Cornell – Untitled

Washington

As they moved down the sidewalk, Diana, Clark and Krypto drew more than their share of attention. That wasn't an ideal situation especially for Clark.

"Ah, could you wear something not, um well, so showy?" He asked Diana.

"What do you mean?"

Clark looked around and then gestured for her to follow him into the nearest alley. Krypto followed both of them.

"Look, you're already gorgeous,' Clark began. "So you're going to attract your share of attention no matter what. Dressed in a bathing suit and a crown you're kind of putting a spotlight on us. I'm trying to avoid attention, remember?"

"It's not a swimsuit it's my armor,' Diana replied through gritted teeth. "And it's a tiara, not a crown. My mother wears a crown, I don't."

"Whatever, could you just tone it down a bit?"

Diana glanced at him in exasperation, but then shifted her eyes to the street. There had been a lot of people looking at them before they stepped into the alley.

"Fine." She begrudgingly said. She was just about to do the spinning trick again when she stopped and pointed her finger at Clark. Krypto immediately started to growl at her.

""No more of your tricks, understand?' She sternly said to Clark and then turned her attention to Krypto. "And you stop that right now."

Clark took a step back and raised his hands as if in surrender. Krypto moved over to his side. He did stop growling.

"Fine,' Clark replied.

Diana looked one last time at both of them and pointed her finger at both of them before spinning back into her evening gown.

"Yeah, that's much better,' Clark sarcastically said. "We should get going now. Krypto has the young woman's scent and he can follow her trail."

"I'm an excellent tracker myself,' Diana offered, as they headed back onto the street.

"You keep finding me,' Clark muttered. "A bit stalker-ish if I was putting a name on it, but let's go."

Diana was about to protest but Krypto barked at both of them and headed off down the street. Clark was right behind him and Diana had no choice but to follow too.


Washington – West Potomac Park

Lynch knew the truck would arrive at the safe house in probably less than an hour. He had another team getting everything ready, but his thoughts were on Shayera at the moment. She was stubborn, too stubborn for her own good, he thought. From one point of view he had rescued her from capture by ARGUS. If it wasn't for him and his people she would be in a cage right now, well, a permanent cage two miles below ground with little hope of getting out.

He would have to explain things again to her, to make her understand the deal he was offering, but he wouldn't arrive at the safe house till later. Being there when the truck showed up served little purpose. Lynch understood timing and the vagaries of chance. If he arrived before the semi he would have to wait around and then wait some more while they unloaded the cargo. That was time he didn't want to waste. He would show up, make another pitch to Miss Hol and then they would deal with the consequences. In-out it was over and on to other matters. There was also the random and unexpected. The semi could have a flat tire or some ambitious state trooper could pull it over. Another car might suddenly veer into the semi's lane and start a multiple car pill up. Someone could follow the truck to the safe house or a million other random things could happen so the whole thing blew up in his face.

While Miss Hol was of interested to Lynch, she was hardly his only interest. In fact aliens and heroes were really a small part of what he did. In a way they were a luxury but not central to his goals. He was in the business of keeping order or when that wasn't possible, at least a lid on things so they didn't spiral out of control. Lynch had long been a proponent of something called Realpolitik. It is politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than explicit ideological notions or moral or ethical premises. In this respect, it shares aspects of its philosophical approach with those of realism and pragmatism.

Lynch was both of those things, a realist and a pragmatist. The business that brought him to West Potomac Park involved a brewing conflict in Eastern Europe between the totalitarian government and a group of minority nationalists. It had been escalating recently and it seemed the nationalists strategy was to made the conflict a wider one and bring in several of the neighboring states. This could destabilize the entire region. Lynch was meeting the leaders of the nationalists. The meeting had been at their request, but their agenda was different than his.

They had insisted on meeting him in broad daylight and he'd willingly agreed. He sat on a park bench and watched as the three leaders walked towards him. They of course had their own security team stationed around the area at several vantage points, but Lynch had anticipated all of it. He rose to greet them, as they got closer.

"Sergei, Vincent and Nicolas, so good to see you all again,' Lynch said with a smile. He shook hands with them and then gestured to the bench opposite the one he was sitting on. "Please have a seat."

The three sat down, making sure to check out every angle and make eye contact with their people.

"So what can I do for you today?" Lynch asked.

"Weapons,' Sergei replied. "If we are to win our struggle against our oppressors we must have more weapons. Our brothers in the neighboring countries are a minority like us, but with more weapons we can bring about a new age for our people."

"Yes, and destabilize the region,' Lynch pointed out.

"Our people have suffered under the yoke too long!" Nicolas shouted. "It is time we cast aside those that would oppress us by any means necessary!"

"Keep your voice down please,' Lynch said.

"You have provided us with weapons in the past, Lynch,' Sergei remarked. 'Give us more and let us worry about the fighting."

"Yes, I have, haven't I?" Lynch replied. "But you see the difference is that you were only fighting against a government unfriendly to my own. Now you want to expand that fighting to the entire region. That's not in our interests."

"We care nothing of your interests,' Nicolas said. "We are fighting for a cause! For the liberation of our people! The honor of our people is at stake in this noble struggle!"

"God help us from all those that do the honorable thing," Lynch mused. "They're the ones that always start the wars."

"You question our motives?" Sergei demanded.

"No, of course not,' Lynch said. "Wars are always fought for the best of reasons: for liberation or manifest destiny, always against tyranny and always in the interest of humanity. Unfortunately it's all the rest of the people that suffer."

"Give us the weapons, Lynch and save your philosophy,' Nicolas said.

Lynch looked at the three of them for a moment and then whispered one word,' Now."

The three looked around as if they were expecting something but nothing appeared out of the ordinary. They looked back at Lynch.

"Let me explain how things really are,' Lynch said. "This meeting today was at your request in the broad daylight because you thought it would make you safe. It doesn't. People are afraid of the dark, yet they always use it to cover up the things they don't want others to see. This notion that the cover of night brings out monsters and horrors is wrong. The true horror happens in broad daylight for everyone to see. Your people are dead and you're all alone."

The three started to pull their weapons, but Lynch already had his pistol aimed at them. He shot Nicolas point blank in the head and then turned to the remaining two.

"Leave your weapons where they are,' Lynch informed them. "I have snipers all around us and they are trained on the two of you. You wouldn't even get your guns out of their hostlers before you're cut down. Now do we understand each other?"

The two nodded as they glanced around but saw nothing. Nicolas had slumped to the side and slipped off the bench to the ground. Lynch paid him no mind.

"Otto Von Bismarck once said, "One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans." Lynch quoted. "He said that twenty years before World War One."

The two remained quiet.

"A Serbian nationalist and a member of something called the Black Hand shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand. One month later World War One started." Lynch continued. "The whole continent was plunged into a war that killed millions and destabilized pretty much every country involved. Just for a moment imagine if the Austro-Hungarian Empire hadn't declared war on Serbia but someone like me went in and killed the leaders of the Black Hand and anyone else that helped the assassin. Could war have been avoided? Would those great empires have fallen? Would the result have been not only the collapse of the old system but the rise of Nazi Germany if the war had been avoided?"

Lynch paused to let his words sink in.

"Those are interesting questions aren't they? Instead of an all out war killing millions perhaps as few as thirty would be killed and honor would be restored,' Lynch said. "Sadly we'll never know as it's all academic now. Your situation on the other hand is still fluid. You're believers and are fighting what you believe is a noble and honorable battle for your people. That could all be true, but it doesn't matter to me. What I care about is your fight not spinning out of control and engulfing the entire region. Because if that happens there is no telling where it will end."

"But it is a good and honorable fight,' Sergei replied. "We are on the side of the truth."

"I don't want to know what's good, or bad, or true. I let God worry about the truth. I just want to know the momentary fact about things. Life isn't good, or bad, or true, Sergei, it's merely factual, it's sensual, and it's alive." Lynch explained. "So you see I'm faced with a dilemma. It's as if I'm back in Sarajevo in the hours after Ferdinand was assassinated. I can kill one or both of you and perhaps prevent a wider war that will kill millions. Or the both of you or one of you can make a deal with me. I'll continue to support your fight against your government and in return you'll stop trying to spread the fight to the rest of the region. So how do we resolve my dilemma?"

"You care nothing of our struggle,' Sergei spat out. "I will not make a bargain with the likes of you!"

Lynch shot him in the head and turned his attention the last of the three, Vincent.

"You haven't been heard from yet, Vincent, what do you have to say?" Lynch asked.

Vincent looked at the barrel of Lynch's gun and then glanced all around him.

"Our fight is against our government,' Vincent slowly said. "I see no reason why it needs to expand to the neighboring countries. Your continuing support will help us remain committed to that one goal."

Lynch smiled and lowered his weapon.

"I'm glad we could come to an understanding. "Lynch said as he stood up and shook Vincent's hand. "The weapons will be arriving shortly at your headquarters. Oh, and don't worry about those two, my people will take care of it."


Virginia

Once they were out of the city Diana, Clark and Krypto took to the air. Diana had changed back into her armor and she was flying along beside Clark as they followed Krypto. He had the trail and was moving fast. Diana was still cautious about the young man and his dog, on edge for any tricks. Mr. Kent had been in the lasso when he told her why he was in Washington so she knew it was the truth or at least what he believed to be the truth. It seemed like a chance to get some answers to many of the questions she had so she'd gone along with them. While she still had her issues with Mr. Kent, Diana did find herself liking his dog.

Clark wasn't pleased with the idea of working this closely with Wonder Woman. Frankly he couldn't believe how shitty his luck was that she spotted him again. The odds of it happening had to be astronomical, but he only had to look to his right to see that she was right there. He resolved to never come to Washington DC again, but there were more immediate concerns. Finding the young woman kidnapped by Lynch was his priority. He was multitasking though. He kept an eye on Wonder Woman to make sure she didn't contact any of her teammates. Dealing with one hero was bad enough; he didn't need the whole gang of them. He was also reluctant to use all of his powers, not wanting her to know just what he was capable of. The situation could change rather quickly so he wanted to have a few surprised of his own just in case.

They had moved away from the main highway and were following one of the smaller state roads. Krypto started to bark and Clark let his vision extend out to see what he was excited about. Clark saw the truck and with a quick X-ray of it saw the alien young woman in the cage passed out and the guards all around her in the back.

"Krypto's found them,' Clark informed Diana. He pointed and she followed his direction and saw it too.

"Are you sure it's that truck?" She asked.

"Yes, they have her unconscious in the back,' he replied. "Deathstroke and Zealot are guarding her, but there are also ten other gaurds armed to the teeth."

"How can you possibly know that?" Diana asked.

"I just do, you're going to have to trust me."

"From past experience, I don't care for the idea of trusting you, Mr. Kent."

"Yeah, I can probably see that,' Clark said with a small smile. He noticed his smile caused her to frown. "I gave you my word I won't run this time, at least not till we save her. My word is all I have to offer."

Part of Diana was still just a bit pissed over their previous encounters and how they had played out, but this was a different situation. Reluctantly she had to accept his word.

"All right,' she replied. "If this is going to work, I think we need a distraction to throw them off balance. A direct assault may put the young woman in danger. Do you think you can get ahead of them and draw their attention while I and your dog move in from the back?"

"Yeah, I can handle that." Clark said with a smile.


Inside the semi, Zealot was checking on Shayera again when the driver contacted the mercenaries.

"We got a guy standing in the middle of the road,' the driver said. "He's not moving."

"Run him down,' the lead mercenary said.

"Roger that."

Deathstroke had been paying more attention to Zealot and Shayera, but snapped to attention. He moved to the back and grabbed the walkie-talkie off the mercenary.

"Describe this guy in the road,' He demanded. 'Quick, damn it!"

"Young, tall, dark hair,' the driver replied. "He's still not moving out of the way even though I'm putting the pedal to the metal."

Deathstroke looked at Zealot and she had the same thought as he did.

"Oh shit,' Deathstroke cursed. "Stop the truck!"

"Too late now," the driver replied.

Deathstroke and Zealot both grabbed on for impact. Suddenly the semi came to an abrupt full stop and everything in the trailer went flying. The sound of wrenching metal fill the air, as the whole thing seemed to buckle. In the next moment the sound increased as the back doors and the entire roof was ripped in half and the sunlight came streaming in. The mercenaries scrambled to hanging on and started firing wildly. As they looked up they saw Wonder Woman hovering above them and tossing away the two halves of the truck. She blocked the bullets with her bracelets and moved forward. She landed in the middle of the semi and felt anger fill her as she saw the young woman in the cage.

A scream came from behind Diana and she turned to see that Krypto had clamped down on one of the mercenaries shoulder as he tried to attack her from behind. The man disappeared in the next moment. Diana definitely liked that dog.

Deathstroke and Zealot knew they were overmatched. Given time to properly prepare they might have been able to deal with Wonder Woman and Mr. Kent, but that wasn't the situation. They tapped the devices on their wrists and transported out, leaving the mercenaries to deal with the situation. The mercenaries didn't last long, so by the time Clark came back to the rear of the truck, Diana and Krypto had dealt with all of them. Diana was opening the cage and gently easing the young woman out of it.

Shayera's eyes slowly opened as she was still fighting the effects of the drugs.

"Wonder Woman?"

"Yes, you're safe now, miss,' Diana replied. "What is your name?"

"Shayera, Shayera Hol,' she replied. She was coming around a bit more and the situation became clearer to her. "So now you'll turn me over to ARGUS?"

"No." It was Clark that answered as he stepped up next to Diana.

"Who are you?" Shayera asked.

"A friend."

"But you're with Wonder Woman and she's in the Justice League,' Shayera replied. "Everyone knows the Justice League is in partnership with ARGUS. So all of this is just to exchange one prison for another, isn't it?"

"I will guarantee your safety,' Diana said. "You won't be put in a prison."

"Why should I trust you?" Shayera said as she finally managed to stand. "I'm an alien on this world, I know what happens to aliens here."

"I'm an alien too,' Clark said. "If you don't want to go with her, you don't have to. I give you my word you won't be put in a prison.

"I said I guarantee her safety,' Diana said to Clark. "I'm giving my word too."

"Can you give your word that the other members will agree with you?" Clark asked.

"That doesn't matter, I'm giving my word,' Diana replied.

"Fair enough, but I think it's Miss Hol's decision, don't you?"

"Yes,' Diana admitted.

They turned to Shayera.

"If I don't go with her, where would I go?" She asked.

"I know a place that's safe,' Clark offered. "You can stay as long as you like and leave any time you want."

Shayera looked at both of them. They had both given her their word and she believed them. The problem was Wonder Woman was affiliated with the Justice League and the League was affiliated with ARGUS. ARGUS had hunted her for the last few months before being captured by Lynch's people. She hadn't forgotten that.

"If it's really my choice, I'll go with him,' Shayera said.