Clark's phone was still plugged into Chloe's computer, so she began trying to track it. "Even...not so legally, it'll take hours...it was a pre-paid cell-phone."
"Lex doesn't have hours! I have to deliver fifty million to the docks at midnight, and...we've only got..." Clark glanced at his watch. It read 1:30 p.m. "Ten and a half hours!"
"Clark, I don't know, it'll still be cutting it pretty fine," Chloe said worriedly.
"And where am I gonna get fifty million?"
Krypto barked, pawing at the door. "You wanna go out, boy?" Clark asked, going over and opening the door. Krypto flew out, down the stairs. "Stop!" Clark yelled, running after him. The dog flew at some guy standing at the counter. Clark grabbed him by the collar, stopping him just in time. The man looked startled by the big dog.
"Clark!" Lana didn't sound happy. "Control your dog!"
"Sorry, Lana."
"I'm sorry, sir," Lana apologized to the man.
"Nah, that's okay. I'm not much of an animal person."
Clark glanced at Krypto. The dog was straining against Clark's hold, his teeth bared, snarling at the man. Krypto never did that, not even to strangers. Clark looked up at the man. He'd never seen him in Smallville before. The guy was tall and skinny, with red hair and brown eyes. He didn't look like he got out much, with that pale complexion, but he was wearing a white t-shirt under a blue flannel shirt, with jeans, work-boots, and a stained trucker-style hat. His shoes were caked with mud, even though most of the roads were dry now. The man caught Clark staring at him, and a small frown furrowed his brow. Clark averted his eyes, and the man brushed by him.
Lex couldn't see, but he could smell. And what he smelled was coffee. Cold as it was, his brain started crawling around on the inside of his skull, trying to figure out how to get out and get some stimulating coffee. Lex groaned. His kidnappers noticed.
"Hey, Mr. Luthor. Do you-uh-want some coffee?"
The Axe Murderer. He hated that guy.
"Yeah, yeah, do you want some tee-hee coffee?"
The Crazy One was going to live in a nice soundproof room in the asylum, where no one could hear his obnoxious giggling.
"No!" Lex's traitorous stomach growled as it caught the scent of coffee and some sort of pastry...pie, maybe?
The pair laughed, and Lex hated them more than ever.
"I think I found your friend...the one who you called."
Clark.
"What did you do to him, you b#&?" Lex snarled.
"Let's just say he'll never be coming to find you."
Lex instantly reached a horrifying conclusion: They'd killed Clark!
It was up to him to get free, then, before midnight. Lex just wished he knew how much time that left him.
"There was something wierd about that guy," Clark was telling Chloe. "Krypto never acts like that!"
Krypto whined, pawing at Clark's leg. Clark looked at him; Krypto cast his eyes at the door.
"I think I have an idea," Clark told Chloe. "Tell me if anything comes up."
"Yeah...right now it looks like it's somewhere outside of town, in the forest...it's gonna take a long time to get the exact location, but it's in that general area."
