BURNING THE PICKET FENCE
Chapter 24 – Disclosures
Chandra Suresh's Apartment
October 2, 2006
Sarah walked beside Noah Bennet up several flights of stairs to the apartment formerly owned by Dr. Chandra Suresh. "It looks about the same as the last time I was here." Noah looked around in repugnance at the dilapidating structure.
"Oh, so you've been here before?" Sarah smiled at him suspiciously. Noah stopped walking as he looked back at her.
"What I meant to say was I've been to so many buildings like this, that they all start to look alike after a while." He tried to cover his tracks.
Sarah leaned against the wall, her arms folded across her chest. "Noah, let me blunt for a moment. I know why we are here. See, I've been going over and over in my head wondering what you would want with a genetics professor from India and why in the hell you have Eden staked out next door."
Noah stared coolly at her. "And you think you have it all figured out?"
"Your little girl is sweet sixteen now." Sarah narrowed her eyes calculatingly. "And over the last several months, many have been coming into their powers. Something tells me that pretty little girl you're raising is one of them."
Noah nodded composedly. "Let's just say for arguments sake that you assume correctly. What would you do with this information?"
Sarah shook her head with a wry smile. "Absolutely nothing."
"Really now." Noah grinned cautiously. "And again assuming you are correct, what would you want in exchange for your silence?"
Sarah rolled her eyes sighing as she stood up facing him straightforwardly. "Ok Noah, let's just cut the shit, shall we? The truth is I don't know anything for sure. But I do know that if she has manifested and Thompson finds out, she will become a human lab rat…and I know you well enough to know you will do anything to make that not happen."
Noah exhaled nodding slowly. "Claire is able to regenerate. I learned about this six months ago when she smashed her hand through a glass display case in her room and a few days later the cuts were gone without so much as a trace. Sarah, I don't trust too many people; I'm not even sure I trust you, but you have always kept your word to me. I am hoping this time will be no exception."
"Just relax, Noah." She replied unwaveringly. "I won't say a word. I mean, common; you know how I feel about Thompson."
"Which is exactly why I don't want Claire anywhere near him." Noah seethed angrily. "He uses his position to force young girls to do things they wouldn't do otherwise. I am sure you were one of those girls, Sarah."
"No." Sarah shook her head solemnly. "I went to Thompson perfectly willingly with my eyes wide open."
"What?" Noah whispered as his face fell.
"It was after I took it upon myself to kill my husband and anybody who got in my way, which turned out to be a lot of people. He was afraid of me, but I saw the way he looked at me. I also knew he had his eye on Candice and also Elle. I…um…shall we say offered myself up as a sacrifice so he would keep his grubby hands off of them." Sarah shifted her weight onto her other foot as she shook her head. "I guess the point I'm trying to make without bringing this up again is that if you have a secret from Thompson, that's good enough for me. You have been nothing but good to me, Noah and I guess I feel like I owe you."
"You don't owe me anything, Sarah." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "You have paid a hefty price for keeping our secrets. You and Elle are what I do not want Claire to become. Every time I look at your face, I see what Claire would have been if she was raised by The Company. And I don't want that for her."
"Which is why I will help you keep your secrets." She half-smiled. "Now speaking of secrets…" She gestured toward Eden's door. "Now that Suresh is dead, what are we going to do about your girl?"
"She is going to be quickly re-assigned." Noah replied. "There is an artist named Isaac Mendez who has been painting artwork with prognosticator properties."
"Really?" Sarah smiled fascinated. "Do they seem to be leading up to something specific?"
Bennet shook his head. "At this point it's difficult to tell. Charles Deveaux's daughter Simone is an art dealer and by a lucky coincidence…or by Linderman's underhanded meddling; Simone is also the girlfriend of Isaac Mendez."
Sarah shook her head smiling ironically. "Small world."
"But anyway, I am going to keep Eden around here for a few days because I learned this morning that Suresh's son is going to be flying in from India. He is a young and handsome version of his father and a pretty girl like Eden is just the thing to keep him distracted." He looked at Sarah warningly. "And he will more than likely be looking into
the murder of his father, so you will want to take whatever measures necessary to keep him from learning too much about Sylar."
"Of course." Sarah smiled enigmatically narrowing her eyes. "You know I too can provide a distraction to just about any straight red-blooded male if I have to."
Noah shook his head amused by her candor. "So as far as Thompson is concerned, we are paying a visit to Isaac Mendez."
"And just to cover our asses, I'll stop by and pay my respects to Mr. Deveaux, and when I am completely stunned to learn that his daughter is an art dealer, I will stop by her gallery." She grinned. "I'm suddenly feeling a need to immerse myself in the arts."
Noah shook his head laughing. "A little culture never hurt anybody."
Sarah started to walk back down the hall. "Watch out for young genetics professors with Daddy Issues." She winked walking away while Noah shook his head smiling as he opened Suresh's door.
On her way out of the building, Sarah's phone rang. She picked it up distracted; completely oblivious to the young handsome Indian man walking into the building.
As she walked down the street arguing with Thompson, she passed a sign that read Vote Petrelli as the earth began to cast it's shadow across the sun.
October 2, 2006
OWI Headquarters, Hartsdale New York
Daniel Linderman sat in his office carefully studying the papers on his desk as Bob Bishop walked in.
Bob watched him looking over his files; one in particular which read November 8th, 2006. He cleared his throat. "Daniel, you wanted to see me?"
"Ah yes, Bob." He looked up greeting him cheerfully. "Right on time!"
"I don't have a lot of time, so let's make this quick." Bob sat in the chair directly across from him eying the file in front of him. "So you are really planning on going through with it."
"It's the only way to make the country whole again." Linderman replied. "If you think you are going to talk me out of it, think again."
Bob only stared at him disdainfully. "So why have you asked me to be here?"
Linderman looked through another file on his desk. "November 8th is coming quickly and there are things that must be taken care of with regard to my granddaughter."
"Such as?" Bob inquired.
He pulled a document out of the file handing it to him. "This is my will and testament. As you can see, in the event of my death, Sarah is my sole heir. All of my assets will go to her."
Bob seethed inwardly, but remained calm. "I knew this already. Is there something else?"
Linderman smiled. "Yes there is. Thanks to you and those in your employ, my granddaughter the embodiment of perfection. She is exactly what every agent in this organization should be and represents the future of this company when we are all too old…or too dead of course, to run it any longer. But I don't want it to stop there. I want my granddaughter to breed. I want there to be future generations of children just like her."
Bob laughed. "Well, I'm afraid you have yourself a problem. Sarah has absolutely no intention of having children."
Linderman nodded in agreement. "And she would be a terrible mother." He shuddered. "A child deserves much better than that, don't you think. But lucky for us, before she got married to that undeserving half-wit all those years ago, I had her eggs harvested. I have been looking for the perfect donor, and I have found him."
Bob nodded intrigued. "And who would that be?"
Linderman leaned forward intently. "Gabriel Gray."
"Sylar?" Bob almost shouted. "You want your great grandchild to have the genes of a psychotic serial killer?"
"Are you forgetting that Sarah's psychological composition makes her a prime candidate for the most frightening killer ever known to man?" Linderman reminded him. "It is only the killer instinct we want…they both have it in spades."
Bob nodded. "Well I am sure we are not going to approach Gabriel Gray on the streets and politely ask him to turn over his sperm to us."
"But if my granddaughter asked him, I am sure he would donate freely." Linderman grinned exultantly. "But my plan to bring them together has been working without any help from me. They haven't officially met, but there is a sexual attraction and in the likely event they do meet face to face, I think we can expect fireworks that will be even more spectacular that what we have in store on November 8th. Don't you agree?"
Bob said nothing as he sat shaking his head in abhorrence.
New York City
Not So Distant Future
Sarah lay sleeping that morning as Sylar laid beside her. He watched her sleep gently caressing her arm, feeling her silky body against his. But this morning, she did not lie in serenity. He watched as she shook fearfully with tears running down her cheeks. "It's happening again." He whispered sadly holding her close to him.
In her sub-conscience, Sarah stood in a meadow. There were flowers around her and butterflies. The sun shone upon her face making her smile.
In the distance she could see her mother and father beckoning to her. She was six years old again as she looked down at the flowered dress she wore and white Mary Janes on her feet. Her hair was in pigtails that flopped up and down against her shoulders as she ran to her parents. She saw her mother bend down holding out her arms to her.
Then all of the sudden, her joy turned to fear as a large snake lay in her path. It began to slither across her feet paralyzing her with fear. She watched as her mother and father began to fade away. She called out to them.
"They can't hear you." The snake taunted her as it began to slither up her leg terrifying her. She felt it climbing up her body as she stood motionless with fear feeling it weaving in and out of her limbs until she was face to face with the serpent. It's eyes glowed red and Sarah could see her own face reflected in its eyes. She was no longer a child. A taunting laugh came from within as felt its fork tongue tickling her, making her cringe with fear. But the snake only continued to goad her with its laughter.
Then with a flash of light, the snake was gone. The earth began to crumble beneath her feet as she tried desperately to grab onto something. But it was no use…Sarah felt herself being sucked into the earth's core screaming as she fell into the fiery lava.
She sat up in bed screaming, sweat pouring out of her glands as Sylar pulled her in close to him. "It's ok…I'm here baby!" She continued to scream as he tried to comfort her. "Whatever it is, it isn't real. Common…open your eyes. Stay with me." Sarah began to breathe normally again as he gently stroked her hair.
She looked up at him her eyes filled with terror as he continued to comfort her. "I'm ok."
"You are not ok." He touched her face gently. "My God Sarah, we have only been sleeping together for a few weeks, but you have these nightmares almost every night. What in the hell are you dreaming about?"
"It's the reason I don't want to live forever." She climbed out of bed pouring herself a glass of water. "It's the same nightmare I have had since I was a little girl. It is always just a little bit different, but the message is always the same. My mom and dad are there and I'm always a little girl again. I run to them, but before I reach them this horrible man is always there and stops me from getting to them. But tonight he was this snake who slithered up my body and completely paralyzed me. And just when he appears, my parents fade away. And then I feel myself falling into this fiery abyss. Then I wake up."
He stood up putting his arms around her. "That scares the piss out of me and I'm not even the one dreaming it. Why do you think you have these dreams?"
She shook her head frightfully. "I don't know."
Sylar wrinkled his brow thoughtfully. "It sounds to me like their trying to tell you something."
"Maybe." She nodded. "But whatever it is, I don't want to know."
"But don't you want to know what they mean?" He asked her softly. "I mean, if you face them head on, maybe that's the key to stopping them."
Her face began to grow angry. "Look Gabriel, I only told you about this because you were here. If they are trying to tell me something, which I am sure they are, I don't want to know what it is. See, I am ok with having these dreams. I wake up and go for a run and I'm fine. I would rather spend the rest of my life just dealing with whatever it is."
"Sarah, the rest of your life could be a long time." He told her stroking her face.
"Yeah!" She shouted breaking away from him. "Another reason I hate you for doing this to me!"
"Oh, this bullshit again." Sylar rolled his eyes. "I thought we were past that!"
"Oh no!" She shook her head grudgedly. "Just because you don't want to fucking listen to it doesn't mean I'm not still pissed off at you! I won't be getting over this for a long time!"
"Then why did you take me into bed last night?" He hissed clenching his teeth.
"Because I was horny and I wanted sex!" She retorted spitefully.
"Oh get off it Sarah!" He shouted. "That's a load of shit and you know it! You need to knock this shit off of telling me you love me one minute, then kicking me the curb the next! It is a load of crap and I am getting really fucking tired of it!"
"Then why don't you get the fuck out of here?" She hollered at him.
"Because I'm a fucking idiot who is in love with a woman who seems to think she can control me by flashing her twat at me whenever she wants something!" He yelled back at her. "But hasn't it always been that way with you, Sarah? You can get a man to do whatever you want him to do! All you have ever had to do is show a man your tits and open your legs and everything you want is yours!"
"Fuck you!" She screamed reaching out to slap him as he grabbed her wrist.
"Not this time, sweetness!" He sneered into her face picking her up throwing her over his shoulder. "If you're going to act like a bitch, I'm going to treat you like one!"
"Put me down you asshole!" She raged writhing out of his grasp.
"Gladly!' Sylar shouted throwing her on the bed. He walked away and came back a moment later with a large wooden spoon.
"And just what in the fuck do you think you're going to do with that?" She laughed maliciously.
"You're not the only one who gets to pound your fists in a fit of rage whenever you aren't getting your way!" He bent down holding the spoon in front of her. "You are nothing but a spoiled brat who has gotten her way far too long! Well, I'm fucking tired of being treated like a yoyo Sarah! You can't bat your long eyelashes at me one minute telling me you love me and then the next minute come charging at me swinging your fists! You are a BITCH Sarah! A spoiled, manipulative little bitch that needs a spanking!"
She shook her head at him incredulously. "Oh, you wouldn't!"
"Oh, I would!" He laughed viciously as he raised the spoon then brought it down across her buttocks. She turned around sneering sending the spoon flying out of his hand. "Nice try, but I brought two!" He laughed pulling out the second spoon smacking her before she could react.
She grabbed his hand before he could bring the spoon down a third time. He watched in terror as her eyes began to change, her face going blank as her eyes darkened. "I told you not to fuck with me!" Came a voice from within her. Sylar fell back watching her horrified as she stood over him. He felt himself growing weaker as her face went blank.
"Sarah?" He waved his hand in front of her face, but she did not see him. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. Her pupils and iris were jet black. As she looked at him, a loud shrieking sound seemed to emit from her eyes. "Oh, shit." Sylar groaned. "This is going to be bad!" He began to scream in agony clutching his chest as he felt his
heart begin to beat faster. Then it stopped. All of his bodily organs shut down. He slumped to the floor dead.
A few minutes later he jolted awake. Sarah was now dressed wearing a black v-neck sweater and faded jeans sitting next to him on the floor, her knees pulled into her chest. "Welcome back." She half-smiled.
"What the hell was that?" He whispered staring up at her horrified.
"That…was my gift." She stood up quickly looking in the mirror as she took a brush to her long dark hair.
"How long was I dead?" He stood up still feeling dazed by the experience.
"Not long." She smiled softly as she pulled her hair back into a pony tail. "About ten minutes." She turned around looking apologetic. "Are you done being mad?"
"I don't know." He pulled on his pants looking over his shoulder at her with a raised eyebrow. "Are you done being a bitch?"
"For now." She put her arms around his waist. "I'm sorry. Maybe from here on out its best to just walk away when I get to be too much."
He put his arms around her flopping back on the bed with her. He turned her over looking into her eyes. "I'll never walk away from you." He kissed her softly. "You can kill me over and over again, but I will never walk away. As much as I hate you sometimes does not begin to offset how much I love you every moment. You get my blood pumping like no other woman ever has." He covered her mouth with his greedily kissing her feverishly. "You make me crazy in every way." He whispered into her hair. "So what do you say we end this fight properly?" He began unzipping her jeans.
But to his surprise she jumped out of bed zipping up her jeans. "Not until you get me some breakfast! I'm starving." He laid there on the bed staring at her thunderstruck as she headed toward the kitchen. She stopped in the doorway looking back over her shoulder at him. "Maybe I'll flash my twat for you later." She blew him a kiss, then turned around leaving him shaking his head as he covered his face with his hands laughing at her conceit.
Niki and Mohinder were abruptly awakened by thunderous rapping on Niki's front door. They looked at each other oddly for a moment not recalling the night before as the knocking became more obnoxious.
Niki sleepily pulled on her bathrobe stumbling for the door opening it. Elle did not wait for an invitation before barging in. "Took you long enough. She spat snidely at Niki who stood staring at her bemused.
Niki watched as Elle walked inside flopping into a chair. "Elle, why are you here?"
"Because we have work to do." She retorted. "We need to figure out why my father is sending the Haitian to my room in the middle of the night to erase my memories."
"What in the hell are you talking about?" Mohinder mussed his hair as he emerged from the bedroom still with a look of confusion on his face.
Elle smiled at him. "Oh good…you're here too. So what do we know that my father is sending The Haitian around erasing our memories? Oh, and if anybody asks, he got to me too. So what aren't we supposed to remember?" Niki and Mohinder only stared at her blankly as Elle's eyes widened. "Holy crap! He got to you!"
Mohinder shook his head befuddled. "Well, it sounds like you're talking crazy, but you may actually have a point." He looked at Niki. "Do you remember how we got here last night? What about the last several days? The last thing I remember was leaving to find Sylar and Sarah, but I don't remember anything until we woke up this morning. What about you?"
Niki set mugs of coffee in front of each of them, then sat at the table leaning forward with her arms folded in front of her. "I'm drawing a blank." She shrugged. "All I remember was leaving here then finding Elle had stowed away."
"Common guys!" Elle shouted incredulously. "You don't remember anything? Adam Monroe? Maya giving birth to the baby? Nothing? Oh my God!"
"Maya had a baby?" Niki and Mohinder shouted in unison.
Elle shook her head at them condescendingly. "Ah…yeah! A little boy named Alejandro! You helped Sarah deliver him, Mohinder! None of this is ringing any bells for you?"
"Nope." Niki shook her head. "So if Maya had a baby…I guess that means Sylar is the father?"
"Yeah, the kid looks just like him." Elle replied. "He looks nothing like Maya though…if I didn't see him pop out of her, I would swear there wasn't a speck of Latino blood in the brat."
"There is clearly something they don't us to remember." Mohinder nodded then looked at Elle. "Ok, so you still remember everything? What about Adam? Do you know where he is?"
"Yeah, in the morgue at headquarters." She snickered. "Sarah killed him."
"Holy shit!" Niki whispered. "Four hundred years and gone just like that. It's almost sad if you think about it. I hope she cut off his head."
"Close enough." Elle replied. "She stabbed him through the throat and took viles of his blood, which you have in your lab, by the way."
"Good to know." Niki nodded smiling mordantly. "Ok Elle, start talking."
"Pull up a chair guys...this is going to take a while." Elle smiled eagerly as she began to fill them in.
"Ok…I got breakfast!" Sylar called out walking into her apartment carrying several bags. "I hope your hun…" He rolled his eyes as he saw her lying on the kitchen floor face up, dead. "Oh God dammit! Not again!" He shouted as he sat on the floor next to her and waited for her to wake up.
Sarah jolted awake gasping for air as Sylar sat on the floor shaking his head. "Oh good, your back. What's for breakfast?" She kissed him quickly then stood up looking at the food he brought. "I am starving!"
"Well, I'm having bagels and lox!" He responded irritably holding up two bottles. "But it looks like you had drain cleaner with a seltzer water chaser." He threw the bottles on the floor then grabbing her shoulders. "My God Sarah! What the fuck are you trying to do to yourself?" He stroked her face gently.
She reached up placing her hands on his chest; her eyes wide with exhilaration. "Gabriel, I have never felt this alive! I hated you so much for doing this to me, but now I just feel so…so…energized! I have never felt this amazing. Every time I die and come back to life again, I feel revitalized…like I can do anything!"
"You just said an hour ago you hated me for this?" He shouted incredulously.
"I know, but now I like these little perks." She smiled picking up a knife slicing her forearm open.
Sylar took the knife from her throwing it on the floor. He shook his head painfully as he looked sadly into her eyes. "Sarah, when I did this, it was a gift. I didn't want to live for an indefinite number of years if I didn't wake up in the morning without you next to me. When I walk into a room and see you lying on the floor dead, or in the bathroom with your wrists slashed, even though I know you're going to spring back to life any second, but I hate seeing you like that. And some of the things you're doing to yourself…baby, do you have any idea what this does to me?"
Sarah cocked her head smiling tenderly up at him. "Really?"
"Yes." He nodded slowly wrapping his arms around her. "Sarah, I love you. I didn't do this so we could run around freakishly jumping off skyscrapers, or jumping out of airplanes sans the parachutes." He pulled back looking in her eyes. "I used to be just fine walking the world alone…hunting for powers, taking from those that didn't deserve them. But all of the sudden I woke up one morning with you in my heart and I didn't want to be without you ever again. I know when we first met there was this white hot sexual fire between us that has only intensified. I saw you as this gorgeous, iniquitous, sexually stimulating, independent, mysteriously vibrant woman, and you're all that…but you are so much more. There is also a very soft and, dare I say it; a very fragile side to you. You go from making me crazy with desire to pissing me off to no end…and then I just want to hold you in my arms and make love to you. When I was a kid, I always dreamed of marrying a nice girl, having a family…the whole nine yards. The kind of girl my mother would be proud of…"
"Great! You had to go and bring your mother into this." Sarah cut him off shaking her head, laughing cynically. "But, you settled for me. And I'm hardly the kind of girl a boy wants to take home to his mother." She scoffed.
He bent down looking in her eyes. "I would have gladly taken you home to meet my mother."
"And you would have lied to her that I was a nice Catholic girl from Manhattan?" She smiled.
"No." He whispered running his thumbs across her face. "See, as I got older I realized that nice girls bore the shit out of me. None of the proper girls my mother wanted to set me up with were my type at all." He looked down at her body smiling. "I love the feisty, animalistic, dark, sexy vixen type."
Sarah narrowed her eyes playfully. "Groooowl!"
"Oh hell yes." He smiled kissing her. "That…is what I like!"
She returned his kiss then turned back toward the food. "Well, I don't know about you, but that Drain-o cleaned out my stomach." She giggled. "I am starving!" She stopped looking through the bags as he leaned in behind her nuzzling her neck.
"Later." He whispered in her ear slowly turning her back toward him. They softly rubbed their lips together. Sarah closed her eyes feeling her body tremble from within as the passion grew between them. She leaned back against the counter wrapping her arms around his neck as he gently pressed himself against her kissing her hungrily.
Sarah smiled hooking her thumbs through his belt loops leading him to the front room where she pulled him to the sofa taking him with her as their kisses grew more fervent; their breathing more intense. They began to slowly remove each other's clothes letting them fall to the floor, their bodies wrapped around each other.
Sylar smiled softly looking down at her nude body. "God, you're beautiful." He whispered breathlessly.
"Thank you." She kissed him softly.
He pulled back stroking her face gently. "What for?"
"Just for being the only man who has ever loved me just for who and what I am." She gently let her fingers glide up and down his arm. "Not just because you want to get inside my pants."
"Oh, but I do want to get inside your pants!" He playfully wiggled his eyebrows reaching between her legs.
"Um…those aren't my pants you're trying to get into." She smiled lasciviously wrapping her legs around his as he slowly pushed inside her. Sarah slowly moved her hips in rhythm with his in a circular motion, arching her back to meet him. She closed her eyes moaning softly as she felt him moving deep inside her. "Oh God." She whispered in his ear. He looked down at her panting as her body began to glow with perspiration. She began moving faster as Sylar thrust harder causing her to scream out in ecstasy as he moaned loudly. "OH MY GOD!" She cried out! "Oh GOD that's good!" He felt her body tremor beneath him; screaming as an orgasm overtook her body. Closing his eyes, he released inside her. He looked down at her touching her face gently before collapsing on top of her. "I love you so much." She whispered breathlessly into his neck.
"I love you." He pulled her against him as she grabbed a blanket covering them. She laid her head against his chest as he gently stroked her hair, kissing her forehead tenderly.
She propped herself up on her elbow. "Well?"
"Well, what?" He smiled softly.
"I'm starving!" She slapped him playfully. "Feed me!"
"Oh!" He laughed incredulously. "Whatever happened to Women's Lib? I went out and bought it, you get your tight little ass out of bed and bring it to me, woman!"
"Just who do you think you're talking to, Mister?" She glowered at him, then smiled mysteriously. "But there is something you should probably know about me…"
"And what would that be?" He narrowed his eyebrows mischievously.
"See, I'm kind of like one of those rides in front of the grocery store…you know…those ones you put quarters in?" She laid on her back playfully. "You keep putting quarters in me, and I'll run for hours. When you run out of quarters, you run out of luck."
He looked down at her wrinkling his nose. "I guess I better get some quarters." She nodded quickly, then lifting is hand he telekinetically brought the bag of bagels to them as Sarah rolled her eyes.
"Cheater!" She smacked him playfully. "And you forgot the lox, you lazy prick."
"Coming right up." He held his hand out again, but she lowered it.
"No, allow me." She smiled holding up her hand bringing the second bag to them. He shook his head laughing. "What?"
"I was just wondering what would have happened if I found your name on a file instead of Brian Davis." He narrowed his eyes furtively.
"You would have been dead before you picked up the crystal." She cocked her head as she fed him a piece of bagel.
Sylar stared at her taken aback. "How did you know I used the crystal to kill him."
She slowly spread cream cheese on her bagel. "Do you remember a few years back a red head coming into your shop snooping around…and then when you realized what she was up to, you tried to kill her?"
He pursed his lips, rolling his eyes around reflectively. "I seem to recall something to that effect." His eyes widened as he watched her smiling coyly. "Hold it! That was YOU?" He nearly shouted.
Sarah nodded proudly taking a bite of her bagel. "You told me my mother's watch was a fake."
"You picked it up at a flea market on the way over." He shook his head. "Damn! I tried to pop your top, but you got away from me. I was pissed off for days."
She played with her hair. "So do you think I should color my hair red?"
"Nope." He whispered taking her bagel out of her hands setting it on the table next to them. "Your perfect just the way you are." He laid her back against the couch again.
"I was eating that!" She protested reaching for her bagel.
"I'll give you something else to eat." He grinned wiggling his eyebrows as they began to make love again.
"Are you sure you won't get caught?" Elle looked over Micah's shoulder as he tapped into The Company mainframe.
He looked up at her smiling. "They haven't caught me yet, have they?"
Elle's mouth dropped open. "You mean you have been hacking into the company mainframe all this time? You little shit!"
"Hey!" Niki shouted. "Watch how you talk to my son! He's only 12!"
Elle stared at her taken aback. "Hey, relax mom! I only said it because I'm so impressed."
Niki nodded eying her distrustfully. "Ok, but watch the language. This is my home, not a bar."
"Sorry!" She shrugged. "I'm not used to being around kids."
"So are you glad to be home?" Mohinder asked Molly as she sat on his knee snuggled against him.
"Yes!" She nodded excitedly. "I had fun at Nana's house and Monica is so nice, but I missed you and Matt so much!"
"And I missed you too!" He smiled lovingly at the girl. "Well, you know what? Matt is coming back from LA tomorrow night. I think we need pizza and ice cream to celebrate."
Molly tilted her head glowering condescendingly at him. "Mohinder. You and Matt eat way too much junk. You really need to start taking care of yourselves at your ages."
Mohinder looked up at Niki who bit her lip to keep from laughing.
"And I'm in." Micah stood up and let Mohinder sit behind the computer.
"So how are you able to get in here without getting caught?" Elle stared at him with disbelief.
"I have a little bit of inside help." He winked up at her. "If you go out with me sometime I'll tell you all about it."
"Micah!" Niki shouted as Mohinder snickered under his breath.
"Oh my God." Mohinder whispered.
"What?" Elle ran to the computer looking over his shoulder. "Oh, holy crap!" She shouted as Niki filed in behind her.
"Micah, why don't you take Molly and show her your computer?" Niki quickly shoed them out of the room.
Micah took her hand leading her down the hall. "Common Molly." He sighed.
"Yeah, I guess they are going to look at something they don't want us to see again." She rolled her eyes as they walked toward Micah's room.
Hearing Micah's door close, Niki looked over their shoulders at the screen.
"What does it say?"
"No wonder Maya's baby doesn't look like her…its Sarah's baby!" Elle nearly screamed.
"Oh, you have got to be shitting me!" Niki gasped reading the screen. "How is all this possible?"
"Well that explains how Maya didn't know she was pregnant all those months." Elle scoffed. "I mean common…I'm a blonde and all of the sudden I feel a rocket scientist."
"Yeah, well, I have been pregnant." Niki retorted pointing down the hall to Micah's room. "And you know. You just know! So how in the hell is it possible that Maya didn't know she was pregnant?"
"Well, since the embryo was implanted, she did not have the early pregnancy symptoms alerting her to the changes in her body structure." Mohinder offered then looked at Elle. "Did Maya appear to be heavier before giving birth?"
Elle shrugged. "Like I would know. When we got there she was laying on the bed with her legs open screaming like a fucking ghoul." Then she laughed. "Hey, if you think about it, you get pregnant laying on your back screaming and then when you give birth…"
"Ok, Elle…" Niki shot her an irritated glare. "We get it!"
Elle rolled her eyes. "Well excuse me for having some fun!"
"Oh my God!" Mohinder almost shouted.
"What?" Elle came up behind him followed by Niki looking at the monitor.
"What the fuck?" Niki whispered horrified.
Elle read the text on the screen then up at Mohinder. "Oh crap!" She whispered. "Linderman is her grandfather?"
"Wait! That's not all it says." Mohinder examined the screen completely engrossed by its contents. "According to this, Linderman's son, Fred Noonan, Sarah's father; the product of a pregnancy by a girlfriend he had before going into the Vietnam war. When Fred was nineteen he decided to go looking for his father, and he found him. After a few years, he learned about The Company and what they do. Linderman brought him on board and he worked as an agent for a while, thinking he was actually doing some good for their kind. He got married and had a daughter…Sarah. When Sarah was three, her powers began to manifest and this pleased Linderman. Well then Fred realized what The Company really was up to and of course, he was appalled. He took his wife, Rebecca and Sarah and fled. Linderman found them when Sarah was six years old and…" Mohinder eyes widened as he placed his hands over his face horrified.
"And what?" Niki read the rest of the document. "Oh God! No!"
"What?" Elle tried to read screen, but Mohinder exited out of the database. "Um, can somebody fill me in? Please?"
Mohinder and Niki looked at each other, then back at Elle. "Perhaps it would be best if you didn't know." Mohinder told her softly.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" She shouted. "If there is something in there that affects me, you have to tell me."
Niki sighed and put her arm on Elle's shoulder. "Elle, Sarah killed her parents."
"What?" Elle whispered. "No! That can't be right! She loved her parents! I was just a little girl when my daddy brought her to live with us. She never cried, but she always asked where they were. Like she was expecting them to come for her. How could she have killed them?"
Niki nodded sadly. "She was only the murder weapon. Linderman had Maury Parkman manipulate her into killing them."
"I can't believe this." Elle sat down pulling her knees to her chest. "Sarah is a lot of things…she kills when she has to…she kills when she is told to kill. But, not her parents!" Mohinder could see tears beginning to form in Elle's eyes.
Niki grabbed Mohinder's arm. "Mohinder, we have got to tell her."
"Are you fucking crazy?" Elle shouted.
"What?" Niki retorted. "This affects her in a big way! She has the right to know about this!"
"Do you want to be the one to tell SARAH that she was the one who killed her parents?" Elle looked at them both incredulously.
"She's right." Mohinder nodded in agreement. "Sarah can't know about this. It will drive her over the edge and I really don't want to be anywhere's near her if she were to find out about this."
"What do we do then?" Niki asked. "It's not like she did it deliberately. She was manipulated when she was six years old. By her own Grandfather…Daniel Linderman! I can't even fucking believe this shit!"
"I think I'm going to be sick." Elle jumped up bolting from the room.
Mohinder looked up at Niki half-smiling. "You did very well."
"Thanks." Niki stared at her hands sadly. "You know that girl drives me batshit insane sometimes, but I want no part of telling her that her father was standing right there next to Linderman helping him pull Parkman's strings."
Mohinder took a deep breath nodding pensively.
Sarah closed her eyes smiling as Sylar spooned her from behind. "What are you thinking so hard about?" He planted soft kisses around her neck.
"Oh everything…nothing." She turned so she was laying on her back looking up at him. "But mostly how I am glad I decided to get this chaise feature on this couch when I bought it."
"We haven't left it all day." He half-smiled tracing her lips with his finger. "Are you sure your father isn't going to be mad that we didn't put in an appearance?"
Sarah's smile faded as she shook her head. "He's not my father, Gabriel. He only raised me." Then she reached up stroking the hair away from his brow. "Besides, it's Saturday, goofball. He is likely somewhere up north standing in the middle of a stream casting a line."
He tilted his head confused. "Casting a line? What in the hell is that?"
"Fishing." She smiled. "You've never been fishing?"
Sylar wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Now why would I want to do that when I need only to visit the fish mongers by the docks?"
"Oh, you are such a city boy!" She giggled. "There is something deliciously savage about catching and cooking your own food."
He cocked his head glowering at her. "Yes…I know."
"I just bet you do." She began kissing him feverishly then looked up at him curiously. "And that reminds me…are you ever going to tell me how you were able to make me immortal? I don't remember eating any brains with you." She grimaced shuddering.
He sat up laughing. "Well, what you didn't know…" The loud knocking on Sarah's door interrupted his sentence. They both looked at the door then at each other. "Don't answer it." He whispered cupping his hand over her mouth. "Maybe they'll go away."
"I think we better see who it is at least." She began to stand up.
"It's Mohinder, Niki and Elle." He whispered. "Just be quiet and they'll leave."
Sarah stood up grabbing her clothes. "They won't go away." She shook her head throwing his clothes at him. "Believe me, I grew up with Elle. She'll just stand out there all night and bitch until the door opens. Just believe me when I tell you it is much less painful to let her in."
The pounding on the door got louder. They heard Elle shouting. "Ok you two! Get your asses dressed! We aren't leaving, so you might as well open the door!"
Sarah opened the door snarling irritably at her. "This had better be good!"
"Took you long enough!" Elle scowled at her as she brushed past Sarah through the door followed by Niki and Mohinder. Elle looked at Sylar. "I only meant she had to get dressed…you could have stayed naked."
"And what makes you think I was naked?" He forced a sarcastic smile.
"Oh please!" Elle laughed looking around. "What else do you two do when you get together? It's all about sex with you two!"
"That's enough Elle!" Niki put her hands on her shoulders shoving Elle aside, much to her chagrin. "Sarah, I apologize for the intrusion."
"It's ok Niki." She smiled then turned glaring at Elle. "You don't need to apologize to me for Elle. I grew up with her, remember?"
"Actually, her memory is in short supply at the moment." Elle snickered as Niki glared at her. "And so is his."
"God, do you take obnoxious pills?" Niki shook her head incredulously.
Mohinder quickly walked past Elle standing in front of Sarah and Sylar. "Look you two…I'm really sorry about this. But there are some things that have come to light in the wake of our return…things that have simply shocked and amazed us all. We have learned some things that affect both of you that you need to…"
"Oh shut the fuck up already! GAWD!" Elle shouted, then sauntered up to Sarah placing a hand on her shoulder. "So, sister; how do you feel…hypothetically speaking of course…or maybe not…about about the prospect of being a mother?" Elle beamed at Sarah who's face fell as she looked at Sylar, who's mouth dropped open as he looked to Mohinder, who shook his head at Niki, who rolled her eyes.
"Shit." She whispered under her breath. "Well, so much for the subtle approach!" She snarled at Elle who only shrugged.
"What?" Elle shrugged smiling coyly.
--END--