Drawing the Battle Lines

After the door shut on them, Chloe turned away from Clark and started making her way down the hall. She was walking at a quick pace, heels clicking on the marble of the mansion floor. Of course, even at normal human speed Clark was a lot faster than she was. Stupid long legs. She'd made it about ten feet down the hall before he'd caught up with her and grabbed her shoulder.

She kept pushing forward, but his grip tightened and he managed to spin her around. "What?" She hissed, trying to keep her voice steady.

Sincere green eyes stared back at her. "You really shouldn't have done that."

Chloe pulled ineffectually on her arm. "We should just go. I don't want to hang out here any longer than I absolutely have to."

"You didn't have to do that for me."

"Secret keeper. It's sort of in my job description." Chloe added, lowering her voice to a level that only he could hear. Even if Lex's security sucked, he might still be clever enough to have installed decent cameras.

He frowned and ran his thumb gently over her arm. "Still, you didn't have to go that far."

Chloe shrugged. "Lana's not stupid. She already had put 2 and 2 together, and it's better she's distracted with me than she keeps playing stalker with you."

He snorted. "I never thought that having Lana Lang stalk me could turn into a nightmare."

"You had thoughts about Lana stalking you? Was that a reciprocal thing for all those years of through-the-telescope lust?"

"You're never going to let my telescope hobby slide, are you?"

"It was one of the first things I saw you do, right up there with milking cows and helping your mom bake cookies."

"I am more than my Lana obsession," He defended, his voice barely a whisper.

"God, I hope so. If I can't get you over her now, maybe I just need a really big rock. I think beating the crazy devotion out of you might work."

He leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm good at crazy devotion, or do you want me to play it cool with you now?"

"Considering you've been playing it cool with me for the last seven years, I think I'm ready to trade places with Lana in the obsession arena. I mean, someone still owes me diamonds."

"Can I start with cubic zirconium and work my way up?"

Chloe frowned and slapped him lightly on the arm. "You know what Nicole Kidman and Marilyn Monroe say."

"Um, actually no, considering that I'm a guy."

"Diamonds are a girl's best friend."

"I'm a girl's best friend."

"Then you plus diamonds would equal my BFF's." Chloe concluded, turning around and starting back down the hall. "Come on, I've got to figure out how to get my clothes and lap top out of the strong hold that is The Talon."

"Lock-picking wasn't enough?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure how many boxes I can sneak down the fire escape before I get ratted out to Lex." She shook her head. "At least on the upside, maybe all of Lois's hair band CD's can mysteriously disappear in the eviction."

"We can only hope, although some of the White Snake stuff wasn't that bad," Clark agreed, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Chloe added, more than ready to go back to the Kent farm and forget all the wedding drama for the next twenty-four hours. She wasn't sure if Mrs. Kent could even get off tomorrow to go shopping with her and even at that she was pretty sure that Mrs. Kent was going to enjoy shopping with Nell as much as she was going to enjoy prolonged exposure to Lana. Maid of honor duties sucked. The two of them had made it almost all the way down to the main entrance hall of the mansion before one of Lex's security guards came up to them.

"Excuse me, Mr. Kent and Ms. Sullivan, but Mr. Luthor wants to see you both in his office right away."

Clark's grip around her shoulders tightened but he said nothing. Instead (and as usual), she took the lead. "Gee, I'd love to up the awkward factor of my day but I seriously have an elsewhere to be. I think there's some early spring cleaning of the farm to get to and, besides, as Lex knows, I have to find a new apartment."

"He told me it won't take very long. Five minutes tops." The guy pulled at his collar and Chloe noticed the beads of sweat pulling at his temples. He didn't look much older than she did and he probably was intimidated by whatever happened to someone who failed a Luthor. He was most likely justified. Guards and scientists on Lex's payroll had a nasty habit of either dying or disappearing without a trace.

Feeling sorry for the messenger, Chloe looked up at Clark and then back to him. "Five minutes."

"No." Clark said, glaring down at the guard and Chloe swore she saw a flicker of red in his eyes.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay. Five minutes won't hurt anybody. Besides," she added, turning back to the guard, "I think it's fair to tell you and Lex now that half the patrons of The Talon know we're here and so does Mrs. Kent. It wouldn't look to good if anything happened while we were here."

The guard swallowed and took a step back from the glowering tower of Clark (at least someone had common sense). "That might be a bit paranoid, but I'll pass on the message, now if you'll both follow me."

It took only a few minutes to make it back to Lex's office, but it felt like hours. Chloe wanted to see him about as much as she wanted to be back on that lab table, but she wasn't one to back down from a challenge or to let anyone else see how afraid she was. Besides, after Lana she was sort of on a roll with telling people off.

They both waited outside the door as the guard delivered their message to Lex. Clark had his head quirked to the side in a gesture that always reminded her of Shelby, although today was not the day to razz him about that. Biting her lower lip, she asked, "Anything interesting?"

He shook his head. "Apparently lackeys really do just as their told. He said everything you said verbatim."

"Well, apparently you can hire good help." She deadpanned. "You know, you can loosen up on the grip. No one's overly impressed by the territorial vibe."

"It's not territorial. It's protective," Clark sniffed.

"I'm going to be okay. He's not going to try anything. Hell, he could just want to know about Lana and wedding stuff." Clark narrowed his eyes at her. "Okay, he could be sitting behind his big shiny glass desk ready to gloat about everything and make us both feel like dirt. Gracious in defeat has never exactly been a Luthor family trait."

Clark was about to answer her when the two doors swung open and the bodyguard gestured for the two of them to come inside. Chloe took one more deep breath, trying to calm herself, although her efforts were in vain. Her heart was still racing beneath her breastbone and she knew that Clark could hear it. Looking up quickly, she whispered to him, "Watch the temper, okay. I can't cover for spontaneous combustion of pretentious furniture."

"How about pretentious bastards?"

She shook her head. "Not that either."

Just as she predicted, Lex was sitting behind his desk, his posture relaxed and confident. The smile on his face was disconcertingly familiar and Chloe realized that the last time she'd seen it was when Lionel Luthor had informed her about the loss of her Daily Planet column. It was surprising the things that were genetic.

"Chloe, so nice to see you," He added, shutting his lap top.

She had a sinking suspicion of what had been playing on it and was infinitely glad that even x-ray vision couldn't see through a computer screen. It'd be better if they didn't leave the mansion a smoldering hole in the ground.

"I'd like to say the feeling was mutual, Lex." She added, coming to stand a few feet in front of his desk. Clark was still holding onto her and she took comfort in their closeness.

Lex's smile widened. "My, things certainly have changed in two weeks' time. I have always wondered what would happen when Lana was off the market, so to speak, and apparently quite a lot. Does Jimmy know that you've signed up to be second fiddle to Lana?"

"I don't know." She answered, coldly, "but if anyone can teach me all about being second choice, I'm sure it'd be you."

Lex finally spared a glance at Clark, his expression darkening. "Well maybe it matters who wins in the long run and I have a thousand-person guest list and a million dollar wedding that says I'm the long haul guy."

"We're both so very happy for you." Chloe continued. "Now, as much fun as mutual potshot taking has been, I have an apartment search to start."

"You know there's really no need for that. I have quite the extensive accommodations set up for you."

Clark dropped his arm from around her shoulders and strode over to the desk so close that his legs scraped against it. He leaned over in order to face Lex eye to eye. "You're not taking her anywhere."

"I was just making the offer. Not all of the subjects have to stay at our facilities. We have a free range program as well. Nothing like meteor mutants in their natural habitat."

"Yeah, rolling Kansas farm land. How very National Geographic of you." Chloe said.

Looking down at her shoulder and at the large patch of gauze covering her collarbone, Lex frowned. "Of course, you've somehow managed to lose your tracker in that same miraculous way you managed to escape."

"Well your security does suck. It doesn't exactly take David Blaine to escape from all your restraints."

"And yet you were fairly indisposed for most of the session. By the way, I have to tell you that steel bands are quite the look for you."

Clark slammed his fist down on the desk and Chloe was impressed that he'd had enough control not to shatter it. She was still working on restraining even partial Kryptonian strength when mixed with coffee mugs, and her odds of not shattering things were still 70-30. "You don't get to talk to her like that either."

"Talkative, isn't he?" Lex asked, pointedly ignoring Clark.

"I think threatening his friends brings out the inner Neanderthal, not that I wouldn't love to see the two of you go at it again. The last time you ended up out cold on top of a heap of overpriced wedding gifts supplied by the best sycophants upper management had to offer. Embarrassing much?"

He grimaced slightly but recovered his composure. "Still, you have to marvel at how successful your escape was. One second you're there and quite literally the next second you weren't and at the same time the security cameras are conveniently fried."

She put her hands on her hips and stood up to her full height. It wasn't nearly as effective as it had been with Lana, especially with Clark now standing next to her again. Of course, to be fair, he dwarfed everybody. "Maybe I've got more power than you thought."

"Don't you wish, Chloe, not that what you can do isn't interesting. It is. But this is far beyond your abilities," He added, his gaze turning directly to Clark. Reaching down to his side, Lex pulled up a manila folder and opened it up. Inside was a single security camera photo of a frozen frame. It was an indistinguishable red and blue blur. Chloe felt her heart speed up but she didn't let the rest of her tense up. Clark was already stretched tighter than the front of one of Lois's tank tops. He really needed acting lessons. She was so getting those for him for Christmas. Assuming they didn't spend it together in the middle of a less-than-top-secret evil lab.

"Don't you find this interesting?"

Chloe sighed. "You know, you and Lana really need to coordinate your hopeless and heavy-handed interrogation sessions. I don't know anything."

"Well, I guess it's possible that it's Bart Allen again. He did visit you at the Planet the day after certain mishaps occurred at Luthorcorp, but," he added, glaring at Clark, "I somehow seriously doubt that."

"You done with the overt threats yet, Dr. Evil, or do you have something else you need to hold over my head? Your father already beat you to getting me thrown out of my home. I mean, The Talon apartment was temporary housing at best. Maybe you'd like to threaten my career now or perhaps just shoot a blow dart in my neck and drag me back to that damn table." Her voice was speeding up that way it always did when she fought back tears and she could feel the drops welling up in the corners of her eyes.

Calm as always, Lex sat there for a few seconds, tenting his fingers. "The waiting game has always been much more interesting, don't you think? I know where to find you any day of the week that I want, and even your luck," he gestured with his head toward Clark, "won't hold out forever. However, in the interest of keeping Lana happy, I wouldn't do anything to make her maid of honor disappear before the big day."

"Short of abducting her in the middle of the night." Clark ground out.

Lex shrugged. "I would have returned her. It was a one night stand of a sort. The GPS device would have made sure of that. Still, I have more than enough in my menagerie right now and although there's always room for another, the wedding comes first." He pushed back from his desk, stood up, and made his way over to where she stood. He extended his left hand to stroke her cheek. Clark made a move to stop him, but Chloe shook her head and he stopped. Lex let his hand pass through her hair and held it there for a second.

"So we have a détente, then?" Chloe asked, her voice strained and low.

"Looks like, but it should be fun when the game starts back up again."

Clark was standing beside her and she could see watched as his muscles tensed, preparing to strike a blow. She shook her head one more time and grabbed Lex's hand with her own. She squeezed as hard as she could and was gratified to hear a slight cracking noise. Lex winced and looked down at where she held him in a crystalline cage of a grip. She smiled back at him, her look as predatory as his had been when they'd first entered the room. "I've been practicing." She squeezed just a little bit harder, enough to leave a bruise or at least it would on someone with normal healing. On Lex, maybe she'd have to squeeze just a lot bit harder.

The slight widening of Lex's eyes were the only sign of surprise. Collected as always, he added, "I see."

Predator's grin still on her face, Chloe answered, "Things are about to get a lot more interesting." Dropping his hand, she turned back to Clark and nodded. "Let's go. I think mucking out stalls would be better than this place."

To his credit, Lex didn't shake out his sure-to-be-sore hand. He merely nodded and replied to them both, "Chloe, Clark. I'll see you at the wedding." He turned to Clark and added, "I've saved you a front row seat. I knew you wouldn't want to miss it."

"We'll be there." Clark growled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders once more. "You're right, Chlo. Those stalls won't clean themselves."

Despite the situation, Chloe chuckled at the Jonathan Kentism as she and Clark made their way out into the foyer. When the doors to Lex's office slammed shut, she added, "You do know I was going for hyperbole there, right? I don't do barn chores."

"I can see this being a massive road block in our relationship."

"I think we'll manage."

"Come on, Chlo. I think the taffeta would really work well with all that hay."

"You like flannel. Clearly, your fashion advice doesn't matter," She said, giggling a little as they exited out onto the driveway.

"There's nothing wrong with flannel," Clark added, bringing his hand to his chest in mock offense. Then he sighed.

"Oh no."

"Oh no what?"

"I know that tone. That's the oncoming mope tone."

"It's not a mope but weren't you the one who's always about me being careful? You didn't have to antagonize Lex too."

"Wow, Clark, I didn't know you could be so mother hen."

"I'm not a mother hen! It's just pissing Lex off probably isn't a good idea."

"Maybe he shouldn't have upset me first." Chloe stopped and turned to face him, letting her arms rest at her side. "Look, I don't do barn moping and I don't do crying like a bad Julia Roberts movie either. Getting mad helps and pushing back helps more. If he's going to threaten me…us…then he should know who he's dealing with. I'm not going to be a victim here. That's not who I am."

Clark nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. After that dramatic and Lifetime-worthy speech, Chloe expected something a bit more than just a simple "okay," but Clark had always been a guy of few words.

"Yup, okay."

"Are you agreeing with me because I'm right or because you're afraid of me?"

"I am not afraid of you."

"Are too. I've made you flinch."

"Have not."

"Have too."

"Yeesh, you threaten one billionaire and all of a sudden you think you're Xena or something."

"Ah no. I'm a little short for that and I thought we established the boundaries on me and leather, but I am pretty bad-ass aren't I?" She added, giving him a genuine smile.

"Well I'm not going to argue with that."

"Scaredy cat."

"Maybe a little."