Fic: I Wish I Were Blind (Heroes)
Pairing: Mohinder/Sylar
Rating: R
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.
Notes: Vaguely inspired by this ficlet I wrote for the Mylar ficathon, but not absolutely related. AU.
Summary: "It doesn't feel real yet. Passing information. It feels like a game. Child's play."
- - -
Mohinder Suresh is in a hurry.
He blew all the lab safeties on the second level already. The computers are gone, all the backup data gone. The samples are in pieces on the lab floor - corrupted beyond recovery.
He’s halfway done, and they must have seen him on the security cameras, by now.
“There he is!”
Mohinder freezes.
~
“This isn’t a virus, Suresh. It’s not a disease. It’s not a malfunction, and it doesn’t need to be cured.”
“I’m a scientist, not a spy.”
“We both know that isn’t true.”
~
They followed him. From the lab. They’ve seen everything, and there’s only one solution to that.
Mohinder swallows.
The guards come at him fast, amateur, guns at the ready. “Dr. Suresh,” says one, “we don’t want to have to hurt you.”
Mohinder holds his hands up, palms out in the universal gesture for surrender. He lets his jaw clench, let them see him struggle. But here, he’s just a defenseless scientist. And the data is recoverable, as long as one man is still alive.
~
“Dr. Suresh. My name is Sylar.”
“You’re my handler.”
“Yes. I hear you’re a dangerous man.”
“Only as much as the knowledge I carry.”
“How dangerous does that make you, then?”
“The most dangerous man on the planet. For people like you.”
~
The first guard lowers his gun, just a fraction, his features loosening.
Double-handed hit under the gun send any shots into the ceiling - but the man’s hand is hurt. He doesn’t get a chance to squeeze the trigger.
Twisted wrist and the gun is free in Mohinder’s hand. One shot straight into the second guard’s chest, the man still gaping - stupidly - and one to the first’s head.
Threat eliminated.
~
“It doesn’t feel real yet.”
“The betrayal?”
“Passing information. It feels like a game. Child’s play.”
“That will change.”
~
Mohinder spares a second of regret for the men on the ground. He didn’t come here to kill innocent people.
The gun is reassuringly heavy in his hand. His cover is blown, that’s for sure. They’ll take only a few minutes to find the bodies. Before that, they’ll be looking for capture. After that? Mohinder will be lucky to make it out of here alive.
In fact, he’ll be lucky if he makes it out at all.
The gun has six bullets left. No spare clip on the guard’s belt, so he takes the clip from the second guard’s gun. Better - this has nine bullets. Fifteen shots, one reload.
And Mohinder runs.
~
“He almost found out.”
“What happened?”
“He caught me downloading the information from the computer, to the flash drive.”
“And you told him...?”
“That the wireless network was down, as were computer-to-computer transfers.”
“Was it?”
“It was when I finished with it.”
“Is there something wrong?”
“I’ve never lied to him directly before.”
~
The security cordon is up around the fourth floor. No doubt the man Mohinder has been tasked to kill is already behind it.
Mohinder thinks of his training, and, at the next hallway junction, he turns left.
~
“Everything in my life is false.”
“That’s what being a spy means.”
“I never thought it would be this hard.”
~
Mohinder slips the gun into his jacket pocket, and keys open the door to the computer labs. The virus should have wiped everything by now, but he needs safety.
He’s greeted by a chorus of clicks, the safeties of several semiautomatics turning off at once.
Mohinder throws his hands up, wide-eyed. “Stop!” he cries. “Put your guns down. It’s not me doing all this.”
The guard’s eyes narrow. “Who is it, then?”
“An illusion,” says Mohinder, earnestly. “It’s one of them.”
~
“What is your power, exactly? -you heard those people coming from blocks away, you melted the keypad behind us, you broke a window with the force of your mind. And then you remembered the combinations, picture perfect. If I’m not mistaken, that’s not one power. It’s several.”
“You’re right.”
“You have the ability to take on powers? Absorb them from others, like Peter Petrelli?”
“No.”
~
Mohinder lets the guard drag him around, muscles unresisting. It won’t do any good to appear as a threat, right now.
“Is he really Mohinder Suresh?”
The telepath - Matt Parkman - peers closely at Mohinder’s face.
~
“You have to know how to defeat telepathic scans.”
“This is ridiculous. One can’t simply ‘shield’ their thoughts from another.”
“That’s not the point. The point is projecting false thoughts, or focusing on something innocuous.”
“Like what?”
“Mohinder, are you a spy? -see, you thought ‘yes’.”
“How am I supposed to think ‘no’?”
“Believe it. Respond in reflex.”
“Sylar, this is ridiculous.”
“If you want to keep secrets -”
“I know. Fine. Ask me another.”
“Are you attracted to me?”
“That wasn’t fair. I wasn’t expecting that.”
~
“Yeah, that’s him,” says Matt, frowning. “He’s a little shaken up, but it’s definitely him.”
Mohinder focuses on truth, on belief. On his own identity.
“Right.” The guard turns to the others. “If this isn’t him, get him behind the cordon on the fourth floor. The intruder has to still be in the building, but if he’s an illusionist, there’s no telling where he could be hiding.”
~
“We have a new mission for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Your job is almost over - but this is going to be the hardest task yet.”
“Sylar, please don’t tell me -”
“Bennet wants him dead, Mohinder.”
“No. No.”
“Mohinder -”
“I won’t do that! It’s crossing a line I will never, ever-”
“His life versus the safety of thousands of people.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Thousands, Mohinder.”
“I suppose you’re about to tell me that I’ve been betraying him all this time, and going further isn’t going to hurt.”
“It’s going to hurt a lot. I’ve never lied to you, and I’m not lying to you now.”
~
The hallway is too short.
Mohinder remembers a time when he bustled back and forth in this facility, complaining about the length of the walk, the stretched feel of the place. Now, he wishes it were longer.
“In here,” directs the guard. “Your father is already there.”
Mohinder nods a thank you, and keys the door open.
Inside, several guards surround the entrance to the inner office. They part to let Mohinder through.
The doorknob slips in Mohinder’s hands. Sweaty palms. The lock clicks when the door shuts behind him, and Mohinder faces his target.
~
“You’re real, you know. This is real. It’s the only real thing in my entire life.”
“I know.”
“And I trust you.”
“I know.”
“Isn’t there any other way?”
“Destroy the files. Destroy the samples. Then, you have to destroy the one person who can reconstruct them.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
~
“Mohinder,” says Chandra, moving to him, grasping his shoulders, his face. “You are all right? I didn’t see you, before security lockdown.”
Mohinder pushes him away, and raises the gun.
Chandra’s jaw drops. “Mohinder, what is this?” He starts creeping towards the desk, and the alarm there.
“This,” says Mohinder, his voice trembling, “is for all those people you intend to cure.”
~
“You won’t hate me for this.”
“Mohinder -”
“Shut up. You’re everything to me. You’ve been there this whole time, you know who I am better than anyone else in this world. And you’ll forgive me. You won’t hate me.”
“I - of course not.”
“Fine.-fine. I’ll do it.”
~
Mohinder doesn’t stay to watch his father die.
He breaks the window (three more shots), climbs out. And jumps.
His fall slows unnaturally - Sylar - and he hits the ground already running.
~
“So, you’re a murderer,” says Mohinder, softly. “You killed people to take their powers.”
Sylar studies his face, looking for a hint to Mohinder’s reaction. Anything, beyond the emptiness in Mohinder’s face and body.
“Yeah,” rasps Sylar. “I did.”
“Why?”
Sylar shrugs helplessly. “I thought it was my destiny. I thought I had to.”
Mohinder reaches out for him, and Sylar pulls Mohinder close.
“We have something in common, then,” Mohinder whispers into the crook of Sylar’s neck.
It’s enough.
Rating: R
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.
Notes: Vaguely inspired by this ficlet I wrote for the Mylar ficathon, but not absolutely related. AU.
Summary: "It doesn't feel real yet. Passing information. It feels like a game. Child's play."
- - -
Mohinder Suresh is in a hurry.
He blew all the lab safeties on the second level already. The computers are gone, all the backup data gone. The samples are in pieces on the lab floor - corrupted beyond recovery.
He’s halfway done, and they must have seen him on the security cameras, by now.
“There he is!”
Mohinder freezes.
~
“This isn’t a virus, Suresh. It’s not a disease. It’s not a malfunction, and it doesn’t need to be cured.”
“I’m a scientist, not a spy.”
“We both know that isn’t true.”
~
They followed him. From the lab. They’ve seen everything, and there’s only one solution to that.
Mohinder swallows.
The guards come at him fast, amateur, guns at the ready. “Dr. Suresh,” says one, “we don’t want to have to hurt you.”
Mohinder holds his hands up, palms out in the universal gesture for surrender. He lets his jaw clench, let them see him struggle. But here, he’s just a defenseless scientist. And the data is recoverable, as long as one man is still alive.
~
“Dr. Suresh. My name is Sylar.”
“You’re my handler.”
“Yes. I hear you’re a dangerous man.”
“Only as much as the knowledge I carry.”
“How dangerous does that make you, then?”
“The most dangerous man on the planet. For people like you.”
~
The first guard lowers his gun, just a fraction, his features loosening.
Double-handed hit under the gun send any shots into the ceiling - but the man’s hand is hurt. He doesn’t get a chance to squeeze the trigger.
Twisted wrist and the gun is free in Mohinder’s hand. One shot straight into the second guard’s chest, the man still gaping - stupidly - and one to the first’s head.
Threat eliminated.
~
“It doesn’t feel real yet.”
“The betrayal?”
“Passing information. It feels like a game. Child’s play.”
“That will change.”
~
Mohinder spares a second of regret for the men on the ground. He didn’t come here to kill innocent people.
The gun is reassuringly heavy in his hand. His cover is blown, that’s for sure. They’ll take only a few minutes to find the bodies. Before that, they’ll be looking for capture. After that? Mohinder will be lucky to make it out of here alive.
In fact, he’ll be lucky if he makes it out at all.
The gun has six bullets left. No spare clip on the guard’s belt, so he takes the clip from the second guard’s gun. Better - this has nine bullets. Fifteen shots, one reload.
And Mohinder runs.
~
“He almost found out.”
“What happened?”
“He caught me downloading the information from the computer, to the flash drive.”
“And you told him...?”
“That the wireless network was down, as were computer-to-computer transfers.”
“Was it?”
“It was when I finished with it.”
“Is there something wrong?”
“I’ve never lied to him directly before.”
~
The security cordon is up around the fourth floor. No doubt the man Mohinder has been tasked to kill is already behind it.
Mohinder thinks of his training, and, at the next hallway junction, he turns left.
~
“Everything in my life is false.”
“That’s what being a spy means.”
“I never thought it would be this hard.”
~
Mohinder slips the gun into his jacket pocket, and keys open the door to the computer labs. The virus should have wiped everything by now, but he needs safety.
He’s greeted by a chorus of clicks, the safeties of several semiautomatics turning off at once.
Mohinder throws his hands up, wide-eyed. “Stop!” he cries. “Put your guns down. It’s not me doing all this.”
The guard’s eyes narrow. “Who is it, then?”
“An illusion,” says Mohinder, earnestly. “It’s one of them.”
~
“What is your power, exactly? -you heard those people coming from blocks away, you melted the keypad behind us, you broke a window with the force of your mind. And then you remembered the combinations, picture perfect. If I’m not mistaken, that’s not one power. It’s several.”
“You’re right.”
“You have the ability to take on powers? Absorb them from others, like Peter Petrelli?”
“No.”
~
Mohinder lets the guard drag him around, muscles unresisting. It won’t do any good to appear as a threat, right now.
“Is he really Mohinder Suresh?”
The telepath - Matt Parkman - peers closely at Mohinder’s face.
~
“You have to know how to defeat telepathic scans.”
“This is ridiculous. One can’t simply ‘shield’ their thoughts from another.”
“That’s not the point. The point is projecting false thoughts, or focusing on something innocuous.”
“Like what?”
“Mohinder, are you a spy? -see, you thought ‘yes’.”
“How am I supposed to think ‘no’?”
“Believe it. Respond in reflex.”
“Sylar, this is ridiculous.”
“If you want to keep secrets -”
“I know. Fine. Ask me another.”
“Are you attracted to me?”
“That wasn’t fair. I wasn’t expecting that.”
~
“Yeah, that’s him,” says Matt, frowning. “He’s a little shaken up, but it’s definitely him.”
Mohinder focuses on truth, on belief. On his own identity.
“Right.” The guard turns to the others. “If this isn’t him, get him behind the cordon on the fourth floor. The intruder has to still be in the building, but if he’s an illusionist, there’s no telling where he could be hiding.”
~
“We have a new mission for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Your job is almost over - but this is going to be the hardest task yet.”
“Sylar, please don’t tell me -”
“Bennet wants him dead, Mohinder.”
“No. No.”
“Mohinder -”
“I won’t do that! It’s crossing a line I will never, ever-”
“His life versus the safety of thousands of people.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Thousands, Mohinder.”
“I suppose you’re about to tell me that I’ve been betraying him all this time, and going further isn’t going to hurt.”
“It’s going to hurt a lot. I’ve never lied to you, and I’m not lying to you now.”
~
The hallway is too short.
Mohinder remembers a time when he bustled back and forth in this facility, complaining about the length of the walk, the stretched feel of the place. Now, he wishes it were longer.
“In here,” directs the guard. “Your father is already there.”
Mohinder nods a thank you, and keys the door open.
Inside, several guards surround the entrance to the inner office. They part to let Mohinder through.
The doorknob slips in Mohinder’s hands. Sweaty palms. The lock clicks when the door shuts behind him, and Mohinder faces his target.
~
“You’re real, you know. This is real. It’s the only real thing in my entire life.”
“I know.”
“And I trust you.”
“I know.”
“Isn’t there any other way?”
“Destroy the files. Destroy the samples. Then, you have to destroy the one person who can reconstruct them.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
~
“Mohinder,” says Chandra, moving to him, grasping his shoulders, his face. “You are all right? I didn’t see you, before security lockdown.”
Mohinder pushes him away, and raises the gun.
Chandra’s jaw drops. “Mohinder, what is this?” He starts creeping towards the desk, and the alarm there.
“This,” says Mohinder, his voice trembling, “is for all those people you intend to cure.”
~
“You won’t hate me for this.”
“Mohinder -”
“Shut up. You’re everything to me. You’ve been there this whole time, you know who I am better than anyone else in this world. And you’ll forgive me. You won’t hate me.”
“I - of course not.”
“Fine.-fine. I’ll do it.”
~
Mohinder doesn’t stay to watch his father die.
He breaks the window (three more shots), climbs out. And jumps.
His fall slows unnaturally - Sylar - and he hits the ground already running.
~
“So, you’re a murderer,” says Mohinder, softly. “You killed people to take their powers.”
Sylar studies his face, looking for a hint to Mohinder’s reaction. Anything, beyond the emptiness in Mohinder’s face and body.
“Yeah,” rasps Sylar. “I did.”
“Why?”
Sylar shrugs helplessly. “I thought it was my destiny. I thought I had to.”
Mohinder reaches out for him, and Sylar pulls Mohinder close.
“We have something in common, then,” Mohinder whispers into the crook of Sylar’s neck.
It’s enough.