Part 6
Thomas threw Luthor back against the wall where he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"Don't forget, Lionel," Thomas said pointing his finger at the kneeling man, "I'll be back one of these days."
Without a backwards glance Thomas grabbed the notebooks off of the desk and then Chloe's arm and left the office.
Out in the hallway heading for the stairwell Chloe finally seemed to come to herself.
"I don't know who you are mister, but you just gained a friend for life."
"I've seen how you treat your friends Sullivan, I think I'll pass on that honor."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Chloe demanded shaking off her shock in favor of anger.
"Why were you in Luthor's office to begin with?"
Startled by the sudden change in topic Chloe paused for a moment before answering.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"It's a simple question," Thomas said as he opened the stairwell door, "you answer it and you'll know the answer to your first question."
Chloe felt her face redden and she began to get even more angry.
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," Chloe said heatedly. "Hey," she said suddenly noticing where they were going, "why can't we take the elevator? We are on the 51st floor you know."
"Sure, Sullivan," Thomas said heading down the stairs and never giving her a second look, "You're in a building owned and ran by a man who just tried to have you killed. When you've just escaped what could be the better strategy than sealing yourself up in a box and making it easy for him catch you again. "
Thomas adopted an upper class English accent and continued, "Damned rude if one has to work at arranging a nasty accident. It's the good guest that helps her host out."
"Well you're just a sarcastic bastard aren't you?"
"Beats betraying people I call friends just so I can see my name in print."
"I told you it's not like that. You don't understand."
"Then enlighten me Sullivan. Which part isn't true? That you were working for Luthor or that he promised you a column in the Planet if you investigated one of your friends."
"Clark wasn't one of my friends when I agreed to this," Chloe stated sounding somewhat petulant.
"Oh, I see, then it's perfectly acceptable to arrange for him to be killed or worse so you can see your name in print," Thomas said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders
"You're twisting my words."
"The only 'twisting' being done around here is by you, Sullivan with that knife you carry around to bury between people's shoulder blades."
"I wasn't investigating Clark for Luthor you moron," Chloe yelled, "or did it escape your little simple minded attention that Luthor was going to have me killed because I was holding out on him."
"Holding out implies that you were working for him, but broke the deal, Sullivan, not that you weren't working for him at all. And it still doesn't explain the column in the Planet."
"Ok, Ok, I agreed to work for him originally, but I changed my mind before I told him anything major. I wouldn't have betrayed Clark. No matter what he did to me. I was just playing Luthor to get more information."
"Uh huh, I could see that you were doing a wonderful job of playing him when I walked in up there."
"Why you arrogant son of a.I was doing just fine up until that point thank you. I knew he didn't trust me. That's why I put everything in writing rather than on a computer."
"Oh, yeah," Thomas said holding the notebooks up, "that idea really worked out well. I especially liked the way you fooled his hitman into putting the gun to your head. It was probably the only place you could think of where the bullet couldn't do a whole lot of damage."
"Give me those, they're mine," Chloe said reaching for the notebooks.
"Sorry, Sullivan," Thomas said moving the notebooks out of her reach, "I'll need these to start the fire for the diversion."
"Fire?! Those are my notebooks you idiot, you can't burn them."
"Don't worry about it, Sullivan. They're useless anyway. Full of nonsense and poor deductive reasoning."
"It is not nonsense and there's nothing wrong with my deductive reasoning."
A door opened below them and two security guards ran through scanning the stairwell. Before they could react Thomas launched himself down the stairs feet first catching one of the guards in the chest and sending him crashing into the stairwell wall. The other one went for his gun, but was stopped by a spinning crescent kick that caught him in the jaw and bounced his head off the door he had just entered through.
Continuing on down the stairs as if nothing had happened Thomas picked up the conversation without missing a beat. "Sure," he said condescendingly, "you think Clark Kent is some kind of superman based on the ramblings of a few nutcases with a grudge and a willing dupe in the form of a high school newspaper editor and you call that sound reasoning."
"I was not a dupe, and people have been effected in even more amazing ways than that by the meteor rocks. I got multiple sources, smartass, and they all agree on what Clark can do."
"Multiple sources, huh? Gee, I didn't realize I was working with a real newspaper reporter. Those would all be the aforementioned nutcases with grudges right?"
"They may hold grudges, but I verified their stories with a third party which is what is outlined in those notebooks," Chloe replied smugly.
"Third party? And just where did you find this 'third party'?"
"Justin Gaines, smartass. He was no where near the others so they couldn't have cooked up their stories together."
"Good to see that you've finally settled on a nickname for me," Thomas said sardonically. "Let's see, Justin Gaines, Justin Gaines. Remind me again which asylum is he in?"
"It doesn't matter where he is you idiot, only that his story matches the others. Are you trying to be deliberately obtuse?"
"No, it's just so easy to poke holes in your logic that it helps to pass the time as we go down these stairs. And I thought you had decided to call me 'smartass.' If you keep changing it I may not come when you call."
Infuriated beyond belief Chloe pulled her fist back and threw a punch at the back of her tormentor's head. He caught her fist in his hand without even fully turning around. He turned loose of her fist as he finally turned to face her.
"Now that you've gotten over your shock from upstairs Sullivan we need to get serious and you need to listen carefully to every word I say. Do you hear those sirens?"
For the first time Chloe became aware of the distant sound of sirens coming from outside the building.
"Luthor called the police. He knows it all comes down to his word versus ours and he's banking on us being detained long enough for him to arrange some sort of 'accident'. We need to create a diversion so we can get past them and to your car. Are you with me so far?"
"Hold it," Chloe said shaking her head as his words from before suddenly came back to her, "all that stuff you said to me coming down the stairs was just to get me over the shock of almost being killed?"
"Yes, it's been shown that if someone has something to focus on during a traumatic event they can continue to function at a normal level without shock causing them to shut down. Anger just seemed like the best approach with you."
"So you don't think my deductive reasoning sucks," Chloe said her face starting to brighten.
"No, I still think it sucks, I just didn't want to have to carry you down the stairs with you getting all emotional on me if I didn't have to."
Chloe's smile faded into a hate filled grimace.
"Go to Hell," she finally said.
"Whatever, just make sure you follow my lead unless you want to end up in a juvenile detention cell trying to avoid becoming someone's date while waiting on Luthor to have someone stick a knife between your ribs."
"Bastard."
"Inconsistency is the sign of a disorganized mind, Sullivan. Come on," he said gesturing down the stairs.
The duo reached the bottom of the stairs just as the police arrived. Thomas took a lighter from his pocket and set the two notebooks on fire. Holding them aloft he triggered the fire alarm and the sprinklers. He then began peeling the scar off of the side of his face.
Chloe turned to face him just as he disposed of the last of the scar. "What the..who the hell are you?"
"Like I said before, a concerned citizen. Now let's wait for some company."
When the stairwell began to fill with people they joined the crowd heading for the exits. The police who were entering the building attempted in vain to contain the crowd, but were forced to allow everyone to exit because of the fire alarms.
"Come on," Thomas said to Chloe pulling her outside.
"Are you some kind of secret agent or something?" she asked.
"Yes," was the only answer he provided.
"Where are you parked?" he asked.
"Two blocks down in a public parking lot. The parking garage was full. Were you serious about the secret agent thing?"
"Good, let's go," Thomas said ignoring her question.
****************************
A few minutes later they reached Chloe's VW and Thomas' phone started ringing.
"Yes," he answered.
"Hunter, it's Phil. The kid just walked in the door."
"I'll be there in 15 minutes. If another kid and an older man come in help them anyway you can, but otherwise don't interfere and you'll triple your money. Got it?"
"Got it," Phil replied and hung up.
"Ok, Sullivan you head back home and don't answer your door. I doubt Luthor will try anything else since this blew up in his face, but I would strongly suggest no more contact with him." Shaking his head he continued, "I mean come on. A teenaged superman?"
"Hey," Chloe said, "it's happened before. A kid in our school got superpowers."
"Yeah, and those kind of things just happen all of the time. Listen kid, start writing about pep rallies and school elections. Leave the science fiction to the novelists. Gotta go."
Thomas headed into the street and stopped a taxi. A moment later he was gone.
Chloe sat stunned in her car, the events of the day starting to catch up with her. Hearing the sounds of approaching fire trucks Chloe took one last look back at LuthorCorp and decided that the stranger was right in one sense. She didn't really care about Clark at the moment. It just didn't matter. She was alive. But, one thought crept involuntarily into her mind as she started her car.
"Bastard," Chloe said to herself. "Pep rallies? He's got to be kidding."
**********************
Fifteen minutes later Thomas arrived at the "Midnight Oil." He found Jonathan and Pete standing beside the Mustang staring menacingly toward three guys standing just outside the main entrance. The three men in question didn't seem intimidated by their stares.
"What's going on?" asked Thomas trotting up to the car.
"Those three guys won't let us in. We told them we just wanted to see Clark for a minute and they could send him outside if they wanted to, but they wouldn't go for it."
"Well, lets see if I can be a bit more convincing." Thomas said turning around and heading for the entrance.
The three men straightened when he approached and stood like a fence blocking the entrance to the club.
"Hey guys," Thomas said holding his hands up in front of him palms out to show he didn't have a weapon, "I'm not looking for any trouble. We just need to deliver a message to the young, dark-haired kid that came with you. Send him out here or let us go in there, it doesn't matter. After we're through we'll be on our way."
One of the men spoke up stepping forward. "Like I told your friends, you need to be on your way now. I was nice before and didn't force the issue, but now I'm beginning to think that you're all too stupid to take a hint."
He moved his coat aside and showed Thomas the gun he wore in a shoulder holster. "Now do you go or do we shoot you and toss you in the dumpster?"
Thomas heaved a sigh and dropped his head beginning to shake it. "More guns in holsters," he muttered.
"What?" the man asked a second before his head was snapped back by a punch that dropped him to the ground unconscious.
Before the other two could react Thomas delivered a snap kick to the face of one of them and drove his stiffened fingers into the neck of the other one causing him to drop the hand that was reaching for his holster. Thomas followed that up with a left cross that knocked the guy's head into a support pillar and dropped him to the ground to join his two friends in slumber.
Turning back to his companions Thomas called, "I think the coast is clear, guys."
Entering the club the three found themselves face to face with six men. The six had turned to face the door when it opened and any that weren't on their feet before stood up when Thomas and his companions entered the room.
"Who the hell are you?" one of the large men said.
Thomas' gaze swept the room assessing the situation. He identified a short slim Asian man as probably the most dangerous person present and kept his focus on him as he answered the original speaker.
"Friends of one of your companions. We're not looking for trouble. We just need to see him and then we'll leave."
"How'd you get past he guys outside?" the man demanded.
"They were understanding of our dilemma and let us in."
"Bullsh.!"
"Ah, ah," Thomas interrupted shaking his finger, "there's a minor in the house," indicating Pete. "Which brings me back to my original question."
"Well, here's your answer," the man said striding forward and throwing a punch at Thomas' head.
Thomas blocked the punch and then grabbing the offered arm stepped into his attacker's instep and brought him crashing to the ground. Before any of the others could react the small Asian man suddenly appeared and delivered a kick to Thomas' body that he was only partially able to block by twisting to the side.
Without let up the Asian pressed his attack throwing various punches and kicks with deft skill giving Thomas only the opportunity to defend rather than attack. Seeing most of his kicks and punches blocked, the Asian begin to pick up the tempo of his attack, which Thomas moved to match and soon they were engaged in a lethal dance that left their audience frozen in place unable to do anything else but watch.
Thomas ignored the serpent strikes to his shoulders and kicks to his shins and focused on finding an opening in the Asian's attack. Thomas had seen his opponent's surprise as he had moved to match each change in discipline that the Asian had attempted in order to trip him up. The rapid changes finally proved the Asian's undoing as he became used to Thomas' proficiency in returning a style of attack with the same style's defense.
The Asian launched into the tettsui-to expecting a response in kind and totally missed the western style uppercut that rocked him back on his feet. One good move became two as Thomas landed a left hook and then three as he followed up by dropping into a spinning leg sweep bringing the Asian to the ground. The fight was ended as Thomas completed the spin by bringing the heel of his foot into the side of the Asian's head even before he had completed reached the ground effectively rendering him unconscious.
"Nice moves," said a voice from behind him. "Want to try them on me?"
The hairs on the back of Thomas' neck stood straight up and he instantly knew the identity of the speaker. Turning around he verified his guess and nodded in greeting as he spoke the newcomer's name.
"Clark."
End Part 6
Thomas threw Luthor back against the wall where he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"Don't forget, Lionel," Thomas said pointing his finger at the kneeling man, "I'll be back one of these days."
Without a backwards glance Thomas grabbed the notebooks off of the desk and then Chloe's arm and left the office.
Out in the hallway heading for the stairwell Chloe finally seemed to come to herself.
"I don't know who you are mister, but you just gained a friend for life."
"I've seen how you treat your friends Sullivan, I think I'll pass on that honor."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Chloe demanded shaking off her shock in favor of anger.
"Why were you in Luthor's office to begin with?"
Startled by the sudden change in topic Chloe paused for a moment before answering.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"It's a simple question," Thomas said as he opened the stairwell door, "you answer it and you'll know the answer to your first question."
Chloe felt her face redden and she began to get even more angry.
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," Chloe said heatedly. "Hey," she said suddenly noticing where they were going, "why can't we take the elevator? We are on the 51st floor you know."
"Sure, Sullivan," Thomas said heading down the stairs and never giving her a second look, "You're in a building owned and ran by a man who just tried to have you killed. When you've just escaped what could be the better strategy than sealing yourself up in a box and making it easy for him catch you again. "
Thomas adopted an upper class English accent and continued, "Damned rude if one has to work at arranging a nasty accident. It's the good guest that helps her host out."
"Well you're just a sarcastic bastard aren't you?"
"Beats betraying people I call friends just so I can see my name in print."
"I told you it's not like that. You don't understand."
"Then enlighten me Sullivan. Which part isn't true? That you were working for Luthor or that he promised you a column in the Planet if you investigated one of your friends."
"Clark wasn't one of my friends when I agreed to this," Chloe stated sounding somewhat petulant.
"Oh, I see, then it's perfectly acceptable to arrange for him to be killed or worse so you can see your name in print," Thomas said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders
"You're twisting my words."
"The only 'twisting' being done around here is by you, Sullivan with that knife you carry around to bury between people's shoulder blades."
"I wasn't investigating Clark for Luthor you moron," Chloe yelled, "or did it escape your little simple minded attention that Luthor was going to have me killed because I was holding out on him."
"Holding out implies that you were working for him, but broke the deal, Sullivan, not that you weren't working for him at all. And it still doesn't explain the column in the Planet."
"Ok, Ok, I agreed to work for him originally, but I changed my mind before I told him anything major. I wouldn't have betrayed Clark. No matter what he did to me. I was just playing Luthor to get more information."
"Uh huh, I could see that you were doing a wonderful job of playing him when I walked in up there."
"Why you arrogant son of a.I was doing just fine up until that point thank you. I knew he didn't trust me. That's why I put everything in writing rather than on a computer."
"Oh, yeah," Thomas said holding the notebooks up, "that idea really worked out well. I especially liked the way you fooled his hitman into putting the gun to your head. It was probably the only place you could think of where the bullet couldn't do a whole lot of damage."
"Give me those, they're mine," Chloe said reaching for the notebooks.
"Sorry, Sullivan," Thomas said moving the notebooks out of her reach, "I'll need these to start the fire for the diversion."
"Fire?! Those are my notebooks you idiot, you can't burn them."
"Don't worry about it, Sullivan. They're useless anyway. Full of nonsense and poor deductive reasoning."
"It is not nonsense and there's nothing wrong with my deductive reasoning."
A door opened below them and two security guards ran through scanning the stairwell. Before they could react Thomas launched himself down the stairs feet first catching one of the guards in the chest and sending him crashing into the stairwell wall. The other one went for his gun, but was stopped by a spinning crescent kick that caught him in the jaw and bounced his head off the door he had just entered through.
Continuing on down the stairs as if nothing had happened Thomas picked up the conversation without missing a beat. "Sure," he said condescendingly, "you think Clark Kent is some kind of superman based on the ramblings of a few nutcases with a grudge and a willing dupe in the form of a high school newspaper editor and you call that sound reasoning."
"I was not a dupe, and people have been effected in even more amazing ways than that by the meteor rocks. I got multiple sources, smartass, and they all agree on what Clark can do."
"Multiple sources, huh? Gee, I didn't realize I was working with a real newspaper reporter. Those would all be the aforementioned nutcases with grudges right?"
"They may hold grudges, but I verified their stories with a third party which is what is outlined in those notebooks," Chloe replied smugly.
"Third party? And just where did you find this 'third party'?"
"Justin Gaines, smartass. He was no where near the others so they couldn't have cooked up their stories together."
"Good to see that you've finally settled on a nickname for me," Thomas said sardonically. "Let's see, Justin Gaines, Justin Gaines. Remind me again which asylum is he in?"
"It doesn't matter where he is you idiot, only that his story matches the others. Are you trying to be deliberately obtuse?"
"No, it's just so easy to poke holes in your logic that it helps to pass the time as we go down these stairs. And I thought you had decided to call me 'smartass.' If you keep changing it I may not come when you call."
Infuriated beyond belief Chloe pulled her fist back and threw a punch at the back of her tormentor's head. He caught her fist in his hand without even fully turning around. He turned loose of her fist as he finally turned to face her.
"Now that you've gotten over your shock from upstairs Sullivan we need to get serious and you need to listen carefully to every word I say. Do you hear those sirens?"
For the first time Chloe became aware of the distant sound of sirens coming from outside the building.
"Luthor called the police. He knows it all comes down to his word versus ours and he's banking on us being detained long enough for him to arrange some sort of 'accident'. We need to create a diversion so we can get past them and to your car. Are you with me so far?"
"Hold it," Chloe said shaking her head as his words from before suddenly came back to her, "all that stuff you said to me coming down the stairs was just to get me over the shock of almost being killed?"
"Yes, it's been shown that if someone has something to focus on during a traumatic event they can continue to function at a normal level without shock causing them to shut down. Anger just seemed like the best approach with you."
"So you don't think my deductive reasoning sucks," Chloe said her face starting to brighten.
"No, I still think it sucks, I just didn't want to have to carry you down the stairs with you getting all emotional on me if I didn't have to."
Chloe's smile faded into a hate filled grimace.
"Go to Hell," she finally said.
"Whatever, just make sure you follow my lead unless you want to end up in a juvenile detention cell trying to avoid becoming someone's date while waiting on Luthor to have someone stick a knife between your ribs."
"Bastard."
"Inconsistency is the sign of a disorganized mind, Sullivan. Come on," he said gesturing down the stairs.
The duo reached the bottom of the stairs just as the police arrived. Thomas took a lighter from his pocket and set the two notebooks on fire. Holding them aloft he triggered the fire alarm and the sprinklers. He then began peeling the scar off of the side of his face.
Chloe turned to face him just as he disposed of the last of the scar. "What the..who the hell are you?"
"Like I said before, a concerned citizen. Now let's wait for some company."
When the stairwell began to fill with people they joined the crowd heading for the exits. The police who were entering the building attempted in vain to contain the crowd, but were forced to allow everyone to exit because of the fire alarms.
"Come on," Thomas said to Chloe pulling her outside.
"Are you some kind of secret agent or something?" she asked.
"Yes," was the only answer he provided.
"Where are you parked?" he asked.
"Two blocks down in a public parking lot. The parking garage was full. Were you serious about the secret agent thing?"
"Good, let's go," Thomas said ignoring her question.
****************************
A few minutes later they reached Chloe's VW and Thomas' phone started ringing.
"Yes," he answered.
"Hunter, it's Phil. The kid just walked in the door."
"I'll be there in 15 minutes. If another kid and an older man come in help them anyway you can, but otherwise don't interfere and you'll triple your money. Got it?"
"Got it," Phil replied and hung up.
"Ok, Sullivan you head back home and don't answer your door. I doubt Luthor will try anything else since this blew up in his face, but I would strongly suggest no more contact with him." Shaking his head he continued, "I mean come on. A teenaged superman?"
"Hey," Chloe said, "it's happened before. A kid in our school got superpowers."
"Yeah, and those kind of things just happen all of the time. Listen kid, start writing about pep rallies and school elections. Leave the science fiction to the novelists. Gotta go."
Thomas headed into the street and stopped a taxi. A moment later he was gone.
Chloe sat stunned in her car, the events of the day starting to catch up with her. Hearing the sounds of approaching fire trucks Chloe took one last look back at LuthorCorp and decided that the stranger was right in one sense. She didn't really care about Clark at the moment. It just didn't matter. She was alive. But, one thought crept involuntarily into her mind as she started her car.
"Bastard," Chloe said to herself. "Pep rallies? He's got to be kidding."
**********************
Fifteen minutes later Thomas arrived at the "Midnight Oil." He found Jonathan and Pete standing beside the Mustang staring menacingly toward three guys standing just outside the main entrance. The three men in question didn't seem intimidated by their stares.
"What's going on?" asked Thomas trotting up to the car.
"Those three guys won't let us in. We told them we just wanted to see Clark for a minute and they could send him outside if they wanted to, but they wouldn't go for it."
"Well, lets see if I can be a bit more convincing." Thomas said turning around and heading for the entrance.
The three men straightened when he approached and stood like a fence blocking the entrance to the club.
"Hey guys," Thomas said holding his hands up in front of him palms out to show he didn't have a weapon, "I'm not looking for any trouble. We just need to deliver a message to the young, dark-haired kid that came with you. Send him out here or let us go in there, it doesn't matter. After we're through we'll be on our way."
One of the men spoke up stepping forward. "Like I told your friends, you need to be on your way now. I was nice before and didn't force the issue, but now I'm beginning to think that you're all too stupid to take a hint."
He moved his coat aside and showed Thomas the gun he wore in a shoulder holster. "Now do you go or do we shoot you and toss you in the dumpster?"
Thomas heaved a sigh and dropped his head beginning to shake it. "More guns in holsters," he muttered.
"What?" the man asked a second before his head was snapped back by a punch that dropped him to the ground unconscious.
Before the other two could react Thomas delivered a snap kick to the face of one of them and drove his stiffened fingers into the neck of the other one causing him to drop the hand that was reaching for his holster. Thomas followed that up with a left cross that knocked the guy's head into a support pillar and dropped him to the ground to join his two friends in slumber.
Turning back to his companions Thomas called, "I think the coast is clear, guys."
Entering the club the three found themselves face to face with six men. The six had turned to face the door when it opened and any that weren't on their feet before stood up when Thomas and his companions entered the room.
"Who the hell are you?" one of the large men said.
Thomas' gaze swept the room assessing the situation. He identified a short slim Asian man as probably the most dangerous person present and kept his focus on him as he answered the original speaker.
"Friends of one of your companions. We're not looking for trouble. We just need to see him and then we'll leave."
"How'd you get past he guys outside?" the man demanded.
"They were understanding of our dilemma and let us in."
"Bullsh.!"
"Ah, ah," Thomas interrupted shaking his finger, "there's a minor in the house," indicating Pete. "Which brings me back to my original question."
"Well, here's your answer," the man said striding forward and throwing a punch at Thomas' head.
Thomas blocked the punch and then grabbing the offered arm stepped into his attacker's instep and brought him crashing to the ground. Before any of the others could react the small Asian man suddenly appeared and delivered a kick to Thomas' body that he was only partially able to block by twisting to the side.
Without let up the Asian pressed his attack throwing various punches and kicks with deft skill giving Thomas only the opportunity to defend rather than attack. Seeing most of his kicks and punches blocked, the Asian begin to pick up the tempo of his attack, which Thomas moved to match and soon they were engaged in a lethal dance that left their audience frozen in place unable to do anything else but watch.
Thomas ignored the serpent strikes to his shoulders and kicks to his shins and focused on finding an opening in the Asian's attack. Thomas had seen his opponent's surprise as he had moved to match each change in discipline that the Asian had attempted in order to trip him up. The rapid changes finally proved the Asian's undoing as he became used to Thomas' proficiency in returning a style of attack with the same style's defense.
The Asian launched into the tettsui-to expecting a response in kind and totally missed the western style uppercut that rocked him back on his feet. One good move became two as Thomas landed a left hook and then three as he followed up by dropping into a spinning leg sweep bringing the Asian to the ground. The fight was ended as Thomas completed the spin by bringing the heel of his foot into the side of the Asian's head even before he had completed reached the ground effectively rendering him unconscious.
"Nice moves," said a voice from behind him. "Want to try them on me?"
The hairs on the back of Thomas' neck stood straight up and he instantly knew the identity of the speaker. Turning around he verified his guess and nodded in greeting as he spoke the newcomer's name.
"Clark."
End Part 6