Okay folks. Glad to see you made it this far, and sorry this one isn't longer. Chapter 3 will have more, I promise. Also, I forgot to mention before that this story contains spoilers for The Dad That Came In From The Cold, Season 3, Episode 13, aired January 14, 1996. But it's not like that was a really earthshattering episode, so I wouldn't sweat it.

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A Day In The Life of Jack

Chapter 2

By anyone else's standards, Jimmy Olsen perhaps did not lead an entirely ordinary life. He worked for one of the largest newspapers in the United States (6th, actually, if you're judging on circulation), running back and forth to the printer, snapping photos, and even penning the occasional story. Some of his friends were perhaps uncommon, as well: them being The Daily Planet's editor-in-chief, its two star reporters, and one super hero (if he could consider Superman a friend, which he did), and though he did not have, per se, a girlfriend, he did manage to date every now and then.

All of this, though, seemed quite ordinary to Jimmy. After all, he had to live that less-than-entirely ordinary life on a day-to-day basis. And extraordinary occurrences, when occurring with regularity, have a tendency to seem quite ordinary indeed.

Just about the only thing Jimmy found extraordinary about his life was his father. Neglectful as a child, absent as an adult, his father had given him excuse after excuse for his behavior, but never a decent reason. That is, until just over a year before, when an unexpected visit had turned out to be more of a business venture, and his business had turned out to be something very unexpected as well.

But aside from those things, Jimmy Olsen's life seemed just as ordinary as anybody's, his days generally no more exciting than the next guy's, and this Tuesday afternoon was no exception.

Jimmy was carrying Wednesday's front page layout down the hall to the bullpen, where he found Perry White standing outside his office waiting. "Here it is, Chief!" Jimmy declared.

"Hey! All right!" Perry beamed and called out to the rest of the office, "Clark! Lois! Where are you?"

Lois revealed herself by the donut station. "Right here!"

"Where's Clark?"

"He, um . . ." She looked next to her for her husband, but he was gone. "He had to run out on an errand."

"Oh." Their boss sounded disappointed. "Well, I guess we'll just have to do this without him, then. Everybody!" The men and women of The Daily Planet stopped their typing, silenced their chatting, and quit whatever else it was they were doing (or at least continued quietly and discreetly) to give their attention to the man who ran the show. "I want to you to take a look at tomorrow morning's headline and give a round of applause to Lois and Clark for another front page exclusive!"

Genuine and obligatory clapping all around. Lois smiled, blushed politely, thanking them. The headline read, 'Army scandal erupts - FBI at risk' and the story included interviews with FBI officials and two Congressmen, detailing how an Army general had jeopardized a FBI investigation to cover up the military administration's indiscretions. It had been Lois's hunch and both hers and Clark's investigative skills that had, as it's said, blown the case wide open.

Jimmy had had a hand in it as well, researching and plowing through reams of e-mails and files, and though he was not receiving the applause, he was proud of his contribution nonetheless.

The Planet employees congratulated Lois while, on the platform above them, a haggard stranger stepped off the elevator. A quick visual sweep of the room revealed to him every hidden security camera and every possible threat. And though for the moment he went unnoticed by the people below, by the end of the day he would become the subject of office gossip, by the end of the week he would have caused intense discussion, and by the end of the month, most of the country would know his name.

"All right, all right," Perry signaled for his staffers to get back to work. "Good work, Honey," he called to Lois, and then: "Jimmy!"

"Yeah, Chief?"

"Take that downstairs, son. Let's get those printers rolling."

"You got it!" Jimmy hefted the layout board and trotted off down the hall.

Lois turned her attention back to filling her coffee mug. Then, without warning, her husband was by her side, adjusting his tie. "Hey."

"Hey." His sudden reappearance didn't phase her. In fact his sudden disappearance had phased her even less. "Where'd you go?"

"Oh you know, just . . ." He made a motion with his hand.

"Yeah. What was it?" Lois wandered back over to her desk. Clark followed. They'd been married (finally) for almost six months now. And though legally her name was now Lois Kent, she continued to publish as Lois Lane — in terms of advertising, "Lane and Kent" was catchier than "Kent and Kent," which everyone agreed sounded too much like an ambulance-chasing law firm.

Clark lowered his voice so his coworkers wouldn't hear. "A, uh, a kid was trapped at a construction site."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah — he's fine."

"Good." Lois sat and smiled at him.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Just another moment in the spotlight, courtesy of Perry White," she told him.

"Ah. What fortunate timing for me," he said with an impish grin.

"I noticed," she grinned back. Then, seriousness. "We should talk about our next story."

Clark pulled up a chair to sit across from her. "You mean the nonexistent one?"

"Yes. That one."

"You're thinking we should make it less nonexistent?"

"Exactly. Whoever said most married couples lack good communication?"

"Excuse me," came a voice. They turned around and stood to greet the sunburned lanky stranger. "Can either of you tell me where I can find a Mr. Olsen?"

Clark and Lois exchanged a look. 'Mr. Olsen'? "You mean Jimmy?" Clark asked.

"Right, yeah, Jimmy."

"Um, I think he went down to printing," Lois answered.

Before either reporter could question the man, he asked, "And where is that?"

Frowning, Clark told him, "It's in the basement. The service elevator is just down the hall —" The stranger hurried in that direction. "— over there." They watched him go.

"Who was that?" Lois asked.

"I don't know. He didn't seem to know Jimmy very well."

"What do you suppose that was all about?"

They looked at each other again.

"It's gonna be a long night tonight, eh?"

"Seems like it." The printers and machines around them droned loudly. Jimmy had to strain to hear Sherman's voice above it, but Sherman, who worked every day from four to midnight there, had grown used to it, much in the same way that Jimmy had gotten used to the idea of having a superhero for a friend and James Bond for a dad. "Or at least Mr. White seems to think so."

"When are we going to find out?"

"I'll let you know when the headlines come down," Jimmy answered. The best way to know how many copies they would need for the next day was to read the other paper's headlines. If, for example, USA Today had somehow sniffed out Lois's story and was running their own copy on the front page, The Daily Planet was likely to sell fewer copies than if Lois's exclusive was truly exclusive, in which case they would need to print more papers, which of course meant: long night for Sherman.

"Well, here's hoping he's right, but then, I didn't sleep much this morning, so here's hoping he's wrong, too."

Jimmy laughed. "I'll tell him you've got your fingers crossed."

"Just don't tell him what for."

"See you, Sherman."

"See ya' tomorrow, Jim."

Jimmy pressed the button for the service elevator that would take him back up to the fourth floor. When the doors opened, someone else was standing inside. "Jimmy Olsen?"

Jimmy gave him a relaxed smile. "Yeah, that's me."

"Your father isn't Jack Olsen by any chance is he?"

It turned into a cautious frown. To his knowledge, Jack Olsen was unknown to the world outside of the intelligence community, aside from Jimmy, his mother, his boss, Lois, Clark, and a few of his father's close friends, all of whom Jimmy had met. Who this man was and how he knew Jack Olsen was a mystery, and given his father's profession, Jimmy was more than a bit suspicious of this unfamiliar face.

A thousand tiny details flew through Jimmy's mind. The man's question had seemed too carefully constructed. He acted casually but his posture said otherwise. The jeans, shirt and jacket he wore looked new, like the stuff they sell at airports. There was dirt packed under the man's fingernails. He had a sunburn, but it was April. The guy looked like he lifted weights, despite his lankiness. One end of a curving scar was visible over the collar of his t-shirt. These thoughts and others raced through his brain, but it was one question that occupied Jimmy's attention: what could the man possibly want with him?

As a dozen unpleasant scenarios began to surface in his imagination, Jimmy realized he hadn't answered the man's question. What he didn't realize was that his extended silence had already given him away. For as many details as the young photographer's eyes had picked up, this stranger's well-honed senses digested far more. Finally, Jimmy had to say something.

"You know, I don't think you're supposed to be down here."

The man sighed and looked relieved. He'd obviously seen through Jimmy's cautious demeanor. "I can't tell you how glad I am to finally find you. You're the fourth Olsen in Metropolis I've been to today."

"I'm sorry, sir. I don't know who you are, but you're going to have to leave." Jimmy stood firmly outside of elevator doors.

"You're right. I should have introduced myself." The man extended a hand. "James Macklan. My friends call me Macky." Suspicious, Jimmy did not shake his hand. "I'm a friend of your dad's." Still suspicious, Jimmy did not shake his hand. He only watched the man skeptically. Macky finally dropped his arm by his side. "We should talk. Maybe somewhere quieter?"

"What do we need to talk about?"

The man hesitated, glancing around. "It's a little sensitive." Jimmy stared him hard in the face, waiting. "It's about your father. He's in trouble, Jimmy."

Curiosity, and concern, now outweighed suspicion. Frowning, Jimmy stepped into the elevator and let the doors close behind him.

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