Chapter 1: The Heist
“Not too loud,” Hun barked at the Purple Dragons that had accompanied him to the warehouse. “You are all getting too sloppy.” He was back where he belonged. Out on the street during a heist. He had forgotten how much he had enjoyed breaking into buildings and grabbing everything that wasn’t nailed down, working up a good sweat that poured down his muscular arms. The sound of his heart beating so loud he could hear and feel it in his ears.
He hadn’t been on a good heist in years, not since he turned the Purple Dragons around into a high syndicate. He would sit in his office and wait for his men and women to return. If they came back empty handed her would berate them and think of a suitable punishment for them. If they were successful he would hand them a bottle of wine and told them to smoke whatever they want and retreated back to his office for a glass of good scotch and to avoid the fumes of cannabis and the sugary incense like cent of pipe tobacco.
He preferred the stench of cigarettes even though he kept them out of his mouth. That was the only thing he allowed to be smoked while on the job. He can’t allow anyone to be relaxed while working. He wanted the smell of real tobacco and sweat, the metallic scent of blood and crowbars, chains and pipes.
His own sweat smelled foreign to him now. It was odd, not the scent of himself, not the scent of a human. Maybe this is one of the reasons why he left his fortress. He was no longer comfortable just sitting around, confined the posh comforts of his office. He was more animal than he was before and he needed to sate his craving to be out with his gang.
“Sorry boss,” A few of the Dragons said as they hauled a large crate towards one of the two large vans that were brought along.
Hun grunted. “We don’t want to alert anyone to use. We don’t want to face the police, or those accursed reptiles.” He nearly growled out the description of his enemy. Those freak punks had made his life a living hell since they first crossed paths. The had always thwarted his attempts to please his master, The Shredder in the past and after he had severed ties with that alien the turtles had still plagued him. They had even turned him into one of them through the use of a chemical called mutagen.
He stared at his hand. Once a normal pinkish hand ending in five sausage like fingers was now green with three fingers ending in sharp claws. His feet ended in only two toes, also tipped with sharp claws. His chest armor was broken and the purple cloth underneath to prevent chafing was torn. His once fit chest with six-pack abs and just enough hair to run his fingers through was replaced with the golden yellow under shell of a turtle. He had true carapace on his back.
He ran his fingers through what little hair head left. His hairline had thinned to that of a Mohawk and he had four short nubby horns on the top of his head. His hawk like nose was gone, replaced with the curved and short snout of turtle. The round fleshy part of his ears was gone, leaving just holes for him to hear out of. He could no longer wear any piercings. His normal teeth were replaced with razor sharp fangs. He still had his ponytail and his scars, though the reminder of a fierce rat has turned a darker shade of green. His purple dragon tattoo had also turned a deep shade of green. At least of what he and others can see of it. Sharp spikes had grown on his shoulders and elbows.
He had no idea what he was going to do when he did come across the path of his enemy again. He knew he would cause them great pain, perhaps he would toss a few around for a few minutes, slam them against the wall, stomp on them and then possibly rip their shells off their bodies. He itched for a good battle with them.
A part of his mind did tell him that he got some sort of revenge when he destroyed their home. Except those turtles and rodent will be able to find a new home. He will not be able to reclaim his humanity. They still deserve to pay for what they did.
Another part of his mind told him he should be thankful that the turtles saved their world and himself from being erased. That was worse than being killed. He had no idea if that Utrom scumbag was still alive. He used Hun to destroy everything and that seem worse than being mutated into a freak. If the true Shredder was still alive he would be added to the list of those who deserve his wrath.
“You don’t suppose this is going to turn you back, Boss?” Kenny asked. He wasn’t carrying anything and had his hands shoved into two of the many pockets he had covering his black jeans. Kenny loved wearing baggy clothes on his wiry frame. The guy kept his head shaved, save for two streaks of light brown hair that went down his skull.
“I don’t think it will.” Hun shook his head. “But this medical technology will benefit the Dragons.” He took a long sip from the Gatorade jug he carried with him. On heists he carried around the largest size. The ones that was a blockish shape and had a couple of handles.
“Thinking of having doc Westerly make a house call?” Kenny asked and rubbed his chin right at the tiny postage stamp size of fuzz he called a goatee.
“That is the plan,” Hun said. He had promised new members that the Purple Dragons had a great health plan, and that involved stealing the technology that was needed and kidnapping the doctors. Doctor Westerly was their preferred practitioner.
“For everyone or just yourself?” Kenny asked.
“Myself.” He hadn’t had a check up since his transformation. He wanted a full and thorough examination. He knew how much he had changed outside, but he had no idea how much he had changed inside. He also had a visit from Tiffy a couple of weeks before his transformation and he had to see if he hadn’t contracted any diseases down there. Although he wasn’t sure if his mutation would have eradicated any type of disease he may have had.
“Want me to check on the others?” Kenny asked as he fished around in a different pocket and pulled out one of the holographic communicators.
“I’ll take that,” he snatched it out of Kenny’s hand with great care as not to cause any damage to the communicator and with out scratching his henchman’s hand. He was always proud of having the strength to juice a coconut with his bare hands and yet able to snatch a fly from out of the air without harming the insect.
“Want me to do anything?” Kenny asked.
“Make yourself useful,” Hun said as he pressed the buttons. He was still getting used to his transformed hands. Typing on a computer was still difficult to him, making it a pain when he feels like playing Superquest. Damn turtles.
“Hey boss,” the holographic image of Raz appeared. She was his highest-ranking female member. She kept her spiky hairstyle dyed a raspberry color, hence where she got her name and preferred short shits that revealed her belly and her Purple Dragon tattoo. “We got everything. Good call on using two vans. We would have never been able to grab anything.”
“Good,” Hun said. “Return at once.” He could not risk his gang members to risk anything by taking their sweet time in leaving after a job was done, not with the cops and his enemies around.
“Will do,” Raz nodded. “Red leader out.”
Hun blinked at the end of the transmission. It was no secret that Raz was a major Star Wars fan. He was not going to question any geeky habits of his gang members, not when he himself enjoys role-playing games.
“Boss,” Two Ton’s image appeared in the projector screen. “Boss we got trouble, the green kind.”
Hun gritted his teeth. “Try to shake them off.” He would have loved to be at that location instead. He would be able mop the floor with those little freaks. He wanted to see the look of fear in their eyes and hoped he would see pitiful begging in them as well, begging for him to spare their lives before ended it.
He turned the communication off and stared at the sleek black screen. Something high above him on the opposite building reflected in it. He looked up and saw nothing. It was possibly a bird, or a cat, or a rat.
“Shit!” One of the dragons shouted seconds before the sound of gunfire was heard.
Hun looked up in time to see someone sailing through the air and landing on the ground. The man in question was dressed entirely in black and Hun knew he hasn’t seen him before. There was a tattoo of a black wing on his left cheek.
“Night Falcons,” Kenny shouted.
Hun heave heard of them. They were some new gang that cropped up in the Bronx in last few months and were growing. They were not a big concern to him. The Purple Dragons have butted with several upstart gangs before. They were either disbanded or absorbed into the Dragons once their leaders had been taken out.
Hun clenched his fists and licked his lips. This is something else had missed when he did not go out on the heists, the thrill of a good fight. These so called Night Falcons had no idea what they are up against. They did not count that the leader of the dragons would be with them, nor did they know that the leader was a large mutant turtle.
He let out a menacing growl and stepped out from the shadows.
The members of the rival gang froze when they got a good look at him. Their once fierce game faces were melted away. Their eyes were as wide as headlights and their jaws dropped. Several gasped while a few stepped back.
The Purple Dragons took advantage of their confusion and struck at once. Weapons were removed from their enemy’s hands with a swift kick. Fists were thrown and struck them in the face. Several Dragons grabbed onto crowbars and struck them down on nearest Falcon.
Hun swiped at one of the Night Falcons and grabbed him by the cuff of his jacket. He raised him high above his head and struck him down on the ground with enough force to shatter every bone in the punk’s body.
Another Falcon ran toward him with a pipe in hands. Hun grabbed the other pipe and shook of the Falcon. The punk did not even reach the ground before Hun swatted at him, sending the enemy to crash against the side of the building. The several cracks that were heard on impact were music to him.
“Gah,” the cry was heard behind him.
Hun turned around in time to see a woman strike the knife-wielding arm of another Falcon with what appeared to be a wooden cane. She then sent the man flying with a good kick in the jaw.
He turned back to the rest of the battle and came up to a Falcon that was fighting against Kenny. His henchman’s lip was bleeding and one of his arms was limp, but he did not stop fighting.
With a grunt, Hun swiped his claws against the Falcon’s chest, leaving three deep bloody gashes in the punk’s chest before Kenny delivered a good blow to his nose.
Hun looked around for another Night Falcon to kill. To his disappointment the rest were either unconscious or dead with a couple running away.
“Should we go after them, boss?” One of his bruised Dragons asked.
“Let them run,” Hun said as he surveyed the aftermath around him. Another smell he had missed, the stench of death. “They will have to live with their own cowardice.” He turned to where the woman with the cane was and wiped the blood of his claws onto the shirt of Falcon she had taken care of.
“What if they go blab to their leader?” Kenny asked.
“Let them,” Hun said as studied the body. The chest was still rising but that was not what he was looking for. He grinned when he found the knife the rival gang member was wielding. “Their leader will know now not to interfere with the Purple Dragons in the future.” He turned to the woman with the cane. “This is yours now.” He held out the knife towards her.
“Thank you sir,” the woman said. “But I do not use knives.”
“No knives?” Hun blinked as he studied her.
She seemed a bit on the tall side for a woman, but then again it was hard for him to determine other people’s height when he always towered over them. She had reddish brown hair that wasn’t quite shoulder length and blue-gray eyes that held no expression. The rest of her face was also at an impasse.
“That is correct.” She nodded.
“You can get by with that stick?” He pointed at her cane.
“This stick does well.” She held it up proudly. The top of it was adorned with a wood carving shaped like a trumpet.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you around,” Hun said before turning back to face his men. “Get everything loaded quickly and then climb aboard.” He turned back to her. “What do they call you?”
“I am Gabriella Himmlisch,” she said. “Gabby for short.”
The name still didn’t ring a bell. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled back the sleeves of her black cotton jacket to reveal unmarked flesh. He grabbed her head and studied her neck to see that there was no dragon their either. He yanked up the bottom of her shirt and stopped just short of her bust line to see if she had it on her stomach. He was surprised at how she took it all. She did not swat at his hand of step away. She barely even blinked.
“Where is your dragon?” He asked.
“My what?”
“Your Purple Dragon tattoo.” Hun stared at her pants. She could have it anywhere on her legs but he was not going to be able to pull up the cloth to see if she had it there. Like many women, Gabby seemed to be into the skinny jeans style. Those pants looked so tight it made his crotch hurt.
“I don’t have any.”
“You are not a Purple Dragon?” He scowled. His brain went through the possible reasons why she helped out. The most likely was that would want to join. “You have impressed me Gabby, but even though you have impressed me you are still going to have to go through the same initiation that all members go through.
“I am not here to join the Purple Dragons, Mr. Mason.”
Her response floored him. Nobody called him by his last name. He wasn’t even sure if any member of the Purple Dragons knew what his last name was.
“I am here to protect you,” she continued.
“Protect me?” He glared and bent down to stare into her eyes. “Do I look like I need protection?”
“Looks can be deceiving,” she said.
“I have had enough of this.” He grabbed her by the shoulders. “What game are you playing?”
Gabby did not flinch at the touch. “No game, just my assignment.”
“Who sent you?”
“I cannot reveal that information. I do know that you have a Judas in your gang.”
“A Judas?” He relaxed his grip. “Who is it?”
“I’m afraid I do not have that information at the time,” she said as she slipped from his claws. “All I know is someone will betray you and when you have a cake delivery to accept it.”
Cake delivery? Was that a riddle?
“Hey boss,” Kenny said. “Everything and everyone is loaded aboard.”
“I’ll join you in a sec,” Hun turned to face him. “I need to finish conducting some business here.” He turned back to face Gabby, but she was gone. “Where did she go?” He blinked and looked around. Great, that was the last thing he needed to have some oddball who thinks she can pose as his bodyguard and give him cryptic messages.
He turned on his feet and walked to one of the vans, ignoring Kenny and climbed aboard the van. They had to leave and return home where they will patch each other up, go over the various merchandise and then indulge on the booze.
-
Hun ignored the headache he was suffering as he paced in front of Two Ton and the other few gang members who avoided capture and arrest. They also left behind a lot of the stuff they had stolen, only returning home with what they were able to carry in their hands and pockets.
“Boss, let me explain,” Two Ton spoke after was seemed like hours of silence.
“No,” Hun held up a hand. “Do not blame your failure on the cops.”
“It wasn’t just them,” Two Ton added. “It was the turtles.”
Hun gritted his teeth. Just the mere mention of his enemies was enough to start the chainsaw in his brain. He had drunk a bit too much last night, only pausing to worry about how alcohol would affect his new anatomy for a few seconds before he slammed back another glass. Now he regretted it. He felt queasy, but not enough for him to throw up. His skin felt dry as paper and he had an never ending thirst. He had already chugged back a pitcher of ice water and still felt thirsty.
“Do not blame your failure on them.” Hun finally said.
“Why?” one of his goons asked. “You do it all the time.”
“Uh-oh,” Two Ton and the rest of the group stepped away from the loud mouth.
Hun reached over and grabbed the idiot by the shoulder, making sure the tips of his claws pierced through both his clothes and his flesh. “What was that?” He held up the man up until they could see each other eye to eye.
“We are the ones who always blame the turtles for our failures?”
“Good,” Hun dropped him. “Now for your punishment. I believe I have gone soft recently. Your punishment will be to have your smallest toe on your right foot cut off.” He nodded at Kenny and a few others who were standing at the back of the room with their arms folded across the chest.
Kenny nodded back and sent two of the group to lead the loud mouth away.
“And for the rest of you,” Hun said. “I want the rest of you to clean every bathroom in this building using only a toothbrush. Just be lucky I’m not ordering you to use your tongue’s this time.”
“Yes sir,” Two Ton said as he and others left the room.
“That will be all,” Hun ordered.
“You need anything else boss?” Kenny asked.
“Just more water,” Hun said as he sat down in his chair and rubbed his temples.
As soon as Kenny had left there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Hun instructed.
Raz stuck her head inside. “There’s some delivery girl outside with a cake.”
“A cake?” Hun blinked. He did not remember ordering any cake and he was not aware of any bakeries that delivered.
“She said that you would accept the cake,” Raz said and shrugged. “You want us to do a gentle escorting and keep the cake, or do you want us to throw her out and keep the cake.”
“I remember something about cake,” Hun said and closed his eyes. “Did you get a name of the bakery?”
“She said it was Gabby’s bakery”
“Gabby?” Hun’s eyelids sprung open. Now he remembered. That was that odd woman who said she was his bodyguard and told him to accept a cake delivery. “Send her in.”
Raz nodded and left.
A Dragon came into the office with the pitcher of water first and as he left a woman wearing a red jacket, baseball cap and carrying a box entered.
“My protector,” Hun said in a sarcastic manner before he brought the mouth of the pitcher to his own mouth and chugged back some water.
“You may want to switch that out with some milk,” Gabby said as she set down the box and removed her hat. “I know you don’t want my help, nor you believe that I can be any help.”
“It is obvious that you are not weak,” Hun said as he set the pitcher down. “You proved that to me last night.” He pulled on a drawer and removed a bottle of Excedrin. He used two of his thick fingers as he twisted open the cap, not an easy task with his new hands and popped in a couple of pills before taking another gulp of water.
“I understand we do not know each other,” Gabby said. “I work for an agency that helps people. We help the helpless and the hopeless and your name came up.”
“What moron thinks I’m helpless?” Hun asked. He stared at her. This woman did not step back or flinch. He had to admit he was pretty impressed that she was not the least bit afraid of his appearance. She had nerves of pure steel.
“I don’t think anyone thinks you are any of the above, but they believe your life is in danger and sent me to protect you.”
“You mentioned a Judas amongst the Dragons,” Hun said.
“I have a name,” Gabby said. “Medakans.”
“Medakans?” He had no idea who that was. “The name does not ring a bell.”
“It might not be a name the go by,” Gabby said. “It might be their real last name.”
“I will go through the roster,” Hun said as he opened the lid of the box. Inside was a chocolate cake covered in thick and creamy looking frosting. Just the scent was enough to cause him to salivate. “If I don’t see it I will force everyone to tell me their real names.”
“I will return when I have more information,” Gabby said as she opened the door. “You may not want it, but I will be watching over you, and not in a creepy way like that Police song.”
Hun scowled at the door as soon as she left. She was not properly dismissed. Then again she was not a Purple Dragon, but that was not the point. She can’t go waltzing in and out as freely as she chose.
“I’ll deal with her later.” He tore off of chunk. He still had to go over all the names to find this Medakans. He plopped the chunk into his mouth and chewed. Damn that was good. Next time he saw Gabby he was going to have to ask where she got this cake. Right now he was going to order someone to bring him some milk.