Chapter 14 - Eavesdropping

Clark lay on his back on the hotel bed, admiring the little statue. He was sure the stone they were looking for was inside, could hear it ringing and calling to him, could even see it with his x-ray vision, but he hadn't actually gotten up the nerve to break it open yet.

It has been a much easier quest than he had been expecting. Lex had practically been singing his praises all the way back to the hotel, talking about how glad he was that he had brought Clark, how much more difficult it would have been to find out his own, how proud he was. Clarks chest swelled with pride and joy, but he couldn't help but feel like something was off. When it came to Clark's blood, Lex had always speculated about how it might be used to help other people. As happy as Clark was to be learning about his own origins, Lex's excitement didn't seem to match what Clark would have expected from him for something like this.

Maybe Lex was just trying to make him feel better about the fact that he was still going to have to wait so long to find out what good could be done with his blood and other tissue samples. for that matter, we didn't really have a clear lead on where to go to look for the other stones, either, so there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to do anything with this one for a while, any more than his blood would immediately heal people. Lex could probably tell that clock was discouraged; he was always good for helping Clark to feel hope, despite his own background. That was one of Clark's favorite things about Lex.

After a celebratory dinner a nice restaurant—which Clark was pretty sure he would have enjoyed more if he could read the language that the menu was in, although Lex didn't seem to have a hard time with that—they went back to the hotel, which was as nice an accommodation as Lex had promised. It was the biggest hotel suite Clark had ever seen, let alone stayed in. Clark had his own room and TV. He took a long shower in the fancy bathroom, surprised by how much dirt he had managed to pick up walking through the tombs, and changed into a t-shirt and shorts to sleep. Having something that smelled like home helped him to feel a little less homesick, but he would definitely make a point of calling his parents in the morning. Right now, they would be busy with chores and wouldn't be able to spend much time on the phone.

Clark wandered out into the main living area he was sharing with Lex, hoping to catch him and say good night before he went to bed, but Lex wasn't there. Clark wandered into Lex's bedroom as well, and looked through the little kitchen and extra rooms in the suite, but he didn't see his brother in any of them, either.

Finally, he decided to listen through the building to see if he could pick up on Lex's voice. it wasn't something he usually did, because people didn't like it when he eavesdropped, but he figured as soon as he heard Lex and figured out where he was, he would stop listening.

Listening to all of the other rooms in a large hotel turned out to have been a bad idea, but Clark didn't make it far before he made out Lex's voice. Lex was speaking on the phone; if Clarke listened carefully, he could hear the other person as well.

"How close is her blood to the other sample?"

Clark frowned. That was Lex.

"It's too soon to say, but it looks like there are a few markers in common."

Clark didn't recognize that voice. He knew that sometimes Lex had to make business calls, but this one definitely sounded like it had to do with his research. Maybe he was talking to one of the scientists on his team.

"DNA markers?"

"No, some of the chemical composition."

"Gene expression?"

"We'll know more in the morning."

Lex let his breath out. "How is she cooperating?"

Clarks chest feel heavy. This sounded really wrong. Clark knew that technically, Lex's scientists were running experiments on him, but it sounded like they were experimenting on some girl, too.

"Well, she doesn't respond to Lindsay. Keeps asking about somebody named Kal-El, talking about how she came from Krypton."

"I warned you she was crazy."

"Not as crazy as Dr. Criton. He's still calling—"

Clark's fist clenched. He knew he should keep listening to figure out what was going on, but he couldn't bring himself to hear any more of this. His head felt like he was deep underwater, gasping for breath.

Lex had lied to him.

He'd said that Lindsay has been a no-show. But he didn't just know where she was; he had her. He was running experiments on her.

Clark wanted to believe that Lex still had Clark's best interests in mind, that he had a good reason for lying, but they had promised each other no lies. He wanted to think that, even if Lex was experimenting on Lindsay, he wasn't really hurting her. He must have had her consent, just like he had Clark's.

But he had had to ask scientist whether she was cooperating. That didn't sound to Clark like he had her consent.

Anger boiled inside of him. He had trusted Lex. He had even suspected that maybe he shouldn't, but his mom had talked him out of that, and Lex had betrayed him. Maybe his Darkness had taken over, and he had been lying to them this whole time about it. Clark's fists itched to teach Lex a lesson about lying and betraying his family, but then he remembered the last time he'd punched Lex. His father had been more upset with Clark than he ever had been, and he'd reminded him how dangerous losing control of his anger could be.

He took deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. His mom had talked to him about what to do in this situation. If Lex's dark side had taken over, yelling at him wasn't going to make it any better. He had to be gentle, or he might push Lex even further into the darkness.

And if Lex's dark side hadn't taken over, and he really had a good reason for whatever he was doing, Clark's accusation would hurt him. Clark had to be really careful about what he said and did right now.

He spent the next few minutes taking deep breaths and pacing slowly in the little hotel room. When the door to the suite opened, he made himself smile at Lex, acting like everything was okay.

"What's wrong?" Lex asked immediately.

"What do you—why would you—"

"Come on now, Clark. I can tell when you're upset about something."

Right. Clark was really bad at acting, and even worse at lying. "Um, I got a little nervous when I saw you were gone."

"My apologies. I had to make a work call."

Clark nodded slowly. "Um, about what?"

"Since when have you been interested in the daily operations of LuthorCorp?"

"Uh, I dunno."

Lex sat down on the couch and opened his laptop. "It's really nothing that would interest you, Clark."

Clark's jaw clenched. Lex lied so easily, so effortlessly. Like it was nothing. "So . . ." Clark began to pace in front of the couch. "What do you think happened to Lindsay?"

Lex didn't even look up from his laptop. "We may never know. You don't find out what happens to most of the people you meet who have been infected by kryptonite, do you?"

"You never saw her again?"

"I told you she was a no-show, didn't I?"

It didn't even make Clark angry this time. It just hurt. "Lies," he said softly.

Lex blinked and looked up from his laptop. "I'm not lying, Clark."

"Yes, you are. I . . . I saw your notes." That technically wasn't a lie; Clark just wanted to know how Lex would explain this one.

There was a flash of annoyance in Lex's eyes, then his brow furrowed with regret. "I'm sorry, Clark, I should have told you—"

"You saw her?"

"She asked what I wanted with you, and I tried to explain that you were my brother, but she didn't accept that for an answer, so I told her about the potential healing effects of your blood. She wanted in, but she made me promise not to tell anyone. She gave me a sample of blood and fled."

Clark's heart pounded, slow and steady and hard. "I—I'm your brother. Lex, why are you lying to me?"

"Clark, are you feeling alright?"

"I heard you on the phone, Lex. You were asking your scientist whether she was cooperating."

Lex's eyebrows raised. He very slowly closed his laptop, set it aside, and came to stand beside Clark. He took what appeared to be a ring box made of a gray metal out of his pocket and opened it.

Clark gasped with pain as Lex took out a green kryptonite ring and put it on. Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach. "Lex?"

"Had you going, didn't I?"

Clark had been right all along. The darkness had taken over. But if that was the case, maybe his brother was still in there somewhere. "Lex . . . please . . ."

"Brought this just in case," Lex said, admiring the ring. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use it, but now that I am . . . I guess I don't mind."

"I'll tell everyone," Clark said.

Lex gave him a slight smile, almost amused. "No, you won't."

"Why not?"

Lex took a step closer, and the pain from the kryptonite intensified. "Because the only reason I haven't dissected you is that I have a cover to keep. See, I like having Smallville on my side. I like having your family in my pocket. But if I don't have that, I'll take the next best thing. And that's you, strapped to an operating table."

The pain was getting worse still. Clark choked out, "Our parents would . . . never let you."

This time Lex actually laughed, and it was a laugh Clark had never heard from him before. It gave him chills. "Your parents? What are they going to do to me?"

Clark breathed in to speak, but he really didn't know what to say. His parents' discipline methods all relied on a relationship. Lex didn't care about their approval; he wouldn't follow the terms of a grounding; a scolding would mean nothing to him. He tried anyway: "They'll be disappointed."

For a split second, Clark thought that might have had an effect on Lex. Then he burst into laughter again.

Clark felt sick, and it had nothing to do with the kryptonite.

"Now." Lex tapped the ring. "If I put this away, are you going to try something?"

"I could kill you now. Make it look like an accident."

Lex raised his eyebrows. "That's some dark thinking from the innocent farm boy. You won't kill me, Clark. You're too convinced there's still goodness in me."

Clark frowned, taking a step back from the kryptonite to think clearer. He hadn't even noticed Lex manipulating him to get his blood and marrow, but Clark didn't feel like he had been manipulated. Those projects were good. "What about that vaccine you're working on?"

"It'll make me the richest man alive."

"It'll help people."

"And if it didn't, I'd still do it."

"But I want you to do it."

Lex smirked. "Is this you telling me we have a deal?"

Clark let his breath out. He couldn't hurt his brother, not really. Not when there was a chance he could still get him back. "Yes."

"You make your parents believe everything is normal. You make a blood donation once a week. In exchange, I'll use the blood to help humanity—at a fair price—and I won't come after your family or dissect you."

The room blurred, though whether from the prolonged kryptonite exposure or his own tears, Clark wasn't sure. He missed his brother so badly. Those blood donations were going to be a lot harder to endure without the promise of comfort afterwards. And his parents would be livid if and when they found out Clark had lied. Maybe he could tell them the truth in secret . . . "Deal."

Lex took the ring off and put it back into the lead box, slipping it into his pocket. "I won't hesitate to use it again," he said.

Clark took a deep, shaky breath, and said, "I'm going to bed, Lex. Um . . . good night."

Lex didn't say anything.

"Lex?"

"What?"

"I said good night."

"Yes, I heard you."

This time, the room really did swim because of Clark's tears. But he didn't want to let them go now. In this state, Lex would just mock him.

There was nothing left to say. Clark took his leave and went to bed.