Author's note: Thanks to smithsbabe65 and City Light Lyrics for the feedback! Reviews (good or bad) are the only things that can keep me going with this thing, so please review, all you 42 people who've read this! Yes, this chapter is quite short. Dunno if that's a good thing or a bad thing...you tell me!

Disclaimer: I own nothing (except for Ms. Hammond)...sadly.

Veronica Hammond

Somewhere in Mexico

Long shadows cast over the barren land of the Mexican desert as the yellow sun begins it descent behind the distant rocky mountains. Clouds of dust gather around the sleek black SUV. I'm the only one driving along the open road. It's been two hours since the helicopter took me to Odessa, Texas. The minute I reached the border, I received a message from Bob. Sylar apparently had escaped. He, naturally, murdered his guard and is currently making his way into the desert. I'm supposed to be kept posted on his location and according the latest update, he's not too far off—two miles.

This isn't supposed to be the plan. I grasp the steering wheel hard in frustration. I'm not supposed to be hunting for him in the middle of this damn desert. Well, at least I'm not flying anymore. Earlier, when the helicopter landed, I all but kissed the ground in relief. It was perhaps more nauseating than the plane ride to Florida I took when I was nine. My grandparents decided to be bring me to Disneyland. The turbulence made me throw up probably every single thing I had ever eaten. I almost fainted. There were no rollercoasters for me when I went to The Happiest Place on Earth.

How did I get myself into this mess? Why didn't I just head to the office before Bob arrived at my apartment? Oh, but he would have found me anyway…Wait. What's that?

I slam hard on the breaks and the SUV comes to a screeching halt. I turn on the headlights. The sky has dimmed; the last rays of sunlight dissolving in the cloudless sky above. A figure is lying in the middle of the road. I step out of the vehicle and slowly approach the inert man. His clothes are slightly torn and covered with dust and dirt. I kneel beside him to take a closer look. Sylar. His hand suddenly shoots out and grabs my hand, which hasn't fully healed. I gasp in shock and pain.

"Help…me…" He mumbles.

Like I have a choice.

"Can you get up?" I ask him.

He doesn't say anything, but he struggles to rise as I help pull him up. I practically drag him into the front seat of the SUV. His eyes are closed and his head slumps on the windowpane. I hastily message Bob before getting into the driver's seat. Found him. On the way back to TX.

I back up and turn the car round. Sylar's eyes flutter open. He groans, massaging his head. He glances around, the look of surprise and relief on his face at the realization of no longer being in the desert. He looks far from the picture in his file. His hair is shorter, disheveled and the thick stubble on him gives him a very rough, hardened look. He looks like a madman. His eyes land on me and I can feel a multitude of emotions from him, most especially curiosity.

"Thank you for helping me." He says, his voice low and raspy.

I hand him a thermos of water, which he takes gratefully.

"My name's…Gabriel, by the way." He says, after a minute of downing the water.

"I'm Veronica."

"Most people would usually think twice about picking up a complete stranger from the middle of the desert." Sylar says, smiling slightly.

"Then I suppose I'm not like most people." I say, returning the smile.

"It must be fate. You just happened to be driving out there and stumbled upon me. What brought you to the middle of Mexican desert, anyway?"

"I think I should be asking you that question."

Sylar frowns. "Actually, I can't really remember much. The last thing I do remember was I…was on my way back to my apartment in New York when I was stabbed and then I woke up in the desert. It took me a while to realize I was in Mexico."

"That sounds awful. Well, at least your safe now." I say, playing along. "As for me, I just wanted to…see the sunset. It's been a while since I've seen the horizon. You can't get much of it back in the city. You must be right about that idea of fate, I'm also from New York. I drove from Texas, where I had a business trip."

Sylar's smile spreads into a wide grin. "It's fate indeed. Where did you drive from, in Texas?"

I pause before answering. "Odessa."

Sylar's grin dissipates. He only nods and shifts his gaze outside the window. Nothing but darkness. The pale moon rises on the bruised purple sky and several stars begin to appear. I want to lower down the windows and smell the cool, desert air. In New York, all I have are bleak polluted skies and the stench from the filthy streets. Sylar's eyes are closed again. He's napping or probably feigning it. Either way, his aura of innocence seems to surround him once more. Not a madman, not a murderer.

Two days ago

Hair dripping, I step out of the shower. The warm water felt wonderful on my tired body. Today's training was more grueling than ever. My wrist still pains me and I'm forced to continue my kickboxing and punching with my left hand. Wrapping myself in a towel, I move toward my tiny bed in the corner of tiny room. A fresh pair of white pants and a white shirt lie folded and waiting on the hard mattress. Along with my freedom, my fashion sense has died in this facility as well. I hear a knock on my door.

"What?" I snap back as I don on my shirt.

I hear the door open and I whip around angrily, but my scowl quickly dissolves at seeing an Indian man with dark curls and a lab coat standing before me.

"Dr. Suresh."

"Sorry if I was…interrupting you." He says, noticing my damp hair clinging to my now-soaked shirt and still-sodden skin.

I laugh. "There was nothing to interrupt."

I dry my hair with my towel as he sits himself on my bed. He seems as tired as I am.

"So, doctor…?"

"Please, Veronica, call me Mohinder." He says. "We've been seeing each other every day for the past three weeks."

"All right, Mohinder, what brings you to my cozy little cell?"

"I was just showing Bob your progress for the day, when he received a call. Then he told me to send you to his office immediately."

"Oh."

"I think he has news on Sylar."

"Sylar? Then the only reason why he'd want to see me ASAP is if…he's awake!" I can feel my heart skip a beat. I can finally leave!

"It must be so." Mohinder's face darkens. "Though, I still can't comprehend why they would want to keep him alive."

"A new lab rat to poke and prod at, Bob told me. My assignment's to retrieve the vermin, but I'm just looking forward to reaching the light at the end of this horrible tunnel. Bob also told me I can resume my life, once and for all, after all of this."

"And what life would that be?"

"A rather dull, currently jobless one. At least a life that doesn't involve breaking bones and having nosebleeds every other day."

Mohinder nods quietly.

"Oh, don't tell me you're going to give me a lengthy speech on sacrificing one's self for the greater good of humanity? Call me selfish, Mohinder, but I don't want to go about risking my life every single day…" I say exasperatedly. "Or are you just going to miss me?" I add teasingly.

He half-heartedly smiles. "All we do in life involves a little bit of selfishness. And aren't you already risking your life just by encountering perhaps the most dangerous person on earth?"

"That's for only one day and then I'm home-free."

"Oh, and for the record, I would miss you."

Present day

I can feel the beginnings of fatigue descend upon me. It's been a long and stressful day. The lights ahead grow brighter and soon we join the queue of vehicles. The clock by the car's radio reads 8:17. Sylar begins to shift around and he eventually awakes. He shields his eyes from the sudden brightness of the white lights surrounding us.

"The border." He mutters. "Wait, won't we have trouble with—"

"Don't worry, I have that covered." I cut in.

A bespectacled officer greets us good evening as I lower down my window. He eyes Sylar beadily, but before a word can come out of his mouth, I pull out a piece of paper, which The Company had given me prior to driving out to Mexico. I'd never read what's written on it, but they instructed me to show it to border patrol when I would return with Sylar. The officer frowns as he reads the paper, but hands it back to me silently and bids us to leave.

"What was that?" Sylar asks, eyeing the piece of paper, which I hastily stuff into my pocket.

"Oh…just a special little note." I say, smiling.

I expect him to question me further, but he doesn't. Instead, he resumes his nap and I accelerate down the empty road.

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