Recap: #15 "Run"

Synopsis

Nathan receives a call from Meredith and she tells him that their daughter found her. Nathan says that it's been 14 years and that he went to Meredith's funeral. Meredith explains that the fire wasn't an accident and that she was being chased, so when the police thought she was dead she took advantage of it. Meredith makes a comment that maybe someday Claire will run for Congress. Nathan expresses suspicion about the timing of her call since it's so close to the election. Meredith points out that if news got out about his having a child outside of marriage that it would look bad. Nathan offers her $100,000 for her silence and hangs up the phone.

Sandra and Mr. Bennet return home. Mr. Bennet helps Sandra through the door. Claire asks her mother if she's ok. She says she's been better, but Mr. Bennet says she's fine and just needs some rest. Claire's father tells her that she had an appointment with a neurologist who ran some tests. He tells Claire that Sandra has been having headaches. Annoyed, she points out that she's been having some memory loss, too. He tells her that he's handling the situation. Still spacey, Sandra tells Claire not to worry.

Jessica uses makeup to cover up the symbol on her back. Niki tells Jessica that she won't be able to fool D.L., but Jessica is confident that he won't be able to tell that it's actually her and not Niki.

Janice admires Matt's outfit for his first day working as private security. Matt puts on his gun holster and his wife expresses concern that he's taking his gun. Matt tells her that he makes more money because of his permit to carry a concealed weapon. When Janice asks if he's going to need the gun, Matt remarks that he's basically just a glorified babysitter.

Micah asks D.L. and Jessica, who is still impersonating Niki, if they're ever going to talk about their powers. He says that he feels like they should be using them for something good like fighting crime. She tells Micah to just have fun at school for now. D.L. tells her that there's a package waiting for her on the table. She opens the package and speaks to an unknown person over the phone. She reveals that someone stole a large amount of money from Mr. Linderman and is now wanted dead. Included in the package is a picture of Aron Malsky.
Matt picks up Aron Malsky from the airport and tells him that he's here to protect him.

Hiro and Ando return to the Montecito Casino and sneak in through the kitchen. Ando tries to convince Hiro not to bother with taking the sword, but Hiro tells him he won't give up. Hiro tells him that a hero must have hope. Ando tells Hiro that he can figure out how to get into Mr. Linderman's office and that he'll look for hope. They hear a woman in costume crying in the kitchen. Ando is attracted to the woman and asks if there's anything they can do to help. She introduces herself as Hope.

Matt makes small-talk with Aron Malsky as he drives him to his meeting. Aron tells him that he just wants to be driven to the meeting and back to the airport without being bothered, including being bothered by Matt. Matt hears Aron think that if Matt doesn't know how to use his gun then they may both end up dead.
Mohinder places calls to a number of people on the list, introducing himself, but they all hang up on him. He plays the messages on his answering machine and finds a call from Zane Taylor who is concerned about his new abilities and wants Mohinder to come meet with him.

In a dressing room at the casino, Hope tells Hiro and Ando about her abusive boyfriend. She tells them that she left while he was sleeping but accidentally left her bag in the room. She considers going back up to talk to him and apologize, but Ando tells her that he and Hiro will do it. Surprised, Hiro pulls Ando aside and Ando tries to convince Hiro to help. Ando reminds Hiro that he told him to find "Hope" and Hiro brushes it off as a coincidence. Ando asks Hiro why everything he wants to do is their destiny, but when he wants to do something it's a waste of time. Hope overhears Ando mention Mr. Linderman and tells them that she can introduce them to Mr. Linderman if they can get her bag for her. Hope offers them a plan for getting past security. Ando dresses up as a hotel employee and pushes a cart of food down a hallway. He knocks on a man's door and tells him that it's room service. The man points out that he didn't order room service and Ando tells him it's complimentary. Ando pushes the cart into the man's room and is soon told to leave. After letting Ando out the man gets into the shower. Hiro comes out from underneath the cart that Ando pushed into the room. He lets Ando back into the room and they start looking for Hope's bag. Hiro opens up an armoire, sees a large rifle, and tells Ando that they need to leave. Ando tries to convince Hiro to stay, but Hiro refuses. They both head for the door, but once Hiro is out of the room Ando closes the door and remains in the room. Ando looks under the bed and finds Hope's bag, but before he can retrieve it the man gets out the shower. Ando crawls under the bed with the bag and hides.

Zane Taylor sits, nervously waiting for Mohinder to arrive. The doorbell rings and he rushes to the door. At the door is Sylar. He asks Sylar if his name is Dr. Suresh and Sylar replies "yes." Zane invites Sylar inside. Zane tells him that he's never been special before and offers to show Sylar his ability. He takes a pot from the kitchen and places it on the floor. He warns Sylar to step back since things may get messy.

Nathan and his mother discuss the situation that has arisen concerning Claire. Nathan tells her that he's going to go to Texas and take care of it. Angela suggests that he not go to Texas and risk letting the press find out about Claire. He tells her that he owes both Meredith and Claire more than just a phone call. Angela tries to convince Nathan that as far as Claire goes, he's just a glorified sperm donor. Nathan comments on how cold his mother is. Angela tells him that his tough exterior is just a façade and that if he meets Claire, he's going to get attached to her and she's just going to take all their money. She tells him to just wire them some money.
Claire sits in her bed looking at the necklace Meredith gave her. He father knocks at the door and comes in. She asks her father how her mom is and he tells her that she's resting. He brings up that he knows Claire cut school yesterday. She tells him that she and Zach went to the aquarium for information for their report and that her mom said she could skip school to go. Mr. Bennet pulls out the aquarium tickets and tells her he knows they're fake. Claire accuses him of spying on her and he tells her that he doesn't know where she was and he doesn't want to know. He tells her that her behavior is unacceptable and grounds her. Claire protests and Mr. Bennet reminds her that he's her father. Claire argues that he's not her real father. He admits it but tells her he's the closest thing she's got to a father.

Claire calls Meredith and asks to talk about her father. Meredith tells her that she found him and that he's going to fly down from New York. Claire tells her that she wants to meet him, but Meredith is unsure. Meredith tells her that she'll talk to her father and see what he says.

Matt escorts Aron into a building. Outside, Jessica is leaning up against a tree waiting. Inside, Aron tells the man he's meeting that he's got the money and wants to see the diamonds. The man tells Aron about the diamonds and mentions that his offer is more than generous. Matt hears the man think that it won't matter because Linderman's guy will be there soon and that he won't get out alive. Matt tells him that this is a setup and that they have to leave immediately. Walking through the hallway, Matt asks Aron who Mr. Linderman is. Aron tells him that Mr. Linderman is his ex-employer and then asks how Matt knows his name. He asks Aron why Mr. Linderman sent someone to kill him and he hears Aron think that it's because he stole Mr. Linderman's $2 million. Matt mentions out loud that Aron stole the money and Aron asks him how he knows that. As they wait for an elevator, Aron gives Matt a diamond in exchange for helping him get out alive. Matt hears Jessica's thinking about shooting him and Aron as the elevator approaches their floor. Matt points his gun at the elevator door. When the elevator doors open, Jessica exits and Matt and Aron are gone.

Hiro returns to the dressing room to find Hope. Hiding in a rack of clothing, he overhears her talking on the phone saying that she's sick of her partner taking half of the profit when she does all the work. She says that she found "two Chinese guys to help her out." She tells the person on the phone how she conned them into helping her and says that she's going to take a bus and meet him. Hiro loses his balance and trips through the rack of clothing. She tells Hiro that she was on the phone with her mom. Hiro tells her that they are Japanese, not Chinese. Hope asks them where the bag is. Hiro tells her that she's a bad person and that while she may have fooled Ando, she hasn't fooled him. She calls Hiro Sulu and punches him in the face, knocking him down.
Aron and Matt run down the stairs trying to escape. Aron has to stop briefly to use his inhaler. They exist the stairwell and Matt tells Aron to wait by the elevator. As Jessica descends the stairs she sees Niki in a reflection. Niki tries to tell her to stop, but Jessica doesn't listen. Niki tells her that this is her life and that she can't do this to her. Outside the stairwell, Matt is able to hear both Niki's and Jessica's thoughts. Jessica reveals to Niki that she's doing this to repay Mr. Linderman for getting her out of jail because Niki wasn't able to do it.

Matt calls one of his police associates and tells him that he's got possibly two shooters and needs backup. Jessica shoots at Matt and Aron but misses. Matt returns fire, allowing himself and Aron to get away. Matt tells Aron to go hide and tells him that he'll buy them some time until the police arrive. Jessica sees the stairwell door close and enters the stairwell. Matt comes up behind her and puts a gun to her head. He tells her to drop her gun down the stairwell, which she does. He handcuffs her to the railing and tells her that he heard her partner Niki and wants to know where she is. Jessica is surprised that Matt heard Niki and tells him that she's probably off killing Aron. Matt leaves Jessica handcuffed and goes looking for Aron. He finds him in a room and hears him thinking "fourth one over, third one back" over and over. He finds Aron, but Jessica shows up behind him and throws him out the window. Matt falls only a short way and lands on the large sign in front of the building. He wakes up moments later as the police are arriving.

Claire arrives at Meredith's house and tells her that she needs to see her father. She and Meredith take a walk. She tells Meredith that her mother is sick and that since her father has money and wants to help them, maybe he can help her mother. Meredith tells Claire that by help all she meant was money. Meredith tells Claire that she can't count on her father for help. Meredith claims that her father is only sending $50,000 and that she is entitled to half of it. Claire tells her that she doesn't want the money. Meredith tells Claire that she's going to be heading back to Mexico for a while and that they won't see each other for a while. She takes a picture of Claire with her cell phone.

Matt climbs back in the window and finds Aron snapped in half. The police arrive and Matt tells them he's on the job.

Mohinder finally arrives at Zane's house and rings the doorbell. Sylar opens the door and introduces himself as Zane. He invites Mohinder in and offers him some tea. Mohinder remarks that while Zane sounded stressed over the phone he appears to be much calmer now. Sylar claims he had an epiphany about it that morning. He explains how it was like seeing all the pieces of a puzzle fit together. He tells Mohinder that he was trying to deny it at first, but that there's no shame in the ability he has. Sylar offers to show Mohinder his ability. Sylar retrieves a toaster and places it on the floor. He tells Mohinder to step back so he doesn't get his clothes dirty. Sylar reaches out to the toaster and it begins to destabilize and turns into a liquid.

Nathan arrives at Meredith's trailer. Nathan apologizes for the way things turned out. Meredith tells him that they were never going to work out anyway. He gives Meredith the money and asks where Claire is. Meredith tells him that he just missed her, but outside the trailer, Claire listens to the conversation. She shows Nathan a picture of Claire. He's initially reluctant, but eventually takes the phone and looks. She tells Nathan that Claire thought he was going to rescue her from her life. She tells Nathan that she told Claire that Nathan was just there to give her the money and leave. She offers to call Claire and get her to return, but Nathan tells her that it's okay. Nathan gets back into the car and leaves. As the car is driving away, Claire throws a large rock at it and cracks the rear window. Nathan appears emotional and dismisses it as just being the work of some kids.
Speaking to Sylar, Mohinder asks him how he's able to control his ability. Sylar tells him it's like the awkwardness of riding a bike for the first time. Mohinder tells Sylar that he'd like a DNA sample and hands him a swab. Sylar goes to get the tea and swabs inside the mouth of Zane, who is dead on the floor. Mohinder suggests that he be careful who he talks to about his ability because there are people who may not understand and may want to hurt him. He tells Sylar that there are others with abilities as well and that with some time and research he may be able to find hundreds or thousands of people. Sylar offers to come with him and help him find these people.

Ando finds Hope and gives her the bag he took from the room. She tells Ando to come with her since she needs a ride to her mom's house in Primm. He asks where Hiro is and she claims she took him to meet the guy who would introduce him to Mr. Linderman. When Ando asks why he didn't wait for him she tells him that Hiro said he didn't need him anymore. Ando is confused, but she shuts him up by kissing him and telling him that they need to go.

Trapped in a closet, Hiro tries to charge the door and break it open but fails. He hears a noise from the other side and, assuming it's Ando, he explains that Hope is dangerous. The man whose hotel room they had snuck into opens the door and points a gun at Hiro. He introduces himself as Steve Gustavson, a member of the State Gaming Commission. Hiro gives the Vulcan salute and tells him "I come in peace."

Matt speaks to a detective at the scene of Aron's murder. He explains that he heard both Niki and Jessica talking and that Jessica was strong enough to break his handcuffs. The detective asks Matt if he knows where the diamonds are, but he doesn't know. Matt remembers what he heard Aron think before he was killed and realizes the suitcase is over the ceiling panels. He goes to give the bag of diamonds to the detective, but hears the detective thinking that Matt's just a joke and will never wear a badge again. Matt decides to pocket the diamonds.

Claire returns home and finds a pot of water boiling over on the stove and her mother yelling at Mr. Muggles. Her mom calls Mr. Muggles a "mangy thing" and tells Claire it came at her out of nowhere. When Claire tells her he's her dog, she tells Claire that she doesn't have a dog and doesn't even know who Claire is. She leaves the room.

Jessica speaks to someone on the phone again and tells the person that "it's done." She then finds out from Micah that she received another package. She opens it and finds a picture of Nathan. She tells the person on the phone to "consider it done."

To survive in this world, we hold close to us those people on whom we depend. We trust in them our hopes, our fears. But what happens when trust is lost? Where do we run when things we believe in vanish before our eyes? When all seems lost, the future unknowable, our very existence in peril... all we can do is run.

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