BURNING THE PICKET FENCE
Part 39 – The Boding Tempest

Primatech Headquarters, Hartsdale NY
June 27, 1990

"Ok Elle, let's try this one more time." Dr. Zimmerman implored the girl; an edge of aggravation filtered through his voice.

"No!" She shook her head vigorously as frightened tears ran from her sky blue eyes down her pink cheeks.

In an attempt to regain composure Zimmerman exhaled closing his eyes before kneeling in front the clearly frightened child. "Elle; we have been through this before. You have a wonderful gift. Your daddy and Mr. Linderman want to know how much you are capable of."

Elle clutched tightly to her doll. "I don't want to. It hurts!"

To the eye Elle was the perfect child. Long blonde hair was in two pony tails tied with ribbons offseting her sweet face. But it was her dangerous gift that set her apart from the other children and her father was determined to prove to all Elle was the best. Although he felt for the girl, he also knew that failure to complete the testing would create consequences he knew would prove humiliating and potentially painful. "Just once more."

The frightened girl turned away from him sobbing. They both jumped as Sarah burst through the door emitting powerful airstream which sent all of Dr. Zimmerman's syringes and paperwork flew off his work table. "Leave her alone!" She shouted venomously.

Zimmerman was frightened by Sarah's ability, but was not about to be intimidated by a nine-year-old. "Now Sarah. We have been through this already with you. The people who run this company want to see what you girls can do…"

"Well they can all eat shit and so can you!" She shouted as she held out a protective hand to Elle. "Common Elle."

Elle slowly stood up moving toward Sarah.

Zimmerman held out his hands in an attempt to calm her. "Now Sarah, there is no call for that type of language. I'm not going to hurt Elle…"

Sarah grabbed Elle's hand and ran with her out the door. "Girls! Stop!" Zimmerman shouted.

Sarah stopped briefly. She flung forward her fingers sending Zimmerman flailing into a glass medicine cabinet. Taking Elle's hand again, the girls ran down the hall stopping in front of a closet. "In here." She telekinetically opened the door taking Elle inside.

Once inside, Sarah carefully helped Elle crawl under a pile of towels being careful to allow her space to breathe. Elle looked up at her with her big blue eyes like frightened saucers as Sarah held her finger up to her lips telling her to keep quiet. Elle nodded.

Once Elle was safely hidden Sarah stood waiting; her hands clenched in fists. A protective sneer slowly grew across her face as she heard footsteps approaching the door.

"Sarah! Open this door immediately!" She heard Zimmerman pounding.

"Make me!" She shouted audaciously.

"Break the door down." She heard him tell some guards.

Her face twisted into a malevolent sneer as the door broke off its hinges and the guards burst through. She held up her fists flinging them outward sending, the guards and Zimmerman into a glass window where they lay wounded.

Sarah laughed proud of her efforts ran to the towel pile where she had hidden Elle. "Let's go."

Elle threw the towels off of her and crawled out. She looked at the broken door then noted the broken window across the hall as she heard footsteps coming down the hall. She looked up at Sarah wide-eyed. "Oh no! We are going to be in so much trouble?"

"So what else is new?" She gave a nonchalant shrug. Hearing the footsteps getting closer, they snuck out a side door where they were able to find their way back to Sarah's room safely.

Once inside Elle laid down on Sarah's bed sleepily rubbing her eyes. "You need to start fighting back Elle! I'm not always going to be around to save your sorry ass!"

She looked up at Sarah with sleepy eyes. "Why did you help me?"

"Because they have no right to mess with us!" She looked down at Elle repugnantly. "But it doesn't mean I like you so don't read too much into it, twerp!"

But Elle had fallen asleep. Sarah pulled the covers over her and tiptoed out the door.

She was met outside by Bob and a bloodied Dr. Zimmerman. "Sarah!" Bob stared down at her furiously.

Sarah looked up at them smiling impertinently.

Sarah's Loft, New York City

He was almost motionless as he lay on the floor that morning; redhead straddled across him grinding with slow, fluid motion sending the natural pulsating waves of pleasure through his body. The sex was good; his money was well spent. Yet his soul was numb.

There was a time when a woman like this with her freaky long legged body and spiky short red hair would have made him weak with desire; given him hours of erotic pleasure. Though he thrust his hips in time with hers as he felt her legs rubbing against his ribcage his teeth gritting as beaded sweat pelted from his brow, it was just sex.

For a moment he closed his eyes. When they reopened he could see her beautiful face looking back at him. He could feel her smooth porcelain skin and long dark hair against him. Her slow smile and intensely beautiful dark eyes returned his gaze. Sylar sat up pulling her legs around his waist while wrapping his arms around her body. Familiar screams filled the room as he took her body to the pinnacle of orgasmic fury. Without missing a thrust he turned her onto her back making love to her with every ounce of fervent motion he could gather. Screams of wordless erotic passion echoed from every corner of the loft as her nails dug deeper into his back. And finally he could feel her shudder as her back arched into a spine shattering climax. "OH MY GOD!" She screamed emitting a succession of orgasmic cries as she threw her head back against the carpet.

The screams brought him back to reality. Opening his eyes again, he remembered Sarah was gone. This girl, beautiful as she may be, was nothing more than a whore. Someone paid to scratch an itch.

He felt his own bones weakening as he released, finally collapsing on top of her.

Her voice made him recoil in mild revulsion. "Oh my GAWD!" The thick Bronx accent breathlessly resonated from every corner of the room. "That was fucking fantastic!"

Sylar stood up and picked up his boxers. "I've had better." He shrugged scoffing apathetically while pulling them on.

She sat up pulling her knees into her chest, trying to decide if she should laugh or feel hurt. "Ok. So if you think you're that good then why do you have to pay for it?"

Sylar pulled his jeans on then turned to look at her. "Look, I'm sure you are good at what you…do." He waved his hand around in an offhanded circular motion. "I don't mean to offend you, but until a few weeks ago I had somebody in my life."

She stood up pulling a black lace robe out of her bag and putting it on. "I see. Girlfriend dump you?"

"No." He exhaled irritably. "She…" He gave a short laugh. "Look, it's really complicated. I wouldn't even begin to know how to explain it to you and I highly doubt you have the astuteness to understand it."

"She left you for another woman?" She playfully rolled onto her stomach pointedly taunting him. "Hey, I like to play for both teams…maybe if you get back together, we could do a threesome…" She abruptly stopped as he whipped his head around. The glower in his eyes made her shrink back. She stood up approaching him carefully as she placed a comforting hand on the back of his shoulders caressing them seductively. "Well, this body may have been custom built for sin, but I am also a good listener. I've been around the block a few times. You want to talk about it?"

"Yeah…I've seen your block…too many footprints for me." He abruptly shoved her hands off of him causing her to shrink back. "Just believe me when I tell you there is not a person on this planet that could possibly know what I am going through at this minute."

The girl frowned in thought, a flicker of irritation crossing her face. "You think you're that special, huh?"

Sylar's face wrinkled into an angry scowl. "You have no fucking idea."

The girl held up her hands defensively. "Ok! You don't have to be so grumpy about it." She walked around so she was standing in front of him. "Look I don't normally do this, but you seem like you could use a little extra TLC. How about an encore; on the house."

Sylar exhaled deeply sneering irritably through his teeth as he spoke; each word pelting her like jagged ice. "Look, I only called for you because I was feeling lonely. And now that I have had some company I now remember why I became a loner in the first place." He snatched up his wallet form the table and counted out ten one-hundred dollar bills. "As I said…you were a good fuck. I just don't feel like…cuddling." He threw the money at her which she scooped up without looking.

"Ok, whatever." She shrugged contritely. "I don't give away freebies. You have no idea what you're turning down."

He opened the door. "Thank you for your time; but I will no longer require your services."

The girl finished dressing then strutted toward the door with exaggerated hip movements. For the first time she looked at the money he handed her. "Holy shit!" She shouted. "I only charge $200 an hour! There's like ten c-notes here! I think you made a mistake, sweetie."

"No mistake. Maybe it'll get you out of the slums." He sneered slamming the door in her face.

"Asshole." The girl muttered then turned and walked down the hall.

As she approached the elevator she was approached by young dark-haired girl who blocked her path; she placed one arm against the wall eying her accusingly. "You weren't thinking of ditching with my cut, were you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, sweet buns." She reached into her wallet pulling out two of the bills and handed them to her. "Here ya go."

She immediately snatched the money from her. "Thanks!" She shoved it into her pocket.

"No." The girl laughed. "Thank you! That was the best lay I have ever had!"

She shrugged unimpressed. "Whatever. Well, nice doing business with you." She turned in the route of the elevator.

The girl stood watching her walk away placing her hands on her hips. "You really make $200 bucks an hour?" She called out after her. "Just to lie on your back moaning like a dying wildebeest?"

"A girl's got to make a living somehow." She flashed a subtle smile. "I'm working my way through college…no student loans for this girl."

The girl crossed her arms cocking her head skeptically. "Your parents know you're a hooker?"

"I am not a hooker!" She retorted indignantly. "I am a call girl!"

The girl shrugged in haughty confusion. "There's a difference?"

She folded her arms smiling smugly. "Hookers stand on the street corner waiting for tricks to pick them up. Call girls wait for nobody. Hookers have botched breast implants with disgusting scars. Call girls can afford the best plastic surgeons in town…and we drive Ferraris." She stepped into the elevator.

"Hey, why don't you leave me your card!" She called out to her. "Maybe we can get together sometime." The hooker shook her head repugnantly as the door shut.

"Yeah…nice meeting you too…bitch." She pulled her cell phone out of her purse pressing firmly on the buttons as she dialed. Dropping the Bronx accent, she paused to be certain she was actually alone. "Two hundred bucks an hour…I think I made a serious vocational error." She muttered under her breath as the line on the other end began to ring.

"About damn time, Maddie," A male voice barked into the receiver. "What'd you find out?"

"Well hello to you too!" She greeted him with cheerful flippancy. "After what I just went through for you don't I at least get a hello?"

A gravelly sigh filled her hears. "Fine! Hello! Now what did you find out about Noonan's boy toy?"

"Well, I found out that he is an amazing fuck." She smiled into the receiver. "She is one lucky bitch!"

"You slept with him?" Havoc couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What the fuck, Maddie! I thought the plan was to investigate him, not bang him like a cheap drum."

"Hey, just chill," she shouted back. "Back it up! He thought I was a hooker…"

"And why the fuck would he think that?" He sneered.

"Because he fucking called for one!" She hated feeling defensive, but she was still recovering from the spine numbing session she had just been through. "She arrived at his doorstep the same time I did. I gave her the morning off and offered to do her job for her but let her have the profit. She agreed." She took a piece of paper from her purse fanning herself. "I'm still flushed from my...."

"Maddie!" he snarled impatiently. "I really don't want any details! What did you concur from your…meeting…with him?"

A mischievous giggle echoed through the phone line. "Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

"Just cut to the fucking chase!" He roared. Rubbing at his forehead, he bit back a curse. He'd have preferred a face to face with Maddie, since he hated talking on the phone. He didn't mind using Maddie, they went back to long before either of them were associated with the Company, but he didn't have the patience for her games right now. There was something going on, some crucial pieces of information he needed, and there were too many players involved for him to take the leisurely approach. Silently, he cursed the need to remain hidden.

She held the phone up to her face, sticking out her tongue before continuing. "From him, absolutely nothing…he is pretty damned hot though…I mean I know he was pretending I was her…"

"MADDIE!" His voice thundered through the receiver making her jump.

"HOWEVER…" She shouted over his roaring grumble cutting him off. "…I did a little digging around Hartsdale. I checked into Sarah's activities the last three months and I learned the guy's name is Gabriel Gray…he goes by the name of Sylar. He is…wait for it…a serial killer!"

"Go on." He urged her. To herself Maddie was incredulous at his calmness to her revelation.

She wrinkled her nose oddly. "Yeah…ok. Well anyway this guy preys on specials and takes their powers. He uses telekinesis to rip open their skulls and tear their brains out of their heads."

"I like him already." He replied admirably. "So how did Noonan hook up with him?"

"Well, about 3 months ago Sarah and Luke Ramirez were given the assignment to transport Sylar to Primatech Texas to keep him locked up indefinitely. It was a four day car trip and the buzz is that during that trip Sarah drugged Ramirez and brought the prisoner to her room to bump uglys. The next day she kills Ramirez to protect Sylar after he went into psycho stalker mode…you see, Sarah slept with him too and he was all hot for her. The clean-up crew arrives and takes care of Ramirez, she and Sylar head off to Primatech where he escapes."

"Anything else?" He could barely shield the eagerness.

"Oh yeah…there's more…way more! Hav held the phone away from his ear petulantly as her auspicious laughter reverberated from the receiver. "A few days later, he shows up at her apartment where he climbs into her bed. But you see, Sarah had this rule where she never allows a man to do her more than once…he gets the whole night, but after that the bar is closed…you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here…"

"Get to the fucking point, Mads!" He roared intolerantly.

"Fine! Fine!" She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I guess our dear pal Bobby Bishop has other plans for Sylar and Sarah. He sends them on an assignment together because he wants them to collaborate on killing…um…your…father." She gulped audibly.

He grinned malevolently. "So my dear old daddy's dead? I'd have preferred gutting him myself, but I'll send her flowers later." He sighed. "Wrap it up."

"Well, somewhere on this trip, they become lovers. The black widow and the prince of darkness fall in love and embark into a twistedly torrid, yet oddly romantic love affair. They even survived his ex-lover showing up nine-months pregnant. This chick just plunks on the floor and pops out the kid right in front of them. Sarah was naturally pissed, but they somehow managed to survive…"

Havoc's eyes bolted open. "Wait a sec…back it up." He stood up abruptly pacing around his bedroom. Pieces of the puzzle began to move in his mind, rearranging themselves almost too quick for him to follow. "Go back to the part about the woman giving birth?"

"Yeah, her name is Maya Herrera. I didn't learn the whole story, but from what I was able to learn in the short time I had, Sylar hitched a ride with Maya and her twin brother from Mexico and got them into the states. Maya's twin brother hated him and Sylar killed him. But he had Maya completely fooled because at some point she spread her virgin legs for him."

He nodded thoughtfully biting his lip. "I see."

Maddie twisted her face into a perplexed scowl. "I'm glad you do, because I'm completely lost."

He gazed out the window at the ocean thoughtfully, then half-smiled. "You don't know it, but you just gave me a huge chunk of this puzzle. I owe you one."

"Ok." Maddie shrugged. "Are you going to fill me in?"

He turned away from the window slowly walking to the kitchen. "This morning Noonan showed up here out of the blue with a mother and a small baby in tow…cute little fella. The woman's name is Maya Herrera."

Maddie almost dropped the phone. "Shut the fuck up!" She shouted. "Now why in the hell would she be helping her lover's baby momma? I don't really know much about Noonan, but I do know she does absolutely nothing for the good of humanity unless there is something in it for her."

"Exactly." He scratched at his unshaven cheek in absent thought. "You did great work Maddie! I'm going to need your help. Can you get here in a few days?"

"I'll see what I can do." She smiled into the phone. "Until then…"

"Be careful!" He hung up the phone and walked back to the window. The pieces were still rearranging themselves in his mind. Some had fit together, but others were still looking for connections. Despite his brutal reputation with the Company, he had never been a stupid man. And that intelligence, combined with the animalistic cunning he relied on so heavily, told him, despite the large piece handed to him so neatly by Mad, there was still something large he was missing.

He spotted Sarah down the beach; the customary flurry of men following behind her. Muttering to himself, he followed her nearly nude form closely, looking for anything in her body language that might help. "Something's wrong with this picture; something big. What the fuck are you up to, Sarah?"

Maddie snapped her phone shut and threw it into her purse. She stood impatiently in front of the elevator tapping her heel.

At last, the familiar orange glow illuminated on the button pad; the warm fuzzy chime announcing its arrival. She happily flittered inside smiling as the doors closed behind her.

Her glee was short lived as she felt her throat begin to close up. She was able to shift her eyes just enough to see Sylar in her peripheral vision just as he grabbed her chin roughly. "Hi again." He whispered malevolently just before flinging out his hand sending Maddie flailing into the elevator wall. Connecting with the cold steel she yelped in pain waiting to repeat the process when she fell to the floor; but she found herself attached to the wall. She watched him fearfully, flinching in pain he moved toward her.

The same eyes which only a moment ago were filled with desire were now dark vessels of boding wickedness. Madeline Williams told herself she did not fear death; but the adrenaline racing through her core told a different story.

She flinched as he grabbed her under the chin. Pressing his face against hers he began to speak. "I think now we both know you are hardly a hooker, isn't that right, sweetness?"

"Call girl!" She managed to choke disdainfully. "Get it right, fuck nugget!"

His menacing laugher rang through the elevator car making her bristle. "You can serve pig shit in a polished silver serving dish, but it is still pig shit." She tried to move, but was unable to. "But it doesn't matter now, because you are going give me some answers…starting with where Sarah is!"

Finally gathering her wits, a coy smile slowly crept across her lips. "Well, it appears we have a teensy-weensy problem." The smile disappeared, her mouth wrinkling into a fierce sneer. "I am not a girl who likes to be man handled!"

He shrugged laughing complacently. "I fail to see how any of this is my problem."

"Well here's the way I see it…" She narrowed her eyes to contemptuous slits. "You want to know where your little girlfriend is. I know exactly where she is, but if you don't let me go, I ain't telling you shit! And if you kill me, no way are you finding out what you want to know. But if you be a good little boy and let me down, not only will I tell you where she is, but I will take you to her myself."

Sylar's face softened considerably, but he remained unconvinced. "How do I know you are telling me the truth?" He folded his arms in a display of doubt.

The corners of Maddie's lips turned slightly upward. "Because I know who you are and what you're capable of. Sylar, serial killer and general psychopath. You have the upper hand on me; you're the victor. You win. Big deal. Why in the fuck would I risk my life by lying?"

Sylar hesitated momentarily then abruptly released her. She fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Ouch!" She shouted as she stood up brushing herself off. "Goddamit! You could have let me down a little more gently!"

"I could have also killed your pretty ass!" He snarled. "I can still change my mind."

He barely had time to blink before she had unfurled, curling her legs over her head and standing to her feet. As she rose, he watched the fingers of her right arm join together and turn her entire hand into a razor sharp blade. He had only moments to regret his decision to take her lightly before she flashed a tight grin and lunged forward, the weapon of flesh and bone carving through his shoulder, dropping his severed arm to the ground. He howled in pain as she leapt backwards, perching on the wall of the elevator. "Smarts, doesn't it?" While his arm grew back and the pain subsided, she let her hand resume its normal shape and sat back on her heels, slightly above his line of site.

When his arm had fully regenerated, she landed lightly in front of him, and kicked the severed arm aside. Grinning, she reached out with one finger and tapped his nose, laughing lightly when he flinched away. "Let's get something abundantly clear, shall we? I have some useful tricks of my own, and I can kill you without batting an eye. I'm not like the useless prey you've gone after, or even the stupid Eden bitch. My ability can be used in a uniquely offensive manner, and I'm not the least hesitant to use it. "I get that you're a big, bad, toughie and most people would be shitting themselves facing you. I'm an unusual girl. Don't fuck with me, Sylar, and I won't fuck with you. I can and will take you to Sarah- but only if you don't piss me off or try to play your stupid games. Do so, and I'll settle for bringing your head. Got it, big boy?"

Sylar sighed dejectedly. "It doesn't sound like I have a hell of a lot of choice."

"No…" She smiled sweetly. "You really don't." Her face became stern again. "Now here's the thing…you do not tell anybody! If Havoc finds out…"

"Havoc?" He roared with impertinent laughter. "Is that the name of some cloak and dagger underground agency that's hiding her?"

"No." She scoffed irritably. "Havoc is a man." She looked him up and down. "And he makes you look like a…"

"Hold it!" He shouted. "Sarah is hiding out with a man?"

"Oops!" Maddie cringed biting her lip guiltily.

Sylar thoughtfully rubbed his forehead. "I have been going out of my mind not knowing for sure if she is dead or alive…and all this time she has been shacked up with some guy?"

"She has only been there a few days." She tried to comfort him. "And if she is traveling with babymomma, then he probably sent them to the YMCA or the local homeless shelter. Hav isn't much for houseguests."

"Ok…I am going to go back inside and pack a bag…" He started for the door.

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" She groaned loudly. "Nobody told me you had the brain of a retarded fruit fly." She pointed at him directly. "No bags! If anybody sees you leaving there carrying a bag we are all shit!"

Sylar clenched his teeth together keeping his anger in check. "Ok fine…no bags." He gave an exasperated exhale. "I'll just grab some cash to buy some clothes when I get there."

"And speaking of bags…" Maddie continued. "Do not…I repeat…do NOT let Angela Petrelli in on what we are doing."

"Why?" He asked skeptically.

She sighed folding her arms insolently. "Because she will be all over us and frankly I do not feel like listening to her bitch."

"Understood." He nodded compliantly.

"Ok." She began. "I want you to go back to your place. In one hour I want you to walk down the street to the Owl Club…it's a bar on…"

"I know the place…" He groaned impatiently. "Just tell me where to find you."

At that moment the elevator door opened and Maddie stepped into the lobby. "You don't find me…I'll find you." She blew him a kiss then spun around on her heel and strutted away.

As Sylar rode the elevator back up, a slow smile crept across his face. "You can run, but you can't hide lover." Then his face fell. "She is really going to hate me for this. This could hurt."

Isla Cangrejos, South Caribbean Sea
Not So Distant Future

Sarah dreaded the night with everything in her. Warm breezes carrying the scent of the passion flowers caressed her body as she watched the sun making its descent into the ocean turning the sky behind it into colors of deep purple, orange, yellow and pink. She smiled at its beauty, but as she watched its fading light finally disappear behind the horizon the loneliness once again engulfed her soul.

The sound of the approaching storm in the distance made her take notice of its relevance to her life. The battle was coming. It would only be a matter of time before Bob Bishop learned her demise was a rouse and he would stop at nothing to find her.

Her defenses tensed up at an approaching presence, but she knew she had nothing to fear.

Havoc took in the lay of the land and whistled in appreciation at the lavish cottage with nearby harbor and panoramic view of the ocean. Glancing down at Sarah where she sat in the sand; an iced bucket of beer by her side, he flashed a quick grin. "I see Ramon hooked you up. Nice place."

With a wordless smile, she reached into the bucket and tossed him a beer. "Thanks." With a rarely grateful nod, he ripped off the cap with his teeth and took a swallow before dropping into the sand beside her. "I got your companion and her kid set up in the convent until we have things figured out. Nobody will find out she's there; a couple people there owe me favors."

Sarah nearly choked on her beer laughing. "There are people in a church that owe you a favor? Let me guess…she didn't tell you she was a nun?"

Havoc grinned and shrugged with a false repentance. "She apparently wanted to know what she was giving up before she took the oath." Closing his eyes, he threw a narrow glance at Sarah. "As I remember, she spent a lot of time screaming a name, but not God's." Taking another pull, he laughed. "Anyway, the Mother Superior begged me to keep it secret."

"Of course." Sarah quipped sardonically. "We just can't let the rest of the world know there are a bunch of horny nuns running around these islands."

"Well, that and the fact that Mother Superior was also a bit…less than faithful to her oath as well." He wiggled his eyebrows holding up the longneck in a salute before taking a sip

The amber liquid in Sarah's mouth splattered across the sand just missing Havoc's feet. "You didn't!"

"Yeah. Once you get under that habit, the Mother Superior's a dirty little bitch too. Spent the night doing things to her that were probably worth a year's penance. I promised to keep her secret as well."

She threw back her head laughing. They sat in silence for many moments before Havoc took a second to look her over. "The moonlight becomes you." Eying her salaciously out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but admire the way her porcelain skin was illuminated in the moonlight, giving her a falsely angelic aura. The miniscule cut off shorts stopping just inside the bounds of decency, and the tiny bikini top barely covering her nipples, revealing more breast than it covered, gave him momentary thoughts of the wicked things he would enjoy doing to a woman with that body.

She gave him a wry smile. "I thought you said you couldn't stand the way I smell."

Shrugging, he said, "I can't. To be honest, your stench turns my stomach." Pointing to his nose, he grinned. "Which is why I use vapor rub. A little dab under the nostrils cuts you down from a freshly opened grave to a seventeenth century body pit." Shrugging again, he glanced out at the waves. "At least it's tolerable."

"Thanks." She held up her beer saluting him then leaned back crossing her legs in front of her then stretched out giving a soft moan as she arched her back.

Havoc grimaced as his eyes and body warred with his sense of smell. Angrily slapping the sand, he growled out, "Cut that shit out!"

"Cut what out?" She smiled coyly.

Exhaling in irritation, he swore. "That mental lap dance you're giving me. I'm a lot of things, Noonan, but I'm not stupid. I get that nearly every straight man, and a couple women I know, would want nothing so much as to get into your pants. And it bugs the fuck out of you that I'm one of the ones who doesn't."

She gave a short laugh. "Oh come on Hav. You damned well if it weren't for your keen sense of smell you would be on this like a fly on shit."

Grinning wryly, he nodded. "We already established this. And if it weren't for the fact that you make me want to hurl, I'd be boning you right now and listening to you beg for more."

"And what the hell makes you think I would be the one begging?" She sat up rubbing her smooth legs. "I have been known to bring men to the dark edges of insanity."

His senses still warring at the onslaught of her gorgeous sexuality and her disgusting scent, he groaned. "I can see that."

"So…" She reached behind slowly unhooking her bikini top. "…this does nothing to you?" She let her top fall to the ground displaying a set of perfectly rounded alabaster breasts.

"What in the fuck are you trying to do?" He sneered through gritted teeth.

She slowly slid over him until she was straddling his lap. "What about when I do this?" She began mercilessly grinding against him making him crazy with desire.

Before she could even blink, he grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her to the ground. With a harshness born from the battleground of his senses, he pinned her mouth with his own, darting his tongue into her mouth where it danced over her parted teeth and writhed with her own tongue.

Growling low in his throat, he broke the kiss and trailed his rough tongue down her throat until it curled around one of her darkly swollen nipples. Leaving one hand to grasp her wrists above her head, all fight removed, he roughly rubbed the other over the denim of her shorts before sliding under the waist band.

With the nipple held between his teeth, pulling and twisting as he slapped at it with his tongue, the other hand lightly rubbed across her in a motion guaranteed to bring a reaction.

Gasping, she began to thrust her hips, no longer fighting him, forcing him to slide his massaging fingers inside her. Though she felt plagued by guilt, Sarah whimpered as she felt his fingers stirring inside her; arching her back underneath him as his fingers moved in and out of her body. She hated herself for enjoying the raw animalistic pleasure as his hit her in the right places; then even more so as her soft moans increased with intensity as his fingers moved faster inside of her.

Then finally her moans soared to raucous screams; her nails digging into his hand still holding her wrists at bay above her head as he felt the aspired orgasm engulf her like a raging inferno. With a satisfactory smile, he took his mouth away from her breast and back to her parted lips, swallowing the gasps as he slipped his tongue back inside her hot mouth. The harsh eroticism of the kiss lasted for several seconds before Havoc finally released her. Rolling aside, pulling his fingers out and away, he lay beside her, trying to control his raging libido. Both of them lay breathless, gasping for air from the encounter. The uncomfortable heat left them both hollow.

Finally, Havoc sat up and spoke. "Ok, point proven and driven into the ground." Sarah did not respond; she stared out at the ocean in deafening silence. Trying to levitate the discomfited moment, Havoc laughed. "Well, that was awkward. Scorching hot, but awkward."

Sarah's point confirmed didn't make the moment any easier to live with the remorse inside. Sitting up, she wiped her mouth and draped her pale arms over her knees. After several seconds, Havoc couldn't bear the silence. "Oh, come on, Sarah. It wasn't that fucking bad!" When she merely sat, staring with empty eyes at the beach, he swore. "Goddamnit, Noonan! Say something. Anything!"

She stared out straight in front of her gazing sadly at the ocean. "It wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was pretty damn good." She finally looked up at him. "It just felt…wrong."

"I didn't make the earth move for you?" He prodded her.

"Oh trust me, you moved a lot of things." She flashed a sultry smile which quickly faded. "If we had met here like this a year ago, I would have spent the night on this beach making you insane with erotic desires beyond anything you could ever fantasize about. But now…" She looked up at him; a small tear trickled down her cheek. "…he thinks I am dead and he's going through hell. I may never see him again, I can't do that to him."

He stared at her face in surprise. The sadness in her eyes caused his own face to soften. Standing up quickly, he walked over to where she had tossed the top of her bikini. Handing it to her, he shook his head. "So the utilitarian killer finally found her soul in the eyes of another." The look in her face as she tied the top back on told him to back off, but he pressed on. "The girl who abandoned her heart when love turned horribly wrong for her has finally found it again. And now that freshly repaired heart is broken." Sitting in front of her, forcing her to meet his slightly luminescent white eyes, he leaned forward. "Who is he, Noonan? What kind of fly entered the honeyed web and charmed the black widow?"

Sarah raged internally; incensed by his invasiveness. She angrily jerked herself up; her bare feet leaving a trail in the sand as she stomped toward the house. "Good night, Hav."

He leapt to his feet. Soft words wouldn't work. To be honest, he wasn't sure he had them anyway. "I know more about it than you realize, Noonan. Gabriel Gray, AKA Sylar! That's him, isn't it?" The hurriedly shouted words tore through her soul like heated knives. She stopped dead, almost jerking under their impact. When she spun around, glaring daggers at him, Havoc forced himself to assume his familiar cocky grin.

Pacing forward, like a cat scenting his prey, he pressed on. "Serial killer, power thief, and recently hired as a Company agent." When she said nothing, merely staring at him over her tightly folded arms, the grin became real. This was more like it. Not wounded, not running, but ready to fight.

As she fumed, he widened his grin. "And, from the look you're sending me, I hit the nail square on its fucking head."

He half expected a fight, but was completely caught off guard when a smile spread across her face. "Very good," she replied, impressed by his discovery. Sarah did not even speculate to herself how he knew. Havoc was a man of multiple resources and likely had a contact in the company. But she was not prepared to allow him access to her intimate secrets; not like this.

He couldn't let her retreat. He had her almost fighting; if she left to nurse her wounds, he knew he might never get her to this point again. "What happened, Noonan? What was it?" He raised his voice, forcing her to hear him. "How did this murderer manage to steal your heart when there's a trail of men behind you, cut off at the balls after a night of orgasmic euphoria with you? Was he just that good a fuck? Did he stir your juices so much you just couldn't handle your typical one night policy? Did he manage to get into your head and help you resolve your mommy and daddy issues? Just what the hell was it?"

Sarah whipped around furiously; her face twisted into a livid sneer. "What does this matter to you? Are you so pissed off that you have had to live your life in exile away from Elle and you are just dying for me to join you in your woeful existence? Is it that misery loves company and you have been lonely for someone to join you in your private hell?"

Havoc surprised her by laughing at her verbal attack. "Do you remember the first time we met, Sarah? You were a teenager. Still going through your weird-ass goth phase. In that first meeting I made a nearly fatal mistake. I misjudged you as nothing more than an angry teen. I sure as fuck never thought you, barely old enough to have a pair of tits, would be my equal. After the match, I realized that, had I been the slightest bit off my game, you'd have walked away the victor. And that's saying one hell of a lot from me, because you are the only person I have ever looked in the eye and called my equal.

"And then we met again. Years had passed; you had developed into the gorgeous but empty woman who was one of the two most feared agents in the Company. I had heard your name uttered in the same terrified whispers mine was, but hadn't seen you again. When I did, I knew why the fear existed. Only months had passed since you had turned your husband's law office into a blood bath, revenging the betrayal and near murder on the one who shattered your heart. I looked into your eyes that day and, for the first and last time, felt the claw of fear on my own soul. Those soulless eyes held the devil in a cage, begging to be unleashed. The darkness, the rage and chaos, in your eyes scared the shit out of me, Noonan. It was like whatever had happened broke you and reformed you in iron. Until that moment, and since, no man or woman has ever frightened me. And I knew then and there that we were no longer equals!" He paused as tears formed in her eyes and began to stream down her cheeks. "I knew then that you were the better of us, because you no longer had a soul. And now you arrive in my life again. Out of nowhere, with an innocent mother and her child in tow. And I learned you once again. That woman I feared was gone. She had been replaced with a mere shell, a ghost of her former self. I may have no respect for Bob Bishop, I may despise him with every ounce of my being, but he's not stupid. And he was right about you, Sarah. You've gone soft!"

He realized too late that his choice of words might have had more of an impact than he expected when he felt himself being propelled through the night air several feet finally coming to a stop against a large rock. He could smell the coppery scent of his own blood coming from the back of his broken head. Sarah was now standing above him; rage emitting from every pore in her body. "Does that feel like I have gone soft, you piece of shit motherfucking prick!"

Havoc stayed where he had fallen, feeling the flesh and bone beginning to knit back together as he waited to see if she had finished with him. Watching her reaction, he couldn't contain a small grin of pleasure. At least she had gotten past the wounded doe look. "Maybe soft was the wrong choice there." He rubbed the back of his head again; the wound had healed, yet the wetness from the blood remained. "But I think we both know this weepy girl bullshit routine is not you, Sarah! I don't really care why, I just want to know what changed!"

"Everything has changed!" The air around her resonated from her roaring holler. "I used to be the hunter! Now I am the hunted! I do not like feeling vulnerable!"

"So what has you vulnerable, Sarah? Come on! For fuck's sake, this is where you used to thrive! Bishop thinks you've gone soft? Big fucking deal! If you were who I remembered, you'd have used that to kill him without thinking twice! Something, whatever the fuck it was, changed you, Noonan! You've just proven that you're not soft, that you haven't grown weak, so something else happened. It sounds like you fucktoy can take care of himself, so that's not the fucking problem. Just try, please, to make me see what's going on here!"

She exhaled disconsolately than plopped down on the sand staring out straight ahead at the ocean. Havoc watched her for a moment before taking a seat next to her. As she began to speak, her words were soft; yet every word embodied power. "When my parents were murdered, I knew even then I had to chose between love and control. I chose control. And then I met a boy named Randy Paladini. For that brief and fatal moment I chose love. It was a choice regretted because I thought love meant giving up control and I think we both know how badly that turned out. The man who said he loved me tried to murder me. I laid in the middle of a frozen field for nearly a week keeping myself alive with nothing but a plastic garbage bag and my own blood covering me. Only my very weak telekinetic abilities kept the blood from rapidly escaping my arteries. I made the choice right then and there if I survived I would never relinquish control of myself." She paused to recollect. "When I met Gabriel, I found my soul again. I knew what he was; he knew what I was." She smiled reflectively then looked up at him. "I found him repulsive…and exciting. I never intended to fall in love with him; I just wanted to have sex with him." She reached into the ice bucket taking another beer and opened it. "But the moment we first touched, I knew I would never be able to keep him at bay. I fought him, only to give in when I could fight him no more. He was the only man I have ever met who has never tried to save me. He knows exactly what I am at the end of the day." She took a sip of her beer. "For the first time in my life, I had love…and I had control." She looked to Havoc who was staring at her intently as she continued. "I have been using my body to lure men into my trap since I was put into active duty. Depending on the man it could be enjoyable because of the game involved; but there was never love or emotion attached to the deed. I purely was a soulless cadaver." She paused to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. She finally lifted her face to meet his gaze. "I won't ever marry him. " She smiled laughing softly. "I think the world would recover more easily from dropping an A-Bomb than from the two of us trying to play house." She took a deep breath exhaling loudly. "We may not embody the characteristic label of literary lovers; and admittedly it is a little uncomfortable…but it is as real as it gets."

Narrowing his eyes, he reached across her body and pulled out a fresh beer. Grabbing the cap between his teeth, he tore it off as the puzzle pieces began to resort themselves in his mind, laying out a crystal clear picture that almost made him choke on the beer. As he slumped forward, gasping and laughing, Sarah glowered at him irritably. "Is there something you find amusing about all of this?"

Wiping beer from his chin, he stopped laughing. "I don't say this very often Noonan, but I have to admit you've had me stumped."

Sarah's face twisted into an angry glower. "Oh please do enlighten me."

"I've spent every second since the three of you showed up wracking my fucking brain trying to figure out what on God's earth would make you skip town with a mother and her child. You're not Mother fucking Theresa, Noonan. You don't do shit unless there's something to be gained from it. There have been pieces to the picture bouncing around in my head, driving me up the fucking wall. I knew I was missing something, but couldn't quite get the shape of the piece I was missing. And now it makes sense. It doesn't have a damn thing to do with Maya…or Gabriel…Sylar or whatever the fuck you call him. It has everything to do with her son, Alejandro." Holding up the fresh longneck, he touched it to his forehead in a salute. Flashing his teeth in a cocky grin, he took a long pull. "How am I doing so far?"

"I'm not doing this!" Sarah angrily bolted up retreating toward her house.

He jumped to his feet, pouncing after her with a suspiciously feline motion. Less than a second later, he caught up with her. "I already know Gray's the father!"

Sarah stopped abruptly, then turned around slowly. "Ok. So my boyfriend banged her several months before he met me." She crossed her arms across her chest eying him contemptuously. "It was before I came into the picture!" The arrogance of the superior smirk that swelled across her face brought amusement to him. "And I think you can guess which one of us he prefers in bed."

Havoc slowly paced around her, focusing his blank predator's eyes on her as she writhed uncomfortably inside. "Uh huh…sure…He makes the virgin Maya cream and, nine months later, she pops out a kid. You don't find anything the least bit weird in that?"

Sarah shrugged furrowing her brow impudently. "Is there going to be a point to this eventually?"

"Oh, the point is already made, Sarah." Stopping his movement, he narrowed his eyes. "I noticed a couple things about Alejandro when you showed up packing him and his ma. The first thing I spotted was that the kid looked nothing like his mother. The only thing Latino about him is that name. There's not a Hispanic bone in his little body!" Through narrowed eyes, he studied Sarah intently. "But he does have exceedingly strong Anglo characteristics."

Sarah's felt her insides nearly fall out, but she kept up the facade. "His father is Italian and Irish. It stands to reason that his father's features were the dominating factor in his makeup."

With a low growl, Havoc shook his head. "No, Sarah. Basic biology was a required study for us, and you know it. The mother's DNA is always dominant in a child's genetic makeup. If Maya was truly the boy's mom, there would be at least some characteristics in common; the slightest hint of Latino features. Instead, he couldn't look more Anglo if he'd been born in a white trash trailer park." Widening his eyes slightly, he felt a smile tugging at his lips. "But I think he looks exactly like his biological mother; doesn't he, Sarah?"

Her silence spoke volumes as she sat staring straight ahead of her. "He's your son, Noonan." His voice came out in a low whisper as he slowly crossed the little distance between them. Twisting so he was looking over her shoulder and down at her perfectly formed backside, he whispered into her ear, "I'm positive that, if I were to look at his back left thigh, I would find a birthmark similar to the one on yours. My only question is how." Roughly grasping her shoulders, he pushed her back until he held her gaze with his own. "Now cut the bullshit song and dance, Noonan, and tell me how a child that belongs to you and Gray is in the custody of this Herrera woman?"

She knew there was no denying it. Although she hated him for forcing her hand it was time for the truth. She led him back to the beach, staring at the ocean in silence before beginning. "This story started twenty-eight years ago. Linderman, Parkman, The Petrellis and Bob Bishop had this goal to create a child that would one day grow up to be the perfect killing machine. An embryo was created with the sperm of Daniel Linderman and made an embryo out of an egg belonging to Angela Petrelli." She looked up at him smiling cynically. "That child was me. After they murdered my parents and brought me there, I was raised inside the company walls. I received the best education and combat training available. I was the perfect killer." She laughed reflectively before continuing. "Well, years later when I did the unthinkable by throwing their gift back in their face, Bob began to think they had made an error by putting so much faith in me. After Linderman died, Bob took the reins of the company and decided the project needed another generation to perfect itself. An embryo was created with my eggs and sperm taken from Gabriel which they implanted into poor unsuspecting Maya. The poor girl had no idea she was pregnant until the moment she gave birth. Maya was a good girl and a perfect mother. Only this time the child would be taken from his mother as an infant; raised within the company walls as I was to be a killing machine without a soul." Her eyes became pools of dark detestation. "There was no way in hell I was going to let that happen."

Havoc sat down beside her, staring out at the water as he tried to bring the picture into focus. "Bob planned on killing her and taking the child? Knowing you'd eventually learn the truth and would do everything in your power to keep that boy from suffering your fate?" He shook his head. He wanted to laugh, but all he could feel was an overwhelming disgust as the levels of Bishop's duplicity became clear. "He would either have you dead, or beyond redemption. Either way, he'd get what he wanted. It all makes sense now."

Sarah nodded slowly, but remained motionless as she spoke. "Before I could strike back at Bob, I had to be sure that Maya and Alejandro were safely out of the way." She leaned back taking another beer. "That child deserves better than I can ever give him. He needs Maya."

Havoc placed a tender hand on her shoulder, doing everything he could to contain the trembling rage that was building inside. "You're being the best mother you can by denying yourself the chance to make a life with your child." He almost whispered as the shocked realization set in, "Damn, Sarah. The black widow really does have a heart after all."

Sarah sat in awkward silence for quite some before her throaty whisper shattered the calm, uttering the words Havoc hoped to hear.

"And now it is time for Bob Bishop to die."

--END--