ADAM'S DISCIPLES
CHAPTER 9: THE LOCKDOWN
It's been 9 months since the incident at the warehouse. Adam has since lost his mind even more, Maury has developed his powers and become a monster to the others, Charles has been searching for more members to join his secret society, Richard Drucker and his pilot, Hampton "Goose" Connolly, have been hiding in Bangalore, and the whereabouts of Victoria, Evan, and the Shanti virus are still unknown.
1992
Charles Deveaux's Rooftop
Kaito Nakamura, Noah Bennet, Claude Rains, and Thompson are all on Charles Deveaux's rooftop discussing something important. Kaito is holding a baby.
"You're going to adopt this baby as your own," Kaito tells HRG.
"I don't think that's a good idea," HRG worries.
"It's not a request," Kaito says strictly.
Charles Deveaux is resting in his bed, apparently aware of the events occurring on his roof. Richard Drucker is standing by him.
"What are you going to do?" Charles calmly asks.
"I'm leaving with Hampton. We're going to Bhutan," Drucker responds.
"It's a shame, we started something great," Charles remarks.
"I know, but I'm sure the Deveaux Society can continue without me. After that last attack, I'm not sure I can handle any more of this," Drucker explains.
"I'm getting old, Richard, and I know I won't be around forever."
"You're not that old."
"The point is, this group needs more members, or else we'll grow weaker."
"Sometimes I fear that we're already weaker."
"Don't think that way, Richard. We know just as much as they do about people like us."
"Knowledge isn't always power, sometimes you need strength in numbers."
"Sometimes you need faith."
There is a long uncomfortable silence, a silence that only good friends can comfortably share.
"Besides, we have someone from the Company secretly working with us," Charles informs.
Drucker looks happily surprised.
"You're kidding, who is it?" Drucker curiously asks.
Back on the rooftop.
"If she manifests," Kaito explains, "We'll take her."
"Of course," HRG agrees.
Kaito nods in agreement. HRG is holding the baby Claire in his arms, reluctantly. Kaito calls his young son, Hiro, who gets up and leaves with his dad. HRG is still stunned. A happier Claude comes to him. Kaito nods to Thompson as he leaves. Kaito and little Hiro walk down to Charles's bedroom and knocks on the door.
"Go ahead, it's safe to answer it," Charles reassures.
"Okay," Drucker says as he walks to the door.
Drucker opens the door and looks in shock.
"He works for the Company! How could you bring him to me!" Drucker shouts, clearly panicked.
"I'm not here to bag and tag you, my son is with me," Kaito comfortably reassures.
"Settle down, Drucker," Charles calmly says, "He's on our side."
"So, you're the member working for the Company?" Drucker asks.
Kaito nods. Drucker smiles and brings the two of them inside. He closes the door and stands by Charles. Kaito also stands by Charles as little Hiro sits on a chair, still playing his handheld video game.
"Nice to see you," Charles warmly greets.
Kaito nods and smiles.
"This makes sense," Drucker thinks out loud.
Kaito notices something strange. He looks at Drucker's watch at notices the Symbol, the godsend helix symbol. He looks intrigued.
"That's an interesting watch," Kaito points out.
"Oh thank you. My father wore it during World War II. It's the only thing of his that I have," Drucker reminisces, "He made it himself."
Charles is curious about Kaito's reaction.
"That symbol was on the crest of Takezo Kensei," Charles tells Drucker, "Kensei was a hero, just like your father was."
Drucker's emotions are going crazy inside, but he controls them and looks saddened.
"It's okay, everybody needs a hero," Charles comfortably says.
Drucker nods.
"If you would excuse me for just a moment," Drucker sadly says.
Charles nods. Drucker leaves the room.
"Why did you mention that?" Charles asks.
"That symbol was also the logo for Arthur Petrelli's law firm. A village in Haiti also had that very same symbol, it was used for rituals or something like that," Kaito ponders, "And now it was on a watch that Drucker's dad made during World War II. I never noticed the connections that symbol made."
"Heroism connects us all," Charles responds.
Kaito nods in agreement.
"You're right," Kaito agrees.
Kaito tells little Hiro to go and the two of them leave. Drucker watches them leave and comes back inside.
1948
Rooijker, a Dutch freedom fighter and father of Richard Drucker, is sitting in an unknown cave, meditating. His clothes are practically rags and he has a beard and long hair. After he finishes meditating, he looks outside the cave and watches a spectacular event in nature, predation. A hungry serpent watches a playful crane wander around. The serpent is ready to prowl and the crane remains unaware that he's about to become lunch. The serpent strikes and kills the crane. It then proceeds to feed on the crane. Rooijker watches with fascination. Suddenly, Rooijker rushes to a wall of the cave. He picks up a rock and begins to write something on the wall in large letters.
WE ARE ALL CONNECTED
It fills the entire interior of the cave. Rooijker smiles with satisfaction as he reads what he wrote, as if he wrote it subconsciously.
Back to 1977.
Bob and Maury are confronting each other in a storage room
"What's happened to you?" a confused Bob asks.
Maury gives a creepy grin.
"I've discovered my full potential," Maury replies.
"What full potential?" Bob still doesn't get it.
"I can read minds. I can make people tell me things and do things for me. I can discover your darkest secrets in an instant and use them against you. I can make you see what I want you to see, make you do what I want you to do, make you think what I what you to think! I am the most powerful one of us all!" Maury exclaims.
Bob is worried.
"Listen, you're being used by Adam. He wants you to feel like you have power..."
Maury interrupts.
"I do have power! You just don't understand," Maury shouts.
"Oh I understand perfectly. Not only are you Adam's little weapon, but you've lost your mind!" Bob replies.
Maury gives the most evil look to Bob. This frightens him.
"What do you fear the most?" Maury asks evilly.
Bob is even more worried. His hand is near an unknown needle.
"What's hiding in your closet?" Maury says with confidence.
"You won't get away with this," Bob threatens.
"Really? If I'm 'Adam's weapon', I'm sure he'll let me hurt you," Maury replies.
Bob grabs the needle, dives toward Maury, and injects it into his neck. It's a sedative of some kind, knocking Maury out. Bob gets up and adjusts his suit.
"Sweet dreams, Maury" Bob angrily says.
Maury wakes up in an unfamiliar place. He appears to be in Alaska, up on the mountains.
"Where am I?" Maury asks.
Back to Charles's room. Charles is laying there, his eyes are red. Kaito is watching.
"Are you sure this is the only way," Charles asks.
"Trust me, this will work," Kaito answers.
Maury is confused. Suddenly, he hears a voice.
"Who is that!" Maury shouts.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the voice replies.
Maury gets angrier. He recognizes the voice.
"Charles? How are you doing this?" Maury angrily asks.
"I can manipulate dreams, remember?" Charles reminds him.
A look of fear fills Maury's eyes.
"You have caused so much pain to others. Today, I'm going to show you what pain truly is," Charles taunts.
Maury is frightened.
"You're in my territory now, so don't even try to use telepathy," Charles taunts.
"Please, I'll do whatever you want, okay? Just, don't do this," Maury begs.
Back to Charles and Kaito. Bob enters the room.
"He's asleep," Bob informs.
"I know, Charles is working on him now," Kaito informs.
"He's practically begging for his life, and I haven't even done anything yet," Charles tells them.
Kaito and Bob give a satisfied look to each other.
Back to Maury's dream.
"Why are you doing this, Charles?" Maury asks.
There is a short pause.
"This is the beginning of the end," Charles replies.
October 2006
Los Angeles
Ted Sprague, Matt Parkman, and Hana Gitelman are in an unknown cemetery plotting to discover the truth and confront Noah Bennet. In the distance, a sniper is targeting them. He's talking to someone through an earpiece.
"I've got them in my sights, should I take them out?" the sniper asks.
In an unknown office, we see who the sniper is talking to. It's a semi-fat, middle-aged man in a business suit.
"No, I can't allow that," the man responds.
"But sir, they're dangerous," the sniper argues.
"We are a non-violent organization," the man commands, "I can't let you ruin that."
"Sir, two of them have committed unforgivable crimes," the sniper argues.
"So? They're only dangerous to the Company," the man points out.
"You're right, sir, I'm sorry," the sniper apologizes, "What should I do instead?"
"Follow them, make sure they aren't tracked," the man orders.
"Right away, sir," the sniper says.
Evan enters the office room, looking worried.
"What is it, Evan?" the man asks.
"Mr. Gray, we have a problem," Evan says.
Back to 1977.
Inside an unknown shack, Victoria has been hiding with Evan. They both still have the Shanti virus.
"I always wonder if I should go back," Victoria confesses.
"You don't know what they'll do to you," Evan warns, "I'm sure they know that you've been hiding the virus. Adam might kill you if you go back."
"I think I should," Victoria states, "Who knows what's happened to them since I've been gone. I mean, other than Adam, they're all pretty decent. The only reason they act so uncivilized is because they've come to accept Adam as a friend. They have these great powers and under Adam's leadership, they don't know what to do with them. They're just simply confused."
"There's nothing simple about it," Evan argues, "They've lost their minds!"
"It's just Adam!" Victoria argues back.
"Like you said, who knows what has happened to them. They could be worse than before," Evan points out.
"I have to go back," Victoria states.
"I thought you were just 'wondering' about it," Evan says with sarcasm.
"Well maybe I'm not," Victoria says, "Maybe I want to go back."
"Maybe?"
"Fine! I want to go back! I think they need my help!"
Evan sighs.
"If you leave, you can't come back," Evan warns, "It'll be too dangerous."
Victoria nods and goes to her room to pack up.
"So that's just it, then?" Evan asks.
"I'm sorry, but I know they need me," Victoria sadly says.
Evan just shakes his hand and tosses her the Shanti virus. She puts it in her pocket and continues packing up.
Inside the lab, Arthur is talking to Angela.
"Everybody's gone mad," Arthur says.
"You're not kidding," Angela replies.
"What do we do about it?' Arthur asks.
"We? There is no 'we' anymore? Ever since Adam's lost it, we've all been separated. We used to be a team, now we're just alpha dogs, predators."
"What about Kaito? He's been trying to band us all together for months now."
Arthur and Angela look at each other.
Inside a training room, Linderman is pacing. Adam enters the room.
"Daniel, I need to speak with you," Adam says.
"Sure, what do you need?" Linderman asks.
"I think that the others are plotting to overthrow me."
"That's ridiculous."
"It's not ridiculous!" Adam outbursts.
"Yes it is. I've never heard anything about any plans to overthrow you."
"Well of course you wouldn't. They know you're on my side...you are on my side, aren't you?"
Linderman pauses and takes a deep breath.
"Of course I am, Adam. You're the one who helped me control my abilities."
We flash back to when Adam was first training Linderman in that very room. A dead flower is on a table in front of them, Linderman has his arm extended toward it.
"You have to feel the flower," Adam explains, "You must connect with it. If you can do that, you can control it. This flower represents the peak of your powers. Controlling the flower is the only way to truly controlling your powers. In the war, you healed your friend, but you didn't know how. You only healed him because it was a major crisis situation. Your conscience wouldn't let him die. But how would you like to heal anything whenever you wanted to without feeling weaker?"
Linderman nods.
"That would be perfect."
The flower slowly begins to come back to life. Ever so slowly, but it does so.
"That's it, Daniel, control the flower! Feel it!"
The flower is growing a little faster.
"Control it!"
Linderman's nose is bleeding, his eyes are spaced, his skin is pale, his hairs are sticking up, and his mouth is wide open in awe.
"Control it now!"
Linderman screams and passes out. Adam catches him before he hits the floor. The flower has been fully healed. Adam laughs in excitement.
"It's alright Daniel, you saved it."
The flashback ends.
"So what do we do about this?" Linderman asks.
"It depends how many of them are against us," Adam responds.
Inside Charles's room, Maury wakes up, completely panicked. Charles, Kaito, and Bob are standing around him.
"Are you ready to help us?" Kaito asks emotionlessly.
Maury nods.
"Sure," he answers.
Victoria has returned to the Company, she's in the lab. She's putting the virus away.
Inside Charles's room, the four of them are planning. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. Bob opens the door and sees Arthur and Angela standing there.
"I think we can help," Arthur says.
Bob smiles. The two of them enter the room. Now, the alliance is complete. Charles, Kaito, Maury, Bob, Arthur, and Angela are now working together to bring Adam down.
"So what do we do?" Bob asks.
"I have the perfect plan," Kaito explains, "Now that we have Arthur and Angela, this will be much easier. Arthur, you will monitor the security systems. Make sure we have plenty of guards ready to apprehend Adam if he does anything sneaky or unexpected. Angela, in case all hope is lost, we might need a vision of how this will end. But otherwise, you can help Arthur with security. Maury, Bob, and I will make the attack. Maury will mess with his mind, Bob will seal any exits, and I will point a gun to his head, explaining that we're taking over."
"What happens if Linderman's with him?" Angela asks.
"Then we'll knock him out. With Maury on our side, he won't know what hit him. This is where Charles will come in. Charles, you will keep Linderman occupied in a dream so he can't stop us. Nothing can stop us now."
"I wish Victoria was here," Arthur sadly says.
Everyone else nods in agreement.
"Where is Adam?" Arthur asks.
"He's in the training room," Bob answers.
"Good, when should we do this plan?" Angela asks.
"Immediately," a satisfied Kaito responds.
Adam leaves the training room, giving Linderman one last order before closing the door.
"Remember what I said," Adam tells him.
"I will," Linderman responds.
Adam closes the door and walks down the hallway. He turns a corner and sees Victoria leaving the lab. The two stop in their tracks and make eye contact.
Arthur and Angela enter the control room, monitoring the cameras. They see Adam and Victoria.
"Victoria?" a shocked Arthur thinks out loud.
Adam is completely shocked.
"I thought you were..." Adam can't finish the sentence.
"I wasn't dead," Victoria assures him.
"Where is the virus?" Adam asks menacingly.
Victoria doesn't answer.
"It's already back in the lab, isn't it?" Adam happily asks her.
She still doesn't answer.
"We have to stop this," Arthur says.
Angela agrees.
Adam pulls out his sword and charges toward Victoria. She tries to run, but where can she go? He grabs her by the hair and enters the lab dragging her with him. Kaito, Bob, and Maury sneak towards the training room, unaware that Adam isn't there anymore. Linderman is pacing in the training room when the room suddenly begins to distort.
"Maury?" Linderman asks.
The three of them enter the room without Linderman even knowing. They look around, but Adam isn't there.
Suddenly, the illusions fade and Linderman jumps back seeing them there. Arthur rushes from the control room and tries to reach the others.
"Where is Adam?" Kaito asks Linderman.
"I don't know, he didn't say," Linderman answers.
Kaito sighs.
"Tell me where he is!" Kaito shouts.
"I swear I don't know!" Linderman shouts back.
Kaito points his gun at Linderman.
"Tell me now, or your brain becomes cottage cheese," Kaito threatens.
Arthur is at the end of the hall and sees them.
"Wait! Don't shoot him! Adam's in the lab!" Arthur shouts as loud as he can.
Angela alerts the guards of Adam attacking Victoria in the lab. Kaito puts his gun down.
"You're so lucky," Kaito angrily says.
He looks at Arthur.
"Make sure he doesn't leave," Kaito orders to Arthur.
Maury leaves with Kaito and Bob. Arthur stays in the training room with Linderman.
"Thanks for saving my life," Linderman thanks.
"No problem," Arthur says.
There is a short pause.
"Were you really going to join Adam's side," Arthur asks.
Linderman looks doubtful.
"I don't know, I don't think so," Linderman answers, "I mean, I told him I was, but I really wasn't sure."
Arthur smiles and nods.
"For some strange reason," Arthur says, "I believe you."
Linderman smiles back.
Inside the lab, Adam is with Victoria. There are various shelves.
"Tell me which one has the virus," Adam orders.
"I won't tell you anything," Victoria stands up for herself, "I won't let you kill billions of people!"
"Then how about I kill you first!" Adam threatens as he points his sword at her.
Various guards enter the lab and points their guns at Adam.
"This is it Adam! We're taking you away!" one of the guards exclaims.
October 10, 2006
Homecoming
Inside an office room, we see Bob writing a file report. It's homecoming night and everybody's aware of what's going to happen. The file report lists what he thinks are all of the Deveaux Society members:
THE DEVEAUX SOCIETY
Charles Deveaux
Status: Deceased
Richard Drucker
Status: Deceased
Meredith Gordon
Status: Deceased
James Walker
Status: Deceased
Claude Rains
Status: Deceased
Evan Monroe
Status: Active
He seals the file report and looks at a messenger standing by the door.
"Give this to Linderman," Bob orders the messenger, "Don't tell him who sent you."
Back to 1977.
"Containment breach in Bio-Research," a PA system blazes, "Evacuation protocol in full effect."
Adam tries to grab Victoria but is shot by one of the guards and falls over. The guards escorts Adam out of there as his gunshot wound quickly heals. Bob and Maury enters the control room and sees Angela. They give each other smiles of satisfaction. The guard leads Adam to Kaito.
"You have betrayed everything we stand for," Kaito says.
"No, Kaito, I tried to save the world."
"By releasing a virus that could kill billions of innocent people?"
"When you've been around as long as I have, the patterns become clear: constant war, disregard for the environment, famine. And it's only getting worse. Someone had to make the hard choice for the greater good."
There is a short pause.
"Take him down to lockup," Kaito orders, "And throw away the key!"
The guards take him away. Kaito goes into the lab and comforts Victoria.
"He was looking for strain 138. If he'd been successful, this place would've been ground zero for a global pandemic," Victoria states.
"Thank you for saving us," Kaito thanks her.
"You need to shut down the program, Kaito."
Kaito looks at the virus.
"Give it to me," he orders.
She gives him the test tube.
"This will be taken to the Primatech facility in Odessa. With Adam locked away, it will be safe," Kaito informs.
"Look, with something that dangerous, there is no safe. That virus needs to be destroyed," Victoria states.
"The other founders would never allow that."
"Doesn't that concern you? Adam had help, Kaito. It's the only way he would have known what to look for."
"I suggest you take a few days off before resuming your work."
"I won't be a part of this. Not anymore."
She walks past him and leaves out the door.
We flashforward to 1999. Claude has just met some of the other Deveaux Society members.
"How many other members do you have?" Claude asks.
"I've made a list, actually," Charles replies.
Charles adds Claude's name to the list and then hands it to him. The list reads:
1. Charles Deveaux
2. Richard Drucker
3. Kaito Nakamura
4. Bob Bishop
5. Evan Monroe
6. Stephen Gray
7. Henri Claremont
8. Meredith Gordon
9. James Walker
10. Simone Deveaux
11. Hampton Connolly
12. Haram Ross
13. Hithbu Aswan
14. Catherine Walker
15. Sanjog Iyer
16. Claude Rains