Author's Note: I do not own the characters.
A BET IS A BET.
The Bet.
Lois was pacing about the farmhouse living room with her ever-present schedule folder in one hand and a rolled up campaign poster in the other - the phone tucked under her ear.
"Stanley, please tell me you're kidding."
It was getting close to crunch time and the citizens of Kansas would be casting their votes to elect a new state Senator within a matter of days. After Jack Jennings had announced his decision not to run for re-election, he'd taken a back seat in order for the heat to die down after what the local press had dubbed 'The Windgate Affair'. While he'd had no involvement in the murder of the Windgate club stripper Melissa Paige, the fact that he'd personally met her gave rise to speculation that the two had been having an affair. This was neither confirmed nor denied by Senator Jennings as he kept his own counsel on the matter in public but he knew the writing was on the wall. That he had been a regular at the venue didn't reflect well on him either in light of the venue's notoriety for more seedy activity and clientele.
All of this meant that Jonathan Kent announced his intention to run very late in the day. Rival candidate Lex Luthor had both a head start on his campaign trail plus a vastly superior budget to fund it. Although Jack had not publicly commented on which side he would back, being the incumbent Senator and a long-term close friend of Jonathan's, added to the fact he'd initially intended to run again meant that he was seen as a rival to Lex. Privately of course, it was Jack who had encouraged Jonathan to run, believing that his friend's core values were exactly what the people of the state needed to believe would improve things.
Jonathan was currently out on the farm and Martha had gone into town to run a couple of errands. Clark was due back very shortly after his classes at Central Kansas University. So shortly in fact that it was his footsteps that could be heard traipsing up the front steps of the farmhouse. He could hear Lois on the phone dealing with yet another campaign problem and wanted to listen in. He knew she'd be so wrapped up in her latest rant that she wouldn't notice he'd got back.
Her current irritation was with somebody named Stanley whom she'd requested to help out a couple of days before Election Day, at the country fair taking place on Main Street in Smallville. The Kent campaign scarcely had the budget for radio and television ads, unlike Lex's, so they had to improvise and do things decidedly old school. Stanley was a tall man and his height was a definite advantage for what Lois had required, but he'd now left her in a jam.
"You promised me you'd do it. We agreed terms and I got all your stuff, and now you're backing out!"
"Look Miss Lane, I don't know what to tell ya. I've got two kids to put through college and this gig ain't gonna help me bring in the dough. Luthor has agreed to pay me triple what we agreed. I gotta go with the money, kid."
Lois was more annoyed now that he'd called her 'kid'. It smacked of a lack of respect and highlighted her worries that the Kent campaign would not be taken seriously because it lacked the professional slickness the public had come to expect from election candidates.
"You gotta go with the money," she repeated back to him. "That's exactly how Lex thinks he can win this election, by buying people off."
Stanley piped up urgently. "Sorry Miss Lane, I gotta go. Bye." With that he hung up the phone, leaving Lois to sigh resignedly.
Clark had been standing in the hallway out of view of Lois. It had occurred to him to tease or crack some joke at her expense but he realised that not only would it not be appreciated, but she didn't deserve it either. Clark had been very sceptical when his dad fired an experienced campaign manager and installed Lois in his place. Lois was totally unqualified for the position and her brusque manner could so easily rub people up the wrong way which would be a problem for his dad's chances of winning.
However, Clark couldn't help but be impressed by Lois' tenacity and commitment to her role, combining it with extra shifts at the Talon. Her never-say-die attitude had gotten the campaign one or two prime time ad slots which was much better than multiple slots on seldom seen cable channels at ungodly hours. Maybe her manner was a positive thing for the campaign. He also knew that she was pretty popular with the state's movers and shakers - the guys who could cajole voters depending on which candidate they endorsed publicly - on account of her looks. Though he'd never tell her face to face, she was a very good-looking girl which combined with her attitude certainly made her eye-catching.
He decided to speak. "Problems?"
Lois jumped out of her skin, the poster dropping out of her hand onto the kitchen counter as she fumbled to stop the phone from dropping. She turned around to face him.
"God Clark, you scared the hell out of me!"
"Sorry Lois. I heard you on the phone when I walked in. Things not going well then I take it." His grin turned into a smile of sympathy as he said the words.
Lois decided to brush it off and instead started to talk about how swamped she was with the campaign.
"Yeah. So much to do and so little time. It doesn't help when people bail at the last minute. I'm already short-handed for jazzing up the Talon for the red white and blue election night shindig, and now Stanley has decided to join the dark side."
Clark actually felt bad for her. She'd put so much work in and might have little to show for it come election night.
"Lois, I have to sit for a couple of interviews because they want me and mom in there but if there's anything else I can do to help…"
Lois squinted at him. She was surprised that he wanted to help her rather than just stay out of her way. Maybe his time away from Smallville had broadened his horizons in a short space of time. Maybe he was seriously looking beyond the corn fields. Maybe not being in each others' hair and at loggerheads all the time had given him a chance to re-evaluate where they stood. Maybe there was something he could do to help.
She picked up the rolled up poster. "Actually, I need to put a few of these up in Metropolis. Most of the usual places are covered but I thought one or two near Suicide Slum couldn't hurt. The poster's message should appeal to the people and maybe get them out to vote. Seeing a guy like Lex only serves to highlight why they continue to live in those conditions and struggle to find work. Mr Kent represents the total opposite of what they're used to. He's a symbol of hope."
Clark stood mouth agape. The commitment she'd been giving the campaign had impressed him but he was now impressed with how her mind was working here. If Lois could just find a path and stick to it with the same tenacity she'd shown during the campaign, she could be a real whirlwind at whatever she chose to do. It would almost certainly involve bossing people around, he thought.
Truth be told, he hadn't been following the campaign with a great deal of interest but he knew that Lex's mandate was geared towards helping the wealthy to protect their wealth. His endorsements were almost exclusively from the wealthy middle and upper classes plus titans of industry - people who had vast wealth to protect. The people living in Suicide Slum and places like it were an afterthought and couldn't identify with him. Since they knew little of Jonathan's mandate, the ones who were eligible to vote were still unlikely to go and vote because the choice was between somebody they didn't know and somebody they didn't like - both options which wouldn't improve the quality of life for the city's less well-off. If you're going to remain marginalised, why bother to exercise your right to vote?
"Hey Smallville, look alive!" Lois barked.
Clark blinked. "Right…posters in Metropolis. I can do that if you like. How many do we have?"
"Five hundred," replied Lois, going back to her file to check her schedule. "They're all at my apartment at the minute."
"Done," said Clark. This was one of those times when his alien roots were a real blessing because the super-speeding sure came in handy.
Lois scoffed. The posters needed to be up within 24 hours to give at least a bit of time for the message to get through. With Clark's other campaign commitments, she very much doubted he had the time.
"You! You're gonna put up 500 posters by tomorrow night?"
"What's the matter Lois, you don't think I can do it?" Clark challenged. Their normal to-and-fro banter was coming back.
Lois smiled. "Unless you plan on dropping them out of the sky, I don't see how you can do it. If you're thinking of hiring a plane, you'd better crack open that piggy bank because I can tell you, we don't have the budget to cover Farmboy Airways."
Clark narrowed his eyes at the jibe. "Don't worry about the how, but I can get it done. The question is, what will you be doing?"
"After Mr Kent's interview over breakfast, I'll be helping the campaign team take pledges. I can sweet talk a few high rollers into handing over the green. Fifty thousand dollars, easy."
She kicked herself inwardly for mentioning numbers, and $50,000 was ridiculously optimistic, but her eyes revealed the glint they usually got when she had an idea. Clark's eyes had lit up in much the same way as though he'd had the same idea. They both got a smirk on their faces.
"Care to make it interesting?" she asked before adding, "I bet I can take at least fifty thousand in pledges by the end of the night. There's no way you'll get 500 posters up in time."
"Lois, I know I can do it. I doubt even your sweetest of sweet talking will pull in that much in pledges though," Clark responded. The bet was on.
"If you can't do it Smallville, you have to carry out a forfeit of my choosing," said Lois, warming to the task. She knew she had him.
Clark dangled a carrot of his own. "And if you fail, you have to carry out a forfeit of my choosing."
Lois straightened her shoulders and squared her jaw. Putting her hand out, she said, "You've got yourself a deal."
The two shook hands. The bet was indeed on.
