Part10
Countdown

Summary: The group has found their killer but things go wrong when they disagree over who the killer's intended victim is...

AN: A huge thank you to my awesome beta Motsureru, who made me edit this more then I would have liked grins But, in the end was spot on with her input and her wonderful edits. Thank you so much

"So basically, what you're telling me is this guy already has someone in mind?" Claire asked as she met up with Peter on the nearest street corner, respective beverages in hand.

Peter nodded as he stepped aside for a middle-aged woman walking her dogs and a pair of giggling teenage girls.

"Yeah, except all I got was a name: Anna. That was it, just a first name, but he's planning on going after her – I heard him – he said, 'Maybe after Anna this one will do'."

Claire suppressed a shudder at that as together they started down the crowded city street, side-stepping people in their haste to get back to where Gabriel and Mohinder were parked, waiting for them.

"Christ, Peter that could be anyone," Claire scowled, "What are we supposed to do, stand outside the coffee shop and ask every girl who walks in what her name is?"

Peter paused for a moment and stepped into the empty doorway of a bank so they could get out of the way of the midday crowds.

"There's got to be a better idea," Peter said, thinking hard, "This guy isn't playing, he knows who he wants next and if we don't stop him he will kill her."

Claire didn't like the sound of this. Her gaze drifted towards the many young women who passed them, suddenly fully aware of what they were up against. The city was full of potential victims; any one of the many attractive young women strolling past could be the killer's newest target. The thought filled Claire with a sickening dread.

Now that they had a likely suspect, Claire for one was a bit mystified as to how this guy had started killing in the first place- he seemed so ordinary with his too-big tee shirt and nervous grin. Almost too much so.

Then again, Claire was well aware that appearances were deceiving; she may have been young, but she had lived enough in her short years to know better.

"I just hope Gabriel helps us figure something out," Claire said, running a nervous hand through her shoulder-length hair.

Pete laughed out loud at that, raising a sarcastic eyebrow as he did so.

Claire threw him a dirty look, but as usual it was ignored.

"You know, we would never have gotten this far without him, so maybe you should give him a break."

Claire huffed as she started away from him, pushing once more through the crowds. Peter groaned and hurried after her, quickly falling into step beside her.

"So says the girl who watched her best friend get her head sliced off by the guy," Peter countered in a voice low enough for only her to hear.

Claire was tired of it all. Stopping dead in her tracks, she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her.

"No, that was someone else, and hell, even Mohinder is starting to see that."

Claire watched something dark and at the same time terribly sad cross Peter's expression.

He shook her hand off.

"That's because Mohinder has always been a blind idiot when it comes to him."

"No, I think Mohinder may be the only one of us who actually knew Gabriel before any of this…"

"Trust me, Gabriel is every bit as manipulative as Sylar, if not more so." Peter replied, a strange look in his eye as he turned and started away. Claire had no choice but to reluctantly follow after him.

--

Peter and Claire were barely on speaking terms when they finally made it back to where Gabriel and Mohinder were parked on a side street waiting for them.

An icy silence followed them as they climbed into the back seat of the car. Mohinder turned around to address them.

Claire slammed her door shut and then proceeded to move as far away from Peter as possible.

Mohinder decided for the time being to ignore the obvious tension, turning matters quickly to the job.

"So, how positive are we?"

"I'd say definitely, it's him," Peter replied confidently as Mohinder looked over at Claire for her opinion. Claire, however, was busy sulking in her seat, arms folded across her chest. Claire's expression was stony as she looked out the window.

Gabriel busied himself studying them both in the review mirror, curious as to what had happened once they left the shop and disabled their respective com links.

"You alright, Claire?" Gabriel asked, concerned.

Claire looked up and locked eyes with him.

"I'm fine but I'll feel a hell of a lot better once we get this guy off the street."

Mohinder nodded and slid back into his seat, shifting to get comfortable.

"Agreed, what ideas do we have?" Mohinder asked, all business.

"I say we grab him," Peter said quickly. Claire turned to him and threw him a disgusted look.

"He can kill by touch – hello?"

"And you of all people should know I can heal!" Peter said, rolling his eyes at her.

"Besides, you know I didn't mean that literally - you're just looking for a fight!"

Claire's scowl deepened as Gabriel, still eying her in the mirror, watched her hands curl themselves into tight fists.

She was literally shaking with anger.

Gabriel couldn't help but secretly wish that Claire would turn around and knock Peter off his arrogant ass. He fought back the urge to laugh out loud at such a thought.

"Oh you'd love that wouldn't you, Gabriel?" Peter huffed. Gabriel realized too late that Peter was reading his mind.

Mohinder jumped in quickly, not wishing for the situation to escalate to a full out fight.

"Alright, enough everyone…we have a job to do, remember?"

There was a collective sigh from the group and some grumbling, but for the moment the crisis seemed to be averted.

Satisfied, Mohinder turned back once more to address Peter and Claire.

"Claire is right in a way Peter, we can't exactly say how long you'll be down if he lays even a finger on you, so we can't chance any of us getting too close to the guy – we still don't know how exactly his ability works. We have to approach the situation as carefully as possible."

"So we wait for him to leave work and then we tranq the guy," Peter said easily.

"Um, where in the world do you suppose we do that where a million New Yorkers aren't going to walk by and see us hauling some guy off in a van?" Gabriel countered.

Gabriel could feel Peter bristle with anger in response.

"Okay, well, what's your bright idea then?"

"We trail him to this girl's apartment and we get him before he gets her…"

"We have no idea when he's planning that," Peter objected.

"Well then, Peter," Mohinder interrupted, "With the million tricks you have up your sleeve I am sure you can help us figure something out."

"Wait, what else can you do?" Gabriel questioned.

"What, Gabriel?" Peter spat, "Did you think you were the only one around here who could perform more than one trick?"

"Yeah, kind of like a circus poodle," Claire quipped, her tone dripping in sarcasm.

"Just shut up Claire," Peter replied, irritated.

"Tell me to shut up again, Peter Petrelli, and I swear I'll turn you into a fucking girl," Claire seethed through gritted teeth as she whirled around at him, eyes flashing with anger.

This time both Gabriel and Mohinder shared a grin at Claire's remark.

Mohinder had to look away, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud.

"Alright, enough," Mohinder said, trying to keep composure.

"Mohinder's right, the thing is we can't let him out of our sight from this point on," Gabriel said quickly. "So from this moment on we keep tabs on him and wait for him to lead us to Anna., whoever she is."

----

Anna Matthews had a long, rough day at work and as usual she was bone-tired from being on her feet all day long. As if that wasn't bad enough, she was emotionally drained from dealing with her ex-boyfriend and her boss, Chuck. He refused to accept that it was over between them, a fact she found especially exasperating considering the circumstances in which they had broken up. Seriously, she thought, was she really supposed to overlook the fact that she had caught him in bed with her sister?

Sighing loudly, she lifted a handful of sweaty blonde hair off the back of her neck and wiped away some of the grunginess of the workday with a damp paper towel. She tossed it into the waste basket beside her as she removed her apron, tossing it into her locker in the break room. She was glad for the time being to see it gone. Sighing once, more she picked up her hairbrush and turned to the small mirror inside her locker. Then, removing her hair from a ponytail, she started brushing out the tangled mess of her hair, gritting her teeth through each snarl and knot she unraveled.

She then reached for some powder and patted the shine off her nose, each little ritual helping to relax her and make her feel better about her rotten day.

She added some lip gloss, spreading it on her index finger and running it across her lips. Well, she didn't look exactly great, but she did look passable – especially for someone who had spent eight hours on their feet bringing ungrateful rich people their overpriced entrees all night.

Eager to get home, she hastily stepped out from the backroom and nearly collided with Chuck coming in to find her in what was probably another lame, last ditch attempt to win her back.

"Are you in some kind of rush, Anna?" Chuck asked, raising an eyebrow arrogantly.

Anna sighed and stepped past him, but he was quick to block her movement, putting his large, muscled bulk between her and the exit. Annoyed, she tossed back her hair and gave him a withering glare.

"Come on, Chuck – let me go, I reek like grease and old people and I just want to get a coffee and go home."

"You want me to come by later, tuck you in?" He teased as he stepped closer.

Anna made a face as she side-stepped him, elbowing him out of her way as she did so. "Um, no," she said sarcastically.

"You know you miss this!" Chuck taunted.

"Yeah, like a hole in the head…"

Anna grumbled under her breath as she shook her head at his nerve. She made her way out of the nearly empty restaurant, waving goodbye to a fellow waitress as she pushed open the heavy glass doors and headed out onto the street. She adjusted her red cardigan around her thin shoulders and, pulling up the collar, braved the cold fall evening. Her destination was gratefully only a block up from where she worked.

Her thoughts for the time being were on a nice hot cup of coffee and a good murder mystery she had waiting at home. Anna went to open the door to the shop when it flew open suddenly, startling her from her reverie. Her handbag, which she had left open, swung out of her hand, littering the air with fallen debris.

"Oh shit," she muttered, scrambling as the guy who had nearly knocked her over started to apologize while bending down to help her retrieve her spilled items.

"Oh, hey sorry about that," the guy said as he swooped down to pick up a bottle of hand lotion and her tube of lip gloss that was rolling away from the scene towards the gutter.

Anna moved to take her things from him. Straightening, she found herself blushing when they made eye contact. He wasn't very tall, but then neither was she. Still, he was definitely good looking, probably in his early thirties, although he looked younger.

He gave her a lopsided grin and apologized once more.

Anna only smiled at the good looking guy as he handed her her things, watching as she shoved them nervously into her handbag.

"It's okay," Anna responded, "Accidents happen."

"Yeah, that they do," he said as he gave her another gorgeous grin in response.

She knew she was blushing something fierce as she returned his smile.

"By the way, I'm Peter," the guy said, holding out a hand to her.

Anna nodded, "I'm Anna," Peter held open the door for her.

"Can I at least buy you a coffee?" he asked. She nodded, stepping into the warm shop.

"Sure," she said. Thoughts of Chuck and her hellish workday seemed to evaporate.

"Great," Peter said warmly. As he glanced up and saw Randy. He stood behind the counter, staring at the two of them.

His look was tense, and Peter didn't have to read minds to know he was none too thrilled to see her walk in with him.

All she needs is some guy …giving her more trouble…

Peter caught quickly from Randy's stray thoughts. That was pretty ironic, Peter thought as he led Anna up to the counter, considering that he was planning on killing her tonight.

----

Meanwhile, Gabriel and Mohinder sat across the street, watching as Claire sent them an instant message from the laptop she was using inside the shop.

He found her…

Mohinder breathed a sigh of relief as he read the message, turning in the cramped space of the car to share the good news with Gabriel.

"Peter found her," Mohinder told him.

Gabriel looked over to him and then back in the direction of the shop. He didn't respond, only continued looking through the plate glass windows, brows knitted in thought as he watched Peter stroll up to the counter with a smiling blonde. Something wasn't right. Gabriel didn't know how to articulate it, but it was there, the feeling that something was off.

Mohinder wasn't sure what he was staring so intensely at, or what had him so deep in thought that he hadn't responded to the news they had waited all day for.

Perplexed, Mohinder turned back to his laptop.

Great, keep watching…

Mohinder typed back to Claire. He then looked over at Gabriel's dark expression, watched his profile as he let out a sigh of annoyance when a group of people passed by the plate glass windows of the shop, blocking his view.

Gabriel reached for the door handle and stepped out of the vehicle, clearly agitated about something.

Mohinder leaned across the seat. "What is it, Gabriel?"

Mohinder called after him as he started across the busy road and towards the shop.

Gabriel didn't respond as he hurried across and stopped a few feet from the curb.

A taxi whizzed past, blaring its horn, driver yelling something. Gabriel barely registered any of it.

"He's wrong," Gabriel said to himself, "He's not interested in her.. He's…"

Gabriel's voice trailed off as he scanned the interior of the shop. Then he saw her.

The girl was a lovely young brunette who sat at alone at a table tucked into the far corner of the shop, her text books splayed out around her and a large coffee mug by her side. Gabriel watched as she reached back to tie up her long brown hair with a rubber band, letting out a yawn she leaned back, cracking her knuckles before returning to her school work. He lifted his eyes from the girl's hunched-over form, moving his gaze past a trio of college students ordering coffee. Barely breathing, he moved his gaze over to the side of them and saw Randy; he was fiddling with an espresso machine, but his attention was elsewhere. He was too busy staring at her. The look on his face was almost serene, almost peaceful. He seemed to stand completely still, as if glued to where he stood and just watching her as she lifted the over-sized mug to her lips and blew into it. She took small hesitant sips from her beverage before setting it back down again. It was then that Gabriel knew. He knew he was not mistaken about that mad glint in Randy's eye or what it all meant. Gabriel felt a sick sense of knowing just what Randy was thinking, of recognizing that wild and predatory stare as the young man studied and filed away every move this girl made.

A pit of unease settled itself into Gabriel's gut.

Gabriel looked back to the car and saw that Mohinder was watching him, his expression curious and a bit uneasy as he gestured for Gabriel to come back.

Gabriel headed over to him, opened the driver side and slid in, slamming the door shut behind him. Gabriel turned in his seat to look at Mohinder.

"Now, what in the hell was that all about?" Mohinder demanded.

Gabriel sighed, "I had to be sure…"

"Sure about what?" Mohinder asked, his curiosity growing as well as his concern over the dark, almost frightened expression on Gabriel's face.

"We have the wrong girl," Gabriel whispered.

"Peter said…"

"No, Peter is wrong – it's that girl right over there," Gabriel insisted as he pointed to the one with the long dark hair, who was now pulling out yet another text book from the over-stuffed bag beside her.

Mohinder just looked at him and then back into the shop. Gabriel watched as a mix of emotion danced across the other man's usual stoic expression. Gabriel was reluctant to tell him just what he was thinking, knowing that what he would say would be the last thing in the world Mohinder would want to hear from him. Gabriel sighed and leaned with his head against the glass. The gesture only further aroused Mohinder's curiosity over Gabriel's strange behavior. After a long moment, Mohinder finally had to ask, "How do you know?"

Gabriel swallowed hard, dreading the conversation that was coming.

"Because I know that look in his eyes. I know… because it's like…like looking into a mirror…into Sylar."

Gabriel saw his words hit Mohinder, watched him tremble and try to bury himself deeper in his coat in response to hearing that name spoken out loud.

Mohinder swallowed hard and looked away.

Gabriel wanted to say something; just the mention of that name had brought back some of the walls standing between them that they had managed to knock down.

Gabriel wanted to apologize, hating that a name. A person he could scarcely recall being could bring such a stricken and terrified look to Mohinder's face.

It struck a deep and painful chord in Gabriel, so much so that he could he feel his eyes whelm up with tears.

He fought them back and struggled to regain his composure. As much as he wanted to tell Mohinder he was sorry, sorry for everything - for things he had no memory of - now was not the time for apologies.

Gabriel reached for the door handle, only to feel Mohinder's hand on his arm.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know but, I need your help Mohinder. Have Claire get me an address, then I need both her and Peter to meet in the back of the shop near the dumpster in ten minutes."

Mohinder started to protest but Gabriel stopped him, covering Mohinder's hand with his own.

"Please Mohinder, I need you to trust me…"

Mohinder only nodded, and he lightly squeezed Gabriel's hand before releasing it.

Their eyes met and held one another in the darkened interior of the car. Gabriel was the first to look away, reaching for the handle of the door.

"Don't worry I'll be back," he assured Mohinder as he jumped out of the car and hurried across the street.

Mohinder only shook his head in response and quickly set about relaying the message to Claire.

---

The back alley was desolate and dark, lit only by a nearby street light. Hovering by a dumpster that reeked of urine and God knew what else, an antsy and nervous Gabriel waited for Claire and Peter to show up.

Claire was the first one outside, which wasn't surprising. Gabriel knew she wouldn't let him down. Claire shivered as she stepped out of the heavy metal doors and into the chilled night air. She started buttoning up her coat as she peered out in the darkness, spotting Gabriel who quickly stepped towards her.

"I got it," she said, "I am pretty sure she thought I was a whack job, but I got it out of her just the same."

Gabriel breathed into his hands, rubbing them together in an attempt to keep warm.

"God, you're good to know," Gabriel said gently, "Thank you."

Claire smiled, "Yeah, I am a can-do kind of person, nice to have one us around, huh?"

"Yeah, definitely," Gabriel said sincerely, giving her a warm smile.

"Alright, so what have you got?"

"Want me to write it down?"

Gabriel gave her a small grin as he pulled up the collar of his thin overcoat in an attempt to block out the wind chill.

"Photographic memory, remember?" he replied casually.

"Ah, yes - that's a good one, okay here it is: it's110th street, building 390 and she is on the 3rd floor, her first name is Angela.

"That's pretty close to Anna," Gabriel said, thoughtfully - mentally storing the information away.

"Yeah, it is, wow…Are you sure it's her?"

"Yeah, I'd stake my life on it."

"That would be all well and good but what's your life worth these days?" Claire joked.

Gabriel smiled in response.

He touched a finger to the com set in his ear as he addressed Mohinder back at the car.

"Did you get that?" He asked his waiting partner.

"Yes, got it."

"Can you see Peter, Mohinder?"

Gabriel asked. Claire stood beside him shivering.

"He just got up, he should be on his way outside any minute."

"Alright. Listen, I am just getting a lot of static on my end - I think something isn't working quite right, so I am disabling now. If anything changes let Claire know, copy?"

"I copy," Mohinder answered, but there was a note of distrust in his voice as he responded.

Gabriel disbanded his com link, looking back at a confused Claire.

"Your set isn't broken is it?"

"No," Gabriel said quickly, "I figured I'd save Mohinder some grief."

Claire raised an eyebrow. Gabriel sighed, squaring back his shoulders as he started to explain himself.

"It's probably not going to be pretty when he gets out here, so I figured it would be better if Mohinder didn't have to listen to it." Gabriel explained.

"Yeah, good idea," Claire said, agreeing.

"Yeah, anyway, Peter should be out here soon," Gabriel informed Claire, who was busy shifting from one foot to the other in an attempt to keep warm.

"He better," she said, "God, just think - a couple of days ago and I was in short-shorts. Now, I need a goddamn parka."

"You want my coat?" Gabriel asked politely as he started to shrug it off.

Claire seemed amused by the gesture.

"Chivalry is dead Gabriel, didn't you get the memo?"

"Must have missed it," he said easily, as he watched her shiver again.

"Are you sure?" Gabriel insisted.

"Of course, it's not like I am going to die of frostbite or anything," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"By the way, you alright?"

Gabriel nodded, "Fine," he answered.

Yet, inside he was a coiled up mess of nerves. He was so wound up he could barely stand still, so he started pacing the side of the building from the back entrance to the dumpster and then back again.

Claire watched, fascinated.

"Christ, Gabe - what's with the speed-walking?"

"Nerves, I guess. Well that and it's goddamn cold out here."

It was then that Peter came stumbling out of the doors.

It was quite clear from both the surly look on his face and the cocky way in which he joined the group that he was good and pissed off.

"You better make this good," Peter said, ignoring Claire for the moment and coming towards Gabriel.

Bracing himself to deal with both Peter and his obvious attitude problem, Gabriel tried to make his expression as amicable as possible, though inside he was seething at the way in which Peter had spoken to him.

Gabriel took a deep breath.

"You have the wrong girl," he said quickly.

Peter just smirked at him, giving Claire a look like 'can you believe this shit.'

Gabriel was in no mood for Peter's attitude; that girl was going to die while he sat inside and drank coffee with the wrong one.

"Oh so you read minds now, huh?" Peter said, anger creeping into his voice.

"No - I never said I did. But it doesn't change the fact that you are wrong about this."

"Well, I'm not and you're jeopardizing this mission with your bullshit theories."

Peter had already started walking away.

"Besides, I have a girl waiting in there for me – Anna, mind you," Peter called over his shoulder, "Who Randy here hasn't stopped think inappropriate thoughts about since we walked in."

Gabriel went after him, putting himself between Peter and the door.

"It's not a theory - it's the goddamn truth. For God's sake, Peter just give me a chance…"

"You have to be fucking kidding me," Peter snarled.

"Look, I know you have reason to hate me…"

"You haven't the slightest idea why I hate you - and any other day I'd be happy to tell you."

Peter replied, something distinctly dark crossing his expression as he glared at the other man.

A stare down ensued. Claire cleared her throat and attempted to get between them.

"Look, Peter, just hear him out…"

Peter whirled around to face her.

"No, I am done with this conversation. Now I am getting back in there before she thinks I took off and goes home to get herself killed. Now get the fuck out of my way Gabriel, or I swear to God I will hurt you."
Gabriel didn't budge. He knew Peter was probably fully capable of making him physically move, but Gabriel wasn't ready to back down.

Gabriel could feel his frustration growing to a fevered pitch, infuriated all the more by the way Peter continued to glare at him and refused to let him explain himself. Gabriel took a deep breath, shutting his eyes briefly as he lowered his hands to his sides and spoke once more.

"Peter, this girl's blood is on you, not me. You're about to condemn an innocent girl to death."

The words seemed to strike a chord in Peter, one he disregarded quickly as he shook off Gabriel's words. His eyes narrowed with anger.

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?" he glowered.

Gabriel felt as if his spine had been doused in ice water. He pulled himself up to his full height and met the younger man's hard stare. He went to speak when Claire suddenly looked around her, her expression growing alarmed.

"Whoa wait," she said suddenly. They looked at her as she put her hand to her head, listening.

"Wait… Mohinder…wait just one minute…"

There was silence for a moment.

"Goddamn it, Mohinder.. Mohinder?"

Gabriel was instantly alarmed.

"What is it?" "What the hell just happened, Claire?"

She turned back to them, her eyes wide.

"Mohinder went after them - seems the girl Gabriel had his eye on and Randy have suddenly…they're gone."

"Goddamn it!" Gabriel swore. As he went for the door, Peter stopped him.

"Yeah, you go after him. Be the big hero and when you come back here empty handed, the both of you are going to feel like assholes."

Gabriel spun around so quickly he caught Peter off guard, causing the other man to stumble back.

Gabriel's expression was a mask of seething fury, a fury he had long held in check.

His eyes narrowed as he got right in Peter's face, as he fought back not only the anger that surged through him, but also the cold fear that had started to lace itself in the pit of his gut at even the mere thought of anything happening to Mohinder.

"If Mohinder gets hurt because of your stubborn stupidity then I can guarantee you're going to get that fight you seem to want so fucking badly."

With that Gabriel turned back and went into the shop.

Claire went in after him.

"I am coming with you…"

Gabriel shook his head. "No, stay with Peter and make sure Anna Matthews is safe. I will be in touch with you soon."

As he started to walk away Claire called after him.

"Be safe, okay?"

He nodded, looking over his shoulder to address her.

"Yeah, you too…Don't worry, I'll get him back, I promise