Bothersome, But Not Distracting
By GoldenGait
Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly never will be. The characters are just so fantastic I couldn't resist borrowing them for awhile. :-) I'll give them back in original condition, I promise.
Author's note: The agonizingly slow progression of this storyline is killing me, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and advance the plot a little. With no pressing story arc yet this season, we need Sylar back in the thick of things to stir up some trouble. (Although the end of 2x06 The Line brightened my spirits a little. Apocalypse Part Deux, here we come.) One or two Sylar scenes per episode totaling a measly four minutes just doesn't blow my skirt up. Please read and review, and if someone with better grammar than me would like to help by looking over the next part before I post it, I'd be forever grateful. :-) Rated T for now, might get grittier later...I'm not currently aware of where this is going.
This starts up at the end of 2x06 The Line….
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"Here, right here, this one." Sylar motioned to a run-down motel on the side of the highway. "Pull in here."
Maya pulled the car into the lot and parked far from the entrance, despite an almost total availability of spaces. She turned to look at her brother in the backseat, and then to Sylar. "How can we afford this? My brother and I have some American dollars, but it's not much." The red, sputtering VACANCY sign above them cast a strange hue over the car. "And we still have to go all the way to New York," she said with a worried tone.
"The police are going to find the men at the border and we need to be off the roads tonight," Sylar explained. "We can park the car under those trees at the end of the lot and start out again tomorrow morning. Besides, we could all use a break from this car, and I'm sure you'd like to sleep in a real bed tonight…?" Sylar raised his eyebrows innocently at Maya. "Right? I mean, we've been driving for days."
"Yes, but what about the money, Gabriel?" Maya asked, shooting a glance toward the front desk of the motel, barely visible through dusty windows.
"It's OK," Sylar said. After killing their original companion back in Mexico, Sylar had grabbed his wallet as well as his keys. Pulling it from his pocket now, he counted the bills and smiled. "I have money."
Exiting the car, Sylar and Maya walked toward the motel through the dark parking lot.
"Are you sure your brother is okay in the car?" Sylar asked with a look of earnestness, feigning concern.
"He'll be fine for a few minutes. He just needs to…. He worries about me."
"He should. You're family," Sylar answered.
Behind them, Alejandro watched anxiously from the back seat of the car. Sylar held the lobby door open for Maya, shooting a wicked smile back over her shoulder to her brother. Alone in the car, Alejandro gripped the seat in front of him, seething, his knuckles turning white with the effort.
The pair walked quietly to the front desk and waited. The attendant, intently watching an old black and white game show, ignored them. Sylar cleared his throat, and the man lazily spun his considerable bulk in his chair to look at them. "Can I help you?" he drawled, the greeting marred by the tone, which suggested just acknowledging their presence was a great imposition.
"Yes, we'd like—" Sylar paused and looked at Maya. "Sleeping arrangements?" he asked her. Maya gave him a look of non-understanding, and he smiled a practiced, innocent smile and went on, "How many rooms do we need?"
"Oh…" Maya paused, looking out at the car.
"Two? I don't think ladies in one room and gentlemen in the other would work, considering your brother's opinion of me. Do you two want to share a room, or…." Sylar waited, allowing his pause to pass for concern, "would you rather have your own?"
Maya turned back to Sylar with a quick, appreciative smile. "Yes, three rooms would be nice. I don't want to argue with him tonight."
They were given three rooms at the very end of the motel's sprawl. Sylar smiled at the location; it was dark, it was quiet, and there was a perfect expanse of brush and trees extending out behind the rooms. He didn't have a plan, per se, but was quietly elated to find he was excited about tonight. With no reason for the optimism, he felt calm and confident that things were happening just as they should.
The three travelers walked in silence to their rooms, Sylar stopping at the first door, claiming the room as his. He watched as Alejandro stropped at the second door, shooting a look of mistrust in Sylar's direction. Maya started for the door on the end, but turned halfway there and doubled back. She stopped and laid a hand on her brother's arm, speaking in a hushed but forceful tone. Sylar paused with key in hand and strained in futility to hear what was being said, despite knowing he wouldn't understand the language even if he had his powers. After a moment of argument, Alejandro shrugged off his sister's hand in anger and stalked to the farthest door. He shouted something Sylar didn't understand back over his shoulder, eliciting a frustrated sigh from his sister.
Maya turned an apologetic smile toward Sylar. "I apologize for my brother's behavior, Gabriel. I know you were sent to us for a reason. I'm very glad we found each other."
Sylar nodded, avoiding Maya's gaze as he unlocked his door and swung it open. As he stepped inside, he paused and turned back toward her, his face half hidden by the door jam. "Yes," he said, looking at her intently. "I think everything happens for a reason."
"Good night, Gabriel."
"Good night Maya… Sleep tight."
Sylar closed the door behind him with a soft click and turned to take in his accommodations. The motel room was like most—there was a dirty bathroom, a small set of table and chairs, and an uncomfortable looking bed. Two windows, one facing the parking lot and one looking back on the brush behind the motel, were covered in heavy, ugly curtains. He sighed and leaned back against the door.
A loud noise shattered the quiet of the room and Sylar doubled over in pain, falling to his knees. The torrent of noise wouldn't stop, and the volume seemed to be drilling into the sides of his head, it wouldn't stop, he couldn't move—
As suddenly as it had started, the noise stopped. Panting, Sylar pushed himself to his feet and looked around wildly for the source of the sound. Nothing. Had the other two heard it? His ears still ringing, Sylar lifted the edge of his curtains to look out across the parking lot. The blinking vacancy sign and part of their car were the only objects in view. As he turned to the other side of the room, intent on checking the other window, the curtains flew apart, untouched. With a start, Sylar stopped in his tracks. He stood, staring at the window and the blackness beyond. After a long moment, he lowered himself to sit on the edge of the bed and listened. He heard with perfect clarity the faucet in the room next to his turn on briefly, and off again. A glass clinked, and he heard footfalls, as perfectly as if he had been in Maya's room with her…
Sylar looked back at the curtains. Slowly, evenly, they slid closed, back into place. A sinful smile crept across Sylar's face, and two hand prints were singed into the bedspread as his hands began to glow…
"I think it's time I figured out exactly what you two can do," Sylar purred.
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With flawless patience, Sylar stared at the wall that adjoined his room to Maya's, and listened as she got ready for bed. He felt calm, powerful. Perfect. Special. And once he had this pair of abilities, no-one would ever be able to stand in his way again.
The boy would be first.
After almost an hour he heard Maya's light click off and she slid into bed with a quiet rustle of blankets. Sylar waited, motionless, for another fifteen minutes before he opened his door and slipped out onto the dark walkway. The night was warm, and the sound of insects was bothersome, but not distracting. He should have been impatient, he felt as if he'd been removed somehow, incomplete, for a lifetime. Instead, he almost relished his agonizingly slow walk down the open hallway, letting the need for power build. He crept past Maya's room, and when he didn't hear her stir, went on to her brother's door.
Sylar regarded the door as he arrived in front of it, wondering which tool he should use to gain entry. With one hand, he reached for the door handle, fingers extended. As he brushed the metal, it quivered and silently splashed to the ground, allowing Sylar to push open the door without a sound.
A powerful blow whipped Sylar's head to the side and a second to his stomach left him gasping on the motel room floor. He looked up as Alejandro swung the table leg a third time, but with a quick motion of his hand, stopped the weapon in mid-air. Alejandro's eyes widened as he tried in vain to regain control of the object.
"I'm impressed," Sylar said, catching his breath. "But I warned you," he whispered, easing to his feet, one palm toward Alejandro and the immobile weapon. "I told you exactly what I was going to do to you, and this little… display… is not going to stop me."
With a twitch of two fingers, the table leg flew back at Alejandro, sending him back against the wall, where he found he was stuck, unable to move, unable to speak, held by an invisible force…
"I knew you and your pretty sister found me for a reason," Sylar said, motioning the door closed. Alejandro tried to kick, tried to move, tried to breathe, as suddenly his neck was crushed, and Sylar advanced on him, reveling in the fear and rage in his prey's eyes.
Sylar closed his eyes and sighed, a slight smile dancing across his face, as if he were enjoying a symphony. "Your sister's next." Wanting to make sure his intentions were understood, he looked directly at Alejandro, and said clearly and condescendingly, "Ma-ya."
Alejandro's muscles screamed for control, infuriated at his inability to get to his sister, to kill this man, he had to protect her—
The insects outside continued to buzz; bothersome, but not distracting. "Let's see how this works…" Sylar whispered.
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:-)
GG
