Chapter 21[Talon]

Chloe exhaled deeply while wiping down some of the tables and booths around the café. She'd hustled to convey java-infused bliss to the waiting palates therein. Her frenzied cell phone calls punctuated the minute to minute wait between orders as she sought out Lana's location. "Glad that's over."

"You said it," Miranda concurred. "Thanks, Chloe. I wouldn't have survived without you and Mr. Luthor helping me." She sighed deeply. "Any word on Lana?"

"Nobody's seen her. Maybe Lex might know something more?" the reporter supposed. She headed into the back room where the billionaire and Pete unloaded the dish washer. "How's the life where the Other 99 percent live, Lex?"

"He's holding up his end, Chloe. Gotta give him that," Pete complimented in spite of himself.

"Anything to help the operation. Are we through that wave?" Lex wondered.

"The café's pretty empty at the moment. You all should take a break," Miranda informed them.

"That sounds awesome!" Pete expressed enthusiastically. He set the last mug on the drying rack and trudged out of the back room.

"Any word on Clark or Lana?" Lex wondered.

"Nothing yet. I was going to try the Kents in a few minutes. Maybe we should get the police involved?" Chloe supposed.

"Without a permanent sheriff, they won't do much," Miranda disagreed. "I trust Mr. Plaid to be a bloodhound where the Boss is concerned. Still he could use some help."

"I'll get my staff ready after we get a coffee," Lex agreed as they headed toward the front.

[Side Alley]

Lana cleared the distance from the Kent Farm, into town and up to the café within seconds. She marveled at how the world seemed to freeze; how time stood still while she ran at that rate. Is this what Clark goes through when he runs like this? She skidded to a stop and nearly took out a couple of garbage cans in the alley. "Wow. I really did it!"

"You did." Clark zipped to a stop in front of her. "It beats driving in traffic."

"So how did you miss the bus if you could do this?" she supposed irreverently.

"Part of the act," he explained. He stared at the door and nodded. "The place is empty except for Lex, Chloe, Pete and Miranda."

"And how do you know that?" she queried.

He grinned. "X-Ray vision. You have it too."

"Oh really?" She concentrated and swept the entire alley to test his statement. Sure enough she could see the insides of trash cans, the dumpster, the café….

…and even the undercover side of Clark….

She smirked. "That is so hot."

"Lana! Please!" He moved out of her line of vision.

"Don't tell me you never tried anything like that with the girls' locker room at school, Clark," she retorted. When he didn't answer, she shrugged. "I thought so. Girl needs to practice." She focused her vision on the café. "This is so great. You're right." She unlocked the back door with her key. "At least I don't need a telescope."

Clark rolled his eyes. Jor-El, you created a monster. With that he followed her into the structure. "Lana, just a second. Remember, act normal."

She sighed. "Clark, it's okay. Now I understand why you did what you had to do." She kissed him on the cheek. "Let's reassure everyone." She poked her head out. "Sorry about the disappearing act."

"Lana! Wow! Where have you been?" Miranda wondered while nearly tackling her.

"We almost called out the state police," Lex noted.

"Not to mention a few milk cartons! Lana, you know how scared Dad and I have been?" Chloe lectured. "What happened?"

Lana glanced at Clark before turning back to them. "Chloe, the guy drugged me and dragged me out into the woods. I never saw what he looked like. Thankfully Clark found me when he did."

"That's our Clark. Instilled Lana GPS and all," Chloe jabbed.

"Wish it were that easy, Chloe. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Just lucky I guess," Clark retorted half-truthfully.

"As I've told you before, Clark, you're the luckiest guy I know," Lex indicated.

Pete suppressed an eye roll. Ham it up, Dude. We know about that super speed. You could sweep an entire state in a day if you wanted to.

"On that note, Boss, care to join us for coffee? You missed a hellish morning," Miranda informed her.

"Miri, sorry about that. Hopefully no other guys climb in my window and sweep me away," Lana apologized.

"Yeah, Clark, I hear Dad's got a bodyguard position," Chloe cracked.

"He's already got it filled, Chloe. No further interviews required," Lana noted with a hug for Clark as emphasis.

Clark grinned while holding her closely against himself. With how the previous few hours' events had teetered on the razor's edge for him personally, he felt grateful as to how things had turned out. I'm so glad Jor-El didn't kill her. At least now we have everything! Let's hope it stays this great!