Peter led the way as he and Gabriel approached the warehouse building. It was a ramshackle, dirty brown building on the docks of Grays Harbor in Washington. The sign on the chain link fence said Danger: Keep Out. Peter melted the metal away with a burst of flame from his hands. His jacket caught on the sharp metal edges of the hole he had created, but he pulled through. Gabriel was right behind him.
"This is the place?" Gabriel questioned skeptically. Peter nodded. Now that he was so close, he almost felt as though he could feel Audrey, sense her waiting for him.
"This is it. She's somewhere in there," Peter confirmed. "They both are," he added as an afterthought. Peter still felt guilty about abandoning the search for Claire as soon as Audrey had gone missing. He knew that Claire would forgive him. She would never hold something like that against him. But he held it against himself.
The door to the warehouse creaked slightly as Peter pushed it open. He stopped and blinked in surprise. Peter had been expecting a large, empty room, perhaps with Audrey and Claire trussed up in a cage in the corner. He was instead met with a long, dark hallway, twisting out of his sight; He glanced at Gabriel over his shoulder, who nodded him forward. Peter stepped carefully into the hall. The pair of them walked silently, not speaking, pausing only to silently debate about which way they should turn. They met no resistance, and as they plunged deeper and deeper into the warehouse, Peter found himself growing uneasy.
"Shouldn't we have encountered a guard, or something, by now?" Peter questioned Gabriel in a low whisper. Gabriel shrugged, but Peter could tell from his face that he didn't feel right about it either. They reached a staircase. One way, down to a basement level. "I guess we go down, then," Peter murmured under his breath. But as he stepped into the stairwell, someone whipped around the railing at the bottom of the stairs and fired three shots in quick succession
"Gabriel, get down!" Peter yelled, as one of the bullets caught him in the abdomen. The other two sailed harmlessly past his head. Peter heard Gabriel grunt as he flung himself onto the floor to avoid the bullets. Peter ducked around behind him. "One got me. Can you take that guy out?" Peter gasped in pain. Gabriel nodded, and with a flick of his hand, the guard at the base of the stairs flipped onto his back and smashed his head off of the concrete floor. He lay there, unconscious.
"How bad is it?" Gabriel asked, still staring intently at where the guards had just been. Peter groaned in response. He lifted his shirt. Blood oozed sluggishly from the wound. Peter felt pain searing through him as the bullet hole pulsed, and it spat out a small bullet, along with copious amounts of blood, all over his jeans. The wounds closed quickly, and disappeared.
"I'm good," Peter grunted, flinging the bullet aside. He felt light headed from the blood loss, but that would pass shortly, as he well knew, He'd been shot too many times in the past for his liking. "The guards are all on the second level. We'll have to keep our guard up," he warned, and Gabriel nodded. The two of them pushed themselves back to their feet again, Gabriel giving Peter a hand up. "Let's go," Peter said determinedly, at Gabriel followed him down the stairs.
Another wave of guards met them at the bottom, but Peter and Gabriel were ready. Peter dispatched 6 at a time as he directed a steady stream of flames towards them. The guards ducked out of the way, or else rolled on the floor to extinguish the flames. Gabriel knocked head together, flung guards against walls, and forced them to the floor. Then Peter dove into their minds.
This group, the ones who had kidnapped Claire and Audrey, was called Kamillik, and it was run by a man simply known as 'The Boss'. They were very much like Pinehearst; their goal was to give powers to all people, to create a Utopian world in which everyone was special. Audrey was the key. Audrey gave abilities. They had taken Claire at first, to see if her healing abilities could be transferred, but it hadn't worked. So they had hunted down Audrey. Peter was filled with loathing as he pried into the minds of the men. When he was finished, all 50 of them fell into an unconscious heap of bodies, snoring on the floor. It was better than they deserved, Peter thought.
"What'd you get from them?" Gabriel asked. "Do they know where Audrey is being held?" Peter nodded.
"I got the location for Claire's cell, too. Come on." Peter took off at a run, and Gabriel was close on his heels. They didn't encounter any more guards along the way. They must have not been very organized, Peter thought, if they had sent all the guards to attack them in one place. Peter could sense Audrey even stronger than before, her mind calling out to his. His inner compass led them to a section of halls that were slightly less pleasant than the rest. The light was dimmer, the air colder. At the end of the hall, there was a door, slightly ajar. Peter closed his eyes, and he could feel Audrey. He nodded for Gabriel's benefit. "She's in there."
Peter felt as if he couldn't contain himself anymore. He strode forward with quick, determined strides. He filled his palms with fire, just in case, as he flung the door open wider and walked into the small cell. He saw an older man, dressed in a crisp suit, pacing in the corner of the room. He saw a young girl, a teenager, holding a gun with a wavering hand, pointing it directly at Audrey. Peter took in Audrey's exhausted form, full of anger and relief, as he saw her slumped in a metal chair, looking terrified and exhausted.
Audrey drew in her breath sharply. There was Peter, her knight in shining armor. Her heart sped up at the sight of him. "Peter," she breathed elatedly. She was both thrilled and terrified to see him there. Peter's face broke into a smile when he saw her, safe and alive, but he quickly composed himself as he turned to stare down her captors.
"I believe you kidnapped my girlfriend," Peter said, his voice dark and threatening. The man only chuckled, not intimidated by Peter's threats.
"Peter Petrelli. How good of you to drop by," the man taunted. "Dear Audrey here had let us know so much about you. She just knew you would try to save her, although between you and me, she didn't want you to." Peter's eyes flashed towards Audrey. She lowered her eyes, ashamed and afraid. Afraid of what the man would do to Peter now that he had him within his grasp. She pleaded silently with her mind to Peter, hoping that on some level, as her soul mate, he would understand her. Get out now! Please, before he hurts you. Before he hurts our baby. Get out now. The words echoed in Peter's mind, Audrey's voice pleading with him, but he shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "I'm not leaving without her."
"Well, then, you're not leaving at all," the man smiled. "This has really worked out quite well for me. With Peter here, I have no reason to keep the child as incentive. Mothers can get so emotional," the man chuckled. Audrey stiffened, and she raised her eyes to stare at him with horror. The man just smiled darkly. "Zoey, if you would please pass me the gun."
Zoey looked between Audrey and the man frantically. Her face was conflicted between the need to follow orders, and her unwillingness to harm an unborn child. Audrey gazed at her with tears streaming from her face. Zoey looked pained, but she took a deep breath and handed the gun to the man. "Excellent," he breathed, tightening his hand around the trigger. Then he grabbed Audrey by the throat and lifted her up. Peter started forward.
"No, no," the man chided Peter, waving the gun tauntingly. He pressed the muzzle against Audrey's stomach. Peter was taken aback. He knew it wouldn't kill her, he had seen her heal before. The look on Audrey's face... the tears that flowed relentlessly from her eyes... He paused where he stood. "Very good." the man chuckled.
"Please." Audrey whispered. That was all she said.
"You have nothing to offer me in this situation," the man's breath was hot as it tickled her ear. The cold metal of the gun pressed closer. Audrey could feel it pinching her skin. Then she heard the soft click as the man turned the safety off.
"No!" she shouted. Suddenly, she was filled with a blinding rage. This was her baby, Peter;'s baby, the only thing that she loved more than him in this world. No one would hurt him. Her anger overwhelmed her every sense, blocking out light and sound and smell, filling her vision with red. She felt power coursing through her, finally unlocked in her blind rage. With a final loud shriek, she let it out.
Peter watched, amazed, as Audrey glowed with a brilliant white light. All the power she had held back in the past months of her captivity, all bursting to the surface in one moment of fear and anger. The man with the gun flew back several feet smashing into the mirror glass. The glass fractured on impact, shattering into a fine powder that settled over the man as he crumpled in a heap on the floor. Blood trickled from his scalp, and his eyes stared, wide and unseeing, towards Audrey, The gun tumbled from his hand.
Audrey blinked and her vision refocused. She saw the man, lying dead on the floor. Then she turned and saw Peter. He was the most beautiful sight that she had ever seen, blood plastering his shirt to his body, his hair falling over his eyes. Audrey stepped forward tentatively. She lifted a hand and brushed it against his face, pushing his hair up to his forehead. He leaned his head into her hand, breathing in her soft scent. "Hey," he whispered.
She smiled at his anti climactic greeting. "Hey yourself," e chuckled in reply. Then she threw herself at him. Their lips met, and Audrey felt the sparks ignite as the never had before. She felt the heat of his skin, of his breath, of the fire in the air around them, as they moved their lips together. The kiss was one of, love, of comfort, of happiness. She could sense his mind, his agony at her loss, his joy in finding her safe and sound once again. He felt her pain, every tear, and he cried with her. As they slowly pulled apart, she could see the tears glistening in his eyes.
"I love you," she sang at him, smiling for the first times in weeks.
"I love you more," he countered playfully.
"Hey, what's going on in-" Gabriel turned into the cell. His eyes widened as he took in the scene: Audrey and Peter wrapped around each other, the man lying dead on the floor, even Zoey, shivering alone in the corner. "Who's she?" he asked, pointing a finger towards Zoey.
Audrey beamed at Gabriel, and she detached herself from Peter to give her best friend a hug. Then she frowned as she turned to Zoey. Zoey looked frightened as her eyes darted between the trio. "Please, don't kill me," she pleaded quietly.
"We're not going to kill you," Audrey replied tenderly. Peter looked at her in confusion. This wad the girl who had held her at gun point only minutes ago. Audrey returned his questioning glance. "We can take her to the UNPS. They can deal with her," she reasoned. Peter nodded in consent. Gabriel stepped forward, and placed a hand on Zoey's forehead, She trembled at his touch.
"Relax," he said soothingly. Zoey slumped to the floor, unconscious. Gabriel picked up her limp body and slung her over his shoulder. "Where's Claire?" he asked, turning back to Audrey and Peter.
"Follow me." Audrey led them out of the room. They left the man's dead body lying in its pile of glass. Audrey slipped her hand between Peter's fingers, feeling his closeness, relishing his touch. He gave her hand a comforting squeeze, and Audrey smiled. She placed a hand tenderly across her stomach. She had Peter with her now, and her baby. Her best friend. Everyone that she loved.
