Chapter Twelve
As soon as Peter was outside his apartment, his world went dark. He grimaced, not only at the stale smell of the canvas bag that was thrown over his head, but the disadvantage it put him at as he had to blindly follow his captors. He was slowly led downstairs, ears anxiously listening for any sound that might indicate that Nathan didn't keep his promise and Claire had been taken as well.
Peter was grateful when they emerged from the building as the bright sunshine, allowed a little light to penetrate the bag. He was shoved into what he assumed was the backseat of a car, with no warning other then a quick shove on his head to push it down as he went into the car. Moments passed before Peter could breathe another sigh of relief as he heard his brother's purposeful steps.
He felt the car shift as Nathan took his seat.
"She's safe." Was all the older Petrelli would say before the car roared to life began to start moving through the streets of New York.
Peter was unsure how much time passed or how far they'd gotten before the car came to its final stop. Being New York City, for all he knew they only drove a couple of miles away. He kept his silence as he was pulled out of the vehicle and led away. Through a slit in the bottom of the bag, Peter could see the floor change from concrete to linoleum and knew they had entered some kind of building. Their steps echoed down the corridor as Peter was led through the building. He was pushed into an elevator and started a little as it began to move down. After a few moments the movement stopped and Peter was led into another hallway. Moments passed before he heard the telltale slide of a plastic card and the responding beep as a lock open. He was led forward and pushed down to sit on a cot. As soon as he hit the flat surface of the cot, the bag was pulled off his head. Peter grimaced while his eyes adjusted to the bright lights.
Peter slowly looked around the small cell, noting the cot and sink, before turning his attention to his captors. Two armed guards stood at the entrance, while Nathan stood off to the side.
"I apologize for the accommodations Pete." Nathan began, striding closer. "But your escapade last month led to too many questions, so we had to change location very quickly."
"Sorry about that." Peter answered sarcastically. "I'll try to be more careful next time."
Nathan laughed roughly, before turning to the guards.
"Give us a moment." He said, gesturing them to move out.
"But Senator." The first man began. "The protocol. It isn't safe."
"He won't hurt me." Nathan said with confidence. "He understands that if anything happens to me, all deals are off the table." Nathan continued, turning to look at Peter, smirking as his younger brother's eyes narrowed in understanding.
"It's fine. I'll just be a minute. Wait outside." Nathan said gesturing again. Once the two men were out of the room, Nathan motioned to the pile of white clothes next to Peter on the cot.
"For you." He said, leaning against the wall.
"What do you want Nathan?" Peter asked, moving further back on the cot to sit against the wall.
"To protect us."
"Us?" Peter spat out. "You're one of us." He growled out.
"Peter I'm just trying to protect everyone. You of all people should know how dangerous these powers can be."
Nathan moved to the doorway to gesture to the guards outside to let him out.
"Get changed Pete. You'll be here awhile."
Claire wasn't sure how much time passed before she was no longer alone in the apartment. The two figures passed the doorway so quickly that Claire didn't even have time to jump to her feet before Daphne was crouched next to her, holding her close.
Matt came to a stop a few feet away from the two women, and after noticing Claire's state of undress, he turned to peer around the room to protect Claire's modesty. A moment later he felt a light pressure on his shoulder and turned to look into Daphne's grim eyes. He looked past Daphne to where Claire was finishing buttoning the shirt that Peter had left out for her.
Matt discreetly looked to the bedroom as he caught a stray thought of Claire's then shook his head to rid himself of the image.
He was not sly enough as Claire caught his movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking towards the bedroom she sighed.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to think about that." She said softly.
"No, I'm sorry. I know better then to let my guard down. I invaded your privacy."
"You must think we're freaks huh?" She asked with a harsh laugh.
"No." Matt replied instantly. "If that's what makes you two happy, who am I to judge?" He said, thinking back to the beginning of his and Daphne's relationship.
"What are you two talking about?" Daphne asked, looking from one to the other.
"Peter and I were, intimate." Claire said. "He knew that he'd be captured soon, that's probably the only reason why it even happened." She continued sadly.
"No!" Matt replied. "I've been hanging around with Peter for over a year. And at the beginning, before we learned how to use this power, to block each other out, let's just say you were often in his thoughts."
"Really?" Claire asked hopefully. "Because I thought the only way he'd take this a step further was if he knew that this would be our last day together."
"I doubt he thought that far ahead." Daphne said gently. "And even if he did, he probably figured this way, you guys at least had a bit of happiness for a little while."
"So what happened?" Matt asked, following Claire and Daphne to the couch.
"Nathan." Claire spat out. "When I woke up this morning he was already here. He and his men just took Peter. He said Peter made a deal. Him for me."
"Do you have any idea where they went?" Daphne asked.
"No. Not the facility in Texas. They wouldn't take anyone there anymore. The plane crash would've raised too many questions." Claire answered. "Nathan would want Peter close. Wherever they have their base of operations, that's where they'll keep Peter." Claire continued thoughtfully.
"The others are on their way. Once Micah and Tracy get here we'll start working on finding their headquarters." Matt said.
As the day wore on, Claire, Matt and Daphne cleared all evidence of the morning. Long after the sun set, a heavy knock sounded on the door. Claire and Daphne jumped to their feet from their place on the floor where they had been quietly talking. Matt held out a hand for them to be silent, as he moved closer to the door, listening intently.
"It's the others." Matt said, after hearing Mohinder's greeting. He pulled open the door to admit Mohinder, Tracy, Hiro, Ando and Micah.
Once everyone was inside and caught up, Micah and Tracy sat in front of Peter's laptop. Micah quickly set up the computer so it could not be traced, before turning to the others for direction.
"So what kind of place am I looking for?" He asked.
The other's turned to Tracy in question.
"What, just because I worked with people in the government doesn't mean I was privy to all their secret locations."
Mohinder stepped forward to peer over Micah's shoulder.
"Well they'd need a facility large enough to house the technical equipment as well as any prisoners." He began, not hearing Claire's small gasp at the word 'prisoners'.
Micah sat silently for a moment, then began to type furiously at the keys. "If I can find what type of equipment they're using, I might be able to track where they were shipped to."
Claire stood up from her spot on the couch and moved to the apartment door.
Daphne jumped up, but Claire waved her away.
"I just want to get a little fresh air. I've been in this apartment all day." She said. "I'll be fine, I'm safe remember." She finished, pulling the door open and stepping out into the hall.
Daphne nodded, and moved to sit back down, before jumping up again. Rushing into the hall, she handed Claire a small cell phone.
"Just in case." She said quietly, reaching out to give the younger woman a quick hug, before closing the door silently behind her.
In the living room Tracy quickly ran down the list of equipment government officials usually used in hopes that wherever this operation was being run from used similar electronics. As Tracy named each item, Micah instantly added it to the computers search, trying to get a hit.
Claire moved slowly down the steps of Peter's building. She pulled open the front door and looked down both sides of the street, before stepping out. She sat down on the top step, sighing deeply.
Claire looked up towards the sky, for once cursing the city she had come to love, as she was unable to see the stars beyond the buildings.
So lost she was in her thoughts, that Claire did not notice the car parked down the street.
"Sir." A man said into the darkness. "The girl, the cheerleader. She's outside of your brother's building."
"She is not on the list." Nathan answered sternly from the other end, before hanging up."
"He said she's off limits." The man said turning to his partner, who sat in the driver's seat, peering intently out the window.
"Interesting consider as of last night she was a top priority." He watched as Claire came to her feet and moved aimlessly down the steps.
"Screw Petrelli. I didn't make a fucking deal." He growled, throwing open his door and silently moved down the street.
His partner cursed, but grabbed his dart gun and followed his partner and the girl as they slipped into an alley.
Claire moved around the side of the building, slipping into the alley having decided to go inside through the building's back door. She heard a faint noise behind her, causing her to shiver and look out of the corner of her eye for any signs of movement. Seeing nothing, but still spooked, Claire quickened her pace, drawing deeper into the alley. Without warning a heavy weight knocked her to the ground. Claire gasped to try to bring air back into her lungs, as she was forcefully turned over and saw the face of her attacker.
"So what did you do to get yourself off the list." The man growled, grabbing Claire's flailing hands and pulling them above her head. "Don't even try to fight me. You won't win." He continued.
"Who the hell are you?" She cried out, trying to buck him off. Claire heard a second set of footsteps come down the alley and could see a second man in a suit bearing down on them. She struggled harder, trying to kick at the man holding her down, but as the dart gun came into her view she stopped.
"Please." She whispered, as a single tear trickled down her cheek. "Don't do this."
