BURNING THE PICKET FENCE
Part 37 – Escape
Primatech, Hartsdale New York
March 23, 1989
From where she stood on the other side of the two-way mirror, Angela watched as Sarah sat with the company psychologist. The girl had electrodes hooked up to her head as the doctor took her through one series of tests after another.
As she watched, her husband Arthur came from behind startling her. "And how is our future weapon coping with all this testing?"
Angela continued staring straight ahead. "She is emotionally detached, psychotic and insubordinate." She turned face him, her eyes narrowing coolly. "Just as you knew she would be."
Arthur frowned as Sarah picked up her puppy hugging it tightly. "But not cold hearted. This could prove to be a problem."
"She is a child, Arthur!" Angela hissed. "She has not become jaded or learned to hate. That will come with being an adult when your dreams are shattered by cruel realities!"
Arthur stood with his hands on his hips nodding. "Then she must learn." He leaned into Angela. "Thanks to you coddling our boys the way you do, that bastard child of yours and Linderman is the only hope for the future of this company." He abruptly turned on his heel walking down the hall.
The door to Sarah's room opened and Dr. Lynch came out. She approached Angela who looked to her with anticipation. "Well?"
"She is an extraordinary child." She replied. "Her intelligence cannot be measured by any of the state of the art tests."
Angela nodded slowly smiling to herself. "This is not surprising. Her parents exposed her to many elements as a child. Her teacher says she is reading at a 10th grade level, she is able to decipher statistics and she is performing mathematics at a college level. She is indeed a special child."
"She certainly is." Dr. Lynch sat on the edge of a nearby chair. Her face became somber. "I am going to be frank with you, Mrs. Petrelli; while testing her brainwaves I discovered abnormalities. There is no reason to be alarmed at this time, but Sarah does not appear to have control over abilities. This could present a problem when she reaches adulthood."
Angela pursed her lips thoughtfully. "How do you assume she has no control?"
She pulled out a copy of a scan. "Do you see these spikes? These are when I asked her questions about her family; where she was born and raised…"
"Well of course she is upset!" Angela snapped. "Her parents died and she was brought to live among strangers! Any child would be angry."
Dr. Lynch nodded and pulled out a recorder. "I thought you would say that. I would like you to hear an excerpt of our conversation." She pressed the play button on the recorder.
"Sarah? How long have you lived at the company?"
"I've been here since my mommy and daddy died."
"How did they die Sarah?"
"They were cut up."
"I see. Did somebody stab them with a knife?"
"No. That's for people who don't know how to do it right?"
"Do what right?"
"Kill. They were killed from the inside out. Their guts were ripped out all over the place."
"Do you want to do that to people, Sarah?"
(No response)
"Sarah? Why won't you tell me?"
(No response)
She turned the recorder off. "This was the trigger that caused the spikes in the brainwaves. Even thought she did not respond, he brain told us a much different story."
Angela stared straight ahead still looking at Sarah. "What do you conclude from this?"
Dr. Lynch took a deep breath. "There is something behind her eyes. Perhaps something she is repressing, but there is a storm brewing in that child's mind. I have worked with criminals for the last twenty years and I am willing to go on record to say that that little girl in there with the sweet brown eyes and pigtails frightens me more than the likes of Jeffery Dahmer and Charles Manson." She turned and looked at Sarah who continued to sit alone playing with her puppy. "I fear that if she were left to her own devices she could become a mass murder of epic proportions that even Jack the Ripper would envy."
Angela turned around looking at Sarah who now sat quietly writing in a journal. With her arms folded she took a deep breath. "Let us get one thing clear; what we have discussed today does not go beyond these walls." She turned to face her. "You will not discuss what you have told me with anybody. Do I make myself clear?"
"Absolutely." She answered her soberly. "Will that be all?"
"That will be all." Angela replied with her back to her as Dr. Lynch; still visibly shaken turned and left the building.
Angela continued to watch Sarah. "It looks like we got to you just in time, dear Sarah."
Primatech, Odessa TX
October 11, 2006
"Does this hurt?" Sarah gently rubbed his arm as she removed the needle from the shunt in his head.
"No." He replied quietly. Sarah noticed the sadness in his eyes.
She sat on the edge of the cement block. "You seem a little downhearted tonight. Is there anything you want to talk about?"
As he lay there on his back tears began to run down the sides of his face. "In a minute you are going to leave. You are going to lock the cell again and the lights are going to go out. I hate the darkness." He looked up at her. "I don't want you to go."
Sarah smiled tenderly. "I'm sorry. It must be hell."
He sat up grabbing her arm. "Stay with me. I don't want to be alone in here."
She leaned forward touching the side of his face. "I guess I can stay for a little while. What do you want to talk about?"
"I want to talk about you." He sat closer to her.
"Ok." She shrugged. "What do you want to know about me?"
"I want to know your relationship status." He said slowly. "I don't see a ring, so you're not married. Do you have a boyfriend? A lover?"
Sarah shook her head. "Not married. No boyfriend; maybe an occasional sex partner, but I don't do relationships."
He smiled slowly. "Now you've got me intrigued.
"There's really nothing interesting to tell." She told him frankly. "I'm a single girl and I intend to stay that way."
"Are you widowed or divorced?" He pressed her leaning into her as her face became guarded.
Sarah quickly jerked her arm away and quickly stood up. Her eyes flashed with anger. "What in the fuck do you want from me? Leave me alone!"
He stood up moving closer to her. "You obviously have trust issues." He looked at her finger. "Your ring finger is indented like you once wore a ring. Are you going to tell me?"
"It's none of your damn business!" She shouted. He could see a wind whirling around her. "Get the hell away from me!"
Sylar stared at her in shock taken aback by her outburst. "I'm sorry." He said softly holding up her hands. "I didn't mean to push you. It's just that I've never met anybody like you…I've never felt this way. I guess I just want to know more about you. I didn't mean to upset you."
The wind around her dissipated as she slowly headed for the door. Before opening the door she hesitated and turned to face him. "I am widowed…or divorced…it depends on which story you chose to believe. And that's all you're going to get out of me." She quickly entered her code and walked out leaving him in the darkness.
Sylar closed his eyes sighing heavily. "Real smooth Gabriel!" He reproached himself. "Nice!" He angrily laid back down struggling to find comfort on the cold, hard cement block. "Shit!"
Once outside the cell door she stomped down the hall. Eden fell into step beside her.
"Yes?" She greeted her coldly knowing a lecture was coming.
"He's a killer, Sarah!" She sneered angrily. "Why are you being so nice to him?"
"He's a lost soul." Sarah replied composedly. "Just because he's in a cell doesn't mean we have to treat him like an animal, does it?" She stopped walked and turned to look at her. "And didn't you kill your step mother? What does that make you, Eden?"
Eden stopped walking and looked at her angrily. "It was an accident!" She shouted. "He killed that dear, sweet man with no regret!"
Sarah stopped walking and turned toward her. "Yes, I know…he was like the father you never had!" She stood in front of her folding her arms. "He was an assignment, Eden! You don't get all warm and gooey about people you are assigned to! All you were supposed to do was get Claire Bennet's name off that stupid list and get the fuck out! You failed! So don't take your fault in efforts out on me!" She turned and angrily walked away.
"Then what's your excuse Sarah?" She shouted after her as the staff looked up from their work stations. "Is he just an assignment to you? He's scared of the dark so you sit with him and sing lullaby's to him? What are you going to do next Sarah? The next time he gets lonely are you going to fuck him to sleep?"
Eden let out a wail as she felt a sharp slap across her face. She looked up at Sarah who stood fuming. She turned and walked into the restroom slamming the door behind her.
Sarah became aware of everyone staring at her. "What?" She shouted threateningly as they timidly returned to their work.
Primatech, Hartsdale New York
They say that when a person dies, their soul is believed to live on. As Sarah Noonan emerged from the shadows, Bob Bishop blinked his eyes praying this was a horrible dream. Was it all a trick? Had she come back from the dead to haunt him?
It was as if she could read his thoughts; for as she spoke she overtly mocked him. "Do you believe in ghosts?" He looked down at Adian Thompson's severed head then back up at Sarah who slowly sauntered to his desk sitting down in his chair. He tried to speak nearly swallowing his tongue. She propped her legs up on his desk as she leaned back in his chair. "You can save the dialog; your face says it all." She laughed sadistically. "How could you be alive? You were dead! I saw your body!" She learned forward, her eyes leered at him. "That's what your assignation squad said just before I killed them all." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "It really was a bloody mess; took me forever to get the blood off of me. Linderman would have been proud! I would have taken pictures, but in my haste to leave on my bogus assignment…" She held her arms out helplessly. "…I forgot to bring my camera! Sorry." She slapped her hands on his desk. "You know, for a man who just put out a failed hit, you sure don't have a lot to say for yourself. Do you have any last words before I kill you?"
Bob wiped the perspiration from his forehead.
In the darkness of Sarah's office, Elle sat in her chair crying. She was startled as the door opened and the lights came on when Matt came bursting in.
"Is it true?" He demanded.
"Is what true?" She quickly wiped her eyes.
"Sarah!" He closed the door behind him. "Is she really dead?"
"Who told you?" She shouted.
"It doesn't fucking matter!" He retorted disdainfully. "The point is I know! Now tell me! Is my sister dead?" She just stared blankly at him. "Tell me Elle!"
"No, she's not!" They both turned around to find Sylar standing by the door.
Elle slowly stood up. "What are you saying? She's dead Sylar! We saw her body! It was horrible. She could not possibly be alive!"
Sylar stopped short of blurting out Sarah's immortality, but Matt whipped his head around.
"She's immortal!" Sylar heard Matt's voice come from inside his head. He slowly turned to look at Matt nodding in agreement.
Elle looked back and forth between the two. "Ok, what's going on? You two are up to something; I can tell!"
Before Sylar could respond Matt interceded. "We can go over all this later! But if Sarah is alive…" He turned to Elle. "…then your dad is in deep shit!"
"I hope she paints the walls with his guts!" Elle shouted. "Sylar, we need to…"
But Sylar was gone. They heard his footsteps running down the hall to Bob's office.
Bob finally recovered enough to speak. "Sarah! Thank God!" He held out his arms to her.
Before he could come near her he was flung into the wall then fell to the floor. "If you're going to be idiotic enough to put a hit out on me, don't be so arrogant to offend me with a bold faced lie!" She shouted standing up. "You may be in charge, but you are nothing but a sniveling weasel!" She stood over him as he backed away from her. "A tool! Whoever put you in charge of this organization was a moron!"
"Sarah…I…" He tried to speak, but a paperweight flew off his desk barely missing him.
"You are pathetic!" She screamed making him cower.
"Sarah, I raised you!" He pleaded with a hoarse whisper. "I loved you like a daughter!"
"AFTER YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!" She shouted.
"I didn't kill them!" He implored her. "I had nothing to do with it! You have to believe me!"
Sarah cocked her head baring her eyes into him. "You aren't the one calling the shots, are you?" She stood over him. "You're only a puppet!" She whispered with grim realization. "Who is pulling your strings?"
"I…I don't know what you're talking about!" He stammered nervously.
"You tell me!" She hissed venomously as Bob began to choke. "TELL ME!" She slapped him across both sides of the face cutting him as he cried out in pain. Extending her hand she raised him off the floor as he flailed about. "Who are you working for? Whose bitch are you?" She flung her fingers outward sending him spiraling into his desk screaming.
With his face soaked in blood, Bob looked up at Sarah. His glasses had broken leaving fragments embedded in his face and forehead. "S…Sarah! N…Nobody put a hit on ya…you!" He pleaded with her breathlessly holding his side.
"LIAR!" She screamed as the contents of his bookshelf flew off the shelf pummeling straight at him.
Bob braced himself for the blow…just as the books froze in motion.
Sarah whipped her head around as Elle, Matt and Sylar burst through the door.
"DADDY!" Elle screamed running to him. She knelt down beside him looking up at Sarah. "Sarah! Please stop! I know you're angry. I am too, but he's my father!"
"This doesn't concern you, Elle!" She retorted through gritted teeth. "Now get away from him; because I am going to kill him. I don't want to kill you, but right now I have no problem taking collateral damage."
"Sarah! This pile of horse excrement isn't worth it!" Matt told her gently. "And I know you don't want to kill Elle. You don't want to kill any of us!"
"Shut up!" She shouted.
"What about me, Sarah?" She stopped then turned to face Sylar who smiled adoringly at her. "Am I collateral damage?"
"Gabriel." She whispered tearfully.
He pulled her into his arms holding onto her tightly. "Oh God! I thought I had lost you forever!"
She looked up at him shaking her head. "You shouldn't be here!" She looked at Matt and Elle. "None of you should be here! This isn't your fight!"
Sylar turned her around to face him. "Baby, I thought you were dead! And now you are here; alive!"
She smiled knowingly at him. "You got my message then."
"A figure eight in the sand." He raised his eyebrow with a sly grin. "You clever girl!"
"I knew you would look for a sign." She stood on her tiptoes kissing him softly.
He pulled her in kissing her passionately. The pulled away for a moment looking into each other's eyes. "Don't you ever leave me again!"
Sarah backed away shaking her head. But before she could speak, she felt the cold, hard steel pressed against the back of her head and the cocking of a trigger ringing through her ears. "Checkmate!" He whispered into Sarah's ear. She gasped in fear. "And all of the sudden you aren't feeling in control, are you?"
"Daddy?" Elle cried out. "What are you doing?"
"I am doing what I have trusted others to take care of but have failed me every time!" He shouted then looked at Sarah. "You have become my Achilles heel and it is time that you were..." Before he could react he grabbed his chest crying out in pain.
Sarah's eyes grew dark and foreboding as the air began to swirl around her. "You should have shot me when you had the chance you pathetic fuck!" She laughed caustically. "Now tell me who you're working for!"
Matt and Sylar looked at her oddly. "He's working for somebody?" Matt asked perplexedly.
Bob screamed out loud. "Elle! Help me!"
"I think you better tell her what she wants to know." Sylar smirked at him. "Because this is only going to get worse before it gets better." He leaned down to his face. "Trust me…I know."
Matt shot him a repugnant scowl as his voice echoed in Sylar's head again. "So…your both immortal and you use her gift as a weird sex game?" Sylar shrugged contritely as Matt wrinkled his nose in disgust. "That's sick!"
Sylar rolled his eyes groaning. "I bet sometimes your mind reading shows you things you really just don't want to know about."
"Yeah…" He nodded quickly. "I'm going to need a brain bleach after this."
"Um…hello!" Elle shouted. "Dying dad! You guys want to stop with the mind-fuckery try to talk her out of this?"
"Oh…um…Sarah…don't…stop!" Sylar snickered nonchalantly then shrugged. "Well, I'm tapped…anybody else want to give it a try?"
Elle gave him a frustrated glower.
Sarah paused as she heard Matt's voice. "Sarah! Stop it! Please!" She searched his eyes which seemed to be penetrating her head. "You're killing him! Sarah, I know you really don't want to do this. I know you have done a lot of terrible things…all of us have. But I know you don't want to do this. You will let him go now, Sarah. Let him go."
Sarah hesitated for a moment looking at Bob who continued to clutch his chest in agony. She closed her eyes as the breeze died down and her eyes returned to normal. She turned away folding her arms across her chest. Bob collapsed on the floor as Elle went to him dabbing his face with a damp cloth.
Sarah watched Elle tend to her father in disbelief. She shook her head slowly. "Why do you defend him, Elle? He treats you like shit!"
"He's my father, Sarah!" Elle replied tearfully. "He's all I have."
"Elle…" Sarah said softly. "He nearly killed you by testing the boundaries of your ability. Every time you collapsed from exhaustion, he made you stand up again and carry on. He knew you were in pain…he knew you were dying; but he said my daughter is strong! She can do this!" Elle looked at Bob as Sarah continued to speak. "He has made you feel that you are a screw up! He treats you like an invalid!" She stepped closer to her. "What did he tell you about Havoc?"
"Shut up Sarah!" Bob shouted.
"He told you that Hav was on a deep cover assignment…didn't he?" She leered down at Bob as she spoke. "That was a lie! He put a hit out on him when he got too good at his job just like he did to me! He wanted you away from him, so he convinced everybody, including you that you are crazy. You are not crazy Elle! I have watched you for the last few days and when he is not standing behind you with his voice in your head, you are a capable, savvy woman! Hav told me this once. I didn't believe him, but now I know he was right. He needs you to be weak so he can feel strong! That is why he took Havoc away from you because he knows this."
Elle looked up at her father tearfully. "Daddy?" She whispered in disbelief. "Is she telling the truth?"
Bob started to speak, but was cut off by Matt. "Yes…she is." He looked at Bob. "And he knows it."
Elle's face crumpled as the reality set in. She stood up and backed away from Bob.. "Daddy! My God!" She buried her face in her hands sobbing than stood up, her fists clenched in rage. "You tried to kill him!" She screamed. "I loved him! And you took him away from me! I thought you had taken him away from me and gave him to Sarah! You wanted me to hate her! Ever since she came to live with us you have pit us against each other! She was never my enemy…YOU WERE! And you tried to kill the only man I have ever loved!"
Bob reached out his hands to her. "Elle…sweetheart. You are my little girl! I love you! I would never try to hurt you!"
"Save it Bob!" Sylar who was clearly amused shook his head. "Whatever you say to try to fix this is just going to make you look more idiotic than you already are."
Sarah walked over to Bob and stood over him. "He's right." She nodded condescendingly. "And now that your world has come crashing down upon you, why don't you be a good little boy and tell me where Maya Herrera is."
Bob took a deep breath. "She is somewhere safe."
She knelt down over him. "Well that is something she does not have in common with you." She stood up and kicked him across the face. "Do you want me to keep going, or are you going to tell me?"
Bob closed his eyes then shook his head. "No. You can do whatever you want to me, but I will not disclose her location to you."
"Level Eleven, Cell C7!" Matt blurted out as they all turned to him. "She is set to be exterminated within the hour and the baby is going to be put up for adoption."
They all turned to Bob who sighed dejectedly. "Shit." He muttered under his breath.
Matt continued. "He is being adopted by Agents Gael Cruz and Bianca Karina. They are getting married next week and they are going to take him in."
"You piece of shit!" She sneered. "You are doing the same thing you did to me." She started to raise her hand, but Sylar grabbed her wrist.
"Sarah." He said softly. "We can take care of him later. But right now we need to take care of Maya…and our son."
Sarah slowly lowered her hand. "Your right." She turned to Elle and Parkman. "Stay here with him! Don't let him out of here."
"He won't be going anywhere." Matt took out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed him to the chair.
Elle smiled coyly at him. "Maybe we can get together later and you can show me how to use those."
Matt smiled wiggling his eyebrows.
Sylar and Sarah ran through the halls until they reached the security doors. "I didn't know there was a Level Eleven." Sylar said as Sarah punched in the code.
She paused for a moment before going inside. "I did." She opened the door and ran inside followed by Sylar. "This was where I stayed in solitary after Linderman brought me back here." But before continuing through the doors, she stopped and looked up at him half-smiling. There were tears in her eyes. "I know I don't say it very often; but I love you."
He smiled slowly then leaned in to kiss her. "And I love you." He whispered as they kissed passionately.
She pulled back bending her forehead against his. "And thank you for the way you persisted to chase after me; even though I told you not to bother. I have never been a picket fence kind of girl, but you made me feel safe enough to love." They continued to kiss.
Sylar pulled back as her words began to sink in. He cocked his head bewildered laughing softly. "You're making this sound so final. Why are you telling me all this?"
She looked down at her feet. "Because it has to end." She raised her eyes to look at him; there were tears streaming down her face. "In a few minutes you will forget this moment; you will think I'm dead. I'm so sorry."
His eyes reflected the shock from her words. "What are you saying?"
Sarah took his hands. "Gabriel, there is more to this than either of us realize. Bob may want me dead, but he is only the blunt instrument; there is somebody else holding the handle. We are facing an unseen enemy and the world has to think that I am dead." She touched his face gently. "Including you." She leaned in kissing him passionately one last time. "Good bye Gabriel." She whispered.
Before Sylar could respond he felt a hand grip the back of his neck. Sarah placed her hands over her face sobbing as she watched him fall to the floor unconscious.
The Haitian looked at her with concern. "You do not have to do this."
She shook her head. "It's the way it has to be. He must think I am dead." She turned to look at him. "The world cannot know I am alive until I can figure out who wants me dead and how to take them down."
He nodded obediently. "How much do you want him to forget?"
She watched him lying there as she tried to regain her poise. "Take it back to the moment where they learned I was dead. All of them. And destroy any evidence that contradicts otherwise, including the surveillance feed."
The Hatian gave a comprehensive nod then placed his hands over Sylar's forehead.
After one last look, Sarah ran through the door into the block looking for Maya's cell. As she rounded the corner, she came face to face with Angela.
"So this is it." Angela's face was grave.
"This is why you had Gabriel give me immortality." She gave a hoarse whisper as Angela nodded. "I just don't know how."
The corners of Angela's lips turned up. "Gabriel has the gift of transporting abilities from one person to another. He just does not realize it yet. What method he used that night I am not certain. But it was all part of the plan."
She nodded slowly. "Who else will know I am alive?"
She folded her arms and paced thoughtfully. "Besides myself and The Haitian only Noah Bennet. But for plausible deniability purposes only I will know your whereabouts."
She took a deep breath then shook her head. "Havoc won't be very receptive, will he?"
"Most likely not." Angela replied coolly. "He has worked hard to cover his tracks all these years. He is liable to be bitter; and I don't recall you being the best of friends."
"Well neither one of us is exactly the warm fuzzy type." She scoffed. "We have tried to kill each other, but somewhere in the middle we have developed a healthy respect and understanding of each other."
"Well, I hope it's enough." Angela replied then looked at her watch. "You don't have much time. Go get Maya and get as far and fast away from here as you can. Your plane will be waiting to take you."
She nodded as she started to run, but then stopped in her tracks. Angela was surprised when she turned to her to find tears in her eyes. "Take care of them." She implored her with her voice breaking. "I didn't get a chance to know my brother. Nobody will be here for Elle…please don't let Bob fuck with her anymore. And Gabriel…"
"You will be back, dear." Angela told her affirmatively. "One way or another. But I will see to it that they will be alright."
Sarah half-smiled gratefully and continued to run. She finally found Maya's cell and quickly punched in the key code.
Maya jumped as Sarah burst through the door tossing some clothes at her. "Get dressed! We're getting out of here!"
She sat up looking at Sarah fearfully. "Where are you taking me?"
"I'll explain later." She rushed around gathering up Alejandro's clothes, bottles and diapers. "We are taking your baby and leaving the country."
Maya quickly dressed. "He had a gun! He came and took us here telling me it was for my own safety." She began to sob. "I was so frightened."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Ok…let's get something straight right now! We are going to be traveling a long way to get where we are going! I am NOT a patient kind of girl; in fact, I am what you would call a perra and if I have to listen to your irritating whining the entire trip, I am going to through your drama queen ass off that plane into the ocean to be eaten alive by sharks! Are we clear on that?" Maya looked at her taken aback, but nodded quickly. Sarah smiled handing her Alejandro. "Good! Let's go."
As they ran through the halls nearing an exit, three guards were upon them shooting. "They are going to kill us!" Maya shouted. But as she turned around they lay on the ground dead as Sarah smiled arrogantly. "Did you do this?"
Sarah gave a short laugh. "You think I'm going to let a few boys with guns ruin my day? All they do is piss me off!" Sarah opened the door and grabbing Maya's wrist ran outside to a nearby car.
As Sarah searched under the hood for a set of keys, Maya scooted into the driver's seat. "Por favor…allow me." She reached under the steering column connecting wires which emitted a spark. The car started right up. Maya smiled up at her and scooted into the passenger seat.
Sarah shook her head laughing as she sat in the driver's seat. "You could prove useful to me after all."
"So where are we going?" Maya asked buckling herself up.
Sarah turned to her smiling. "Somewhere warm and surrounded by lots water. I hope you packed your bikini."
She put the car in drive and drove off into the night.
--END--