Chapter 11 - Investigations Begin

"Sir, what does this have to do with the Kents?"

" . . . Let me make something very clear to you, Darius. You do not ask questions. I give you orders, and you carry them out. End of story."

" . . . Understood, sir."

"But you might as well know that this particular plan has nothing to do with the Kents. Unless, of course, they decide to become involved."

Clark met Lex in the mansion the next day. Lex had a few tiny recording devices sitting out on his desk, to be planted over at LuthorCorp.

"Can I give you a ride over?" Lex asked. "We could take the helicopter."

Clark shook his head. The helicopter was noisy and might be seen as suspicious, and it was slower than running. Besides, he was pretty sure he knew Lex's real reason for offering. He'd either try to talk Clark out of his plans on the way, or insist on helping. "It's okay. I have my own transportation."

Lex raised an eyebrow, but Clark didn't say any more. He was aware it sounded suspicious, but that didn't matter to him. He was willing to tell Lex his secret; he really wanted to. Lex was the one who had told him to hold back.

Clark didn't completely understand all of why Lex didn't feel safe knowing the truth, but he could respect it. Mostly. He still dropped ambiguous pieces of information here and there, to make Lex curious, in the hopes that he'd finally give in and ask someday. It actually helped Clark to know what not to say around his friends that he wasn't willing to share his secrets with, because he was more aware of what kinds of hints might make someone feel curious.

Lex shifted his weight, his eyes on the recording devices. "Clark . . ."

"It's okay, Lex, I really don't mind doing this."

"This is dangerous."

"You face your father all the time, what's the difference?"

"He won't kill me. He wouldn't hesitate to kill you."

"I'm not easy to kill." Clark didn't think that was giving away his secret. Lex had to know that much by now.

"Lionel's not easy to evade."

"Exactly. I can't let you fight him alone. What kind of brother would I be if I knew I could help you and didn't do anything?"

"You've never had a brother." Lex's eyes pierced Clark.

Clark didn't know much about the brothers Lex had had. He didn't know where Lucas was now, and he didn't know all of the details of what had happened with Julian. But he knew Lex had loved Julian and been traumatized when he died. Maybe Lex saw Clark as Julian. "Lex . . . I'm not eleven years old."

Lex's eyes flashed. "I know."

"When my mom and your dad were being held hostage at LuthorCorp, I saved them."

"I know."

"Nothing bad is going to happen to me."

"Either way, it's not your job to help me with this, Clark."

Clark frowned. "You and my dad didn't get along when we were first friends."

"So?"

"So what would you have done if you found out my dad was hitting me?"

Clark watched everything shift in Lex's eyes, but then his expression hardened again. "I'm older than you."

"And I'm stronger than you." Clark winced. If only he could explain . . . "I think you'd have some peace of mind if I told you everything."

"No. It's not safe."

"I trust you with my life."

"And you shouldn't."

"Is that what you think? You think I'm stupid for trusting you? Or do you think you haven't earned my trust?" He knew his mom might make Lex write an essay for saying something like that, but decided against threatening to tell her. He really wanted the truth about what Lex thought.

"I think I'm a Luthor." He said the word as if it were a swear word. "I think the darkness living inside of me wants this fight against Lionel even more than I do, and I don't know what's going to become of me along the way. And I want you as far from the crossfire as possible. I can't fight my own DNA."

Clark thought of Jor-El and raised his voice: "Lex, if you knew about my DNA, you'd run away screaming."

Lex's eyebrows narrowed. "No, I wouldn't."

Clark took a deep breath. "You're right, you probably wouldn't. Because you know, no matter what my DNA says, I'm also the son of Jonathan and Martha Kent, and I'm your brother. I've never hated you for being a Luthor. I know Dad did, but nowhere near as much as you hate yourself for it."

"It's worth hating."

"Why? You were my best friend even before you were a part of our family."

Lex sighed. "Clark . . ."

"You're still my best friend. And this—" Clark nodded toward the recording devices— "this is what friends do. They help each other, even when it's dangerous."

"Clark, I love you way too much to—" Lex's voice stopped short.

Clark's breath caught. He and Lex had never actually exchanged those words, though their parents said them all the time. Clark stepped forward and pulled Lex into a hug, trying to be mindful of his strength by matching the firmness of Lex's arms around him. "I love you, too," Clark said after he let go, and he picked up the recording devices. "You're not just a Luthor anymore, you know. You're a Kent, too."

Lex swallowed, but he didn't say anything.

"I trust you. Do you trust me?"

"With my life. Not with your own."

Clark half smiled. "I'll just have to prove it to you, then," he said, and left the study before Lex could say any more.

A half an hour later, the bugs were planted, and Clark was back at home. Nothing to it.

Clark had only been gone for a few minutes when Chloe Sullivan arrived at the mansion. Lex had given her temporary clearance ever since he found out she was trying to investigate Lionel, but today she walked into the study shouting accusations.

"You're a Luthor, so it's a given that you're unscrupulous, but I really thought that petty larceny was beneath you, Lex."

Lex had no idea what she was talking about. "Can you be a little more specific with the charge?" He started down the stairs.

She fumed. "I caught some creep in my office trying steal one of my computers. I figured either you or your father hired him."

"But you're accusing me."

"You're what they euphemistically call the lesser of two evils."

If he was the lesser of two evils, why was she accusing him? Lex didn't try to call her out on her logic. He generally liked Chloe, and since she was Clark's friend, she fell under Lex's protection. She was smart. But he felt she was just a bit less intelligent than she needed to be to be fighting the battles she tried to fight. "I admire your take-charge attitude. Barging in here and accusing me took guts . . . or sheer stupidity. What do you say we pay a visit to your, ah, intruder?"

He took her down to the morgue. She followed hesitantly behind, silent. When they arrived, he immediately walked over and uncovered the reason why he hadn't wanted Clark to get involved in this fight.

"How did he die?" she asked quietly.

"Natural causes. Apparently his heart just gave out."

"And you believe that?"

"Given what he was looking into, I doubt there was anything natural about his death."

"How do I know you're not just playing me here?"

Lex couldn't imagine what kind of game she was picturing. "You're right, Chloe. I could be. I often bring high school girls to the morgue to show them what happens when trained professionals cross my father."

"Well, there's nothing in my files worth killing for."

"We've got a corpse here that says you're wrong." Lex looked her in the eyes. "Chloe, you're involved in a very dangerous game. Get yourself out of it while you still can."

"I can't just forget what I've seen."

"Yes you can. I'll protect you."

"Like you protected him?"

"He never asked for my protection." He took a step toward her. "What do you know?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because I am fighting this."

Chloe's eyes traveled from Lex, to the man on the table, then back up to Lex again. "Have you heard of a man named Morgan Edge?"