BURNING THE PICKET FENCE
Chapter 29 – Freefalling

October 12, 2006

Two PM. Sarah was awakened by her phone buzzing next to her head. "Hello." She answered the phone groggily.

"Sarah, this is Noah Bennet. Did I wake you?"

Sarah sat up looking at her clock. "Yeah." She sat up rubbing her eyes. Then she nearly screamed as she saw a naked man lying in the bed next to her. He was passed out cold. "Sorry, I guess I crashed." She stood up picking up several bottles of wine throwing them into the trash.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but we have an emergency." He told her. "It seems Dr. Suresh's son and Eden broke into Sylar's apartment just a few minutes ago. They found incriminating information that if the police were to find could put him away for a long time. Of course, we don't want the police to know about Sylar, do we Sarah?"

Sarah sat in a chair. "Shit!" She rubbed her head which was throbbing. "Ok, lets get a team over there. Have Candice and Ramirez meet me there in twenty minutes, ok?" She opened a pouch of Alka-Seltzer and dropped the two tablets into a cup of water.

"You better make it fifteen." Noah replied sternly. "Mohinder has gone to bring back the police."

Sarah sighed with frustration. "Ok. Send the team, I'll be right there." She hung up the phone as she quickly chugged down the Alka-Seltzer wrinkling her face and shuddering. "Oh God that's disgusting!"

She threw on some clothes and brushed her teeth. Looking at the bed, she rolled her eyes as she watched the man sleeping. He appeared to be Latino with shoulder length dark hair and a scruffy beard. "Damn! I wish I could remember hitting that." She picked up his clothes and started to shake him. "Hey, wake up! You need to get out of here." He only groaned and rolled over snuggling the pillow. "Oh, no you don't!" Sarah sneered trying to pull him out of bed. He started to snore. "Oh, you're going to make me do this the hard way aren't you!"

Sarah filled up the ice bucket with ice water and dumped it on him. He sat up quickly. "What the fuck!" He shouted. "What did you do that for?"

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." She smiled sweetly, than sneered at him. "Now get the fuck out of here!"

He looked intently at Sarah than began to smile. "Oh, I remember now. You are the girl from my dreams. Damn you were hot last night!"

"Yeah, I know. And I just said you need to get out of here!" She threw his clothes at him. "Move it!" He tried to lay back down in bed and go to sleep. But Sarah grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him up. "That was not a request, asshole! That was a requirement!"

He sat up looking at her incredulously. "Last night you give me the fuck of my life and then you kick me out of your bed like a whore." He smiled up at her trying to pull her in to him. "I love freaky women!" He leaned in to kiss her.

Sarah slapped him. "Look, I don't remember much about last night, but I am sure I told you I don't kiss. But I don't have time to get into this with you anymore, so get the fuck out! NOW!"

He finally stood up begrudgingly pulling his pants on. "Can I see you again?" He asked as he pulled his shirt on shaking out his long hair.

"Nope." Sarah handed him his boots shoving him out the door. "Have a nice life!" She slammed the door in his face.

As she ran to grab her car keys, she saw he had dropped a comic book. "9th Wonders." She smiled. "Cool." She turned it over and saw his name and address on back. She looked up at the door. "Oh well. Goodbye Isaac Mendez." She threw the comic book in the waste basket and quickly headed out the door to her car.


"So how did it go?" Luke asked Sarah as they supervised the clean-up crew as they rummaged through the evidence at Sylar's apartment.

"How did what go?" She asked taking a sip from her coffee, rubbing her still throbbing head.

"The artist guy? Isaac Mendez." Luke stared at her incredulously. "I thought you were going to go check out his paintings last night."

"Oh right." Sarah shifted her eyes around struggling to remember. "Well, apparently it went really well because we drank several bottles of wine together and I woke up with him in my bed this afternoon."

Luke's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "You fucked the painter?" He nearly shouted. The clean-up crew stopped and looked at them both.

"Keep working!" Sarah shouted at them, and then rolled her head around glowering at Luke. "Hey, why don't you shout that a little louder? I don't think the guys in the back heard you!"

"How in the hell did you end up in bed with Isaac Mendez?" He snarled under his breath."

Sarah closed her eyes. "All I remember was going to his place pretending to be an art dealer. He showed me his paintings telling me they were all evil, and then proceeded show me how they align to events that had actually happened. He seems to think they are in some sort of chronological order leading up to New York blowing up. He even has a mural of the explosion painted on his floor. It really was kind of disturbing, you know."

"So you slept with him!" Luke retorted. "I don't get you sometimes, Noonan!"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Look, the guy had just lost his girlfriend and was all strung out on drugs. I kind of felt sorry for him, so I took him out to get a change of scenery. He seemed interested and he was smoking hot, so we ended up going to the market and getting some wine and food, then we went back to my suite and proceeded to drink the wine and eat the food. I don't remember anything after that."

Luke looked around the room. "Um, how do you know you slept with him? Maybe you both just passed out."

"The same way I know when I have my period." Sarah replied as she started snapping photos.

Luke stared at her confused. "What do you mean?" Sarah looked up at him cocking her head, with a condescending gaze. Luke grimaced wrinkling his nose as he caught on. "Oh, gross!"

"You asked." She shrugged as she went back to work.

Luke shook his head incredulously. "The guy is a drug user and you don't even know him! What if you caught some sort of disease? The clap. HIV. Herpes. They guy is a walking death trap."

"And Mr. Linderman can heal anything." She smiled.

Luke shook his head. "You're a freak, Noonan!" Then he smiled. "And if I may speak bluntly, it turns me on."

Sarah patted the side of his face. "Ain't happening." She walked away quickly.

"But you'll sleep with some drug addict you don't even know." He retorted angrily.

"Hey like I said, he was smoking hot!" She replied. "That and the fact I'll never see him again made it even more alluring."

Something caught Luke's eye on the floor. He bent down to take a closer look at it. "What in the hell is this?"

Sarah leaned over peering inquisitively at it. She reached into her pack removing a small plastic bag which she opened and picked up the fragment with a pair of tweezers. "This guy has serious issues just leaving stuff like this lying around. Gross"

"What is it?" Luke asked watching her place it in the bag.

"Gray matter." Sarah replied casually looking at him for a reaction.

Luke looked like he was going to be sick. "I think I'm going to throw up!" Luke grabbed a hold of his throat starting to bend over.

"Not here you don't." Sarah grabbed him by the collar giving him a shove toward the door. "You're going to have to do it in the hall." Luke went running off as Sarah's phone began to ring. "Pussy." She shook her head while she listened to him retching in the hallway as she answered her phone. "Noonan."

"Sarah, this is Eden." Eden whispered into the phone. "Are you still at the apartment?"

"Yeah. Where are you?" Sarah asked her as she continued to walk around the apartment.

"Mohinder finally convinced the police to go over there and have a look for themselves." Her voice was a panicked whisper. "We are leaving right now."

Sarah sounded unworried. "How far away are you?"

"Ten minutes, fifteen tops." She replied anxiously. "What should I do?"

"Do nothing. Just play dumb." Sarah told her firmly. "Just don't say anything and nobody will ask any questions."

"I'll try." Eden's voice sounded nervous. "Are you sure you can get pull this off?"

"Sure I can." Sarah replied with poise. "But even if I can't…you can always work your magic." She hung up the phone then shouted to the crew. "Ok people, you need to get out of here now! We don't have time to collect anything else; the police are going to be here any minute. Leave everything the way you found it and get out. Move!" She picked up her phone and dialed. "Ok, you're up." She quickly hung up.

Luke came back inside, still green around the gills. "What's going on?"

"The cops are on the way." She replied. "We don't have time to finish."

"So what are we going to do?" He asked.

"That's where I come in." They turned around to see Candice leaning in the doorway.

Luke nodded to her then turned around to Sarah. "What about the evidence?"

"We collected a few things. We can always come back later if we need more." She told him. "Now take the cleanup crew and get out of here. Candice and I have work to do. Go!"

"Be careful!" He told her.

"Aren't I always?" She smiled raising an eyebrow. "Clean up your puke!" She called after him then turned to Candice. "Ok Sweetness. Let's see how good you really are."

"Oh, I'm good alright." Candice nodded arrogantly as the air around her shifted and the writing on the walls and all of the relics in Sylar's closet disappeared from sight.

Just as Candice finished Mohinder and Eden, accompanied by the police burst through the door. They snickered under their breaths as they could hear Mohinder in the closet insisting to the police that the evidence was just there. "God, you're good!" Sarah whispered to Candice as they huddled in a corner safe from view.

"Yeah…I know." Candice replied smugly as Sarah smiled.


OWI Headquarters, Hartsdale New York

Not So Distant Future

Bob sat at his desk with his hands folded in front of him. He closed his eyes as he thought about the news he was just given. "Dammit!" He slammed his fists on the desk then stood up walking across his office to a closet pulling out a duffel bag.

"Thinking about leaving the country?" Noah Bennet stood in the doorway leering at him.

"As a matter of fact, I was just getting ready to go to the gym." He tried to sound upbeat. "Would you care to join me?"

"You hired a hit on Sarah Noonan!" Noah stared at him caustically. "You raised that girl! What in the fuck were you thinking?"

Bob sat down staring at Noah coolly. "Sarah was raised under my guardianship. Yes, I cared for her as a child and I continue to care for her as an adult. But I suspected she was losing her killer instinct Noah! I had to test her wills. Of course I am relieved that she passed."

"Oh that's bullshit and you know it Bob!" Noah shouted. "You want Sarah dead and you know exactly why!"

Bob stood up leaning across the table staring threateningly at Noah. "I consider you a friend Noah, so I am going to forget you ever said that. But I strongly recommend you never go there again!"

Noah ignored him. "I wonder if Sarah knows she is a multi-millionaire and by all rights should be sitting in your chair right now! After all that is what her grandfather bequeathed to her!"

"You can stop right now, Noah!" Bob shouted. "You know as well as I do that if Sarah were to learn Daniel Linderman was her grandfather, it shed light on secrets she cannot know about?"

"And which secrets would those be, Bob?" Noah narrowed his eyes speaking coolly. "That Maya Herrera's son is really hers? Or perhaps that you and Linderman orchestrated her in the murder of her own parents!"

Bob reached into his drawer and pulled out a gun cocking the trigger as Noah simultaneously pulled his. Bob narrowed his eyes acerbically. "For the sake of friendship, I suggest you get out of my office right now."

Noah slowly lowered his gun then turned around to leave as Bob put down his gun. Before walking through the door, he turned around staring at Bob malevolently before walking away.

As Bob sat back down at his desk putting away his gun, Albert Nolan knocked on the door, then walked in without waiting to be invited to enter, much to Bob's annoyance. "The next time you knock please do me the favor of waiting for an answer, goddammit!" He shouted.

Albert nodded undeterred. "I apologize for the intrusion, but I thought you might want to know the German Embassy in Paris called Han's at Primatech, Berlin. Derick Biermann's wife has been trying to locate him. What do we tell them?"

Bob stood up slowly. "We tell them nothing. His body will be located near his home where the local authorities will find him. As far as we are concerned, he was on his way home when an unfortunate accident took his life."

"The man was killed in the line of duty." Albert shook his head. "It just seems a little cold to me to handle it this way."

Bob stared at him coolly. "Line of duty? He was just a paper salesman. This is what we do. Isn't it, Albert."

Albert nodded. "I suppose you are right."

"Will that be all, Albert?" Bob's tone was condescending.

"For now." Albert shrugged and left the office as Bob went back to the work on his desk. "Overpaid penis." Albert muttered to himself as he skulked off down the hall.


Paris France

Sylar opened his eyes. Looking at the clock next to the bedside, it was two A.M. Sarah was sitting in the window with her legs pulled up to her chest. She looked absolutely beautiful with the moon shining on her wearing a white bathrobe, her dark hair wet from her shower combed back away from her face. She wore no makeup making her appear younger than her twenty-seven years.

She must have felt him watching her as she turned around to see him sitting up in bed staring amorously at her. "What?" She rested her head against her knee, smiling softly at him.

"Nothing." He whispered gently. "You look so beautiful with the moonlight shining on you; I'm just falling in love all over again." He stood up pulling on the same pair of pants he arrived in and slowly walked to her. She scooted forward to allow him to sit behind her as she leaned back resting her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. "What are you thinking so hard about?" He asked her kissing the top of her head.

"That you were right." She replied softly.

Sylar's eyes widened. "Wait a minute! Can I get this in writing?"

She jerked elbow backward hitting him in the ribcage. "Asshole!"

He cocked his head curiously. "What was I right about?"

Sarah let out a deep sigh. "Everything you said to me the other day."

He turned her around gently stroking her face. "We don't need to go there."

"I do." She replied softly looking up at him; the look in her eyes almost childlike. "When I got here yesterday, all I could think about was you. I kept seeing couples kissing and embracing and…"

"You missed me?" He asked her softly.

She nodded. "Almost to the point of my heart breaking." She closed her eyes then opened them looking down thoughtfully. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but you have changed me."

"Really?" He slowly caressed her shoulders. "You mean you were ready to bed down your assignment and you couldn't do it because of me?"

"No." She shook her head reflectively. "But truth be told, it's only because the opportunity didn't present itself. He was an elderly gentleman with a lovely wife. They seemed like they were very much in love. I actually thought it was kind of sweet." She looked up at him sadly. "I didn't want to kill him."

Sylar narrowed his eyes. "And what if the opportunity did present itself?"

She shook her head. "This is going to sound odd coming from me, but I used to do whatever I had to do to get my man. And let's face it...when man sees a beautiful woman in a short skirt and cleavage popping out, he's all yours. It was effortless; and it was sometimes enjoyable." She turned around and looked up at him. "But I think my days of luring them in with my body are over." She reached her arm behind his neck. "There's only one body I want to lure in, and that's yours." She kissed him softly.

He smiled down at her between kisses. "So, the Black Widow has officially run out of poison?"

She bit her lower lip rolling up her eyes thoughtfully. "No. I still have the instinct. I think it's just the drive I've run out of." She reached up touching his face. "I think I am actually starting to grow…dare I say it…compassion."

He started at her completely bowled over. "This from the woman who just a few days ago threw me off a bridge."

"You had it coming!" She quickly retorted. "But don't you think it is odd that it took a serial killer to bring out my softer side?"

"I guess what they say really is true…that love changes even the coldest hearts." Sylar smiled softly, then gazed down at her mysteriously, raising an eyebrow. "And you know…isn't Paris supposed to be the city of love?"

"Oui, Monsieur." She smiled playfully.

He closed his eyes taking a deep breath. "God! You make me crazy when you talk like that!"

She stood up pulling him up by his hands. "Vous aimez faire l'amour?" She whispered to him.

His eyes widened. "Baby, I have no idea what you just said, but I am pretty sure it involves both of us getting naked." He scooped her up as she laughed, carrying her back to the bed.


Matt and Mohinder's Apartment

New York City, NY

"This is interesting." Matt stared at Bob's file.

"What are you looking at?" Mohinder looked up from his computer screen.

"It looks like when Bob was in elementary school, he was picked on by his classmates." Matt chuckled. "He had a stutter, so they called him Babbling BobBob!" He burst out laughing.

Mohinder shrugged. "I don't see how any of this is relevant. What's your point?"

Matt closed the file. "Well, he has obviously moved up the food chain. Now he carries a gun and thinks he's Bad Ass Bishop, but maybe a visit to his former social status as a playground floor mat may put him in his place." He looked up at Mohinder. "Where did you get this anyway?"

Mohinder sat down at the table. "Elle. She made a copy of his file."

Matt nearly spit out the milk he was drinking. "Elle Bishop got you intel on her own father? What got her so pissed off at him?"

"She was appalled at his role in Sarah's manipulation as a child." Mohinder took a sip of coffee. "She still loves her father, but she just can't believe he is such a monster."

"I know the feeling." Matt folded his arms leaning forward. "It sounds like you are developing some compassion for her."

Mohinder nodded half-smiling. "She still drives us crazy, but once you get to know her, she is a decent enough person. She just wants to help Sarah"

Matt narrowed his eyes curiously. "But I thought you said she and Sarah hated each other's guts."

"They grew up together." Mohinder shrugged. "Sarah is not what I would call a warm fuzzy person, and Elle is a pain in the ass, but when push comes to shove, I think they are there for each other."

"Well, from what I have heard about her, Sarah just sounds like a fucking bitch." Matt shook his head looking at her photo again. "But damn, she is hot!"

"She is very beautiful." Mohinder half-smiled. "And yes, at first glance she is very discourteous and intimidating. But once you get past that you see there is a very sad and scarred young woman that has spent her life believing that the people around her were taking care of her, completely unaware that they were using her gifts."

Matt continued to stare at her picture. "Well, I remembered where I have seen her before. The day Molly's parents were killed and I found her under the stairs, she was there with her partner."

Mohinder nodded. "She was tracking Sylar's activities during that time. She would have been there."

Matt looked up at him grinning. "Is that what she's doing to him now?"

Mohinder shook his head slowly. "Well, believe it or not, since she and Sylar have become a couple, they seem to have both lost interest in killing."

Matt stood up putting his glass in the sink. "It's ironic that it takes putting two killers together to bring out the best in each of them." He sat down in a recliner and picked up the TV remote.

Mohinder stared at him shaking his head. "Is this all you are going to do today? Sit around watching TV?"

"That's the plan." He grinned to himself as he leaned back flipping through the channels. He looked up, his eyes meeting Mohinder's disapproving scowl. "What? I worked my ass off this week! I deserve a day to chill!"

Mohinder shrugged and sat down at his computer. Just as he was putting on his glasses, the doorbell rang. They looked at each other. "Were you expecting anybody?" He asked Matt.

Matt held out his hands. "Does it look like I was?"

Mohinder rolled his eyes standing up. "Oh please. Don't get up. I'll get the door."

"Thanks buddy!" Matt grinned not catching his sarcasm.

Mohinder looked through the peephole shocked to see Noah Bennet standing on the other side of the door. He opened it slowly. "Noah. What brings you here?" Matt stood up from his chair joining them at the door.

"Elle filled me in on your plans." He replied speaking slowly, a malevolent gleam in his eye. "I want in."

Mohinder and Matt looked at each other, then smiled back at Noah.


"Please woman! You are warring me out!" Sylar moaned breathlessly laying on his back.

"I can't help it." Sarah laid her head across his chest tracing his lips with her index finger. "There is something about being with you in Paris that is making me overly amorous."

"No shit!" He nearly shouted. "My tally-whacker is about to turn black and fall off!"

"Poor baby." She smiled kissing his chest.

"Don't get me wrong." He kissed her damp forehead. "I love having sex with you. But this is my first time in Paris! I'd kind of like to see the Louvre, Notre Dame, eat at one of those outdoor cafés and of course, the Eiffel Tower."

Sarah got up and walked to the window throwing open the curtains. "See! There it is." She jumped back on the bed with him kissing his neck and chest. "Now where were we?"

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" He groaned with exasperation.

She looked up for a moment. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

Sylar took a deep breath, finally giving in. "Ok, but after this, you are buying me breakfast." He replied climbing on top of her. "If this city makes you this amorous, I need to keep up my strength!"

"Deal." Sarah whispered, then let out a moan as he pushed inside her.

A little while later they were seated across from each other at a sidewalk café. They had gone shopping to buy him some clothes since he only had the sloppy jeans and shirt he had arrived in. Sarah insisted on buying him a black Armani suit and a pair of black gloves, which looked incredible on him. She sat staring dreamily at him.

"What?" He laughed self-consciously.

"I knew you would look good in Armani." She smiled slowly.

Sylar rolled his eyes. "I agree with you pretty lady. But do you realize when I was a watchmaker it would have taken me six months to make what this suit cost!" He looked at her smiling. "But I must admit…I rock the Armani."

"There is only one thing I like better than seeing you dressed like this." She replied softly as she spread some jam on a piece of croissant and fed it to him enticingly.

"What would that be?" He asked slowly licking his lips.

She leaned forward. "Seeing you undressed."

He closed his eyes shaking his head. "You are an irredeemable nymphomaniac."

"I've never heard you complain before." She leaned in kissing him.

"Not until I've seen Paris." He took a sip of coffee, noticing she was staring at the Eiffel Tower. "I really don't like the way you are eyeballing that." He shook head fretfully.

Sarah propped her elbow, resting her chin on her hand. "Can you imagine what a rush it would be to jump off of that?"

"No!" He shook his head undeterred.

"Why not?" She asked pulling out a map. "It would be awesome!"

Sylar stared at her like she was insane. "Have you completely gone off the deep end? Do you have any idea how high that thing is?"

"Yeah." She shrugged taking another bite of her croissant. "But we can rejuvenate, remember?"

"Yeah…" He shook his head. "…but if we hit that pavement, our heads will splatter just like a watermelon. There's no coming back from that one."

"Well, that's only if we hit the pavement." She pointed to an aerial shot of the tower. "On the East and West sides of the tower there are bodies of water. If we get the velocity right…"

"We are not doing this!" Sylar nearly shouted as others around him looked on. He leaned forward lowering his voice. "Look, you made me jump off the Brooklyn Bridge! I am not jumping off the Eiffel Tower!"

She stared at him smiling slowly.


"I can't believe you talked me into this!" Sylar snarled as they snuck out of the shadows at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was midnight and they were both dressed in black.

"Oh don't be such a cry baby." She rolled her eyes as they strapped on parachutes.

"I'm just not looking forward to my brains being splattered all over France." He sneered. "If we're going to jump, then what do we need parachutes for?"

"Because, the tower flares out and if we try to jump from the top, we will hit the lower deck and the police will have us before we can regenerate." She replied. "So, we parachute out over the water and then we release our chutes."

"We're jumping off the Eiffel Tower and we're taking safety precautions." He shook his head. "There is just nothing right about this." Then he smiled. "But you look fucking hot in that cat woman suit." He stared up and down salacious at her.

"You don't look so bad yourself all in black." She replied kissing him softly.

"You're not even the slightest bit nervous about this?" He looked at her stunned.

"Are you kidding me!" She smiled with excitement. "My adrenaline is racing a million miles an hour! I can't wait!"

Sylar finished strapping on his chute. "Ok…let's get this over with."

They climbed down and held on to the side. "Now just watch what I do and you do the same thing." She leaned in kissing him. "I'll see you down there."

She screamed with exhilaration as she jumped outward from the tower. She fell for three seconds then pulled her chute. When she was safely over the water, she released her chute and fell straight down into the water.

"Fuck!" Sylar muttered. "How in the hell did you get so goddamned pussy whipped!" He groaned as he turned around holding onto the side. "I hate heights!" He closed his eyes taking a deep breath, finally springing out from the tower spreading out his arms. "SHIT!" He screamed. He could see the lights of Paris spread out below him as he pulled his ripcord; breathing a sigh of relief as it opened.

"Gabriel. Release your chute!" Sarah called to him from below.

He quickly unhooked the parachute harness and began to freefall. "OH FUCK!" He screamed. He fell several hundred feet before finally hitting the water. It all went black.

A moment later he opened his eyes. He was lying on the bank of the lake with Sarah smiling down at him. He began to touch himself all over. "I'm alive." He smiled. "Holy shit! That was BITCHING!" He pulled Sarah to him kissing her fervently. "Oh, my God! That was amazing!"

"I told you." She smiled. Then she stood up pulling him with her. "Lets get out of here before the cops find us." They took off running down the street toward her bungalow.

"Where are we going next?" He asked excitedly running behind her.

She stopped running and turned around smiling at him. "Well, you are going to take me back to the bungalow, and we are going to spend the rest of the night making each other warm again." Then a malevolent gleam filled her dark eyes. "And then tomorrow we are going to fly home to New York…and I am going to make Bob Bishop my personal bitch!"

--END--