Perry White opened his office's door, and stood with a hand on his belt, and attentive eyes that, every worker in the Daily Planet knew, could be awfully scary when he was furious. He yelled:
"Terrence! TERRENCE!"
Lois Lane sighed, relieved the boss wanted nothing with her – for once.
"JACK Terrence!", Perry continued, "Where the hell is this kid?"
"Here, chief…", and hesitant voice responded. A young man, no more than twenty, raised his hand. His face showed an interesting mix of fear and conformation.
"IN MY OFFICE, Terrence!"
"Yes, chief…"
Lois smiled to herself, remembering Perry White could be a scary guy to the young and new reporters. It took her a few years to learn how to deal with him, but she managed. Not without a little help, of course.
"Clark", she called, her voice no more than a whisper.
The handsome face of her husband immediately appeared above the cubicle wall that separated their desks: "Yes, dear…"
"Smallville, remember how much Perry used to yell at me when we first met?"
"Oh, yes!" He nodded his head, and pushed the glasses - it had slipped a little down his nose - back into place. "And I remember I was so surprised…"
"Surprised I endured all the pressure?"
"Surprised he never fired you."
"Clark!"
"Lois, your spelling was really awful…"
Young Jack Terrence was in his way to Perry's office, and passing by their desks at this moment.
"Hey, Jack!" Clark used a hand to hold the boy's shoulder, and said with a kind smile in his lips: "It will be fine. I'm sure you didn't do anything wrong."
The young man reacted to these words raising his eyebrows, and his face looked a little less pale.
"You… you think so, Mr. Kent?"
"Please, call me Clark… and yes, I do think so." He lowered his voice. "You know what? Maybe he is just planning to give you a special job…"
"Do you think…?" Jack didn't finish his question, since his words were taken from him by another yell:
"What the hell is taking you so long, Jack Terrence?"
Again the color left his face, and he continued as fast as possible his way to the chief's office:
"Must go! Well… thanks anyway, Mr. Kent! Or… hm… well, Clark… Bye…!"
"See you around, Jack…"
Lois laughed, and leaned over the desk. She kissed her husband's cheek, and, lips close to his ears, said in the lower tone of voice as possible:
"Don't tell me you were using super-hearing to listen inside Perry's office…" She looked into his eyes, those blue, honest, wonderful eyes. After all those years together, it didn't take her more than an exchange of looks to get answers from him. "Oh, my God, Clark… now, this I wouldn't have guessed!"
"It's not like that…", he blushed lightly, a reaction that Lois would always think to be fascinating in a grown man, and that always remind her of how much she loved him… Clark might be a tough superhero, someone that came from another planet, the Last Son of Krypton, but no one would ever be as human as he.
"It's just that Perry was on the phone talking to Bruce", Clark explained, "and you know how Bruce is…"
Bruce Wayne, that's who he was talking about. Not only a millionaire or the present owner of the Daily Planet, but also someone with another identity… Most of the time Bruce Wayne was Batman, also known as the Dark Knight, protector of Gotham City. Also a superhero, like Clark was Superman… and at the same time, a very different one. Bruce had no super powers, just a fair amount of money and training, and, above all, an incredible will. Yes, it was true that both Clark and Bruce stood against crime, but they did it in a very different way. Batman was always walking in a grey territory, almost crossing the line, that thin line that separated heroes from criminals. And that, Lois knew, was something that would always bother Clark.
"Well, what about Bruce? What is he up to?"
Clark sighed: "Wish I knew… All I know is he is coming to Metropolis, but why?"
"Batman and Superman haven't met?"
"You know how he is. A man of actions, and never one that…"
"…talks." She ended his sentence, one she had heard before. "Yes, that's for sure. But tell me", Lois considered that a change in the subject could help her husband's humor, "what Jack has to do with all that?"
"Don't worry, dear…" Clark answered with a crocked smile. "You are about to know."
It's not like she could be angry, but she wasn't happy with Clark either. He knew what Perry was up to, so he could have at least prepared her!
"You would have found a way out of it", he said to her when she complained.
True. She still could think of a thousand excuses to escape this annoying task her boss Perry White gave her:
"You are getting too fond of this reporter-celebrity thing!" He had a finger pointing to her face, a little too close to her nose. "It's time to remember the old days, the days you were just a simple and unknown journalist… And what better way to do it than show Jack Terrence how the real reporters work…"
Lois Lane and Jack Terrence were standing in the wide lobby of Metropolis Airport, watching planes come and go, flying over the glass ceiling. The day was beautiful, a clear blue sky in a calm afternoon; Lois would be enjoying all that, if only she hadn't been forced to come.
"Do you think we could see Superman flying around?" Jack suddenly asked.
"Sorry, what?"
Lois glanced at the young man, hiding her surprise behind her sunglasses.
But Jack was staring at his cup of coffee, looking a little embarrassed: "Well, I know it's silly… It's just that I have moved to Metropolis six months ago, and I've never seen him…"
She couldn't hold a tender smile.
"No, no, please… I know the feeling! Who wouldn't want to see Superman flying over the city, even more in such a beautiful day?"
"Right." He said nothing for a few moments, and looked at her with a puzzled expression that Lois couldn't help notice.
"What's the matter?"
"Never mind."
"No, Jack, camon…" She took off the sunglasses, revealing her green eyes – inquisitive green eyes. Lois didn't like things to be left unsaid, and she was good in the business of making people talk. "Tell me."
"I… I don't know…"
"You better tell me. I'm almost a mind reader, I'll discover what it is, eventually."
He smiled, but she sensed he had understood the meaning of her words.
"I just wonder, Miss Lane… Doesn't Mr. Kent get upset?"
"Upset?"
"Yeah… that you and the Superman, you know… you are always writing about him…"
"Jack", she interrupted, and spoke in a serious tone, "understand this: the Superman thing, it's all business. He is hero, but he is not like us. We all love the Super, but, in the end of the day, the only one I want by my side is Clark."
Jack Terrence looked even more embarrassed: "I… I… I'm sorry… I didn't mean like that, really…!"
No, he didn't. Maybe he didn't. Lois too didn't mean to sound so rude, but it was hard to control herself when it came to discuss her and Clark. It was true that she had fallen in love by Superman, and, incidentally, by Clark. However, time had shown her that her husband was neither Clark nor Superman, but a curious mix of both. While Clark Kent often posed as the goofy reporter, and Superman as the mythical hero, none of those were actually her husband Clark. Behind all that there was a man, one that had the humbleness of Clark Kent, and the strong character of Superman. A protector and a companion. One that she could be proud of, and that belonged only to her.
"Lois? Lois? Hey, Lois?" Jack was trying to catch her attention.
"Hm? What is the…"
"Look. Isn't that them?"
Lois looked towards the direction Jack was pointing, and saw the unlikely pair walking in the lobby. Two men, one that looked around thirty, tall, dark and short hair meticulously cut, dressed in a fine black suit, wearing a three thousand dollars sunglasses, and a twenty thousand dollars watch; the other, an older man, had a thin and well cared mustache, wearing what looked like a butler's uniform from an old British movie, and a hat that made him look even more like a character from Victorian's age.
"Oh, yes…", Lois confirmed, "that's them."
The pair of reporters approached, just in time to catch Alfred's emotionless phrase:
"Master Wayne, I'm sorry to tell you, but the press is here."
Jack hesitated, but Lois took his arm, and forced him to get closer. "Never let them intimidate you!"
"Bruce!" She called, getting not only his attention, but also many glances from people around them. "Hey! Bruce Wayne, wait for us!"
Jack was amazed to see that the man actually did wait.
"Lois… what a wonderful surprise."
Nothing in Bruce Wayne suggested he really thought this surprise to be wonderful, but he accepted a hug and a light kiss from the journalist. "I thought I had made pretty clear to Perry that this kindness wasn't needed… I already have a limousine waiting for me outside."
"Oh, Bruce!" Lois gave him a charming smile. "We are not here to give you a ride!"
"Than…"
She took a recorder from her handbag, and Jack was amazed to see it was already on. "Mr. Wayne, what do you think about the statement of Lex Luthor, saying you are donating three million dollars to Metropolis Museum because you are considering run for president and it's a campaign maneuver…?"
"Delusional. Insane. Crazy. Pick one."
"Really? And why are you donating all that money? Any other reason than because you are such a philanthropist…"
"No comments, Miss Lane."
"Bruce…"
"I mean it."
"Mr. Wayne!"
Jack Terrence had suddenly put himself between Lois and Bruce.
"Who are you?"
The young man offered a stretched hand, but the millionaire didn't make a move, and kept his own hands inside his pockets. Lois sighed, while Jack turned to her, looking for guidance. She had forgotten about Jack for a few moments, and now he had managed to gain Bruce's despise in a second. How unfortunate.
"Sorry, Bruce… my mistake, I didn't introduce you… This is Jack Terrence, one of our young – and restless - reporters. He was just hired…"
"I see."
"Looks like the young man is still on training…", Alfred said, a very polite way of showing how inappropriately Jack had act.
"Yes… well, Jack will be covering the Museum Party."
Lois saw a minor movement in Bruce's eyebrow. It was gone in a second, but she got the sign.
"You know what?" She turned her attention to Jack. "Could you be a sweetheart and bring me another coffee? I think the interview is over, anyway… "
"But… you know… I'm supposed to follow…"
"Jack, please!"
He gave in: "Okay…". He took the five dollar bill Lois offered him, and walked away.
"What's with White?" It was Bruce Wayne, speaking as soon as Jack was in a distance where he couldn't hear them. "I specifically told him to send you!"
Lois smiled: "He did…"
"But this kid…!"
"Oh, he is just a kid, Bruce!" They started walking again. Lois could bet Bruce was feeling very uncomfortable in the clear and crowded lobby of the airport. He would probably prefer the dark alleys of Gotham, where he could hide in high shadows and catch a few bad guys… Well, Bruce was never a people-person, anyway. "He is learning, and Perry put him under my care for a few days, since he wanted the boy to see how a real reporter works!"
"Thank God he doesn't have to learn with Clark… it would be hard to explain that you get your privileged information with X-ray vision or super-hearing…"
"Right…"
Outside the airport, a black limousine with a driver waited for them.
"You are not driving today, Alfred…?"
The butler was carrying the luggage to the car, just two suitcases. "Not now, madam. But I'm sure I'll be driving tonight… preparing Master Bruce's spare suit… You never know…"
"Alfred, please."
"Pardon me, Master Bruce. I didn't realize your habit of dropping Champaign in your shirts should be kept a secret…" The butler closed limousine's door. "Excuse me, madam."
"Sure, Alfred…" She kindly smiled. No doubt that Alfred was one of the best things in Bruce's life. A pity that Wayne didn't learn a little about sense of humor with his faithful butler.
"I'm afraid I don't have much time, Lois." He took a deep breath. "Any time Bruce Wayne comes to Metropolis, all kinds of appointments that can't be excused show up."
"Ah, so hard to be wanted…"
Bruce Wayne didn't respond to this comment; he just kept talking:
"Of course, I couldn't say it in an interview, but my generous donation to Metropolis Museum does have a purpose."
"Really?" Lois was sincerely surprised. She had only asked that question as part of the act, so Jack wouldn't think that she and Bruce were close friends.
"Really. Metropolis Museum has a poor security system, and the only reason I can imagine it has been left untouched by robbers is because Superman protects this town…"
"Than why is this bothering you now?"
"A number of reasons." He lowered his tone. "You are not recording this conversation, are you? If so, I suggest you stop it right now."
"Bruce!"
"I had to ask. For Clark's sake."
"Please, go on!" She pressed her lips against each other, unsure of what was really upsetting her: the fact that he didn't trust her, of that fact that he was right.
"Okay." He took her arm in his, and they walked a few feet away from the car. "It just happens that the Metropolis Museum received another donation…"
"That's right!" Lois remembered that Jimmy Olsen had mentioned something about it. "A collection of African jewels, necklaces, earrings… an old rich lady died and left those pieces for the Museum…"
"Yes, she was Amy Garner, granddaughter of Davy Garner, the…"
"The 'King of Diamonds', greatest importer of diamonds in the country…"
"Precisely. Davy was a thief that enslaved his workers, but that's beside the point. The point is, Amanda was the only heiress of the fortune, and was filthy rich during her whole life – a long one, by the way."
"Good for her. At least she is giving something back…"
"Listen carefully, Lois. Don't you see my point? Amanda was obsessed with jewelry, diamonds, crystals… She collected them all her life. Finally, when she was about to die, someone convinced her it would be a good idea to donate her treasure… to Metropolis Museum!"
"The Museum that has the worst security system?" She lightly bit her thumb's nail. "Are you saying this was planned? Someone wants to steal it…?"
"Yes."
"But the Superman…"
"I'm not so sure he could do something… More than that, I believe he is the reason that motivates the robbery."
"What?"
"Lois, the reason I'm so worried, the reason why I donated those millions… it's not only because the jewels can be robbed, but because among them…"
"There's kryptonite! Crystals, diamonds, and kryptonite!"
"Exactly. A few pieces of the collection have rare rocks… including this alien and precious shards of kryptonite… "
Lois felt her eyes getting wet, and her heart accelerating. Kryptonite, the deadly rock, the only thing that could actually kill Clark! And so close!
"Bruce…!" She covered her face with her own hands, trying to regain control of her emotions. She also could feel Bruce's arms wrapping around her, sheltering her on his chest. It was sweet and unusual of him to be so protective, what just showed how dangerous the situation actually was. "But Bruce, are you sure…?"
"I'm afraid so, Lois." He offered her a handkerchief with the initials "TW" on. "Last night a certain Luke Harold crossed my way; he is a specialist in bank robbery. He also confessed he was going to take part in a big 'job' here in Metropolis, but he was only going to get the instructions tonight, a few hours before the robbery. Unfortunately, I couldn't take much more from him…"
"Oh, my God…" Lois could feel her heart jumping furiously inside her chest, and her knees trembling so much she was about to fall, but she made an effort to clear her mind and think straight. I'm Lois Lane, for Heaven's sake! Put yourself together! After all, they knew where the dangerous was, Bruce was there to help, and they where smart people; they could prevent things before they went wrong, this time they could end the problem before it even happens. Bruce wanted to meet her, what meant he already had a plan… and she had a part in it. A role she would play, no matter what: "Please, tell me… how can I help?"
He gave her a preoccupied look: "Are you okay?"
"Don't patronize me, Bruce!"
"I'm sorry… Just trying to be a gentleman."
"Well, it doesn't fit you."
"I guess it's Clark's specialty…"
An awkward silence hanged between them, and Lois had a second to regret her words, but Bruce restarted the conversation before she could say anything:
"I need you to tell Clark about this, and, please, tell him to stay out of the Museum! The security system WayneTech is installing will be ready in a couple days; after that, we'll have enough time to take care of the rocks before anyone can figure out how to break the system."
"What do you mean by 'take care'?"
"It depends. Maybe change the dangerous ones for replicas?" He waved vaguely with his hand, a sign they should return to the car. "Other than that, maybe you could ask Superman to keep an eye in the Museum… from above! If you could go to the party, and help me with surveillance, well, that would be nice. You know how it is, people tend to insist on talking to me in events like this…"
"Sure, I'll be there… even though Clark will not like this arrangement… with me as your date!"
"I trust he agrees that you're in better hands with me than with that boy…"
Jack Terrence was wondering in the lobby, with a cup of coffee in his hands, and a confused expression.
"He is just a kid…"
"So is Robin. Anyway, I should be going." He closed the door as he entered the car, but the window glass lowered a few inches.
"What else, Bruce?"
"Should I pick you up, let's say… seven?"
"I'm a married woman, Mr. Wayne… all this money don't impress me!" She waved goodbye: "I much rather stay with my farm boy…"
"And so you will, Lois… Trust me on that."
