Welcome back to A piece of Home. As of this chapter we are page 61 of 98. That means that we are quickly reaching the end of this story. Just a few more chapters to go. Thank you for reading and supporting. Let's get on to the chapter!

I didn't end up getting home until well past 12 am. Which was long past Lois's bedtime. And unless she was on a tear she would be long asleep by now. The house should be quiet. All I should hear is the sound of Lois sleeping. Only, I could not hear it tonight. Lois was not here. I checked the house. There was no evidence of a struggle. No notes suggesting where she ran off to. Just as there were no unfamiliar scents. It seemed that Lois had taken off on her own. Exactly what I did not want her to do.

I swept the city but still, I could not find her. After a few minutes, I managed to find our car though. It was discarded by the side of the road. The car was locked and the keys were missing. It was not vandalized nor was it stripped for parts. It was simply parked on the side of the road. But why here? Why would Lois park it here? I wondered. There was nothing here for miles, no gas stations, no offices, no restaurants, etc. If she was here to meet someone there would be no place to hide. So, why come here? It didn't make any sense.

I searched the vicinity. Sadly, I still came up empty. There was no one for miles. I flew home and grabbed the extra set of keys. Then I searched for our car. I managed to find her phone. It was locked but I was able to guess the correct pin within seconds. I hated invading her privacy but I needed to know who she was going to meet with.

It didn't take long to get an answer. It seemed that a man that she nicknamed 'Nicky, the nose' texted her recently. It said, "I have what you asked for." Then it asked her to meet him at the usual place. Which was where Lois presumedly met him. Whether or not that was this open stretch of road was unclear. However, I doubted that one of her contacts would choose such an exposed and out of the way spot like this. Informants do not choose abandoned roads with no cover. They usually liked to meet in dark alleys or other hidey holes. This place would make them bolt. Something was very wrong here.

"Lois, what have gotten yourself into now?"

I know that it was stupid, but I couldn't help myself. Sometimes my wife made me want to scream. Of all the stupid, irresponsible, and dangerous things that she could do! She should have told me. Then I would have gone in her place or at least watched over her as she talked to this 'nose.' But no, she had to do it on her own. Now look at her! She was god-knows-where and our children were trapped there with her! We were going to have a long talk once I got her home.

My phone beeped a second later. There was a message waiting for me from Lois. Apparently, she had the foresight to send me an email before she left. Its subject line read "Sorry about this honey." Her message read:

Clark,

I thought that I could handle this on my own. However, if you are reading this now then I guess I was wrong. It wasn't as simple as I thought. Seems that I screwed up again, sorry. I was just meeting up with an old friend and informant, that's all. There shouldn't be too much trouble.

I know that I have a bad habit of doing this, but I am really trying. I was careful this time. Honestly, I was. Nicky has given me the dirt on Intergang for years. When he came forward offering information on you know what I had to jump at it. If anyone knows anything about Intergang then it is this guy. He's that good.

Now, I know what you said about me going out alone right now. And I did try to convince him to wait. It just didn't work, that's all. He insisted that I come alone. It's odd for him to be so paranoid, but hey, if Nicky doesn't want company then there is probably a good reason for it. I have to go with it. I owe him that much.

Anyway, I am heading out to suicide slums now. I hope that I don't need this email and that I can get out unscathed. If I don't - well - then I will need you to bail me out of this one.

Sorry, Lois

I sighed. "Lois . . ."

I honestly did not know what to do with this woman. She would be the death of me one day. I had no choice though. I had to find her. For I could not live without her. I had to go to Suicide Slums.

I searched Suicide Slums for the next couple of hours without success. I did not find any traces of Lois or who she met. I was still firmly in square one. I finally gave up. I headed back to the car so that I could drive it home. However, when I got there I found that the car was gone. It appears that someone had driven off with it. Now I had one more mystery on my hands. I had locked the car before I left. My set of keys were still on me. They shouldn't have been able to drive it away unless they had the keys or hotwired it somehow. I couldn't tell which one. Since there was no broken glass or leftover tools. I cursed myself for not paying closer attention. Now I really was up a creek without a paddle. For now, I would head home. I had little choice. I had nothing to go on. It was better to think on it for a bit and try to see what I missed. Maybe then I could find a way to help Lois.

The moment that I arrived home I knew that I was not alone. Someone else was in the apartment. I tensed, prepared for a fight, then I stopped. I knew who was in the apartment.

"Dammit Lois!" I grumbled.

That woman had sent me on a wild goose chase! I was worried sick about her. I thought that someone had nabbed her. Yet, here she was, sleeping in our bed. I didn't need to go out and look for her. She was going to have to explain herself in the morning. For now, I was going to join her. I could use a little sleep.

The next morning I awoke to find Lois gone. For one terrible moment, I feared the worst. Then I heard her moving about in our kitchen. Lois and our children were safe. Last night felt like a bad dream. I could almost believe that it didn't happen. Almost. Lois wasn't getting off the hook that easy. We had to discuss this. This could not happen again.

I got ready quickly then headed out to have a chat with my wife. What I found stunned me. Lois was cooking or at least trying to cook. I love her but Lois was no cook. She was absolutely terrible at it. Hell, she didn't even like to cook.

Lois flashed me a nervous smile. "Hi honey. Sleep well?"

"Lois . . .?" Words failed me. What was she thinking?

"Breakfast will be ready in, uh . . ." She looked down at brunt bacon and toast. It smelled really nasty. Particularly, if you had super-senses like me. "a few minutes."

"Lois, please, sit down. Let me take care of this."

She waved me off. "No, it's fine. I can do it. It's not that hard." She paused for a second, "At least it's not supposed to be. Damm, I'm really bad at this. Sorry honey."

I took the pan from her. Turned off the stove. Then guided her to the kitchen table. "It's fine. Just sit down. I'll clean it up."

It only took me a second to clean up. Unfortunately, Lois had done a number to the pan. It wasn't salvageable. So I threw it away with the brunt food. I also cleared away the smoke that was starting to billow from the area. My god, my wife could do a lot of damage if she wanted to. Fortunately, all I lost was a good pan. There was no long-standing damage.

"Honey, I thought we went over this: You don't cook."

"I know, I just was confirming it. That's all."

She sounded dejected. Which completely and utterly disarmed me. How could I yell at her about last night? It was so sweet to try and cook for me. Even if it failed horribly. Sure, she was probably doing it to get out of hot water (I wasn't that dumb) but what I could do? I was trapped in her orbit. I couldn't escape even if I wanted to. I loved Lois Lane with all of my heart. No one else would do. She was irreplaceable. Incidents like last night could not repeat themselves. It seemed that I had no choice. I had to breach the topic.

"Lois, about last night . . ." I began before she cut me off.

"I know, I know, it was stupid and irresponsible . . ."

"Then why did you do it?"

Lois sighed. "Isn't it obvious Smallville? To help you!"

"Lois, I don't need that kind of help. You scared me half to death."

"Come on now, it wasn't that bad! I just met with a guy I knew. Who passed on some good information. That's it."

"That's not even half of it!" I snapped. I didn't mean to yell, but I couldn't help it. I was so worried last night.

Lois flew to her feet. Knocking the chair to the floor. "You don't believe me?"

"No, Lois, I don't," I stated. "I looked for you last night. You were nowhere to be found. Your car was abandoned. Then I got that email."

Her eyes widened. "Oh . . . that. Forgot about it." She said in a tiny voice. "Sorry. I was supposed to delete that before it sent it out. Sorry."

"You forgot? You forgot? Lois, what is going on?"

She waved me off. "Nothing, really. I just had a little car trouble, that's all."

"Car trouble," I repeated. I barely believed my ears. "You had car trouble."

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"You had car trouble in the middle of nowhere. You want me to believe that?"

She shot me a dirty look. "Yes, Clark, that is what I want you to believe because it is true."

Lois was good at lying. Almost too good, if you asked me. However, I knew her well enough to tell the difference between bravado and righteous indignation. Lois believed every word that she said. Even if it seemed outrageous to me.

I sighed. "Alright, you had car trouble. But what happened? Lois, when I found the car you were nowhere to be seen. When I came back an hour later and the car was gone. What am I missing?"

Lois flopped into the couch then sighed. "I was an idiot. I listened to 'Nicky the Nose'. Went out to the middle of nowhere to look for ghosts. Then when I came back my car wouldn't start. I would have called AAA but I kinda lost my phone. So I huffed it to the nearest gas station and called from there. The tow truck picked me and the car up. Now, it's sitting at the repair shop. Waiting for someone to take a look at it."

"Why didn't you call me?"

She rolled her eyes, "Because I lost my phone, dummy."

"Lois, the phone was in the car the entire time. I found it when I was looking for you. You could have called me or AAA at any time. Even if you didn't have the phone - you still could have called me. Lois, all you need to do is shout and I will find you. You know that I will. How many times have gotten you out of trouble? Lois, what is really going on?"

The room fell silent for a minute or two. Finally, she said. "Fine, I could have called you.

I just . . . I just wanted to handle it myself, that's all."

"I know you do. I know you do. But right now that is not an option. Not while you're pregnant. Lois, you have to promise me that you won't do this again. I can't take it if something were to happen to you or the kids. Please."

Another silence enveloped the room. Lois looked as if she was going to cry. I felt guilty about upsetting her, but this needed to be said. She wasn't alone anymore. She had to change. I did not want to bury my family.

"I promise Clark. I will not meet any contact alone so long as I am pregnant, okay?"

I smiled. "Thank you, Lois."

She seemed relieved. She let out the breath that she was holding then switched gears. "So, do you want to know what I found out?" She asked excitedly.

Now a part of me thought about turning Lois down. Since she most likely got this information by risking her life. I wasn't a fool. Just because Lois was not harmed last night did not mean that she did not do something foolish. It just meant that she got lucky, that's all. If she continued this dangerous behavior who knows what would happen to her and our children. It seemed like a bad idea to reward this behavior. She would only do this again. I definitely did not want that. However, knowing Lois the information was probably useful. Which right now I needed. Sadly, that won out over my better judgment. So, I indulged my wife.

"What did you find?"

Lois started into a monologue about her harrowing journey. A lot of it was unnecessary details that really don't tell you much of anything. Lois liked to hem up the drama when she told a story. Some of it is good, but most of it needs to be edited out. Which made her an editor's worst nightmare. Her passion tended to get in the way. A little goes a long way. Lois never understood that. Then again that was what I signed up for when I married my wife. I knew what I was getting. You did not sign up for that. So I'll spare you most of the details.

However, I will give you the gist of it. Her contact, 'Nicky the Nose' told her that there is a growing faction within Intergang that is unhappy about the current state of affairs. This was not that new. I knew that already. What was new was that there was a rumor that guns and other weaponry were being stockpiled in the Metropolis dump away from the eyes of their 'leader.' Which was quite ingenious. For even I would not think of looking there for any kind of high tech. It was still worrisome, but it was ingenious.

"Lois, please tell me that you didn't go to the dump."

She shifted uncomfortably. Which told me everything. "I did, but in my defense, I didn't think anyone was going to be there. They were supposed to be laying low since Kristin Wells and her loyal enforcers were starting to get wind of their escapade."

I sighed. "Lois, that would make it more dangerous not less. Criminals are very aggressive when they are cornered. They could have hurt you or worse. Please don't do that again."

Lois became irritated, "I already said that I wouldn't so drop it."

"Lois . . ."

"Clark, enough. I'm not going to do stuff like that anymore. Not until the babies are born anyway. So drop it! Do you want to know what I found or not?"

She gave me a look that almost made me want to run and hide. I am so lucky that she doesn't have heat vision. Otherwise, I would have been screwed. I don't know if I said before, but I will say it now. Don't mess with my wife. She will get you.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good."

Lois proceeded to describe the dump and how it was teeming with guards. However, these guards did not like their new digs and were quite distracted. So she was able to slip past them. Apparently, my wife is not affected by the stink. Then again Lois has dug through so many dumpsters. It doesn't bother her anymore. She ran around the facility for a while. She wanted to see if there was any single location in which they focused their attention on. After a half-hour, she had her destination. It was a newly buried building in the newest part of the complex. Only a single door jutted out from the mound. That door was too well guarded to approach.

"That's when I had to get creative. I needed those guards to leave their posts, but I didn't have much to work with. I thought about calling you in, but I knew that you were busy . . ."

"Lois, I would have come anyway." I interrupted. "Nothing is more important than you."

She shot me another dirty look then continued as if I said nothing. "All I had on me was a road flare, a taser, and a chocolate brownie. Not a lot to work with. Fortunately, I am good at getting out of tight spots."

I did not remind her that she is just as good at getting into those 'spots' as getting out of them. I did not feel like sleeping on the couch again.

"I just used my road flare to set fire to a small amount of trash and my brownie. God rest its soul. All making sure that the smoke wafted over to the guards. Who immediately ran towards the flare. Leaving the door unguarded."

So now, apparently, my wife is an arsonist. She likes to set fire to trash. Knowing her it wasn't a 'small pile of trash.' It was a big one. Which meant that I was going to have to check the dump for signs of fire when I was checking it for weapons. Just to make sure that nothing terrible happened. I don't think that she could do a lot of damage with a road flare and a brownie, but I found that it was better to err on the side of caution. My wife is kind of crazy. Some things never change.

Anyway, she was able to pick the lock easily and get into the building. Which was little more than a glorified closet. No one was inside, thank Rao, since it was far too cramped to post anyone inside. There were approximately a hundred weapons of various shapes of sizes all stacked on top of each other. Most were alien in design. There were many more examples of the enforcer that I had been given. Along with the Apocalypse tech that Intergang loved so much.

"The strangest thing of all wasn't what I expected. It was this."

She stopped to pull out a small sidearm from her bag then handed it to me. I recognized it immediately. It was a poor copy of a design that Lex had once used on me. It was a Kryptonite Gun. Which was virtually useless on a human. The only reason that Intergang would stockpile these things would be if they planned to go to war with a Kryptonian.

"This is being stockpiled in the Metropolis Dump?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.

"Yeah, and I found at least ten of these buildings on my way out. There may be more. Something tells me that not all is well within Intergang. This is going to be a bloodbath, Clark. With a lot of innocent people getting caught in the crossfire. We have to do something about this soon or it will be too late."

That's it for now. See you all next time!