Title: Nicodemus Redux
Author: Truly
E-Mail: Truly727@yahoo.com
Rating: PG
Summary: Lex and Lana, of course, and what if that nasty little plant
sort of turned up again.
Spoilers: None. This actually was written before the tornado, so in it
Lionel is not blind and Hamilton is still working with Lex.
Disclaimer: I don't own this, characters are owned by WB blah blah blah
**This is for Tracie, the best editor, because she asked for L/L to be together.**
************* Part 1
Wednesday 7PM -
Lex felt the cue slide sleekly through his tense fingers and the pressure cascade back up his arm as it hit the white ball, sending it spinning into the eleven ball which made a satisfyingly loud crack upon impact and glided in to the pocket in the far right corner of the pool table. He took a deep breath as he paced around the perimeter of the table, lining up another shot. Lex unbuttoned the top button of his silk, purple shirt, loosening it a little, letting the cool, luxurious fabric slide against his hand.
Lionel had often joked that Lex played pool so that he could look tougher than he was. But, in truth, the linear symmetry of the game soothed him. It forced him to block out everything else and concentrate on just that one shot and the line up for it. There was no room for any stray emotions to get in the way. If they did, then you hit a bad shot and you lost. It was that simple.
Some men drank, some gambled, some hit the heavy bag, some hit the sheets, but Lex hit the pool table. The game demanded that he push everything else away and allowed him to get his raging emotions under control. He needed that right now. This last confrontation with his father had really pushed him over the edge and just imagining the balls scooting around the table had kept him calm during the worst of it.
"Lex, my boy, you have to let this go. We're getting rid of Cadmus Labs and that's all there is to it." Lionel had laid down the law in the 'I'm superior to you' voice that Lex was all too familiar with.
"I only agreed to put Cadmus up because of Hardwick, not so you could sell it. It isn't yours." Lex had wanted to spit each word out, but had instead modulated his voice, keeping it soft and even, never betraying the red-hot anger that had roiled beneath the surface.
"And, of course, my plan worked perfectly. But we don't need it anymore, so that, as they say, is that." With those parting words, Lionel had turned on his well-shod heel and strode triumphantly out of the office; his son and the fact that it had been Lex's plan completely forgotten.
The minute he moved the cue forward, Lex knew that it was too hard, too forced. The nine ball bounced slightly right of the pocket and rolled back ineffectually.
"Damn," Lex hissed.
"Not the best shot I take it." Lana Lang stood uneasily in the doorway of the library unsure if she should just turn around and leave or step inside. She likened it to stepping inside the lion's den. She wasn't sure why though. Lex had always been nothing but polite to her, but still she found herself uneasy around him.
"No, not the best shot, but then, sometimes those are the ones that matter most," Lex replied smoothly, putting a tight lid on his anger. Lana was usually a bit skittish around him, so he tried to be careful with her. He was thankful that she was getting more comfortable with him, but he didn't want to push her. Even now when they had been in business together for more than a year, she sometimes looked ready to run if he raised an eyebrow at her. However, she was totally at ease discussing business matters with him, and conversations about Clark went pretty well too. Most other things seemed to be off-limits though, which was fine with Lex, seeing as how the one time that their conversation had veered in to unsafe territory, it had left him rather unsettled.
"Is this a b-b-bad time?" Lana stammered, not sure about the sudden glow in Lex's eyes.
Lex shut that memory away and smiled what he hoped was a genuine smile. He put the pool cue back in to its holder on the wall, as he answered, "No, not at all. What can I do for you?"
Lana really wanted to run then and berated herself for coming to the castle at all. "Uh, we were supposed to meet at The Talon to talk about the spring concerts. When you didn't show, I figured that something important must have come up. But I need an answer, so here I am." Lana knew that she was rambling, but Lex was staring at her with those intense, piercing, blue eyes of his and he was making her nervous. "I know it's months away, but we have to get started on some of it now."
Lex glanced out the stained glass window and noted for the first time that it was twilight, signaling that the day almost over.
"Oh, damn, I forgot. I'm sorry, Lana. I had to go to Metropolis suddenly and our appointment slipped my mind." Lex silently cursed Lionel once more since going to Metropolis at the last minute had been his fault to begin with. Lex had been awakened from a very nice dream by some Luthor Corp. suit requesting that he come to the city and sign some papers authorizing the sale of Cadmus.
So far he had held out, desperately clinging to the agreement that gave him an equal say in the fate of the laboratory. But he wasn't naive enough to think that he could defy his father forever. When Lionel Luthor wanted something, he got it. It was only a matter of time before Lex bent to his father's will.
"If you have time now, we can do it here," Lex gestured for Lana to take a seat at his chrome and glass desk as he positioned himself on the edge of it.
Lana watched Lex perch casually on the edge of the desk, his obviously expensive suit pants wrinkling as he did so. Lana glanced nervously at the seat and then with an internal shake, fell into the mode she was most comfortable in around Lex, business. She usually ran things at The Talon herself and made most of the day-to-day decisions, but anything that was bigger, or that required spending extra money, had to be cleared with Lex. Better make this good then, she thought before plunging in.
"Well, I have an idea actually. I thought that instead of only having one big group to highlight the week before Spring formal, that we could get smaller, local bands to perform on the nights leading up to the dance, and then, one, big headliner the night before." She handed him the proposal that she had been working on. It listed all of the bands that she had in mind along with their availability and booking rates.
"It gives us a steady crowd for a full week and it's a good way to get more local color, and maybe get some people in from Metropolis. That would give us the option to get a bigger headliner the night before," she rushed on as she anticipated Lex asking her to explain her whole, thought process. "I was thinking of maybe Remy Zero and as you know most of the bigger groups are playing smaller venues lately, trying to connect with their audience in more intimate surroundings, so I think that we can get them. I checked their."
Lex turned his back and appeared to study the proposal, but in truth, he was smiling. He didn't want Lana to think he was belittling her or her ideas, he actually thought that it was a wonderful plan. But her enthusiasm still made him smile; it was so unlike anything he was used to. It was the same with Clark when he got an idea. Must be something in the corn, he mused.
Lex let Lana babble on and on about the idea and how she had come up with it and how much money it would make him. He guessed she figured that appealing to his love of profit was a sure way to get him to agree and usually, it was. He secretly liked it when she got an idea she didn't think that he would agree to and then, set out to prove a point to him. And he wanted to let her, so he did.
"It's fine, sounds good. Go with it." He turned around and handed back the yellow folder when she stopped to take a breath.
"R-r-really?" Lana stammered again and wished that she hadn't. She wanted to be as cool as Lex was, as sophisticated, but the sad fact of the matter was that she always felt like a little girl around him. She hated that, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't act any other way. Once or twice, she had attempted to emulate her employer's self-possessed, worldly-wise air, but Lex's bemused grin had told her instantly that she had failed.
"Yes, really. I think that it's a good idea, so set out what needs to be done and if you need someone to make some calls, let me know and ."
"You'll make the calls?" Lana teased before she thought about what she was doing.
Lex smiled at her, knowing that she was teasing him and glad that she had calmed down a little, "No, Miss Homecoming Queen, I will have someone on my staff make the calls."
"Oh, business the Lex Luthor way, I get it." Lana couldn't seem to help herself all of a sudden.
"Yes, if you want to say that, the Lex way it is. But trust me, it works." Lex was surprised that he was having a good time sitting and joking with Lana. He realized suddenly what Clark saw in her. It wasn't just her outer beauty, and Lex admitted that there was plenty of that; it was the fact that when Lana smiled at you, you really liked it, maybe too much.
"Just let me know if anything needs to be done," Lex concluded and moved to sit behind the desk, trying to get their discussion back on a more even keel.
"Sure, I'll do that," Lana gathered up the proposals and her other paperwork when Lex's butler, Vernon, came in.
"Mr. Luthor, this package was just delivered for you," he explained as he carefully set an elegantly wrapped parcel on the desk.
Lana snuck a quick glance through the hair that cascaded over her shoulder as Lex carefully took the package and with a wave dismissed the man.
"Okay, I'm leaving." Lana licked her lips but didn't do much to move.
"No problem, take your time," Lex answered absently pulling the silver ribbon off of the small, white box. Why Hamilton had bothered to wrap it was beyond him. This was the answer to his problems; it was going to solve his dilemma with Lionel.
"What's that?" Lana blurted out, too enticed by the look on Lex's face as he opened the box to stop herself.
Lex looked up, surprised that Lana was still in the room; he had thought that she had left already. He set the box lid in his hands aside and laid the box itself down on the desktop.
"Nothing, some cologne from France. A new blend," he answered a bit curtly as she continued to stare at him.
They stood there for a minute in awkward silence, Lana gazing with fascination at the small, green bottle inside the box and Lex staring at Lana.
"Well, again, if you need anything, just let me know," Lex finally said and walked around the desk toward the door, his hand out for Lana to follow him. She slowly dragged her eyes away from the box and over her shoulder to where Lex stood at the doorway, waiting for her.
"Sir, I am sorry, sir, but apparently, this note fell off of the box when it was delivered." The butler reappeared in front of Lex.
Annoyed, Lex snatched the card from Vernon's hand and jerked it open so that he could read the hastily scrawled note.
'Call me as soon as you get this. H'
Damn, Lex muttered under his breath and wondered what had gone wrong now. Dr. Hamilton might be a genius and he shared Lex's growing obsession with the meteor rocks, but he was also high-strung and needed a ridiculous amount of handholding.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to make a call right now. Do you need .," Lex looked back at Lana who hadn't moved from the desk and had gone back to staring at the beguiling box.
"No, I've got it. Sorry, I'm going." Lana grabbed the papers that she had once again laid down on the desk and watched as Lex strode from the room, knowing that she had already been forgotten.
Lana started toward the door, but stopped and glanced around the vast room nervously. So, Lex got his cologne delivered in a small, perfect, white box tied with a silver ribbon? It had to be the most decadent thing that Lana had ever heard of, and she had heard a lot of decadent things about Lex. She'd even been witness to a few. She wondered why the cologne had been wrapped up so perfectly. Had someone sent it to him? A woman maybe?
Lana turned thoughts about the box and who had sent it over and over in her mind as her silent footsteps followed the thick, Persian runner to the front door.
"Miss Lang, do you need a ride back to town?" Vernon asked solicitously as he held the door open for her.
"Hmmm? Oh no, thanks, Vernon, I brought Nell's car." She smiled at him, remembering that he had asked after Nell several times. Of course, her Aunt was too much of a snob to date a butler. But Lana had always thought that Vernon was nice.
Lana skidded to a stop just before she reached the door, "Oh, you know what? I just realized that I . left something in the library.I'll just go and grab it," she lied on a sudden impulse.
"Certainly. Have a nice evening and tell your Aunt that I said hello." Vernon closed the large, oak doors firmly as Lana whirled around and hurried back down the corridor.
She mentally cursed herself the entire, short trip back to the study, but her curiosity was too keen to stop now. She slipped back in to the library and called Lex's name quietly a few times. To her relief, he wasn't there.
She walked toward the desk, careful not to let her boots click on the wooden floors. Setting the papers down on the desk, she lifted the small, intricately cut, green, crystal bottle out of the silk material that held it nestled in the box. The bottle was exquisite, but she mused that it didn't really look like Lex. The stopper looked like gold and it probably was. Unstopping it slightly, she leaned in and tentatively sniffed the fragrance.
It surprised her and her nose wrinkled automatically. It didn't smell like Lex at all. It was light, breezy, almost floral. Lex smelled like a mixture of old wood polish and earth, something subtle and unique. This cologne wasn't either; it was plain and ordinary, something you could probably find at the local drugstore. Lana actually detected some underlying smell that was familiar, but she couldn't place it.
Disappointed that such an unusual-looking package, one that had obviously piqued Lex's interest, had turned out to be so ordinary, she restoppered the bottle and set it carefully back in the box. At least, Lex hadn't come back in and found her making a big fool of herself.
*************************************
"It's fine. Yes, fine. Hamilton, I said it was fine, no breakage or leakage . well, as long as you did what I told you to . yes, I know that . yes, I remember what hap .well that's why I told you I needed it to be less concentrated but to have the same effects. So then, it's okay . and no aftereffects, right? Hangover? Perfect. Stop worrying." Lex didn't wait for another rant to begin; he just hung up the phone, perfectly happy with what Hamilton had given him . . . a nice, easy way to bring down Lionel.
Although he had been freaked out at the time by what Hamilton had found in the Nicodemus flower, Lex had pragmatically realized its potential. With a few, minor tweaks, it was a near perfect way to manipulate someone. He certainly couldn't use it if it put people in to comas, so that had been fixed. After Jonathan Kent had ingested the pollen from the Nicodemus, he had panicked, wondering what he had inadvertently done to Clark. Then, Lana had been affected and things had started to spin rapidly out of control.
Lana. Her behavior while under the influence of the Nicodemus had certainly been a shock. Uninhibited Lana, acting out her hidden desires, had certainly given him food for thought. He would have expected her to come on to Clark, that was a given. But the scene in The Talon had been something that he could have never foreseen. Sweet Lana taking a walk on the wild side, and wanting to take that walk with him. Even now, months later, Lex still couldn't wrap his mind around it.
He'd just been grateful that afterwards Lana hadn't pursued her line of questioning about why he had invested in The Talon. Those few moments had put some doubts in his own mind about why he he'd done it. He admitted to himself that he could have made a lot more ready cash by selling the old theater to the company who'd wanted to turn it in to a parking lot, so why take the long road to make a profit? Was it because Lana had asked him to? Had all of her enthusiasm, and something else, gotten to him? If Clark weren't his best friend, would that interlude in the empty cafe have turned out differently? He caught a glance of himself in the mirror that hung in the side office and was surprised to see that he looked flushed.
"Stupid," he muttered with irritation at himself and stormed out of the room, leaving his random questions unanswered.
**This is for Tracie, the best editor, because she asked for L/L to be together.**
************* Part 1
Wednesday 7PM -
Lex felt the cue slide sleekly through his tense fingers and the pressure cascade back up his arm as it hit the white ball, sending it spinning into the eleven ball which made a satisfyingly loud crack upon impact and glided in to the pocket in the far right corner of the pool table. He took a deep breath as he paced around the perimeter of the table, lining up another shot. Lex unbuttoned the top button of his silk, purple shirt, loosening it a little, letting the cool, luxurious fabric slide against his hand.
Lionel had often joked that Lex played pool so that he could look tougher than he was. But, in truth, the linear symmetry of the game soothed him. It forced him to block out everything else and concentrate on just that one shot and the line up for it. There was no room for any stray emotions to get in the way. If they did, then you hit a bad shot and you lost. It was that simple.
Some men drank, some gambled, some hit the heavy bag, some hit the sheets, but Lex hit the pool table. The game demanded that he push everything else away and allowed him to get his raging emotions under control. He needed that right now. This last confrontation with his father had really pushed him over the edge and just imagining the balls scooting around the table had kept him calm during the worst of it.
"Lex, my boy, you have to let this go. We're getting rid of Cadmus Labs and that's all there is to it." Lionel had laid down the law in the 'I'm superior to you' voice that Lex was all too familiar with.
"I only agreed to put Cadmus up because of Hardwick, not so you could sell it. It isn't yours." Lex had wanted to spit each word out, but had instead modulated his voice, keeping it soft and even, never betraying the red-hot anger that had roiled beneath the surface.
"And, of course, my plan worked perfectly. But we don't need it anymore, so that, as they say, is that." With those parting words, Lionel had turned on his well-shod heel and strode triumphantly out of the office; his son and the fact that it had been Lex's plan completely forgotten.
The minute he moved the cue forward, Lex knew that it was too hard, too forced. The nine ball bounced slightly right of the pocket and rolled back ineffectually.
"Damn," Lex hissed.
"Not the best shot I take it." Lana Lang stood uneasily in the doorway of the library unsure if she should just turn around and leave or step inside. She likened it to stepping inside the lion's den. She wasn't sure why though. Lex had always been nothing but polite to her, but still she found herself uneasy around him.
"No, not the best shot, but then, sometimes those are the ones that matter most," Lex replied smoothly, putting a tight lid on his anger. Lana was usually a bit skittish around him, so he tried to be careful with her. He was thankful that she was getting more comfortable with him, but he didn't want to push her. Even now when they had been in business together for more than a year, she sometimes looked ready to run if he raised an eyebrow at her. However, she was totally at ease discussing business matters with him, and conversations about Clark went pretty well too. Most other things seemed to be off-limits though, which was fine with Lex, seeing as how the one time that their conversation had veered in to unsafe territory, it had left him rather unsettled.
"Is this a b-b-bad time?" Lana stammered, not sure about the sudden glow in Lex's eyes.
Lex shut that memory away and smiled what he hoped was a genuine smile. He put the pool cue back in to its holder on the wall, as he answered, "No, not at all. What can I do for you?"
Lana really wanted to run then and berated herself for coming to the castle at all. "Uh, we were supposed to meet at The Talon to talk about the spring concerts. When you didn't show, I figured that something important must have come up. But I need an answer, so here I am." Lana knew that she was rambling, but Lex was staring at her with those intense, piercing, blue eyes of his and he was making her nervous. "I know it's months away, but we have to get started on some of it now."
Lex glanced out the stained glass window and noted for the first time that it was twilight, signaling that the day almost over.
"Oh, damn, I forgot. I'm sorry, Lana. I had to go to Metropolis suddenly and our appointment slipped my mind." Lex silently cursed Lionel once more since going to Metropolis at the last minute had been his fault to begin with. Lex had been awakened from a very nice dream by some Luthor Corp. suit requesting that he come to the city and sign some papers authorizing the sale of Cadmus.
So far he had held out, desperately clinging to the agreement that gave him an equal say in the fate of the laboratory. But he wasn't naive enough to think that he could defy his father forever. When Lionel Luthor wanted something, he got it. It was only a matter of time before Lex bent to his father's will.
"If you have time now, we can do it here," Lex gestured for Lana to take a seat at his chrome and glass desk as he positioned himself on the edge of it.
Lana watched Lex perch casually on the edge of the desk, his obviously expensive suit pants wrinkling as he did so. Lana glanced nervously at the seat and then with an internal shake, fell into the mode she was most comfortable in around Lex, business. She usually ran things at The Talon herself and made most of the day-to-day decisions, but anything that was bigger, or that required spending extra money, had to be cleared with Lex. Better make this good then, she thought before plunging in.
"Well, I have an idea actually. I thought that instead of only having one big group to highlight the week before Spring formal, that we could get smaller, local bands to perform on the nights leading up to the dance, and then, one, big headliner the night before." She handed him the proposal that she had been working on. It listed all of the bands that she had in mind along with their availability and booking rates.
"It gives us a steady crowd for a full week and it's a good way to get more local color, and maybe get some people in from Metropolis. That would give us the option to get a bigger headliner the night before," she rushed on as she anticipated Lex asking her to explain her whole, thought process. "I was thinking of maybe Remy Zero and as you know most of the bigger groups are playing smaller venues lately, trying to connect with their audience in more intimate surroundings, so I think that we can get them. I checked their."
Lex turned his back and appeared to study the proposal, but in truth, he was smiling. He didn't want Lana to think he was belittling her or her ideas, he actually thought that it was a wonderful plan. But her enthusiasm still made him smile; it was so unlike anything he was used to. It was the same with Clark when he got an idea. Must be something in the corn, he mused.
Lex let Lana babble on and on about the idea and how she had come up with it and how much money it would make him. He guessed she figured that appealing to his love of profit was a sure way to get him to agree and usually, it was. He secretly liked it when she got an idea she didn't think that he would agree to and then, set out to prove a point to him. And he wanted to let her, so he did.
"It's fine, sounds good. Go with it." He turned around and handed back the yellow folder when she stopped to take a breath.
"R-r-really?" Lana stammered again and wished that she hadn't. She wanted to be as cool as Lex was, as sophisticated, but the sad fact of the matter was that she always felt like a little girl around him. She hated that, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't act any other way. Once or twice, she had attempted to emulate her employer's self-possessed, worldly-wise air, but Lex's bemused grin had told her instantly that she had failed.
"Yes, really. I think that it's a good idea, so set out what needs to be done and if you need someone to make some calls, let me know and ."
"You'll make the calls?" Lana teased before she thought about what she was doing.
Lex smiled at her, knowing that she was teasing him and glad that she had calmed down a little, "No, Miss Homecoming Queen, I will have someone on my staff make the calls."
"Oh, business the Lex Luthor way, I get it." Lana couldn't seem to help herself all of a sudden.
"Yes, if you want to say that, the Lex way it is. But trust me, it works." Lex was surprised that he was having a good time sitting and joking with Lana. He realized suddenly what Clark saw in her. It wasn't just her outer beauty, and Lex admitted that there was plenty of that; it was the fact that when Lana smiled at you, you really liked it, maybe too much.
"Just let me know if anything needs to be done," Lex concluded and moved to sit behind the desk, trying to get their discussion back on a more even keel.
"Sure, I'll do that," Lana gathered up the proposals and her other paperwork when Lex's butler, Vernon, came in.
"Mr. Luthor, this package was just delivered for you," he explained as he carefully set an elegantly wrapped parcel on the desk.
Lana snuck a quick glance through the hair that cascaded over her shoulder as Lex carefully took the package and with a wave dismissed the man.
"Okay, I'm leaving." Lana licked her lips but didn't do much to move.
"No problem, take your time," Lex answered absently pulling the silver ribbon off of the small, white box. Why Hamilton had bothered to wrap it was beyond him. This was the answer to his problems; it was going to solve his dilemma with Lionel.
"What's that?" Lana blurted out, too enticed by the look on Lex's face as he opened the box to stop herself.
Lex looked up, surprised that Lana was still in the room; he had thought that she had left already. He set the box lid in his hands aside and laid the box itself down on the desktop.
"Nothing, some cologne from France. A new blend," he answered a bit curtly as she continued to stare at him.
They stood there for a minute in awkward silence, Lana gazing with fascination at the small, green bottle inside the box and Lex staring at Lana.
"Well, again, if you need anything, just let me know," Lex finally said and walked around the desk toward the door, his hand out for Lana to follow him. She slowly dragged her eyes away from the box and over her shoulder to where Lex stood at the doorway, waiting for her.
"Sir, I am sorry, sir, but apparently, this note fell off of the box when it was delivered." The butler reappeared in front of Lex.
Annoyed, Lex snatched the card from Vernon's hand and jerked it open so that he could read the hastily scrawled note.
'Call me as soon as you get this. H'
Damn, Lex muttered under his breath and wondered what had gone wrong now. Dr. Hamilton might be a genius and he shared Lex's growing obsession with the meteor rocks, but he was also high-strung and needed a ridiculous amount of handholding.
"If you'll excuse me, I need to make a call right now. Do you need .," Lex looked back at Lana who hadn't moved from the desk and had gone back to staring at the beguiling box.
"No, I've got it. Sorry, I'm going." Lana grabbed the papers that she had once again laid down on the desk and watched as Lex strode from the room, knowing that she had already been forgotten.
Lana started toward the door, but stopped and glanced around the vast room nervously. So, Lex got his cologne delivered in a small, perfect, white box tied with a silver ribbon? It had to be the most decadent thing that Lana had ever heard of, and she had heard a lot of decadent things about Lex. She'd even been witness to a few. She wondered why the cologne had been wrapped up so perfectly. Had someone sent it to him? A woman maybe?
Lana turned thoughts about the box and who had sent it over and over in her mind as her silent footsteps followed the thick, Persian runner to the front door.
"Miss Lang, do you need a ride back to town?" Vernon asked solicitously as he held the door open for her.
"Hmmm? Oh no, thanks, Vernon, I brought Nell's car." She smiled at him, remembering that he had asked after Nell several times. Of course, her Aunt was too much of a snob to date a butler. But Lana had always thought that Vernon was nice.
Lana skidded to a stop just before she reached the door, "Oh, you know what? I just realized that I . left something in the library.I'll just go and grab it," she lied on a sudden impulse.
"Certainly. Have a nice evening and tell your Aunt that I said hello." Vernon closed the large, oak doors firmly as Lana whirled around and hurried back down the corridor.
She mentally cursed herself the entire, short trip back to the study, but her curiosity was too keen to stop now. She slipped back in to the library and called Lex's name quietly a few times. To her relief, he wasn't there.
She walked toward the desk, careful not to let her boots click on the wooden floors. Setting the papers down on the desk, she lifted the small, intricately cut, green, crystal bottle out of the silk material that held it nestled in the box. The bottle was exquisite, but she mused that it didn't really look like Lex. The stopper looked like gold and it probably was. Unstopping it slightly, she leaned in and tentatively sniffed the fragrance.
It surprised her and her nose wrinkled automatically. It didn't smell like Lex at all. It was light, breezy, almost floral. Lex smelled like a mixture of old wood polish and earth, something subtle and unique. This cologne wasn't either; it was plain and ordinary, something you could probably find at the local drugstore. Lana actually detected some underlying smell that was familiar, but she couldn't place it.
Disappointed that such an unusual-looking package, one that had obviously piqued Lex's interest, had turned out to be so ordinary, she restoppered the bottle and set it carefully back in the box. At least, Lex hadn't come back in and found her making a big fool of herself.
*************************************
"It's fine. Yes, fine. Hamilton, I said it was fine, no breakage or leakage . well, as long as you did what I told you to . yes, I know that . yes, I remember what hap .well that's why I told you I needed it to be less concentrated but to have the same effects. So then, it's okay . and no aftereffects, right? Hangover? Perfect. Stop worrying." Lex didn't wait for another rant to begin; he just hung up the phone, perfectly happy with what Hamilton had given him . . . a nice, easy way to bring down Lionel.
Although he had been freaked out at the time by what Hamilton had found in the Nicodemus flower, Lex had pragmatically realized its potential. With a few, minor tweaks, it was a near perfect way to manipulate someone. He certainly couldn't use it if it put people in to comas, so that had been fixed. After Jonathan Kent had ingested the pollen from the Nicodemus, he had panicked, wondering what he had inadvertently done to Clark. Then, Lana had been affected and things had started to spin rapidly out of control.
Lana. Her behavior while under the influence of the Nicodemus had certainly been a shock. Uninhibited Lana, acting out her hidden desires, had certainly given him food for thought. He would have expected her to come on to Clark, that was a given. But the scene in The Talon had been something that he could have never foreseen. Sweet Lana taking a walk on the wild side, and wanting to take that walk with him. Even now, months later, Lex still couldn't wrap his mind around it.
He'd just been grateful that afterwards Lana hadn't pursued her line of questioning about why he had invested in The Talon. Those few moments had put some doubts in his own mind about why he he'd done it. He admitted to himself that he could have made a lot more ready cash by selling the old theater to the company who'd wanted to turn it in to a parking lot, so why take the long road to make a profit? Was it because Lana had asked him to? Had all of her enthusiasm, and something else, gotten to him? If Clark weren't his best friend, would that interlude in the empty cafe have turned out differently? He caught a glance of himself in the mirror that hung in the side office and was surprised to see that he looked flushed.
"Stupid," he muttered with irritation at himself and stormed out of the room, leaving his random questions unanswered.