Chapter Twenty One: Unwelcome Surprises

Lex arrived at his bank in the heart of Metropolis's financial district at just before six. As he had driven into the city dawn had begun to break over the tall buildings. The sky was clear, and the air still; it promised to be a perfect day. However, as Lex had driven through the streets of a city which had barely started to stir he had not felt the sense of contentment that he had expected to feel some hours earlier. Clark's visit, the news of Chloe's involvement, the change of plan – all had conspired to disturb Lex's equilibrium. Reason told him that all would be well, and that within a couple of hours the vigilante would be safely in his hands, but he disliked surprises, and there had been too many over the previous few hours to make him feel truly comfortable.

As he stepped from his limousine a man in a suit stood waiting anxiously on the side of the pavement. His tie was loose and hung awkwardly from his collar, and his hair appeared slightly dishevelled. The man had clearly dressed in a hurry and was unaccustomed to being at his place of work at such an early hour; however, a call from a Luthor in the middle of the night could not easily be ignored.

"Your money is ready, Mr Luthor, exactly as you requested," he said nervously.

"Good, then let's get on with it, shall we?" replied Lex, glancing to either side of him as he approached the glass doors of the bank's entrance.

"Stay here and keep watch. Any sign of anything suspicious and let me know," he said to the two guards who had accompanied him to the bank.

Leaving his men at the entrance, Lex entered the bank and followed the manager across the spacious lobby area. A lone security guard looked up from his position at the main desk as they approached the secure zone of the premises; despite the fact that such an early morning visit by a client was highly unusual, he did not seem too interested and quickly returned to his magazine.

The manager started to key in a sequence of codes into a pad next to a door.

"I'm sorry, Mr Luthor, but this will take a minute or two. I have to override the security protocols in order to gain access to the vaults out of office hours."

Lex watched impassively as the man keyed in the numbers. Eventually a green light appeared above the pad, and the manager turned with a smile of satisfaction to his visitor.

"Not long now, Mr Luthor. If you'd like to step this way."

The manager opened the heavy door, clearly reinforced to deter any would-be robbers. He indicated for Lex to step inside; once through the door Lex found himself in a narrow corridor leading to another door at the far end. This obstacle was soon overcome as an iris recognition scan enabled the manager to access the vault beyond.

"Here, you are Mr Luthor, exactly as you requested. Two million dollars."

Lex looked down at the case which lay open on the table in the centre of the vault. Freshly minted bills were neatly arranged inside – the price to be paid for the Green Arrow's head.

"There's no need to count it, is there?" said Lex. It was more of an assertion than a question – the idea that the bank would fail its most important client was inconceivable.

"I personally guarantee that it's all there, Mr Luthor."

"Good, because a great deal depends on this," replied Lex, closing the lid and turning the locks on each of the clips that secured the case.

Suddenly a deafening alarm filled the vault, echoing from one side of the chamber to the other. A red light flashed above the door, where the sound of bolts clunking into place was audible above the high pitched wail.

Lex scowled across at the manager, who for a moment looked liked a helpless animal caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle.

"What's happening?" he demanded, taking the few steps over to where the other man stood and glaring at him.

"A security alert. I don't know …. Let me talk to my men." The manager slipped to one side of Lex and walked quickly over to the intercom panel located next to the door.

"Rogers, can you hear me? Rogers, what's going on?" The man's voice was trembling as he became aware of Lex standing at his shoulder, bristling with barely controlled rage.

"I'm afraid Rogers can't speak at the moment – he's having a little sleep."

The manager started at the unfamiliar voice which came through the speaker.

"Who's this? Where's Rogers? What's going on?"

"Lex, you there?"

Lex pushed the hapless manager to one side so that he could hear more clearly the voice coming through the intercom.

"Who is this?" he demanded.

"Lex, I'm hurt you don't recognise me! And after all the trouble you went to for me and Impulse a few hours ago!"

Lex's heart sank.

"Victor Stone!"

"Got it in one! Thanks for that little charade earlier on – Bart and I really appreciated it. He sends his best, by the way – wishes he could be here, but he's too busy rescuing the Green Arrow."

Lex said nothing, but inwardly every muscle tensed at Cyborg's last words.

"You hear me, Luthor? Bart and I don't like the idea of working as a duo – teams are more our style. And once we've got the Arrow, then we'll go pick up A.C. – that a problem for you?"

Lex stepped to one side and pulled at the handle of the door. It was stuck fast.

"Now let me guess – you're trying to get out, yeah?" Victor's voice sounded supremely confident. "Sorry, Lex, but I've fixed the security system of this place so bad it's going to take hours before you see daylight."

Lex continued to pull vainly at the door, knowing that his efforts were useless. If Victor Stone had got into the system there was no chance of escape any time soon.

"Oh, and Lex, your security guys say hi – they can't speak in person, 'cos they're a bit tied up at the moment." There was a chuckle at the other end of the line. "You know I've always wanted to say that – bye Lex, be seeing you!"

The link went dead, leaving only the sound of the wailing alarm.

For a moment Lex stood staring at the intercom, motionless. Cautiously, the manager approached, hoping to offer some words to soothe the temper of his clearly furious client.

"Don't worry, Mr Luthor. The alarm will have triggered the emergency protocols. My men will be here in minutes – I'm sure they'll get us out by nine."

A strangled yell of pain emanated from Lex as he whirled round, swinging the briefcase of money so that it hit the manager full in the face. The man was sent flying as the locks on the case sprang open from the force of the impact, sending the money cascading across the room.

Clark stood waiting in the middle of the deserted road, watching and listening intently for any sign of movement from the direction of Metropolis. To one side of him lay an open meadow, glistening with dew as the sun began to rise. To the other lay the large Fitzpatrick Lake, which gave its name to the LuthorCorp facility about five minutes drive behind him along the road. All was quiet, save for the sound of a few birds which circled the lake, presumably waiting for the first signs of fish near the surface of the water.

A sense of optimism filled the young man's mind, an optimism he had not felt for two days or more. Hearing the details of Lex's rendezvous with Oliver's kidnapper had been a lucky break, and freeing Oliver would surely lead to Chloe and maybe even A.C. All the guys shared his feeling that at last things were turning in their favour, and as the three had planned their rescue mission back at Oliver's apartment some smiles had at last returned to people's faces. Bart and Victor were easy to work with, and the plan they had formulated together was simple, but sure to succeed. Victor was to delay Lex at the bank as he and Bart covered the two roads leading to the Fitzpatrick facility. Oiver would be freed, they would find out where Chloe was being held, and move on from there.

Clakr glanced at his watch.

Six Forty-Three.

Victor would surely have done his work by now, and Clark smiled to himself as he thought of Lex trapped in the vault of the bank. Now it was his turn – and there was no question of him failing his two friends now.

The sound of a car. Quiet at first, but getting louder. As Clark watched he prepared himself mentally for the confrontation to come.

Eventually a car came into sight, driving steadily towards him. Clark could see clearly the driver at the wheel, immaculately dressed in a suit and tie. This must be Brown, he thought, a frown appearing on his face as he considered what this man had done to Oliver. He remembered the film of his friend strapped down on a table, electricity coursing through his body as he screamed in agony. And to think that he now had Chloe …. The sooner this was over the better, the young man thought to himself.

Soon the car turned on to the stretch of road by the lake, a few hundred yards from where Clark stood. He stepped out decisively into the middle of the road, blocking the path of the oncoming vehicle.

For a few seconds the car continued as if the driver had not seen Clark, but eventually it came to a halt some way away from the young man. For a few seconds there was silence as man and machine faced off against one another like a scene from some Hollywood western.

"Brown, it's over. Let Oliver go now." Clark spoke strongly, his voice cutting through the stillness of the dawn.

There was no response from the car, save the sound of the engine ticking over. Clark could see the expression on the driver's face clearly – Brown sat motionless, calculating his next move.

"Give it up, Brown. Luthor's not coming - the Justice League have seen to that. You're not getting your payday, so you might as well hand him over."

Again, there was no response from the car. Clark thought for a moment about his friend, bound in the trunk. Hang in there, Oliver, he thought to himself, it won't be long now.

Suddenly there was a screeching of tires spinning on the road. The car catapulted forwards, accelerating towards Clark at great speed. Clark just had time to see Brown's face, his brow creased in concentration, before he braced himself for the inevitable impact.

The car hit Clark at between seventy and eighty miles an hour. As it hit Clark it flipped over on to its side and flew into the air, spinning uncontrollably. As Clark relaxed after the impact and looked in the direction of the car he saw to his horror that it was heading straight into the lake. It landed about forty feet out from the shore, sending enormous streams of water high into the air.

Clark immediately ran to the shoreline, taking his jacket off as he did so. He plunged into the water, aware that already the car had slipped beneath the surface. The water was cold and soon became cloudy as Clark dived deeper in the direction of the sinking car. He could barely see more than a couple of feet ahead of him, but the warmth of the car's engine guided him towards his target.

It only took Clark a few seconds to reach the vehicle. It was sinking fast, and the first thing that Clark saw was Brown, still strapped in the driver's seat. His eyes stared widely ahead of him, but they were lifeless eyes – as Clark reached in through the smashed window to feel for a pulse he knew immediately that the man was dead, his neck broken by the impact of the crash.

Clark moved along the side of the car, his heart pumping as he feared what he might find in the trunk. The sight that greeted him was both unexpected, and unwelcome.

The door to the trunk floated in an open position as the car continued to sink towards the floor of the lake. Inside there was nothing.

Oliver wasn't there.

As you can see, things are hotting up. We are moving towards the climax of the story, but I can promise you a few more twists and turns yet.

Concern has been expressed that Ollie hasn't had anything to eat and drink for a while. Chloe did he give some water a while back, and one of the reasons why he can't fight back is because lack of food has left him weak. I'm more concerned that I haven't allowed him to go to the bathroom...

Thanks to all who are taking the time to review - please keep them coming! I'm really busy at the moment, but I'll try to keep the weekly updates going.