Chapter 10
Washington, DC
June 17, 2021
President Pete Ross could not sleep; his mind would not let him. He lay in bed with Lana in the West Wing of the White House, mind racing with thoughts. His future in Washington, his duty to the country and the Presidency, the loyalty he felt to Lex, his insecurity in his relationship with Lana, and his conflicted feelings about Clark and the warning he brought all weighed heavily on his mind.
Clark was not a human but the most humane being he had ever known. Lana had said that there was a time when he would take Clark at his word; why wouldn't he now? That sentence rang in his head the loudest. Of all the words spoken last evening, those were the words that affected him the most.
He knew deep inside he believed every word Clark said. He knew Clark was telling them the truth and it was not at all difficult to believe the extent to which Lex would go to hold on to power. Pete had been blinded by ambition at some point and now he wondered if he had passed a point of no return. If he acted on Clark's warning, would he simply be bowing to Clark's pressure as opposed to Lex's? Should he go back to the fundamentally good and honest person he once had been; before he had been tempted and corrupted by the trappings of power?
He rolled and looked at Lana, sleeping soundly at his side. She was as beautiful now as she ever had been; maybe even more beautiful. She remained virtually ageless; her delicate and alluring features set in porcelain. He was lucky to have her; that much he knew. Why he had her was a question that may never be answered to his complete satisfaction. Was he truly the one she loved or would Clark always be her first choice and him the consolation prize? But did it matter, really? Whether a second choice or not, she was with him and he did love her; fiercely. His guarded feelings were his way of protecting himself against the knowledge that the woman he loved would prefer to be with Clark. Had he been fair with Lana? Was his insecurity creating strain on their marriage? She had told him that she loved him; why wasn't that enough? He reached over and softly touched her cheek, brushing strands of hair back. Looking at her angelic visage, he knew he was lucky and should accept it at that. She never gave him reason to doubt her love for him so why should he be worried about it? Why should he resist her urging to spend more time with Clark? He knew why: Clark was her first choice and seeing him was a constant reminder of that fact. But again, he asked himself, why should that matter? Clark had been his best, closest and oldest friend. Perhaps Lana's insistence that he spend more time with Clark was not so that she could him more often but because she knew that his oldest friend was a good influence on him. Pete knew it too.
Lex. There was a time he had hated Lex. But his one-time adversary had taken him under his wing and the result was now a position he never imagined he'd reach. He was the President of the United States because of Lex. Pete knew that Lex was a schemer; drunk with power at times but a functioning drunk; very effective and greatly admired by the citizens that put him in power. Lex Luthor had a public persona that was amazing. He could manipulate the masses with his words like no one had ever done in recent memory. He was also highly intelligent; a trait shared by most successful schemers. Could Lex have such an elaborate scheme and was Pete too blind, too dumb, or too unwilling to see it? Before leaving, Lex had 'strongly recommended' that he nominate Federal Court Judge Timberman to replace Mathers if the 88-year old justice retired during Pete's term as President. Timberman was a moderately activist federal appeals court judge rather than the strict Consitutionalist that Pete preferred. But he intended to nominate Timberman later in the day because this was Lex's administration, not his.
Clark had warned that Lex was reshaping the high court because he wanted to ensure its backing if there was a legal challenge to pursuing overturning the 22nd Amendment. He said that Lex had ordered the killing of Justice Hough. If all that was true, Pete wondered if he had the backbone to stand up to Lex or if he would bend to the pressure? Clark said he would discover evidence of Lex's plot but would he have the nerve to do what was right and seek justice against Lex? What would be the impact on his future in Washington? Lex had widespread support; he was admired by most and adored by many. Would he ultimately be the one that suffered most if he ordered the Attorney General to investigate and bring charges? Could Lex spin it to eventually discredit his former Vice President?
The questions swirled in his mind and would not allow him to sleep. He looked at the clock next to the bed. 2:38 AM. He gently rolled off the bed and left Lana asleep. He pulled on a robe, exited his bedroom and headed for his private library. Pete nodded to the Secret Service agent at the end of the hall and turned in to the library, his sanctuary when he had trouble sleeping. He went to his desk and opened his laptop, powered up and began surfing the net for editorials and political commentary about his Presidency and the tensions between the US and China.
After about thirty minutes of scanning and reading, his mind was still troubled. He needed to escape the world of politics and clear his mind. He searched the private server for videos. The small stand-alone server with no external access contained over three thousand movies, recorded television shows or sporting events that were available for the President to watch on a large screen hard wired to the dedicated server. It also contained home videos provided by the President and loaded by technicians onto the server. Pete scrolled through the listings and stopped at one that he had not watched in the past four years. It had been a Christmas gift from Lana back when they were dating. After watching it, Pete referred to it often during meetings with his constituents and during the campaign for his second term in the House of Representatives. He clicked on the title, sat back and began watching the 1939 Frank Caprio classic, 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'.
Pete nodded off to sleep in his chair before getting halfway through the movie. He awoke as the credits rolled and he reached for his laptop to cut off the movie and return to bed. But before he could stop the film, it abruptly ended and something else was spliced in. It was a video recording shot in the very library in which he sat. The video clearly showed Lex talking to a man whose back was to the concealed camera. The two talked in a form of code language, discussing the elimination of 'an obstacle' to legal challenges to laws Lex had approved. As the discussion continued, the name of 'Hough' slipped from the man facing Lex.
"I want him out of the way; gone," Lex told the man. "He has too much influence and too much time remaining. He will be a thorn in my side."
"Shall I make it look like an accident, Sir?"
"No. It has to be natural causes and it has to happen the second week of April, next year."
"Natural causes will be difficult to stage, Sir. There are so many tests available to the medical examiner these days that…"
Lex leaned forward with a threatening glare and interrupted in an ominous tone. "Get it done, Smith. You're being well-paid to find a way. The second week of April is still six months away. Get it done or you'll find yourself being examined by the medical examiner. Now leave!"
The man with his back to the camera rose and then stepped backwards. "Yes Sir," he said and by the time he to leave, his face was higher than the focus point of the camera.
In the video, Lex sat back and was appearing to ponder the scheme he was plotting. He pulled out his pocket computer, checked it and then rose and exited the frame. The video went dark and then the file name, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" appeared.
Pete played the short file four times. He paused the video and looked at the aiming point of the video camera. He moved to where he believed the hidden video camera would be located. After fifteen minutes, he located the pinhole video camera, embedded in the spine of an old book that was among hundreds in the private library. Pages had been hollowed out to fit the matchbook-sized recording unit and NiCad battery pack. The book sat on a thin plate that provided a continuous low-powered charge to the battery pack.
He pulled the recording unit out, found a USB port on it, and carried it back to his desk. Plugging it in to his laptop, Pete found hours of video to include Clark's visit. He replayed the visit, listening to Clark's words but focusing on Lana's facial expressions.
Satisfied that he could not detect anything other than friendly smiles and normal eye contact, he deleted the last 12 recorded hours and reset the date and time. He closed the book and put it in his desk drawer to record darkness until the batteries died.
He copied the movie with the spliced-in footage of Lex plotting onto a flash drive he found in the desk drawer and then closed his laptop. Pete returned to the bedroom, secured the flash drive in a personal safe and crawled back into bed with Lana.
Elle woke to the sound of Connor talking to his mother in the kitchen. She lay in bed, wondering what the day would bring. It was Thursday, June 17th and her father had visited with President Pete Ross the evening before.
Closing her eyes, she attempted to remember the events of her life and nothing seemed different than the day before. Her father had told her that she had to be careful visiting the past because interacting with those she knew could have a ripple effect. He told her that although her surroundings may be different once she returned to the future, she could experience dual memories once she removed the Legion Ring. Elle opened her eyes and looked at the ring on her finger and spun it on her finger. She toyed with the idea of removing it to see if she would suddenly experience a rush of memories she never previously had. However, in the end she decided not to remove the ring until she traveled back to her own timeline to assess the differences. Removing the ring now and then traveling back to the future could have a disorienting effect. She wanted to be able to report accurately.
Once Connor left the house to go to his private school, Elle rose and dressed. She greeted Chloe who was sitting at a table by the window, sipping coffee.
"Are you hungry?" Chloe asked.
Elle shrugged. "Not really. I could use a cup of coffee though."
Chloe pointed her to the cupboard where she kept her cups and Elle helped herself to the coffee. She poured herself a cup and sat with Chloe. "Feel anything different?"
"No," the young woman replied. "But father told me that I wouldn't as long as I wore the Legion Ring. Once I take it off, then I will know if anything has changed."
"Why not take it off and find out?" Chloe asked.
"Temporal disorientation," Elle replied. "If major changes occurred and I took the ring off now, I might have a problem returning to my own timeline and then returning to report what changes have occurred. It could be almost like a break from reality; never truly knowing which was real and which was not. That's why my father never traveled back in time even though he could have."
Chloe nodded silently and looked out the window for a few moments. She turned back and smiled. "So, Emil and I, huh? When?"
"Let's see," Elle said. "I was about 10 when that happened so in about eight years."
"I'll be 48?" She took a sip of her coffee. "That will be pretty late in life, huh?"
"Yes. But you two always seemed content with one another. Father said you two had a lot in common and spent a lot of time doing philanthropic work around the world." She paused and then added, "I guess that's why I never saw you very much. I really enjoyed getting to know you better last night though."
"Me too," Chloe replied. She wore a strange expression for a moment and then asked, "Do you think it would cause a rip in the temporal fabric if I didn't wait another 8 years to get close to Emil? I mean, we used to be very close and after Ollie and I married, the relationship I had with Emil sort of withered away. I know he's not married and I wonder if starting up earlier would do any harm?"
"Harm?" Elle said rhetorically. "I don't know if it would cause any harm. Since you two do all this philanthropic work together, maybe it would help others sooner." She took a swallow of coffee. "What about Oliver and Connor?"
"Emil has been friends with Ollie and Dinah for over a decade. I can't imagine how that would cause a strain. I don't think it would impact Connor much either. I'll always love his Dad and he knows that. Anyway, I'm just talking about dating for now." She looked down and then back up. "Emil's intelligence and dry wit always made him attractive to me. And with all he's accomplished, it's hard to believe he's only nine years older than I am."
Elle thought for a moment. "Why not wait until I travel back and find out what, if anything has changed. When I come back to tell Mother and Father about any possible change to the future, I'll come by and let you know as well."
"Fair enough," Chloe said. She leaned forward and in a conspiratorial tone said, "I hardly slept at all last night thinking about ending up with Emil. Weird, huh?"
"No!" Elle replied resolutely. "It's perfectly normal. I know what it's like wondering about that and how it can keep you awake." She paused. "If I knew who I was going to end up with, I probably would never have come back to talk to Mom in the first place."
A shadow crossed Chloe's face and she looked out the window. The silence grew awkward until she spoke. "You can't change the past, can you?"
She shook her head. "My father would not permit it. Even when he lost my mother, he wouldn't go back to change the past."
"But what do you think you are doing right now?"
Elle smiled. "Having coffee with you." She arched an eyebrow and before Chloe could protest, she continued. "I'm not changing anything; Father might but I won't. If Father changes things he's only affecting the future not the past."
"That's going to have an impact on you; you know that, right?" Chloe asked.
She nodded. "I hope it will be a positive one." Elle took a deep breath. "Coming back has allowed me to get to know my mother on an adult level. It makes not having her to talk with in my future even more painful to me and makes any risk to change that future even more worth taking."
Chloe smiled and nodded. "She's a pretty amazing lady." After pausing for a moment, she snickered and began, "You know, once your Mom and I were…" Chloe's cell phone rang and she grabbed it. Looking at the display, she quipped, "Speak of the devil!" She connected, "We were just talking about you."
"Chloe, ask Elle if she knows the name of the Supreme Court Justice that Pete nominated to replace Mathers."
"Your Mom wants to know if you know who President Ross nominated for the Supreme Court to fill Mathers' position."
Elle nodded. "Federal Court Judge Timberman," she replied and then added, "And the Senate confirmed him almost unanimously."
Once Chloe relayed the name and additional information, Lois thanked her cousin and disconnected. "Geez," she remarked. "Maybe I should turn on the news."
She touched a few keys on her phone and the large flat screen in the living room erupted into noisy reports from the White House where Pete Ross was expected to announce his nominee to fill Justice Mathers' position at any minute. The Washington Press Corps was seated and correspondents were quietly giving introductory remarks; most of them speculating on who the President would nominate.
The President's Press Secretary stepped to the podium and gave some brief introductory remarks and then introduced Pete Ross, President of the United States. Pete provided some brief context of the significance of appointments to the Supreme Court. He then shocked the room by saying that he was not prepared to nominate anyone for the position until he had completed some further vetting of a very short list of prospective nominees. He concluded by saying that he owed it to the American people to make a nomination that would best serve the country for years to come. With that, he left the podium without taking questions and was immediately replaced by his Press Secretary.
The White House Press Corps fired questions at the Press Secretary while other correspondents outside the White House followed up with summary statements.
"Wow!" Chloe remarked. "I never saw that coming. Usually Presidents don't call a press conference to announce they haven't made a decision." She chuckled and looked at Elle. "Did it originally go down that way?"
"I'm not sure," Elle replied. "All I know is that in my past, he nominated Justice Timberman for the seat. I don't know whether there was a delay or not."
Lois looked at Clark, who looked at Lois. He shrugged. "I'm taking it as a good sign. Pete's thinking about it."
"Let's hope so," Lois replied. "It's kind of unprecedented for a press conference to be called so a President can say he hasn't made a decision yet."
"Well, the press conference was already scheduled so maybe he felt like he had to go explain that it's a monumental decision for Presidents and vetting the nominees would take longer than he expected."
"You want to bet Pete is getting a call from a certain recuperating ex-President right about now?" Lois asked facetiously.
Clark smiled. "I wouldn't bet against it. In fact, I would guess that right about now Pete is…" Clark was interrupted by his desk phone ringing. He answered it and asked to hold for the President of the United States. Within seconds, Pete came on the line.
"Clark, if you have no other plans on Saturday, would you and Lois be free to meet us for breakfast at the White House? We need catch up," he paused and then continued, "and I have something I'd like to discuss with you."
Clark smiled. "Of course Mr. President; Lois and I would love to join you and the First Lady for breakfast on Saturday." He winked at Lois and she smiled.
"Great. We all have some catching up to do," Pete said. "It's been far too long."
"I couldn't agree more, Mr. President."
"The White House social secretary will provide you the details and information on getting through the Secret Service checkpoint. Thanks Clark. We both look forward to seeing you two Saturday morning." The phone went silent and Clark hung it up.
"It sounds like we have plans for Saturday."
She arched an eyebrow and grinned. "Perry is going to explode when I tell him."
"Lois," Clark replied, "we should probably keep this off the record. He invited us as friends; not reporters. I don't think Pete wants to do an interview."
She made a face. "An exclusive with the President and we're keeping it off the record; are you kidding me, Clark Kent?"
"I think Pete just wants to reconnect with friends, Lois. He's been surrounded by the Washington crowd and I think it's taken its toll on him. Remember what Lana told Lara; that she wished that Pete had spent more time with me? I think that's what's happening here and I don't think we should do anything to derail that." He paused and seeing her disappointed expression, he added, "I'm sure that you'll get your exclusive with him; just not this time, okay?"
June 19, 2021
Washington, DC
The breakfast was simple; the kind his Mom had made him growing up. There were no pretentious food preparations or presentations. It was a farm-style breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast. There was fresh-squeezed orange juice and coffee. Pete and Lana were dressed casually; no suits, no ties, and no cocktail dresses. They greeted them warmly when they arrived and whisked them off to the West Wing to dine privately. The ease and familiarity of the breakfast reunion could have easily seemed like it was taking place at the Kent farm dining room if it hadn't been for the impressive surroundings.
They told stories, laughed, and reconnected – all of them. They were careful not to allude to Clark's secret nor discuss anything about their history with Lex or the scheme he devised. After finishing breakfast, Lana took Lois on a tour of the White House and Clark spoke with Pete as they strolled through the various hallways.
After three hours of catching up, the four of them rejoined in the private dining area where they had taken breakfast. Fresh coffee and light pastries had been served. The two couples sat across from each other while continuing to talk. After finishing his coffee, Clark suggested that Pete probably had other pressing issues to which he needed to attend. Pete nodded. "I have to figure out who I'm going to nominate for the Supreme Court vacancy."
"Off the record," Lois began with a grin, "Are you leaning toward anyone in particular?"
"Judge Timberman was initially my choice but on closer look, I think Judge Raymond Diaz from Arizona is probably a better candidate. He's a pretty strict constructionist which I think the bench lacks right now." He took a sip of coffee. "After vetting him thoroughly, I like his decisions a little more than Timberman; Timberman seems like he can be swayed a little too much." He winked at Clark. "But please, Lois; that is off the record."
"Of course; I'll let you make the announcement. I'll just wanted a jump on the competition; I'll have more research on him than anyone else," she added with a grin.
Clark stood. "On that note, I think we'll leave you to it, Pete." Lois rose as well. "It's really been great catching up and we really appreciate you taking the time to spend with us."
Pete and Lana rose as well. "It won't be the last time, Clark. Spending time with you two helps me stay grounded to where I came from and why I landed here in the first place." The four walked out to the portico where the car Clark had rented was parked. Hugs were exchanged and Lana disappeared inside the front door as Clark and Lois moved toward their car. She reappeared moments later and handed a book to Lois.
"This is for your trip back to Metropolis, Lois. I hope you'll find it as interesting as I did," she added. "There's an inscription on the inner cover."
Lois thanked Lana and hugged her one last time before Clark opened the door for her and she got into the car. Lana gave Clark a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I know how busy you can get so I appreciate you two coming." He moved to the driver side door and opened it.
"Next time," Pete called, "Bring your tennis shoes and we'll play some one-on-one. I'm still ahead in the total count." He grinned.
"You're on," Clark replied and disappeared inside the car. He drove off as Lois waved to their oldest friends.
"Wow," she exclaimed, "That was really nice. I mean, even being at the White House, it seemed pretty normal, you know?" Clark agreed. "I hope it's not the last time we're invited."
She fumbled with the book Lana had given her as Clark drove down Pennsylvania Avenue. She opened it and read the inscription from Lana out loud. 'To my dearest and most trusted friend,' it began. The inscription went on to say that the book starts out a little slow but really gets interesting around the middle and has a really explosive ending. She made a face. "Explosive?" She thumbed through the pages. Halfway through, she found a carved out section of chapters that held a USB flash drive. "Oh my God," she exclaimed and held the flash drive up for Clark to see. "Do you think this is what I think it is?"
Clark had pulled to a stop at a red light and looked at the USB device. "I'm sure it is. Why else would it be there?"
Lois smiled. "I'm putting this puppy away," she said, replacing it in the book and closing the cover. "I can't wait to get home to see what's on it."