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Leap of Faith, Part One: Out of the Darkness	By : laloga13 Category: Comics > Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Views: 1560 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all other recognizable characters are property of Mirage Studios and not me, sadly. I'm just playing with them for a while, and am not making any money off of this story. However, any OC's are mine! Ha

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Chapter Seven

That evening, Leonardo again found himself crouched outside her window, knocking, except there was no answer this time either to his rapping the pane or calling her phone. Something's not right this time, he thought, and gave the window an extra shove, forcing it open. She was not in her room, so he descended to the lobby, mindful of any sound that might signal another human's presence.

The turtle entered the reception area and stood awkwardly for a moment studying the room; there was no one behind the counter, nor the immediate area. Though it was evident that the Idle Rose Inn was well kept and cared for, business was clearly not booming. The wallpaper was of an older, more vivid era, lending to the general feel of the place being past its prime. An antique chandelier, which might have been considered vintage chic by some, seemed curiously anachronistic in what was otherwise a sparsely decorated room. A few fake plants, some practical, plain armchairs and a coffee table with old magazines made up the furnishings, and in the air a faint scent of old potpourri lingered. The room was silent, save for a public radio show playing softly on a stereo behind the counter.

Miranda was nowhere to be seen. Thinking that perhaps she stepped to the restroom, Leo went to stand patiently at the front, where he heard a soft groan from beneath the counter. He peered down, and to his horror saw Miranda, face covered with blood, laying almost prone against the faded carpet. He hurried around the desk and gently took her wrist in his hand. Her pulse was a bit weak, but steady, and after a brief examination he determined that the blood came from a gash on her temple. Besides that, she appeared to be physically unharmed. He carefully tried to raise her head so that he could mop her off a bit with some tissues behind the counter.

"Leonardo?" Her voice was soft and dazed. She opened her eyes, then shut them again with a groan. "What happened? When did you get here?"

"Just now. I found you like this. Do you have any injuries beside your head?"

At his words, she reached for her temple, wincing as pain blossomed from her own touch. She recoiled at the blood on her fingers. "No, I'm....okay. Just a headache."

"Who did this to you?" He was startled at the harshness in his own voice.

She shook her head slightly, and tried to sit up. "Me. Well, I didn't knock myself in the head but...." She tried to stand and Leo offered his hand as she continued. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have gotten involved with....well, probably a lot of people."

"Hold that thought," Leo said suddenly, leaping over the desk to check the lock on the front door before returning to help her to her feet. "Let's get you out of the lobby and cleaned up first....It'll clear your head."

As he all but carried her up the stairs, Leo found himself unusually angry at the thought that Miranda's life was in danger, something that he had been unable to prevent. It was not the righteous anger he sometimes felt in battle, but rather a white-hot fury that sprang from somewhere inside himself that he had been carefully ignorant of. I can't remember the last time I felt like this, if I ever have. Once in her room, he helped her onto the bed and began to clean her face with some washcloths she'd pointed out. He wetted them with a jug of water she kept by the bed, and began to dab at her face and neck as she spoke quietly.

"Have you ever heard of the White Knights? No? Well, I guess they're pretty low-key compared to the Purple Dragons."

"Who are these guys? Did they do this to you?" He was still unable to keep the ire from his voice, yet he couldn't stop himself from speaking.

"I'd never seen this one before tonight," she continued, lifting her chin so he could get a better angle. "Usually I only talk to Jacob, the guy you and Mike saw the other night."

"Why would these 'White Knights' want to hurt you?"

"Because I was stupid and naive, and trusted my ex boyfriend." Her jaw tightened. "Hunter. He wanted to get on good terms with the Knights-if you're in favor it's easy to make a bit of cash-and I helped him."

I don't like where this is going. "How? What do they do?"

She was silent for a moment, casting him a regretful look before averting her eyes. "They're big time coke dealers," she said at last, her voice flat. "Hunter and I sold kilos of cocaine-just sold, mind you, I never touched it the stuff....until he ripped them off and ran away with....well, let's just say it was enough to really piss off the Order."

"So they tried to extort you?" Leo surmised. "They think you know where he is?"

"Bingo. Though he never told me outright, I knew anyway. He could never keep a secret, and was a terrible liar."

"So where did he run to?"

Miranda shook her head, her expression grim. "He always talked about running to Canada, and that's what I told them. I just wanted to be left alone, you know? I hoped that I could forget everything and live a regular life."

"Wouldn't really know about that," Leo remarked, "but I would like to know why you..."

"Why I let myself get mixed in with that wannabe mafia?"

"Among other things."

Her voice was harsh, her cheeks wet. "Like I said, I thought I was in love. I thought I had it all figured out with him. We made all these grand plans: like, with all the money we made, we wanted to open a coffee shop in Vancouver." She shook her head slowly "Now, of course, I know that I was an idiot. I also know that they're finally after me for the cash; I guess they gave up on ever tracking Hunter down. So, I'm trying to set things right, the best I can."

Her face was clean now, and Leo stood by the bed for a moment, contemplating the bloody washcloth he held. Finally he spoke, calmly and rationally. "So, why are you even dealing with the Knights on any 'professional' level? If they're harassing you for money that you don't have, how are you fixing it?" I wonder if she knows how much I don't want to hear the answer?

"I said I'd cover half of what Hunter owed, since I had helped him and all," Miranda replied. "But I refused to go near the powder at all-and it's really hard to make a lot of cash selling herb, even good quality herb." She sighed, and touched her fingers to her temple again. "Until recently, they've been all talk. But I have to admit," she looked at him, and her eyes were the pale gray of bleached asphalt. "I'm pretty freaked out by all this."

He remained silent, instead placing a hand on hers, offering what comfort he could. She looked at his hand and shook her head, her smile soft and bitter.

"And now you're thinking, 'poor little coke dealer.' I'm sorry to drag all my skeletons out like this, Leonardo. Normally I try to keep the craziness out of the way a little longer." She hugged her arms to her torso. “I understand if you don't want to see me anymore-I'm not exactly the most law-abiding person around.”

It was his turn to meet her gaze, unwavering. "If I've learned anything in my life, Miranda, it's that people screw up, people do stupid things all the time. I may have even, once or twice." She smiled faintly, and he continued. "And living outside the law is sometimes a necessity, it doesn't make you a bad or immoral person. You're trying to fix the mistakes that you made, which is commendable....But what really concerns me is the fact that these 'White Knights' aren't relenting, they're increasing their hostility. Next time it might be worse than a blow to the head." He exhaled deeply. "I think that you should disappear for a while, Miranda. I can try to track down these guys, get them to leave you alone, maybe even stop them all together."

He felt hopeful; it was a good plan. But she pursed her lips and shook her head.

"No. Thank you, but no."

"Why?"

"Well, for starters....I'm not a child, Leo," she said, sitting up suddenly, though she reeled a little bit. He offered his hand but she ignored it. "I got myself into this mess, and I can get myself out; though I do appreciate your concern, Leonardo, I'm not going to burden anyone else with my problems. I left home when I was seventeen, and have taken care of myself since then. I'm fully capable of cleaning up my own messes."

They sat in silence for a minute as Leo mulled the situation over, refusing to give up without another shot. He told himself that it was merely concern for her welfare that spurred his reaction, something that he was pretty sure he didn't believe. Finally, he spoke.

"Miranda, you should understand: it's true that I want to help you, even though you haven't asked me to, but, I'm really good at dealing with guys like these Knights-I've been doing this kind of thing my whole life-and it's my job to help out if I can." She made to interrupt, but he stilled her with his hand on hers. "I understand that you want to make up for naive actions from your past, but perhaps our meeting is the universe's way of letting you know that it's okay to accept help from highly trained professionals." He offered a smile to lighten the tension, and she accepted with a heavy sigh after considering his words for a moment.

"Curse you and your ninja logic," she said as she shook her head ruefully. "So where can I disappear to, 'Fearless One?'" He was relieved to hear humor creep into her voice though her expression was grave. "And what am I supposed to do about Nautilus? We have practices....and shows. I can't just drop off the face of the planet. And for that matter, what about work?"

Leo got to his feet and began pacing the tiny room as best he could, stepping over piles of clothes, cd's and books as he thought aloud. "Well, for starters, my family has a pretty secure place...."
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Leap of Faith, Part One: Out of the Darkness