Dark Waters

Chapter Seventeen: Rescue

Chapter Seventeen: Rescue 

  

The streetlights were all shattered, Mike huddled for the safety behind the dumpster as a fear of running over broken glass. There was a way to walk over glass without being cut, their grandfather Master Yoshi made them do it all the time, but he'd never had a mess of storm troopers on him at the same time. Another wave of laser fire peppered the wall above his head, embedded into the bricks.

Mikey winced as a stray shot grazed his left shoulder. He listened for rushing footsteps or battle cries, but there was nothing, only the occasional whistle of metal flying overhead.

He was not having a good day. He remembered being bored cooped up in the building while Rainier kept watch over an unconscious Leopard and thought that searching for anything to eat in this strange place would be a good thing to spend his time.

After a pointed warning to keep in touch within fifteen minutes from hothead leader, Mike was allowed to roam stealthily at his heart's content.

He blamed his bad luck on being spotted by a group of soldiers back in the marketplace. Apparently the soldiers weren't happy when Leopard killed them all off  the last time and they were looking out for payback. Only his training in ninjitsu, kept Mikey from being riddled with laser holes as he ran for dear life only to end up trapped behind a dumpster.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound from above interrupted his thoughts and Michael looked up to see what seemed like a hovering tank descend from above.

This is it, guys. He gulped. The end.

***

Leopard crept through the mass of soldiers in silence. He had already neutralized two guards, and still has to neutralize two more to allow the others access to the transports. He loved that word... neutralize. It was a bit vague than 'dispose of', and a hell of a lot more subtle than 'kill the mother fuckers'. That part of his current situation got on his nerves. Working with the Mizu clan meant cooperating with those brothers and all of their moralistic niceties. At least with the Dark Flame Clan there was no question as to what the Master wanted. If he meant kill, he said kill. He didn't bother to 'neutralize' his enemies.

They all had decided that he would be the best ninja for the job. Rainier admitted somewhat reluctantly that he and Daniel wasn't skilled enough to sneak in undetected and assigning the mission to the robot was out of the question.

He silently climbed onto the roof of a makeshift metal storage shed and crouched low to avoid a passing guard. The guard was too visible to be neutralized (ha) right now, so concealment was the best option. When the guard passed, Leopard Kuraihi ran and jumped from the shed to grab the eave of the roof on the adjacent building. He effortlessly pulled himself up and quickly hid behind the brick chimney. He waited until the man on the roof walked past him before reaching up and expertly snapping his neck. He gently eased the man down and hid the dead body behind the chimney. He moved over to the glass skylights in the middle of the roof and circled them, scanning the room below from all possible angles.

Finally as soon as he was sure that they were all clear, he took out the communicator Daniel had loaned him for the mission and flipped it open, activating it. "All clear." He reported.

A few minutes later, Daniel, Rainier and the droid dropped down from the roof and landed on the ground.

"We don't have time," Leopard warned them. "I heard them calling for reinforcements while I was sneaking inside here a while back."

Rainier nodded. "I know, but we need a ride to get Mikey and get the hell out of here."

Daniel frowned. "So, what do you have in mind?"

Rainier grinned as he came to stop in front of a hover tank left idling nearby. "This."

***

Mike could not believe his eyes.

He had expected to tank-like thing to point its weapons at him and blow him to kingdom come. Or even to fire missiles at his direction. Anything.

He just didn't expect... this to happen.

He hid behind the dumpster, staring in open amazement as the hover tank drops its turret and smashes it into the soldiers, sending them flying scattered around.

"Hey, Mikey!

Much to the orange clad ninja's amazement, Rainier popped his head out of the port machine-gun's turret-hole and looked at Mikey with a pleased smirk. "Ouch."

"Rain! Am I so happy to see your ugly face again!"

"Yeah, well get in!" the red clad ninja ordered. "And don't make me regret saving your sorry ass!"

"Aww! I always knew you loved me, bro!"

***

Later after picking up the others at their rendezvous point, Rainier and the other sat around the controls while Professor Hamil jacked into the controls to fly the plane.

"Couldn't you have found something less conspicuous?" Leopard remarked  as he stood beside Rainier with his arms crossed.

Rainier shrugged from his seat and glanced up. "Well, face it, Leo, we can't be any safer than where we are right now..." He began when suddenly the control pit shook violently. "What the hell...?!"

"We're taking in some laser fire, Rainier!" Professor Hamil replied as he and Daniel tried evading the soldiers from below.

"I think those guys just found out what happened to the missing tank Rain filched back in their base." Dan quipped. "And I think they are not happy."

"Can we shake them off?" Rainier began as another hit from their pursuers caused the hover tank to shake violently again.

"Negative. They've just damaged the left engine." The droid began. "The transport can't keep this up much longer."

Another violent shake followed by a clanking sound at the back,

Leopard frowned. "That doesn't sound good."

"Oh dear, now we've lost both engines." Professor Hamil began.

"What does that mean?" Mike asked.

"It means that we're gonna crash!" Daniel exclaimed. "Everybody hold on!!!"