A/N: Just wanted to reiterate a few points here that I made in an earlier chapter; I have borrowed aspects of the TV series "Smallville", but with noticeable changes. Chloe and Lois do NOT know each other (nor are they related) and Lana does not know Lex Luthor (aside from what she's heard on the news), nor was she ever married to him. Sorry if this bums out the "Smallville" fans with the way I'm tampering with that universe too.
FBI / MPD War Room, City Hall Headquarters, "???". Lt. Henrickson entered the War Room and all eyes shifted in his direction. His grizzled appearance aged him more than his actual 53 years. The rest of the room took in his aspect before firing off questions.
"Is it confirmed?"
"Yes."
"Any possible locations on the source?"
"Montreal, Tokyo, San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, Vienna, Helsinki…and that's not even the whole list, so take your pick."
"I thought the new tracking methods were implemented after the last broadcast?"
"They were, but whoever is behind the controls is one tech-savvy son-of-a-bitch who's always five steps ahead of us. Depending on the length of the broadcast we may be able to narrow in on the locale more, but that will still leave us with an area roughly 100 square miles around to search—and that's IF they don't bolt again before we can move in."
The frustration and despair in his usually authoritative tone was also noted by everyone and a brief silence hung in the air. Finally, someone asked the question they all dreaded hearing the answer to.
"How long has it been on?" came a quiet voice from the back corner of the room.
"Eighteen minutes…and counting." Henrickson hung his head low as the words left his mouth, and all the air seemed to have been sucked out of the room. They were all bonded by this tragedy, whatever the outcome, and after working together for so long they knew not only when, what and who to ask questions of, but also when to leave well enough alone.
They also knew that the weight of this cat and mouse game would have crushed even mighty Atlas.
Smallville, May 17/18, 2007. Lois awoke in her hotel room that Friday morning feeling as if she had a bad hangover; she hadn't pulled an all-nighter like that since before Jason was born, not to mention she had to deal with another blue-eyed boys' appearance at her window at 3 am. She shuffled out of bed and headed toward the shower, hoping the soap and hot water would help wake her up enough to go grab a cup of coffee.
After she and Martha got off the phone with Clark yesterday they sat at the table eating their sandwiches in silence, each worried about the implications of the news he delivered. She noticed that Clark's mother kept getting an anxious faraway look and would rub the underside of the worn kitchen table; Lois chalked it up to a nervous habit. She figured Martha was just anxious about her only child living in the City with such a dangerous fugitive on the loose. Lois was frightened by the situation for herself and her child as well, and she wanted to pull a cigarette out right then and there, but she thought better of it when she recalled how disgusted Clark was by the habit.
With Lex Luthor knowing what he did about Jason, she and Superman would have to be extra-heedful in their watch of him until the madman was caught. She kept picturing her beautiful baby boy hurling a half ton grand piano and shuddered at the thought of having to put him in that position again.
The two women appeared to have processed the news by the time they finished their meal and Martha was once again anxious to help Lois with her article. She fished out an old photo album of Clark that contained pictures of him from the time he was three years old up until he left on his soul-searching trek, sharing as many anecdotal stories of her son's childhood as she felt were safe. What Lois didn't know was that she and Jonathan had kept a second photo album of pictures of Clark, only it contained images of his emerging abilities. Martha had taken up amateur photography around the same time that Clark came into his powers, and he and Jonathan had set-up a dark room for her in the basement for her birthday that year, so the family felt secure enough to keep those mementos. As they leafed through the album before them Martha hoped that she'd be able to share the stories that the other album contained with the girl beside her someday soon.
Lois' note book was filled with facts and tales of Clark Kent that his Mother had provided her with. Not only did Martha have a frank discussion with her about the good and the bad of the Kent family past ("Clark was five or six and he snuck a cherry pie that I'd made off the window sill, carrying it away and eating the whole thing! When my husband and I found him he was staked out behind the barn, asleep and covered in berry juice with the pie plate in his chubby little hand!" and "I'm not sure that either of us ever really recovered after Jonathan passed. But my son was my rock in those days and I knew then without a doubt that he would always be a man to be proud of.") but she then had Lois follow her into Town to talk to still MORE people who knew Clark from way back when.
Of course there was the awkward confession over the subject of Lois' assumed name when they got to Lana's coffee shop, but fortunately for her the young woman was quick to forgive and shared a little more about her childhood friend. Lana even went so far as to schedule an appointment for Lois to meet with Chloe Sullivan, her and Clark's mutual friend who was also the Editor of the Smallville Tribune.
As she buried herself in her work that evening she could feel all the stress of the last several weeks fall off her shoulders. She had to give credit where credit was due though; had Perry not suggested she write the article on her partner she'd never have had the chance to get away. The destination itself also helped to take the edge off her; no one knew her story, there were no pitying glances or snide remarks behind her back, she was just a friend and colleague of Clark Kent's out here doing her job. Lois missed the Munchkin terribly but had spoken to him on the phone earlier and knew he was having a great time…Uncle Perry sounded a little frazzled though…he he he…
The last of the caffeine buzz was beginning to wear off and Lois thought she'd pull herself into bed when she heard a rap at the window. She jumped in spite of herself, knowing only one person who could reach her fourth floor window, and crossed the room to let him in.
"Good evening, Lois," he said in his deep booming voice.
"Same to you," she replied, turning back to clear away some of her work from his view. "How did you know I was here?"
"Well I've told you before, I'm always…"
"…around, right." There was an awkward pause between them. His presence still reminded her of Richard, the good man she let go. It also reminded her of the wall of ignorance that her former lover had erected between them. She could feel a headache coming on.
"So…" he said, attempting to re-start the conversation, "How are you?"
"Oh me? I'm peachy!" she replied mockingly. "Richard is MIA, I have yet to find a new apartment and Jason is still struggling with losing one father while gaining another. Things couldn't be better…"
"Lois, I didn't come here to upset you. If you want me to go…"
"No, I just want you to tell me your name!" she said, before exasperatedly adding, "Why is that so difficult?"
"We've been through that before, you're not ready…you can't handle…" he knew as the words were leaving his mouth that that was the wrong thing to say.
"Can't handle?! Can't handle?!? I don't know if you know this, Mister, but this is Mad Dog Lane you're talking to! There's nothing I can't handle!" she flounced down on the bed dejectedly, her hands covering her face as she tried to regain composure. "I'm sorry, I don't know why it has to be like this between us! It's just that…I want to be with you so badly and there's always something in the way, whether it's a physical or a mental barrier there's always something there."
He was silent for a moment before simply saying, "I know." He reached over and took the idle hand she left on her lap in his.
"It won't always be like this, will it?" she asked quietly, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I hope not," he said smugly.
"Good—I want Jason to know his father, his real father, for more than just a few stolen moments at a time."
"You know I want that too."
"I know."
He bent down and kissed the top of her head. They sat like that for a few moments in companionable silence before she let out a loud yawn.
"It looks like I'm keeping you up past your bedtime," he said jokingly.
"No, no I'm…ok, maybe it is a little past my bedtime," as she caught a glimpse of the clock on her nightstand; it read 3:27 am. Before she could say another word he scooped her up in his arms, turned down the covers and deposited her snugly in bed.
He bent down to kiss her on the forehead again but her lips bent up expectantly to meet his. It was a sensuous kiss, full of the passion that had gone unrequited for almost six years, and it took all of his strength to make sure he left the room before their rekindled romance went any further. He broke away and crossed over to the open window.
"Good night, Lois," he called out before taking off.
"Good night…" she remembered saying before drifting off to sleep.
Now she stood alone in her hotel room, her long dark hair wrapped up in a towel as she pulled up her slacks and buttoned up her blouse. She hazarded a look at the alarm clock, something her bleary eyes hadn't allowed her to do properly before.
"Holy crap, I'm late!!!!" she yelped, rushing around the room and gathering her belongings. It was 12:32 pm…and her appointment with Miss Sullivan was at 1 o'clock. Good thing this is a small town…she thought to herself as she booked it out the door.
