AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Now what could I possibly have in store for you with this story?

Well wouldn't you like to know?

;)

Read on my lovelies…read on.

****

"Could I get the apple pie? Please and thank you." Ariel told the waiter in the restaurant.

Ariel had found herself in a small diner on the outskirts of New York, trying to figure out how to approach Sylar. Sylar had been on the move which had made her job a little harder, but it was definitely not impossible at all. The hardest part about getting to know Sylar and doing her job was getting close to him. She wasn't quite sure how to do that without being too suspicious, she had been lying low and coming into the diner trying to be discreet about it all.

Ariel didn't think that Sylar was aware that she had been following him, but he had been. He had noticed her sitting there for the last two days, and though he knew she was skilled in the art of not being seen, he could see her. He hadn't noticed that she had been looking him every once in a while, but he was smart enough to know that she had been there for him because she didn't seem interested in anyone in the diner. She just came and ordered some food, and then he saw it—her motion to him.

All this studying him had made Ariel understand that in order to get to Sylar; she had to simply let him know what she planned on doing. So she motioned him over to the table, knowing she'd come up with something when he got there. Part of being a good agent was figuring out how to react in dangerous situations at the drop of a hat—and Ariel luckily had that part of her training covered. She smiled at the prospect of simply hitting on him to strike up conversation—that definitely wouldn't be hard for her at all. In fact, flirting with him would be the easiest thing she'd ever had to do.

"You look like you could use some company." Ariel told him with a smile, pushing her bangs out of her face while being careful not to heat them up with her hands again even though she desperately wanted to tame them a little.

He smiled a little too. "Isn't it a little suicidal to be friendly these days?"

Ariel laughed a little and shrugged. "Only if you're really scared of some creep coming out of the woodwork and killing you."

"What did you order?" He asked her, trying to figure out her angle without directly asking her about it.

"The pie." Ariel replied with a definite moan of happiness.

Sylar smirked a little—either this girl was really good at her job…or she was actually just in here for the pie a little human company. He studied her as she smiled at him and couldn't help but run his fingers through his dark hair and smile at her back. It wasn't like he hadn't missed some human contact too and who knew—maybe she'd buy his food for him so he wouldn't have to draw attention to himself quite yet when he took off without paying.

"The pie sounds good." He told her.

Ariel nodded. "Very. But it would taste better if it was still the breakfast hour."

Sylar didn't realize what she was doing at first, but Ariel knew that she had to show him that she had powers to reel him in, and she was right. She pointed her finger up at the clock and Sylar followed her gaze, watching in amazement as she made the hands go back so that it was 10:25am instead of 11: 30am. She turned to looked at him instead of at the clock, and smiled at the raising of his eyebrow behind his sunglasses. Folding her hands in front of her, she leaned across the table a little and shot him a daring smiling—she was egging him on to make the next move and he was quite aware of it.

"You know who I am, don't you?" He asked her, trying to figure her out again.

Ariel shrugged. "You're a very attractive stranger who enjoys a good pie as much as the next person. Maybe even as much as me—though I highly doubt it."

"What's your angle?" Sylar asked her, not wanting to play games.

He was on the run and he knew now that since she had powers he had to know what game she was playing at. Had the company sent her? Was she searching for him to join him? Whose side was she on? No one with a special ability around her just up and showed people their powers in a public place so she had to be playing at something. But what was it and how could he get her to show it? Most importantly—how could he get to her powers before someone else did?

Ariel shook her head. "No angle. To be honest though, I thought you'd kill people by now—think it was a trap. You're smarter than I expected."

Sylar gave Ariel a look as she went, 'huh' with a smile and shrug. She was definitely crafty and though impressed and amused by that, Sylar didn't want to play any games. Sylar wanted to know exactly what she as up to and why, but knew that it was going to take a lot more out of him than simple questions. Maybe he should just stop the charade right then and come out and cut the top of her head off then and there and take her power. Maybe her showing up was a sign that he needed to just show himself to the public now.

"I don't want to draw attention to myself if I don't have to." Sylar replied, trying to get to her through his own deceit.

Ariel nodded. "I see. So…why not just go all out killing people?"

"I don't want people to know I'm back yet. I want to leave them a nice little trail to follow to a dead end first." He said. "I may, however, have to start with you, my beautiful friend. I may have to kill you right here, right now, in public. Shame too."

Ariel laughed and was quite aware at how angry that made him. "You can't kill me, Sylar."

Ariel leaned across the table a little more and winked at him before settling back into the cushion of the booth they were sharing. Sylar took off his sunglasses to look Ariel in the eyes, signaling to her that he was not backing down. He was going to figure her out even if it meant killing her to do so, and she had known that he would try it. She was ready for him, and she knew the smug act was making him angry—making him want to strike now while the iron was hot, and she wanted him to do so.

"And why not?" He asked her with a cocky smile on his face.

"I have all the same powers you have." Ariel replied showing him a lack of awe for him that made him suddenly feel angry with her again. "That's my power—I have everyone's power."

"Can you regenerate?" He asked.

He had needed that power more than any one, and if she had it then to Hell with trying to stay hidden—regeneration was far more important to him. With that power he could be completely unstoppable, and that was how he wanted it. If he had the most power than he could run things, and he liked the idea of being the hunter and not the hunted. He just didn't know why she was looking so smug when he was about to kill her and take what was rightfully his—the power to trump all the other powers…the power to potentially live forever.

Ariel shrugged her haughty shrug again. "Yeah, I can—but you can't kill me to get that power. I'm a powerful asset to you, Sylar—that's why I sought you out."

So she did have the power—that settled it then…she had to die. Sylar raised his hand up, and Ariel sat up straight and just smiled at him, as he tried to use his finger to cut off the top of her head. She had anticipated his hunger for more powers—for the power to regenerate—but since she'd been so close to him she had his power to chop off heads too. Luckily for her though, she also had her strongest power of all—the power to counteract his powers.

Smiling more, Ariel watched as Sylar narrowed his eyes at her, the shock of not being able to chop off the top of her head, completely gone by then. She was going to laugh but decided against it since she'd taunted him enough already. She had thrown him the bait and he had reacted, and the ball was now in his court. He either took it or her let her go, and she knew by the need in his eyes that he was going to take the bait…she would have too if she were him.

"What do you propose?" He asked her, lowering his finger.

Ariel shrugged again, Sylar grunting a little in annoyance at her habit. "I propose you let me tag along. I wanna get deep into your psyche."

"To be honest, little girl, I don't need someone to just tag along and taunt me with power. I'll come find you when I figure out how to counteract you counteracting me." He told her firmly and stubbornly.

Ariel nodded. "I'm just going to keep following you, Sylar."

Sylar shrugged and put his sunglasses back on as the waiter came by with her pie and then left the table after shooting Sylar a smile. Ariel watched as Sylar stood up from the table, not even acknowledging that the waiter had even hit on him. She raised an eyebrow as he smirked a little, curious at the prospect of her practically stalking him. Eventually he would find a way to kill her and take her powers and somehow he knew that she was thrilled and intrigued by just that, so he knew he had the advantage here.

"I'll just keep blowing you off." He replied, and started to head away from the table.

"You could use my help. I can track people with powers like ours down by thinking about them, or seeing a picture of them." Ariel told him.

Ariel knew that he looked interested, but in order to keep the upper hand Sylar had to act like he wasn't. If he showed her even the slightest leeway, she would have all the control and Sylar couldn't have that. Ariel took a deep breath as he left the diner and bit into her pie, even more satisfied with herself than she had been before. Handing out that last little bit of information had put Sylar right where she wanted him—after a couple more encounters, he would be coming to her.