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The brownstone Talia and Raph set their sights on was Italianate-styled, offering timeless architecture with large windows built for light-filled rooms and grand stoops. Nothing about it screamed 'drug laboratory' to Talia, but on the inside maybe. . .

Talia couldn't help but have second thoughts. She knew what she was getting herself into when she agreed with Raph's idea, but thinking about the drug laboratory and the fact the place was being run by a drug lord had her shivering. Maybe going in with just Raph wasn't a good idea after all. Maybe they should wait until they had more backup. . .

"Wait, Raph," Talia said when they were in the alleyway. Raph had just started using the fire escape to climb his way up. "I. . .I don't know about this. What if something happens? Your siblings aren't here to help us if anything goes sideways."

"You know why I couldn't drag them into this. They'd never allow it," Raph replied. "Don't tell me you're getting cold feet already."

"No! It's just. . ." Talia rubbed her arm, her voice quavering. ". . . what if we're getting too ahead of ourselves? It's like you said— something bad is happening inside that brownstone. I don't know if we're fully prepared."

Raph frowned. He jumped down and landed in front of Talia. Talia noticed how his irises rivaled the roughness and pigmentation of a jade stone when the dim light from the streetlight hit his eyes at a certain angle.

"This is the only link Donnie managed to find that went back to your mother," he stated. "And anything that's traced back to her could lead us in the direction of what she did for The Foot. We can't risk missing out on this information."

Raph understood Talia's concerns, but this lead was too important to not follow up on. If they went through with it, not only could Talia trace back her mother's movements, but also he could hopefully learn more about the elusive Foot— a clan he didn't even know existed until several weeks ago— and gather more intel about them. It was like Talia said— both were seen as prey under the same predator, so they should do anything they could to make sure the other didn't get eaten; a win-win scenario.

Talia registered his words, knowing he was right. She nodded. "Okay. I trust you."

'Trust' was a big word, especially since Talia didn't know Raph for very long, but she trusted him long enough to know he wouldn't do anything to put her safety at risk. He was trained by a master— he could do it.

What Talia and Raph first did was use the fire escape to get up to the rooftops. For Talia, it felt good to be on a rooftop; it allowed her to enjoy the fresh air and fully take in the beautiful night view that was New York City.

"Hey, Raph," Talia spoke, not forgetting what words she exchanged with Raph at school, "before we break in, I need you to tell me what you were going to say earlier today. What else did Donnie discover other than the ketamine and the drug laboratory?"

Raph spun his sai by the handle in one hand. He studied it like he was deciding what to stab with it first. "He managed to see what was on your mother's flash drive— a list of people your mother worked with— known and unknown."

Talia's lips twitched. She locked her gaze onto Raph and held it there for a good minute— which was the amount of time it took for her to realize. . . "You lied to me?" It came out as a question rather than a statement, like she couldn't believe it.

Raph couldn't look at Talia directly. "My dad laid out the rule: telling you anything we found relating to your mother and The Shredder is off-limits. And for good reason too— the Foot literally tried to kill you and April when they discovered you were on their tail."

When April voiced her suspicions the first time, Talia took them with a grain of salt. She really did give the Hamato family the benefit of the doubt. She thought, it's not like they would keep something as delicate like the situation with her mother and The Foot a secret, right? The day they found her mother's warehouse, Talia's doubts almost got the best of her. However, she still refused to consider the possibility that yes, the Hamato family did lie to her. And why would they? There was no reason to!

But hearing Raph confirm it made her feel like a chasm was forming inside her heart.

"I only want to know the truth, Raph," Talia said solemnly, sitting down on the cold cement. "Is that too much to ask? The truth? To want to know why this happened?"

Raph looked down at her. He could hear all her desperation and sadness warped tightly in her voice. The last time he heard someone sound just like that. . .

Behind Raph's mask, Talia wasn't able to tell what face he was making. However, the look in his eyes made her feel like he wanted to add something else, but for whatever reason, didn't.

After a long pause, Raph also sat down. He said, "It's not too much to ask, actually. Believe me, I know. The only conclusion I've been able to draw: life fucking sucks. One minute everything's good, and by the next it's all gone to hell. There's nothing you can do except to roll with the punches."

Talia was caught a little off guard by Raph's bitterness, but she knew his realism was spot-on. Was there anything anyone could do when these types of things happen? All there was left to do was ask God, why? Why did this have to happen? Why now? Nothing but endless questioning.

"About the names— what do you mean by 'known and unknown'?" Talia inquired.

"Half of the names belong to some of the wealthiest and influential businesspeople scattered all over the globe," Raph informed. "The other half are aliases, so good luck figuring out their real identities. But every name on that list has something in common: they work or have worked for Shredder— indirectly or directly."

"So then how did my mother come to know them?"

"We're not really sure on that. For all the aliases, we think they're assigned to criminals— criminals whose existence is unknown to the world. Not even the most skilled of agencies are aware they exist."

Talia stared out into the night sky. Before Raph said anything, she thought Shredder was the only criminal her mother knew and did business with. But here was Raph telling her otherwise. Just what caused her mother to get out of bed and start associating with criminals? Who or what made her seduce trouble? Who or what sullied her character and reputation?

"What else did you find besides the list?" she asked.

"Well—" Raph started, but then a noise interrupted him. His suddenly got up to his feet. "Did you hear that?" he asked in a whisper.

"Hear what?"

Raph turned his head in every direction, but he didn't see anything or anyone. His hands slowly crept towards his sai. To others, hearing some minuscule noise wasn't such a big deal, but to Raph it was. Knowing what— or rather, who was somewhere out there, letting his guard down was an error he couldn't afford.

He scoured the rooftop until he couldn't look anymore. Somebody was watching him, he was sure of it. The concern on Talia's face increased, which just gave him more of a reason not to lower his weapon.

That's when the noise returned— like something heavy landed on a metal surface. Raph zeroed his vision in the opposite direction, suddenly coming up with an idea.

"So," he said loudly, sauntering over to Talia, "now that we're alone and no one will disturb us, we should pick up where we left off, right?" When Talia looked at him weirdly, he mouthed, 'just play along for now.'

Talia quickly caught on what Raph was trying to do. "Oh, um, yes!" Talia said. "But aren't you worried we'll be caught? Why couldn't we have gone to your house? Or a hotel? You said we had to keep this a secret!"

"I know I said that, but every time I'm with you, it's hard to resist the urge to tell everyone we're together! I don't even care if my father doesn't approve!" Raph cringed internally from saying the words that some lovesick teenager would say, but that's exactly what he had to sound like— a lovesick teenager.

"Like, I know you're the last person I should be with, but I have to blame you and your pretty face. You know I have a soft spot for green eyes. Speaking of your face, why don't you take off that mask? I can't enjoy you properly if you have it on."

Raph chuckled. "Before we move to the next level, I feel like we're missing something."

"What more could we possibly need? I'm tired of waiting."

"Oh, you know. . ." Raph reached for the long chain hooked behind his belt. He swung it like a lasso over the rooftop, and once feeling the chain wrap around something sturdy, yanked it back so whoever he caught was below at his feet. And as it turned out, the person was. . .

"April?" Raph uttered, shocked. Hearing her best friend's name, Talia went to go see for herself. Drats, she cursed silently. She should've known April wouldn't have let this go.

Indeed it was the redhead, wearing shades only spies would wear, leather gloves and a trench coat that looked two sizes too big. She also switched out her beanie for a fedora. She looked at Raph and then at Talia, saying next, "Thanks to you guys, I'm now slightly nauseated," she said.

"Did you follow me?" Talia questioned, still feeling shocked.

"Is that why you ditched me? So you could hang out with Raph?!" April sputtered, like she had just went through the worst betrayal of her life. "What does he have that I don't?!"

"Would you like me to make a list alphabetically or descending order of coolness?" Raph quipped. "Also, what's with the costume? You know it's not Halloween yet, right?"

April tsk-tsked. "Costume my ass! This is my spy uniform! Since I knew I was probably going to do some spying tonight, I thought, 'why not dress like a spy?' You know, to fit with the vibe."

"Congratulations. All that's missing are your binoculars."

Ignoring Raph's dry humor, Talia didn't know how long April spied on her and Raph, but she knew her freckled friend at least heard the star-crossed-lovers-like play she and Raph put on. "It's not what you think, April. Honest." She smiled awkwardly.

April frowned. "Oh, it's exactly what I think it is. Not only were you guys hiding the nature of your relationship from me, but you were planning to turn this rooftop in a make-out room!"

"Yeah, cause rooftop make-outs are totally my thing," Raph said sarcastically. "I wasn't sure who was watching us, but one thing I do know: talks of intimacy make people very uncomfortable. I still don't know why you stuck around if you thought what was going to happen would happen."

"The more 'scandalous' something is, the more you want to keep watching." April shrugged. "Though, I don't understand why Talia would ever agree to go out with you." April glanced over at Talia. "Did he bribe you to go out with him?" She asked. "Or did some kind of bet take place?"

"Screw you, April." Raph rolled his eyes. "That's something you would resort to doing."

"Excuse you, I have a great personality. Hey, Taly, want to hear the story about how Mr. Incredible got blacklisted from the many girls he went on blind dates-"

Raph attempted to shush April. "I don't know what shit Casey told you, but that's not how it went down!"

"Oh, I think it's exactly how it went down. I don't think they could handle the 'beast' within you."

"Just like how your homecoming date bailed on you because he couldn't handle your 'beast?'"

April gasped, her voice lowering down to what almost sounded like a growl. "Oh, you did not just go there."

"Really? I think I did."

Before WWIII could erupt between Raph and April, Talia stepped in. "Alright, guys, that's enough. April," she addressed her friend, "Raph and I are most certainly not dating. Everything you heard was a ruse. Secondly, how did you even know where to find me?"

"Your behavior when you left the mall was sketchy as hell. I went to your place, where your dad told me you were already at mine for our sleepover, so that's when I knew you lied. Then, believe it or not, I got a feeling."

Talia knit her brows. "A feeling?"

"Yeah, kinda like unleashing a bloodhound to track someone's scent. It just. . . clicked."

Raph looked even more confused than Talia. "That doesn't even make any sense."

"I get these feelings a lot," April said. "How or why? I don't know."

"So that was you tailing us in that taxi?"

"Duh. I had to pay the driver double so I wouldn't lose you guys. But what I want to know: if you guys aren't here to get hormonal, then why come here to Brooklyn? Why's Raph in ninja mode? Why are you dressed like some super-fashion spy?" She pointed at Talia.

Talia chewed her lower lip. She didn't want to get April involved this time around for a number of reasons, but thanks to her curiosity, there was no point in trying to lie to her now. Besides, April had been involved with this issue between Genesis and The Foot since day one, so it was too late not to say anything. Might as well let April know.

With an exchange of looks, Talia and Raph came to an agreement. They took turns explaining to April— from the drug laboratory, to what was on Genesis's flash drive, everything. By the end of it, April was too stunned to speak. She didn't move an inch and the only 'movement' (if it can even be considered a movement) she did was look back and forth from Talia and Raph like a pendulum.

April held up a finger. "I knew it." She murmured, then it turned to an exclamation. "I fucking knew it!"