Lexington Bunker, Day 114. The telephone rang on Lex Luthor's desk as he casually sat back in his chair watching the news anchor look thoroughly disgusted while he announced that the latest 'Superman Smackdown' had debuted on-line. He sat there, completely unmoved, chomping on the end of his unlit cigar. It was brilliant of Finneran to suggest the sun lamps…sure it was risky, re-charging him like that, but the profit has all but negated the risk…The phone rang several more times, interrupting his private victory.

"What?" he barked into the receiver when he finally deigned to answer it.

On the other end of the line, Special Agent Chase stood in a broom closet, speaking into his cell phone in a hushed whisper. "That Lane woman says she's got an informant that he knows where you are."

"And do they?" he asked suspiciously.

"They know it's near Lexington, Kentucky, Sir, but it will take them awhile to coordinate with authorities there and pinpoint your exact location—at least, I think so…"

"Alright then, we'll get ready for the next transfer. Good work, Chase…you'll be rewarded handsomely for this." Luthor hung up the phone and lit his cigar…after all, we do have a little time to kill…

Lexington Bunker, December 29, 2007. The authorities rolled in on what looked like an abandoned piece of land on the outskirts of Lexington, Kentucky within 24 hours of receiving the tip from Lois' informant. They'd narrowed the search for the property by looking over bills of sale of commercial real estate from the last eight months, then zeroed in on areas resembling the Rordenville Bunker. The inconspicuous-looking chain link fence protecting a small shed confirmed their suspicions.

By the time the S.W.A.T. team cleared the area everyone present knew that Superman and his captors were long gone, leaving the usual trail of meaningless paperwork and Kryptonite dust behind.

Lois got the news later on that Saturday evening at home in Metropolis. She sat anxiously on the sofa as Jason watched a movie—she didn't dare get his or Martha's hopes up again after what happened last time—and informed Jason she was stepping out for a quick breath of fresh air before grabbing her coat and walking out the door. Letting herself out onto the roof and still clutching the phone tightly in her fist, Lois let loose an aggravated, blood-curdling scream.

Smallville, December 31, 2007 / January 1, 2008. Ben had been spending as much free time as he could with Martha once she'd returned from Metropolis to search for Clark. He shook his head to himself as he struggled to open the champagne while Martha waited in her living room…It's bad enough that he takes off for five years traveling the globe, but at least then Martha knew where he was… then he returns home only to go missing a year later? Anyone can see that this is breaking her heart... He returned to the living room and the roaring fire with champagne flutes in hand, just as the clock on the mantelpiece began it's midnight chime.

"Happy New Year, Martha," he said in an overly cheerful tone, trying to bolster her mood. He held the flute out to her.

She shook the far off look from her face. "What? Oh…" she accepted the glass. "Thank you." He settled down on the sofa beside her and put an arm around her shoulder. It was then that he caught sight of the photo she had up on her mantle; an image of Clark, Lois and Jason with the Metropolis Meteor's mascot at a ballgame, taken last summer before he disappeared.

"They're going to find him you know."

"Hmm? Yes, yes I know; they came close this last time but I know they'll find him in the end…" she said, not fully realizing what she was saying.

"Came close? Martha, did the Metropolis Police call you? What aren't you telling me?" he asked, looking straight at her with a face full of concern.

Lois had called her two days before and informed her that the FBI and MPD had found another bunker in Kentucky, but that just like before they were already gone. Of course, Ben didn't know any of this, and it took a moment for Martha to realize exactly what she'd said.

"Oh! No…well, yes. Sort of…" she wracked her brain for a possible white lie.'No Ben, my son is Superman, so you know just about as much as I do with regards to where he is'…that won't do, now think, Martha, think! "Well, you see, Ben, they had a man in custody in Metropolis who was a bit…confused…and he looked like Clark, but after they called me we learned that it wasn't him."

"Are you sure? I mean, how can you be sure without seeing him for yourself? After all, you said he was a confused…maybe it really was him?"

Oh how I wish, how I really truly wish… "No Ben, it wasn't him. This young man had a birthmark on his shoulder. Clark doesn't have one," she bit her lower lip as she finished speaking, worrying that he would sense the lie. Martha Susana Clark Kent, you are a terrible liar…and you know what they say happens to liars…

Ben sat subdued in his spot on the sofa; he wanted so badly to help her but knew that Martha would never be at ease until her son was home again. So instead he took his arm off her shoulder, placed her hand in his, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She smiled at him at this simple gesture, and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Happy New Year to you too, Ben."

Metropolis, January 2, 2008. The phone by Lois' bed rang ten minutes before her alarm was set to wake her up. This does not bode well for me having a productive day, she thought as she rolled over to pick it up. Immediately she regretted her selfish way of thinking, knowing that all day every day was torture for Clark while he was in Luthor and Finneran's hands, and there she was worried about having a crappy day. She swiftly grabbed up the phone, wondering if it was Lt. Henrickson or Agent Woodrow calling with new news.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Lois? It's Agent Woodrow."

"Clarissa? What's wrong, is everything alright?"

The Special Agent winced slightly on the other end of the line. She was only two or three years older than Lois, but she'd been with the Bureau long enough to maintain a few codes of conduct when working a case. Chief among them was 'Do not become attached to friends and family members of victims'—and Lois Lane had been trying to break through that barrier Clarissa had erected ever since Day One.

She let the informality slide…this time. What she had to say was too important. "Can you meet me and Lt. Henrickson at the Soleil Café around 8:30 this morning, before heading into headquarters? It's a couple of blocks East of City Hall…"

"I know where it is, but why do we need to meet there? Is something wrong?"

Again Agent Woodrow held back before replying. "There's something important I'd like to discuss privately with the both of you. Will you please come?"

"Sure, I'll be there as soon as I drop Jason off at school."

"Thanks, we'll be waiting for you." Agent Woodrow hung up the phone, hoping she was doing the right thing.

Lois was the last to arrive at the coffee shop as a slight snowfall came down outside. They made an interesting trio sitting there at a corner table, the two young women with their cappuccinos and the grizzled middle-aged man with a white mug of strong black brew. Lt. Henrickson was the first to break the tense silence.

"So are you going to tell us what this covert meeting is all about or are we just going to sit and stare at one another?"

She sighed as she looked over her cup at the intent gazes of the two people opposite her. There's no going back now…"I think there's a leak in the department."

Much to her surprise, Al was the only one stunned by the news, while Lois sat in thought with a scowl on her face. She pushed on. "The first time we missed Finneran and Luthor in Rordenville it was only by an hour or so, and that can be explained away by any number of reasons: they had planned to move on all along, we were too slow or sloppy and they got lucky, or they had surveillance on us and saw we were about to swoop in on them and bolted out of there. Whatever the reason was why we missed them at that first bunker, it doesn't matter, we just did.

"But Lexington was different. We enforced stricter security precautions on our end to make sure we weren't being monitored, and our Kentucky affiliates took time and care to study the area before moving in, yet Luthor and Finneran still managed to get away from us. How? I've gone over the entry in Lexington time and time again and the only explanation I can come up with is that they were tipped off."

"But who would do that?!" Henrickson asked anxiously. "You've seen the way people have been busting their chops these last four months, not one of them would sell Superman out like that, not for love or money!"

Lois spoke out in an unusually quiet voice. "Agent Chase might." She eyed Agent Woodrow to gauge her reaction.

Now it was Woodrow's turn to scowl. "Look, I know you don't like the guy, but that doesn't mean he's working with the likes of Finneran and Luthor. Not to mention you didn't see him that day in the Mayor's office when he met Superman face-to-face—he practically worships the guy, so why would he want to bring further harm to him?"

"Hey now, this has nothing to do with my personal dislike for him…call it my reporter's intuition. Clark and I knew we were onto something when we met with Finneran about the Kryptonite smuggling and Chase got very curt with us; now I know I'm onto something when I say that he's somehow involved. Not to mention that he's always acted oddly around me…"

"Well in that case than all the Techs in the Computer Lab are in on it too…" Al added with a sarcastic chuckle.

"No seriously, hear me out! Back before Christmas I caught him shredding some documents, and when I called him out on it he brushed me off and…" she stopped to recall his other odd behavior toward her when the incident in the hallway made it's way to the surface. "Oh my God…"

Agent Woodrow perked up at the look of shock on Lois' face. "What is it?"

"It's all my fault…" her lower lip began to tremble.

Al prodded her. "What's all your fault?"

"Our not finding him in Lexington, it's all my fault…"

"Lois, it's not your fault; Hell it was your tip that led us to Kentucky in the first place!"

"But I told Agent Chase first. He…I…I was running down the hallway, trying to find you," she nodded in Agent Woodrow's direction, "When I plowed right into him. I wasn't even thinking when he asked why I was in such a rush…I was so keyed up I just blurted it out right there. He was the first person I told."

Much as it gnawed at her insides Agent Woodrow had to admit to herself that Lois was building a pretty damn good case against Agent Chase. However, she wasn't ready to turn on her partner with guns blazing just yet.

"What we need is proof," she said, addressing both Al and Lois. "What you've got right now is circumstantial. We'll keep an eye on him for the time being; just make sure not to arouse his suspicion. If he is involved then we'll confront him, but we don't make a move until that time, am I clear?"

Lois put down her coffee cup and nodded in silent agreement before adding, "You know who you sounded like just now?"

"Who?"

"My Editor-in-Chief, Perry White. Maybe you went into the wrong profession," she said, employing her trademark snark.

Clarissa smirked. "Personally, I think I can handle a .38 better than 38-type font any day."