Chapter 12 – Chloe Sullivan is on the case

Chloe opened her car door and sat down in the driver seat. She could still feel Lex's lips on hers. She looked up to Lex's study and found him looking out the window, for a moment their eyes locked. Chloe shook her head slightly. 'Focus Sullivan! Concentrate on finding Lila. Lex and I will have plenty of time later.' She turned on her ignition and drove out of the Luthor estate. 

When Chloe got to her father's house, Gabe was there waiting for her. 'Damn.' She thought. 'I was suppose to spend some quality time with him today.'

"Hey Dad!" she greeted him with her best smile.

"Oh no, I know that smile." Gabe frowned. "Don't you dare sweet talk me into not being mad at you for missing our quality time."

Chloe pouted. "But it's really important Dad. And I'm really sorry." She walked inside, with Gabe following.

"What's so important that you missed our quality time today? You've never missed it in the three years you've been at University." Gabe crossed his arm in front of him. "I took today off just so we could spend some time together. I don't get to see you anymore with school and all."

"But Dad." Chloe said seriously. "It's really important. Lila has been kidnapped!"

"What?" Gabe frowned. "Does Lex know about this?"

"Yes he does. He was the one that told me." Chloe poured herself a cup of coffee. "And I was at the Mansion just now. We're trying to find out what happened." She took a sit of her coffee and sat down in front of the coffee table with her laptop.

Gabe frowned again. "Shouldn't you let the police handle this? This could be dangerous."

Chloe glared at her dad, and Gabe raised his hands in defeat. "Sorry, forgot who I was talking to for a moment there. Thought it was some nice quiet country girl." Chloe glared at her dad harder this time. "Seriously though Chloe. This could really be dangerous." Gabe countered. "As much as I want Lila to be found and returned safely. I don't want to loose you."

Chloe smiled. "Lex said the same thing. And I will tell you what I told him, I'll be careful."

Gabe raised an eyebrow. "Lex told you he didn't want to lose you?"

Chloe blushed. "Yes he did. Something wrong with that?" she asked with her arms crossed, imitating her father's previous posture.

"Of course not honey." Replied Gabe timidly. "Of course Lex didn't want to loose a good friend like you."

Chloe smirked. "Yeah, that's exactly it." She said under her breath.

"Did you say something honey?" Gabe inquired.

"Nothing Dad." Chloe replied. "Just trying to work out the kidnapping."

"Alright, but be careful." He stressed.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Of course I will."

She took another sip of her coffee and started working on the kidnapping. She was so sure Victoria was behind this. All her reporter intuition was pointing at her.

She contemplated where Victoria would hide Lila if she had her. She typed a few words on her laptop and tried to find out if the Hardwicks owned any property in Smallville. Chloe frowned at the results. The Hardwicks owned nothing in Smallville, not anything personal or business related.

She then tried their subsidiary companies. And still nothing. Chloe tapped her nails on the coffee table. 'Think Sullivan, think.' Suddenly her cell phone rang.

"Chloe Sullivan here." She spoke into the phone.

"It's Lex." Replied the other line.

Chloe involuntarily licked her lips. "Hey Lex. Did your people find out anything?"

Lex frowned. "They found a number of things. Either Victoria isn't very careful or she's getting over confident." Lex opened a folder in front of him. "Several thousand dollars were taken out of her account within the past week, all of them after the wedding. Normally large withdrawals like this wouldn't mean anything…but since LuthorCorp initiated the hostile takeover a few years ago, they have lost substantial amount of money."

"So Victoria is having money trouble." Chloe added. "And if she's pregnant with the Luthor heir, she wouldn't have to worry about finances. That explains why she was so mad at Lila the day of the wedding. So she's using what little she has left to pay the kidnappers to kidnap Lila, and ensure her place as the future Mrs. Luthor."

Lex smirked. "My thoughts exactly." He flipped a page in the report and continued to tell Chloe about Victoria's activities. "They're trying to bug her cell phone, but that'll take a bit longer. Have you come up with anything?"

"Do you happen to know if Victoria has any property near Smallville?" Chloe asked.

Lex though about it for a few moments. "I don't think so. LuthorCorp owns most of the properties in Smallville, and the rest is mostly farmland. But I'll see if my investigators can find anything." He hesitated for a moment. "Do you think she's keeping Lila somewhere nearby? For easy access?"

"That's what I was thinking." Chloe said as she typed something else on her laptop. "Moving her too far would cause too much trouble. And she need easy access to her."

"Maybe you should inform Clark and Pete of the situation." Lex suggested. "So you'll have backup."

Chloe thought about for a few seconds. "You're probably right. Clark is always playing the hero anyway." She looked at her watch for a second. "He's probably still at the Talon." She added. "I'll leave right now to talk to him and Pete."

"Alright. Remember, be careful." Lex repeated.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "I will. I promise." Suddenly she remembered something. "I almost forgot. How much money does the kidnappers want? And where and when are you suppose to deliver it?"

"They're asking for five million. Half in bonds and the other half in cash. With hundred and thousand dollar bills."

Chloe's mouth hanged open. "Chloe?" Lex asked on the other line.

"Yeah…that's a lot of money." Was all she could say.

Lex frowned. "Actually, I'm worth a lot more than that. I'm more worried about the fact they didn't ask for more."

"Which is why you think the ransom is just a rouse." Chloe replied in understanding.

"Exactly." Lex answered. "And I'm suppose to drop it off in the middle of a corn field between Miller's Bend and Highway 11, at one in the morning two days from now."

With a few clicks of the mouse, Chloe managed to get a map of Smallville on her laptop. "There's no buildings or farms anywhere near that place."

"That because that whole area is owned by LuthorCorp." Lex Explained. "We just haven't had the time to develop it."

Chloe sighed. "I think I'll go fill Clark and Pete in on what's happening. So how much do you want me to tell them?"

Lex frowned again. "I don't want anyone to know Lila's my sister yet. But you can tell them everything else." 

"I understand. I'll talk to you later."

"And remember…" Lex couldn't even finish his sentence when Chloe interrupted.

"I know, I know. Be careful." She added impatiently.

"Alright. I see you're finally getting it." Lex replied with a smirk.

"Now whip that smirk off your face Luthor." Chloe teased.

"Alright. See you later."

"Bye." Chloe replied.

"Bye." Lex answered back. With that Chloe grabbed her stuff and headed for her car.

* * * * *

When Chloe arrived at the Talon, Clark, Pete, and Lana was still there.

"Hey guys." Chloe greeted. In a quieter voice, Chloe added. "Office. Now."

Clark, Pete and Lana looked at Chloe in confusion, but followed her quietly into the Office.

"What's this about Chloe." Clark frowned.

"It's about Lila." Chloe stated.

Pete shook his head. "I thought you were going to let Lex take care of it." He said with disproval.

Chloe glared at him, while Lana looked quite worried.

"It's more complicated than Lex originally thought." She countered. "He believes Victoria might be part of it."

"Then the more dangerous to be involved." Pete argued.

Lana frowned. "I think we should help."

Everyone turned to look at her in surprise.

"She's our friend." Lana say spiritedly. "So I'm going to help Chloe to find her."

Chloe beamed at Lana and gave her a quick hug. "I'm glade you want to help."

Clark scratched his head and looked at Lana. "Well, I'm not going to leave my girlfriend in this kind of situation alone. So count me in."

Pete threw his hands up in the air. "Fine! I'll help too."

Chloe smiled brightly. "Alright, let's get to work."

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Author's Note: I have no idea what the streets names in Smallville are, but Miller's Bend sounded like a Smallville-ish kind of name… And I know a lot doesn't happen in this chapter, but I hope you guys still like it.

Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading. : )