Selene prepares for her secret mission, while Sylar contemplates his place in the world, and what his plans have to do with his hostess.
I do not own Heroes. Only borrowing Sylar, who will be returned with his brain intact.
For want of a friend Part 2
While it was true that Sylar had a dreamless sleep, Selene was not so fortunate. As he lay next to her, he could hear low mewling noises coming from her. He tried entering her dream, but found he could not. As she starting thrashing in her sleep, Sylar held her tightly. "Selene, wake up, Selene," he murmured, not wanting to startle her.
She cried, trying to squirm out of Sylar's embrace. "No, please, don't...do it...."
Sylar just held her, whispering in her ear, "Shhh, shhh, it's ok."
Selene opened her eyes, but for a moment, did not see her bedroom, or feel Sylar beside her. But as quickly as she had parted from her world, she returned to it. "What......Sylar? Oh god."
He released her. "You were moaning and tossing around. I was afraid you'd hurt yourself. What's wrong, Selene?"
"Bad dream, I guess. I don't know. I don't usually have nightmares. I can't even remember the details. It was just bad. It felt...bad." She sat up, her hands running through her hair. She looked at the man next her, trying to read anything coming from him. Was he the cause of her dream?
Sylar tried to make Selene comfortable. His newfound interest in someone that didn't entail robbing them of their power and killing them surprised him. He settled next to her as she fell asleep, and rather quickly. He hadn't quite decided yet, if these emotions filling him were a good thing, or a bad and unwanted thing. Maybe he would decide later, when the job Selene had spoken of was done. He could take her car and head for DC on his own. He then realized he was thinking, and Selene could read thoughts. He searched her face for any indication that she knew what he'd been thinking. But she was fast asleep. He'd have to remember to be more careful.
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Selene had awakened before Sylar. She found the shirt he'd been soaking overnight, and checked for the bloodstains she knew had been there. They were gone. She squeezed out the excess water and tossed the shirt in the dryer. She then went about making breakfast. She hated working on an empty stomach.
Sylar smelled the aroma of bacon cooking. His stomach growled, forcing him to get up, despite himself. He found that he was enjoying having a comfortable place to be, without agents or anyone else chasing after him. He took a quick shower, but when he got out, he noticed his shirt was not in the sink. Slipping on his slacks, he went into the kitchen to find Selene preparing breakfast.
"Coffee is over there," she said, indicating the counter to her left. "I really hate going out on a job without a meal in my belly. Are you hungry?"
"I am now," he replied. "I think my power to make people do things involuntarily is insignificant to possessing a good sense of smell. You can't fight that. Hey, have you seen my shirt?"
"Yes, it's in the dryer. Should be dry by now." Selene placed two plates of food on the table.
Sylar went to the laundry room off the kitchen, pulled his still warm shirt out of the dryer, and put it on. The blood was gone, he noted.
He sat at the table with Selene. As they ate breakfast, she explained what they would be doing. She held up a map showing Sylar where the guards were posted around the complex. "There are usually guards here, here and here," she said, pointing at spots on the map. "Think you can handle them?"
A small grin appeared on Sylar's face. "I don't think I'll have a problem with that. Do you want them incapacitated, or merely dead?"
She looked unblinking at him. "I'll leave that to you. Have some fun. There are no good guys there."
"Why do you work for ...whomever it is, you're working for? It's not like you need the money." Sylar couldn't understand why any of their kind would work for someone else as a glorified thief. They were superior to ordinary humans.
"Maybe I enjoy the attention. Maybe I like having something to do. I'm not like you, Sylar, going around collecting other evolved humans' powers. I was born with all I need. Besides, I may not need the money, but I do like spending it. Let's finish reviewing the plan. Now, once we dispatch the guards, we'll need to get inside the main building, find the device and go."
"What is it we're looking for anyway?" Sylar asked.
"It's not important that you know," Selene replied.
Sylar didn't think he cared for her attitude. It wasn't like he was risking his life helping her, but he didn't appreciate being treated like a child either. He closed his fist tightly, holding in the frustration he suddenly felt.
"I don't think you're a child, Sylar. Alright, if you want to know. It's a...weapons detector, if you will. With it, no one will be able to hide the so-called weapons of mass destruction. The detector, which is a prototype, will reveal any hidden nuclear bombs and electromagnetic pulse weaponry, things like that, from thousands of miles away. No one country will be able to conceal their arsenals with this device in the right hands."
Sylar picked up the pen Selene had been writing with, closed his eyes for a second, then opened them. He grabbed her wrist tightly, glaring at her. He held the pen in his other hand, holding it inches from her face. "You're working for the CIA! You picked this up at their office in DC. Why did you kill those FBI agents, when you're working for the US government?"
Selene pulled her wrist from his hand. "Does it matter for whom I work? Why should you care? I killed those agents because they were chasing you, and because I owe allegiance to no one. I do what I want. We may live a very, very long time, Sylar. That's what our power gives us. That can mean a potentially boring existence. I like having fun. It doesn't matter what form it takes, as long as I enjoy doing it. So I hire myself out to government agencies, and they pretty much leave me alone. Of course, those agent killings could make it sticky, IF they knew who was responsible. But without any trace of the bodies....." She shrugged. "You can back out, if you like."
Sylar decided to stay. Selene might need his help, and he was feeling inclined to do so. Her working for the CIA didn't make him happy, but as she had said, he would look for ways to make this venture fun. He thought for a moment. Why did he need to have fun? Was killing fun? He killed for good reason, didn't he? So much power, what was he going to do with so much power? Why worry about it now. Just have fun, he told himself. Teasing Claire was fun. Playing Danko was fun. Life felt so empty to him at times. A future that stretched on for infinity. And he didn't want to be a nobody, because he knew he was special. Hadn't his mom told him that over and over, even after she was gone? So here he was, brimming with the power he had stolen from so many, yet he felt...
"What are you thinking?" Selene asked. She tried reaching into his mind, but found herself blocked. "You may not be able to read minds, but you can keep me from reading yours. I'm impressed." She quickly cleaned the kitchen and gathered a few things. "Sylar, do you have a license?"
He looked at her, confused. "License?" Why would she care if he had a license? Locking doors, needing a license? He had to laugh, it was so comical. Selene was an enigma to him, a contradiction of personality. "No, I don't have one. Is it necessary?"
Selene shrugged. "I'll let you drive anyway. Just be careful with my car, please."
"If something went wrong, you could just get a new one!" he said, holding his open hands in front of him. He didn't understand this woman. She could have anything she wanted, anything!
"Hey, I like this car." Selene tossed him the keys. "Let's go."
"One question. Why aren't we going out at night?"
Selene smiled at him. "And what fun would that be? We're not trying to hide. That would be too easy." She winked at him.
He followed her outside, opened the passenger door for her, and entered the driver's side. Selene stifled a smirk. He was a gentleman, even if he was a killer. Her eyebrow rose as she smiled to herself. It didn't go unnoticed by her companion.