(17) Jerusalem Is Cursed

When Noah came down stairs the next day, it was almost noon. He still wasn't a morning person despite years of failed attempts to give him a better sleeping schedule. He was born to be a night owl. Part of Sylar didn't like that, knowing that it was his own trait he had passed on, but what he often did at night wasn't good. He watched Noah go into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich even though he was already dressed to go out.

"Going somewhere?" Sylar spoke as Noah passed the living room on his way to the door.

Noah came back a few paces. "Yeah, I'm meeting up with Jason in Haifa." He came in close to the couch. "You scared him off, I think."

Sylar just snickered. "He'll get over it. Ohh did I ever have fun last night."

"See you later, Dad," Noah turned to leave.

Sylar made him walk back by force & pushed him onto the couch. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Noah shrugged. "Why aren't you wearing your glasses?"

Sylar leaned back against the couch. "Noah, you & I both know I don't exactly need them. You're growing up, now. We don't really need to play that game any more. Besides, I left them in Jerusalem & I can't get them back."

"I guess you're right," Noah shrugged. "You do look different without them. But I think it suits you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you should do a movie. You're pretty good as a killer!"

"Mm," Sylar looked away for a moment. "Well, that's because I am a killer."

"I thought about what you said last night," Noah said. "I think I'm glad you & Ariel did that. I've seen people look at Jason in a way I don't like. I've even been called a kike lover. You & Ariel just took out some riffraff."

Sylar forgot his speech for a moment. "You too? A few minutes before Ariel was killed, I was called that for being with her. Friends of Jews are targets as well."

"It doesn't matter if we're Jewish or not," Noah said. "We are automatically on their side so it makes us enemies as well." He pulled out his phone to answer a text. "Jason says I better be halfway there by now. I gotta go." He got up & trotted out.

Sylar let him go. He had been so close, just so close! He rubbed his face with both hands. "You gotta do it sooner or later." He leaned forward, head in hands. Aviv sat at his feet, looking up at him. Sylar let one hand drop to pet the dog's head. He held Aviv's muzzle up. "Getting some gray on your muzzle now, aren't you?" With a sigh, he sat straight as his phone went off. "Hello?"

"Rabbi Gray," Jessica's voice sounded from the other end. "Can you get to the main office around three this afternoon?"

"I can get there right this second."

"Well, you can but others can't," Jessica pointed out. "We have a problem." She explained a little.

"What?" Sylar slowly stood up. "How is that possible?"

"Don't know yet," Jessica said. "That's why we're putting an emergency meeting on."

"I'll be there," Sylar replied. "Been a while since I took the Buell out for a spin, anyway."

Sylar pocketed the phone & headed upstairs. He changed into his biker clothes: black leather pants, a dark blue shirt & a black jacket. He went out to the balcony by his own bedroom, draping the jacket over the railing as he sat back in the chair. He still had an hour before having to leave the long way since it was a two hour drive to Haifa.

Noah had been driving for a few minutes when he realized he had forgotten something. Rolling his eyes in much the same way his father did, he pulled a U-turn since no one else was on the road & headed back home. He went up to his bedroom to find his wallet still on the nightstand. Returning to the top of the stairs, he had to pass his father's bedroom door which was half closed. He paused to hear soft clicks & peeked in through the crack between the door & hinges. He could see right across the floor to the open balcony where his father was sitting, back against the ocean.

Holding a small knife in one hand, Sylar clicked it open, held it up to look at it, then snapped it shut again. He played with it a few times, open & shut with each click, before getting up & going inside. Dropping to the floor, Sylar half slipped under his bed & felt around in the springs until he pulled out the old gold gun. He stood up & spun it around his finger a few times before attaching it to his belt, then called the jacket to his hand. Putting it on covered the gun, hiding it from sight.

Noah watched in silent awe. He had never seen his father handle any type of weapon before & now he suddenly knew that there had been a gun hidden under the bed, but for how long? Noah quietly slipped away & ducked into his own bedroom to avoid meeting his father coming out. He had the same stealthy tactics without even realizing it. He waited for Sylar to be outside before heading downstairs himself.

They met in the garage. Sylar was still staring at the car that was supposed to be gone & turned to look around just as Noah came in. "Hi Dad," Noah glanced at the uncovered Buell. "Going out?"

"Kabbalah business," Sylar watched his son's every move. "Aren't you supposed to be gone?"

Noah held up his wallet. "Forgot my license." He got into the car & then put the window down. "You ok?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" Sylar replied, putting one gloved hand on the handlebars.

"Alright," Noah gave up. "See you later." He pulled out of the garage again & drove away. "Not even Aviv can muster up such a guilty face," He muttered under breath. When he was well away from home, he pulled over to explain he would be late, then added, "There is something going on with Dad. He's been getting weird for over a year."

"He's always been weird."

"No, I'm telling you, there's something wrong. I'm getting a bit worried."

"Let's talk about it when you get here."

Noah put his phone on the passenger seat, then began driving once more. A few minutes later, he slammed the brakes & swerved hard into the ditch, wrapping the car around a palm tree, totalling it. He would have been killed instantly if it weren't for his super Regen.

Sylar watched the car leave before pulling off one glove to reach under the seat & get the keys. He got on the bike but then flipped the keys over in his free hand for a few minutes. They talked to him, telling him they had been used by another. Soft unheard whispers coursing through his body told him all he needed to know. Sylar slowly swung his long leg back off the Buell & looked up at the locked cupboard. He opened it using the key so he could feel it & took the box down. Everything he touched told him the same story. Lifting the lid, he found the disordered mess with Claire's picture on top. Sylar pulled his fingertips over her & she told him. Noah guessed quite correctly at who she was supposed to be for him.

"This is exactly why I kill people," Sylar spun around, throwing the keys hard across the garage. "BECAUSE THEY PISS ME OFF!" He disappeared from the garage, showing up in the road ahead of Noah's car, startling him enough to cause an accident. Sylar yanked off the driver's door using force power. "Get out. NOW!"

Noah slipped out & stood up. "Are you crazy? I could have killed you!"

"No, you can't."

"Well, seriously injure you," Noah indicated.

"I can heal."

"You still would have suffered, first," Noah pointed out. "What do you want?"

"I want to know what the hell you & Jason thought you were doing in the garage the other day?"

"Dad, I'm all sorts of lost & confused right now," Noah complained. "I can't remember what I did two seconds ago at this point."

"I have Clairsentience!" Sylar snapped. "Do you know what that ability does?" Noah shook his head. "It clarifies things by letting objects talk to me. I can feel their whole history. Now the set of keys under the seat of my bike told me a very interesting story about you & Jason. The cupboard door confirmed it & by the time I got to the box, well I didn't need my ability any more. After the mess you boys made!" Noah had both hands on his mouth by now. "You think I wouldn't notice everything out of order? So I ask you again," Sylar leaned close to Noah's face. "What were you two doing? Hmm?"

Noah hung his head. "I'm sorry, Dad. It just happened."

"It. JUST. Happened." Sylar emphasized every word. Noah remained silent. "I swear if you just had sex like a normal boy, you wouldn't be this much trouble! OH! GOD!" Sylar turned away, letting his rage chop the already damaged tree down. "I could KILL something right now!"

"Yup," Noah nodded. "I'd say that tree is pretty dead, now."

"NOAH!" Sylar hissed, his back still toward his son. He put both palms on his forehead as if fighting a migraine. Only it was worse than that. He was losing control. He was barely holding on while his inner New York monster was slowly creeping up his spine & growing strong. Where was Ariel when he needed her? Oh right. He let her die. He didn't do enough to protect her. "You don't understand ... " He whispered in a broken voice. He doubled over for a moment, arms wrapped over his head. Noah put a hand on his back but he jumped away. "Stay back! Just give me a moment."

"Ok," Noah slowly stepped away. He half-crawled back into the wreck & felt around for his phone. It was teetering on the edge of what was left of the bottom of the car under half a passenger seat in front. He stretched a bit more but it moved the whole frame & the phone fell into the grass at the tree's base. Noah pulled out & went under to get it. There was a puddle that was smoking underneath. He snatched the phone & got up & sent a text to Jason. "Just totalled the car. Dad's fault. He teleported in front of me, I almost ran him over & now a palm tree is dead. He knows what we did in the garage but it's more than that, I think. Dad is acting very different. I'm telling you something's wrong. Gotta go. The car is about to blow." He put the phone in his pocket next to the wallet & ran for it. "DAD MOVE! IT'S GOING TO BLOW UP!" Noah crossed the road & lay down. Sylar dropped beside him right before the car burst into flames & exploded a moment later. They watched it burn. Noah put a hand onto his father's own deadly hand beside him. "Let's go home."

Sylar looked down at their touch, the empathy picking something up. Noah was hurt, but not physically. "Noah ... I didn't mean it like that."

"Like what?" Noah tried not to snap. "You don't think I'm normal. Case closed. There is little more to be said except that nothing lately, has been normal."

"I was angry, Noah," Sylar tried again. "I didn't mean it."

Noah stared at the grass. "If you didn't mean it, you never would have said it. Just like calling a Jew a kike. Did you ever do that?"

"No, of course not."

"The Jews get more respect than your own son," Noah finally glared at him. "Now, please take me home?"

Sylar sighed heavily & shook his head. They were soon lying on the living room floor. Noah got up & ran upstairs without another word. "Noah?" Sylar called. He was answered with a door slam. "Great!" Sylar berated himself.

He wanted to go up there. He wanted to take those words back. The blood rage was once more driven from his mind by his own son. He had hurt Noah in a different way. He had denied his difference & brushed it all aside in that one stupid phrase that he didn't mean at all. First things first. The accident had to be cleared away. He would have to teleport to the meeting now instead of biking to it.

When the cleanup was well under way, Sylar transported to Haifa & entered the nearest toy store. Knowing exactly where to go, he was soon in the section of plush. It was getting harder to find one for Noah that he did not have but he soon settled on a small rabbit sitting on its tail with droopy ears, brown & white markings & a purple ribbon. Checking his phone, he noticed he still had half an hour. Not much time to patch things up but at least he could start. He went back to the living room & entered the hall to go up stairs.

Noah was standing on the bottom step. "What is that?"

"Hmm? Oh," Sylar held up the rabbit. "A peace offering."

Noah blinked at it, then looked his father in the eyes, deliberately ignoring the bunny. "I was hoping it was your glasses."

Sylar lowered the rabbit. "I can't get those back."

"Then get new ones," Noah demanded. "Everything has been so fucked up since you last wore them."

"Alright," Sylar gave in, knowing better than to lecture Noah on swearing right now. He had been through plenty of tantrums when Noah was a child but this was different. "I'll do that right after the meeting."

"Ok," Noah turned & went back upstairs.

Sylar watched him go, then remembered he still had the bunny. He teleported into Noah's bedroom & lay back on the bed, holding the bunny over his face. Noah walked into his room & stared as Sylar spoke in a silly voice, using the rabbit as a mask. "Hi Noah. Will you be my friend?"

Noah could feel his face twitching but ignored it. "Get off my bed, Dad."

The bunny's ears flapped. "Come on! You know you like me. I'm really cute."

"Dad," Noah groaned. "I'm really not in the mood right now. Give me that bunny!"

Sylar held the bunny away from his face so he could see Noah. "What do you think I've been trying to do?"

Noah sat down on the edge of the bed. "Can I ask you something?"

Sylar held the bunny up over his face again but this time used his altered voice. "Sure!"

"Whoa!" Noah finally laughed. "That is such a creepy ability."

"I know," Sylar was still using it.

"Stop that," Noah finally managed to grab the bunny & put it aside. Sylar noticed that Noah still kept the new one close. "Ok, I gotta ask," Noah glared before saying, "Why are you such an asshole sometimes? You have very strange mood swings."

Sylar folded up his legs so he could swing over Noah & sit up as well. "It has to do with having multiple powers. Shlomo was like this as well sometimes, but he had better control over his temper than I did."

"Shlomo had a temper?"

Sylar laughed nervously. "Yeah. I got a tongue-lashing from him a couple times."

"Did you deserve it?"

Sylar looked around the room at Noah's ever growing collection. He could explain the obsession. He should. It was just like him with blood, sex & abilities. But he had this other corner he needed to get out of right now. His unintended acephobic comment. "Probably."

"Good," Noah laughed.

Sylar glared at him. "Shlomo was better trained than I was as far as manners were concerned. I was always a wild child."

"I believe it."

"Thanks," Sylar scoffed. "Brat." Both laughed for a moment before falling silent. Sylar eventually put one arm around Noah, pulling him close. "I am sorry, Noah. I wasn't thinking." He petted his son's hair. "Can we forget this day ever happened?"

Noah looked down into his father's lap. He could see a glint of gold. The handgun trying to hide under Sylar's open jacket. Noah straightened up. "It will cost you something."

"What?"

Noah thought hard, wondering how close to the edge he could push his father without hurting him much. "There is something I need to know." He pulled away to look his father in the eyes. "Am I really your son?"

Sylar stared at him. "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't you be?"

"Dad," Noah hesitated before saying. "I saw a name & ... & I think I'm adopted, aren't I?"

"Adopted?" Sylar exclaimed. "No way. I'm pretty sure I stuck it in your Mom & you came out nine months later."

"Ohh kill me now!" Noah groaned. He glared at Sylar. "Really?"

"Yeah, really!" Sylar laughed. "Why the hell would you think something stupid like that?"

"Nathan Petrelli."

Sylar choked in surprise. He pressed the back of his hand to his mouth. "That made you think you were adopted?" He finally managed to say.

"Where do my other names come from then? Petrelli & Bennet? They aren't yours, are they?"

"No no, those are names from grandparents," Sylar waved it away with one hand.

"Grandparents?"

Sylar nodded. "You are definitely mine by blood. Not adopted." He stood up. "Noah, I have to go. Might be gone for a while. I will get you a new car tomorrow."

"You better," Noah scolded. "It's your fault I totalled the other one. I never had an accident before."

"I knew you'd be fine," Sylar replied nonchalantly. He transported to the garage first, retrieved the keys on the floor in a corner & put them into the seat, then covered the bike. He appeared right in the middle of the office, receiving various looks of surprise & amusement. He was still dressed as a biker. Sylar rolled his eyes. Too late now. "I was supposed to ride in but my son had an accident. Now where's that video?"

He was brought to a chair beside Jessica who was about to hit play before looking at him. "I suppose I don't have to warn you about any graphic content?" Sylar just looked at her. She finally let the thing play.

The video was taken at night. It showed an attack on Jerusalem. Bombs were going off. Guns could be heard. People were running every where. An exploding vehicle. It was the raid Sylar & Ariel had been caught up in. The last ten minutes or so. Sylar sat straighter as the end played. It was him over Ariel's body after she had died. His attacker was sneaking up on him. The entire beheading had been caught on film!

"René caught Jason watching this," Jessica said.

"Jason SAW this?" Sylar closed his eyes & turned away. "Where is René?"

"Dealing with Jason," Jessica said.

"It's how we found out," someone standing behind him said. "René wiped Jason's memory. He's checking to see if it got to Noah yet."

"It can NOT get to Noah!" Sylar all but shouted as he jumped to his feet, knocking the chair back. "This needs to be taken off the internet now! Before Jason finds it again & shows it to Noah."

"I'm working on that," Jessica said. "I have some experience with computers since I design video games."

"You told me to bring a gun or some such weapon," Sylar began. "I don't exactly need such things, but why did you want me armed?"

"We had the one who filmed all this in custody," a man said. "He is from the ISIS."

"Great, that means they have copies!"

"That's what we were thinking," Jessica said.

"I want to see him."

"That's not possible any more."

"Raphael, you just told me you had him in custody."

"Had," Raphael reiterated. "Past tense. He got away."

"He got away," Sylar repeated.

"He kept speaking in Arabic," Raphael went on. "Not knowing I understand it. He is on his way to assassinate the Prime Minister of Israel. I do have a picture of him." He handed over his phone.

"That's why I said you should have a gun," Jessica said as Sylar checked out the photo. "If you're going to go after him, you don't want to risk getting your powers caught on film. The way you usually kill is famous the world over."

"There's something else," Raphael added, taking his phone back. "Did you notice something odd about that raid?"

"Ariel mentioned something about them getting past your Iron Dome," Sylar replied.

"That's right," Raphael said. "The sirens started around the same time the attack did, instead of fifteen minutes earlier."

"That means they were already in the city," Sylar said. "In disguise."

"That's what we're thinking. They must have been planning it for a while. A lot of people died that night."

Sylar couldn't help but think of Ariel. He went behind the desk & unlocked a small drawer. He pulled out two pensticks from his inner pocket, put one in the drawer & held the other out to Raphael. "Ariel & I got some files downloaded when we went to get her nieces. Ours is in this drawer. You will come with me & take this copy to the Prime Minister while I handle our would-be assassin. It has a lot of ISIS plans on it."

"This could turn the tide," Raphael solemnly took the extra penstick.

"It depends," Sylar half-shrugged. "Do not get caught with it on you." Raphael nodded quickly as Sylar looked over the others. "The rest of you help Jessica get that video off the internet. I'll go to Jerusalem & start looking for our runaway." He stepped away from the desk, grabbed onto Raphael & was about to beam out.

"Rabbi?"

Sylar paused. "Was there something else?"

Jessica came up to him. "Devorah gave me this at Ariel's funeral." She handed over a glasses case. Inside was his old pair. "You weren't there?"

"I was but in a different form," Sylar replied as he put them in the drawer for later. "Devorah doesn't like me too much. I appreciate getting these back though."

Sylar appeared with Raphael in an alley in Jerusalem a moment later. They were about a block away from the Knesset & hurried down the street towards the main building. A few minutes later, the large bronze menorah came into view.

"When you are done with the penstick, wait for me by the menorah," Sylar ordered. "Our friend still has to arrive. He is most likely using a bus so I will watch for him."

As Raphael took off, Sylar transported himself to the roof of the building nearest to the bus stop to wait. A few minutes later, the next series of buses stopped to unload & reload. Sylar watched every passenger intently but none fit the description in the picture. He waited for the next round & the one after as well, but his target had yet to appear. Feeling his phone buzz, he pulled it out to find a message from Raphael.

"Sir, he's here at the Knesset!"

Sylar quickly beamed over to his side, only to be shot in the back a moment later. He leaned forward to put his hands on the wall while the Regen cleared that up. Sylar whirled around to catch his attacker but there was no one there. He looked over the hall before moving forward. "I think that bullet was intended for you."

"In that case, thanks," Raphael said.

"Any time," Sylar stopped at the corner, pulling out his gun as he checked down the next corridor. "Did you get that thing to the Prime Minister yet?"

"No," Raphael tapped his pocket, indicating he still had it. "That man showed up & has been stopping me no matter what I try."

"Well, we won't be delivering the package today," Sylar continued on their way. "Security would have taken over by now. Let's just get the terrorist for now." They entered a stairwell but quickly backed up & ducked out of sight. The one they were after was coming up the stairs. They waited, one on either side of the exit door but when no one appeared, Raphael slowly checked down the stairs again.

"No one's here," Raphael said. "How could he get away so soon?"

"He must have gone back down," Sylar hurried down the steps. He caught sight of the man once more but only for a moment. He stopped & put a hand up to halt Raphael. "I think we are dealing with some sort of ability."

"He didn't seem to do anything special," Raphael said.

"Except escape," Sylar pointed out. "Like how he is still evading us. If I could get a better look at him, I could see what it is."

"How?" Raphael asked. Sylar stared off into space, as if distracted. Raphael fluttered a hand across Sylar's face. "Rabbi Gray? Are you alright? Hey! Sir!" He punched Sylar on the shoulder. "What are you doing?"

Sylar blinked & stared at him for a moment. "I was trying to stop time, but it sped up instead. What did you say? You sounded like you were fast forwarded."

"I was wondering what happened to you," Raphael glanced around before opening the door into a small lobby. "Is something wrong with your powers?"

Sylar looked at a vase on the table. He tried to grab it with his force power but it broke in two even though he didn't try to shatter it. "Seems like it." He suddenly keeled over hands on knees as he choked. 'What are you doing?" He gasped for air.

"Sorry," Raphael stopped his own ability. "I was trying to see if mine worked but something is off."

"Still good enough to make me gag," Sylar slowly stood straight. "You can change the air to poison."

"Yes, but it's not supposed to be noticed until it's too late," Raphael said. "Something like carbon monoxide. You shouldn't have choked on it."

"I'm not sure if that is your power not working or mine then," Sylar said. "Could be the Regen I have was acting up."

"Maybe," Raphael shrugged. "We need to stay out of sight then, if you start having healing problems."

"I think the two of you better come with me!"

Sylar & Raphael spun around to face someone dressed as security holding up a gun. Sylar still had his in hand & held it up as well. The guard slightly moved his gun over, pointing it at Raphael. "Go ahead & shoot, Mr. Sylar. I've got time enough to drop your partner, not that you need him."

"Not good," Sylar whispered out the corner of his mouth to Raphael before addressing the intruder. "Who are you?"

The man glared at him. "Can't you tell? I'm a security guard around here. Work for Israel's Prime Minister."

Sylar tried to focus but instead of a tingling, he felt pain as if something was cutting into him. "I think you might be lying," he said slowly, shaking it off. "But that ability shouldn't hurt me."

"The flash drive," the man slowly advanced, holding out one hand as if ready to take something. "Give it to me. Now. There is a reason Sylar can't do much, so hand it over."

Without even looking at each other, Sylar & Raphael both said, "What flash drive?"

"How would you like that video of you beheading someone to wind up in front of your son?" The man threatened. Sylar was unable to recover quickly enough. "When we saw you in that video, we knew Jerusalem was cursed. How is it that America's favorite serial killer ended up here? We are keeping a copy of that video in case we need to send it to someone who you really wouldn't like to see it." He snapped his fingers at Raphael. "Hand it over." He held his gun a little higher. "Or I'll kill y—"

The gun jerked up out of his hand & shot the ceiling. Its owner looked rather confused for a moment before looking at Sylar who was glaring right back. Sylar spoke with his altered voice. "If you ever threaten my son again!" Another burst of power yanked the man's feet out from under him & he landed hard on his back. "Not quite what I was going for," Sylar spoke plainly once more. "It's like my powers are being deflected. But at least I got him down." He looked at Raphael for a moment before yelping in pain. Sylar went to one knee, dropping his gold gun to clutch at his inner leg.

"Rabbi!" Raphael kicked the gold gun away before the other man had a chance to grab it. "What happened?"

"He just stabbed me!" Sylar groaned before striking out with one hand to swipe across his attacker's face. "It'll heal in a moment." He grabbed the man's hair & hauled him up. "I hope!" Pulling out his own knife, he quickly cut the man's throat & let the body drop. Next, he yanked the blade out of his leg & threw it aside before inspecting the bleeding wound. It healed but ever so slowly & it burned.

"That looks really bad, Sir," Raphael said in a shaky voice.

"Just give it a minute," Sylar groaned through gritted teeth. "Grab my gun & keep it on you for now."

Raphael went to pick it up. He looked back at Sylar still clutching his leg. The blood slowed as the injury sealed over. He moved closer but still kept some distance between him & Sylar still standing over the one he had just killed. "Shouldn't your powers work now?"

Sylar looked at him. "No. This one didn't have any ability. There's someone else here. We need to find our runaway assassin, too." He tested his leg before stepping over the body. "Are you alright?"

Raphael glanced at the body. "I've seen people get killed before."

"But not like that," Sylar pointed out.

"No," Raphael nervously agreed. "Not like that. I know what you are capable of. It shouldn't surprise me, but it did."

"I am Death in human form, Raphael," Sylar pushed by him.

Raphael followed, covering from behind as he held the gold gun firmly in his hands. They moved down the main corridor. Upon entering the last door, Sylar physically grabbed someone with both hands & held the man against the wall.

"About time I catch you," Sylar derided. "You have an ability. You can see what happens within the next few minutes. Why didn't you see me coming now?" He stepped back as Raphael entered. "Tie him up. We'll bring him back."

"I suggest you kill him now."

Sylar & Raphael glanced around to see someone else come towards them, a man who was bleeding from a long gash on the left side of his face. "Who are you?" they both asked.

"Yacov & it's kind of my fault your powers didn't work well earlier."

Sylar looked Yacov over. "Why did you try to stop me?"

"I didn't want to," Yacov held up one hand. Half of a pair of handcuffs dangled from his wrist. "His people had me trapped. They were making me use my power against you. I was able to get away while the Prime Minister was taken away for safety."

"You can cause some sort of distortion," Sylar was still looking into Yacov.

"I can deflect other people's powers," Yacov nodded. He glanced down at the man tied up on the ground. "I know everything he knows," He went on. "You don't need him. He is the one who would have assassinated the Prime Minister. He is also the one who spread a certain video around among his people." Yacov looked Sylar in the eyes. "I know who you are. They say Jerusalem is cursed now that Sylar stalks her streets. I've heard about you possibly being in Israel before, but to actually see Sylar here, of all places. What are you doing here?"

"I've been here for many years," Sylar replied. "Being away from America, I was able to deal with my power on my own. I do not stalk the streets of Jerusalem, or any Israeli city for that matter. I was there on a visit with one from my Kabbalah group. She was recently killed in a raid."

Yacov stared in surprise for a long time. "You're in the Kabbalah?" He finally asked. "Are you Jewish?"

"Not that I know of," Sylar shrugged. "I was invited in by Rabbi Shlomo Gordon because of my powers. He had the same one I was born with."

"I had a group a few years ago but we were scattered abroad by these ilk," Yacov shot a glare at their captive. "I would like to meet Rabbi Gordon."

"He died of cancer a while ago," Sylar replied. "The group is mine now."

"Yours?" Yacov gasped.

"Shlomo left it to my care in his will," Sylar said. "I'm surprised you don't know any of this. He was rather famous."

"We were a small group down in Bethlehem," Yacov said. "But I've been alone for a few years since mine was destroyed. I'm kind of out of the loop."

"Rabbi Gordon was rather fond of Sylar," Raphael said. "He was the one who fixed Rabbi Gray's powers."

"Thank you for that," Sylar pulled the gold gun out of Raphael's hands, shutting him up with a sharp look. "You two go on ahead. I'll deal with this one." After an awkward moment, Sylar half-snapped. "Now. Go. Both of you." He let them both leave before turning around to the terrorist glaring defiantly back at him.

Yacov & Raphael both stopped walking for a moment as they heard a gun go off. "So, he still kills?" Yacov asked once they started moving again.

"Don't we all in this war?" Raphael defended.