The Two Sides Of The Same Coin
Sky woke abruptly to the loud, head-ringing rap of someone's knuckles on her door. She groggily dragged herself out of bed, tiredly rubbing the sleep from her eyes and brushing a few stray strands of hair from her face.
Sky sighed wearily, passing a hand over her forehead as her dark dreams faded from memory. She rose to her feet, then stretched her aching muscles before glaring at her watch to find that it was almost one a clock in the afternoon.
Her thoughts were interrupted by another impatient knock, causing her to jump in surprise.
"Alright! I'm coming!" Sky called, muttering curses under her breath as she ran a brush through her hair whilst striding towards the front door.
Hurriedly, she stuffed the key in the lock, jiggled it around and yanked the door open to reveal a rather surprised young man in a business suit.
The man looked at her slightly sceptically, taking in her baggy eyes, messy hair and annoyed expression, then held out a clipboard.
"Good morning. Is this Miss Driver's residence?" He asked with a voice full of cynicism.
"Yep, that's me." Sky replied, covering her mouth as she yawned and rubbing her aching forehead.
"Oh. Sorry to get you up." Sky glared at his obvious sarcasm, making the young man sober up slightly. "Could you sign this form?"
Sky squinted with bleary eyes as she accepted the clipboard and held it out in front of her, attempting to read the text which kept dancing out of focus while she tried, unsuccessfully, to read the first line.
Sighing impatiently, the young man began reading it out to her, assuming her incapable of reading it herself, which, in all honesty, was probably true, Sky admitted to herself.
"Your new boss has sent you this form to register your new vehicle which will arrive in a few moments, all you need to do is sign the dotted line." He explained, pointing, quite unnecessarily to the bottom of the page.
"Yes. Thank you."
Sky glared at the man's despicable attitude before accepting the pen he had offered in his outstretched hand and scribbling her rough signature on the dotted line.
"This way." He said snootily, as he pulled the clipboard out of her hands, and led the way to the bottom of her drive.
Sky tapped her foot impatiently, and glared at the snobbish man's back as they waited for the delivery.
Minutes later, a roaring black motorbike screeched around the corner of the road, before zooming down towards them and pulling up on the kerb, inches away from them.
They watched as the leather-clad figure dismounted, before pulling of her helmet and tossing her auburn hair in the sunlight.
The woman sent the man a dazzling smile, but saved the colder greeting for Sky.
"It's a beautiful machine and I'm sad to be letting it go – but what else can you do when a millionaire offers you a fortune for it?" She asked to no one in particular.
"What? Wait. That's … mine?" Sky stuttered in amazement.
"Yes. The equipment and protective clothing's in the trunk on the back." She gestured to a box fixed on the rear of the motorbike. "It reaches over 100 in no time – if you like driving fast. Now let's go Jonson, I can't stand seeing it go." The woman directed at the man, before carelessly chucking the keys towards Sky, who managed to catch them with her good reflexes. Just before climbing into his van, the man called back "Mr Linderman sends his regards." Then fixed an annoying smirk on his face as he slammed his door shut.
Sky hardly heard or acknowledged what he said, she was only transfixed by her new vehicle – she couldn't get over it. Sky had always wanted a motorbike, even since a young age, and this was like her dream come true.
After walking around, admiring the motor for several minutes, Sky decided to pull the box off the back of the bike and carefully carried it inside, laying it tenderly on the sofa.
Curious to see what was inside, she pulled the clasps open to reveal a pair of trousers, coat and gloves, all in leather, along with a helmet and flash sunglasses. Sky's mouth dropped open in disbelief of her new boss's generosity. Just as she reached to shut the box, she noticed a note written in neat handwriting. Her curiosity piqued, Sky unfolding the small square of paper and carefully smoothed the creases out.
Dear Miss Driver,
I heard that your boss Steve was unable to take part in the assignment and has sent you in his place. He assures me that you are highly capable and well accomplished, and I hope to see proof of these claims.
I hope that everything is to your satisfaction as I will be ringing you at 2 o clock to discuss your first assignment,
Remember what you are here for,
Best Wishes,
D. Linderman
Mystified, Sky held up the piece of paper 'What you are here for? - What's that supposed to mean?' She thought with a frown. It occurred to her momentarily, that maybe Steve hadn't told her everything about this assignment, on the other hand, Sky was enjoying her new life of luxury.
Setting the note back down on the table, Sky glanced at her watch to find she had about 30 minutes until the enigmatic Mr Linderman rang her.
Yawning again, Sky wished she could try out her new motorbike, but realised that she'd never be back in time for the call – especially as she hardly knew the area, but hopefully Mr Linderman would elaborate. Instead, she decided to explore her new house, having only seen the lounge and hall so far.
Sky was amazed by the sheer size of the house, which in addition, was generously furnished and nicely decorated. There were bookcases of novels and factual books in the hall, bedrooms and lounge, which delighted Sky – she had always loved reading. There was also a giant plasma screen in the lounge, a laptop on the desk in her room and a selection of food in the kitchen cupboards. Sky grinned happily, the house and everything about it seemed perfect, but she momentarily felt a stab of sadness as she wished she could show her Mum and Dad her new apartment.
I'll phone them later. Sky decided as she discovered a modern-looking phone next to a hi-fi set.
Sky's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as the phone suddenly began to ring, jolting her out of her reverie. Glancing quickly down at her watch, she noticed that it was already 2 o clock, so presumably the caller would be the evasive Mr Linderman.
And whoever Mr Linderman is, he must have a fair amount of money, and a considerable amount of power. Taking a deep, calming breath, Sky answered the phone.
"Hello? This is Sky."
"Hello Sky. This is Daniel Linderman." Greeted a deep voice, which sounded English, to Sky's surprise.
"Mr Linderman-" Sky started.
"Please, call me Daniel."
"Er, ok, Daniel. I have a few questions…"
"Fire away." Liderman encouraged her.
"Okay, so firstly, why you chose Steve, of all reporters to do this, and what exactly am I supposed to be doing in all this?"
"Clarification is always an important part of understanding." There was a long pause. Sky wondered if he was going to continue, and was just about to ask again when Linderman started to speak. "Steve and I go back a long time. I entrusted him with this assignment, only be very disappointed when he informed me of his predicament, and you were his first choice as a capable replacement. He tells me you're quite the talented young reporter Sky."
"Thank you sir." Sky replied awkwardly, surprised to hear that Steve had been so complimentary. "I'm very flattered."
Linderman chuckled before continuing. "As for your assignment, the details were in the job description, and if Steve is right about your potential, then I am sure you can fill the gaps in."
"Oh. Ok." Sky said, feeling unsatisfied, but realising that the topic was closed. "So, this assignment for today, what is it?"
"Today, your assignment is to go down to the Park Ave construction site, see if anything unusual has happens." Linderman told her mysteriously.
"If you don't mind sir, please can I ask how you know something will happen?"
"I have my sources. If you get on with your job, I will go on with mine. And I want a report by tomorrow."
"Yes Mr Linderman." Sky agreed, after all, she had received tougher deadlines than this before.
"You'll find a map of the city underneath the coffee table, you should be able to find the site on there. Oh, and I took the liberty of putting some teabags in the kitchen, should you find yourself craving English beverages."
Sky laughed lightly, without really feeling amused. "Thank you very much sir. You are very kind. And thanks for the apartment and motorbike – I couldn't have asked for better."
"Good, good." He said vaguely. "Anyway, I must have that report by tomorrow, send it to me on the laptop."
"Will do. Goodbye Mr Linderman."
"Goodbye Sky."
She put the phone back down on its stand, feeling slightly exhausted.
Sky wasn't sure what to think about her new boss. He seemed generous enough, but there was something strange – missing, about him… she sighed before looking over at the sofa.
So, my first assignment. She thought, then grinned as she saw her motorbike out the window. Oh yeah! We're going for a spin!
Sky ran over to the sofa enthusiastically and quickly changed into the leather garments, itching to try out her new toy.
Finally, adding the dark shades to complete the image, Sky grinned at her appearance in the mirror, before stepping out the door and locking it behind her. Tucking the keys away safely in her bag and checking she had her notepad, Sky fixed the bag securely onto the motorbike's rear bag-wrack and leaped energetically onto her dream vehicle.
Sky turned the keys in the ignition, before compulsively revving the engine a few times with a giant grin on her face. Lucky I bothered getting a licence to drive motorbikes! She thought as she seated herself more comfortably and swiftly pulled away from the kerb towards the main road.
The ride was exhilarating as Sky had left her long hair flapping underneath her black helmet, the wind tore wildly at the girl, but she simply laughed at its attempts.
Sky stopped once to check the map, but soon reached the Park Ave construction site which Linderman had left directions to. As she approached the heavily scaffolded building, she glanced around for a place to park and slowed to a halt in a parking space.
Revisiting the temptation to look too smug, Sky dismounted elegantly from the motorbike.
A few people were milling around the nearby skyscrapers, walking past with a business-like haste. Surely if there was a something worth writing about, there should be more people and journalists here? Sky thought worriedly, a frown creasing her face as she gazed up at the towering, half-construed building.
After a few moments, the leather-clad young woman strode confidently towards the station, sweeping off her helmet as she reached the entrance, attracting a few stares from a few vacant workers.
As she reached the main entrance, she was confronted by one of the workers who looked her over curiously.
"Sorry love, but this buildings under maintainence at the moment – I'm afraid there's no public access allowed." He said in a friendly tone.
Sky looked up at him, amused, her demeanour unshaken by the minor hitch. "Ah, but I've got orders from a Mr…er…Linderman to be here." She justified, producing a paper as proof of identification and lifting her eyebrows, daring him to challenge her.
The young worker raised his eyebrows at the mention of Mr Linderman, before lifting a finger.
"Wait here a moment, I'll just double-check with my colleagues." He said, backing towards the doors and disappearing inside.
Tapping her foot impatiently, Sky became bored of waiting as the young worker failed to return, before she decided to take a look herself.
Checking that the other workers were preoccupied guffawing to each other in low voices whilst drinking beer, she pushed gently at the large entrance door and slipped through the gap, glancing warily around before striding across the wooden panels laid carelessly over the floor. Her footsteps echoed eerily around the silent area. The pungent smell of sawdust mixed with concrete reached Sky's nostrils as she took in the disorganised chaos of the work-site. Various building implements were left carelessly to rust in buckets of water, metal poles were leant insecurely against the walls and several tins of paint were scattered near a rubbish cart.
Suddenly, Sky stiffened, alert as she heard another pair of footsteps approaching rapidly from the opposite side of the room. Ducking behind a large, metal container of construction materials, she peered out and watched a different worker walk past, talking loudly into his mobile phone.
"...Yeah, apparently some random girl asked to come in... mentioned Linderman...I don't know, she didn't mention her name...no, it's my break now…ok, bye." Sky held her breath, as she resisted the urge to fidget into a more comfortable position.
Sky watched, motionless as the man stopped by the site's entrance, glancing around to see if the girl his colleague had mentioned was still outside, unsuccessful, he strolled away to join his fellow workers for their lunch break.
Honestly, don't these people realise that journalists never give up that easily! I'd just better hope that other guy doesn't spot my motorbike! But I wonder who that worker-guy was talking to, I suppose it could've been his boss... but all sounds a bit suspicious to me… Sky frowned again, then stepped out from behind the metal container, checking carefully for any additional workers, before padding silently across the muddy floor. Finding a stepladder up to next floor, Sky decided to climb it, slowly loosing hope that there was anything worth writing about in the area.
Why couldn't Linderman have assigned me to something that's actually happened rather than something he thinks will happen? Sky asked herself.
Pulling herself up onto the next floor, Sky saw that it was deserted apart from a young blond girl who lying sprawled on the ground in the centre of the room, accompanied by a brunet youth who was talking to her in a hushed voice.
Straining her ears, Sky approached quietly, attempting to hear what the boy was saying.
"Claire… Claire – come on! We've got to get out of here before anyone sees us."
Sky frowned in confusion, noticing that the boy had a video camera in his hand. She felt slightly ill as she noticed one of the metal poles covered in blood lying next to the girl, a pool of her blood spreading and forming a gory river of crimson liquid.
"Ok Zach. Just got to-" Sky cringed as a loud snap reached her ears, the boy's body was blocking her vision of the girl, so she moved closer in an attempt to see what was happening.
"Oh my God." Sky whispered without thinking, as she caught site of the girl who was quite casually twisting her neck back into its correct position. There was a large amount of blood seeping from her throat onto her clothes, but Sky couldn't see a scratch one her.
The girl, whose cheerleader uniform was now stained with a large amount of blood, looked up guiltily at Sky to find the young woman watching with a mixed expression of horror and fascination.
The cheerleader stood up quickly, putting an arm out to settle the boy who had leapt forward protectively.
"Don't worry. This isn't what it looks like." She said calmly.
"I'm still trying to work out exactly what it is that it looks like…" Sky replied with wide eyes as she took in the cheerleader's bloodied appearance.
"I'm Claire. Claire Bennett." Claire introduced in an attempt to lessen the awkwardness. "And this is my friend Zach."
Zach stepped forward defensively. "We were just filming some stunts." He explained, making Sky's eyebrows rise in suspicion.
"Look, I have no idea what you were doing, and I'm not sure I want to know either but –"
Sky was interrupted as a tall man in a suit suddenly appeared from behind her, running across the wooden panels to rushing towards the cheerleader and her friend.
"Claire! Claire!" He shouted, pulling the slim girl into a rough embrace, then taking a step back to glare at her. "I let you come to New York on one condition, that you were careful- "
"But Dad I- "
"No Claire-Bear, you're coming back with me." He said, taking her arm and guiding the unwilling girl towards the stepladder, whilst Zach followed with the video camera hidden behind his back. "– Now." The man emphasised sternly.
Whilst he was preoccupied, Sky discreetly skulked behind the nearest rubbish container, hoping not to be noticed.
"Come out. I know you're there." The man called back, his voice echoing through the construction site.
Sky shifted uncomfortably, hoping that he wasn't addressing her. "Come on girl, then there's no need for anyone to get hurt."
Accepting defeat, Sky stepped out unwillingly, cautiously raising her head slowly to meet the man's shadowed eyes. Her breath caught sharply, as she registered the threatening black gun in his hands, which was aimed directly at her heart. The man was tall, and about 50 years of age, Sky estimated. He had a strong lower jaw and a pair of horn-rimmed glasses rested comfortably on his nose. His face, which had seemed caring and kind only moments ago, was now dark and merciless.
"Put your hands up." He ordered. "Now tell me, what did you see?"
"I don't know what you're playing at – whoever you are, but you have no right to aim a gun at me." Sky said firmly.
"You're English? A visitor I expect? So what were you doing here when it was supposed to be restricted access? Fancied a little stroll through the construction site?" He asked sarcastically, raising his eyebrows for emphasis.
"Tell me what you were doing, and I'll let you go unharmed." The man repeated.
Sky stubbornly ignored him, feeling edgy as he took a step closer, taking the safety catch off the gun.
"What are you doing?"
"Making sure my daughter is safe. Stand still and don't move." He replied as Sky suddenly became aware of someone walking up behind her. Spinning around reflexively, Sky found herself staring at a tall, serious-looking, dark-skinned man who strode towards her at a rapid pace across the wooden slats. Sensing that she was in danger, Sky felt fear give her a sudden surge of adrenalin, and before either the man in horn-rimmed glasses, or the dark-skinned man could react, she made a daring and unexpected run towards the abandoned stepladder.
She heard the sound of shots as the man with horn-rimmed glasses fired at her, the shots missed and exploded noisily into the floor. A shiver crept up her spine as she noticed that the dark-skinned, silent man was quickly catching up with her from the other direction.
Sky climbed down the stepladder as fast as she could, uttering a small yelp as she caught her foot in one of the rungs. Trying to ignore the agonising pain in her ankle, Sky sprinted across rough, slatted floor and dived towards the construction site's entrance.
The workers paused to watch as the young woman ran out of the building like demons were at her heels. One dropped their sandwich, observing with interest as she jumped onto her motorbike while two suited men emerged from the building, glanced around, then sprinted after her, shouting.
Her heart pounding in fear, Sky plunged the keys into the ignition, her hands shaking as she turned them in the lock, she sighed in relief as the engine roared into life. Just as the two armed men came within 10 metres of her, Sky kicked off and pulled away from the kerb at full speed, leaving the two men coughing in a cloud of exhaust smoke.
"Damn! I can't believe she got away. She didn't even use any powers!" The man in horn-rimmed glasses cursed angrily, glaring after the rapidly disappearing girl whilst tucking the gun back into his belt. "But we'll track her down, don't worry."
The solemn, dark-skinned man simply shrugged, wordless and emotionless, as always.
Sky tried to even her breathing, refusing to stop even to look at the map, just in case the two men were still following her. So much for that Linderman. What am I supposed to say on the report? Two teens doing stunts are interrupted by psychotic father and silent scary black man? I'm sure that would go down well! She shook her head, trying to take in what had just happened.
Eventually, Sky began to slow down, realising that there was no pursuit. She pulled up by the side of the road, discovered a signpost and used the map to work out her route back home. To her surprise, she was only a few minutes away from her house, obviously her mind had somehow managed to remember the way.
Allowing a small smile to cross her face, Sky took a deep, calming breath then remounted her motorbike, stroking its reliable, glossy surface before starting it up and driving back to her house at a more sensible speed.
Sky parked the bike carefully outside on her extensive drive, relieved to be back in the relative safety of her new home. Removing her helmet and brushing her messy hair out of her face, Sky climbed off the motorbike and pulled out her door keys, to find herself welcomed by a warm gust of sweet-scented air as she stepped inside.
Wearily, Sky set down her helmet on a conveniently placed table and checked her phone for messages. Finding none, she walked over to her suitcase and started up her new laptop in an attempt to piece together some sort of interesting story about the construction site.
Sky scanned her brain for an interesting headline, but gradually began to daydream as she became more and more disinterested. The glowing, white screen was mesmerising as she gazed unseeingly at the monitor, her mind as blank as the untouched document in front of her, her notes strewn untidily over the desk next to her. Slowly, her eyes began to flicker closed, and before she knew it, she had fallen into a deep sleep.
Dark dreams plagued Sky's broken sleep, nightmares of shadowy figures that disappeared when she reached out to touch them, thoughts of girls swimming in pools of crimson blood and solemn men with guns pointed towards her heart.
Sky woke abruptly to a cool breeze which whistled quietly past her ear before blowing some stray notes on the floor, tossing them in the air like autumn leaves. But it didn't feel like autumn. Sky shivered uncomfortably as a chilling sensation spread through her body, like a deadly warning.
I'm sure I closed the front door. Sky thought to herself with a frown, trying to ignore her feelings as her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably in the cold air.
Lifting herself from the chair, Sky sighed as she walked into the hall to check the door. She quickly realised, to her astonishment, that it had been left wide open to the starless, New York night. Biting her lip, Sky imagined the terrible situations that could have occurred due to her carelessness, before hastily slamming the door shut and taking extra care to lock it.
Sky slowly drifted uneasily back into the lounge where she had fallen asleep, but the air still seemed unusually bitter. The girl shuddered, feeling as though ice was spreading through her body, her heart began to beat faster as she noticed that her notes, which were previously scattered untidily on the floor, were now stacked in a neat pile beside her laptop.
Glancing around unsurely, her heart pounding with adrenaline, Sky promptly noticed two words typed in large, bold letters on the computer screen. HELLO SKY.
Trying not to show her fear, Sky backed away warily, taking in every detail of the now sinister room, every dark corner a possible threat.
Suddenly, the girl froze as she felt herself back into something tall, hard, cold and breathing.
Instinctively, she wheeled around and took a step back whilst trying to keep her breath calm. Sky looked up fearfully to see a tall, shadowy, dark man whose facial features were obscured by a cap.
"Who are you-?" She started, before something collided heavily with her head and she collapsed, unconscious, onto the hard, tiled floor.
By the way, for those who haven't realised yet, this is meant to be set around the 1st Season, but she doesn't see everything that happens and isn't there at the Home Coming etc. Hope it's ok – next chapter I (think) Peter will return, and Sylar'll definitely be in it! Please review!
~ TheMasterDaughter
