Chapter Twenty-One: Vacations

June 8, 2007

Kane smiled to himself as he studied the address printed on the paper in his hand. He had them. It had taken most of the week, but after he'd gotten "Aaron Abbott's" phone number from Mabel's store, he knew it was only a matter of time before he'd be able to trace the number to an address. All he had to do was wait until he could get a police officer alone long enough to persuade him to find the address by tracing the phone number. He studied a map, finding the address on it. It was out in the country, fifteen miles out of Odessa and Midland. It appeared to be secluded, with one small road leading to the house. There were other houses on the road, but nothing within a half-mile or so of the house. "Is this where the two of you are living still?" He asked. "Is this where all of you have hunkered down to get ready for me? I'm certainly ready for all of you." He started his car and pulled out of the parking lot of the police station, the office he'd persuaded still standing in the parking lot, a dazed expression on his face. "Let's go pay my 'friends' a visit." He whispered to himself as he pulled onto the highway and headed out of Odessa.

Sylar frowned as Ava bounced down the stairs, toting only a dress bag and the largest duffel bag he'd ever seen. "That's it?" He stared at the bag as she set it down.

"Yeah, why?" Ava cocked her head to the side.

Sylar shrugged. "I figured you'd end up packing half of the house, that's all."

"It's just a weekend away. I've got makeup, travel-size bottles of toiletries, two changes of regular clothes for just hanging out or strolling through the town, a change of dressier clothes in case we go somewhere nice, a hair dryer, curling iron, three pairs of shoes and underwear." She shrugged and held up her dress bag. "And this. It's all I need."

"What's that?" Sylar nodded to the bag. His eyebrows raised as Ava grinned and walked away, not saying a word. He stared down at his own bag and shrugged. "Someone who packs light. I like it." He leaned down to pick up the bag and groaned. "What the hell?"

"What?" Ava glanced over at him as he stared at the bag.

"Are you SURE that's all you've got in there? It feels like you've got a set of dumb bells in there, too."

Ava shrugged and looked away. "Oh, I also packed an emergency kit. I never leave home without it."

"And what's in this emergency kit?" Sylar frowned as he carried the bag towards the door.

"A little of this, a little of that." Ava smiled as Niki bounced down the stairs with an armload of bags that she toted with ease. "Whoa! Where are you off to?"

"See, THAT'S how I figured you'd pack!" Sylar grimaced as he tested the weight of Ava's bag again. "Then again, I think you did pack that much, you just jammed it into one huge bag. You guys at The OWI have invented technology to create a Mary Poppins-type bag, right? I'm going to open this thing and a house is popping out if it, isn't it?"

"NO!" Ava rolled her eyes as she turned back to Niki. "So what's up?"

Niki grinned as Peter, Angela, Candice and Mohinder followed her down the stairs carrying bags. "Peter's taking us to visit Nathan and his family in New York for the weekend. We're going to the Petrelli house in the Hamptons."

"Why am I not surprised that the Petrellis have a house in the Hamptons?" Sylar rolled his eyes.

Ava ignored Sylar as she smiled. "Sounds nice. She quickly hugged everyone. "Have fun."

"I hope we do." Niki sighed. "We're teleporting there, then Peter's going to teleport to wherever the hell The Haitian has Micah and Molly to stay with us too."

"Sounds like a fun family weekend. I hope you enjoy yourselves."

"We will." Niki smiled as Peter walked over to the group.

"Ready to go?" Everyone nodded as Peter winked at Ava. "Have fun in San Antonio."

"Yeah, right." Sylar muttered. "We might, it feels like Ava packed an amusement park in here."

"You wish." Ava waved as the group disappeared in front of her. Moments later, Matt headed down the stairs with Hiro, Ando, Kaito, Noah and a Mac-toting Claire. "You all going off somewhere too?"

Matt nodded. "Hiro's teleporting us to visit our families." He smiled excitedly. "Jan's due soon, so I thought I'd visit and rub her feet, make sure that she's doing okay."

Noah grinned. "We figured since the two of you were heading out for the weekend, the rest of us would do the same. I'd like to catch up with Sandra and Lyle and Claire thought that Mac could spend some quality time with his father, Mr. Muggles." He nodded to Hiro. "Hiro, Kaito and Ando wanted to spend some time on the beach."

"So the families are hidden away on a beach somewhere huh?" Sylar nodded appreciatively. "Sounds nice."

"A little vacation in a warm setting before we head off to train at the other location." Noah sighed as he turned to Claire. "Ready?" She nodded as he turned back to Ava. "We're all going to keep in touch with satellite phones. There's one in Claude's bag. If you all get into trouble, he knows to call right away."

"Claude?" Sylar frowned as Noah grinned wickedly at him just before his group teleported out of the house. He turned to Ava as Claude walked down the stairs, lugging a duffel bag identical to Ava's. "CLAUDE'S coming? WITH US?"

"Bloody right I am!" Claude grinned. "The organization decided that you two needed a seasoned agent to make sure to cover Ava's back around you. They got me a suite right across the hall from yours. Here, catch!" He tossed his bag to Sylar, snorting as the man fell over under the weight of his and Ava's bags.

Sylar groaned under the bags. "Let me guess. Emergency kit?"

"Yep!" Claude nodded as he turned to Ava. "You packed one as well, I gather?"

"Of course!" Ava reached down to help Sylar up. "I never leave home without one."

"That's IT!" Sylar knelt down in front of Ava's bag and opened it. The side pockets contained her makeup, toiletries, curling iron and compact hair dryer. Inside of the bag itself were her clothes and shoes. Sylar frowned as he saw a large case underneath them. Pulling out the case, he opened it, his eyes widening as he noticed the array of tasers, knives, rope, carabiners, C4, detonators, tranquilizer gun, and two handguns with ammunition clips. "Holy SHIT!" As he closed the case and placed it back in the bag, he noticed something else at the bottom of the bag. "A sawed-off shotgun?"

"Yeah, and?" Ava rolled her eyes.

"Just what kind of emergency are you preparing for?"

"With you?" Claude smirked. "I don't think we packed enough, actually." He sighed and grabbed up his own bag as Sylar quickly repacked Ava's bag while he gave her horrified glances. "Be careful with that C4, you'll blow us to San Antonio if you handle it wrong."

Sylar shuddered as he zipped up Ava's bag and gingerly picked it up. "I'm going away for the weekend with Jane and James Bond." He muttered as he carried her things out to the car.

Claude glanced over at Ava. "Those guns in that case aren't your only ones, are they?" Ava smiled as she opened her blazer, showing the holstered gun under her arm, then lifted her pants leg, showing another gun holstered near her ankle. "That's my girl!" He cleared his throat and pointed to her other leg. "And?" Ava lifted her other pants leg, showing the throwing knives strapped to her calf. "I trained you so well."

"Yeah, you did." Ava headed for the door, then turned to Claude. "By the way, noticed the sticks in my hair?"

Claude's eyes widened as he realized her hair was up, held by two innocent-looking sticks. "You're kidding me!" He shook his head as he grabbed his bag and followed her out of the house. "Dangerous little bitch, aren't you?"

July 9, 2004

Ava rolled over in her bed as a cell phone began to ring. Frowning as she picked it up, she realized that it was the phone that Thompson had secretly given her. "So it begins." She muttered as she answered the phone. "Yes?"

"I'm on the way there. Buzz me in when I ring the bell."

Ava shuddered with horror. "It's two in the morning."

"I don't give a shit, let me in when I get there. I've got an assignment for you."

"In your pants?" Ava sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Well, that too." Thompson hung up abruptly as Ava stood up and walked over to the nanny cams she had in her room. She quickly switched them on and went into the living room, switching the ones posted there as well. She made sure that they couldn't be seen by Thompson before her doorbell buzzed. Steeling herself, she buzzed him in and paced in the living room. "I can do this." She whispered to herself. "Just relax, don't do anything to piss him off and start hitting. I'll lie back, close my eyes, moan appropriately a time or two and it'll be over." She took a deep breath as she answered the door, her expression blank as Thompson strolled into the room and quickly pulled her into his arms. He began mauling her as he pulled her with him towards her bedroom. Glancing at the cameras over his shoulder, she smirked and lay back on the bed, willing herself as she had many times before, not to do anything to make him angry.

June 8, 2007

As he drove towards the house, he scanned the areas along the road with his eyes, picking out snipers and agents patrolling the area, supposedly in secret. Smirking, Kane nodded to himself as he drove past the farmhouse. "Think you're so well guarded, don't you?" He whispered to himself. He drove a few miles further past the road before pulling into an empty lot and parking the car. He smiled to himself as he began to walk back towards the house through a field. He'd spot the agents before they'd spot him, taking them out swiftly on his way, usually with a well-placed claw to the jugular and carotid. Once he got closer to the house, he turned into mist and floated towards it, finally materializing inside the house. "Anyone home?" He whispered as he strolled through the house. He could smell them, all of them. They'd obviously all been staying there together. He noticed the sleeping bags rolled up in a corner of the living room and the cots folded up neatly beside the bags. His hands gliding over various surfaces, he noticed the photographs framed together on a fireplace mantelpiece. It was of the redhead Ava and her man Sylar. He frowned as he read the engraving on one frame. "Alexandra and Aaron, true love." He smirked. "Interesting." He turned and headed up the stairs, his nostrils flaring as he caught whiffs of the different people that had recently inhabited the house. "But where did everyone go?" He whispered to himself. He walked into what was obviously a guest bedroom, with two twin beds on opposite walls. He opened a closet and found a box. Kane's eyes widened as he opened the box, staring at the parkas and other clothes inside. "Someone's going somewhere awfully cold soon, aren't they?" He noticed the varying sizes of the clothes and found heavy winter boots in different sizes as well. "But you haven't gone yet. Otherwise, you'd have taken this with you." He stood and walked into the master bedroom, smiling as he inhaled again, taking in the scent of the redhead. He closed his eyes, remembering the conversation he'd overheard in the supermarket between her and her friends. "San Antonio." He whispered to himself. "That's where you went." Turning, he quickly walked out of the room and bounded down the stairs, turning into mist again before leaving. He floated along back towards his car, materializing there before climbing inside and driving away.

Noah sat in a chair on the deck to a large beach house, leaning his head back as he took in the warm rays of the sun. Sandra held his hand as she sat beside him. "I missed you." He whispered.

Sandra smiled softly. "I missed you too. I'm glad you're here."

Noah turned his head to her, returning her smile. "The last few weeks without you have been tough as hell. Everything's been okay here with you and Lyle though, right?"

Sandra laughed. "Lyle's been learning to surf, when he can get away from Micah and Molly. They've been following him around like little puppy dogs. I think they've found their surrogate big brother. Janice has been good too. I've been helping her out whenever she sits down and can't get back up. Mr. Muggles loves her to pieces. I think I have some competition in his affections with her."

"And The Haitian?"

Sandra nodded. "He's been wonderful." She sighed as she watched Claire and Lyle play in the surf of the ocean. "When you said that we were going to a safe house, I figured you'd place us somewhere hidden-"

"-This is pretty hidden-" Noah grinned as he stared at the expansive beach, empty except for the one large house they were staying in.

"-But I didn't realize you were going to hide us in Paradise." Sandra sighed. "Think if you ever retire you could get them to throw this place in instead of a gold watch?"

Noah laughed. "I don't think that anyone in the company will be willing to let go of this place." He groaned as his cell phone began to ring. "Dammit!" He answered the phone. "Bennet." He sat up straight, his eyes widening. "WHAT?" He nodded. "Of course, any idea where he's going next? Thanks, keep me apprised, you've called Angela and Kaito with this information, yes?" He hung up the phone as Kaito quickly walked onto the deck. Noah turned to him. "You got the call."

Sandra watched both of the men, concerned as Kaito nodded. "Seven agents dead."

"What happened?" She asked.

Kaito stared at the ground. "Kane found the farmhouse. We left today just in time."

Noah took off his glasses, cleaning them sadly. "I don't want to think what would have happened if we were there when he showed up. We're not ready yet."

Kaito sighed. "We'll need to get ready, and soon. Angela and Peter are returning to the house to pick up the anti-venin and the supplies we picked up for Barrow. They'll move the stuff there tonight."

Noah turned his head, watching Claire as she laughed on the beach with her brother. "We're leaving tonight, aren't we?"

Kaito shook his head. "No. He doesn't know that we're here, and he doesn't know about the house in The Hamptons. We'll need a weekend to decompress and relax before we go to Barrow. I've sent for more agents to follow Ava, Sylar and Claude in San Antonio. I doubt that Kane knows they're there, but just to be safe-"

"-I understand." Noah smiled softly at him. "Thank you for not making us all leave tonight."

Kaito nodded, smiling back at him and Sandra. "I understand the need to reconnect with family. I wouldn't dream of us leaving unless we had to."

July 9, 2004

Thompson rolled off of Ava with a groan. "Now THAT was worth waiting for!"

"Waiting?" Ava smirked. "Waiting for what?"

"For Linderman to finally call off the dogs." Thompson grinned. "Your place is much better than a sleazy hotel room." He sat up and grabbed a file folder from the briefcase he'd brought into the room, tossing it at Ava. "And the other reason I came over."

"South America." Ava flipped through the folder.

"Enrique Juarez is a Columbian drug lord. He rules his people through fear and intimidation."

"Persuasion?" Ava asked.

"Nope, not exactly." Thompson shook his head. "He can control the emotions of those around him. He can make them happier than pigs in shit, or as freaked out as hookers in church. He usually keeps them terrified of him. He has his own town, so to speak, in the rain forests on the border of Columbia and Venezuela. He's been causing a lot of problems for the Columbian government lately, both with his people willing to do anything for him out of fear of reprisal, and the fact that he controls most of the drug trade in the country. The government's afraid he's going to try and overthrow them. That wouldn't be a good idea."

"I wouldn't think so, no." Ava shook her head. "And he's married to Monica Juarez?"

"His wife is another one as well. She's the key to his drug dominance." Thompson smirked. "She can make plants grow with a wave of her hand."

"Interesting." Ava nodded. "Used correctly, it could be a wonderful power."

"Tell me about it." Thompson shook his head. "She could end famines, and instead she's helping her husband lord it over South America while supplying the raw materials for cocaine and heroin. She's been growing a record amount of coca and poppies in the forests there. We first sent a bag-and-tag team to kill him and collect her. She waved her hand and the vines in the rain forest literally ripped our men apart." Thompson handed Ava a stack of photos. "They photographed what happened and sent them to us as a warning not to come back." Thompson nodded as Ava flipped through the photos, gasping in horror. "With a wave of her hand, she killed five agents. They found a business card with our address on one of our men. Stupid agent."

"So I'm going in to kill them both now?" Ava set the photos down, her face pale.

"Yep. The sooner the better." Thompson handed her a plane ticket. "You're flying to Bogota in six hours where you will meet one of our agents from there. Together, you will go in there, kill them both as well as anyone who stands in your way."

"Will do." Ava took the ticket as she climbed out of bed. "I guess I need to pack."

Thompson reached out quickly and grabbed her wrist, his fingers gripping her like a vise. "Not yet, you don't." As Ava stared down at him, he winked. "You'll be gone a few days, I'll need something to tide me over, don't you think?"

June 8, 2007

"We're here!" Ava opened her eyes as they pulled into a hotel parking lot. She smiled as she stared up at it and turned to Sylar. He shrugged. "Looks nice, huh?"

"Very nice." Ava glanced over her shoulder as Claude pulled in behind them. "Let's go, 'Aaron'."

"Sure thing, 'Lexie'." Sylar smirked as he climbed out of the car. He opened the trunk, frowning at the bags. "Um, you can carry your bag, right?"

"Big baby." Ava grabbed her bag. "Scared you're going to blow up?"

"Yes." Sylar nodded as he took his bag and the dress bag. "So what's in this, anyway?"

"A surprise." Ava called over her shoulder as Sylar handed the keys to the car to a valet.

"Probably a dress made from explosives." He muttered as he followed her into the building. He walked to the front desk and smiled. "I have a reservation for Aaron Abbott?"

The clerk smiled as she typed his name in. "Mr. and Mrs. Abbott, right!" She handed him a set of keys. "Enjoy your stay here at the Crowne Point on the Riverwalk! As you are aware, Mr. Abbott, you requested the Romantic Getaway package-"

"-Well, aren't you precious?" Sylar ignored Claude's guffaws as he stood behind them.

"-Which includes a deluxe suite, complimentary parking and a champagne breakfast for the next two mornings." The clerk beamed as Sylar took the keys. "And you also have a bottle of champagne chilling upstairs with chocolate covered strawberries. Happy anniversary!"

"Thanks." Sylar mumbled as he took the keys and quickly made his way with Ava towards the elevators.

"Romantic getaway package, huh?" Ava grinned at him as he blushed and looked away. "You really pulled out all of the stops, huh?"

"'Aaron' pulled out all of the stops for his wife. I'm just here to keep from losing money and to have a nice, warm vacation before we head off to train in the friggin' arctic."

"We're going to Barrow, Alaska, aren't we?"

"OY!" They turned as Claude walked over to them. "No discussing the facility." He looked around. "Don't want anyone, and I do mean ANYONE from overhearing, got it?"

"Don't look at me." Sylar rolled his eyes. "She's the one who blabbed the location."

"I've heard of it." Ava walked into the elevator as the doors opened, quickly joined by Sylar and Claude. "I figured out it was Barrow as soon as Sylar told me to pack for cold weather last weekend."

"Shut it, both of you." Claude shook his head as he pointed to a camera in the elevator. "Bloody yappy twosome, you are." They stepped off of the elevator on the fifteenth floor. Sylar and Ava went to their suite as Claude approached the one across the hall from them. Claude glanced at them. "So what are the two of you planning on doing first, besides each other."

"We don't know yet." Ava shrugged.

"Just go in your room and stop being such an ass." Sylar muttered as Ava unlocked the door.

"Have fun!" Claude giggled as they walked into the room and closed the door behind them. Claude sighed as he opened his door and looked around at the suite. "Now this is a vacation." He sat in a chair and turned on the television as he flipped through a guide.

Ava set her bag down as she looked around the room. "Nice." She nodded.

"Yeah." Sylar shuffled his feet uncomfortably as he set his bag down beside Ava's and hung the dress bag in a closet. Looking around, he spotted a bottle of champagne chilling on a table, with two crystal champagne flutes set beside it and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. He took a berry and bit into it, nodding appreciatively as Ava opened the balcony doors and walked onto it, staring at the city. Sylar watched as she looked out at the city and riverwalk for a moment before walking back inside. "Nice room, huh?"

"It is." Ava nodded. They both looked around the room as they stood rooted in place near the table, neither of them meeting the other's eyes.

Sylar finally sighed. "Why is this so nerve-wracking?"

Ava laughed softly. "I don't know." She glanced over at him. "Have you ever done this before?"

"Gone off with someone for a romantic weekend?" Sylar shook his head. "No. You?"

"No." Ava smirked. "Thompson dragged me off to a few places, but I wouldn't have called them romantic at all. I think he just wanted to take me somewhere to tie me up without anyone listening to me bitch about it."

"Tie you up?" Sylar frowned.

"Yeah." Ava nodded. "He loved doing that, disgusting perv. I hated it. I kept getting rope burns on my wrists." As she turned away, Sylar stared at her, his eyes widening for a moment. He opened his mouth to speak, then looked away, shaking his head. "So to answer your question, no. I've never gone away with someone for the weekend. You?"

"No." Sylar whispered. He touched the bottle of champagne, then pulled his hand away. "Strawberry?"

"Maybe later." Ava shook her head. "So what are we going to do?"

Sylar leaned against the wall. "Check out the riverwalk?"

"Good idea." Ava smiled as she pulled off her blazer. Sylar's eyes widened at the holstered gun under her arm. Ava glanced down at it. "Just let me put this away first." She pulled off the gun and set it in a drawer in the nightstand.

As they headed for the door, they stared at each other as someone began to knock on it. Ava opened the door, stepping aside as Claude strode through the door. "I'm not interrupting any shagging, am I?"

"We're dressed, so no." Ava closed the door and turned to Claude. "What's going on?"

Claude looked at both of them. "Noah just called. We left the house just in time. Kane showed up."

July 9, 2004

Ava stepped off of the airplane in Bogota and made her way to baggage claims. "Agent Reese?" She turned to see a tall man standing behind her. She blinked for a moment in shock as he smiled down at her. He was gorgeous, with wavy black hair, dimples, deeply tanned skin and dark black eyes. He held out his hand. "I'm Simon Lopez. Mr. Linderman and Mr. Thompson told me that you would be arriving today."

Ava stared at him for a moment, finally taking his hand. "Avery Reese."

Simon winked. "And she finally speaks!" He laughed as she blushed and looked away. "You will be staying in a hotel here for the night before we head off to the wilds of the Amazon to hunt down the Juarez couple. Perhaps I can take you to dinner?"

Ava shook her head as she pulled herself together. She grabbed her bag before turning to Simon. "Thanks, but I'm going to stay in and get some rest before tomorrow." She started for the exit with Agent Lopez following behind her. "You've gathered the supplies we're going to need, correct?"

"Correct." Simon smiled down at her. "As well as arms. You know how to launch an RPG?"

"Of course." Ava nodded. "You think we'll need a rocket grenade in the jungle?"

"With those two? We'll need everything we can get our hands on." Simon ushered her towards his car and drove her towards her hotel.

June 8, 2007

"So what, we're going back to the farmhouse now so we can teleport to Ba-?" Sylar rolled his eyes as Claude shushed him.

"-No. We're not going anywhere for now. Noah told us to stay put and just stay together as much as we can for now. We'll return to the farmhouse Sunday night and teleport from there." He walked towards the door and glanced back at them. "So if you two weren't getting ready to make the beast with two backs, what WERE you about to do?"

Ava shrugged. "Be tourists? Do touristy things?"

"Bloody waste of an expensive hotel room, you two are." Claude snorted as he walked out of the room. "I'll meet you both downstairs in five minutes to get touristy!" He called out before closing the door.

"Great." Sylar sat on the edge of the bed. "He's going to be tagging along at every step. So much for a fun getaway."

"Come on." Ava tugged at his arm. "He's not so bad."

"Says the woman who was trained by him. Let him fart around you before beating you with a metal rod and a baseball bat and finally braining you with a paint can before you tell me that he's not so bad."

Noah opened his eyes and realized he was standing on another beach. He spotted Peter and Angela as they sat on the deck of another beach house. He glanced over at Hiro and Kaito. "Guess we'd better go talk to her." Noah walked towards the deck with Kaito as Peter got up and walked into the house. "Angela."

"Noah, Kaito, sit down." Angela glanced over her shoulder as Peter closed the door behind her. "There's other pressing business to discuss beside Kane finding the farmhouse. I've been waiting for Sylar to go off with Ava and Claude before I discussed this with you. I didn't want him overhearing and I don't want either of the agents to hear it either." She nodded to Hiro. "Peter's inside with Niki and Micah."

"Go inside, Son." Kaito turned to Angela as she watched Hiro walk into the house.

"He's such a good boy." Angela mused. "Who would have known that he would possess such an interesting and useful power?" She stood up and motioned to Noah. "Walk with me, away from the others." They followed her to the beach and began to walk beside her as she strolled away from the house. "Noah, you came to me a few days ago with some news. Sylar wants to become an agent after Kane is defeated?"

Noah nodded. "He's expressed a great deal of interest in it, yes."

Kaito smiled softly. "We've accepted worse people into the organization under less great circumstances. If he proves himself to be a true leader and proves that he has changed from the murderous criminal that he was, I don't see why he couldn't be an agent." He turned to Noah. "Are you willing to be his director?"

Noah smiled. "He's proven himself quite a lot to me in the last month. I would willingly take him under my wing. I think he'd make a good partner to Agent Reese."

"It's not happening." Noah and Kaito both stopped as Angela turned to them. "I've spoken with the other shareholders about the situation this morning after I arrived here-"

"-you went OVER my head?-" Kaito gasped.

"-and they've agreed with me through a majority vote." Angela pulled her shoulders back, staring at the men with a steely gaze. "As soon as this operation is finished, as soon as Kane is defeated, Sylar will be killed."

"Treachery!" Kaito stammered angrily.

"And just WHO is going to kill him?" Noah glared at her.

"Agent Reese, of course." Angela raised an eyebrow. "She's close enough to him to take him out before he realizes what she's up to. She's killed a man she loved before on our orders, she'll do it again. Sylar is a loose cannon. He's too dangerous to keep alive once he's served his purpose. Once Kane is dead, she will be ordered to kill him, or she will die with him. It's as simple as that."

"And if I don't agree with this?" Kaito shook his head. "He trusts us! We are trusting him to lead a group of us to kill Kane, and he trusts us to do right by him once this is finished! How is killing him afterwards doing right?"

"He's been trying to change!" Noah shouted. "Kaito's right, what you are saying, what you want Ava to do is horrible!"

"He'll never change!" Angela hissed. "He's attacked my son, Kaito's son, your daughter, my granddaughter. Do you trust him enough to put him alone in a room with Claire?" As Noah looked away, Angela smirked. "That's what I thought. He'll never change who he really and truly is. He'll always be a danger to us and anyone else with powers. Once this is over, Ava will destroy him or face execution beside him. Neither of you are to discuss this with anyone, is that understood?"

Noah glared at her. "Do you forget that we have two men who can read minds?"

"I haven't forgotten." Angela glared angrily back at him. "I think Peter knows what we decided, but I can control him. You'd better control Parkman. If word of this gets to Ava or Sylar before the deed is ready to be done-"

"-And I thought the things I've done in my life were evil." Noah turned and walked away from her, his face twisting with fury.

"If he finds out what we've got planned for him before he faces Kane, he could walk away and leave us alone to fend for ourselves!" Angela shouted after him.

Kaito lowered his head. "It would be what we deserved, after using him so." He turned and walked away from her, his heart filled with anger and sadness. When he reached Noah, he patted him reassuringly on the arm. "I'll try and speak to the others, change their minds."

"Do you think you can?" Noah shook his head. "I can't ask Ava to kill him. She loves him, Kaito. It'll destroy her to kill another man she loves. It'll kill her to lose someone else." He looked away. "She's already lost so much."

"I don't know if I can convince the others to change their votes, but I'll do what I can." Kaito turned back to Angela as she stood away from them on the beach. "What she has planned goes beyond morally grey into outright evil. I'd rather not be a part of it, if I can."