Chapter 16: The other side

Maybe it's not much more than a snooker game that destiny is playing with us. We often ask the question what determines our fate and our future. To find all these answers, we can only do one thing: turn to the past. We should enlist all the people, all the impressions, everything we've ever experienced. Only then can we know what shapes our decisions when we hear the call.

"So, this thing really tells the future?" asked Peter. He looked through the strings many times, looking for clues but he hasn't found anything.

Nicolai nodded.

"Where are we then?"

He pointed at a part where two strings, a darker and a lighter blue, were running besides each other.

"I am the..."

"The lighter one." he answered. "But first, I'll tell you another story." He put his hand on the dark blue string and began to walk away from Peter, to the strings representing the past.

Nicolai was very interested and a bit annoyed, too. After living most of his life of the cold Russia, he didn't like the climate of a country like Bolivia. He watched the meeting of the three creole men from a higher building near the place but he didn't take his eyes off his target. After the threesome decided to go separate ways, he ran down and walked a few meters behind Rios. He walked into an empty alleyway. Did he have another meeting, wondered Nicolai. The next moment, he turned back, jumped towards him and pushed his mouth to Nicolai's. For seconds, he held it there but nothing extraordinary happened. After he had woken up from the surprise, Nicolai attacked back and pushed him on the ground.

"Why are you following me?" he asked.

"Damned strange ability you have, my friend." answered Nicolai.

Rios stopped fighting and stared at him.

"How do you know that?" asked Rios, with a small Spanish accent.

"I have one, too, my rebel friend."

"Show me! And you're not my friend."

"I've already done that. Your ability didn't work, didn't it?" Rios nodded. "And, I am your friend. I'm just like you and I've some bad experiences about that."

"How could you? Your ability is unnoticeable."

"My father was murdered because he was different. Do you anything about being different, Reginald? If I see it right, you have. But you have many gifts. And so many things to do."

"What things?" he asked curiously.

"With your help, we can change the world. Forever. We'll never have to be ashamed because we are different. Or we might say special."

Nathan wasn't really proud of what he had done. But it wasn't pure revenge. He knew Bob and knew himself. They were both dedicated to do the right. The problem was, that they weren't on the same opinion. He flew back to the office and made the first steps to become the real leader of Primatech. He looked through Bob's files. First, he took out and old friend's one.

"Give me a beer." whispered Matt. He didn't want to be heard by too many customers. "And some information about Nolan Jefferson."

"Who the hell?" the barman asked but Matt was listening to his thoughts. "I must alert him with Caylynn. He could get out on the kitchen door before this cop gets a smell of him." he thought.

"Nolan Jefferson." answered Matt calmly. He knew what he was coming for. "It's a pity." he said as he received his beer. "I might have a job for him.

"He haven't been here for a long time." the barman said as Matt was going away.

He went out, to the streets, to the alley where guessed the back door was. After a few minutes, he saw a door opening and a man moving out. He jumped out with the gun in his hand and yelled. "Freeze! Hands up!"

There wasn't too much light, in fact, it wasn't enough. He didn't see Nolan's face and he only saw one of his hands. So Nolan snapped the scourge-like thing in his other hand. The string picked Matt"s flesh and caused so much pain that he couldn't think and dropped the gun, too. Nolan stepped closer to him. Now, Matt saw his face. He grew a beard and his face was thicker and paler than on the photo of him at the police. He pressed the string harder, pulled out another one from his pocket, reeled it around Matt's neck and threw the other end of it on the nearby street lamp. He pulled Matt there and bound it like a rope.

"That'll be the destiny of any cop coming after me." he hissed and pulled the string so Matt was lifted up from the ground. But he let the other one looser and Matt tried to concentrate on him. Suggesting Nolan to let him go. To let everyone go. Nolan got to his head.

"What are you doing to me?" he whispered. Matt tried harder and the pinch got a bit looser.

"Let me go." he suggested. "Let everyone go."

Nolan released the string, sat down and started crying. Matt slowly picked up his gun and looked for something to cover his bleeding hand. But he still didn't get to close to Nolan He didn't know why but he felt with him. So he decided to go Sabine's bed first, although he could only hope for the best.

Nicolai took another string in his hands. A bright orange one.

There were only two people left at the poker table. It looked like a masquerade, with one of them wearing a sombrero and a poncho, the other one dressed like a punk rock star. They got the cards and both checked. They were staring at each other, although the latter player was wearing sunglasses. They both checked. The flop came up. There were two kings and and ace in it. They had made great bids before the turn came. Jack. The guy dressed like an hombre put all his money in and the other called. The dealer put the last card on the table but before he could turn it up, the rock star put his hand on the dealer's hand.

"Please, let it go, Mister... aaaaaaahhh!" he shouted as his hand began to burn.

"I hate cheaters." hissed Michael. With these words, he pulled a piece of a chair's leg out of his coat, ignited it in a second and threw it in the Mexicano's body. Then, he punched the dealer's face, left him crying in agony and took the money. A middle-aged man in a brown jacket appeared behind him, applauding slowly.

"Impressive, Michael. Pretty impressive."

"One for the show, amigo." he said. He threw a dollar on the hombre's corpse, burning.

"Honestly, do you enjoy this?" asked Nicolai.

"Honestly, I do. Now let's get out of here before it gets really hot. I hope you won't step in my way."

"After this, Michael? I wouldn't recommend it to anyone."

Nathan put away Matt's life. He knew that Matt will always stay on the side of the good guys. He was a cop in his soul. He decided to look for another file. Until he had found another very familiar name. Claire Bennet. He was surprised that the label said 'On mission'.

Father and daughter, they were together. Just before they reached their home, his cell phone rang. He was wondering who could call him so early in the morning, since it was about 7 o'clock. He had to realize that it was Bob.

"What's it?" he asked but he felt that Claire hugged him.

"How about going on a business trip again?" Noah suddenly felt the hug vanishing in one moment.

"You told me there will be no more." he hissed.

"For a while. But circumstances have changed. And things aren't getting better. The Haitian was captured on his last mission and you do know his importance."

"And what about Claire's importance now, Bob?" he argued.

"This wasn't our agreement." he said as he raised his voice. "And speaking of her, could you give the phone to her?"

"After all that happened tonight?" asked Noah.

"After that. Give me Claire."

He didn't know any better. He looked at Claire, looked in her eyes, her face that told him she was so innocent and distracted. And she will now feel betrayed again and he had no one to blame for that except himself. He was wondering about his new partner. Who will it be? He knew most of them from the last years, but he couldn't imagine any of them on his side. The phone beeped as Claire put it down. She was still staring at it.

"Dad!" she whispered.

"What's the matter, Claire?"

"We're partners." Noah thought he could blow the whole car up with his anger.

"But how does this make an effect on the future?" asked Peter.

"Soon, you'll see." answered Nicolai, picked another string an began to tell another story.

"There's only one left, Byron." said the secretary of the company Byron was working for.

"Another one?" asked he. He was very tired. He had many meetings, most of them successful and he even had the others under control. He didn't make the deals because he didn't want to.

"He wanted a meeting with you and only you." answered she. "He's in your office."

Byron went in and took a look of him. He was mid-aged, wore a suit that was made definitely for him.

"So, what can I offer you and for your budget?" asked Byron.

The man opposite him smiled. Byron looked into the window of his office, to see what he is thinking of. What his future, or maybe their future holds. But he didn't see anything.

"I'm not here to talk about financing, Byron."

As he called his name, Byron was really confused. Seeing the future was his ability. And no one else could make that.

"I'm here to talk about much more." After this sentence, he began to whisper. "I know why are you looking in that window. You see more in there than the mess on it, you know."

"What are you talking about?" asked Byron. He was surprised how afraid he was. And he had just met this man the first time.

"You have an incredible gift. You've used it for your own, personal gain. But we both know that you can make a difference in the world. You just have to accept your role."

"That's the point." said Byron, keeping his voice down. "I don't see my profit in it. I have a life, a style, a job and I'm a pro."

"And wouldn't you give it up if you could be someone like Jesus Christ?" He looked deep in Byron's eyes and asked. "Are you interested?"

Nathan didn't know what to do. He knew that his daughter was out there but he didn't know if he should call her back. She thought she was well protected with Noah beside her. He swept down the files as well as he swept away his thoughts. After a few minutes, he grabbed the first file he had seen. The name on it was Molly Walker.

"Who's this?" asked curiously.

"Mohinder gave me this picture." answered Molly. "He wanted me to find him. But I couldn't."

"What should that mean?" she asked. She felt like something was waiting in her head to erupt.

"He's dead." stated Molly harshly. "I know there's no hope but I keep..."

"Could you come down to the lab?" she asked suddenly.

"Why?"

"I need something from you."

"No needles, please." she said.

"No needles. Just come, please."

They ran as fast as they could. Molly said something but Wang simply didn't hear it. Her mind was elsewhere. As they reached the lab, she sat to her computer. It didn't take a minute for her to find what she was looking for. On the monitor, there was an image of the Haitian from the Company's assignment tracker.

"Could you think about him?" asked Wang.

Molly seemed to concentrate.

"I can't find him, either." she said sadly. "But he's alive, isn't he?" she asked when she looked in the doctor's eyes.

"As far as I know, he's definitely alive. And he has an ability to block other's abilities."

"Be my guest, Peter." whispered Nicolai. "Let me show my brothers and sisters in faith."

He took another few steps backwards and looked at a gray string.

Generally, he didn't like to leave the barracks. It meant something like home for her. He had spent so many time training, practicing with weapons, he couldn't really imagine what he should do outside. But this time, he knew someone was waiting for him. It was a very cold winter, especially in St. Petersburg, so he could hardly recognize the person. He wore so many coats that his face could hardly be seen.

"What do you want from me?" asked he harshly. He was thinking about this situation all the way and he still didn't like it. He wanted to go back to familiar grounds.

The man threw a file to him. From his moves, he looked a bit angry or disappointed. He looked into Vassily's eyes, then to the file.

Vassily slowly opened it. The first thing he was surprised of, that it was from the KGB. He opened it and saw his own image.

Anger burst in him in a moment. He wanted to know where did this man get this file from but he decided not to ask. He moved his hand, trying to choke him. And it didn't work.

"You're not Ivan Dussov, Vassily." Hearing his own name barely made Vassily freeze. He was more used to lieutenant Dussov. Plan A didn't work so he picked plan B. He couldn't shoot so he asked.

"How did you get that?"

"As you see. KGB stuff. But there is more. I'm like you, Vassily. That's why you can't hurt me without a gun. And that's why I'm here. Because I became an orphan exactly the same way like you did."

"How do you know that? Prove it to me." he hissed.

"I'm Nicolai Starnov. You can check that if you want but if you will, it won't matter. My father was killed in front of my eyes and I know that yours made pretty many measures to hide you. Just like mine."

"Why are you saying this? He's dead, long time ago."

"Because I know how you feel, Vassily. And, more important, I've found their murders. And I want them pay."

The direction of Vassily's anger changed. Nicolai was probably right. He knew his parents were killed but had never told that to anyone. If he had the chance, he would do exactly the same. And now, the chance came right to his door.

Though he didn't know the girl, Nathan immediately realized that she will be useless. She can find Peter, anywhere in the world. In the given situation, she might have the most useful ability of them all. He knew this name should be remembered. He looked through the files again until he found a familiar name again. Sanders, but not Niki, Micah. He remembered to that night in Vegas. Niki told him she had a son, a boy genius. This was probably not a coincidence.

"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.

"He might be one of my most trusted friends." whispered Nicolai.

Thorsten relaxed. He was able to do that. He was a computer programmer but with the help of his ability, he did several people's work in a few minutes. He loved machines, especially computers and he had thought many times that machines understand him better than people. Naturally, he didn't told anyone about this.

"A playground, isn't it?" asked someone behind him.

"Who are you?" shouted Thorsten as he turned back and saw a young man, a bit smaller than himself.

"Amazing how you handle them."

"What do you mean?" he asked angrily.

"In the beginning, it was nothing more than chaos. But I think that you see the system in it. It's like building blocks for you."

"Who are you?" asked he again.

"My name is Nicolai and I know a lot about you."

"I see that."

"For example that your father was murdered but was resourceful enough to hide you well away."

"I thought information is my weapon."

"You're not the only one but you're certainly a skilled user of it."

"Are you like me?" he asked, looking curious.

"Something like that. But if you want it, I'll show you. I'm eager to work with someone like you."

Another big game, thought Nathan. He's just realized what a treasure this family is. They are worth much more than he could have imagined. After he had found Peter, he must be sure that the couple of them is on his side. In just a moment, he suddenly someone who was also known. Hiro Nakamura. He picked up the file.

"Nathan Petrelli? Flying man?" he said weakly. "How could he die?" he whispered.

"He was shot." she answered coldly. "But with your help we can bring him back."

"Bring him back? How?" he was shocked by both the fact and her voice.

"I need you to teleport out his corpse then teleport us back to the facility." she instructed him.

"Why? He's dead now." he remembered his father. "Gone. Forever."

"You can't say that." she said. "He was a brave man. Someone who could save the world. We do need someone like him."

"You think he is more important to me than my father?" he argued. "If I didn't save Kaito Nakamura I will not save Nathan Petrelli, either."

"Well, we can make a deal about that. We bring back Nathan Petrelli and then we'll bring back your father, too."

Hiro was afraid. Can he accept a proposal like that? Can his personal love overwrite the bushido code?

"Will you help us, Hiro?" she asked. "All of us. Including your father."

He was confused. And then he said "Yes."

Hiro did everything he was told to. He teleported the slowly rotting corpse out and back to the Company's facility.

"Good." she said after they had laid down Nathan's body on the ground. Hiro has never a corpse before so his stomach was jumping up and down constantly.

The door of the room opened and two people entered it. Both looked like doctors dressed for a surgery. The first one was a small, old, bearded white man, carrying a metal bag and the second was tall, black and bald. The older doctor knelled down to examine the body and after that he opened the bag. There were several medicinal needles in it, filled with some red fluid, probably blood. The second man stepped to Hiro.

"You don't help?" asked Hiro from him.

"Yes, I will." answered the Haitian calmly and put his fingers on Hiro's forehead.

"Like it was ordered." said the agent. "Everything from the call of the boss."

Nicolai ended up in on of the room's corners.

He had been looking at the blond, pretty woman for many hours, even many days. She was so innocent, playing with all the small kids. But she had something to hide. And he knew something about that. And he wanted to learn from himself. He wanted to know why did he choose her first from her father's files. After she had finished for this day, Nicolai stepped to her and asked her.

"May I disturb you?"

"Are you the father of Mischa?" she asked back.

"No, I'm not. In fact, I don't know him." He began to whisper. "I know your not just a simple kindergarten employee."

"What do you mean?"

"You know that. You have something extraordinary. It might be something that you don't find normal."

For the first time, she looked in his eyes. She didn't say a word but she looked like she was near crying.

"What is that, Irina? What can you do?"

"When I think..." she stammered. "When I think about someone, I can hear every noise around that person. What she speaks, what she hears, even the cars or the TV." Tears appeared in her eyes.

"It's OK. You're not a freak or something like that and I'll show you. Think about someone."

She closed her eyes. After a few moments, she opened them wide.

"I can't here anything. How..."

"That's what I can do." answered Nicolai.

"You mean there are others like me?"

"And I want to find them just like I've found you." answered he, adding a nod.

Nathan's mood changed again, and this was the most drastic time. He didn't care about Bob any more. Bob did lie to him. He was dead, he was buried and that's how he got his life back. But he should have said this before. It could have changed things. About how he feels. But now, it didn't change anything important. It just made him angry, filled him with pain.

He swept lots of files down from the table and cried for many minutes. Even after that, it was hard to force himself to look at the first file in front of his eyes. The name was Claude Rains and there was also a label, saying: "Waiting for reactivating. Sent to lab."

He wanted to see what that meant. He called the elevator and got down to the ground floor. There, he was stopped by a short, mid-aged security guard.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Petrelli. Can I help you?" he asked.

"Let me in the lab. I'm in charge now.