Captured

Never in his life Noah Bennet would have thought that he would be glad for the fact that the Company was back in business again. But over the course of this last week it truly had proven to be a great help to have it here. First it had provided them with a place to test how to take down Nobody and now it had provided them with what they needed to keep this other monster contained.

Lassiter´s men had been able to tag him but to bag him and to keep him in a cell they hadn´t had the necessary tools. The Company had. And now at least one serial killer was save behind bars. Or better behind a glass wall, strapped to a stretcher with a hose in his nose. And as soon as the medics were ready, this hose would be replaced by a more permanent infusion tool, somewhere at the back of his head. Sylar wouldn´t come back out of this cell to see the sunlight for a very long time.

Noah opened the door that led out of the cell sector and stepped out into the outer office. And immediately found himself in the middle of a heated argument.

„ … did what we had to do." Lassiter shouted angrily at the two other men.

„That … was not necessary, detective." the scientist cried back, still angry about that stubborn behavior of this man, that just refused to think reasonable. „You´re wasting valuably resources on him while your true danger is still out there. Sylar´s not the enemy this time."

„His name is Sylar and he came to my station." Lassiter summarized, telling him his idea of the word reasonable. „More I don´t need to know."

„He didn´t come to fight." Mohinder replied. „What you´re doing is irrational. There is a man out there who´s much more dangerous. He´s planning a slaughter. No one will be save anymore and next time he attacks it might hit someone closer to you than a random detective."

At this Lassiter gave up on trying to argue and just walked in on the geneticist. Mohinder didn´t skip back and in the end it needed Peter to step between them to keep them from jumping at each others throats.

„I´d never believed that I would see the day when you stand up for Sylar, doctor." Bennet said.

„I´m not standing up for Sylar." Mohinder replied fiercely. „I´m stating facts. The real culprit is still out there and he won´t stop now just because you´ve arrested Sylar."

„He´s right." Peter supported him. „Maybe we should start thinking about other options."

„Like what?" Lassiter snapped. „Actually considering to let this man run free now that we finally have him?"

„When Mohinder says that Sylar came her to help, I believe him." the younger man stated.

„Sure." Lassiter snorted. „You also believe in the easter bunny. And I thought Spencer was the biggest idiot I ever met."

„Think about it, detective." Peter insisted. „All our own tries to stop this man have failed. We didn´t accomplish anything. Quiet the contrary, he even caused more damage and more victims since we started. Things will get worse if we don´t find a way to stop him very soon."

„We´ll find a way." Lassiter assured him.

„Ah, yeah?" Peter replied. „Which way? Huh? Tell me your plan. Sylar is the most powerful human being I know …"

„Another reason not to let him out anymore." Lassiter talked over him. „He´s a murderer."

„He could stop Nobody." Peter insisted. „He might be the only one who can stop him."

„He´s right." Bennet heard himself say, much to the detective´s surprise.

„What?" Lassiter cried. „Are you serious? You were the one who told me how dangerous this guy is. That we should rather kill him than ever trust him."

„And my opinion about him hasn´t changed." Bennet affirmed, still a little surprised himself about the fact that he considered Peter´s point of view. „But Peter is right." he stated. „Sylar is the only one who could match Nobody and in our current situation, we would be more than just stupid to ignore that asset."

„I´m not going to cut him a deal." Lassiter stated in a low tone. „Forget it."

Noah lay his head askew. „If he´s really willing to help us with this …"

„He is." Mohinder assured him. „Ask him. Talk to him, you´ll see that he means it."

For a moment there was pure silence between them all. Noah could feel the reluctance in his police friend´s mind. But in the end even Carlton had to give in against the majority and start considering what they were suggesting. He still looked reserved though when he nodded his head.

„All right." he said. „I´ll t talk to him. But I´ll do it alone. If he doesn´t convince me … he stays where he is. And that forever."

...

There was a sound in that empty allay. A thudding sound. It came again and again. First it had been unsteady but by now it was almost regular. And it had changed its sound a little since it had started. By now it sounded wet, every hit accompanied by the angry grunting of the hitter.

Nobody had lost count on how often he´d punched this asshole by now. It had been a pizza deliverer who´d had the bad luck to take a short cut through this very allay. Nobody had dragged him off his bike and had beaten the living crap out of him. Literally. By now the guy didn´t even look like a human anymore. And still Nobody didn´t feel better. He was still ready to punch him to hell. But what good was that for? There was barely something left to punch on that asshole anyway.

He let go of him and looked at his arms. They were covered in blood up to his elbows. But this time the blood on his skin didn´t make him feel better. He just wanted to punch something. And he did. He hit the wall with his fist. Again and again. After a while there was a hole in that wall and he stopped.

No. Not like this. If he wanted to smash a building, he should do it with something more productive than a random backyard wall. He should do something to really leave an impression. On all of them, so they would see who really made the rules.

And now that he thought about it … that was actually a good idea.

He should have known that there was nothing good in this world. Sylar had betrayed him. Sylar. The man for whom he´d done all these things, the man he´d wanted to honor with these things. He had talked as if he were one of them. He had chosen the other side. He had betrayed him. He.

Never in his life had Nobody felt so betrayed like in this moment. He´d worshipped this man. And now? Sylar had chosen the other side. He wanted to be his enemy. All right then. So be it. If he wanted to go down with them, he would go down with them.

Vermin. Nothing but vermin. All of them. And Sylar had truly chosen to be one of them. Oh, how much Nobody wanted to crush them all. Crush the vermin and show them how low they really were. And now that he thought about it … that was actually a good idea. He even knew how he would do it.

Oh, they would never forget that day, he would make sure of it. They would remember it as the day when Nobody´s wrath started to come over the world. And Santa Barbara would only be the beginning of it.

...

The killer was strapped to a stretcher, like a patient in a mental hospital. There was a hose in his nose and an IV standing next to him. His eyes were open and when he heard the door, he turned his head aside a little. One wide eye looked at Lassiter but other than that there was no movement. The sedativa didn´t allow any more.

Lassiter pushed a button and made the stretcher move upwards so the killer could see him. But even more important for him was, that he could see the killer´s eyes. For what he wanted to know he needed to see him clearly. When the stretcher was almost in an upright position, he stopped its movement. Sylar seemed dizzy but after a few moments he seemed to get a grip again.

Lassiter couldn´t help but was strangely reminded of Silence of the Lambs seing him like that. Strapped to something that easily could have been a sack barrow, standing in a cell that had no bars but a glass wall … the only thing that was missing was the facemask.

The detective cursed in silence and blamed Spencer and his stupid eighties and nineties references for this unhelpful thought. Sylar was looking at him and he obviously waited for him to start the talk. Lassiter was only too glad to do him the favor. This time he had the upper hand and he intended to keep it that way. No matter what Noah and the others said. This son of a bitch would never convince him about anything. He was the lowest scum that there was and nothing would change that opinion. Ever.

„Tell me one thing." Lassiter demanded. „Why did you really come back here?"

Sylar seemed to need a moment to understand the question, but then he answered.

„I saw the news." he said in a sluggish voice. „About the attack at the station. I was worried about Shawn and Juliet."

„So you were worried." Lassiter repeated, not buying it a single bit.

„I thought I could help." Sylar told him. „Catch that guy. He was doing these things in my name, so I was responsible."

Lassiter just smiled. „I don´t believe you." he said it straight.

Sylar smiled a groggy smile and nodded slightly. „That´s all right." he said. „I didn´t expect you to. That´s not in your nature. Never negotiating with criminals. Especially not with a murderer like me."

Lassiter stared at this killer in utter disbelieve. That was not what he´d expected him to say. He would have expected him to come up with all kinds of ridiculous arguments to prove to him that he was wrong about him, that he was a good guy now with good intentions. But instead he´d frankly used the word murderer to describe himself. And he seemed to know very well that he wouldn´t be able to convince him, Lassiter, about anything.

„Then why did you come to the station, when you knew that?" the detective now asked him startled. „You can´t tell me that you didn´t expect this to happen."

Sylar smiled weakly. „Of course I knew that." he said. „I knew it before you even suggested I should come to the station."

„Then why did you come?" Lassiter demanded to know. „You thought you could overpower us?"

„No. Be honest, detective. Did I even try? We both know I could have."

Now Lassiter didn´t understand anything anymore. „Then why …?"

„Because someone had to make the first move." Sylar talked over him. „You see? Mohinder was right. I can´t do this all on my own. If I´d try I wouldn´t be able to stop myself. Because of the hunger. This man you seek has an ability …"

„We know that by now."

„I would be tempted by it." Sylar explained. „I wouldn´t be able to control it if I faced him alone. I felt it this last time already."

„You are aware of the fact that you´re telling me to keep you locked up with that." Lassiter mentioned.

„No." Sylar denied this. „I could help you stop him."

„Why should I believe you?"

„Because it´s true. You tried everything you could. But he´s still too strong. That´s not your fault, Nobody is simply too powerful, too invincible. And too insane to care about anything. I know how that feels. I was like that."

Lassiter gave the killer in the cell a face. He´d just proven to him that his first opinion about him had been right after all. No further argument when the killer confessed that he was a killer that could never stop being a killer. Case closed.

Sylar seemed to read all this in his face though and of course he shook his head.

„When I flew into that black hole, I thought … I knew that I was going to die." he told him. „Yet I didn´t. I don´t know why. Maybe I was spared so I could come back here and stop this madman. I´d like to believe that. That there is a reason for me to still be alive. I´d like to believe that I´ve been given a new chance. To start over. To give new purpose to my life. There is enough evil in this world already. Nobody proves it." He looked at Lassiter with the most disturbing and intense gaze Lassiter thought he´d ever seen. „I can stop him, detective." he now told him. „Please, let me try. Let me help."

For a moment, Lassiter was unsure what to think. „How am I supposte to know if I can trust you?" he asked him.

And again he was surprised with a response that he hadn´t expected. Instead of telling him all the ridiculous reasons why he should trust him, Sylar just shook his head as if he wasn´t sure himself.

„Just trust your instincts, detective." he said. „It´ll give you the answer."

Lassiter looked in the eyes of the killer before him and just didn´t know what to say. He didn´t even know what to think anymore. If there was something that he hated more than being tricked, then it was being tricked and not feeling like he was being tricked.

But how could that not be a trick? This was Sylar, after all. The killer. The one that had tried to kill his partner. The one who had killed dozens and dozens of other innocent people, some of them just for fun. But still, what he saw in this man´s eyes right now, seemed almost … honest. Lassiter was confused.

He´d come here to make a decision – although he´d thought the decision had been clear long before he even walked in here – and now he was far too confused to even think properly. But then something new happened and the decision was taken out of his hand. Almost. The door went open and his partner rushed in, closely followed by Spencer and Guster.

„Carlton." she cried.

All three of them were visibly on the edge but when they saw Sylar bound to this upright stretcher, they all halted for a very startled moment.

„Wow." Gus exclaimed.

„Hello … Dr. Lecter?" Shawn said.

Sylar smiled. „Hello, Shawn." he greeted.

„What is it, O´Hara?" Lassiter demanded to know and gratefully his partner came back to her senses at once.

„We just got a call that someone broke into the military base." she told him. „There´s no confirmed identification of who it was but …"

„It was Nobody, of course." Shawn cried as if they´d been over this more than just once.

„Who else would it be?" Guster agreed with him.

„He killed three soldiers." Juliet went on. „Much more are wounded."

Next to her Shawn was jumping up and down by now, obviously not okay with that detailed report she gave.

„He stole a tank." he cried out the real essential information. „We need to do something."

„He´s on the way to the city." Juliet added, much calmer but not less concerned.

„Son of a bitch." Lassiter cursed.

„You´ve got to let me out." Sylar urged once again, now obviously more awake than he´d been before as if these new information had worn out some of the drugs in his system. But that was actually something Lassiter could understand. He felt the rush of it too.

„I can stop him." Sylar now repeated and held Lassiter´s gaze urgently. „I can put an end to this, detective."

„We don´t have the time to stand here and chat." Shawn urged them all even more. „Lassie. What are we gonna do?"

Lassiter threw one last glance at the killer in the cell. „Get the cars." he then ordered. „We´re moving out."

...

The inner city of Santa Barbara, usually a place where people strolled along the street and enjoyed the sunlight, had turned into a warzone within only a few minutes. It wasn´t hard to make such a change happen that fast when a tank was rolling through the streets, shooting projectiles into shop windows once in a while and crashing cars under its heavy weight.

People were running away, screaming for someone to help and save them, but no one was coming. There was no police car around that could do anything. Not anymore. The two black and whites that had crossed the way of this tank, had been blown up and were now burning in the street it had left behind.

Now the tank drove up and over another car, crushing its roof and sending dozens of shards of glass into the street when the windows burst. Metal shrieked and wheels exploded. The tank just drove on as if it had crossed a little stone on the ground.

The street ahead was clear, the people that had been running away, were already gone, hidden or simply running somewhere else. But still the street wasn´t completely deserted. There were three cars blocking the way. A blue Crown Vick, a silver Nissan and a small blue Toyota Echo. The passengers that belonged to those cars were standing around their vehicles as if a combined line of them could actually stop this tank from driving right through them.

Of course it wouldn´t and they knew it. But something else would. Someone else.

When the muzzle of the tank aimed at them and shot, Sylar held up his hand and stopped the projectile in midair just before it could reach them. Without letting it out of his sight, he raised two fingers of his other hand and the tank, so far unstoppable and mighty, was raised off the ground and made a perfect somersault. It landed on its roof with a loud crushing noise right in the middle of the street. The other members of this roadblock could actually feel the impact in their soles, running up the bones of their legs.

After the tank was lying still, Sylar turned his attention back to the projectile before him. With a gesture of his hand, he sent it flying up into the air until it was high above them in the sky. He kept his eyes trained on it, his hand over his head as if he wanted to pick it off like an apple from the tree. Then he closed his fist and after a few seconds spread his fingers wide. The projectile exploded in the air.

„Holy crap." Shawn cried and ducked down. „Seriously dude?"

Sylar only smiled at him.

Peter and Suresh dismissed the whole thing and started to run. The tank was still dangerous no matter in what position. The tank gun was already moving again to find a new target. The two Specials grabbed it and with their combined more than average human strength, they bowed it around until it was no threat anymore.

Quickly and with their weapons drawn, Lassiter, Juliet and Bennet approached the tank, taking positions around it like a well trained team. Shawn and Gus stood between them like audience in a live action show. And in some way they were.

The two Specials stepped back from the tank now. Sylar waited for the signal and when Bennet nodded at him, he moved his hand and made the tank turn around again, putting it back on its feet. Immediately after it sat down, Peter threw Mohinder the gas grenade and the scientist took one strong leap to get up at the tank.

Sylar hurried to follow him. It was not a good idea to let him open that hatch on his own. If Nobody would come out and fight, he would need help.

„Careful." he told him.

Mohinder glanced up at him, his hands already on the hatch. They didn´t need to say a word, to come to an agreement. Sylar held out his hand, preparing to open the hatch telekinetically and waited for the scientist to pull the pin of the grenade. When he did, he opened the hatch and Mohinder threw the smoking item into the tank. Sylar closed it, leaning over the hatch to keep it closed, just in case Nobody should try to get out.

For a while nothing happened. They waited, giving the gas time to take out the man inside of that tank. It shouldn´t need too long to accomplish that. It was only tear gas but it was a small space in there. The more surprising it was that there wasn´t even a knock coming from the inside.

Sylar and Mohinder exchanged a tensed glance.

„What is that?" Lassiter asked. „Why is he not trying to get out?"

„Maybe he´s already unconscious." Juliet guessed.

„Or he wants us to think that so he can surprise us when we open the hatch." Bennet argued, never letting the tank out of his sight.

„He´s only so strong." Peter recalled. „You remember the tests. It will effect him."

„Except if he would have a mask in there." Bennet mentioned.

„A tank is too tight for a gas mask to fit in there." Lassiter replied and threw an uncertain glance at Juliet. „Right?"

She could only shrug. Just because her brother was a soldier he expected her to know such things but she didn´t. They all looked at the tank again. Waiting. Shawn was probably the only one who took the time to have a look around instead. And that was a good thing, otherwise he might have missed a very important detail.

„Wow, guys, this isn´t good." he cried and immediately raised his hand to his temple. „I´m getting something."

„Spencer, not now." Lassiter growled, trying to keep his eyes focused on the tank.

Sylar exchanged another glance with Mohinder and he saw the same uncertainty in the scientist´s eyes. Something was wrong and they both knew it by now. Sylar attempted to open the hatch.

„No, I really think you want to hear that." Shawn insisted and when Sylar opened the hatch, he shouted: „HE´S NOT IN THERE!"

The smoke inside the tank made it hard to see very much but Sylar didn´t need to see. He just knew that Shawn was right. The tank was empty.

„He´s right." he turned around to the others. „He isn´t in there."

Lassiter took his gun down. „What the hell?"

„I sense that his real target wasn´t the city." Shawn cried, his hand on his temple.

„Then what the hell was his target?" Lassiter demanded to know.

Instead of answering the question, Shawn only turned around and looked ahead at the street signs. One of them read hospital to the right, another one Santa Barbara Zoo to the left and the third one read: Chemical factory, straight ahead. And it was surely not the Zoo Nobody was heading for.

„Son of a bitch." Lassiter cursed and rushed back to his car.

Within only twenty seconds they were all back in the cars and driving down the street that led to the factory.

„What is this factory doing?" Lassiter asked while he was rushing down the street.

„Ehm … insecticides." Juliet answered him.

Lassiter cursed and then grabbed his radio. „This is chief Lassiter." he barked into it. „Send a unit to the city to take care of that tank. We´re on our way to …" But before he could say any more, Bennet´s hand shot forward to stop him.

„Don´t tell them." he cried.

„What?"

„If you send a bunch of police cars to the factory, you practically ask Nobody to blow the damn thing up at once." the Company man explained. „If you don´t want him to know that we´re coming …"

„He knows that we´re coming." Lassiter cried. „He would be pretty stupid if he wouldn´t expect that."

„But so far he thinks he´s ahead of us." Noah insisted on his argument. „And if you don´t want him to poison the city with a cloud of bug extermination, you should let him believe that as long as possible."

„That won´t buy us more than a few minutes if it comes to it." Juliet pointed out.

„If it comes to it, a few minutes might make the essential difference." was all Bennet said.

Over the radio the voice of the officer called out: „Chief Lassiter? Come in, please. Chief? Where are you going?"

Lassiter hesitated, looking at Bennet in the rearview mirror. The Company man looked back at him with an intense gaze that urged him to listen to his suggestions.

„We´re going to follow a lead." Lassiter reported at last. „I let you know more as soon as I´m there. Over and out." With that he switched the radio off and hung it back into its place.

Again he met the gaze of the Company man in the mirror.

„I hope you know what you´re doing." he said.