Isaac's Studio, Lower Manhattan. Isaac and Peter huddle over Simone's body. Isaac meant to shoot Peter, but now Simone's dead, and there's nothing Peter can do to change it. Isaac goes to pieces while Peter carries her down and lays her on a cot in the corner. Isaac blames Peter, snatches the gun from where it fell on the painting of New York's destruction and begins shooting. Peter dodges bullets then fades to invisibility. Knocked over paintings trace his path as he crashes out through the door.

Casino lobby, Las Vegas. Hiro rides the escalator up with a group of tourists from Osaka. At the top, two hosts greet the tourists in Japanese, but stop when confronted by Hiro. Hiro tries to bluff, but he's been flagged by security, and even though he insists he was invited by Linderman, they give him a bum's rush out onto the street. Hiro dusts himself off and boasts that he can't be stopped, that he will find a way inside. The large man who threw him out looms menacingly and Hiro wisely backs off.

Infirmary, Primatech. Thompson glances into a long mirror on one wall as he interrogates Bennet. Bennet sits on an exam table, buttoning his shirt. He doesn't remember anything after driving his wife home from the hospital. It's clear the Haitian has taken Claire and a chunk of memory from Bennet, Sandra and Lyle with him. Thompson pushes, but Bennet pushes back, his anger leading him to strain the stitching over his bullet wound so that the pain almost doubles him over. His daughter is missing and he's anxious to find her, but Thompson insists that's not his problem any more. He's pleased Bennet took his parental responsibilities seriously, but reminds Bennet that Claire was an assignment, they had to force on Bennet. Bennet has a new project, and Thompson expects it to be taken care of. Thompson walks out of the room and around to the far side of the mirror. Matt's tied down in a chair, with a young woman behind him. He tells Thompson that Bennet's being truthful, which loses Thompson a bet with the woman. They told Matt that if he helped them, they'd let him go. The woman cuffs Matt on the back of the head, then she and Thompson walk away leaving Matt shouting after them.

A Truck Stop along Route 290. The Haitian, with Claire in the passenger seat of the car, pulls into the parking lot near some pay phones. She's been quiet because he can't answer her questions, although he would if he knew what the answers were. Claire can't go back to her family, and she can't understand the sacrifice her father made for her. Not even Claire could recover from what the men Bennet worked for would do to her. They get out and the Haitian makes a short phone call, speaking in French. It's clear he's getting instructions, and Claire wonders if that means she can go home. The Haitian shakes his head. They have to leave the country, tonight.

Nathan's Office, Manhattan. Nathan's assistant lets two men in. They're from the F.B.I. and they want to talk about illegal campaign contributions donated by the Linderman Group. One agent questions Nathan and goes around the office shutting blinds. The second agent produces a bug sniffer and clears the room. Nathan's peeved. When he brought the F.B.I. in on his plan to bring Linderman down, shortly after Heidi's accident, they promised there would be no meetings. One agent explains that Linderman's asked for a face-to-face at the casino. Nathan's still four points behind in the polls, and Linderman's probably going to explain how he's going to change that. The agents want him to wear a wire. They'll make contact again when Nathan reaches Los Angeles. They leave. Nathan rises from his desk and turns to find Peter standing behind him, looking pale, half dead with a splatter of blood on his cheek. Peter sobs the story of Simone's death to Nathan, who promises to make an anonymous call to the police so they'll check it out without involving Peter. Peter feels he has to do something, but Nathan convinces him that it's not a good time to be noble. Instead, it's a good time to stay with Nathan. Peter can't. He's going to explode, and it's too late for Nathan to do anything about that. Nathan disagrees. They can contact Suresh, who's working on a cure. A knock comes at the door, and Nathan turns as his assistant enters to tell him a car is waiting to take Nathan to the airport. The assistant leaves, and Nathan turns back to Peter, who has turned invisible and left through another door.

Hotel Suite, Odessa. Bennet enters to find Sandra tying on some track shoes. Lyle's in the other room, watching pay-per-view. Claire's on a cheerleading retreat, and Sandra's off to the gym before there's an elipto line. The flood in their house has given them a vacation. Mrs. Bennet's cell phone rings with a tone like a barking dog. Bennet goes into the bedroom to pick it up, but Sandra tells him to let it be. It's the kennel, with an hourly update on Mr. Muggles. Bennet has to take a trip. Sandra grows alarmed. As he pulls out a suitcase to pack, she enters the bedroom and turns some opera on the clock radio by the bed. Under its noise, she tells him he can't go. She knows all about what he really does. He took her in the shower and told her before the Haitian took his memory. He also gave her a note, in his own handwriting, telling him that Claire is with friends and not to look for her. She knows she can't let anyone discover that her memory is intact, but it's okay, she's used to playing dumb. Bennet's impressed. There's a knock at the door and Bennet opens it to find Candace Willmer in boots and a miniskirt. She didn't know he was into Puccini. She figured he was more a John Denver man. Isaac called. He's got a dead girlfriend. Thompson says that Bennet needs to handle it. Bennet resists, but it's not a request. Bennet leaves to finish packing. Candace sticks her boot in the door before it can close and enters. Sandra's at the table. There's a paper emergency that only Bennet can handle. Sandra's response is awkward, and Candace ends the exchange by complimenting Sandra's hair.

Suresh Apartment, Brooklyn. Sylar, masquerading as Zane Taylor, examines the list, or what's left of it. Many of the people on it are missing, or dead. Mohinder, at his laptop, runs Zane Taylor's D.N.A. against his father's formula, but the results don't help him narrow down the specific sequence his father was looking for. He's frustrated, and he's been driving all night. Sylar insists that he take a break, but Mohinder feels driven. He has to save those people, and there's no telling when Sylar will strike them again. Sylar insists Mohinder take a break while Sylar himself makes contact with another on the list: Isaac Mendez. While Sylar phones, Mohinder makes tea. Sylar gets a busy signal, and reiterates that before Mohinder came alone, he felt alone and insignificant. Mohinder's given him hope. Mohinder thinks hope is grand, but caffeine is necessary. They clink mugs and Sylar sips from the tea, which is quite good, and a blend of chai that Chandra brought from India. The room goes out of focus as Sylar grows suddenly drowsy. The tea is drugged, and Mohinder knows who Sylar really is.

Casino, Las Vegas. Hiro sits dejectedly on the curb outside until Nathan comes up to him. Overjoyed, Hiro leaps to his feet to shout, but Nathan covers his mouth. The two of them go inside where the noise of slot players covers their conversation, and Hiro's able to shout “Flying Man!” in peace. Hiro's unable to get into the casino because security blocks his attempts. Ando's gone back to Japan because Hiro's adventure was becoming too dangerous. Nathan understands. Sometimes you have to go it alone. The more people involved, the more people can get hurt. When they first met, Nathan thought Hiro was nuts. Hiro thought Nathan was mean because he appeared not to care about anyone. In truth, he cares too much. Nathan wonders whether Hiro's quest for the sword is that important, and Hiro assures him that getting Hiro's powers back is important to all of them. Nathan leads him to the hosts who through Hiro out before. Hiro has a delivery for Mr. Linderman from Nathan, and the guards know what'll happen if Mr. Linderman doesn't get what he's expecting. Does Nathan have to paint them a picture? The guards, recognizing Nathan, stammer apologies and suggest Hiro take his delivery to the curator. That works for Hiro.

Airport Lobby, Texas. Claire and the Haitian ride the escalator down. She reads the papers he's given her. She's supposed to be some girl from Canada, and she's not happy about it (what's wrong with Canada?). The second she gets on the plane, everything about her life will be gone: friends, family, home. The Haitian offers to wipe her memory if that'll make it easier, but she declines. She wants to go to New York, to hide with Peter Petrelli, someone who cares for her. The Haitian advises against it. Peter's in no position to take responsibility for himself or anyone else. Claire accepts this with resignation and they approach the boarding gate. Claire passes through unmolested, but the Haitian is stopped when he can't find his boarding pass. He realizes that Claire's lifted it off him, and tries to get to her, but the guards restrain him. Claire continues on her way with a half-smile. She dumps the Haitian's pass into the garbage and proceeds to get lost in the crowd.

Isaac's Studio, Lower Manhattan. Isaac sits beside the cot on which lays Simone's body. There's a pounding on the door and Isaac opens it to find a detective and several uniforms from the N.Y.P.D. He's asking about Simone, even has a picture of her. They received an anonymous tip that she'd been hurt, and Isaac's neighbors reported hearing an argument and gunshots. They'd like to look around. Isaac, stunned, is unable to move as the detective pushes past him. He sees nothing, and then Simone breezes through the doorway, wondering what's going on. She stops in front of the now empty cot. Isaac's doubly shocked. The detective assures her there's no problem now and he and the uniforms exit. Isaac can't believe his eyes. As he starts to question Simone, Bennet enters. Once he's closed the door, Simone and the room around her shimmer and change shape. Simone is once more on the cot and Candace stands where Simone had stood a moment earlier. Bennet's impressed. She's useful. Isaac understands now that Candace is special. A cleanup crew is going to come by and take care of the mess. As far as the rest of the world knows, Simone's traveling indefinitely in Europe. Isaac doesn't know how he's going to go on, though, with Simone dead. Candace figures he should have thought of that before he shot her twice. She morphs back into Simone and opens her bloody jacket, asking if he'd like to shoot her again. Isaac's speechless, and Bennet steps between he and Candace, demanding she stop. Candace does, reluctantly. Isaac knows what to do: paint. Candace offers her condolences, with a snotty smile, then she and Bennet leave.

Sanders House, Las Vegas. Micah and Jessica, masquerading as Niki, sit on the bed in his room. Jessica plays a video game. She's very good at it. That's what she does while Micah's away at school. Speaking of school, Micah has to go or he's going to be late. Jessica tries to talk him out of it. They're not going to teach him anything he doesn't already know. Micah shakes his head and hugs her before leaving the room with his book bag over his shoulder. He says, “I love you,” but she doesn't reply. Jessica eats a piece of candy and looks in the mirror on the back of Micah's door. Niki looks back. Jessica does a better Niki than Niki does. Niki's reply is a look to the edge of the door which opens as D.L. stomps into the room holding the photo of Nathan Linderman has marked as Jessica's next target. He found it on his pillow and wants to know what's going on. They promised no more secrets. Jessica convinces him she's going to Linderman's casino as a dealer, and that she won't do anything she doesn't want to do. She kisses him, and he turns away, seemingly mollified. As he leaves the room, though, his expression turns dark and determined.

Suresh Apartment, Brooklyn. Sylar awakens strapped down in a chair with an I.V. dripping into his arm. He can't feel his fingers. Mohinder adjusts the I.V. It's curare, which numbs the brain and prevents Sylar from using his powers. Sylar denies being Sylar, but Mohinder shows him a newspaper photograph of Zane Taylor's decapitated body taken on the day they met. He then pulls a tuning fork out of his pocket, strikes it against a table and holds it to Sylar's ear. Sylar, channeling Dale Smither's power, can't stand the noise and eventually confesses. Mohinder crosses to his desk and pulls out the gun Eden gave him so long ago. He's going to do to Sylar what he would do to any parasite: kill it before it kills again. Sylar murdered Mohinder's father and countless others, but Sylar insists that Chandra and Mohinder are the real murderers, allowing him to run free so they can further their research. Sylar knows all about Chandra, about his grief over Shanti, about Mohinder's constant quest for approval while Sylar himself provided Chandra with intellectual stimulation. Mohinder's the real parasite, and he leans against the pistol's muzzle so hard it leaves a mark on his forehead, daring Mohinder to pull the trigger. Mohinder agrees that Chandra's work came first, so he puts down the gun and pulls out a needle. Sylar is patient zero, on which Chandra founded his formula. Sylar's D.N.A. could contain the information necessary to understanding the formula. He's going to take a sample of Sylar's spinal fluid. It's going to hurt. Sylar screams as Mohinder plunges the needle into the back of Sylar's neck.

Casino, Las Vegas. Hiro steps off the elevator into a museum stuffed with antiquities and valuables. Awed, he walks to a desk behind which a goggled man sits, poring over parchment fragments beside a computer. Hiro removes his painting scabbard and tries to lay it on the desk. The curator stops him. It would be a shame to crush one of the few remaining dead sea scroll fragments. The curator takes the painting, “the new Mendez,” and examines it. It's been torn into pieces and stuck back together with Scotch tape. Hiro nods. The painting is very special. He needs a receipt proving delivery, and the curator leaves the room to get one. Hiro rushes around the desk and uses the computer to find Takeso Kensai's sword. There are hundreds of others in the computer's databank. The computer finds it and opens the drawer in the cabinet where it rests. Hiro grabs a step ladder and hurries to it, but before he can take the sword, the curator appears behind him. There are 754 guards in the building, all instructed to come running when the curator pushes a button. He does, and the doors of the room begin to close. One guard arrives almost immediately, but when he's close enough to Hiro and the curator, knocks the curator out with the butt of his gun. It's Ando in a uniform. He's been following Hiro, figuring Hiro would set off an alarm sooner or later. They embrace, Hiro shouting thank-you's before wondering about the other 753 guards. The two of them hastily jam a display table against the door through which Ando came. They're trapped.

Casino Hotel, Las Vegas. Nathan speaks into his lapel pin as he rides up an escalator. Linderman's going to call for him in an hour, so he's going up to his room. Cut to a room in the hotel where the two F.B.I. agents listen and record Nathan's words. They're waiting for a pizza, so neither of them is surprised when the door opens, but it's Jessica with gun drawn. Linderman has a message: it's stupid to run surveillance on a man from inside his own hotel. She forces them to give up their guns and kneel on the floor, then shoots them.

Suresh Apartment, Brooklyn. Mohinder experiences eureka in front of his laptop. Sylar's genes have provided the key to Chandra's formula. Four codons. Mohinder can create a new list. He can find the specials and save them. From his slumped position in his chair, Sylar wonders if Mohinder can save him too. With tears in his eyes he pleads for salvation, then savagely demands the list so he can “sink his teeth in.” As Mohinder takes the gun from the table, Sylar portrays himself as the end result of evolution: a predator. Mohinder accuses him of murder, and fulfills his duty as a son by exacting revenge. He pulls the trigger, but the bullet stops in mid air only a foot from Sylar's head. Mohinder lowers the gun in awful surprise. Sylar praises him for being so wrapped up in his work that he didn't notice Sylar turning off the I.V. Sylar telekinetically drops the bullet then frees his hands. Mohinder struggles, but appears to be held in Sylar's mental grip. Sylar rises from his chair and approaches Mohinder. Mohinder is going to do some good. He's going to give Sylar a new list.

Isaac's Studio, Lower Manhattan. Isaac leafs through his sketchbook, lingering over paintings of Simone and Peter, then rises abruptly. He tears the studio apart looking for something, and finds it in a hollowed-out book. A drug kit. He shoots up and begins painting. When the trance wears off some time later, he finds himself facing images of his own decapitated corpse in a pool of blood, with his gun nearby.

Casino Hotel Room, Las Vegas. Nathan enters, telling his lapel pin that he's returned to his room to wait for Linderman's call. He finds Niki sitting on his bed, but before he can react, she jumps up and pushes him against the wall. She holds a gun on him while she tears the wire from under his jacket. They don't have much time before Jessica comes back. Nathan's confused, but overpowers her and throws her onto the bed. Linderman knows about the wire and the F.B.I. Nathan's confident that the F.B.I. can hear every word they're saying until Niki tells him they're dead. Nathan can't figure out if she's there to warn him or to kill him. Niki begs him to trust her.

Bennet Hotel Room, Odessa. Mr. Bennet enters with his suitcase. Sandra's in the bathroom brushing her hair, and is surprised he's back so early. The hotel's going to let them keep Mr. Muggles in the room, which is good news. Bennet turns on the water and undercover of it's noise, they embrace. She's been worried and stressed, but he assures her they have to keep up the front. He didn't find Claire, and he can't go looking because it would lead them to her. The only way to keep Claire safe is to stop the company. He didn't know he could talk to her. He was afraid she'd be angry and upset after all the lies. Sandra comforts him until a cell phone rings with a normal tone in the outer room, and Sandra steps out to get it. She stands in the bathroom doorway, facing Mr. Bennet as she talks. He is going to be a problem, and they should do “it” right now. Bennet recoils as Thompson and two heavyset men enter the room behind Sandra. Sandra shimmers and the illusion collapses to reveal Candace. She's sorry.

Casino Museum, Las Vegas. Hiro retrieves the sword of Kensai and takes a moment to enjoy his victory. The moment is spoiled when the mass of security guards begins beating down the door he and Ando barricaded. He joins Ando, who tells Hiro to teleport out and leave him behind. Hiro refuses. They're both going. Hiro slings the sword and its sheathe over his shoulder then rests his hands on Ando's shoulders. Hiro's eyes close and his jowls shake. Ando glances over to where the guards have come almost through the door, and closes his eyes as well. They fade from the scene and emerge...

Deveaux Building Rooftop, New York. It takes only a moment for Hiro to realize they've jumped into the future again. They look out over the ruins New York, Ando shaken by the sight of demolished buildings. Hiro is devastated. He must have failed.

Petrelli Apartment, Brooklyn. Claire knocks on the door and stands uncertainly in the hall, reading and rereading an address card. A woman opens the door and Claire apologizes. She's looking for Peter, but must have the wrong address. The woman is Peter's mother, and she complains it's a bad time for her to do that, but invites Claire in. Once Claire's inside, she begins speaking French, clearly complaining about something. The Haitian steps into view through a doorway, and Claire looks from one to another as they finish their conversation. Angela Petrelli is Claire's grandmother and she's been trying to protect Claire, but it's been difficult because Claire's just as stubborn as her father.

Nathan's Hotel Room. Niki explains Linderman's plan for Nathan's death. When he meets Linderman, he'll be offered a deal. Niki tells him to take it. Either that or grab his family and run, because there are no other options. Nathan disagrees. He could kill Linderman. Niki offers him her gun and demands that Nathan knock her out so Jessica knows she's not in charge anymore. Nathan complies. A short time later, he meets an escort in the elevator and is surprised when the elevator heads toward the basement instead of the penthouse. They end up in the kitchens, where Linderman is among the busy chefs assembling a pot pie. Linderman sends everyone out of the room while he monopolizes the conversation, talking first about vegetables and then about happiness, and then about a life of meaning. Nathan wants both, but Linderman doesn't believe that's possible because happiness demands living only in the moment while a life of meaning demands wallowing in the past and obsessing about the future. Linderman knows Nathan's been obsessing about his future a great deal lately. Nathan pulls the gun. Linderman denies him any of his pot pie. If Nathan pulls the trigger, they'll both die. Instead, Linderman offers him information. He knows about Nathan's ability, about Peter's problem, about Claire and all the others out there. Nathan isn't swayed by that. Linderman then offers him the election, and promises that two years from that moment, Nathan will be in the Whitehouse, close to the presidency. Nathan can have all that, a life of meaning, or he can shoot Linderman, who goes back to chopping vegetables. Nathan lowers the gun.

Suresh Apartment, Brooklyn. Peter enters, calling for Mohinder. The apartment is dark and messy, with furniture knocked over and lying on the floor. He wanders through the main room, but sees no one. He feels something drip onto his head, then onto his forehead. It's blood and he looks up to see Mohinder nailed to the ceiling, clearly near death. Mohinder whispers, “Sylar,” and Peter turns to find Sylar behind him. Peter's thrown against the wall by Sylar's telekinesis. Sylar remembers him, Peter can do the same thing Sylar can and Sylar wonders how that works. He raises his finger and a line of blood appears along Peter's skull. Peter screams as his blood drips onto the floor, followed by his severed forelock.