It had taken a lot of time and patience, but Lois had finally got Clark to open up and tell her more about the atrocities that Lex had committed. A part of her had wanted to deny it all, but the haunted look in Clark's eyes that he tried so hard to hide convinced her of the truth of his statements.
And so she had only the most trustworthy of her sources on the look-out for more information, but not even Bobby Bigmouth had come up with anything yet.
She'd also discreetly had Jimmy Olsen dig around, but she kept reaching a dead end. If Luthor had done even half the things that Clark had claimed he had, then the "third richest man in the world" had hidden his tracks well enough that even the Daily Planet's top reporter was unable to find anything pertaining to his checkered past.
After hours of frustration, Lois sat back. "I've run into a dead end."
Clark had spoken as little as possible, but he had helped start this investigation, and he needed to help keep it moving. After thinking for a moment, he said simply, "Blackmail."
Lois turned to look at him skeptically, and he ventured to explain further. "A lot of Luthor's employees can be blackmailed easily if you have the patience and stealth skills. You could get a videotape of someone cheating on his wife or of an illegal business transaction..."
"Easier said than done. I'm sure they aren't going to be sitting out in a public restaurant for the whole world to see."
"True," Clark agreed. "But do you have any better ideas?"
"We could always sneak in..."
Clark shook his head. "No, he's probably waiting for me to do so." Waiting with Element X...
"Okay, so it's back to the videotaping. Have anyone in mind?" Lois turned her curious eyes upon him.
"Well, I've heard that Senator Coleman isn't exactly faithful to his wife, and my mas—Lex—had him exercise persuasion to modify a bill last year to suit his needs. Perhaps you can get one of your sources to check him out?"
"Or we could give him round-the-clock surveillance."
"Or you could have someone check him out," Clark insisted.
"But that way's not positive."
"But your way's not practical. It could be a week until he goes out with another woman."
"It's better that we be there when it happens than miss it!"
"He probably has spies that will notice us."
"And if we ask around, then word could get back to him," Lois pointed out.
"But—" One look at Lois's face shut Clark's mouth. However, after a moment's thought, he came back with, "What if he's in the Bahamas?"
"Now that we can check with Bobby Bigmouth for."
"Bobby who?"
Lois Lane wished Bobby Bigmouth would hurry up. She and Clark had been sitting in one of the Daily Planet's company cars for twenty minutes, and the snoop still hadn't shown up. Sitting in such intimate quarters with Clark was making him seem a lot less childish and a lot more manly, which was just what she didn't need at the moment. Unable to help herself, she kept sneaking glances over at him. She'd seen what the man snacked on—how in the world was he so well-built? His arms looked muscular enough to lift a train.
Lois snorted at the thought, gaining a curious look from the car's other occupant. Clark Nobody, train-lifter.
Amused, she grinned, and Clark, though he couldn't know what she was thinking, sent her his thousand-watt smile.
She blinked. Where had that description come from?
But...she couldn't deny it. When he was as relaxed as he was now, he looked like the kind of man she would have warned her younger sister away from. Handsome. Tall. Strong.
Most single men with his looks would have broken two dozen hearts by the time they were thirty...But he hadn't had that opportunity; he'd been in a situation akin to slavery for eleven years.
Lois winced, but then she steeled herself, taking her mind off Clark and putting it on Lex Luthor. They were going to punish Luthor for all the atrocities he had committed. Now, if only Bobby would show up...
After an hour of waiting in the car, Clark was beginning to feel restless and annoyed. He muttered to Lois, "So, here we are, sitting in the car, waiting for some man who probably won't even come!"
"Clark, Clark! I'm disappointed in your lack of faith in me," a voice came from behind them.
Startled, Clark swiveled around to find an eager snoop staring him in the face. Why hadn't he heard the man come in? He started to stutter something, but Bobby Bigmouth gestured at him to be quiet and turned to Lois. "So whatcha got me this time?"
"The 'Alabama Boiled Chicken Deal, Eatings For Gargantuan He-mans.' Their half-an-alphabet special, or whatever. It's that new place near Ralph's Pagoda."
"Ah, yeah, I haven't tried them out yet. Meant to yesterday, but I got side-tracked by an All-You-Can-Eat special...This had better be worth it, Lois." He looked over the food, then his eyes slitted suspiciously. "I heard this came with five rolls."
"Oh, come on, Bobby. Surely one measly little roll won't—" Before Lois could finish, Clark grabbed the roll from its hiding spot under Lois's chair in a napkin and handed it to Bobby Bigmouth, who looked pleased. Lois, on the other hand, wasn't quite so delighted.
"Fine. You have your roll. Now we need our information," Lois glared at the two men.
Chewing on his roll, Bobby looked thoughtful. "All right, here's the deal. Senator Coleman's wife is going to be out of town for a week visiting her sick sister. Today, Senator Coleman has a meeting from three to five, and what he's planning on doin' next doesn't take much speculation. His meeting is at City Hall."
"Is that it?" Lois looked disappointed.
Bobby nodded. "Looking for stuff on Luthor is 'bout as easy as finding a drop of blood on a hamburger patty." He thought about that for a moment and added, "At least, a well-assembled patty, with all the necessary condiments." With that, he opened the car door and started to head down the street, but he turned around and poked his head in for the last word. "Glad you're finally out, Steel." And he left.
Clark started when he heard Bobby's last word. Steel had been one of his codenames under Lex Luthor...But how had Bobby known about that?
And Lois was now looking at him suspiciously, gauging his reaction. "Steel?"
Ignoring her question, Clark voiced one of his own. "How did he know that I was under Luthor's employ?" Then he became suspicious and turned to her. "Did you tell him?"
"No!" Lois was indignant. "I told you I wouldn't, and I didn't." She shrugged. "I have no idea how Bobby gets his information, but what's important is that he rarely lets me down and most of his information is reliable...Come to think of it, I can't think of any unreliable information he's given me..."
"Right," Clark mumbled under his breath. He didn't really think Lois had told Bobby Bigmouth anything about him, but the fact that the snoop knew about him unnerved him. Who else knew about him?
...And worse, what did they know?