Chapter 12: Failure

"I'LL KILL 'IM!" Raph roared. "I'm gonna track his sorry ass down and kill him! Who the hell does this little bastard think he is?"

"Apparently he thinks he's supposed to be my boyfriend," Molly said as she gratefully accepted the hot cocoa Madison was handing her. Raph had been ranting since before she even walked in the door. Apparently the only thing that had stopped him from going down to the school and making good on his tirade was a strongly worded threat from Madison. One that he knew she would follow through on mercilessly. The issue seemed to only get worse when she removed her sweater and found finger print bruises covering her upper arms. Her ears were still ringing from all the shouting.

"Donny, can you find this guy's address?" Leo asked.

"Give me twenty minutes and I can have his whole history, right down to when he was first potty trained," Donny cracked his knuckles.

"Oh for the love of God you guys, give it up it's not that bad. Jack's been suspended and if it happens again they'll expel him," Molly said.

"Molly is right, the school has already taken action," Master Splinter said firmly. "If anything further happens we will notify the police."

"You enjoy taking away all of our fun don't you?" Raph grumbled.

"It is one of the small bright spots in my repetitive days, yes."

Molly and Madison sniggered behind their respective mugs at the sour look the others were giving Splinter.

"Look at it this way," Molly said, spooning more marshmallows in to her drink. "I get way worse bruises from sparing with any one of you, so really, this is absolutely nothing to be harping on."

A skeptical silence hung for a few moments but finally Mikey stepped forward.

"Dudette's right, you guys. Let's just let it go for now and deal with it if something else happens. Besides we have way more important things to worry about," he smiled and held up a cook book. "Like what kind of cake you want for your birthday."

"I like the sound of that," Molly smiled.

"I think I just saw a flying pig," Raph said.

"What?"

"How else would Mikey end up being the voice of reason?" he asked right before getting beamed in the face with s wet sponge.

...

Nick lay on his bedroom floor doing push-ups, trying to get the raw rage out of his system. All he could think about was Molly and Sarah and how he was going to keep them safe. He made a promise and if it killed him, he would keep that promise.

"Good to see you're finally doing something productive with your spare time."

Nick snarled under his breath and kept doing his push-ups, "What do you want?"

"I did some research on your little girlfriend," his uncle said, tossing a file in front of Nick. Nick snatched the file and jumped to his feet. "Interesting young lady, she is. I may have been mistaken about not forbidding you to grow closer to her."

"Where did you get all this?" Nick demaned as he flipped through page after page of information School report cards, medical records, family history, pictures, police reports… there was nothing not in this file.

"I've told you time and again, Nao, our reach knows no boundary."

Nick stopped on a page with a photograph clipped to it. A blond haired man with cold blue eyes stared back at him. Nick felt a chill run down his spine.

"You recognize him don't you?" his uncle smirked. "Not surprising. That, my dear boy is Jonathan Adam Miller, your sweetheart's father."

"This man is in prison for child molestation and attempted murder," Nick snapped. "My father put him there," he added with a smug smirk.

"And now, my father will get him out," his uncle smiled dangerously.

"You can't do that!"

"Oh but I can because you see there is something more about these children that I have learned that you did not tell me."

"Oh god… Please no… don't let him know PLEASE!" Nick screamed in his head.

"They live with our father's greatest enemies," he said and grabbed Nick by the back of the neck and pulled him close. "And you weren't going to tell me, were you?"

His uncle threw him to the ground and kicked him in the stomach, "You are just like her!" he shrieked. "You dare betray our clan! You dare betray everything we stand for and hold sacred!"

Nick garbed his uncle's foot and twisted it, throwing the man to the floor, slamming his own foot down on the man's face. He steadied himself as he stood up, "The only thing you stand for is greed and murder. The only thing you hold scared is cruelty! And I will not be a part of it!"

"Well I will tell you something, boy," his uncle snarled, getting up. "You will lead us to these freaks and finally bring honor back to our family's name!"

"There has never been honor in the Soudaka name!" Nick shouted. "There is nothing but blood and shame! And if I have to fight you to the death right here and right now to free my family from it I will! But I will not help you! I will not betray my parents and I will not be apart of anything that hurts Molly!"

"Oh I think you will cooperate," he said, wiping a little blood from his lip. "Because you see, when going into a negotiation, it helps to have some leverage." He reached into his pocket and threw a photograph at Nick. Nick caught it and his eye's shot open. Pure fury raged through him as he lunged at his uncle and slammed him against the wall.

"WHERE IS SHE!" he roared.

His uncle kneed him in the stomach and threw Nick onto his bed, "She's safe, for now, but cross me and she is forfeited," his uncle turned to go. "Now get some sleep, you'll need it. I have some work I need to get done."

Nick's door slammed shut and he heard it lock. He looked at the picture in his hand before crumbling it up and chucking it to the floor next to the file that had spilled open. Nick grabbed his bed side lamp and chucked it hard against the wall. It shattered on impact but destroying the lamp did little to sooth his fury. Nick hung his head in shame and let the angry tears flow. He had failed.

TBC

A/N: So I think I have come to conclusion that I am a horrible, horrible person and leaving a story untouched for over three years is unacceptable… even if the last three years have been taken up with school, marriage and babies... I hope some of you are still willing to read it after all this time because I intend to finish it by the end of the summer! Keep an eye out for the rest of the story! I loves you all!

~Chupip