turning inside my oldest brother's mind, processing the information I gave him. He stood up from the chair he was sitting in and walked out of the room, leaving my older and younger brothers with me.

Michael had finally found the service bell for the staff, ordering lunch for us. While we waited, Raph had the files Anya was holding when I grabbed her, flipping through them.

"Whoever was keepin' these records was hidin' a good chunk a' moolah. Ya' can't tell at first glance, but once ya' crunch da' numbers - somah' da' things don't quite add up."

Michael stiffened slightly at the news, averting his eyes from Raph. I could tell he was thinking about something, but nobody in this world can ever guess what goes through his mind.

However, not even Raph misses any oddities.

"Ya' know somethin' about this, Mike?" He asked, a little too casual to mean anything passive.

Michael nodded, being uncharacteristically quiet for his personality.

A muscle twitches in Raph's jaw, probably out of irritation.

"Ya' care talk about it?"

Michael shook his head "no" - and walked out of the room as soon as one of the maids brought in lunch. He quickly took his share of the sandwiches and disappeared into another section of the estate.

Raph tossed the files frustratingly on to the end table, pulling his tie loose and taking off his cabbie.

"Fer' bein' the most talkative one out of the bunch, he sure seems to be keepin' a lotta secrets," he growled, grabbing lunch from the platter.