realmrsreynolds | Offworld shenanigans.

Offworld shenanigans.

Sometimes, the bar at the end of the universe - of all universes - doesn't give you quite the selection as the myriad of worlds that you can have access to when you are that bar's Barman.

"Are you sure that this is gonna work, Mike?"

Sallie is standing in Mike's suite, staring at the wall in front of them both like it's about to open up and swallow her. Which, in this case --

"Of course it will. And it'd be an easier way to stay subtle than going out the main door, if subtle's what you're still going for."

"You know it is. Your ba's such an awful man to shop for. It'd be nice to get him a little surprise." Been living together. I like shopping for folk is all.

Mike smiles, and draws the door.

Sallie's not precisely sure if Mike sent her to his New York or not, but it's close enough to the one that Sallie has visited that she doesn't look wholly out of place. (She doesn't yell at the fare machines in the subway this time either.) There is a fair amount of time spent in Williams Sonoma, but she does finally admit to herself that that store is more about herself than for Splinter, so she leaves and ends up finding a couple shops in Rockefeller Plaza that could prove fruitful. She even applauds her own forethought at bringing a charmed shopping bag, so she doesn't have to struggle with a million packages walking around the city.

It's time to hit the subway again, not wanting to walk the dozen or so blocks to her next destination, when she notices two men walk into the Cole Haan shoe store before she makes it to the door to leave. She sees the outline of the guns in their waistbands before the security guard does.

Oh gorram.

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They eventually said no to the restroom visit, which led to a fair amount of griping. At least Sallie served as a distraction for the other customers.

That being said, sitting this still in one place was starting to make Sallie want to get up and do jumping jacks - anything to move, and especially move away from anyone with a weapon.

"I'm not dying today, Len."

Good? We don't want to either!

This would be an entirely different tale were it night time, he told himself. If the Sun were down, if it were dark...

No, he's going to need help. Someone far more comfortable with large numbers of people. His first reaction is to go and fetch Michaelangelo, but he knows that both he and Sallie cannot be out of Milliways at the same time.

But, there is another...

Quickly he fumbles for the chalk in his pocket, drawing another door on the brick wall of the alleyway. It's much quieter where he's headed next...

It's quiet in the backroom of the store, until it's most certainly the opposite of that.

"What the fu--"

"Go find out, Jace -- "

Lenny stays in the room, getting more and more panicked, while Jace disappears into the back room.

To a very short and intense burst of gunfire, and several heavy thumps.

All goes still, and worst of all quiet.

"Jace? Jace, man..." Lenny starts to pace. "C'mon man, Jace."

Silence from the back room ... until...

The door swings open and a very large, angry looking bald white man comes striding through. He's dressed as though he's just come from some sort of Renaissance festival, and behind him he drags the still form of Jace.

"This belong to you?" His voice is all Bronx, with a slight touch of BBC.

"No, no, no, you don't take another step -- " Lenny's pointing a gun straight at Raph's chest, and meanwhile in the chaos of it, Sallie's brain does nothing but Raph's here Splinter's here too on a frantic loop.

Not that she has moved an inch from her position, but she knows that Raph has seen her by now.

"No. I already got tagged once today, thanks."
And he has. There's a tear on the sleeve of his shirt where a bullet had grazed his arm. Flesh wound, but it's enough to make him less cordial than he's already got a history of being.

"Lower it, or I'm gonna beat you to death wit' your friend here."

While Raph keeps all eyes trained on himself, Splinter sneaks from the backroom to as close as the shadows will allow him to get to Sallie.

That's about 5 feet away from Sallie's left arm. She gasps but does not reveal anything else.

She doesn't like the risk they're taking.

She loves it anyway.

Sallie sticks her left hand out at her side.

For a brief moment Splinter's hand is in hers, and then it's replaced by what feels like, but is too light to be, an egg.

Smokebomb

Just in case Raph can't diffuse the situation his own way.

"I'm gonna give you until the count of three to drop the gun."

"Or what?" Lenny all but yells, the muzzle of the gun vibrating slightly as the man shakes.

"Or I'm gonna take it from you, and break your wrist while I do it."

"You're bluffing!"

"One."

"You. You stay right where you are."

"Two."

"I'm warning you."

Raph doesn't get to three, though in his defense he never really intended to. He moves far faster than a man his size should be able to. Jase drops to the floor with a sound not unlike an apple hitting a brick wall. Raph darts forward, one hand to block, the other reaches behind his back for the sai slung from his belt.

Lenny's wrist never stood a chance.

Everyone else in the room is screaming - Lenny the loudest of all.

Sallie just looks surprised. It's...she's never really seen any of them hurt someone. Not really. (Not physically, anyway.)

She actually turns to try and see Splinter now. How do we get out of this one?

Splinter just sighs at Raphael's antics. While he will fully admit that as diversion tactics go, this was a good one, but at the cost of efficiency. Sloppy. Just sloppy.

"this way," he says quietly, his voice beckoning Sallie into the shadow.

"I did try to warn you," Raph says evenly as he pins the man to the floor and begins an attempt to field strip the gun.

"Down - put the gun down!"

At least ten officers, more, continue pouring in the front door.

Sallie's moving towards Splinter's voice, but Raph's in the center of everything. Sallie can't leave him --

For a second there Raph doesn't realize they're talking to him, but it's kind of hard to miss that particular shade of blue. The fact that they're all wearing vests that read POLICE in bright white letters is a pretty good tip off too.

He looks up, makes eye-contact with the officer speaking, and then very slowly puts his hands up.

"Okay okay, let's just take it easy."

"move very slowly," Splinter tells Sallie, in a voice just barely above a whisper. "Do you have everything?"

"No!" she hisses back, "My bag from the bar, it's here somewhere -- "

It's probably not the best thing to leave in the world.

Splinter swears under his breath.

"Do you know where it might be?"

"They took all their loot into the manager's office in the back and came back out without it."

What Sallie doesn't know is that there's a window ajar in the office, leading to one of the pedestrian walkways.

"Well then, let us find this manager's office, and as quickly and silently as possible. Come."

"But -- " Raph!

It's almost as if he can read her mind.

"Can handle himself, we need to move."

And with all eyes trained on the hulk of a man in the center of the room, it's easy enough for Sallie and Splinter to slip away.

The door to the manager's office is closed when they reach it. Sallie, in one of her wiser moves, lets Splinter stay in front of her the whole time.

Splinter looks and listens behind them before giving the door to the office a close inspection. Kicking it down is always an option, but it's a last resort given how much noise that would make. And while he knows he could likely get out in time before they're discovered, he doesn't know if Sallie is up to that particular challenge.

But...there's a lock on the outside. That's promising.
He reaches up one of his sleeves and retrieves a lock pick set, and quickly sets to work picking apart the tumblers.

Meanwhile in the back ground there's the low timber of Raph's voice trying to talk reason to the heavily armed men currently holding him at gun point. Then there's the higher pitched sounds of the police being taken by surprise. Perhaps a further gunshot or two.

Sallie mumbling a monotone string of Chinese curses while Splinter is working.

She's really trying not to get in the way, but she may be clutching at Splinter's shirt more than truly necessary.

If only he had his tail, he could continue to pick the lock and have an extra free hand with which to give Sallie a reassuring pat on the hand.
Alas.

A satisfying click comes from the door handle as the lock springs open. Splinter deftly pivots through the door, pulling Sallie along with him.

The next click is a little less subtle than the lock giving way.
It comes from the hammer on a handgun being cocked by the one remaining robber still left inside that had until now been unaccounted for.

"Don't scream," the man warns.

"...Okay. Okay." It is a hoarse response but very quiet indeed.

"We just want to leave. That's all."

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