Castoff
part 22

When Guerra's eyes went up to follow the path of the basket, so did his gun. As soon as April felt the muzzle leave her neck, she jabbed her elbow into his ribs, making his release her and then darted towards the river, away from the side door of the van.

It flashed through Casey's mind that her maneuver meant there was someone in the van. There was no time to worry about that; he was making the one move open to him and stopping was not an option. He'd deal with additional threats when they appeared.

Guerra ignored April's escape so that he could raise his arms to catch the basket. At the last second he saw Casey barreling towards him and with a last glance at the basket, lowered his arms in an attempt to turn his gun on the man.

The basket hit the ground at the same moment that Casey slammed into Guerra, shoving him back against the front of the van. Casey's hand immediately came down on Guerra's gun-wielding arm. Grasping the gangster's wrist, Casey squeezed hard and pushed down on the arm with all his might, forcing the gun out of Guerra's hand.

At Guerra's shout, the side door of the van slid open and another member of the gang jumped out, gun in hand. He came running around towards the front of the van, eyes glued to the two combatants.

April saw him and began frantically looking around. Spotting a large stone on the ground, she snatched it up and hurled it at the gangster.

She hadn't taken the time to think about aiming, but the rock sailed true and hit the shoulder of the man's gun arm. He jerked and lowered his arm in pain, grasping his shoulder before turning to see where the rock had come from.

"You little bitch!" he yelled, eyes blazing with fury. "I'm gonna shoot you right in that pretty face."

April's eyes widened in fear as he once more lifted his gun. Before he could bring it to bear, the shadow of a gigantic form loomed over him.

Looking up, the man cried out as a large green hand snaked down to catch him by his gun arm. Standing atop the van, Raphael yanked the gunman off his feet, lifting him high and then twisting the gun out of his hand.

Raph quickly smashed a hardened fist into the man's face and then tossed both the man and the gun into the river. Glancing over at April, Raph winked and then sat down on top of the van, feet resting on the hood. He looked exactly like a spectator at a boxing match.

After a few minutes of pushing against each other, Guerra swung a hook to the side of Casey's head which knocked him back a few steps. He followed, throwing a punch that Casey ducked. Casey responded by delivering three swift jabs to Guerra's gut and a hard right to the face.

Stumbling back, Guerra shook his head and then brought a knee up into Casey's side. As he swung another hook, Casey blocked it with his forearm and then slid his arm over Guerra's shoulder. Pulling it under his arm, he forced Guerra down, trapping him in a headlock beneath Casey's other arm.

Guerra grasped Casey around the waist and dug in with his heels, swinging his body around in order to throw Casey against the front of the van. Stepping in, Guerra hit Casey with two hard jabs to the nose.

Casey moved to the side, forcing Guerra to turn with him. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Casey eyed the gangster. When Guerra stepped towards him, Casey threw a quick uppercut, snapping the man's head back.

As Casey moved in, Guerra led with a hook to his opponent's face and then a stiff body shot to his ribs. Casey blocked the next punch which had been aimed at his head. Using both open palms, Casey slapped them against Guerra's ears before doubling a fist and striking downwards on the top of the gangster's nose.

Clutching at his nose with both hands, Guerra hunched over and moved backwards, away from Casey. Waiting so he could catch his breath, Casey watched Guerra finally straighten and lower his hands. He was bleeding profusely from a broken nose.

"Fucking bastard," Guerra growled, his voice low and ominous. "You'll pay for that."

His next swing at Casey was clumsy and easily blocked. Casey countered with a punch aimed for Guerra's face, but the gangster side-stepped. Catching Casey's wrist, he spun to his side and delivered a blow to Casey's ribs with his elbow.

Guerra swung twice more, both hooks which Casey ducked by slipping beneath the gangster's arm. The momentum from the missed punch made Guerra stumble forward but he immediately whirled to face Casey.

With a mumbled curse, Guerra rushed at Casey, who was set for just such a move. Crouching, Casey stepped into his opponent and hit his sternum with a jab. With the breath knocked out of him, Guerra bent down and Casey put the entire force of his body into an uppercut.

Guerra was lifted up on his toes and fell back onto the ground, the air rushing from his lungs. Casey quickly grasped his side and roughly flipped him onto his belly. Pulling a set of handcuffs from his waistband, Casey yanked Guerra's arms behind his back and cuffed him.

"You're under arrest . . . for the murder of Lia Colón," Casey intoned between gasping breaths. "You have the right . . . to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you say . . . may be used against you in a court of law . . . ."

As he continued to read Guerra his Miranda rights, there was a sputtering sound from the shore of the river. Raph jumped down from the roof of the van and walked over to drag the other gangster from the water.

Pulling him through the dirt, Raph tossed him onto the ground next to his boss. Keeping his foot on the man's back, Raph waited as Casey fetched a zip tie from the trunk of his car and used it to bind the second man's wrists.

"Where are the guys?" Casey asked Raph.

April walked over to join them as Raph answered, "We split up 'cause Leo figured out the best places for the rest of this gang to be hiding. I decided ya' could use some backup, but ya' hogged all the fun for yourself."

"Maybe next time," Casey responded with a grin. "I'll call this in and have these guys picked up." He bent down so that Guerra could see him. "You let that basket fall even though you were sure your baby was inside. That's why you don't deserve to be a father."

Raph moved over to where the basket had fallen. The doll was lying sideways in it, the blanket open and spread partially across the ground. Reaching inside, Raph pulled off the tape that held Baby's leg in place and extracted the small recording device that Donatello had implanted in the doll.

Holding it out to Casey, Raph said, "You'll probably be needing this."

"Thanks," Casey said, taking the device from Raph's hand. Tipping his head to the side, Casey indicated that Raph and April step out of Guerra's range of hearing.

"I'll be here with Casey to report my kidnapping," April said. "What are we going to say about Guerra's references to a baby?"

"We'll acknowledge that he thought Lia was pregnant with his kid," Casey said. "It was clear from the autopsy that she'd recently given birth. That goes to his motivation for killing her. I was the cop he ran into when he was terrorizing the moms in the neighborhood, so he decided I knew where the kid was. Of course I'll disavow any knowledge of a kid."

"The mystery of what happened to Lia's child will just have to remain a mystery," April said. "I'm sure Casey can manage to take any investigations into the matter down a dead end road."

Holding up the recording device, Casey said, "This will be enough to get Guerra jailed for his crime. I'm sure I can talk Chief Vincent into giving me the investigation into the child. Once Guerra is behind bars for good, the search for the baby can go cold like so many of them do. An unfortunate fact of life, but a plus for Shilo."

With the basket containing the old doll in his hand, Raph walked over to the river. "Guess I'll split now. Catch ya' later," he said before jumping in.

Swimming back to where the brothers were to meet, Raph pushed the basket along in front of him. He found that he was the last to arrive back at the van.

"Baby!" Mikey exclaimed, pulling the doll from the basket. "Is April all right?"

"What happened?" Leo asked.

Raph told them that April was fine and then how Casey had taken Guerra down before placing him under arrest. "What'd ya' run into?"

"Just a few of his men scattered along a couple of streets," Don said. "Balderra wasn't with them."

"They're all taking naps right now," Mikey said, grinning as he cradled the doll.

Raph wrung the water out of the blanket and put it back into the basket. "Casey has the recording. He's gonna fix things so he'll be the one leading the search for Colón's missing kid."

"That means it's over, right?" Don asked hopefully. "No more worrying about Guerra and his gang looking for Shilo?"

"Guerra ain't gonna be doing much for at least the next twenty years except trying not to drop the soap," Raph said with a laugh.

Flashing lights from across the river caught their attention. They looked over to see a number of police cars heading in Casey's direction.

"Time to go home," Leo announced.

During the drive back to the lair, the turtles listened while Raph gave them a blow by blow account of Casey's fight with Guerra. Upon arriving at their home, Don immediately went in search of Shilo, finding that the baby turtle was sleeping soundly in his crib.

It took him a second to realize that all three of his brothers had gathered around him to look at Shilo.

"I'm gonna clean up Baby and give him to Shilo," Mikey murmured.

"Please wait until Shilo is a little older," Don whispered. "The years of wear and tear haven't made Baby very child friendly."

"Gotta love a protective mom," Raph said, keeping his voice low.

"Remember that April said we should sleep when the baby does," Leo whispered. "That's good advice."

His brothers took the hint and turned in. Before he followed suit, Leo went to talk to his father, who was in front of the television. After telling Master Splinter about their night, Leo stripped off his gear and climbed into bed.

There were many thoughts buzzing around in Donatello's head and it took him a while to fall asleep. The lack of sleep didn't stop him from waking before anyone else when Shilo began to whimper.

Rising quickly, Don lifted Shilo from his crib and changed his diaper before his whimpers could turn into full out cries that would wake his brothers. Taking the baby with him, Don set about mixing a bottle of formula.

Don then went into the television area and turned on the sunning lamps before taking a seat on the couch. When he offered the bottle to Shilo, the baby latched on like a champ.

While Shilo sucked greedily at his bottle, Don watched him, fascinated by every tiny thing about the infant. There was a feeling in his heart that he couldn't describe in words; it was such a deep connection to Shilo that it was almost painful. Tears welled up in his eyes and Don blinked rapidly so as not to fog his glasses.

"Your mom is gone, little one, but the man who did it has been caught and he'll pay," Don murmured softly. "Someday you'll learn that he was your biological father. When that time comes, I'll explain how you are your own person and not defined by the people who brought you into the world. Your mother wasn't a bad person, just one who was very confused."

Shilo stared up at him, clearly fascinated by the sound of Don's voice. Don stroked a thumb across Shilo's cheek and smiled at his son.

"You can be anything you want," Don said. "I worry a lot that you'll be unhappy with your life as a mutant. Please, if that happens come and talk to me. I'll help you through it. We all will. You have a big family and everyone in it loves you. I promise that you'll have a fulfilling life and you won't be lonely."

He hadn't heard Leo's approach but the sound of his voice made Don look up. "You do realize that you'll have to repeat all of that when he's old enough to understand."

"I know," Don said. "It's never too soon to practice trying to sound wise."

Leo squatted in front of him and cupped the top of Shilo's head in one hand. "He's going to think you're the smartest person in the world no matter what. Between the five of us, more counting our friends, Shilo will always be surrounded by care and love."

"I hope that's enough," Don said with a sigh. "There won't be anyone his age."

"We found humans who accepted us," Leo said. "I'll bet we can find Shilo a playmate or two who won't be put off by his looks. Kids are remarkably flexible and nonjudgmental."

"What happened to the 'never be seen by humans' rule?" Don asked.

"We have to be flexible too," Leo said.

A deep chuckle caught their attention and they saw Raph coming towards them, followed by Mikey.

"Shilo's got ya' wrapped around his little finger, doesn't he, Leo?" Raph asked. "Pretty soon you're gonna be breaking all the rules for the kid. And here I thought you'd be the strictest one of us."

"It will still be safety first," Leo told him. "He can play with a couple of human kids, but their parents don't need to be involved."

"Can't wait to see how ya' manage that one," Raph said.

"We could always track down another sickly baby and you know . . . ." Mikey said, trailing off with a hopeful look.

"We aren't going to start kidnapping babies from their parents," Leo said sternly.

"Suppose we could find one who doesn't have parents and is in the emergency room at the hospital?" Mikey asked.

"Just how exactly would ya' get the baby out of the hospital?" Raph asked, crossing his arms. "The place has more security than the police station did and look how that break-in ended. That's the stupidest idea ya' ever had."

"Oh yeah?" Mikey asked, glaring at Raph. "I didn't hear a no from Leo."

Raph looked at his older brother, clearly expecting him to chastise Mikey. His expression changed to one of surprise when Leo didn't respond.

"Tell me ya' ain't actually giving that idea some thought," Raph said, his gaze on Leo.

"I wouldn't want to dismiss it out of hand," Leo said. He held his palm up when Raph started to sputter. "Would it be better to raise Shilo with or without siblings?"

"I'm not averse to the idea," Don said, his tone gentle. "We could figure out a way past security. It's what we do best."

"A baby no one else wants," Mikey said, using his most cajoling voice. "A baby on its death bed, just like Shilo was."

"We'll have to talk to Dad," Leo said. "See what he thinks. There are philosophical ramifications. Just because we can doesn't necessarily mean we should."

A slow grin spread across Raph's mouth. "Be kinda nice to have a couple of kids running around the lair."

"Once for each of us, maybe," Mikey said with a faraway expression.

"At least then when we're all gone, Shilo won't be alone," Don said. His eyes started to mist over again and he looked down so his brothers wouldn't notice.

He was saved from any embarrassment by the buzz of Leo's com unit. His brother stood up to take the incoming call.

It was Casey, reporting in that Guerra had been booked and since it was Sunday, he wouldn't be formally charged until the next day. He'd already called for his attorney, who was an expensive one. Casey said he wouldn't be surprised if the attorney insisted that they immediately go before a judge to be arraigned.

"What does that mean?" Raph asked, standing close to Leo.

"It means he'll be asking for bail," Casey said. "I doubt he'll get it. He's a flight risk and the crime is pretty heinous. On top of that, Guerra already has a lengthy criminal history."

"Keep us posted," Leo said.

"Oh, and let Don know that the surveillance equipment has been pulled from Guerra's home and office," Casey said. "It was there under a warrant to watch Guerra specifically. The legality of the warrant ended when Guerra was arrested for murder."

"Guerra was our primary concern," Leo said. "What will happen to the Mala Noche now that he's in custody?"

"The gang task force will continue to monitor them," Casey answered. "Balderra will probably take over unless there is a power struggle from some of the other members. It won't slow them down a bit."

"Our next job oughta be taking down that whole gang," Raph said. "Ya' know how I hate being bored."

"I second that motion," Casey said.

"How's April doing?" Don asked.

Casey snorted a laugh. "How do you think she's doing? She turned in a full complaint about her kidnapping to the lead detectives on the Colón murder case, and then filmed a report with her news station about the entire thing."

"That sounds like our April," Leo said.

"I'll catch you guys later," Casey said. "I'm going home to grab some shut eye."

Shilo pulled away from the bottle as the call disconnected. He started to squirm and Raph took the towel from Don's shoulder, draped it over his forearm, and held his hands out for the baby.

Placing Shilo stomach down on his arm, Raph gave his carapace a couple of firm taps. Shilo immediately burped. He followed that with a very loud fart.

Mikey began laughing hysterically. "It figures you'd find that funny," Raph said.

Leo covered his mouth with a hand, hoping his brother wouldn't see that he too was laughing. He wasn't successful.

"A baby farts and the whole bunch of ya' turn into kids," Raph said, trying to sound stern even though a corner of his mouth had started to twitch.

"I am pleased that you boys are in such a good mood," Master Splinter said, coming out of his room. "Perhaps you would care to join me in a practice session as you have all been particularly lax of late."

"Of course, Sensei," Leo said.

The remainder of the day passed quickly. Between practice and their normal activities, the brothers took turns with Shilo. The baby turtle was bathed, changed, fed, read to, played with, and rocked to sleep.

Master Splinter watched his sons care for the baby and felt a great sense of pride in them. Leo had taken him aside to tell him of their earlier discussion and then asked what he thought about the idea of rescuing another dying child.

It was a question that required some thought, one that Master Splinter said he would have to meditate on. Donatello had shared with him many of his concerns about how Shilo would feel once he was grown enough to know he'd started off as a human.

The concept was a heavy one. Life as a mutant versus certain death. His own sons had at times expressed sadness at their solitary lives, especially Michelangelo. Now Master Splinter could see hope shining in his youngest son's eyes.

Such optimism and love would certainly be obvious to Shilo. It would be clear to any child who might join their small clan. Perhaps that was the one true answer to the conundrum.

Even though they expected to hear from Casey the following day, there was no call from him or April. Don had checked to see if the surveillance feeds had indeed been dismantled and found that they were. He would have liked to have learned what the gang was doing, but if he wanted that answer, he'd have to plant his own bugs.

Monday passed the way Sunday had; the family all following a new routine which included a baby. Mikey had talked Don into hacking the computer systems of area hospitals so that they could search for children in need of saving from certain death. Michelangelo's words.

Tuesday evening they finally received a visit from Casey and April. She was carrying a couple of shopping bags filled with baby items, including additional diapers, formula, and wipes.

Casey's expression was grim and Don felt his stomach do a flip. His first thought was to take Shilo from his bassinet and hold him.

"What's happened?" Leo asked. "Did they let Guerra go?"

"He was granted bail yesterday, late afternoon," Casey said. "I thought we'd get him right back on a secondary charge because we found a cache of weapons in his apartment. That's why I didn't tell you guys."

"Ya' didn't get him back? Does that mean he's running around loose again?" Raph asked.

"He's not running around loose," Casey said. "He's dead."

The turtles were stunned into momentary silence. Finally Mikey asked, "How?"

"He was found in almost the exact same spot where he dumped Lia's body," Casey said. "Guerra was shot in the back of the head, execution style. You want my educated guess, that bullet was courtesy of Javier Balderra."

Leo frowned. "His second in command?"

"The same," Casey said. "The negative attention and publicity surrounding the Colón murder was unwanted. Balderra was already positioning himself to take over. Guerra's arrest made him vulnerable. He lost the support of his lieutenants which gave Balderra the opportunity to make his move."

"And I thought the Foot were bad," Raph said.

"Guerra's death closes the Colón story," April said. "I bowed out of covering Guerra's murder. I've had more than enough of the man, alive or dead."

"Look at it this way," Casey said, glancing at Don and Shilo. "Guerra's not going to be a threat ever again. Balderra and the Mala Noche don't give a damn about any child he might have fathered."

"You guys are Shilo's family," April said. "The Foot have been dismantled and as horrific as murder is, Guerra is gone. No one is going to come into the sewers looking for you or the baby."

"That's the kind of closure I can get behind," Raph said.

Shilo cooed as though in agreement. The turtles along with Casey, April and Master Splinter gathered around Don to look at the baby.

Opening his mouth, Shilo cooed again, then pressed his lips together to say, "Ma~."

Everyone stared at him in astonishment. "Did he just say . . . .?" Leo began.

"Ma~ma," Shilo said, then smacked his lips a few time.

"He did!" Mikey exclaimed. "He totally said Mama!"

Donatello groaned. "I can't believe you guys taught him that!"

"Own it, Donnie," Raph told him. He tickled Shilo's chin. "There's no way ya' don't love hearing that."

Don's mouth spread into a wide grin. Whatever his son chose to call him, Don knew it would always make him happy.

The End