Chapter 38

"The Truth"

"Lex, there's a Carl Thompson on the phone wanting to talk to you," Otis announced.

"I'll take it in here, in private," Lex told Otis.

"Alright," Otis said. "Line 1," the Otis left the room.

"Hello?" Lex said answering the phone.

"Yes, Mr. Thompson, I'm glad you called back."

"Well, I need to buy a transport truck," Lex said.

"It's none of your business what I need a transport truck for. All you need to know is that I need a truck, preferably an eighteen wheeled truck, and I needed it yesterday."

"Perfect. I'll send one of my men over to pick the truck up. Nice doing business with you," Lex said then hung up the phone.

"An eighteen wheeled truck? What do you need that for, Lex?" Richard asked as he entered Lex's office.

"I'm simply transporting something between here and Smallville. Who let you in here?" Lex asked.

"No one. I just walked in."

"Security didn't stop you?"

"No."

"Then clearly it's time to rethink my security team. What do you want?"

"I've been doing some research."

"Research? On what exactly?"

"Well you, Lex."

"Me? What about me?"

"Well, let's just say I was curious as to what you do to people who double cross you. I looked for some former employees of yours."

"And?"

"Well, Lex, there's no former employees to found. They've simply disappeared along with most of their families. That got me thinking. What do you do them, Lex?"

"Trust me, if you don't want to disappear, you'll never ask that question again. Just leave everything up to me, ask no questions about former employees or my business dealings and you won't ever have to find out what happens to people who betray my trust." Richard looked at Lex. Then the phone rang. "Hello?" Lex answered the phone breaking eye contact with Richard. As Lex looked away Richard quickly reached into his pocket and stopped the recording device he had in his pocket recording his conversation with Lex.

"What happened with Lana and Lois?" Lex asked suddenly gaining Richard's attention again.

"Is Lana there?" Lex asked.

"Is she upset?"

"Okay, I trust you."

"Right."

"What is Lana up to?"

"I told her to stir some trouble up between Clark and Lois, not get into a fight."

"Yes. I want to talk to her. Put her on the phone. Lana, what were you thinking?"

"I see."

"No, I'm not angry. Actually this may be a good thing."

"When Clark finds out that you and Lois got into a fight he'll be angry with Lois. You know how he trusts you. Just tell him Lois started the fight, with the way that girl sticks her nose in other peoples business, it's believable. Cry if you have to, do anything to make him believe you. If Clark thinks the fight was all Lois' fault they will fight with each other. It's divide and conquer."

"As long as Lois and Clark are divided they'll be easier to attack on Saturday."

"Do whatever it takes. I'll see you on Monday."

"I love you, bye." Lex hung up the phone and looked back to Richard. "You're still here?"

"Is Lois okay?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't she be okay?"

"Because her and Lana had a fight. She's probably upset."

"You obviously don't know Lois Lane."

"What do you mean? She's a woman, I know women."

"Not her. She's nothing like other women. Lois Lane is like a little ticking time bomb. Someone makes her angry, she blows up. In all honesty, Lana is lucky she wasn't hurt, Lois wouldn't hesitate to have a fist fight with someone. I'm surprised she and Lana didn't fight like that. I've seen Lois take down armed soldiers."

"Interesting."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe if I took up some boxing and some extreme sports Lois would like me."

"Oh yeah. That will make her want you," Lex said sarcastically.

"If not that, then what does she see in Clark Kent?"

"I can't tell you what she sees in him. He has a lot of qualities that are rare."

"Like what? What does he have that I don't?"

"Well, Clark has always cared about others more than himself. Something you don't have."

"Okay one thing. That's it."

"He does things for others instead of himself."

"Two things."

"Do you want me to go on, because we could be here for a while. Clark Kent is a rare breed."

Chloe walked down the hallway to the smell of a home cooked breakfast. She headed into the kitchen where she saw Jimmy cooking. Jimmy turned when he heard someone approach.

"Good morning, beautiful," he greeted.

"Something smells good," Chloe commented.

"Pancakes," Jimmy answered. "I just can't guarantee they'll taste as good as they smell," Jimmy said.

"I'm sure they'll taste great," Chloe said as she approached Jimmy, put her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks," Jimmy smile. "Go sit down, the pancakes are just about ready. Do you think your dad will want any? I made some for him too."

"Yeah, Jimmy that's sweet. I'll go get him," Chloe said, then she ran down the hall calling. "Dad, come have some breakfast. Jimmy made pancakes."

Clark, Lois, Linda and Martha sat at the kitchen table and ate breakfast. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Clark said, getting up and heading to the front door.

"Hey," Pete said when he saw Clark.

"Pete. You're here early," Clark commented.

"Yeah, well I woke up early this morning and thought I'd come over. I expected you to be outside doing chores."

"Not on Sundays."

"Right. It's Sunday. I forgot about that. What time did you get back home last night?"

"Around 5:00. It really wasn't last night. It was this morning."

"So you didn't get much sleep?"

"I don't need sleep, you know that, Pete."

"Yeah. Is Lois up yet?"

"Lois?"

"Yeah. I told her last night I'd be by this morning."

"Pete?" Lois asked as she came from the kitchen.

"Hey," Pete said, giving Lois a hug when she came to the door.

"What's going on?" Clark asked, feeing his jaw tighten in jealousy.

"Nothing," Pete shrugged.

"I just need to talk to him," Lois smiled.

"You can't talk to me?" Clark asked.

"You're not my boyfriend, Smallville."

"Pete is?"

"What?" Lois asked.

"Clark, relax, man," Pete said.

"What's wrong with you, Smallville? I'm just going to talk to a friend. Come on, Pete. We can talk in the barn," Lois said looking at Clerk strangely.

"Yeah. Clark, man, you're acting really weird," Pete commented.

"I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry," Clark apologized.

"it's fine."

"Come on," Lois said dragging Pete toward the barn. Clark headed back into the kitchen to rejoin Linda and Martha.

"Who was that?" Martha asked as Clark sat down.

"Pete."

"Where's Lois?" Linda asked.

"She wanted to talk to Pete about something, but wouldn't tell me what. Do either of you know what's going on, specifically you mom, since Linda was with me and you were here yesterday with Lois and Pete."

"Clark, I do know what they're talking about, but it's not for me to tell you. It's something Lois has to tell you on her own."

"Is it that bad?" Clark asked.

"Why do you assume it's bad? Do you have any respect for Lois, or do you just assume she can't do anything without getting into trouble?"

"Mom, I respect Lois. But when I can see that she's hiding something, I worry. I don't want her to get into trouble. And if she's in trouble I can get her out of it, if she'd just tell me. It's frustrating knowing she's hiding something from me. I thought we were being honest and now she's keeping secrets with Pete. All I'd have to do is listen and I'd know what's wrong and I could try to fix it."

"Honest, Clark?" Linda asked in shock. "You hide your feelings from her, even though you know you're destined to be together."

"That's different."

"How?"

"Clark, sweetheart, just relax. She will tell you everything soon. She's just afraid," Martha said.

"Afraid? Of what? Mom, does she think I'll be mad at her?"

"Clark, I can't say anything."

"This is so frustrating," Clark said jumping up from the table and pacing. "She shouldn't be afraid to talk to me. Not after everything that's happened the past two years."

"Clark you trust her don't you?"

"Of course I do, but if she can't trust me-"

"Clark, she trusts you. Why do you think she's consulting your best friend?"

"Consulting?"

"You have trust issues don't you?" Linda commented.

"Well when your ex-girlfriend is Lana Lang, your former best friend is Lex Luthor and your father is Jor-El you have trust issues."

"True. My father isn't much better than uncle Jor-El."

"How did your training go anyway?" Martha asked to take Clark's mind off Lois and Pete.

"Good," Clark admitted. "It's much easier now that I have Linda."

"Yeah, it's almost enjoyable now. Although I do enjoy seeing my father and mother. And it was nice to see uncle Jor-El and aunt Lara. I got to meet uncle Jonathan."

"Really?" Martha asked.

"Yeah," Linda smiled. "I love him. He's great. I wish he were still alive, I know I could have learned a lot from him."

"I'm sure he would have loved to teach you. But in time Clark will teach you everything he ever learned from Jonathan."

"I will do my best," Clark smiled. "Dad loved Linda."

"How could he not," Martha asked.

"Father and Mother told me that they chose this time for me to join, Clark. We are destined to save the world."

"I don't doubt that," Martha commented. "Jonathan and I always knew Clark had a great destiny."

"He does. I'm glad father and mother chose him to take care of me."

"You call your parents father and mother?" Martha asked.

"Well, I grew up with them."

"I never really thought about it before, but you did. What were your parents like?" Martha asked.

"My parents were firm but loving. My father was a scientist like his brother. My mother worked by his side. I loved them very much. They taught me everything they could about Krypton and uncle Jor-El and aunt Lara. They told me about mine and Kal-El's grandfather. And what they knew of Kal-El and earth, although some of what they told me I've learned to be different. They told made sure I knew I would come to earth one day and meet my cousin and that I would have a family here," Linda recalled.

"How am I supposed to tell Clark that I got into fight with his ex-girlfriend last night while he was out of town."

"I don't know how Clark will react, probably not good, but at least you didn't hurt Lana, and I'm here and so are Chloe and Jimmy to back you up," Pete reassured.

"What time did Chloe and Jimmy say they'd be here?"

"9:30."

"What time is it now?"

"9:15."

"Good. Clark's probably wondering what's going on right now. Knowing him he's thinking the worst. He probably thinks I don't trust him."

"Relax. At least Clark will finally know how dishonest and disloyal Lana is."

"I guess. But I'm still nervous."

"Hey," Chloe said as her and jimmy entered the barn.

"Hey, you're early," Lois said hugging her cousin. "Thanks for backing me up."

"I'll always back you up, Lois." Chloe smiled.

"You're early," Pete commented.

"Well we figured it was only a matter of time before Lana called trying to make Lois look bad," Jimmy explained.

"Good thinking," Lois agreed.

"Let's go get this over with," Chloe said.

"I hope Clark doesn't kill me or hate me after this."

"He won't." Pete reassured.

"Don't worry, we're all here for you." Jimmy said.

"I have to call Clark. He should be home by now. Hopefully Lois hasn't told him about our fight last night."

"Is that all you think about?"

"Lex told me to use this to our advantage, make Clark turn on Lois."

"And then what?" Ted asked.

"Mr. Tyler, considering your position, you sure do have interesting viewpoints of everything Lex and I do."

"Miss land, just because I work for Lex as a living does not mean I agree with all his motives. I need to pay my bills somehow and I'm only trained to work in security. Since I live in Metropolis the only security job I could find was with the Luthor security team. If I had my way I'd be working in a museum or for 'The Daily Planet' right now, but I'm not. The only things I really like about working for Lex Luthor is the fact that he pays more money for security than any other security job in metropolis, I like the few friends I've made while working at this job and I have enjoyed working with you Miss Lang. But now that you know that I don't like working for Lex it's going to get back to him and I'll lose my job, right?"

"No. I'm not going to tell him."

"Why not?"

"Because I actually enjoy having you around."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Now, where's my cell phone?"

"Clark! I need to talk to you," Lois called.

"Clark's on the phone right now," Linda said as she walked out of the kitchen.

"What?" Lois asked panicked.

"With who?" Chloe asked.

"Lana, why? What's going on? Is something wrong?"

"We have to get Clark off the phone right now or else he's going to kill me," Lois said running toward the kitchen.

"What going on?" Linda asked even more confused.

"What Lois said. Clark is going to kill her," Chloe said.

"Why?" Linda asked.

"Because she got into a fight with Lana last night," Pete asked.

"Really? Well it was only a matter of time before it happened. Did Lois hit her or anything like that? I would love to see that."

"No."

"Should we go make sure Lois and Clark are okay?" Jimmy asked.

"Definitely," everyone agreed and headed into the kitchen.

"Clark, please hang up the phone. I need to talk to you," Lois pleaded.

"Wait, Lois," Clark whispered.

"It's really important, Smallville," Lois said.

"Lois, I'm on the phone," Clark hissed.

"Clark, you may want to hear what she has to say," Linda spoke.

"It can wait a minute," Clark said turning his attention back to the conversation he was having on the phone. "Yeah, really."

"It's no use," Lois said to Chloe.

"We're here," Chloe whispered.

"Okay, Lana," Clark said glaring at Lois. "Thanks for telling me, bye." Clark hung up the phone and turned back to Lois, clearly mad.

"I don't like that look," Lois commented.

"Did you fight with Lana last night?"

"Technically, yes."

"You made her cry?"

"What?! That's absurd!" Lois defended.

"You hit her?"

"What?"

"She never made Lana cry and she definitely didn't hit her," Chloe said.

"Not even close," Jimmy input.

"Did you fight with her?" Clark asked again.

"Yeah, I did, but I didn't start it," Lois said quickly.

"According to Lana you did."

"You're taking Lana's side?"

"Man, we were there. Lana started it and Lois just defended herself and you," Pete explained.

"What?" Clark asked.

"Lana called Lois 'gutter trash' and implied that you, my friend, are a fool for being friends with Lois," Pete answered.

"Really?" Clark asked mad.

"Yeah, man, why would I lie?" Pete asked.

"I'm going to go have a talk with Lana," Clark said angrily.

"Clark," Chloe called.

"What?" Clark turned back to his friends.

"You owe Lois an apology," Linda whispered low enough for only Clark to hear.

Clark suddenly looked to Lois. "Lois, I'm sorry. I should have listened to you before jumping to conclusions. You've been my best friend since everything that happened with Lana, and I should have trusted you over her."

"It's okay Smallville. I probably would have blamed me too if I were in your position. After all I am Lois Lane, and I usually punch first ask later."

"You aren't mad at me?"

"No," Lois admitted.

"Great," Clark said hugging Lois. "I'm sorry. Do you want to come with me to see Lana?"

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to see you mad at Lana," Lois thought out loud, "so, yeah. I'll come."

"Come on," Clark smiled.

"Oh, hang on. Pete, Chloe and Jimmy, Linda will take you to see the place where we'll be having the carnival and Clark and I will meet you there." Lois said. "You remember where it is, right, Linda?"

"Yeah," Linda said.

"We shouldn't be long," Clark said then he and Lois left.

"That went better than expected," Jimmy commented.

"Yeah. No blood, sweat or tears shed," Chloe remarked.

"Except for the fake one's Lana shed," Pete said.

"You're forgetting they're on they're way to see Lana," Linda commented.