socalfunplaces Page 18
Page 18
Hawke yawned; there was one last party tonight.
He drove to the address Emily Chen had sent him—a popular jazz bar among young people located on the border of Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Hawke vaguely remembers this place; he's been here with his classmates.
The atmosphere here is ambiguous, the music is languid, but it's also close to a relatively chaotic area.
Hawke parked his car and had just reached the corner of the bar street when he saw Emily stagger out of a dimly lit back alley, her face full of terror, her carefully styled curly hair somewhat disheveled.
When she saw Hawke, it was like seeing a savior. She screamed and rushed towards him: "Hawk! Run! They...they have guns!"
Before the words were even finished, two burly, fierce-looking men emerged from the depths of the alley, brandishing gleaming handguns! One of them, a bald, tattooed man, cursed viciously, "Bitch! You dared to peek at the transaction! You're asking for it!"
Emily was terrified and clung tightly to Hawke's arm.
Hawke frowned and instantly shielded her behind him.
He moved with lightning speed. The instant the first drug dealer raised his gun and aimed, he shifted his body to the side, precisely grabbed the other's wrist, and twisted it sharply!
"Crack!" A sickening sound of bone breaking rang out, accompanied by a pig-like scream, and the pistol fell to the ground.
The second drug dealer was shocked and enraged, and immediately raised his gun and fired!
boom!boom!
Hawke and Emily dodged slightly, bullets hitting the walls and trash cans, sparks flying!
He then pushed Emily behind an abandoned car and was considering how to handle the situation discreetly!
"Wow—click—!!!"
Several powerful and strangely accented roars came from the direction of the fire escape and manhole cover above the alley!
Immediately afterwards, four enormous figures, draped in tattered cloaks, descended from the sky like cannonballs!
Their movements were incredibly swift, carrying with them a... uniquely damp smell of the sewers and a faint... cheese aroma...
The leader, the tallest and most muscular, wore a red eyepatch and wielded a katana in each hand. His movements were powerful, and he roared, "Hey! You scum! How dare you cause trouble on Raphael's turf?!"
Before he finished speaking, his twin knives flashed like lightning, instantly knocking away the second drug dealer's pistol. He then delivered an elbow strike that slammed the dealer against the wall, knocking him unconscious.
The other, wearing a purple blindfold and wielding a long wooden staff, moved with the most graceful and agile movements. His staff danced so tightly that it was impenetrable, easily blocking Hawke's counterattack after he had previously knocked down the drug dealer. With a precise pressure point strike, Hawke subdued him: "Use stillness to control movement, brother! Don't scare the civilians!"
The third one, wearing an orange blindfold, was the most lively, wielding nunchucks and excitedly shouting, "Kawabonga! Guys! Let's fight!"
He used dazzling nunchucks to trip and disarm another drug dealer who was trying to escape, his movements fluid and graceful.
The last one, wearing a blue eye patch and exuding a calm demeanor, wielded a katana. He didn't directly participate in the battle but instead vigilantly scanned the alleyway entrance, guarding the rear, and calmly commanded: "Michelangelo, control your strength! Leonardo, watch your right! Raphael... don't be too impulsive! There are still civilians present!"
These four giant humanoid turtles! Their movements were as swift as lightning, their teamwork seamless. In just a few breaths, they took down all the armed drug dealers who had chased after them, knocking them unconscious. Their movements were clean and efficient, full of power and a... bizarre street style.
32. The female reporter in the sewer [Seeking flowers]
Emily stared in horror at the four giant turtle warriors that had descended from the sky, her mouth agape, unable to utter a word. She quickly ran from behind the car to Hawke's side and grabbed his arm tightly.
Hawke's face did not show Emily's fear; instead, it held a hint of amusement and scrutiny.
Ever since he learned about the Big Foot Gang in New York and a man named Schreid, he knew that somewhere in the city’s underground sewers, there lived four little turtles.
He looked at the red-eyed, hot-tempered giant tortoise who was in charge: "Raphael?"
Raphael, the giant tortoise with the red eye patch, sheathed his katana, snorted heavily, and replied in a gruff voice, "You've got some sense, kid! You know my name!"
He glanced at the unconscious drug dealers on the ground and the Big Foot Gang's insignia; one of the dealers had the logo showing under his collar, and he spat in disgust.
"It's those Big Foot Gang trash again! They're getting more and more arrogant lately!"
At this moment, the most composed of the blue-eyed giant turtles—Leonardo—walked over. He sheathed his katana, nodded to Hawke, and said in a relatively gentle and polite manner, "We are the...guardians of this city. You can call us...uh..."
He seemed to be carefully choosing his words.
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!" Michelangelo, the orange-eyed turtle wielding nunchucks, excitedly answered, even striking a Bruce Lee-style signature pose.
Donatello, the purple-eyed turtle holding a long stick, pushed up his non-existent glasses and added, "Technically speaking, we are mutants..."
“Hey! Doni! Get to the point!” Raphael interrupted him impatiently.
Leonardo shook his head helplessly and said to Hawke, "Don't mind my brothers. We noticed you're very skilled, and... you're special."
His blue eyes lingered on Hawke for a moment, as if pondering how he dodged the bullets, and he said, "We do need a reliable human to assist with something."
Hawke raised an eyebrow: "Oh? You can tell I'm reliable at a glance?"
To describe this matter, we need four people—no, the brains of the four turtles—Donatello, the one with the purple eyepatch, to explain.
"Hawk Lane, you are the superhero of Brooklyn—the King!"
Emily, who was clinging tightly to Hawke's arm, stared wide-eyed at Hawke beside her in disbelief, her face full of astonishment.
“When the king first appeared, we began to secretly investigate his true identity. Three years of investigation could not have yielded nothing, especially two months ago when you were assassinated. Since then, the king has gone into seclusion, and I had a general idea of what was going on.”
Donatello stroked his non-existent beard and said definitively, "Plus your ability to dodge bullets just now, the result is obvious."
Hawke looked at the four turtles with surprise, neither confirming nor denying, and asked in return, "So what do you need?"
Leonardo pointed to the deep sewer entrance: "We've taken in a lady at our base these past couple of days. She's unconscious and appears to have been attacked while tracking clues about the Foot Gang and the Hand. We think she needs someone safe and familiar with the surface world to take care of and help her. We... can't be out in the open for too long."
His tone carried a hint of worry.
Hawke's heart skipped a beat: "Who is this lady?"
"She said her name was April O'Neill."
Donatello chimed in, "She's a journalist. She has some...not-so-good photos on her camera."
April O'Neill? The female reporter who tracks down gangs?
Hawke instantly understood why these turtles were looking for him.
His status as a Columbia University graduate, the eldest son of the Ryan Group, and even... "King" makes him a suitable candidate to handle such thorny individuals.
The coincidence was almost deliberate, as if fate had simply thrown the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles storyline right in front of him.
Hawke glanced at Emily, who was still shaken and furtively eyeing the four giant tortoises, then looked at the deep sewer entrance and nodded to Leonardo:
"Lead the way. I'll go see this female reporter."
Led by Leonardo, Hawke, along with a shaken but incredibly curious Emily, bent down and crawled into the sewer entrance that smelled damp and faintly of cheese.
The passageway was wider than I expected, but the environment was far from comfortable.
Emily gripped his arm tightly, her carefully chosen high heels for the meeting with Hawke faltering on the slippery concrete, her eyes filled with doubt: "Hawk, are you really the 'King'?"
Hawke turned his head, pursed his lips, remained silent for two seconds, and then nodded.
"Wow!" Emily jumped up and down excitedly, causing the two balls to tremble violently, attracting Hawke's attention. "Hawk, tell me, how many people in our school do I know about this?"
Hawke quickly looked away, and seeing Emily's burning gaze, said helplessly, "Only you, my dear cheerleader captain."
"Yay! Yay! Yay!" Emily exclaimed excitedly.
After passing through several intersections, a relatively open space that has been transformed into a living area comes into view.
The room was cluttered with exercise equipment and old sofas, and the walls were covered with strange decorations and incomprehensible signs.
The most eye-catching thing is a makeshift bed built from discarded wooden planks and soft cushions.
A woman lay quietly on the bed.
Even in such a bizarre environment, she still radiated an undeniable brilliance.
Her long, dark chestnut hair was scattered on the pillow, her skin was a healthy wheat color, and her features were deep and striking, with a wild beauty that was extremely aggressive. She did indeed bear a striking resemblance to the actress Megan Fox from Hawke's past life memories—April O'Neill.
Her breathing was steady, and she appeared to be in a deep coma or asleep, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she were under some kind of pressure even unconsciously.
33 Big Foot Gang [Seeking flowers and favorites]
[The image shows April, actress Megan Fox. The left image is from her Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles days, and the right image is from her Transformers days.]
Donatello pointed to a digital camera with obvious impact marks on its casing on the bedside table: "This is her equipment, the photos inside... took some things. It feels important, and also dangerous."
Hawke stepped forward, his gaze landing on April's face.
Just then, as if sensing her gaze, April's thick eyelashes trembled a few times, she let out a muffled groan, and slowly opened her eyes.
Those brown eyes were initially filled with confusion and bewilderment, the pupils somewhat unfocused in the dim light.
She instinctively reached out to rub her eyes, but the movement aggravated a certain discomfort in her body, causing her to hiss in pain.
Her gaze swept aimlessly across the unfamiliar, graffiti-covered concrete ceiling and the massive pipes, finally settling on Hawke's face, who was standing close by, looking down at her.
The confusion quickly faded, replaced by a professional sharpness and an unbelievable sense of awe.
“You… Hawk Ryan?!” April’s voice was hoarse from just waking up, but unusually clear. “Hawk Ryan of the Ryan Corporation?!”
She struggled to sit up, the movement aggravating any possible injuries, causing her to grimace again, but her gaze remained fixed on Hawke's face like a nail, filled with a sense of inquiry.
Emily gasped softly to herself, instinctively shrinking further behind Hawke.
The four turtle-men exchanged glances. Raphael crossed his arms and snorted coldly, while Michelangelo curiously peeked out.
"It's me." Hawke said calmly, without denying it. As a reporter, it would be absurd if he didn't recognize himself.
"Ms. O'Neill? How are you feeling?"
However, April apparently put her physical discomfort aside for the time being.
The reporter's instincts instantly overwhelmed the fear and pain.
She ignored Hawke's question, her brown eyes sweeping over a hot girl behind Hawke like searchlights—wait, the Columbia University cheerleading captain, Emily Chan, who had been rumored to be dating Hawke Lane?
Then it suddenly turned to four enormous, humanoid tortoises wearing capes.
"My God...you...you really exist?!" she exclaimed, her face a mixture of shock, excitement, and the fervor of a major exclusive right before her eyes. "Urban legends...city guardians...my God! Am I dreaming?!"
Immediately afterwards, her gaze returned quickly to Hawke, and questions rained down on him like a machine gun, her train of thought leaping around in astonishing leaps:
“Mr. Hawke Lane! Why are you with them? Where is this? A sewer base? What is your relationship with them? Are you their ground contact? Or… wait!”
She suddenly remembered what had happened before she lost consciousness, her pupils contracted sharply, and her tone became urgent, "The Foot Gang! And the Hand! They... they're doing a huge deal in the docks! I saw strange markings on the boxes they were carrying! Like some kind of biochemical symbol! I took a picture! My camera..."
She struggled to find the camera again, completely disregarding her physical condition, her professional habits kicking in.
“Ms. O’Neill!” Hawke’s voice was lower, carrying an unquestionable sense of authority, which instantly made the chattering April pause.