Chapter 15: Full moon

The emptiness of impatience. During their seemingly endless watch, Sylar thought that the role of the sentinel was not designed for him. He was not a spider, carefully making his web and simply waiting for the prey to fall in it. He was a more active person, more like a shark. With one bite, with one simple move he could finish off his mark. If he had a mark to terminate but this time it wasn't in sight. They were sitting there for hours but there was no sign of Claire or Mr. Bennet. Slowly, both of them was starting to feel sleepy. Marie went away to buy them some coffee while Sylar stayed there, staring up to the sky, to the stars and the full moon like they could give them answers. He tried to remember the names of some stars but he hasn't read anything about them since he killed Charlie so it was useless. He looked down to the snowy streets but he turned back immediately. He thought the stars were moving. And they were. Slowly, they formed a picture, a picture with two people and a building in the background. The two men were himself and Peter Petrelli. And the building had towers, exactly like the building in front of him.

He tried to stand up and shout but he collapsed.

After the incident with Lazarus, Niki immediately called her son that she will go to a hospital and that they should meet there. Luckily, the burning paper just caused a surface wound on her and covering it was just enough. As she was coming out of the doctor's room she saw Micah, sitting on a chair. As he saw her, he jumped up, ran to her and hugged him strongly.

"I was so afraid." he whispered.

"It was more smoke than fire." she answered. The words rose to her lips without real consciousness but they made her think more. "And speaking about fires, I know who is responsible to our house's one." She told him what had happened at the café.

"Do you think it was his real name?" he asked.

"Why?" he stammered.

"Because I have an idea." He grabbed her hand and led her out. Outside, he looked around like he was looking for something. After about a second, he started running again and stopped in front of a public phone.

"Are you talking to machines again?" asked Niki.

"From this phone" he began to talk as he stepped inside "I can gain access to the center where all the calls are registered. If the name was real, I can identify him and maybe even get his address as well."

He put his hand on the phone and closed his eyes.

"Isn't this dangerous?" she asked but there was no answer. "Micah?" she asked again but he looked like he was in a trance. She moved her hand towards him but she didn't know what will happen if she touches him. Before she did that he moved.

"He lives at Mason Street." he said quickly.

"Isn't this dangerous, Micah? I was trying to ask that."

"No." answered Micah calmly. "Anyone from outside might think that I'm asleep because I'm like talking in a totally different language but mostly I don't need this. Just when it's big. And browsing through thousands of phone calls is big enough."

A tear appeared in one of Niki's eyes.

"I won't leave you." she stammered and held his hand in hers.

Matt got to the hospital as fast as he could. As he arrived, he looked around hastily. It was already night but there were some people, even without the nurses and the fact that he was among people gave him some confidence. A strange idea came to his mind. He stepped to one of the nurses, a small Asian girl.

"I'm here to see Janice Park... pardon, Janice Gardiner." said he, remembering her maiden name.

She nodded and looked at her computer.

"There's no one here with this name. Where should she be?"

Naturally, Matt didn't know the answer so he didn't say anything. Instead, he started reading the nurse's memories, looking for Janice's portrait. But he hasn't found anything. Suddenly, his phone rang and he picked up.

"Nice try, Mr. Parkman." As he heard these words, he looked around but he hasn't found any security cameras. "Tell me."

"How can I be sure that you tell me where can I find Janice?" he asked.

"You can't trust anything except my word. If this isn't enough for you, we both have been wasting our time for a while."

"Come and meet me." he said.

"Another nice try." the voice answered, ironically. "Choose. Tell me or lose her."

A pause came, no longer than a second but Matt felt it as like years.

"It's in Albuquerque."

The answer came in a second.

"She's in a private room, building M, first floor three."

Matt put down the phone immediately, asked about that room. The girl gave him a guide and he ran to the room. As he opened the door, he found her lying in bed, sleeping and a nurse with her.

"Visiting time's over." said the nurse, a white-haired, fat woman harshly.

Matt turned to her and suggested her to forget about this. He stayed with her for a while, and he was thinking. Now, he has found her but he was thinking about their future. What should be his next step? Someone took her and that person must pay. But he knew that he couldn't do this alone. He looked out, to the full moon, thinking who could he turn to. Suddenly, an owl appeared out of nowhere and landed in front of the window. And this gave Matt an idea. He walked down slowly and asked another nurse to move Janice to another hospital if possible.

"If you pay then it's your right to decide where she should be and moving isn't a threat for her." she answered. "Where to?"

"Albuquerque." answered Matt.

As Monica was strolling down, right towards the house she had lived in, she was wondering if this was the city she called home. She stopped at the restaurant where she had worked and saw that its windows were broken, most of the wall was tagged by various gang signs. She hasn't seen anybody, no people, no cars, no bikes, no girls playing at the school yard. The district was completely empty, like a ghost town. She was getting more and more afraid, and she felt strange. This town was like a terrorized town in the wild west, in the old times. A town that needed a hero. Can she be this hero, this savior?

Finally, she reached her their house and all of her fear and anger burst out into one cry. Their house was completely black, burned down, only some of the mainstays, the small parts of the walls, made of brick and the roof remained of it. It took a few minutes for her to stand up and to walk into the house. There was no door any more, so she could step in easily. The house inside was also burnt down, some of the girders fell but that wasn't an issue for her. She walked to the place where her room was, just to find out that anything she has lived for, she had collected and made was destroyed forever. She looked around, looking for her mother's piano. There was no sign of it. The sound of the thunder interrupted her. She had to realize that she didn't have anywhere to go. Except this place.

"Have you found anything?" asked Claire from her father. For a moment, he didn't answer just looked in her eyes, with his eyes like a predator's, when it knows it has found its prey.

"I made a few calls. I don't have much in my hands."

"Yet you do..." interrupted Claire.

"I got a name from one of my old clients. Akbar Denisov, former KGB agent. We know that he had worked with someone with abilities during the cold war."

"Sounds fun." said Claire, trying to look more courageous than she really was. The mention of the former soviet secret service filled her with fear, although she didn't know what she was afraid of. Maybe just the damned history books."

"So, are we going to catch him?" she asked.

"Actually, we won't." answered Noah. "I've arranged a meeting with him. But you might get a role, too."

"So what's going to happen, then?" she asked, curiously.

"We're going to use the hit'n'stay trick." he answered as he stepped to his suitcase.

"Isn't that hit'n'run?"

"No." he answered harshly, pulling a gun out of it. "Now, I'm going to tell you, what do you have to do."

Maya felt like she had left the control of her own body. This trap, made by Rios was so perfectly set and designed for her. She really felt shocked of it. She just sat in the nearest chair she had found, sinked in herself and dealing with her own thoughts. She didn't tell anybody but she had sworn to herself that she'll never hurt innocent people again. And how could Rios know that? She saw that he was not a telepath but then, he showed something mysterious, something similar to an ability to learn people's weaknesses or even their simplest moves, their very thoughts. She felt empty and worn-out. Rios began to speak with the man who led Maya in, about politics, guerillas, armies – Maya didn't really listened to the conversation. She began to sing some songs, not heard or sang long ago, that she had learned in her childhood.

Until she heard a door closing. She didn't even notice that the homeless man has just left and Rios was sitting just beside her. And still, she couldn't make a move, couldn't use his ability.

"I'm going to tell you a story." Rios began. "I guess you're native too, just like me." He stopped for a moment, waiting for her to react but that didn't happen. "I wasn't born here in the city, and I have been living in constant repression for nearly all of my life, just because my skin is a bit darker than the so-called usual. My life wasn't extraordinary. I went to school, read lots of books when I wasn't working on the plantations, dreamed about many great things like freedom, and eventually, fell in love."

He stopped again and sighed.

"A short time before, I've felt that something was happening with me, like I could hear the wind, the river and the soil but I haven't dealt with it. I was busy with my studies and my plans to engage her. It was a wonderful full moon night, at the river but it turned terrible in one second. My ability manifested and she died in my arms. But something more happened to me. Though I thought that I was empty, useless and dangerous, I could hear the river's voice louder and louder. And now, I could talk to her, too and she let me to form her like I wanted. I thought I was mad, ran away and decided to begin a new life. I can hear the clouds, the winds, and I'm capable of things that have lead to my purpose. I always wanted to change the world, and now I have the power to do that. There is always another beginning. That's what I've learned."

He finished his monologue and silence fell.

"What are you going to do with me?" whispered Maya.

"I would be very glad if you joined us. The question is, do you want to take this new beginning?"

At the first moment, Mohinder was quite sure that he knew their way and as a result, he knew the way out. For about half an hour, he wasn't sure any more. Especially, traveling with a woman and no one to ask for guidance. During that time they have only seen three people, naturally gang members. Luckily, they haven't noticed them. But it was getting more and more frightening and weird. It was getting darker and darker and they couldn't see what was around them. Mohinder decided that they should find refuge in the first house open. They were quite lucky again. The door of the tagged and demolished house was not open but they could break in easily and hide the clues of it. They slowly walked inside, through the hall.

And in the next moment, a tall, black man jumped from the shadows towards and Mohinder. He was surprised and too slow to react. The marauder stabbed a knife in his stomach. Kamala screamed but he didn't realize that. He only knew that he was bleeding heavily. The man took a step back, pleased with the result while Kamala was trying to pull Mohinder away from him.

"Whatcha doin', bitch?" he shouted and kicked at her. She landed beside the hall's wall and dropped Mohinder's body that fell in the other direction.

"Maybe I should teacha some things?" the man hissed, and smiled grimly, but she could only see some white spots as many of his teeth was black, too.

"Do something." rattled Mohinder.

"I can't!" she shouted, her voice full of fear.

"Why?" asked he. His voice was quiet and tired.

"Shuddup!" shouted the marauder and kicked Mohinder.

"Is this Nirvana?" he rattled.

Kamala stopped for a moment. She was afraid. But not just because of the marauder. She knew her abilities would protect her. But how could those work, beside Mohinder, beside someone she had loved from the first moment. Her heart was beating hastily when she looked at his body. Maybe he was right. Maybe Nirvana was waiting for them. But if it really was, she wanted to face it together with him.

She took a deep breath and stretched her hand. And thought about fire.

Hiro's first trip led to the police department in downtown Tokyo. Though the policeman handling Kimiko's case was very busy and was definitely bored of his work, his patience and aggressiveness brought results slowly. After many hours, he knew anything he wanted. He knew that the Yakuza who were usually acting like some Robin Hood, kidnapping rich people for ransom and giving the money to the poor, broke into her house while she was asleep and brought her away without waking her up. They hadn't left any clues but the police knew where their territory usually was. The policeman told Hiro something about the expansion of this family but Hiro didn't care. He thought that this and all he knew about the typical Yakuza would be enough to face them.

He went into the district ruled by Toraga's and was waiting for the right moment in front of a grocery.

He sped up time because he was nervous and impatient. Very impatient. He was looking at the people coming into the store until two men arrived. Their bodies were full of tattoos and one of them was carrying a sword in his belt, like the samurai. They rushed into the grocery, with Hiro right after them. At the moment he stepped in, the one without a sword was holding a gun in front of the old shopkeeper's face. As he noticed Hiro, he turned around and fired a bullet towards him. Hiro stopped time to evade that, walked slowly to the other Yakuza, took the sword out of his hand and stabbed him in the stomach with his own sword. Then, he let it go again. The bullet hit the wall, and it took several moments for the Yakuza to realize what had happened. As his eyes met Hiro's ones, Hiro saw fear. He dropped his gun and tried to run out. Hiro teleported in front of him and closed the door.

"I want something from you." he said harshly.

"What?"

"Kimiko Nakamura. You took her. Tell me where she is and you'll be wherever you want to be."

"You're lying!" he shouted and jumped towards the gun. Naturally, Hiro got there first again.

"You won't be killing yourself."

"I can' t talk. I'll be dead if I do."

"I am the son of Kaito Nakamura. Like he did, I'll shield you from your enemies."

He looked up at Hiro and Hiro felt like he was respected now.

"Show me!" he said.

Hiro stopped time, grabbed his hand and teleported both of them to the top of the Empire State Building. Wind was blowing heavily and it took the Yakuza a few minutes to gain his balance.

"Where is she?"

"How do you do that?"

"Where is she?" he repeated.

"I'll tell you if you bring me to Hawaii."

Hiro bowed and did just that. There, as they had agreed, the Yakuza told him an address and that it is guarded.

Monica thought the storm and wind would do well for this city. It might be good to sweep out all the mess people had made. She spent the day looking around, looking for the ones responsible for this tragedy. But she didn't found too much. Sometimes, she saw some gang members at places well known to be ruled by them. But she found that there were too many of them to attack. And too well armed, too. She didn't learn how to evade gunshots and didn't have the confidence to try it. Sometimes she thought about small attacks but first, she wanted to see what the real deal was. This was a gang war the whole city had never seen before and without any obvious reason. She also tried to find policemen but she hasn't seen any patrols.

As she went back to the burned house, which she decided to be her headquarters, she was thinking without any stop. She tried to find some courage in her heart. She was still afraid. Last time she had used her powers, the consequences were tragic. But now, she used her gifts for good. Like a saint. Like Saint Joan.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice.

"Monica!" shouted Damon. She looked up and saw him running towards him. She also called out her name and they hugged each other like they haven't seen each other for years.

"Take me away, please!" whispered Damon, still hugging her and not letting her go.

"I will. But I have things to do here."

"Take me away from him!" He almost cried.

"From who?"

"Him." he said and looked behind her back.

Behind him, there was a man standing. He had many wrinkles on his face but no beard. He was dressed like a homeless but his face was painted white like he was wearing a mask.

"Who is this?" asked Monica.

"Nana gave me his address. But I don't understand anything he says."

For the first time, the man spoke, in French so Monica thought she had understood it. His voice was deep like a canyon.

"I am Wiklum. I am translator of the dead."

It didn't take a long time for Matt, after arriving in Albuquerque and putting Janice in safety to learn how many primary schools have been in the city. There weren't many of them so it also didn't take much time to find a pupil called Molly Walker.

As she saw him, she ran to her immediately, calling out his name.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

But Matt didn't answer. Instead, he said something else.

"I missed you." Then, he looked in her eyes. "I have a lot of stories to tell you. But first, we have to find a place to sleep, don't we?"

"I have someone coming for me." said Molly. "Here she is."

Matt turned around and saw a small, Asian woman who had an artificial arm. She looked surprised as she saw his face.

"If my informations are right, you are Matthew Parkman."

"Call me, Matt, Miss..."

"Wang. Wang M. D." They shook hands.

"Are you a doctor? That's great. I left my wife in a hospital. She's pregnant, you know..." He stopped as she looked insulted.

"I'm not interested in your wife, Matt. I'm dealing with your problems. Excuse me. If you want, you can follow me to the facility." She turned around and left.

Matt looked at Molly then at the back of the doctor.

"She's weird." he said quietly.

"Yes, she is." said Molly.

"Good evening, Denis." greeted Noah the old man in red coat, standing on the balcony of the old Bolshoi Theater. "I didn't know the outside balcony is open in this part of the year."

"Because it isn't." answered Denis as he turned around. His mustache was already white but his hair was still brown. He stared at Noah. "What do you want from me?"

"Information. You had an old friend. Konstantin Starnov."

"And?"

"He might have left you something."

"What could he leave me after Yanks like you have slaughtered him?"

"Heritage, for example. An important and dangerous heritage."

"Stop fooling me around!" he burst out. "Ask me something. Leave all the formal stuff.

Noah took a few steps, and looked out into the night. A few teenagers were walking on the place in front of the theater, probably drinking something. He took his gun.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to threat me?" asked Denis.

Noah neither answered, nor turned to him. He aimed and shot. One of the teenagers collapsed, the others ran away immediately. Then, Noah suddenly turned and ran towards Denis, pushed him to the wall of the theater, holding the gun to his stomach.

"I don't even know that girl and I killed her without any mercy. But I don't like you, Denis."

"What the hell do you want?" shouted Denis.

"Konstantin had a son." As he said these words, he was pulling Denis to the edge of the balcony and pushed him further down. "I must know where he is. Or any of his damned friends."

"What are you doing..."

"Talk or you die!" yelled Noah.

"OK, OK. I know one of them. His name is Vassily Siviliyov. He lives now here, in Moscow."

"Where?"

"Karenina Street 76. First floor. Now let me go, you bastard!"

"As you wish." said Noah. He let Denis fall down on the stairs. He looked at the corpse, then he viewed the street. As he expected, the teenager's body had disappeared and there were only a few drops of blood left.

Bob sighed as he stepped in his office. He hasn't really got used to the fact that it wasn't on the ground floor now, instead on the third. On the top of everything.

"Hi, Bob!" He heard Nathan Petrelli's voice. He looked up and saw that Nathan was looking through Primatech's files and he spilled some whiskey on the desk.

"How did you get in here?"

Nathan answered but didn't look up.

"It's hot here, isn't it? Did someone open a window?"

Bob looked there and saw that one of the windows was really open.

"And what are you doing here?" he asked.

"The same you have done to me. Taking your life."

"How do you mean that?" While speaking, he tried to pull his gun. But Nathan's reaction was quicker. Before Bob could shoot, he jumped up, flew towards him and pushed him into th wall so strongly that Bob dropped the gun from his hand.

"What do you think who will inherit Primatech?" he hissed. "It was the idea of my parents. And now that you've successfully murdered me..."

"It wasn't me!" shouted Bob.

"Legally, I can't inherit it, of course. But it's mine. It's my heritage. And I'll find a way to do the right things. For the good of all of us. I'm the one who can do that." During this, Nathan pulled Bob to the window. The two flew out, up into the sky and Nathan pushed him away as fast as he could.