Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes.
Warnings: Mentions of slash, angst, character death, OC, AU, hints at Mpreg

Chapter 3

Manu was surprised that he had actually had a dream when he'd fallen asleep in his kidnapper's car. He had dreamed of his father. It wasn't anything special. In actuality, it was really more of a memory than a dream. He dreamed of the two of them sitting in their kitchen talking easily as his father prepared dinner. Father would always be sure to make him dinner. Even if he were late coming home, he refused to do anything less than prepare a fresh meal from scratch.

"A fresh meal is the best thing for a growing boy," he would always say as he ran his hand through Manu's ebony curls.

His father had always put him first. He remembered when he had gotten a fever and his father had stayed home with him, skipping work so that he could tend to his needs. Manu had always wondered why his father had not just left him in his grandmother's care, but Manu knew now that it was because he had loved him.

His mind was pulled away from these peaceful memories as he felt a rough hand shaking him back into consciousness. Manu groaned as he turned blurry eyes towards his kidnapper.

"Get up," the man ordered.

Manu stayed quiet as he sat up in his seat. Looking around, he saw that the rain had stopped while he'd been sleeping, but the sky was still blanketed in thick gray clouds. Manu frowned as he noticed that they were parked behind a run down gas station. The building was dirty and worn, and the sight of it made Manu feel uncomfortable.

"Get out," his kidnapper barked, as he slid out of the car and walked towards his door. Manu did as he was told and found himself being grabbed by his upper arm as soon a his feet hit the ground. The man began to drag him towards the men's room, and Manu's heart began to hammer in his chest. He wondered if this was it. His abductor had told him that he wasn't going to kill him, but Manu didn't feel that he could believe a man who ran off with a child in the middle of his father's funeral.

His stomach felt like it was being tied into a thick knot. A part of him was scared, frightened. He didn't want to be killed in a gas station bathroom. It didn't seem like a very respectable death. Yet there was an even bigger part of him that was filled grim curiosity about the impending event. He wondered just how it would happen. Would he be shot, strangled, stabbed, or was his killer simply going to beat him to death.

Manu felt his throat tighten as his kidnapper pushed the bathroom door open and his nose was instantly hit by the fowl stench of the men's room. The lighting was dim, the walls were covered with graffiti and strange stains, and two of the three stalls were missing their doors. He cringed as the man let go of him and pushed him towards the one stall that was half acceptable.

"You gonna be okay on your own?"

"What?" Manu asked, confused by the question. "Yes," he whispered, a light blush coloring his cheeks. "I... I can use the bathroom myself."

"Good. Do what you need. I'll be outside."

Manu nodded as he timidly entered the stall, locking the door behind him. He was surprised when he heard his kidnapper open the door to the restroom and walk out. It was strange to admit that he was suddenly filled with disappointment. He was starting to wonder if the man had been serious when he had said he wasn't going to kill him. The idea left him feeling hollow inside, almost cold, that was, until he reminded himself that his abductor was probably going to do it after he came back.

He relieved himself, and continued to wait in the stall, passing the time by studying the various names, phone numbers, and other random phrases written all over the walls. Manu suddenly wondered what his father would think if he saw him in such a place. His father had always been mindful to only take him to place that he felt were safe. Yet even then the older Suresh would be sure to keep his eyes on him. Manu supposed that it must have been to make sure he didn't end up in this exact situation.

Manu's breath caught in his throat when he heard the door to the men's room ease open once more. He listened carefully to the foot steps approaching the door, wondering if it was a stranger or his kidnapper coming back to finish the job. There was a soft rapping on the door to his stall, before an all too familiar voice told him to open it. Manu frowned, straightening out his funeral attire before doing as he was told. As soon as the door was opened, his kidnapper handed him a stack of clothes and the boy was too frightened to ask where he had gotten them from.

"Put these on," he ordered before pulling the door closed again, allowing Manu to change in private. Manu slipped out of his funeral clothes, careful not to let any of it touch the floor. Hanging his clothes on the door hook, Manu quickly pulled on the khaki shorts and light blue polo shirt that his abductor had given him. The clothes were a size too big and felt itchy and rough against his skin, but he knew better than to complain. Yet the boy couldn't help but feel remorseful at the idea that these were possibly the clothes he would be killed in. He didn't want to die in something so uncomfortable.

Gathering his funeral clothes in his arms, he walked out the door, head dropped down to his chest as he resisted the urge too look at his soon to be killer and cry. The last thing he wanted was for the man to change his mind before he could commit the act. Instead of a gun being pointed towards him, the man handed him a bottle of water before pushing him towards the door.

"What's this?" he asked him. Was he going to kill him out in the open? Was the man really that daring?

"It's water," he told him, continuing to steer the child back towards the car. "You'll make yourself sick if you keep crying like that and don't drink anything."

It was then that Manu realized just what was happening to him. He knew then that he wasn't simply being kidnapped, he was being held for ransom. The boy let out a deep sigh as he climbed back into the car. "You're wasting your time," he whispered, staring at the water bottle still in his hands, seal unbroken. "My father... was a brilliant man, but we were not rich people. You would be better off just killing me and going home."

Manu jumped as his kidnapper slammed the car door shut. He reached over and sharply snatched the water bottle out of the boy's hands. "I told you I'm not going to kill you," he grunted, frustration clear in his tone as he opened the bottle and handed it back to the child.

"But you won't get any money," he reminded him. Manu suddenly wondered if it were possible that he could frustrate the man so much that he would kill him anyway.

"I don't want money." The car roared to life as the pulled out of the gas station and back onto the open road.

"Then you are a pedophile."

The man merely rolled his eyes in disgust at the suggestion, but didn't bother to look at him. "If that were the case, then I would have already done something by now," he explained simply.

Manu continued to squirm in his seat as he digested the situation that he was in. He wasn't going to be ransomed and he wasn't going to be killed. He couldn't figure out what it was that his kidnapper would gain out of abducting him against his will, yet here he was, trapped in a car with a man he was starting be believe was insane and heading towards an unknown destination. He stared down at the now open bottle resting in his hands and felt his stomach tighten.

"What do you want with me?" the words were spoken so quietly that for a moment Manu was certain that he had only thought them.

His kidnapper frowned thoughtfully as he eased off of the road and on to the shoulder. Shifting the car into park, he took a deep breath before turning his gaze towards Manu.

"I knew your father," he began, choosing his words carefully as if he were worried that the boy wouldn't understand him. "We met about twelve years ago. I loved him, but he never returned my feelings. I came here, to India, to try to find him and change his mind about me. Instead, I find out that he's dead." The boy flinched, pressing himself as far back against the passenger door as he could as the man reached out and cupped his cheeks with his pale, cold hands. "You're all that's left of Mohinder Suresh," he whispered, caressing the boy's soft skin with his rough thumbs. Manu squirmed and fought back a frightened sob. "I loved your father, so I'm going to take care of you. You're going to come with me, to America, and we're going to be a family. We're going to take care of each other."

The child's insides turned cold as his kidnapper forced him to tip his head forward as he bent down and placed as tender of a kiss as the man could muster on the boy's tanned forehead. "Please, don't hurt me," Manu sobbed, too frightened to control what came out of his mouth.

His abductor laughed, squeezing his cheeks in what Manu guessed was supposed to be an affectionate gesture. "I won't," he promised. "As long as you're good, I won't have to. Now drink your water."

Manu nodded as the man released him from his grasp and did as he was told, swallowing as best as he could while he shook with fright. He wished he had stayed at the funeral. He wished he had sprinkled the water just as he was supposed to and said a proper goodbye to his father. If he had only done that he would not be trapped with this mad man.

"Good boy," the man smirked, as he turned the key and started the car once more. He eased back onto the road and Manu heard the sky rumble as rain started to pound against the car. His kidnapper didn't seem to mind, as he calmly turned on his head lights and windshield whippers.

"I... I don't even know who you are," Manu whispered as he curled up tightly into himself. His stomach ached and he was freezing.

The man smiled, the gesture was cold and unfeeling. "Sylar."