Lex contacted a man who had worked for Checkmate before. The man had once been a colonel in the army until he'd been dishonourably discharged. Waller had recruited him for the Suicide Squad, to lead a group of people she called metahumans; people with remarkable abilities. He had disappeared for a few years after a mission had gone badly wrong in a Jihad stronghold in the Middle East. It had been thought that the squad leader was dead, but he had been taken prisoner and tortured.
There was a file on him at least two inches thick in the archives of Checkmate on the things he had done both before and after joining Checkmate. Things which would get him life imprisonment should it get out.
His experiences in that prison had made him hard and even malicious. Just the kind of man Lex needed to carry out this particular mission.
Rick Flag stood in the middle of the floor, glowering at Lex. His posture was erect, the bearing of a man who hadn't left the military behind him. He had a long, jagged scar down one side of his face, close-cropped dark hair peppered with grey and ice blue eyes.
"You want me to do what?" he growled, his voice low.
"I think you understand my orders. The girl is not to be harmed, but I warn you. She will not come easily."
"Given who her father is, I would not be surprised in the least. Why do you want her?"
"It isn't your job to question me, Flag," Lex said coolly. "Let me remind you that Agent Waller has a file on you which she could release on my say-so."
The man's cold eyes narrowed at him. Flag clearly didn't like him, which was fine with Lex. He dismissed Flag before the man could continue to voice any more objections or questions on the mission.
As the other man walked out, Lex's housekeeper walked in.
"Phone call," the woman said tersely, handing him the cordless handset.
The staff didn't like him either, but Lex could live with that. He wasn't out to win any popularity contest. What did rankle though, was that whenever Kal came around the staff would drop anything just to get a smile out of the young man. The cook would always make sure she had sugary snacks, saying he was a growing boy.
As much as Lex genuinely did like Kal, it pissed him off that here was someone who was a stranger in town yet seemed to be accepted as if he had lived here all his life, but Lex, who employed more than twenty five hundred people in this town that progress seemed to have passed by, was considered a pariah.
He lifted the handset to his ear.
"Yes?"
"Lex."
Oh great, he sighed. His father.
"Dad, how …" he hesitated, "… good of you to call. I was wondering when you were going to darken my doorstep."
"I've been hearing some disturbing reports, Lex. It seems you have let your work slide and cultivated other interests."
"And what would those be, Dad?"
"Don't be obtuse, Lex. It doesn't suit you. What is this project you have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of my money on?"
"Come on, Dad. First of all, it's my money. My salary from working for your company."
His father was silent, as if waiting for Lex to launch into a tirade. One thing he'd learned about working for someone like Waller was to keep his temper. She didn't tolerate agents who let their emotions get the best of them. Of course, she had never been raised by someone like Lionel, who seemed to make a sport of rousing tempers.
"It drives you crazy doesn't it? I'm not out clubbing until six am, spending your money. I'm on track, and that bothers you. The only thing you should be concerned about is whether the plant is making a profit. What I do on my own time is my business and has nothing to do with the company."
He ended the call, wanting to throw the phone across the room. His relationship with his father could be difficult at best. He'd once wanted to become a scientist, but Lionel had made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was to work for Luthorcorp.
He'd met Amanda Waller through one of his professors at Princeton. Lex supposed that was how she recruited agents. When he'd first met her, she had ordered him to be taken through rigorous tests including physical and mental, as well as intelligence. Lex had learned she had been keeping an eye on Luthorcorp for some time, due to some of the side projects Lionel was involved in. It seemed his father had been taking an interest in meta-humans himself.
XXXXX
Kal was working with Jonathan in the field, helping to ensure the crops were protected from frost for the winter. Some of the crops needed to be covered, and the animals in the pasture also needed to be taken care of.
It had been three days since the dance and he hadn't seen Lois or talked to her since Saturday when she had dropped him home. At breakfast that morning, her father had again lectured them about being careful. While he had said he understood that his daughter was old enough to get into a sexual relationship, he still wasn't happy about it. Kal wondered if the reason he hadn't been able to talk to Lois was because of her father.
Kal was worried about her. She had seemed a little upset when she'd dropped him off at the farm, not even staying for coffee. She'd kissed him goodbye and let him out of the car, turning it around without another word.
"Kal?"
Frowning, he turned to look at Martha. She looked a little nervous as she stood at the fence. He glanced at Jonathan, who shrugged and waved for him to drop what he was doing and see what was up.
The redhead seemed worried.
"There's someone to see you," she said.
Kal frowned again, wondering who would have come to see him. He went to the gate and opened it, making sure it was secure behind him as he followed Martha back to the house.
He was surprised to see his visitor was General Lane.
"General?" he said uncertainly.
"Kal. I was looking for Lois. I thought she might be here."
Kal shook his head. "I haven't seen her or talked to her since Saturday. She seemed kind of upset when she left here."
"I haven't seen her since yesterday."
Kal could see the man was very worried. Normally, from the little time he had spent with the older man, the general was a rather stern man, although even Kal could tell he loved his daughter deeply. In many ways, the man reminded him a little of his own father, despite their occupations being completely disparate.
"She wasn't at school today either," Kal admitted.
He wasn't going to tell the general that Lois sometimes skipped class, but for her to skip an entire day was very unusual.
The older man ran a hand over his head and sighed.
"I had an argument with her yesterday. Over you. She left the base not long afterward. I can't help but worry that she might have run away, but the only place she would run to would be here."
Kal thought that too. Lois had mentioned running away on Friday night, but he didn't think she would actually do it. The general looked pained.
"Look, it's no secret that I'm still not happy about what the two of you have been doing behind my back, but my daughter is eighteen and I can't stop her. I just wish you'd both talked to me about it."
"Sir, we can't help how we feel," Kal tried.
"I'm aware of that, son, but the point is, you'll be going home in a few months and what is Lois going to do then? I'm not completely ignorant when it comes to my daughter. It's very unlike her to get so serious about someone. Maybe part of that is my fault," he said with another sigh. "She's grown up without a mother and I haven't exactly been there to help ease her over the worst of things."
"I'm sure you did your best," Martha said quietly, reminding Kal that she had been there in the background.
It was one thing he liked about Martha. She was always willing to try to see both sides of an issue.
"If it helps, I can go talk to Chloe," Kal offered.
"It would. Thank you. In the meantime, I'll keep trying her cell." He took a slip of paper from the counter and wrote a number down.
"This is the number of my personal cell. If you hear from her, call me immediately."
Kal nodded, promising the general he would call. Even if Lois objected. He watched the general leave. The man was clearly worried. For someone who Lois often said was rather stoic, Kal wondered if the man was on the verge of breaking down. If it hadn't been obvious before, it was more so now. He loved his daughter dearly.
"I'm going to go talk to Chloe," Kal told Martha.
She nodded, knowing his missing girlfriend was more important than farm chores. She handed him some keys.
"Take the truck," she said.
Kal nodded his thanks. Martha also handed him a phone.
"She might call here. If she does, I'll call you on the cellphone."
"Thank you."
He went out to the truck, a little nervous, since he hadn't driven the truck beyond the farm gates alone, although he did have his learners' permit. Jonathan was by the fence, checking some of the posts to make sure they were sturdy.
"What's up?" he asked as Kal rattled the keys in his hand.
"It's Lois. She's missing. The general thought she might be here."
His guardian frowned. "That doesn't sound like Lois."
"I know. Chloe will still be at school working on the Torch. I figured I'd go there and talk to her, see if she's heard from her."
Jonathan nodded. "Go, but drive carefully son. We wouldn't want you to get into an accident."
Kal got in the truck and started to drive slowly out of the gate. Once he had managed to get used to the gears and get a little more comfortable with the driving, he was able to accelerate.
He had thought about using his super-speed, but the last thing he'd wanted to do was reveal his abilities to the Kents.
He drove to the school and hurried into the building, along the corridor to the newspaper office. Chloe was working at the computer as usual, laying out the paper. She looked up when he came in.
"Kal? What's wrong? You look upset."
"Have you heard from Lois?"
She shook her head. "No. Why?" She frowned. "Come to think of it, she wasn't at school today. She wasn't answering her phone either."
"I know. Her dad came by the farm looking for her."
"So you haven't seen her either?"
Kal shook his head. "I don't know what to do."
"Okay," she said, rolling her chair back from the computer. "Let's think about this for a minute. Did anything happen?"
Kal told her what had happened Friday night and then repeated the general's story.
"Well, okay, you're right. No matter how bad things are between her and her dad, she wouldn't run away. Maybe she was on her way to the farm to see you."
"Then her car would be on the highway somewhere," Kal guessed.
Chloe nodded. She turned and grabbed her keys from the desk.
"Let's go."
Kal tried to hide his frustration. It would have been a lot quicker if he'd been able to run, checking along the highway, rather than have her accompany him. Chloe must have sensed it anyway.
"Kal, she's my cousin. If something's happened to her, then I want to help."
"Okay, you're right. Let's go."
"Better let me drive. I know these roads better than you."
Kal felt cramped in the little Yaris Chloe drove. He'd pushed the seat back as far as he could get it, but it still didn't give him enough room for his long legs.
"Sorry," Chloe said, clearly noticing his discomfort. "Guess this car isn't made for tall guys."
"I guess not."
"So, you said something about maybe Lois being upset with you too."
"Well, I don't know. I mean, we talked about things on Friday night. I guess she finds it difficult knowing that I will be going home at the end of the year."
"Well of course she would. I mean, Lois and I are pretty close, but I've never seen her fall so hard for someone."
"This isn't easy for me either, Chloe. I don't want to go back, but I don't see any way to make it work." He glanced at her, but didn't voice what he was thinking. Chloe seemed to understand anyway.
"You really love her, Kal, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do."
It was getting dark, which was going to make their task more difficult.
"Can't you just, like, track Lois' phone?" Kal asked.
"Okay, you watch way too many procedural cop shows," Chloe joked. Jonathan was fond of watching procedural dramas on the television. "Tracking a cellphone isn't as easy as it looks. First, the phone has to be switched on. Then there's a whole lot of other hoops you have to jump through just to start tracking."
"It was just an idea."
Chloe slowed the car, pointing to the woods.
"There's Palmer Woods. Lois would pass by on her way to the farm from the base. Maybe we should check there."
"Good idea," Kal said.
She stopped the car on the side of the road, making sure it was far enough to the side that other vehicles had plenty of room to pass, and they got out, starting to walk toward the woods. Kal glanced at her, making sure she wasn't watching him, then focused on the woods. His vision allowed him to see through solid objects.
He was surprised when something did show up. Something in the shape of a car. He started running toward it, ignoring Chloe's call.
He cried out as he reached the car. It was Lois'. There was no sign of her.
Chloe ran up to him, panting.
"What are you, part bloodhound?" she asked.
He stared at her in confusion. She shook her head and sighed.
"Never mind."
She opened the driver's side door of the car and began searching. She emerged a minute later with a bag. Lois' bag. As Kal watched with growing anxiety, she pulled out Lois' cellphone.
"Battery's dead."
Kal searched the car himself, moving around to the passenger side.
"Chloe!" he said.
She came to his side, gasping at the dents and scratches on the side of the car. Lois was not the best of drivers but this …
"This looks like someone forced her off the road, Kal."
"Who would do this?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. But whoever did it must have forced her out of the car, then drove it into this clearing." She pointed. "This looks like it was scratched by a tree branch. Plus the seat was pushed back. Definitely someone taller than her."
It seemed pretty clear what had happened. Lois had been kidnapped. Kal stared at Chloe in dismay.
"We need to call the police," he said. "And the general."
"I guess," Chloe replied, looking uncertain.
"Lois didn't run away," he told her.
"I know that, Kal, but don't you think this is awfully odd? I mean she gets involved with you and she's suddenly kidnapped."
"What are you trying to say?" he asked.
"Well, look, I'm not trying to imply that you had anything to do with this, but I do think there's something weird going on. I mean, Lana lives like a mile from the Kents and they never said anything to her about knowing a kid from Eastern Europe, or his family. I still don't get why they let you stay with them."
"For someone who's not trying to imply anything, you're sure implying a lot."
"I wouldn't be a good reporter if I wasn't a good observer of human behaviour, Kal, and you have to admit that there are some things a little off about you. I mean, for one, how did you speak such perfect, or almost perfect English but know nothing about ice cream, or high school. I mean, at first. And then it was suddenly like you'd absorbed every John Hughes movie in existence."
Kal looked at her oddly, confused by the reference.
"We're wasting time. Lois could be hurt, or worse, and you want to question me about my background? Lois is missing, Chloe. Why don't you save the interrogation and help me find my girlfriend!"
"Fine," she said. "But we are going to talk about this."
He rolled his eyes and sighed. "So how do we figure out who might have kidnapped her?"
"Well, we could scrape paint chips off her car. We could have them analysed, see if they'll tell us what kind of vehicle they were driving."
"We don't have time. What else?"
Chloe sighed. "I don't know. Can you think of who might have a reason to want to kidnap her?"
Kal stared at her helplessly. "No. Not unless the general's been involved in some secret project. He has been going to Washington a lot."
She lifted her shoulders then let them go with a heavy sigh.
"Okay, I guess we should start there."
They called the police from the road and discovered the general had already reported Lois missing. The sheriff seemed deeply concerned when he heard about the car in the woods and brought a couple of deputies with him.
The general arrived shortly after the sheriff. Kal and Chloe quickly told him what they'd found.
"Is there anything you might be involved in?" Chloe began. He turned on her.
"You think this is my fault?" he asked.
"Uncle Sam, I'm just trying to …"
"You know me better than that, Chloe. I would never get involved in anything that would cause harm to come to my daughters."
"I'm just saying … besides, from what Lois keeps saying, you've always put your work before them."
The general looked pained, grief and guilt marring his expression. Chloe started to say something else, but Kal nudged her to shut up.
"Sir, what about your trips to Washington?"
"That's nothing. It's just work. I promise, there is nothing that would give anyone a reason to kidnap her."
Sheriff Miller approached them.
"General Lane," he said. "I promise we're going to do everything we can to find your daughter."
"Thank you, Sheriff."
The sheriff looked at Kal and Chloe. "I don't think there's anything more you kids can do tonight. I suggest you both go home and wait by the phone."
Kal couldn't do that. There had to be something else he could do. The thought that someone might be hurting the girl he loved was something he couldn't bear.
Chloe dropped him back at the high school so he could get the truck and left, promising she would do what she could. Since they had so little to go on, he didn't think there was much she could do.
He debated what to do himself. He didn't want to risk going to the cave – not driving, anyway, since the security team Lex had hired to keep an eye on the caves would most likely spot the vehicle. The only other person he could think of to help him was Lex.
His friend seemed surprised to see him.
"Kal, what brings you by?"
"Lex, I need your help. Lois has been kidnapped."
A strange expression crossed Lex's face but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He spoke slowly.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Kal. What … uh, do you know who might have done this?"
Kal shook his head. "No. That's why I came to you. I mean, you have contacts. I thought you might be able to help me figure out who took her."
"I really don't know what you think I can do, but I can certainly try a few of my contacts."
Kal watched him. Lex was still speaking slowly, deliberately, as if he was carefully weighing his words. Kal narrowed his vision on his friend's pulse. His heart rate had risen slightly. Not enough to be noticeable, but certainly enough for him to be concerned. Did Lex know something?
The older man approached him, hands on his shoulders.
"Kal, I promise, I will do everything in my power to get Lois back. In the meantime, I think you should go home. I don't think there's anything more you can do."
"I – I guess you're right, Lex."
Kal left the mansion and drove the truck back to the farm. The Kents were concerned but agreed with the sheriff that there wasn't much more he could do. Kal didn't want to wait by the phone. He wanted to be out there looking for his girlfriend.
He told the couple he was going to go for a walk. As soon as he was clear of the farm, he began running at super speed, making his way to the cave. He entered the main cavern and activated the key to open the hidden chamber.
"Brainiac."
The Kryptonian artificial intelligence emerged.
"What is it, Kal-El?"
"Lois Lane has been kidnapped."
"I see. And you want me to do what? Leave it to the authorities, Kal-El. It is not your concern."
"What if she was kidnapped because of me?" Kal asked.
The construct remained cool, the tone impersonal.
"It is not your concern. Your primary directive was to observe human behaviour."
Kal stepped forward and stared down at the construct, speaking in a firm tone.
"Maybe I didn't make myself clear, Brainiac. You were sent here to guide me in my learning, but you were also to obey my orders and I am ordering you now to help me find my girlfriend."
The human face of the Brain Interactive Construct took on the expression of someone who wanted to challenge the order, but it looked away instead.
"Very well. Where do you want me to start?"
"Start with Lex Luthor. I want a complete background on him. Contacts. Affiliations. Everything you can find. Whoever he has come into contact with in the past few years. Find out who they are and who they work for and see if anything stands out."
"You are asking a lot, Kal-El."
"I feel certain you can process this information within hours, Brainiac. Get it done!"
If the thing had been human, Kal would have guessed the expression on its face to be resentment at being given such orders, but it said nothing.
There was a sudden noise from the outer cavern. Kal whirled, peering through the darkness.
"Who's there?"
Crap, he thought. If a guard had come to investigate he could be in for a lot of trouble.
XXXXX
Lex was checking the monitor of his laptop. Lois Lane was pacing the floor of a small room, no bigger than a six foot by ten foot cell. At least Flag had followed orders. Apart from a small bruise on her forehead, she appeared unharmed. Not that he really cared, but the last thing he wanted was to bring the wrath of not only Amanda Waller down on him for involving a civilian, but also General Lane.
"Mr Luthor."
He looked up, quickly closing the laptop and stared at the security guard who was standing in the middle of his study, panting as if he had been running a hundred yard dash. The man was at least a hundred pounds overweight.
"What is it?" he asked.
"The perimeter alarm at the cave went off. The guard called it in on his radio. There was someone in there, talking. The guard said he heard them say the name Brainaic."
Lex smirked. After Kal's visit earlier, he knew the younger man was anxious over Lois' disappearance. It looked like his plan was working. Kal had just made a fatal mistake.