CHAPTER 9
Peter Petrelli, Noah and Claire Bennet
Odessa, TX
Following a tear filled reunion and the explanation of what had happened to him after the incident in New York, Peter Petrelli, Claire Bennet, and her father Noah followed Mr. Nakamura to the cafeteria in the main building of Primatech Paper.
After some more stories and some sandwiches, Claire and Noah were up to speed on where Peter had been. He had been training with Mr. Nakamura for the past three months. He still didn't have complete control over his abilities, but he was fully able to keep them in check. Specifically the ability he absorbed from Ted Sprague, which was the biggest fear of everyone.
"I've practiced a lot." Peter said, stuffing the last bit of tuna in his mouth. "Kaito has shown me how to focus. How to control."
"Do not give me all the credit." Kaito Nakamura said. He was standing in the doorway behind Peter. "You worked very hard to achieve the level of control you have."
"Yeah, but I couldn't do it without you." Peter smiled.
"Why didn't you call?" asked Claire. "I was so worried. I thought that you were…"
"Dead?" Peter interrupted her. "Yeah, I know. But Kaito said that I needed to focus all of my thoughts on the here and now. Until I learned how to control my own problems, it would have been a bad idea to bring you into the mix. I could have hurt you." Peter reached over and took Claire's hands in his own. "And that's the last thing I want to do."
Claire smiled as she tightened her grip. "I know."
Noah sat at the opposite end of large square table. He was amazed over how hard Peter had trained. He was proud of the boy. He had begun to think of Peter like family. After all, he was Claire's uncle. That brought him to thoughts about Nathan, Peter's brother. I wonder if he had heard anything about Nathan? Noah thought to himself.
"No." said Peter solemnly. He had heard Noah Bennet's thoughts thanks to his quality time with Matt Parkman. "Nathan is still missing. I wish there was a way to find him, but Kaito said that the Walker Tracking System was destroyed three months ago."
Noah tensed up slightly when her heard the name 'Walker.' He knew the "tracking system" wasn't broken. "It" was fine. "It" was also in the form of a little girl who, now, was happily living out her youth in Nevada. He then shot a glance towards Mr. Nakamura. Apparently, Peter was never told that the "tracking system" was not a system at all, but Molly Walker, another special just like him.
"The tracking system is fully operational." Noah said flatly. "But I'll have you know, it is not a machine."
Peter looked quizzically at Noah. He cocked his head to the side and asked, "What do you mean, 'it's not a machine?'"
"The Walker Tracking System is a little girl." The older man began. "She was there, in New York, the night you exploded. Her name is Molly Walker. She currently living in Nevada with a woman named Niki Sanders."
"The chick that nailed Sylar with the parking meter." Claire added. Peter nodded, remembering the woman who had helped him that night.
"So, is that her ability? Tracking specials?" Peter asked, casting a sidelong glance at Kaito Nakamura. He wondered if Nakamura knew about Molly Walker. By the look on his face, Peter guessed he didn't.
"Yes." Noah replied simply.
"I had no idea that the new system was a child." Nakamura said while stepping forward. "Linderman just said that it was more reliable than the old system."
"Well, that doesn't matter now. Both systems are down and all of the people who have been marked are safe." Said Bennet, taking his daughters hand and smiling. "And that's the way it should be."
Niki Sanders, Micah Sanders, and Molly Walker
Las Vegas, NV
Niki Sanders stood over the frying pan in her kitchen. She was making grilled cheese for her, her son Micah, and the newest addition to the household, Molly Walker. She smiled as she thought of how happy it had been to have her living with them. Molly was a smart girl and Micah seemed to have taken a real liking to her. They would spend hours playing video games and watching TV together. D.L., Niki's husband, once said that he thought Micah and Molly were an adorable couple. She knew he was just joking, but it was a cute thought. Niki figured that she was watching her son develop his first crush.
The kids were outside playing and D.L. was working his new job as a construction worker for Nevada State Highway. The last few months were rough on the couple. Niki didn't have many skills aside from her internet capabilities and D.L. was an ex-con, so it was difficult for either of them to find a good job. When they returned from New York, they were lucky enough to live off the money that Jessica had earned them from doing jobs for Linderman, but that was running out fast. Fortunately, a contractor agreed to hire D.L. to work the night shift. He did boring roadwork for the state, but at least it was good paying job that provided for his family.
They had little worries in the world now. Linderman was dead, Molly was safe, and D.L. had a decent job so their finances weren't too tight. Everything was perfect. That was, until Niki received a call from Mohinder Suresh.
"Sylar may be alive." Mohinder's shakily uttered.
"What?" Niki asked, panicking and wondering where the children were.
"I saw him in a watch shop… he seemed, different." He told her.
"Are you sure it was him?" she asked.
"I'm sure."
That call was made this morning. Niki knew that if it were anything, those in New York would take care of it. And if something happened, she would get fair warning. She was very glad that her and her family were a whole country away from Sylar.
Niki smiled again, pushing the thoughts of the killer out of her mind as she flipped the last of the sandwiches onto the final plate. She placed it on the table and walked over to the back door.
"C'mon guys! Grilled cheese is up!" Niki yelled into the back yard. Micah and Molly were kneeling on the ground looking at something. The kids looked up from what they were doing, smiled at each other and ran in the house.
"So, what were you doing out there, huh?" Niki asked.
"We were watching this really weird bug." Said Micah with a mouth full of cheese. "It was really gross."
"And cool." Smiled Molly. She may have been a girl, but she liked bugs.
"Well, just don't bring any in the house. I can't stand bugs." Niki said with a chuckle. They all continued to eat, while laughing over a story Molly told about Mohinder Suresh and a spider. Apparently, Mohinder is not a big fan of spiders.
"Yeah, and when he saw it, he started screaming like a girl." Molly giggled.
When the finished up, Niki stood and took their plates, leaving their glasses so that they could finish their sodas. She went to the kitchen sink to wash them off.
"I can only imagine." She smirked as she began washing off the plates. She looked out the window over the sink into the yard. She usually did this when she was washing dishes. She would watch the trees rustle or the children next door play kickball, but this time there were no children, and the bushes were the ones rustling. Niki squinted as she tried to make out the movement in the bushes.
"Oh my God…" she breathed.
There was someone out there.
Mohinder Suresh, Matt Parkman, Audrey Hanson, and Sylar
Queens, NY
"Most people do."
Matt Parkman couldn't breathe. He didn't want to look but he couldn't look away. He heard a faint buzzing noise as Sylar raised a finger to his forehead. He felt the sting of the incision… and began to scream. Blood trickled down his face. He could faintly hear Audrey yelling.
Audrey Hanson couldn't believe what she was watching. She could barely move, mainly because Sylar had broken her leg by throwing her into the bookcase so many times. She was terrified.
Mohinder Suresh, telekinetically pinned to the ceiling, started screaming, "NO!" at the top of his lungs. It was all he could do. He had no ability. He couldn't do anything but watch and scream.
Sylar was moving slowly. He wanted Suresh and the special agent to watch in agony as he did his work. He wanted them to see exactly what they did. Suddenly, he stopped, cocked his head to the side, and yelled, "Everyone be QUIET!"
There was silence.
Sylar dropped Parkman to the floor and stepped away from him. Mohinder fell from the ceiling as all telekinetic restraints on him were removed. There was still absolute silence.
"What the hell is he doing?" Mohinder thought. He crawled over to Matt who was no worse for the wear, aside from a one-inch slice in his forehead that was bleeding profusely. "Head wounds always bleed too much." thought Suresh as he ripped his button-down to used a bandage for the cut.
"Yeah, but at least my brains aren't falling out." Matt choked.
"SHUT UP!" Sylar yelled again. "We're not alone."
Sylar reached out with his hearing. He felt so fortunate for his quality time with Mohinder. If he hadn't traveled with the geneticist, he never would have met that grungy mechanic and he never would have gained such a wonderful ability. Sylar paused and listened carefully.
"Unit seven, target sighted."
"Unit two, don't move until unit four has a clear shot."
"What's he doing? Why did he stop moving?"
"Oh shi-… he knows… MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! ALL UNITS!"
Before anyone could react, even Sylar who somewhat knew it was coming, a full-blown military melee ensued.
Men in full S.W.A.T. gear crashed through the window and kicked down the door. They were fully armed and definitely dangerous. The first through the window went right for Sylar, who smirked, flicked his wrist and sent the man back out the way he came, plummeting two stories to his screaming death.
The four men that came crashing through the door spread out, one covering Mohinder, the other covered Audrey. "Who the hell are you guys?!" she yelled, but got no answer. The third made a move to hold Matt, but Parkman punched him in the face, the only part not protected by S.W.A.T. gear, breaking the man's nose. He scrambled to his feet to find the gun that Mohinder had throw at Sylar only moments before.
The fourth fired two shots at Sylar who immediately stopped the bullets mid air. Sylar quickly noticed that the projectiles weren't bullets at all, but darts. They were firing tranquilizer darts.
Parkman located the gun and turned to begin firing when one of the window's units shunted him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun, sending him face first onto the floor.
Sylar turned to see the team members holding Audrey and Mohinder. Once again, he flicked his wrists and the men geared in black went crashing against their prospective walls. Audrey flailed away from her position in the pile of books and crawled over to Mohinder.
"What the bloody hell is going on?!" Shouted the geneticist. "Are they with us?!"
"I don't think so!" Audrey yelled back. The man that was covering Mohinder stood up after the attack by Sylar and grabbed Audrey and threw her backwards. He turned his gun on her and fired once. The dart hit her directly in the chest and before she knew it, she was unconscious.
Mohinder jumped on the SWAT man's back wrapping arms around his neck. The man ran backwards into the wall, successfully knocking Suresh to the floor.
Sylar kneeled and touched the floor, turning it to ice. The SWAT team slipped and danced around the ice, but did not fall.
Damn… thought Sylar as he telekinetically tossed another guy out the window. Finally, taking out one of the darts from his gun, one of the geared men lunged at Sylar's back, lodging the tranquilizer firmly in his neck. Another did the same to Mohinder and both men crashed to the floor.
Mohinder, semi-conscience, watched as the crew calmed down to look at the scene. Matt was lying face down by the pile of books, Audrey was slumped against the wall by the door, and Sylar was lying on his back. Mohinder could feel consciousness slipping away from him.
"Which one's are Parkman and Gray?" said one guy.
"Well, I'm guessin' it ain't the girl." Cracked the other.
"I think the Indian is the doc." Said a third.
"Alright, then we take these two. Wait, the Indian's still awake." Said the one farthest away. He walked over and shot Mohinder again. "Nighty-night, doctor."
That was the last thing Mohinder Suresh heard before everything went black.