S01E08 - In Good Company
In the cold open, we see Richard Cardinal playing with his wife and daughter in Central Park. They are laughing and happy, smiling. Richard kisses his daughter on the forehead and tells her he loves her. Then he receives a call on his cell phone from his office and tells them it is a work emergency and he will be "just a moment." Cardinal then winks, steps into the shadow of a tree and vanishes.
In the offices of Crimson Security Solutions, Richard meets up with his business partner Kain Zarek. Richard asks Kain why he called, and Kain says he got a strange call from a number he didn't recognize that tried to warn him of an impending terorrist attack in New York, but the line went dead before he could get more details. Richard looks shocked and as he turns to look out the windows he is met by a blinding white flash.
When the light dies down, there is a mushroom cloud rising up over Central Park. A shockwave begins tearing apart buildings, and Kain grabs Richard and dives to the floor at it hits their building.
New York City. Late Summer, 2008.
After the credits we cut to the interior of Crimson Security Solutions where Richard is shouting at Teo, saying "Absolutely not!" Teo tries to advocate for the PARIAH members to hold up in Richard's office building until they can get on their feet, but Richard doesn't want the risk of having them so close. He blames them for all the bad publicity surrounding the DHS holding facility raid that ended with civilian casualties. He compares Cameron Spalding to the Midtown Man. Teo says that isn't fair, and Richard asks him why not. Teo does not answer.
At Coney Island, Helena, Eve, Magnes, and Ben sit and wait for word from Teo. Magnes is eating a hot dog and Helena asks him how he can eat at a time like this, and Magnes says eating helps him stay calm. Ben tells Magnes everything will be okay and that heroes face challenges every day. Eve is about to correct Ben when Helena interrupts her, saying she's getting a phone call.
Teo and Helena are intercut, discussing the terms that Richard will entertain their presence. They must stay in a warehouse owned by his company and keep a low profile. Then he reluctantly tells Helena that they have to turn Cameron over to the feds. Helena says she hasn't seem Cameron since they evacuated and that makes Teo nervous, he says he'll let Richard know. Helena agrees to the terms without telling the others what it is, and Teo delivers her the address. When Kain enters the office, Teo says he has to go and ends the call. Helena suggests everyone splits up and heads to the warehouse. Magnes sticks with Ben.
At Crimson Security Solutions, Richard tells Teo about the call they received on the day of the Midtown Explosion that warned them of the impending attack. Richard has always suspected there is more to the Midtown Explosion, that the event was tidied up too quickly, that nothing in history is ever that clean. Sylar being alive only reaffirms his suspicions. Richard thinks that the PARIAH members might be able to help him uncover what's really going on, but warns Teo not to get too invested in terrorists. Teo says PARIAH aren't terrorists, and Kain counters saying that's not what it looks like to the world.
Across the city, Helena comes out of a subway and looks over her shoulder. She feels like she is being followed and spots Wireless in the crowd. Helena takes a few turns once on the street and notices Wireless is still following her. She tries to lose Wireless in a foot chase through Chinatown, and ends up causing a microburst that destroys an outdoor market. Wireless is buried under a collapsed awning and loses Helena.
When the members of PARIAH meet up at the warehouse after dark, Magnes explains that he thinks someone might have been following him. So he took Ben and flew around for a bit. Helena is nervous, not sure of what to do next, when Teo enters the warehouse. Helena can tell something is "off" about Teo, and when a man in wire-rimmed glasses enters behind Teo with a gun at his back, Magnes recognizes Norman as the man who was following him. Wirless enters next holding her hands up to show she's unarmed, and tells Benner to "put that gun away."
Agent Benner says they're not here as government agents, but friends. Teo looks at Benner's gun, and he slowly holsters it. Benner explains that he and Wireless were agents of a covert organization called the Company who were the ones that were holding Sylar. Wireless and Benner had been working for years to get close to where the Company leadership was keeping Sylar so they could kill him without getting caught, but the raid on the DHS facility changed all of that. After the raid the Company noticed all of the off-the-books work he and Wireless had been doing, and they were forced to go to ground.
Benner suggests that they work together, toward a common goal. Helena asks Benner what the Company is, and he says that's a longer story, but he's willing to tell it. Magnes and Teo look incredulously to one-another, and Teo asks Benner if they knew about Jenny Childs. Benner says he did, and that he and Wireless had been covering her tracks. But someone else made sure she had access to information about Sylar, unprotected. Benner and Wireless believes someone wanted Sylar to get out, but he doesn't know who or why. But now they're all "screwed" and need one-another to survive.
Magnes doesn't know what to think and Teo is uncertain. Helena isn't sure either, but wonders if the enemy of her enemy is her friend.
Meanwhile, at Jenny's apartment, Sylar is eating dinner with Jenny. She asks him about his family, and Sylar says he can't remember them. Sylar asks Jenny if she has any family, to which Jenny replies that she has a twin sister. Sylar wonders what that's like, having someone who is an identical copy of you. Jenny laughs and says they're hardly identical. Jenny admits she's the good one. Sylar leans in towards her and says she seems good, but wonders why she's still there with him. Jenny says she's always been looking for someone like Sylar, a genius with the power to change the world. Sylar says nothing in response.
They kiss.