ECHOES IN THE DARKNESS
Part XII – Wicked Game
Ten O'Clock PM the clock on the wall chimed. The Bennett family entered their penthouse apartment.
"I didn't expect to be gone so long." Sandra fretted. "Mr. Muggles back teeth must be floating by now." She ran off to fetch his leash and take him outside.
"Well, I'm going to MY room." Claire bragged to Lyle.
"It's not fair!" Lyle griped to his father for what felt like the millionth time. "Why does Claire get the bigger bedroom?"
"Lyle," Noah began exasperated. "We have been through this and through this. Claire is the oldest so she got to pick which bedroom she wanted. She took the bigger bedroom, and you got the one with the view of the harbor. It sounds like a fair deal to me."
"Yeah, but she gets a bathroom." He bellyached.
"Oh, and what are you going to do with a bathroom, doofus?" Claire taunted him.
"Shut up Claire!" Lyle spouted at his sister.
"That's enough!" Noah shouted with authority them. "Both of you! Why don't you both go to your rooms so I don't have to listen to your constant bickering?"
"Dad!" Claire stood with her hands on her hips. "I'm going to be 20! I don't need to be treated like a kid!"
"Then you should know better than to be fighting with your brother!" He retorted at her. "Go! Both of you!"
"Now look what you did! You made him mad." Lyle goaded her as he walked to his room.
"No I didn't!" Claire shot back. "You did!"
"Oh, why don't you go jump off the Empire State Building or something!"
Noah put his hands over his ears. "Kids! Enough!" He shouted.
They both walked into their rooms slamming their doors.
Sandra walked in the door with Mr. Muggles. She immediately saw her husband's exasperated expression.
"So, either the kids are fighting again, or its work." She smiled at him, rubbing his shoulders. "Which one is it?"
"The kids are fighting again, and its work." He said enjoying his wife's gentle touch. "I finally got Laura Ryan on board with us and now he is pushing for Gabriel Gray to be as comfortable as possible. As always, I go along, but I don't like it."
"Do you think he has changed the way people think he has?" Sandra asked him.
Noah remembered how Sylar broke out of Primatech Paper back in Odessa and came to kill Claire, and almost murdered his wife when Claire was not available. Sandra did not remember the attack as her memories were erased by the Hatian. He remembered how Sylar murdered Claire's Cheerleader friend Jackie Wilcox. Also, he recalled Eden McCain taking her own life so Sylar could not have her power. He shuddered as he thought of the man and the deaths he was responsible for.
"Changed?" Noah repeated. "I don't know. Gabriel Gray has killed too many people. But top of the food chain believes there is more to him than what meets the eye. I'll play their game, but I don't trust him. Not for a second. They are setting him up with a place to live and a car…a high end SUV to boot. I just hope for all the expense they are going through and all involved I am wrong."
"Well, he really seems to be in love with that girl. As you know, love is a very powerful motivator."
Noah turned and kissed his wife. "I hope your right."
There was a knock at the door. Noah looked at his watch.
"Who is coming by this late?" Sandra asked as Noah got up to answer the door.
"I'll go find out; you meet me in the bedroom." He kissed his wife.
"Now that's an offer I can't refuse." She replied returning his kiss
Noah opened the door. He found Mohinder Suresh standing there.
"Mohinder." He greeted him coolly. "What brings you here this late at night?" He pointedly studied his watch.
"I have been looking for Laura." Mohinder replied. "We had made plans for later this evening. I was told she left the party because she was not feeling well. I went to her apartment and waited for her, but she never came home."
"Well, it is only 10:30." Noah reminded him. "Maybe she met a friend and went out."
Mohinder smiled. "Laura isn't exactly the going out kind of girl anymore. Not since you erased her memories."
"Well, maybe she went to the market. Why are you over here asking me about this at this hour of the night, Mohinder?"
"I think you know why." He replied.
"Sorry...as my daughter would say, I'm clueless."
"You let that murderer out of prison. I am concerned he may have taken her somewhere."
"You mean kidnapped her?"
"He will stop at nothing to get her back."
Noah nodded his head, half-smiling. "I think I see what this is all about. You know as well as anybody else does that Gabriel Gray would never hurt Laura. I think you are worried that she is with Gray for...other reasons."
"You know I was less than happy when you people decided to help him escape from prison." He replied angrily. "Not only for Laura's well being, but for of all our sakes. I knew no good could come from it and it appears that I am right."
"Mohinder." Noah took off his glasses. "I know you are in love with her. But you knew when you became involved with her that there was always a possibility he would come back some day."
"You people put people's lives in jeopardy!" Mohinder shouted.
"Please lower your voice. My family is asleep." Noah replied calmly.
"Well, I am going to go look for her. You just better be right." Mohinder walked out the door.
Laura opened her eyes. "Oh GOD, my head!" She blinked her eyes struggling to focus. She did not recognize her surroundings. The room was dark except for the candles whose light danced against the shadows. Next to her on the table was a vase with three white roses...her favorite.
She tried to move, but she quickly realized she was tied up in a chair. She struggled to free herself, but her hands were tied behind her back and her legs were tied together.
She saw him. He was standing in the doorway dressed in blue jeans and a black t-shirt, arms folded, and leaning against the doorframe staring affectionately at her.
He began walking toward her, moving slow and sensual. Laura could only stare at him.
"You brought me back to your lair." She smiled knowingly. "I was just sitting here waiting for the organ music to start playing. This almost has a Gaston Leroux appeal to it."
He laughed softly. "Phantom of the Opera. One of my all time favorite stories."
"Very good!" She replied impressed by his knowledge of culture. "Why does this not surprise me?"
"You think I am the most evil bastard on the planet, don't you." He replied pulling up a stool then sitting across from her.
"You haven't given me reason to believe otherwise." She answered him directly. "So you have me at a disadvantage. What are you going to do to me?"
He stood up walking toward the window, looking out at the darkness. There was sadness in his voice. "I am a lot of things, Laura. I have killed. I have lied. I have manipulated. But I am nota rapist. I want to make love to you Laura, but at your own free will."
"So, why are you keeping me confined like this?" She tried to struggle.
"Well," Gabriel began. "I know the second I untie those ropes you will be gone in a flash and that is only after kicking my ass and wiping the floor with me."
"You know me well." She replied softly.
"You have no idea." He answered her.
"Apparently there is a lot I don't know about you."
"My life is an open book now." He shrugged his shoulders. "What would you like to know?"
"I would like to know why the little girl so deeply affected you tonight." She answered him candidly. "It was the first time I saw you act like a human. I saw a whole different side to you tonight, Gabriel. Where did that come from?"
He stood up and walked away from her. "I don't want to talk about it."
"It was like you had a personal vendetta against those men." She said softly. "I'd like to hear about it."
"Their fucking douche bags, Laura!" He replied enraged. "Anybody that harms a child like that deserves to be hung out by their balls in the sun over a vat of acid!"
"Gabriel. Please." She whispered to him. "Tell me."
Gabriel closed his eyes taking a deep breath. "It happened a long time ago. I was seven. The little girl upstairs from me, Abigail, was six.She was my first girlfriend." He half-smiled looking at Laura. "She gave me my first kiss and we even had a play wedding. She looked a lot like Shannon. She was a pretty little blonde haired, blue eyed girl."
Laura nodded, her own eyes tearing up.
"One day I got home from school and I wanted to go up and play with her. My mom told me I couldn't play with her anymore. I asked why, but my mom wouldn't tell me, she just told me to go play in my room. A little while later, I snuck out of my room to the fire escape and peeked in the window. Her mother was crying and screaming. They were taking her dad to jail." He began to cry. "I peeked into her bedroom window and I saw her. She was on her bed covered in blood. Her daddy killed her. I heard the policemen say he had been making her have sex with him for a long time."
"I'm sorry." She whispered.
He wiped his eyes and continued.
"She was my first love." He smiled sadly. "After that happened, I closed off my heart. I didn't want to feel that pain ever again. I didn't allow my heart to love again." He turned to Laura. "Not until I met you."
Laura smiled sadly at him.
"When I met you something inside me changed forever. When I thought I lost you, I died inside myself. I didn't speak. I didn't eat. I hated to close my eyes at night because I always saw your face. In my dreams I loved you, but the minute I started to wake up..." He closed his eyes holding back the tears. "I lost you all over again. I relived that moment night after night. Every night I prayed for death to take me out of that hell I was in!"
"How did you come back from that?" She asked softly.
"There was a guard in the prison...or I thought he was a guard, but he works for The Organization I suppose." Gabriel smiled recalling Brandon. "He used to come into my cell and read to me from The Bible, War and Peace, Wuthering Heights…whatever he was reading. I never responded, but he always talked to me. He never gave up. And I could hear him. I heard everything. He kept telling me if I want to talk to him to just ask. It took me several months before I finally understood what he was trying to tell me. He was a dream walker and one night I invited him into my dream. It was in that dream that he told me you were alive. I was so afraid to believe him. He took me to you...into your soul. I could feel you. I could touch you. You asked me to find you again. A few days later, I broke out." He laughed. "It was a bit of a challenge. I found the hell hole I was in was out in the middle of the ocean. It didn't matter. If The Organization hadn't made it easy for me, I would have swum that goddamned ocean to get home to you."
He sat on the stool again. "But then I learned you were involved with Suresh. And, you hate my guts. Or you think you do." He leaned in closer to her whispering. "But I know you don't. And so do you."
He stood up and walked behind her, his hands on her shoulders. Laura stiffened. Her body tingled at his touch. She closed her eyes clenching her fists.
"I know you love me, Laura." He whispered in her ear rubbing his lips against her neck. "I can feel it."
He continued. "You and I had passion Laura. We were insatiable! We could never get enough of each other. You loved me and my God, I loved you! When we were together we saw nothing but each other. It was love Laura! It was rare, incredible, and intense love."
She felt her body begin to tremble at his touch. She tried to free herself from the rope, but it was too tight. He continued to tantalize her with his words, torturing her with her own desire.
He began to circle her, his fingers caressing her as he walked. "You see my love," He whispered. "Amongst my other powers, I have extra sensitive hearing. The months we were together, I knew your body. I know what it sounds like inside when you are aroused. And right this moment, I can hear your heart beating…I can hear the blood flowing through your veins. And I can hear you fighting it."
As he spoke, Laura began to writhe in her chair. She closed her eyes. "Stop it, Gabriel." She whispered.
But he continued to taunt her. "You lie awake at night; your body aching for me. You wake up reaching for someoneit is me you are reaching for."
"Let me go!" She began to cry as she continued to struggle to free herself.
"And you can't tell me you are in love with him. You may lie next to him at night. Maybe he makes love to youmaybe you like it. But there is a fire deep inside you that he will never touch. He will never be able to satisfy you the way I did. I lit that fire in you. You know it."
He leaned in kissing her passionately. She struggled at first…then she stopped fighting as her body began to respond to him. He ran his hands down her back, reaching under her shirt. Her body quivered at his touch. Her desires began to swell within her.
Abruptly, he released her.
"That's all I wanted to talk about." He smiled as he stood up heading for the door.
Laura was incredulously angry. "Wait!" She shouted at him. "You can't just leave me here like this!"
He walked back toward her; clearly enjoying himself. "Like what? In a state of erotic lust for me?"
"Oh, do not flatter yourself, you obnoxious swine!" She seethed at him. "I meant tied up!"
"OUCH!" He clapped his hand over his heart. "Your love cuts me like a knife, baby!" He walked back to the door, opening it.
Laura struggled to break free from the rope. "GABRIEL!" She shouted!
"Oh the rope…you aren't really tied up. I was just keeping you there telekinetically. I was just psyching you out so you thought you really were tied up and tried to escape. You could have broken free anytime you wanted to…you just didn't want to. I really am a good multi-tasker…just wait until I get you into bed again!" He laughed walking out the door.
"I'll give you a little time to free yourself. The walk home won't be long….I'm just right down the hall from you. Just like old times, baby."
He ducked out the door just before the vase of roses crashed against the wall.
He poked his head back through. "Just leave the mess...I'll clean it up later!"
Gabriel nearly danced down the hall. "She still loves me!" He laughed to himself.
Gabriel struggled to sleep. He could not get her off his mind. When he closed his eyes he dreamed of her. He could feel her next to him, only to wake up alone.
He opened his eyes and found her standing in front of him. Blinking his eyes, he struggled to focus. He thought he was still dreaming, but she was real as the night was dark.
"Did you change your mind?" He asked softly.
"Did you miss me?" She whispered.
"What do you think?" He smiled.
She began slowly removing her clothing until she was wearing nothing but a black bra and lacy black underpants. Gabriel's insides stirred like wildfire as he watched her. He closed his eyes to maintain control.
In slow cat-like movements she walked toward him, crawling from the bottom of the bed towards him. He reached out to touch her, but she slowly shook her head.
"Not yet." She whispered revealing two silk scarves and took his wrists tying him to his headboard.
"Mmmmm...I like this game." He smiled.
She straddled him and began rubbing his chest. She bent down rubbing her lips against his neck, massaging his shoulders. Gabriel clenched his fists, grabbing the headboard closing his eyes.
"You like that?" She whispered in his ear.
"Oh...yeah." He smiled. "I like that a lot."
"What about this?" She began kissing him from the neck all the way down to his navel. Gabriel thought he was going to go crazy.
"How about this?" She whispered as she began to massage the inside of his thigh.
"I love that." He closed his eyes, his breathing loud and heavy.
"Thats too bad." She whispered as she reached up and began to unhook her bra. "Because there's not a chance in hell you're getting any of this."
Gabriel opened his eyes just as she waved at him before astral projecting.
"Oh, you……" He clenched his teeth. He telekinetically untied himself. Putting his hands over his face, he began to laugh at her impudence. "God, I love her."
Laura opened her eyes back in her own bed. She laughed hysterically thinking of him lying there tied up to his bed, horny as hell.
Her phone rang. She smiled answering it. "Hello."
"That was NOT fair!" He whispered.
"Well, I think we are even now." She replied softly. "Is that a cold shower I hear running in the background?"
"I think I am going to have to spend the night in the freezer after that stunt."
"It worked then." She smiled softly.
"You are a goddamned tease!" He smiled. "You are going to make me crazy one of these days."
"I aim to please." She laughed.
"Well, just remember the next time you're getting all hot and heavy with the doctor. Tonight you offered to take him home and get his freak on...and he blew off the sexiest woman alive to go pimp himself for...research funding? And people think I'M crazy." He closed his eyes smiling. "I would have taken you up on it in an instant."
"But I didn't ask you." She replied softly.
"You will." He whispered.
"And what makes you so confident?"
"Because, even when you are yelling at me, and trying to kick my ass, you want me." He laughed softly. "You know you do. I can feel it."
"Goodnight Gabriel." She replied softly.
"See. It's working already."
"Really? How do you figure?"
"You are starting to call me Gabriel...not asshole, shithead, or prick. And you haven't told me to fuck off in about...7 hours."
"You better hang up before I change my mind." She smiled.
"I give it three days." He whispered sensually. "I will be making you crazy for me again."
"I'm hanging up now." She said hanging up the phone.
Gabriel laughed to himself as he put the phone back on the receiver. He rolled over on his side pulling the pillow over his head.
A moment later he leapt out of bed stomping into the bathroom and jumped into an ice cold shower.
Laura finally started to drift off to sleep and there was a knock at her door. The clock said 2:00 am.
"Oh my GOD!" She shouted. "This time I am going to kill him!" She went to the door in only her Stanford t-shirt, sliding it open fiercely.
"Ok, you jerk! Tonight you have followed me...kidnapped me...tried to seduce me..." She stopped talking when she saw it was Peter standing at the door.
"I'm sorry Peter. Obviously I thought you were somebody else." She said noticing the look on Peter's face. "Peter? What is it?"
Peter took a deep breath. "It's Mr. Yamagati Laura. He died in his sleep tonight."
Laura stood for a moment in shock. Peter walked over and hugged her. She began to cry.
From out in the hall, Gabriel stood listening to what Peter told her.
A tear trickled down his face.
-- End of Part VII --
