The person taking the next shift after Peter's at the nursing home was late, and so he was fifteen minutes late getting to the café where Claire worked.
As he approached the front door, he saw that the 'closed' sign was hanging on the door, and that all the lights were out.
He tried the door handle, but it was locked.
Frowning, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Claire's.
It rang, and then went to her voicemail. "It's Claire, but I can't come to the phone. Leave me a message!"
He checked his watch again. "Claire, it's me. I'm out front, where are you?"
He clicked his phone shut, and then decided to try the back door.
To his surprise, he found it unlocked. "Claire?"
He entered the kitchen and looked around. There were broken dishes and a cracked and splintered cabinet lying on the floor.
His heart beat faster. "CLAIRE!"
He threw open the kitchen door, and walked around the dark, empty café, but no Claire.
As he was about to reenter the kitchen, he heard the crunch of someone's shoes on the shattered dishes, and froze.
The person was muttering to himself. "What the hell…"
Peter closed his eyes, and tapped into his power of invisibility.
He quietly pushed the kitchen door open, and snuck up behind the figure.
Then, he grabbed the man by the throat and shoved him into the nearest wall.
The man gasped, partly in shock, partly because Peter was cutting off his air supply.
Making himself visible, Peter flipped the light switch.
It was Mohinder Suresh.
"What the hell are you doing here? Where's Claire?"
Mohinder struggled against Peter's grip on his throat. "I don't know where she is. I was sent here to get her, and this is what I found. Please, Peter. I can't breathe!"
Peter released his hold on the man, and he gasped for air. "What happened here?"
Peter kicked at the broken dishes with the toe of his boot. "I don't know. I came to walk Claire home, and this is what I found. What do you mean you were sent here to get her? By whom?"
Mohinder bit his lip. "Her father. He's been looking for her since she ran away a couple of months ago. We knew she was in Ireland with you, but when you came back, we lost track of you for a while. Your brother used a credit card under a company name, making the ticket purchases hard to track. We had an operative here in New York who happened to spot the two of you a few weeks ago, and I was sent to retrieve Claire."
Peter's jaw tightened. "I saw you when you were here last week. Claire recognized your voice, and called me."
Mohinder nodded. "I knew you had recognized me, and I was surprised. The Company report I was given said that you had amnesia."
Peter nodded. "I do. For some reason when I saw you, I knew who you were. Wait, did you say The Company? You work for them?!"
Mohinder's eyes widened. "You remember them?"
Peter shook his head. "No. But someone mentioned them to me…Are they after Claire?"
Mohinder looked down at the ground, and nodded. "For several reasons. One being that they want to study her healing ability, the other being that they want to get to you. They knew that you and Claire had come back from Ireland together, and that you two were close. I don't think they realized how close."
Peter couldn't have missed the disapproving look the professor gave him as he continued. "Claire's father sent me to get her, to keep her safe from The Company. But it appears I was too late."
Peter's eyes were wide with fear. "What do I do? I have to get her back, Mohinder!"
Suresh sighed. "This is a most unfortunate situation. I'll contact her father, and wait for his instructions."
Peter grew angry. "Wait? Wait for instructions? They could be doing anything to her right now. Can't you help me get her back? You work for them!"
Mohinder shook his head. "If I were to help you, they would know it was me who had given you information. I can't afford to blow my cover when I still have so much work left to do. I'm sorry, Peter."
He pulled a scrap of paper out of his messenger bag and scribbled a phone number on it. "This is my phone number. Call me in two days, and I should have word from her father. I truly am sorry, Peter."
With that, he walked out the door.
Peter sank to the ground, not caring that there were bits of broken dishes stabbing his legs. "God, what do I do?"
Head in hands, he sat there for a few moments.
Then, his head jerked up. "Claude."
He pulled his cell phone out, and dialed the operator. "Yeah, I need the number for the advertising department at the New York Times. Uh-huh. Got it, thanks."
He dialed the number, and waited as it rang. "Yeah, is it too late to post a notice in the classifieds for tomorrow? No? Great. Yeah it's just this; 'Mentor wanted for amnesiac boy'. Yeah, that's it. No, no contact info. Yeah, I have a credit card number, hang on."
Claire opened her eyes, and was greeted by the sight of a man standing over her.
As she looked down, she realized that she was strapped to what looked like a metal table.
"Well, hello Claire."
The man was bald, had glasses, and his breath smelled bad. "I'm Bob. I think you've met my daughter, Elle."
Claire closed her eyes. "Bitch."
Bob clucked his tongue. "Why, that's not very nice. She could've done a lot worse to you before injecting you and bringing you in."
Claire opened her eyes again. "What did she inject me with?"
Bob crossed his arms over his chest. "A drug that we invented. You see, Claire, your brain controls everything in your body, including your memory. The drug we invented puts a block on the part of your memory that remembers how to use your ability! Simple, really. You still remember that you have the ability, but just can't use it. It also contains a minor sedative. Just a little hint of something to knock you out. Clever, huh?"
She smirked. "Yeah, fucking brilliant. Where am I?"
Elle bounced into view. "You're at our top-secret facility. I'll give you the tour later when they move you to your room. We'll have so much fun together! Too bad Peter Piper can't be here…"
Claire scrunched up her face. "Peter Piper?"
Elle rolled her eyes. "Peter Petrelli. They both start with a 'P'; I was just trying to be funny…"
Her father shook his head. "You've been a bad girl, Claire. Elle told me about your not-so-familial relationship with your uncle. You should be ashamed, really."
Claire's fists clenched. "You have no right to judge. If I could, I'd kick your ass."
Bob chuckled. "She is feisty, Elle. Well Claire, we have to be going, but there will be a doctor here in a few hours. He's going to give you a physical, and then run some…tests."
Claire swallowed. "Tests? What kind of tests?"
Elle giggled. "Oh, the fun kind! You'll see…"
As the door closed, Claire let the tears come.
Peter waited impatiently at his apartment, pacing.
All of the sudden, the door opened, seemingly by itself. "So you remember now, kid?"
Peter breathed a sigh of relief. "No, not yet."
Claude let out a string of curses. "Then why the hell did you contact me?"
Peter bit his lip. "Because I need your help. The Company captured Claire."
As Peter began to be able to see Claude's face, he was shocked by the look of fear on the man's face.
"They took her? When?"
Peter swallowed. "Last night. I tried to get Mohinder Suresh to help me, but he said he couldn't. Look, I don't remember you, or what our relationship was before I exploded. You don't seem to like me very much, so I'm assuming we weren't best buddies. But I don't know who else to turn to. I love her so much, and if I don't get her back…"
Claude held up his hands. "You don't have to say anything else. I'd do anything to help you get her back."
Peter raised his eyebrows. "You would? Why?"
Claude sighed, running his hand over his beard. "Because she's my daughter."
TOLD you there would be BIG surprises in this chapter!!!!!!!!!
Review, my lovely readers!
