CHAPTER TWO

Lois let herself in the front door of the Gazette. Chrissy was already at her desk, although, Lois noted, it didn't look like much writing was getting done. She was leaning back in her chair, hands clutching a paper cup of coffee, looking at something wide-eyed on her computer screen.

"Good morning?" Lois ventured.

Chrissy's eyes never left the screen. "You gotta come see this," she announced, unwrapping one finger from her coffee cup and pointing it at her monitor.

Lois frowned and moved around the desk, unwrapping her scarf and draping it over the coat rack in the corner. She leaned over Chrissy's chair, watching the news report out of Metropolis. It was a reporter that Lois was familiar with- Sarah Smith. She'd been at more than a few crime scenes with the blonde-haired reporter.

"…there were no eyewitnesses to the theft, but the perpetrator was caught on camera. WMTR has the exclusive footage."

"I'm sure you do," Lois muttered under her breath. Chrissy looked back at her, but Lois was fixated on the screen. The CCTV footage from Metropolis Metropolitan Museum was in black and white, but even so, Lois thought, there wasn't anything-oh.

In the footage, one of the display cases in the middle of the room started to move. The glass vibrated, then shattered. Emergency lights flashed in the frame. For a split second, she thought she saw the outline of a person, then, the artifact inside the case lifted into the air, and then, the room went back to normal.

"This's the second time they've shown this in less than an hour," Chrissy explained. "All the major networks got it. How weird is that?"

"Pretty weird," Lois agreed, making a mental note to call her husband on her lunch break. She clapped her hands together. "So. Where are with EdgeCorps?"

Clark touched down outside the farm later that afternoon muddy, wet, and exhausted. His hair was plastered to his skull and mud caked his boots and the bottom of his cape. Shower. Must. Shower. He sped into the house, changed out of his uniform, swapped out the boys' laundry from earlier that morning, and stepped into the shower, cranking the hot water as high as it would go. Almost a half hour later, the shower was freezing, but he finally felt like himself again. He toweled off, heading into the master bedroom for clothes. He found his Crows polo and a clean pair of jeans and put them on. The clock next to his side of the bed read 5:30.

Oh, man. He ran downstairs, snatched his baseball cap off the rack, and ran for the truck. Lois is gonna kill me.

Clark could see her from a few blocks away as he turned down the street. She was standing outside the Gazette, arms crossed over her chest, and staring in his direction. He sighed. Too late. He pulled in at the curb and she climbed in the truck. "Hi honey, how was your day?" she questioned him sweetly.

He considered his answer. "Wet," he said finally. "Sorry I'm late," he said, offering her a smile. "We still on for fries and shakes tonight?"

Lois smirked. "After this?" she said. "Absolutely." She tapped her watch. "Let's go grab the boys so they can run home and grab their jerseys."

Clark's eyes widened, realizing just how late he actually was. "What have they been doing since school got out?" he asked, grimacing.

"Some group project with Sarah," Lois said. "When I texted them their ride would be a little late, they were strongly encouraged to start working on it."

Clark sighed. "I…wow. Wow. I'm so sorry."

She smiled at him. "It's fine. We figured when you went incommunicado that it was something Superman related." She looked at him slyly. "Maybe you should ask my dad to implant you with a cell phone."

Clark eyed her sideways. "Do not give your father any ideas." He flicked the blinker and pulled out onto the street headed for the school.

Neither of them noticed the shimmer in the bricks of the Gazette building.

Halfway home, Lois's cell phone rang. Jon and Jordan did their best to squeeze together as she fished for her phone in her back pocket. "We need a bigger truck," Jordan mumbled, his face pressed against the passenger side window.

"Sorry, sorry, got it!" Lois's fingers closed around the cell phone and she pulled it out triumphantly. "Hello? Chrissy, hi." She listened for a moment. Clark picked up the conversation.

"So that museum robbery?" Chrissy was telling her. "Wanna take a guess at who the sponsor was for the exhibit that was stolen?"

"Does it start with 'Morgan' and end in 'Edge'?" Lois guessed.

"One and the same. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That could be any number of things, but the first thing that comes to mind is 'insurance fraud.' We need more information on what was stolen," Lois said. Clark could almost see the wheels turning. She hung up with Chrissy and looked at him.

"Any chance on our way back to the game you can drop me by the office?"

"Mom!" Jonathan protested. "You're gonna miss the game!"

"No, I'm not!" Lois assured him. "By the time I get there, Chrissy'll probably have everything I need, and I can just get a ride with her tonight." She looked at her sons. "I wouldn't miss this for anything!"

Clark frowned a little as he turned into the drive. "Upstairs, grab your gear," he told the boys. "And something quick to eat."

The two boys piled out of the truck and took off at a run for the house. Clark looked at Lois. "What exactly happened at the museum today?" he asked her.

"You mean my dad didn't call you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Again, don't encourage him."

She gave him a quick rundown of the security footage. "And the guy's on the loose," she said. "But, Chrissy said the exhibit was sponsored by Morgan Edge."

"Which could be total coincidence," Clark reminded her.

She raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe that, do you, Smallville?"

"Oof, busting out the 'Smallville,' huh?"

Lois looked at him innocently. "You know what I mean. When has anything in our line of work ever been a coincidence?"

Clark had to admit, he didn't have an answer for her. "Look, Chrissy's coming to cover the game anyway," Lois said. "We can dig into financials and insurance on this exhibit quick, and then we'll meet you guys at the game. You guys'll be so in to third down conversions and-and flea flickers, that you won't even miss me."

Now it was Clark's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Flea flickers?" he repeated, amused. He shook his head. "I guess I'm not one to say anything about being late for things," he sighed. "I'll drop you by the Gazette, and we'll look for you in the stands."

Lois smiled as the boys got back into the truck, tossing their gear into the truck bed. "Go team," she grinned.