Starring:
Summary: Mohinder reluctantly gives in to Mara's requests, but only after she agrees to indulge him.
Date It Happened: July 13, 2007
Company Property
Primatech Paper, Hartsdale
Hartsdale, Sunday afternoon. People should be at home, with the kids, watching tv, whatever normal people do on a Sunday. For Mohinder, this is his normal schedule. He's at the Primatech facility, in the lab and going over the samples that were swiped from Mara's apartment. The blood that was left on her walls bothers him. It was one of the more disturbing things that Sylar has left for someone.
Mara should be on the roof of her building, in a lawn chair, wearing a swimsuit and working on her tan. But no. Fate intervened and there's just no accounting for this change in plans. Instead of sunbathing, Mara's arriving at the Company facility in Hartsdale, as per Mohinder's instructions. She meanders her way through the building, hauling a decent-sized cardboard box. A box which she drops rather unceremoniously once she's entered Mohinder's lab. "He sent me another message," she tells him without any fanfare.
Mohinder looks up sharply as the box is dropped. He stops going over the bloodwork and test results to go inspect the contents. "… When did he leave this?" A sharp intake of breath is heard as he starts going through the contents and pulls out one of the photos at random. The geneticist looks from the photo to Mara, a look of concern on his face. "You know what Bob's going to say about this, right?" Namely, stay under lock and key pretty much. Then.. "What happened to your head?"
"Yes, I bloody well know what Bishop's going to say about this. I've no intention of becoming Company property, though." Mara absently brushes the hair away from the purple bruise on the side of her face, darkening her temple, forehead and even fading out toward her cheekbone. "I fell," she says quietly. Oh, right. That sounds like a lie, doesn't it? "I had a vision, and I fell." She grabs herself a seat, rolls up the sleeve of her shirt and holds her arm out. "I think I need another dose."
It's a little too late for that, is the remark that comes to mind, but Mohinder refrains from voicing it aloud. At the simple explanation, he frowns. He knows Mara better than that now.. then the addition of having a vision does little to make him feel better. "Another dose.. Mara.. you know how I feel about the drug and any long term effects it might have."
"And passing out with Gray watching me is better?" Mara raises her dark brows in question, shifting her arm again. I'm waiting. "I could have been injured a lot worse. I almost opened the package on the stairs."
Mohinder clearly doesn't like either situation. Until there's a better solution, the alternative of the injections will have to suffice. The look he gives Mara says as much too. No further refusal is made, he quietly gathers what he needs from around the lab, along with the drug. "At least now.. I can better monitor you with the injections." As he sets to work on prepping Mara's arm, he returns to the request she made recently. "Why do you need the suppression pills?"
"Can I have some secrets?" The look Mara gives Mohinder now is gentle, but no less pleading. "I'm not planning on dampening myself, if that's what you're worried about. It may present issues, but I wouldn't give it up." She shrugs her free arm slightly, "Being without my ability isn't going to make me a less appealing target at this point."
While secrets and the Company go hand in hand… this isn't sitting well with Mohinder. "How many doses do you need?" He's pondering ways to slip this through without someone coming down on him about the pills. The injection is made of the drug into Mara's arm, and he doesn't have a rebuttal about her ability. "So they aren't for you then. A friend I take it? You know the rules.."
"They're for me. Just… not for me, if you catch my drift." Mara's gaze doesn't stray from Mohinder's eyes. Ready to hold contact when he finishes his work and looks up at her, as he always does when he's being reproachful. "They're an insurance policy. Just… start me out with a couple doses. We'll funnel more as needed." She rests a hand on Mohinder's arm and says seriously, "You have to trust me now. You know this, right? It's the only way this is ever going to work."
"I see," is the response Mohinder gives. "Alright. I've managed to get a few days worth ready for you." See, he already came through. "I do trust you, otherwise I would not have already done this much for you. I just would like to know what's going on." Injection finished, he places a small bandaid over the minute puncture in Mara's skin before pulling off his gloves. A tight smile is made at the woman before he stands, and heads to his workstation where he retrieves the bottles of pills with instructions on them. He changes the subject back to the box she brought in, "What is you plan to do about that? It seems as time goes on, Sylar is…" what? He just has no words. "I've never observed an obsession like this from him."
"I intend to stay alive. Keep runnin'." She gestures to the box she brought in, filled with clothes and something wrapped up in a paper bag. "It's been suggested that if I keep running, keep making the chase exciting for him, I'll live long enough for someone to take him down. So, that's the tentative plan. I'm not just going to hide. I tried that once. I hated it. Felt more helpless than…" Mara shakes her head. "Livin' out of a box. Things could be worse, yeh?" She gingerly touches the bruise on her face. "He knows it frightens me when he says my name and I can't see him. But so long as he still gets a thrill out of watching me squirm, then I'll live."
"I think that's what we all intend," Mohinder states with a frown as he looks again to the box, then settles his gaze on Mara. "So, you're going to keep moving. Where are you intending to stay first?" Clearly, he doesn't like this idea.. anymore than he likes staying at Kirby Plaza.. but Bob's orders there. "Have you had that looked at? To make sure you haven't done further injury beyond a bruise?"
"No, I haven't. It was just a bump. Hit my head on the table." Mara frowns faintly. "Nothing to worry about. I feel fine, so long as I don't poke at it." She frowns and glances at the box. "Bishop's got another thing comin' if he thinks I'm gonna stay locked up in a Company facility. Ya'll know you can't keep me here, or at the Plaza. Boone knew that, too." She smirks faintly, "Gray's obsession is what makes me valuable. And I'm not very valuable if I ain't drawin' him out into the open, now am I?"
"I'll let you tell Bob that," as Mohinder is not going to relay that information. "I still would feel better if you would get an x-ray at least to rule out a possible fracture." He folds his arms across his chest and looks down at the floor for a few moments. He's not going to be the one to pop that bubble of Mara's. There's always a way to hold someone.. perhaps not for long, but there are ways. "Go see Dr. Aldric about the injury." It's phrased as a firm request as he returns to his work table. "You've a fair point about being bait."