Believe
Shawn had wavered, for a long time, if he should really come back here, to have a look at something as Gus had put it, but his voice had just sounded so urgent – and demanding but mostly urgent – that Shawn just had to know.
"Okay." he spoke, walking into the room, he´d stormed out earlier that day. Gus was already waiting, in one line with Hiro and Ando, as if they´d conspired against him. Shawn spread his arms.
"I´m here." he stated. "What is it?"
Instead of answering him, Gus showed him a print. A print of something that looked like a map. Of Santa Barbara?
"What´s this?"
"That´s a graphic of the earthquake." Gus told him. "The red circle marks the epicenter. That´s where the earthquake was strongest."
Shawn frowned and looked at the map again, closer this time.
"You mean … that´s where it came from."
"You recognize the part of the city?"
Shawn did. And he didn´t like what it implied. He lowered the print, sighing.
"Man."
"Let´s face it, Shawn. It doesn´t look good for Sylar."
Shawn looked into his friend´s face and couldn´t find it in himself to be angry anymore. Not after this smashing, and admittedly mean line of argument.
"I still don´t believe it." he decided at last. "If he´d wanted an earthquake, he would have done more. Much more."
"Except if he only wanted to scare us." Gus pointed out.
"Then he´d send a message or something, telling us it was him. You know, one of these terrorist videos, where the guys wear masks and machine guns."
"What?"
"It´s also possible," Ando spoke up. "That he wants us to be scared, because we don´t know for sure."
Everybody turned to look at him, and he shrugged. There was a point in what he said, even Shawn could see that.
"There´s a simple way to find out." he replied, at last and lifted the print, to underline his words.
Gus understood him at once.
"I drive."
...
It was the second time today that Noah saw the fake psychic leaving the building in a hurry like that. Only this time he wasn´t alone. His friend was with him. And he held something in his hand. A print. Of a map.
They were too far away for him to see what the map actually showed, but he could make out a red circle. It wasn´t hard to guess that they were heading somewhere specific. And his experience with these two guys told him to pay attention.
He picked up his phone, and turned around, heading for the back of the building.
...
"Detective O´Hara?" chief Vick stopped before the desk, eying the young woman, almost hidden behind the big heaps of files. She was working for two as it seemed these last few days.
Speaking of which. The chief glanced around, for a second.
"Where´s your partner?" she asked and O´Hara blinked, ever so slightly, as if unsure.
"He is uhm. Out. Checking out a tip-call he got."
The chief raised a brow, uncertain. "All right." If she wouldn´t have known any better, she would have guessed that O´Hara was covering for Carlton. But covering for Carlton would mean, he was out there doing something against regulation. And that was just unthinkable. Was it?
For a moment, Karen remembered the scene a few days ago, involving a certain lawyer and insurance salesman who had the tendency to show up at her station when trouble was ahead. But then she dismissed the idea. It was probably not the right time to mention it anyway. Not the way Juliet looked right now.
So the chief of police kept her mouth shut and looked the other way. Figuratively speaking. Literally she looked her detective straight in the eyes, when she handed her the file she´d brought along. Juliet took it, with an asking gaze.
"I´ve got a new one." Karen told her and the gravity of her words didn´t miss the impact on the other woman. She knew immediately what she was talking about.
"Another rape?" she breathed, eyes wide.
"Another murder." Karen nodded, feeling the heavy sadness about what she had to say next. "The victim was fifteen."
Juliet opened the file, hastily. After reading for a moment, she closed her eyes. Karen could understand her reaction. The one case not even Shawn had been able to solve. There were simply no clues, no witnesses, only victim after victim, none of them older than sixteen.
Juliet looked up again, meeting Karen´s gaze.
"I´m on it, Chief."
...
Shawn was looking out the window, seeing the street rushing by and not seeing it just the same. He was wondering, with a fair amount of fear, about what they would find when they would reach their destination. The part of the city Gus´ print had marked as the origin point of this earthquake. Sylar? He still didn´t want to believe it. And still … he couldn´t ignore facts. If this was a case and it wouldn´t be about Sylar, he would not hesitate to point his finger at the one that seemed to be the culprit, even if he was only twenty percent convinced.
Shawn cursed, in silence, keeping his head turned away so Gus wouldn´t notice. He didn´t see the glance Gus threw in the rearview mirror, just before he took the turn. The last turn into Witcham Street.
He stopped at the curbside and for a moment Shawn had a strange out of body feeling. That uncomfortable feeling of: I´ve been here before. And it wasn´t good.
He got out of the car quickly, suppressing that feeling.
"Man." Gus exhaled, looking down the street, at the building ahead. "That´s creepy."
"Yeah." Shawn agreed. "Let´s get over with it."
He started walking, without waiting for Gus to give a response.
"You don´t really think he´d come back here?" he asked halfway to the front door. "From all the places in the city. Do you? I mean … seriously?"
"There´s only one way to find out, Shawn."
And of course he was right. They reached the door, and Shawn couldn´t help but looked to his right, at the window. No one was there.
"Huh." he made. "Grumpy lady isn´t there anymore. Maybe she died."
"Or maybe she´s out grocery shopping." Gus gave back, almost fiercely. "Or in the bathroom. Why do you have to talk about dying right now?"
"Dude." Shawn held out his hand, startled by the reaction he´d caused.
Gus huffed, very edgy all the sudden. "God dammit." he cursed.
Shawn decided not to say anything else in response and tried the door instead. It opened surprisingly easy, as if it had been barely closed. Gus frowned.
"Must be damage from the earthquake." he guessed.
They entered the building, carefully, as if someone might come and shout at them for trespassing any second. Sneaking on their toes, they made their way up the stairs, until they found the door, they´d been looking for. Apartment 403.
"The name says …" Gus frowned. "Angel." he read off the bell sign. "You think that´s supposed to be a hint?"
Shawn shook his head, uncertain. "To what?"
"Gabriel?" Gus probed. "The angel of death?"
Shawn frowned. "What on earth could make you want to quote from The Prophecy now? We´re not looking for Christopher Walken."
"I´m talking about Sylar." Gus hissed. "Gabriel Gray?" And again he huffed, totally on the edge.
Shawn wanted to laugh but found it wasn´t possible. Something had killed the laughter on the way up to his throat. It had died at the level of his stomach, silently and without a cry. He shivered at the thought and needed to take a deep breath before he could reach out a hand and knock. It was strange, to stand before this door again. Gus was right. Dear god.
Beside him Gus tensed. But no one answered to the knock. He tried it again, with the same result. After they´d waited a minute, Shawn sighed, frustrated.
"What do we do now?" Gus asked.
This time it was Shawn who was on the edge from one second to the other, for no apparent reason. Only he had a reason. A very good one. He shook his head, fuming.
"I´ve got enough." he spat and Gus straightened, anticipating his outburst. "There´s one man in this world that can give us a straight answer." Shawn stated. "He can reach Sylar. And he´ll help us contact him. I want an answer."
...
The drive back to Durham-Street was quicker than the one they just came from, but that was only good. Because Shawn didn´t know how long he´d be able to stand this tension. He didn´t take the elevator down to the cells but the staircase, just because he couldn´t stand to wait for the car. When he entered the cell of the scientist, Mohinder actually jumped up, startled.
"Shawn."
"All right." the fake psychic threw his hands down. "I know we said we wouldn´t stray from the plan but … I need you to call Sylar for me."
"What?"
"I need. To know." Shawn took a moment to breath, so he wouldn´t shout. "I trusted you guys." he stated, shouting after all. "And I still want to trust you. I really do. But … dude. This earthquake …"
Mohinder was astoundingly calm, simply nodding at his outburst.
"I understand."
Shawn was totally flabbergasted. Really? He did? Wow. He´d expected everything but not that.
"Great." was all he mustered for a response.
Mohinder merely nodded again, and held out his hand. Shawn needed a moment but then he understood. He reached into his pocket and gave him his phone.
Mohinder looked down on it, ready to dial the number, and hesitated.
"You do know he could snap and cause a real catastrophe, if anything strays from the plan like that." he mentioned.
Shawn was just shocked. What? What …?
But then Mohinder´s mouth curled into a smirk and he dialed, without another word, leaving Shawn even more flabbergasted than before.
"Dude." he managed. "You´ve been down here way too long. Honestly. That was so … not funny."
Mohinder didn´t answer, only smirked and listened for the tone in his ear. Eventually someone picked up. But there was no voice on the other end. At least none that Shawn could hear. And usually he could hear very well, when someone was on the phone, even if he only stood beside the caller. But in this case, there was only silence. And even creepier, Mohinder didn´t say anything either. He just listened, waiting. As if both parties of this call waited for the other one to speak first. Maybe unsure if it was the right one on the other end?
And then, finally, Mohinder smiled, as if there´d been something.
"Sylar."
Shawn exhaled. He had no idea what had tipped the scales for the scientist at last, to know it really was Sylar on the other end, but he was grateful. A tension like that didn´t improve his nerves. Now he finally could hear a voice coming from the other side. Sylar´s voice. But he couldn´t understand the words.
"Don´t be." Mohinder now said. "Everything´s all right." He closed his eyes for a moment, exasperated. "Yes. They did." And then a very fast: "No! Not yet." He glanced at Shawn. "Listen. Shawn wants to speak with you. That´s why I´m calling." he informed Sylar. "Yes."
With that he handed the phone over.
"Hey." Shawn greeted the killer. "Uhm. Sorry for … interrupting. But … you know … I needed to talk to you."
"About what?" Sylar asked.
"I guess you know that."
Silence.
"I´m talking about this earthquake, dude."
Still silence. Then: "You think that was me."
"Bingo, dude." Shawn squinted, cursing inwardly. He didn´t want to come over so cynic but he couldn´t stop himself. "It´s not that I want to." he assured Sylar. "But it´s kinda striking, you know? Get what I mean?"
Again he was regarded with silence. Eventually: "I didn´t cause the earthquake. All right?"
Shawn didn´t reply at once. He clenched his jaw, trying to get to a decision.
"All right." he said at last. "I believe you. I´m sorry."
"It´s all right." Sylar told him but he didn´t sound too happy.
Shawn felt nervous all over again. "We´re still good?" he asked, and this time he meant it. To his great relief he could hear Sylar chuckle, very quietly.
"Sure."
Shawn smiled, relieved and nodded, not thinking about the fact that Sylar couldn´t see him. He handed the phone back to Mohinder, who took it, and spoke his next sentence with the most serious face.
"Get rid off the phone." he told Sylar.
"What?" Shawn´s jaw dropped down.
"Right." Mohinder said, to Sylar. "I´m sure they will." He nodded, at what the other one had said. "See you soon. I will." After that he hung up.
"Dude." Shawn cried. "You think I´d try to track him?"
"Not you." Mohinder handed him the phone back, reading the confusion in Shawn´s face. "Ask Noah." he told him and Shawn understood.
He left the cell at once, barely acknowledging the guard who locked the door again, safely, to keep a guy locked up, who could have ripped the door out of its frame if he´d wanted to. Shawn walked down the corridor. He hadn´t even noticed Gus´ absence until now. He found him again, around the next corner, standing before a door. Lassiter and Bennet rushed out of that door, just as Shawn arrived.
When he glanced inside, he saw monitors and computers. One of the screens showed Mohinder in his cell. An observation room.
Ando was sitting on one of the other screens, typing. Something on the screen was blinking. A tracking system, to find the caller of the phone.
"Dude, what is going on here?" Shawn asked, even though it was obvious.
"They´re trying to find Sylar." Gus told him, bluntly.
"What?" Shawn swirled around to look after Lassie and Bennet, but they were already gone.
"They´re on their way to him." Gus explained.
"How did Lassie even know I was going to call him?" Shawn cried, facing Gus again.
"Because he followed us." his friend told him with a sigh. "To the city."
"What? You knew that?"
"I saw them in the mirror."
"And you didn´t tell me? I can´t believe you did this. How could you?"
"I didn´t do any of this." Gus defended himself.
"He´s right." Ando supported him, way too calm for this serious situation. "He didn´t do that." he told Shawn. "I did."
Shawn could only stare at them both, unable to grasp the meaning of all this.
"But why?" was all he mustered.
"To find Sylar." Ando answered, collected. "Before something bad happens."
"He´s not the enemy." Shawn cried. "He didn´t cause that earthquake."
"And you believe him?"
Shawn faced this doubting Japanese with his most serious gaze. "He had no reason to lie to me." he told him.
Ando studied his face for a moment, estimating, probably trying to decide what to respond, what to believe. Eventually he sighed.
"You know the sad thing is … Hiro would probably say the same."
...
In the city, Lassiter and Bennet jumped out of their car, at the edge of the little park at the end of Witcham Street. Guns raised they made their way along the path.
"Where is he, Ando?" Noah spoke into his phone, eyes scanning the area. Nowhere a sign of the killer. But that didn´t mean anything. He could be anywhere. Anyone.
"He should be right in front of you." came the voice of their tracker and Bennet´s eyes fell on a wooden peg, just a few feet ahead. One of many that circled the green belt, to keep walkers off the flower bed. On top of that peg lay an open cell phone.
...
"Where is he, Mohinder?" Noah demanded to know. "How are you gonna contact him, now that his phone´s gone?"
"I don´t know, Noah." Mohinder replied, brows raised. "What would you say?"
"We lost him." Lassiter grumbled behind him, his mood sinking with every step he made through the cell.
"Carlton, please." Noah tried to focus.
"We probably lost our only chance to find him." the detective cried.
"How, Mohinder?" the Company man asked his prime suspect. "What will he do now? Come and bust you out?"
"That wasn´t part of the plan." Mohinder replied unimpressed.
"Then what. Is. The plan?" Noah stepped closer, to finally make this scientist react to his threat in a proper way. But he didn´t. He just didn´t.
"I already told you." was all he´d say.
That at last, was the last straw for Carlton and he came forward, fuming.
"I´m starting to lose MY PATIENCE !" he shouted, leaning forward, like a snarling animal. "What do you guys plan?" he shouted into the geneticist´s face.
"What is he doing out there? Tell me already!"
"Carlton!"
"We should throw him in the deepest hole that there is on this planet."
"But it wouldn´t. Solve. A thing." Noah spoke, with all the gravity he could muster in this moment. "So now calm down and let me handle this."
Lassiter was still fuming, still glaring daggers at Suresh. But eventually he took a breath, long and shaking with rage.
"Fine." he growled and walked out.
Noah took a second to be grateful for that mercy, before he turned back to Mohinder. He didn´t get a chance to say anything else though. Before he could, a new interrupter rushed in.
"Noah." Peter cried.
"Peter, you stay out of this." the Company man demanded. "This is my job."
But the young man did not try to interfere with this interrogation. "My mother wants to talk to you." he spoke, arms crossed.
Noah stared, baffled, into Peter´s blank face. He hadn´t expected that at all.
"They´re upstairs." the young Petrelli informed him. "Waiting for you." And as if that would add to convince him, he added: "Claire too."
Noah looked at him, hating that he was right, about that last bit. Dropping Claire´s name, had indeed just tipped the scales for him. With a last glance at Mohinder, he finally turned around, to head upstairs.
"We´re not done here." he let the scientist know, before he left the cell.
...
Lassiter had just left the cell, still fuming far too much to be healthy if he stayed there any longer. And if that wasn´t enough already, he had to run into no other than the pain in the ass fake psychic. Shawn was standing right in his way, a blank expression on his face, holding out his cell phone for Lassiter, as if it were a badge.
"Spencer, what the hell?"
"Jules wants to talk to you." he informed him, pushing the phone into his hands.
"O´Hara?" Lassiter asked.
"Carlton, where are you?" the voice of his partner shrieked into his ear. She was clearly pissed about something.
"You know exactly where I am, O´Hara." he retorted, irritated. "What´s the matter?"
"The matter is, I´ve been covering for you for two days." she told him. "While I´m stuck here at the station, doing both of our work. I´m not going to tell any more lies to the chief, when she asks me where you are."
Lassiter clenched his jaw. "All right, I´m coming back." he grumbled.
"I hope so. We just got a new case. Or better yet, an old one."
Lassiter frowned. "Which one?"
"There´s been another Samaritan."
His mouth dropped open at the name. "Where?" he demanded to know.
"Westside." O´Hara told him, and then she added another detail: "The victim´s fifteen."
Lassiter took a breath, determined. "I´ll be right there."
He hung up and marched out, not bothering to hand Spencer his phone back. Shawn and Gus were at his heels anyway.
...
In a small park, not too far away from them, a young girl was sitting on a bench, her hand clutching the metal frame, her eyes so empty, vacant, almost hypnotized. And something in her eyes was glowing. A tiny smile played on her lips. But she wasn´t even aware of it herself.
...
It´s strange, how easy it is, to set your mind on something new. Something, so justified, it seems the only choice that´s possible. We walk this path in our lives, and sometimes it might seem to us, that it has always been there. Just like this. Who would ever doubt this path? Of course there is no other way … than to just reach out, and finally take, what is rightfully ours.
But what if something happens, suddenly and unexpected, and our stride becomes uncertain? Sways. Will we falter, or go on, clinging to this strong believe, that surely, this is what was meant to be?
It´s really strange. But it is all too easy to believe. When there is noting else we can believe in. All you have to do, is chose. And everything you want, will be.
