Chapter 14: May peace guide you

After a few minutes of searching, he found an inn, named the Black Mustang. Luckily, there were about five guests and a barkeeper in the hall of the inn. He right stepped to the barkeep, and tried to begin what he needed when someone with a strange accent, called his name.

"Peter! Peter Petrelli!"

He turned back and saw that one of the guests was waving his hand towards him. He had brown eyes, short brown hair, was wearing a dark leather jacket and in front of him, there was a small jug standing. With his abilities, Peter didn't see any danger in him so he decided to ask if they know each other.

"Well, actually, you might not know me" he answered "but I'm a friend of your family." The strange, probably Russian accident continued on as he was talking and it started to make Peter a bit nervous. But as he heard the word, he couldn't help smiling grimly. The man asked of it.

"I didn't knew if they had any friends really. I suppose the word client is more suitable. And what are you doing here, friend, in the middle of nowhere?" he asked, and he said that expression strangely similar like he had said it just a few minutes before, to Mohinder, another friend of his.

"This is not the middle of nowhere, Peter. We're in the small town of Mound in Minnesota. And in fact, there are many, many woods around this town. Now, if you want to call something that way, you should call those." He drank a bit of his coffee. "I like the coffee of this place but actually, I haven't come here because of that. I came here because I knew you would be here."

Peter's face fell. This simple sentence was so unbelievable that he had to believe it.

"How? Why?" he stammered. "And who you are, exactly, friend?"

"Calm down, Peter, I don't want you to blow up anything accidentally." But this just made him more angry.

"My name is Nicolai." he whispered. "And I'm here because a friend of mine who can see some extraordinary things told me that you would come here tonight. And, for the second question, I would really like to offer you something."

"What could you offer me?" he asked. "How do you know what do I need?" Nicolai became more and more annoying to him so he decided to simply teleport away, like he should have done long before. He closed his eyes, thought about his home, the mansion. And when he opened it, he was still sitting in the bar.

"Peter, you must see this." whispered Nicolai.

"I gotta call someone." he stammered.

"Please. Anything or anyone can wait."

"You must know that if you want to offer me something, there is a person I can't decide without." He realized that he can't go away so he decided to go with this man. Maybe he can meet his future-seeing friend and ask something about himself and the malfunction of his abilities.

"I'll respect your opinion. Really. Can we go?"

Peter nodded and Nicolai led him to his car.

Naturally, Mohinder didn't sleep well. He was always thinking about Molly and about the three of them. What kind of force drove them together? They were fugitives but he didn't know from what were they running from. And where to. He was also afraid. Afraid of what could happen if they get caught. The two girls were two of them, and he didn't know what could the Company do with them, even if they wanted to inject Monica for almost nothing with a virus that have hardly had any chance to be more useful than the former strain was. And what would happen to him? It was the second time he decided not to follow the clear orders he had been given. And this time, he attacked and harmed someone.

Suddenly, his phone rang. He got up slowly, he tried to pretend that he had been sleeping.

"Mohinder, I need your help." It was Matt's voice.

"What's the matter?" he asked and he took the car's keys out of his pocket.

"My ex-wife is in danger and I'm afraid you're the only one I can call." He took a deep breath. "I need to know where the Primatech Headquarters are."

"What's the connection?" asked Mohinder, confused.

"Listen, somebody kidnapped Janice, and she is pregnant, and then, somebody called me and asked the whereabouts of Primatech as a price for her life."

"I would kindly suggest you not to tell them anything. God knows what might happen..."

"And God knows what might happen if I don't tell them anything!" he screamed. "It's my wife not yours."

Mohinder turned back and looked at Kamala. She was still sleeping on the back seats.

"It's in Albuquerque. New Mexico."

"Thank you, Mohinder." sighed Matt.

"Just stay as far as you can from that place." he whispered and put the phone down.

Sylar was impatient. He had to trust Marie but somehow he did. He brought both of them to Moscow, to the end of the world and it was just a slight chance that she was right and Claire Bennet was in this town. But there was a slight chance and surprisingly, he wasn't worrying. First of all, they rented two small rooms in a motel, nearest to the sought building.

"So, what shall we do now?" he asked, trying to hide his real emotions.

"I think we should take a closer look at it."

"Do you think he will show up?"

"If you did paint the future, he will, won't he?"

Sylar smiled and nodded. And in the moment he will have Bennet, he will have Claire and he will have a life without any kind of pain.

"May I ask you something?" asked Marie. For a good measure, he listened to her heart for a moment. It was beating fast again. He nodded. If he doesn't want to answer, he won't.

"Is he special, too?"

"Like me?" he asked back. She nodded as an answer.

"No, he's not." In fact, he knew in what kind was Bennet special but he was no match for him. Definitely not.

Niki looked like she was torn apart, after she saw their house totally demolished. She got back in the car, called Micah there and started to drive. She only had to make a few turns to make her son realize where they were heading to. After a few minutes of wordless driving, she stopped the car at the Catholic Cemetery, where D.L. was lying. Just like before, they walked to the grave without any word. She knelt down. Micah was still standing, but tears have appeared in his eyes, too.

"Save me, baby." she whispered to the marble tombstone. "I'm not able save us. You were the hero from the two of us."

"Mom." Micah whispered. "I can help us. I can get us money. I did and I will do it again, if we need it. I don't want you to sink in debts again."

She looked at him and burst out into tears. "You're the best son anyone could have. But I can't put all my responsibilities on you."

"Just a few." he answered.

She turned her face back to the grave.

"I still miss him." she said faintly.

"I do, too."

Suddenly, a soft voice disturbed them. It was Niki's phone. She's just received a message, telling her to be at the Crimo's Café in two hours. She didn't know who sent this message to her and she didn't really wanted to. She only wanted to know why did she get this and to learn that she had to go there.

Maya was about to feel really strange. She had lived almost all of her life in Latin-America, he even sought refuge in the continent, in the arms of the Catholic church, but she haven't found any. She was looking for answers since her ability has manifested and therefore she traveled to the United States. She thought that she would fit in there but she was sent back to the land she was running away from. And, so strangely, in the abandoned mansion of Reginald Rios, she felt like she had found something desired, something like home. As she was strolling down to the mansion, she saw the homeless man again, the one who gave her the necklace. He waved his hand towards him but he was on the ground. She ran to him, thinking there was something trouble.

"Hola, Senorita." he called as she nearly reached him. As Maya looked at him, he saw that most of his clothes were less dirty than the former ones, and the gate was opened.

"What are you doing here?"

"I want to introduce you to somebody. To a very generous man. A real hero."

He went towards the house like he was at home.

"Why are you walking in?" she asked.

"The Senor let me in. He had keys."

This raised Maya's suspicion.

"Who is this Senor?"

"I don't know really..." he answered as he opened the front door.

And she saw her demon, Reginald Rios, sitting inside the house.

"Run!" she shouted. "This man's a killer."

"He knows that. I had to tell him." Rios interrupted her.

Maya's face fell. She remembered the first time she had met Suresh and learned the true nature of Sylar. She could now imagine what the doctor's feelings were. And she was almost helpless, she didn't trust her control enough to use her ability.

"I don't want to hurt you, Senorita." stated Rios. "I know you're like me."

"You killed my friend." stammered Maya.

"I had to." stated he coldly. Yet she saw something in his eyes. Remorse, maybe. But she couldn't really believe that.

"You don't know" he began "what's happening in this country. I've been part of an organization fighting for the liberty of this country."

"Why?" she asked, almost crying.

"He wasn't anyone of us. You know Latin-America and she was foreign. And speaking about you, you're also wanted because of murder."

"You meant to kill her. That's the difference between us. She was human, like you and me."

"She shouldn't have been dragged into this. And, speaking about who have meant what, can you imagine how many important woman had I killed, accidentally?" He looked at her and saw real remorse.

"I'm not proud of my ability." he whispered. "I keep it hidden and that's the reason I'm alive. And moreover, I have an offer to you."

"What offer?" she asked angrily.

"Some things you might consider. Home. Purpose. A view of a better world."

"In what kind?"

"Where you'll never be hurt just because you're not like anyone else."

"I can't read the names of the streets." said Claire, looking at the table on the wall of a huge block of houses.

"It says Gorky Street 33." said Noah harshly and opened the gate.

"What's the next step?" asked Claire, feeling excited.

"I have to meet some of my former acquaintances. I don't have many of them here, actually, and I don't want to put my hand into a bee nest so early."

"Why do say so early?"

"Sooner or later, it'll come. Therefore, we'll start training soon."

Honestly, Claire didn't want to know much about the training. She wanted action. She wanted to show her father how tough she was. But another question came into her mind.

"Dad, when have you met the invisible man?"

"Years ago. Before you were even born."

"Is it true that he brought me out of the fire?"

He looked in her eyes.

"I was the one bringing you out but yes, he helped me. We were partners then."

"Do you know about anything his former partner?"

"He quit." answered Noah harshly. "That's all I know."

Claire gulped.

"So they didn't tell the truth even to you." she whispered. Noah looked at her again. "The invisible man said that he was killed. Just like you." she added.

"What's this?" asked Monica, looking out of the car to the streets of New Orleans. She remembered what the town was look like after Katrina but sometimes, the present situation looked even worse. Most of the houses, particularly the ones on the corners were full of tags, signs of the gangs. The walls f some houses were partially burned and many windows were broken. It looked like a ghost town.

"What happened here?" she asked, both from herself and from Mohinder.

"It looks like an army had been marching here." he murmured.

"Where's the..." She was trying to refer to the police but a faint sound of breaking glass interrupted her. Surprised and afraid, Mohinder turned the steering wheel just by instinct. The breaks were creaking and slowly, the car stopped in the middle of the road.

"Is anybody hurt?" he asked.

"No." answered Monica and Kamala almost at the same time. They were lying down in the car, and were hoping that nobody armed will see them. After a few seconds they heard some voices getting closer to the car.

"Wat wuz this, homie? That ain't police or some other shit."

"They might have some money."

"What can yo do with money? There ain't a store open."

"Yeah, but people are greedy. Maybe it can get some dudes off of our back."

"Man, are these people still here?"

"Sure, homie. They don' have guts or brains if they're riding here."

A few seconds of silence and they could even hear the gangsters' breathing.

"Fuck, homie!" one of them shouted. "Those nuts Lay-Me-Os there."

Probably another car was coming towards them and lots of gunshots were fired, with the threesome still hiding in the car. A few bullets also hit the car, even the windows but nobody was hit and they managed not jump out, into the chaos outside.

The car's voice was moving getting more and more silent and after about a minute Mohinder decided to look for any signs of life. He didn't found any and called the girls out. They were only surrounded by three corpses, all dead by guns.

"You don't have to stay here." whispered Monica, staring at the dead. "It's my home and it's my family. Go wherever you want."

"We can bring you home." offered Mohinder. "No. You've already taken too much risk for me. Now, it's my time to wrap something up and I must do it alone. Take care of your own business, I'll take care of mine."

"Are you sure?" asked Kamala. Monica simply nodded.

"Farewell, then. May peace guide you." said she.

It was hard to persuade Micah not to go with Niki to the café but after many quarrels she managed to do that. She didn't know what danger she was going in and it was hard to confess, even for herself but she almost desired some of it, to see if Jessica and all the others were really gone and she didn't want Micah to be close.

Just as she arrived to the outdoor terrace of the café and tried to sit down a man stepped to her. He was as tall as Niki and was looking like a rock star poser with his sunglasses, piercings around his eyebrows and his nose, his leather jacket and long hair.

"May I invite you for something, Miss Sanders?" he asked and put his hand on the chair in front of her.

"Save your breath. Who are you and why are you sending messages to me?"

"My name is Michael Lazarus. And I' someone like you."

"What do you mean?" she asked angrily.

"Please, calm down. I don't want this place demolished." He slowly moved away from her, taking a seat on the other side of the table.

"I wouldn't care about the place if I were you." she hissed. "What happened to my house?"

"If I were you, I wouldn't care about the house. I have much more interesting things to talk about."

"For example?"

"For example, you. You survived a tragic accident, I guess. And you're in a good trim. In fact, I've heard that you're feeling better than ever."

"And why is that so interesting?"

"Life is full of ups and downs, Miss Sanders. You're moving up well but sometimes you might slide down. And I want to help you."

"By what? I haven't heard anything from you except meaningless words."

"The world"s heading to a change. A drastic one. And I want to protect you."

"How would you think that?"

"Keeping you safe until you don't have to hide anything."

"What do I have to hide?"

"You. And your son. You might become the leaders of the change."

Bringing Micah in the conversation really made Niki angry. Now, when they've made peace with their abilities, a guy jumps into their life, trying to mess it up again. She tried to catch his neck and grab it and break it but he moved fast. He jumped backwards and grabbed the chair he was sitting on. Niki didn't hesitate for a moment, she grabbed the table with both of her hands and pushed it towards him. He also pushed the chair, now burning in flames. The two objects collided and made each other stop. Some of the people around them jumped up, screaming. Lazarus jumped to another table, put his hand on it and it was also in flames.

"Pick up that one, Niki!" he shouted.

She rushed to the café's wooden wall and broke a part out of it. She threw it towards him and she did injured him on his shoulder so he collapsed. She walked to him, still lying on the pavement. She knelt down and put her hands on his neck.

"What are your last words, Michael?" she hissed.

"Bills hurt." With these words, he pulled out a bit of paper from his pocket and before she could act he put it to Niki's neck, burning at that time. She caught to her neck and stunned by the pain he released Lazarus. He jumped up and ran away. Niki was writhing in pain. Her neck was really well burnt and she felt herself to weak to go after him.

Matt was thinking hours long. At last, he knew where the Company was but how did the mysterious kidnapper know that. He was worried. He didn't know a number, he didn't know anything. Not a single man to meet, to get inside his head and solve everything he wanted.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Do you have anything, Mr. Parkman?" asked the hissing voice.

"I do. Where's my wife?" he asked hastily.

"Remember, your wife's life is in my hand. If you try to fake us, it'll backfire on her."

"I know what you need. Are you interested?"

"Get to the County Hospital. I'll phone you then and be more exact. And I expect this from you, too."

"So you've found something in my blood." stated Hiro. "And how will that save the world?"

"I don't know if it will save it." answered Wang. "We haven't heard about any kind of virus you have mentioned. But this vial, your blood within may be the first step to change our world forever."

"How?"

"We know a tiny bit about the causes of these abilities we have. If my research develops, we might have something that can reverse these abilities. Or even make them manifest."

"But can we decide who's worthy for abilities and who's not?"

Wang just stared at him, looking deep in his eyes if she was trying to read his mind.

"We are not Gods. And we should not be."

"Everything I've ever made, I've made it to help people. Ethics, what you are speaking about, are beyond my science."

Ando opened the door and stepped in the room.

"Hiro! You have a message. You must see it."

He nodded. Ando led him to another room with only one computer. In the monitor, there was Kimiko looking at them, in front of a dark background, the message paused. Ando clicked to start it.

"This message is for Hiro Nakamura and only for himself. I am a prisoner of a Yakuza clan, called the Toraga family. The clan wants 50 Millions of Yen as a price for me. Hiro Nakamura is the only person with the permission to start a huge transaction like this. You have three days and no more."

The message ended and the monitor was empty.

"I have as many time as I want. I must rescue her. Will you come with me, Ando?"

Ando bowed.

I'm sorry, Hiro. I was proven not to be strong enough. At the moment, this is the only place where I feel myself useful. You can beat up any Yakuza clan without me as well. You know it's the man, not the sword. And still you are the one ready."

"So many I've destroyed." whispered Hiro. And he disappeared.

"Do you know anything about the history of this magnificent monument?" asked Marie, from Sylar as they were strolling down to the Kremlin. Although it wasn't even winter, it was very cold and the streets were fully covered with snow.

"I'm not really interested in its history. I'm not really interested in its past. It's its future that brought me here. Are you?" he whispered.

"As a philosopher I should be familiar with both arts and history. Without history, we can't really understand our present and our future. And without a small sense of arts, we're almost computers. Don't you agree? Do you have a hobby?"

Sylar stopped for a second. Her questions were so annoying but maybe this gave them a charm. He almost admired her. He thought she was really open for the change and maybe understood a tiny bit of the real meaning, the grandiosity of the things happening with them. And she was cunning, she wanted to understand. Similarly to him, just in another way.

"I fix watches."

"Really? How did that came?"

"It's a long story and we have something else to do." he sighed.

Marie understood that this was the end of this conversation. They sat down on the square and were looking for Bennet to come.

Noah was shocked from what he saw. Shortly after they've arrived to Moscow, he arranged a meeting with one of Ivan's former employees and he suggested to meet at the service entrance of the Kremlin Museum. Just as he was heading there, he saw someone too familiar, sitting neat the gigantic building. It took a short time for him to realize who it really was and much more to believe his eyes.

He saw Sylar in Moscow, in the same town Claire was. He thought that this simply couldn't be a coincidence. Although it was very cold, a drop of sweat appeared on his forehead. It was another game now, parallel to the mission. It was a possibly mortal hide and seek.

Nicolai drew them to a block of flats and led Peter to a flat on the sixth floor. For a moment, he stopped and looked like he was thinking if he should open the door.

"What's in there?" asked Peter.

"Our past and our future. You're the fourth person on the world who will see this."

The door opened with a soft click. There wasn't any furniture in the room. It only contained strings of different colors, with bits of paper on them, some of them going together for a few inches and some disappearing. Amused, Peter turned back to Nicolai.

"What do you know about it?"

"A few things."

The human nature is a complex system, almost impossible to understand. There are many questions in all of us? Does God exist? If yes, what's his will? Does peace belong to the image of him? Is this what he really wants? Or does war belong to our imperfect nature, and peace is just a temporary state just to fill in the time without war?