I do not own Heroes. Any mistakes in timeline, characterization, etc. are solely mine. Anyway, hope you all enjoy it! Please R&R!!!
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"This is your brilliant plan? To get some lunatic who thinks she can--,"
"She is not a lunatic, Noah. I am perfectly capable of assigning this to someone else if you are—less than comfortable with working with someone of her caliber," Angela posited gently.
A muscle flexed in Noah's jaw. He grimaced and downed the rest of his scotch. He crossed the floor, stopped near the window and stared out into the dark, cool night.
"When do we begin?" he told her.
"Very well. We will collect her in the morning," he could almost feel her smiling as she continued, "I am glad we have you on board Noah. Your skills in these matters are—beyond reproach."
That was the closest he'd ever gotten to a compliment from Angela Petrelli. She expected perfection, basked in it, hell, she'd probably invented it. She often displayed a singular determination to reach a goal. He'd simultaneously loathed and admired her for it. Some would say she and he were kindred spirits. They were both only looking for the hard line, and uncaring about how to get there. Noah liked to think his motivations were somehow different from hers, that they were altruistic and unselfish, but it bothered him some days when that inkling suspicion told him otherwise.
"What about the girl in Montana and the old man in Oregon? Sylar is sure to come for them soon. Tomorrow morning may be too late."
Angela took a leisurely sip of her wine. She placed her glass atop the regal table and inclined her perfectly coiffed head. "Ah, there is that."
"We're just going to stand by and let him commit murder?"
"Noah, in war, there are always unpleasant casualties. Though, it breaks my heart to say, this--," Noah seriously doubted that it did, "But we have to concentrate on the bigger picture."
"The bigger picture," Noah scoffed, "I can't stand idly by and let him kill some innocent--,"
"Noah," Angela interrupted, "What do you think Sylar would do if he found that Claire's powers have evolved? That she is more special than anyone could ever have hoped?"
Noah remained silent, his face shadowed by pain and fear.
"He would dissect her as if she were no more than a science project specimen. Though she would survive, I would hardly think she would be the same Claire that we all know and love."
She took another sip of her wine and continued as if she were doing no more than discussing the weather, "Believe me Noah, I do not like having the deaths of any innocents on my conscience, such thoughts have often left me restless many nights."
Noah assessed her coolly. She certainly didn't look as if she'd suffered any sleepless nights. Her skin and eyes were bright and luminous and her make-up was understated and flawless. She looked and smelled expensive and pampered. He could hardly imagine her waking up in a cold sweat, dreaming of the agonized cries of Sylar's victims. Victims he could have saved, people he could have helped, if he had just been one step ahead….
"Now, Noah, I suggest you go home. Tomorrow will be an exercise in tedium, and I am sure your wife would love to see you more than once this week."
It was a subtle barb, tinier than a baby's fist, but one he'd easily recognized. She hadn't missed the strained phone calls, how he had spent more and more nights at the office, and even how Claire gazed at him with desperate, angry eyes.
Without another word, he collected his jacket and stepped out into the brightly lit hallway. He paused for a moment as he closed the door, contemplated rushing back in and telling her he couldn't do it anymore, that he couldn't continue to be a pawn in this company's game. But instead, he continued traipsing down the hall, trying to wipe his mind clean and think only of the assignment ahead.
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The smell of rhododendrons and chrysanthemums hung in the air, wrapping their cloying scents about her like an errant lover. She breathed in deeply, her eyes closed for a moment in contemplative silence before she continued on to the back door. Her footsteps echoed on the tile and her cat, Bast, came bounding from her resting place, her meows a pleasing sound to her owner's tired ears.
She reached down and scratched her cat's furry head. Bast purred with pleasure and she smiled. "Oh, did you miss me?," she asked before rising and grabbing a can of cat food from the cupboard. She quickly deposited the contents in a dish and Bast lapped up the food greedily.
She turned, and for a moment, she thought she had imagined it, thought it was simply her mind playing tricks on her, but as she strained to listen, she stopped by the counter and tapped her fingers in a simplified polyrhythm. After a small moment, she stopped and looked at Bast, who now sat in front of her expectantly.
"Bast," she said with a calm she did not feel, "It looks as if we'll have visitors."
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She lived in a rustic cabin on the edge of the wilderness. How anyone could live in such a vast and untamed environment was beyond Noah's reasoning. He enjoyed the calm and concentrated planning of the urban milieu. The press of humanity, the rush of their breaths and hearts as they went about their daily routines filled Noah with a sort of warmth, a feeling of being among them, related to them, not alone. Here in the solitude of the trees, the underbrush and the rustle of foraging creatures, one could not help but to feel alone and unguided, pushed into chaos. He shook his head as if to clear it of such thoughts and looked at his partner.
Erin Taylor was new to the company. She had the look of one who was eager and expectant, the zeal of life not yet replaced by cynicism and pessimism.
He parked the car in the makeshift drive and told her, "You ready?"
Erin nodded, and she replied, "The vans will be waiting, if our—subject does not come willingly."
He gave her a curt nod, placed the car in parked and got out. Erin quickly followed and as they came up to the front door of the house, the door opened and a woman stepped forward.
The first thing that Noah noticed was that she was breathtakingly beautiful. Her features were delicate and exotic; her brown skin was smooth and flawless and her slender frame was enveloped fetchingly in a pair of hip huggers and a tank top. He then noticed that she pulled a bag from behind her and reached down to place a cat carrier on the porch. Erin looked over at Noah with consternation and he shrugged.
They continued to approach until they reached the porch.
"I've been expecting you," the woman said and closed the door behind her.
"That's funny," Noah told her, "Because I was under the impression that we were expecting you."
The woman smiled and a set of dimples peeked out from each cheek.
"My mother often says that life always brings us what we least expect,"
Noah furrowed his brow in puzzlement. "Your--mother is still alive?"
"No, she's not," the woman said as she grabbed her bag and the carrier and began to make her way down the stairs, "But it has never stopped her from voicing an opinion."
Erin shot Noah a look, and he turned to watch as the strange woman made her way to the car.
"Coming?" she called out to them and Noah and Erin followed her to the car, their heads buzzing with confusion.
The woman was staring out of the window, a pair of headphones lodged in her ears.
"Who is she?" Erin whispered to Noah and he sighed.
"Persephone Danvers."
"What's her ability?" Erin asked and shot a quick glance to the back seat before glancing back at Noah.
"That's the thing. She doesn't have one."
"What?!" Erin gasped. "Then what the hell are we out here for? Why did I schedule two vans and a former military squad leader? So we can baby-sit some normal?"
Noah choked down a laugh. The irony was not lost on him that he was partnered up with a girl with an ability to find others who had abilities.
"I'm sure Ms. Petrelli has her reasons Erin,"
Erin scowled and rolled her eyes. She turned her attention to the scenery passing outside the car window.
They rode in silence for a while; the only sound was the cat meowing softly from its cage.
Erin turned around and frowned, "And what's with the cat anyway?"
Noah shrugged and continued concentrating on the road. He was as curious as she was, but he had learned a long time ago that though curiosity was virtue, eagerness was a sin. He'd learn all he needed to know in due time.
They arrived at the facility two hours later. Erin jumped out of the car as if they were wild beasts behind her. Noah shook his head and helped their newest addition collect her things.
"Please excuse Erin," he told her, "I'm sure it's just--,"
"Don't worry about it," she said and reached out for the cat carrier, "I'll take my cat if you don't mind."
They walked in tense silence into the corridor, up the elevator and finally into a room with a one-way mirror. Noah deposited her bag next to the chair. He then walked back to the door.
He turned before shutting the door. "I'll be back."
Persephone sat down in the chair and took in the drab room and cheap folding table before her. She reached down for the cat carrier, unlatched the gate and pulled Bast from the carrier. She gripped the cat in her arms and sighed.
"Well, Bast, we're definitely not in Kansas anymore," she intoned as she rubbed the cat's fur and the cat meowed softly.
Noah returned with two guards some moments later. He strode in, his pace quick and efficient. He pulled out the chair opposite Persephone's and was prepared to speak when Bast let out a howl.
The cat hissed at one of the guards, and in a blur of orange and white fur, shot out of Persephone's arms and straight at the guard's face. The guard let out a yelp, tore the cat from his face and was prepared to deliver a swift kick to the still hissing feline when Persephone yelled, "No! Don't!"
To Noah, it all seemed to happen in slow motion. Persephone held up her hand and shouted "Expuli Expulsum!"
The guard was thrown backwards and he lay dazed on the floor for a moment before standing and righting himself. The guard's face was livid with anger. His dark hair was smeared with black blood. Black blood? Noah wondered and watched as Persephone grabbed her cat and held her finger out to the man before her in one swift motion.
"Potentia di terra sanctus, expello le pravus, expello le malum!"
The air in the room seemed to grow thick and warm and the scratch on the guard's face bubbled and spit black blood. The guard howled in pain before disintegrating in a shower of ash.
Persephone looked down at the ring of ash that now rested upon the floor. "Wow. A fire demon," she said wonderingly, "Hmph. I haven't set eyes on one of those in years."
Too shocked to answer, Noah quickly exited the room and a few moments later found himself at Angela's door.