A/N: autumngold and Jewel, thanks for the feedback. Especially you, Jewel. I can honestly say that there are no hard feelings about the great feedback you've given. Let's just say that some people can't spell, some people can't get pronouns right, and I can't conjugate correctly. But I do realize the importance of checking myself, so I'll make this a priority in the coming chapters.
By the way, Chloe is 16 in this world. I figured the least I can do is make her legal. And yes, Lex is 21.
Thanks again for the wonderful reviews, and I'm glad that you're enjoying my first shot at a full-length Smallville fanfic.
CHAPTER FIVE
Disclaimer in Chapter One
Derek Abernathy was a certified genius. A member of MENSA since he was 10, he found himself being able to crack codes and databases in seconds that he made a living and a cause out of it. Derek was a professional hacker.
Part of his pro-bono work was to do "questionable" research for his best friend when she was on these investigative report assignments. Today, his mission did not come from the orders of one Chloe Sullivan. Derek was doing an independent project at his own creation and direction: He was determined to find out what really happened to Lex Luthor.
Yes, he came to the funeral. A conspiracy theorist at heart, the closed coffin just did not sit well with him. Even after Lionel Luthor explained that Lex's remains met the sharp end of Mother Nature's wrath, that information did little to dissuade Derek from thinking that something was going on, and it was his goal to find out what.
It was the best present he could think of for Chloe. Even if Lex was indeed dead, it would give Chloe (and Derek as well) some closure on the matter.
After all, he was the only other person who knew about them. Chloe could barely hide her excitement when she would call him to do some digging on Lionel's latest projects based on information she picked up from Lex. He knew that she was smitten, and in the brief conversations he shared with the young Luthor, he found that Lex, too, was in this as much as Chloe was. He was the first-hand witness of that intense passion between the two when he worked with them.
"Derek, any developments on tracking the recipient of my father's money in Smallville?" Lex inquired through a web cam transmission.
"Actually, yes," he smugly replied. "I managed to decipher some of the encrypted data from the person's profile. It seems like our little traitor is a woman."
"Wait," Chloe piped in from the couch. "A woman? Did you get more information other than that?"
He shook his head. "Not much that can be useful to you."
Concern growing, Chloe stepped up from her seat to Lex's side by the computer. "What about the data on this cloning project? Did you ever find out who the test subject was?"
"Actually," Derek replied happily. "I found something better, Miss Sullivan."
He turned to the monitor on his left as he typed in a code. "It seems that not only is he a LuthorCorp test subject, he happens to be the scientist as well." His work slowly produced a profile of one Ian Randall.
"Fuck," she muttered. "I knew it."
"Isn't that?"
Chloe nodded her head before Lex could finish his sentence. "Talk about a new spin to a Luthor scholarship," she sighed. "I suspected something was wrong, so I took the bait. I just thought he was an asshole trying to take the cake and eat it, too, by dating me and Lana.."
She and Lex looked at each other instantly, realizing that Lana could be in grave danger. "We can't tell her the whole truth, Lex," she pointed out.
"Absolutely," he agreed. "It'll only jeopardize her life..and the plan."
Chloe bit her lip, thoughts racking in her brain. "So what do we do?"
Lex looked up at her, not very happy at the only solution he could think of. "Pretend that you know nothing about the cloning. As far as you know, he's just a cheating liar. And we all know how much you hate those," he smiled.
"Good call," she said softly, hating the fact that she would have to pretend to like someone when there was only one person occupying her heart. "I have to go find her."
Before she could leave the room, Lex grabbed her arm, turning her around. One look into her eyes transmitted enough of what he had to say. "Be careful," he said for good measure.
Chloe smiled. "Clark and Pete had a suspicion about this. They'll have my back."
"Good," Lex nodded as his right hand moved up to cup her face. "Just be careful, nonetheless."
When Chloe finally left the room, he turned back to the computer and smiled at Derek. "So, tell me all you know about Dr. Helen Bryce."
Derek grinned back. "Thought you'd never asked."