「ABSENCE」 TMNT 2012

35; Part One

The phone buzzed in one ear, and Casey's yapping continued in the other as April hurried down the sidewalk. She lifted her eyes to the tall skyscraper towering above then looked down at her outfit. She decided her jeans and t-shirt wouldn't do.

    The only other option besides taking out or attempting to charm security was to scale the building and get handprints all over the sleek windows. This was a newer building, and rather tall, so climbing would be difficult. And aside from that, April secretly hated heights.

Never mind. Her outfit would have to do.

Casey was forming his plan out loud. "All we gotta do is hit them and run," he decided authoritatively. "You brought a mask, right? Wouldn't want them to catch a glimpse of our faces before they see stars."

"Shshsh!" April hushed him as a clicking noise came from the other end of the phone call.

There was a momentary pause before a voice crackled in with a quiet, "Donnie, here."

April stepped onto the street and passed to the next block with a crowd of people, Casey following behind her. "Donnie! I've been trying to reach you for five minutes straight. Okay, look, Leo's hurt on top of 432 Park Avenue. Elly's with him. Casey and I are on our way, but I don't know how long it'll take us to get up there with security and all; it's extra tight tonight because of the Pierce party."

She waited a few seconds before Donatello's muffled voice came back. "Yeah, we'll be there in a few."

"Thanks, Don. See you there."

"Yup."

"Bye."

The call ended and April let her hand with her phone drop to her side as she walked. "The guys'll meet us there," she told Casey, who was quietly mumbling something incoherent to himself, probably about how far away he would need to stand in order to get a clear shot at one of the guards.

    His head shot up and he blinked at her. "Cool."

"Yeah," she agreed, internally shaking her head at him. She looked down at her phone again as they walked. The time was eleven forty-five.

    When they reached the building and made it into the lobby, as expected, they tried and failed to talk their way through security. Many valuable and important people were on the top floor, so of course the two wouldn't be allowed up. But they tried anyway, as their friends were waiting for them.

"We have friends who are expecting us," April explained calmly.

"I'm really going to have to ask you to leave now, ma'am. The party is restricted. Unless you have a verified pass, we can't let you past this point," one of the men in a black suit retaliated with just as much calmness in his voice.

Casey stepped up and jabbed a finger at the man's chest. "Look, we didn't know until, like, five minutes ago that we'd even be coming. Our friends need us to come pick them up, okay? So just let us through and we won't have to pick a fight."

April had been trying to hold him back until this point. Now she cringed. "Casey!" She whispered harshly into his ear. "You can't just go threatening security guards. You know that!"

She was right. The guard took a small step closer and peered down at them with an expression of stone, but a deep voice filled with authority. "If you don't turn around and leave this hotel by the time I finish speaking, I will personally escort you out. Thank you for coming, and have a nice night," came his gravelly order.

April grabbed Casey's wrist and tugged hard in the opposite direction. "Come on, idiot," she hissed.

Casey sent a glare at the man and reluctantly turned to follow his girlfriend. After they had made it outside, they leaned up against the wall of the hotel to think. There was no way to climb up, and they for sure weren't making it past security. The only other option was to let the turtle brothers handle things and check up on them later.