To Serve and Protect

Summary
Leonardo has been shot and is hiding in an alley as armed SWAT officers bear down on him. Considering all the times he’s been trapped between criminals and cops, Leo decides now is an ideal time to tell you a story…

Sleeping, Lt. Gordon Miller of the NYPD recalls an event called “the Massacre” during the City at War crisis when his arm was scarred by a vial of acid hurled at him by a Foot Elite. Miller is woken in the dark hours of the night to report to a crime scene where the corpses of more Foot Soldiers have been found. Once there, Miller meets with Officer Whitmire who shows him the bodies, as well as traces of a strange substance near a manhole cover. In a dumpster, they find a surviving Foot Soldier and decide to take him to the old 5th Precinct building (which is nearly empty due to a scheduled department move) for questioning.

On the ride there, Miller recalls another event he endured during the City at War, where he was rescued from a Foot Soldier’s blade by a strange creature armed with sais.

In the interrogation room, they call in Officer Lin to translate the Foot Soldier’s Japanese. The ninja merely mocks her and then, in English, decides to tell Miller everything about the death of Oroku Saki and the Foot civil war between Karai's Japanese branch and the remaining Shredder loyalists in New York. Lin excuses herself while Whitmire gets a call from the lab. The strange substance by the manhole cover was carapace – turtle shell.

Suddenly, the power in the precinct goes out and all cell-phone reception is inexplicably jammed. The handful of officers in the building convene and then return to the interrogation room, only to find their prisoner has been murdered. The sprinklers then go off and as the officers rush into the hallway a Foot Soldier opens fire on them with a machinegun. Whitmire is winged while all the other officers are killed, though Miller takes the ninja out with his gun. Miller and Whitmire work their way through the Precinct, only to find more of their men murdered. Suddenly, several Foot Soldiers separate them and gang up on Miller. Miller runs out of bullets and things look grim until Leonardo (disguised in a hoody, scarf and cargo pants) rescues him. In the hall, Raph (similarly disguised) rescues Whitmire from his assasins.

Miller wants answers, but Leo insists they haven’t the time; a bomb just went off and, according to Mikey (who radios them from the roof) the Precinct is on fire. They meet up with Mikey and attempt to escape through the front, only to be driven back inside by sniper fire. Without warning, a Foot Elite attacks and Leo fends him off while Mikey and Raph lead the cops to a window. They escape into a parking structure, only to find more Foot Soldiers being led by… Lin!? Apparently, she is with the remaining Shredder loyalists from the Foot civil war. She’s been working undercover in the NYPD for years and now that Miller and Whitmire know too much, they must die.

Mikey and Raph take on the Foot Soldiers and Leo continues his fight with the Foot Elite into the parking structure. Miller borrows Whitmire’s gun and does his part. He sees the Foot Elite pulling out a vial of acid, and suddenly realizing it was the same Foot Elite who scarred him during “the Massacre”, shoots the vile in his hand. The acid kills the Foot Elite while the splash nails Lin’s face, disfiguring her. Lin and the Foot escape while Mikey insists that he and his brothers ought to disappear. Miller still wants answers, though, and Leo tells him to meet him alone at the ruins of the 2nd Time Around shop.

At the shop, Miller and Leo have their pow-wow. Leo gives Miller a cliff’s notes version of the Turtles’ history with the Foot and cause of the recent City at War. Miller believes the Foot’s infiltration of the NYPD may run deep, but promises to investigate and keep the police off of the Turtles’ backs while he’s at it. He and Leo then shake hands and part ways.

Trivia

 * Raph references, “Donny ‘n Splinter are still up north,” which is where they were left at the end of TMNT (Vol. 1). However, according to author Tristan Jones, this storyline takes place after TMNT (Vol. 2), when Donatello had returned to New York with his brothers.  Don was just chillin’ in Northampton for the Hell of it. Of course, Leonardo later claims he hasn’t seen him for “nearly a year”, so… whoops?


 * This issue also included two bonus pages of sketches by artist Paul Harmon.