Lex put his feet up on his desk and looked out over the Luthor
gardens. When his father had had the old house relocated to Smallville
he'd hired an English architect to landscape what had previously been
farmland. The result-lots of fountains, benches, and flowerbeds-was
pleasing enough. His own ill-fated wedding had been held there some months
before. But Lex often wondered if it was really worth employing an army of
gardeners to maintain something neither he nor his father ever used. Of
course, that was what Lionel was all about-keeping up appearances. He had
wanted his ancestral home to have an English garden-never mind that they
were in Kansas, never mind that the money sunk into it every year could
fund the economy of a small third-world country. Lionel wanted it that
way, and so it was.
Pulling the phone closer to him, Lex dialed his father's private number at LuthorCorp. As part of his security precautions, when he traveled Lionel never shared his exact location with anyone. But since he still wanted to monitor his business-and his son-he had arranged to have an elaborate relay system installed. Lex entered his password, and waited patiently while the beeps on the other end signaled his call was being sent by satellite to his father's secure phone.
After several long minutes it rang, and someone at the other end answered.
"Who shall I say is calling, please?" "Charles, tell him that his son wants to speak to him."
"Of course, Mr. Luthor. Please hold a moment."
Lex smiled to himself while his father's valet went to fetch his employer. He'd managed to time his overseas call just right-it was early enough in the morning that his father was awake, but not yet out of his hotel room.
His father's voice finally came on the line. Lex turned on the speakerphone.
"Lex. It's nice to hear from you."
"You've only been gone two weeks, Dad. How's London?"
"Damp and cold, as always."
Lionel had never been much for small talk.
"And what do the doctors say?"
"They're still running tests. But I don't imagine you called to inquire about my health, son."
Lex sighed. His father was right, of course, but his lack of subtlety was annoying. Just once it would be nice to have an ordinary conversation with his father, about anything, the way he'd seen normal fathers and sons do. Every word he exchanged with Lionel always had to drip with hidden meaning. It was a constant duel, and sometimes Lex found it exhausting.
"I heard the injunction was denied. Well done, Lex."
"I think Judge Ross had more to do with it than I did."
"Yes, I was a bit surprised, given our history with the Ross', but then they could always been counted on to cling to their outmoded sense of right and wrong."
"Which we, of course, never do. You know, Dad, you could have spared me all this."
On the other end of the phone Lionel laughed. "I? What could I have done?"
"You could have been honest with me about Level 3 before I sent my workers in there."
"Lex, the Winters man's death had nothing to do with Level 3, I assure you."
"So now you're omnipotent?"
"I had my scientists read the autopsy report. There's no connection."
"If your scientists are anything like your lawyers you'll have to forgive me for being skeptical about their opinions."
"My lawyers were only trying to protect LuthorCorp from your folly, Lex. You were the one who insisted on starting your own company; you should have been prepared for the consequences."
"You're hardly one who should be talking about accepting responsibility for your past actions," Lex said bitterly.
He could tell he'd gone too far.
Lionel was silent for a long moment. "And what exactly does that mean?"
Lex remembered his vow to keep A.J. away from their father for as long as possible, and bit his tongue.
"It means there's been a second death here, and, injunction or not, people are still pointing their fingers at us. And that includes LuthorCorp whether you like it or not."
"Lex, I'm telling you, you are looking for something that simply isn't there. Level 3 was a failed experiment, true, but it used nothing that would have affected human health, Earl Jenkins' ridiculous assertions aside. Who was it this time?"
"A farmer. Winters' father-in-law."
"Well, there you are then. No doubt the family suffers from some kind of degenerative disease and saw their opportunity to cash in. I suspect the injunction was only a prelude to a wrongful death suit. I hope your lawyers are still there."
Of course Lex's lawyers were still in Smallville, working overtime not only to salvage the company's image but also to get the remaining Winters family members their insurance benefits as quickly as possible. They would need it-Martha Kent had told him Mrs. Winters, a Type I diabetic, was back in the hospital and back on dialysis. The family's bills were piling up. But Lex felt his father didn't need to know any of that. Lex thought of it as the humane thing to do, but no doubt Lionel would call his son's actions weak. There wasn't a compassionate bone in Lionel Luthor's body.
"Dad, I'm going to ask you one more time. Tell me what you were working on at the plant. If I feel it really wasn't involved in these deaths it will go no further," Lex said seriously.
Lionel only laughed.
"Lex, you really mustn't be so naïve. I have a responsibility to LuthorCorp that does not permit me to reveal our projects to outsiders. I'm sorry, son."
Lex knew his father wasn't sorry at all. "Afraid of corporate espionage, Dad?"
"Of course not." But this time there was a bit of edge in Lionel's voice that signaled Lex had struck a nerve.
Good, Lex thought to himself.
"I have nothing more to say to you on this matter, Lex. I'll see you when I get home next week."
"Of course, Dad. Have a safe trip." Resigned, Lex hit the disconnect button on the phone and sat for a long moment staring out the window.
"Ahem."
At the sound of a throat being cleared he turned his chair back around to see his brother standing by the door.
"A.J. How long have you been standing there?"
"Just a few minutes; I didn't think I should interrupt." The younger man had a strange expression on his face. "Was that, um, him?"
"It was."
"Hmm. So, um, how did it go?"
Lex stood. "He's no more forthcoming now that he was before he left. He's still insisting he knows nothing about what might have killed the two men." Lex fixed a sharp look at his younger sibling, remembering how pale and bedraggled he had been when the Kent's had brought him home the night before. "How are you feeling?"
A.J. rolled his eyes. "I feel fine-I wish you and Catherine would stop hovering around me."
"I'm sure you're fine, but I am sorry you had to see what you did." Catherine had given Lex a vivid description of the scene. He had to admit A.J. must be tougher than he looked to be so calm about finding a corpse in the woods.
"I'm not thrilled with the experience, but I am glad he was found," A.J. shrugged. "So he can go back to his family and have a proper burial and all. Mr. Kent was telling me everything Mrs. Winters and Brody have had to go through, and I feel terrible for them. Did you know Mr. Kent had known Mr. Winters their whole lives?"
"Doesn't surprise me." Lex leaned on the edge of the desk. "Jonathan Kent knows everyone in this town. It's a very small pond, so to speak." He raised his eyebrows slightly. "So did he say anything else?"
"Just that you-we--should be careful. He doesn't think Judge Ross's decision will be an end to it."
"That does seem to be the consensus."
A.J. chewed his lip for a moment. "Lex, I was thinking last night-I know you don't want to leave the plant and all but maybe we could go into Metropolis for a few days. Have dinner, maybe catch a Sharks game.you've been cooped up here all week."
Lex smiled, but shook his head. "Your sentiment is appreciated, A.J., but no. Leaving town now will look like an admission of guilt."
"But Judge Ross cleared you."
"Maybe so. But as Jonathan Kent suggested, it will take a lot more to clear LexCorp in the hearts and minds of Smallville's residents." He smiled at his brother. "No, I refuse to leave town as if I have something to be ashamed of. In fact, I'm overdue to visit the Talon and see how business is going there."
A.J. looked a little cheered at this news. "Since you're going into town, I was wondering I you could drop me by the high school."
"Planning on picking up a few extra units?"
"No." He held up a crumpled piece of paper. "Cate left a note for me; Clark called and asked me to meet him there when school was out. Which, judging from my watch, should be about now." He frowned at his brother. "Where did Cate go, anyway?"
"She said something about wanting to speak to the coroner again. I guess she wasn't satisfied with his opinion on what might have killed Mr. Jasper."
A.J. shuddered visibly at the memory. "I hope she knows what she's getting into."
"I hope you know what you're getting into," Lex told his brother. "Clark may have been the one that called, but my guess is Chloe Sullivan is the one who wants to talk to you. Like I said, she's a nice kid, but Chloe has a knack for finding trouble unlike anyone I've ever seen, A.J. Don't let her drag all of you into it with her."
"Understood," A.J. nodded. "Now how about that ride?" ****************************************
At his desk in the Talon offices Clark stared at his computer screen. He was trying to write up an account of the search party the day before, but he found he couldn't concentrate. Instead he kept flashing on Arthur Jasper's blue face, upturned to the sky.He looked like he had died in agony. Even though the coroner said it looked like whatever had happened had been quick, Clark still couldn't get it out of his mind. He'd tossed and turned all night, and then half-slept through most of his classes.
The phone rang, and Chloe drove for it.
"Talon offices. Hey, Pete, where are you?"
At the mention of his friend's name Clark looked up.
"Uh huh, he's working on it now. No, we don't know anything more yet. Yes, I'm still looking at the stuff from the County Department of Health. No, no, we totally understand. Yes, I'm sure. Here, tell him yourself."
Chloe held the receiver out to Clark, who took it.
"Hey, Pete, what's up?"
"Hey, man, sorry I'm not there. But Dad and I felt.well, we kinda felt like sticking close to home today. Since the verdict came down yesterday and all."
"I'd probably do the same thing. Nothing else has happened, has it?"
"No, but we're all still pretty jumpy."
Clark leaned back in his chair. "A brick through the window in the middle of the night would make anyone jumpy."
"The cops think it was a prank, too much trial publicity. Mom's just happy it's over."
"We all are."
"So, anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth or anything. I should be back at school tomorrow."
"Cool. And Pete?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell your mom I think what she did was really brave."
Clark could tell Pete was smiling. "She did her job, Clark."
"It was still pretty brave. See you tomorrow, man."
Hanging up, Clark glanced over at his editor. "Pete's taking things pretty well."
"Yeah, I'm planning on writing an editorial on how someone tried to intimidate the judge, and she made her decision anyway." Chloe leaned over his monitor. "C'mon, Clark, you can do better than that. You've only got a few dozen words there!"
"I'm still sorting it out in my head, Chloe. It's not every day you find someone you know dead in the woods."
She quickly re-read his words. "And you're sure the sheriff didn't find anything suspicious?"
"He said we'd left too many footprints in the mud to know if anyone else had been there." Clark cringed a bit. "But I don't think he found anything strange."
"Hmm. I wonder what Mr. Jasper was doing clear out there? I mean, that isn't even part of the Winters property."
"Does anyone own it?"
Chloe gestured to the large map of Smallville she had tacked to the wall; she kept it around to mark known meteor strikes and the locations of strange incidents.
"See for yourself. The woods and everything east to the quarry are state land."
"So the Luthors had nothing to do with them."
"Unless you consider illegal dumping. Which I wouldn't put past them."
"You wouldn't put what past who?"
They both looked up to see A.J. leaning against the doorframe.
"Nothing." Chloe grinned. "C'mon in. You look at lot better than Clark does."
"Thanks a lot," Clark grumbled. Sometimes he wondered if Chloe thought he had no ego at all.
"I got twelve hours sleep," A.J. shrugged. "Clark's the one that had to slog through a day at school. What time did you get to bed, man?"
"One, maybe two a.m." After his dad had taken them home and they'd both changed, one of the sheriffs' deputies appeared to take their statements. Each of the boys had been grilled separately, reviewing every minute detail of what had happened in the woods. At about 8 p.m. the sheriff himself had shown up, and the whole process had started over again.
"Anyway, thanks for coming," Clark smiled. "I'm hoping your memory's sharper than mine so I can make deadline."
"Not a problem." A.J. grabbed a chair next to Clark, prepared to help with the article, but Chloe had other plans.
"So, A.J., does Lex feel he's off the hook?" She blurted abruptly.
The other boy looked taken aback. "Excuse me?"
"Since Mr. Jasper never worked for either LuthorCorp or LexCorp, his death would seem to be unrelated either company. In which case Mr. Winters death might be unrelated, too."
A.J. frowned. "We'd have to wait for the coroner's report to be sure of that, wouldn't we?"
"The circumstantial evidence is strong, though," Chloe asserted. "And after the injunction failed the EDAL cleared out of town, so they seem to think so, too."
"But if the coroner couldn't figure out what killed Mr. Winters he probably won't know what killed Mr. Jasper, either. So we may never know for certain." Clark rubbed his eyes, and then glanced at the piles of papers on Chloe's desk.
"Are you sure there isn't anything in your research that might shed some light on things, Chloe? Anything at all?"
"They're government documents, Clark," she sighed. "The language in them is so vague they don't really say much at all. And you need a medical dictionary to understand the autopsy report."
A.J. was thoughtful for a moment. "Or a medical doctor."
Chloe looked at him. "What are you getting at?"
"Well, my sister Cate was there, too, yesterday. And something must have sparked her curiosity because she went back to see the coroner again today." He eyed the stack of papers. "She could tell us if there's anything suspicious hidden in all that mumbo jumbo."
Chloe's face positively lit up.
"Of course, I'd forgotten she was a doctor! Do you think she would?"
"She might, if I bugged her enough. And I'm pretty good at that, if I do say so myself."
"Oh, A.J., that would be fantastic!"
Clark frowned.
"Let's not jump ahead of ourselves, guys. Even if Cate-I mean Dr. Carter-helps we still have to wait on Mr. Jasper's autopsy."
"Which Dr. Carter is perfectly positioned to see before it's released to the public," Chloe stated. "It's absolutely perfect, A.J., thank you."
"You're welcome, Chloe." A.J. grinned.
Clark just shook his head. ********************************************
Lana carefully set the last muffin into place in the display and stood back to admire her handiwork. True, food sales had dropped off a bit now there was no apple pie on the menu, but there were still plenty of people looking for a sugar fix as well as a caffeine one. Around her the Talon buzzed with the usual after school crowd, and she couldn't help smiling to herself. Business was back up where it had been before the EDAL came to town. There didn't seem to be any hard feelings from her customers, either, so the little smear campaign appeared to have failed.
But the clearest sign things were back to normal was when her silent partner reappeared.
"Business appears to have picked up again," Lex said with a smile.
"Just about. It was rough the first few days, but we managed. Did you get the last set of receipts I sent out to your place?"
"I did. Thank you for doing so. I didn't think it would be in the best interests of your business if I came myself."
"You would have been welcome anyway, Lex, you know that," Lana smiled. "And you've obviously changed your mind."
"I have. I thought perhaps I'd take a leaf out of your book and refuse to be intimidated."
"Good." Lana laughed at the thought of Lex ever being intimidated by anything. "Would you like something?"
"Actually, I'm just waiting for Clark and A.J.there they are."
Lana could easily see Clark's dark head over the crowd, and she waved for him to come over.
"It's nice to see the place full again," Clark said with a grin.
"It is, isn't it? I guess my loyal fans weren't scared away after all."
"More likely it was just the whackos with the pickets who scared them," A.J. offered. "Hey, Lex, ready to go?"
"I am. And, Lana, again, you did a great job holding things together here on your own."
She knew Lex prized independence in his employees, so she smiled. "Thank you. But after all the work I've put in on this place I wasn't about to let those creeps win."
"Well said," Lex nodded.
As the two other men threaded their way back through the crowd Clark smiled again.
"You really did do an amazing job, Lana. You know, you're a lot stronger than you look."
Lana made a face. "Thanks, Clark."
Clark blushed a little. "I just mean, well, a lot of people in town have opted to just stay out of this whole mess, to take the easy way out. But you didn't. Even with protestors on your doorstep. When it came down to it you stood up for something you care about. And that's pretty amazing."
Lana wondered for a moment what his slightly wistful expression meant.
"Clark." she began.
She was stopped in mid-sentence as a loud explosion shook the building. Startled patrons dropped their mugs, and some of the girls cried out in fear.
"What was that?"
Clark looked at her, wide-eyed. "Call 911," he told her. He pushed his way through the crowd.
"Call 911," Lana told one of her waitresses. She ran after Clark. Elbowing through the patrons she could see the glass in the front doors was shattered. She hastily wrapped her apron around her hand so she could open the door without being cut.
"Everyone, stay inside," she ordered as best she could above the confusion.
She stopped short, looking at a smoldering piece of metal that had once been a car. Like the front doors, its windows were shattered, and the paint was charred and bubbling in places.
Lana's stomach rolled over, as horrible memories came flooding back. But then, through the blood rushing in her ears, she heard Clark's voice.
"Lana, come quick, I need you."
She forced her feet to move. Clark was kneeling next to a prone figure in the street, and as he looked up she could see the genuine fear on his face. In the distance they could hear sirens.
Lex, looking dazed, sat on the sidewalk. She gently touched his shoulder, and he looked at her without recognition in his eyes.
"Lex? What happened?" When he didn't respond she turned her eyes back to Clark, who was pressing the edge of his t-shirt against A.J.'s forehead. The boy lay totally still. "Oh, god, what happened? Is he all right?"
. "His head's bleeding and I don't dare move him," Clark said in a half- whisper "Lex was thrown clear but I think A.J.'s head hit the curb."
Lana looked again at the ruined car. They were only a few yards from it; she could see the Metropolis vanity plates that read "Lex4."
"Clark, do you think.was someone trying to kill Lex?"
Clark's mouth was drawn into a grim line. "It looks like it to me. But they may have killed A.J. instead."
Pulling the phone closer to him, Lex dialed his father's private number at LuthorCorp. As part of his security precautions, when he traveled Lionel never shared his exact location with anyone. But since he still wanted to monitor his business-and his son-he had arranged to have an elaborate relay system installed. Lex entered his password, and waited patiently while the beeps on the other end signaled his call was being sent by satellite to his father's secure phone.
After several long minutes it rang, and someone at the other end answered.
"Who shall I say is calling, please?" "Charles, tell him that his son wants to speak to him."
"Of course, Mr. Luthor. Please hold a moment."
Lex smiled to himself while his father's valet went to fetch his employer. He'd managed to time his overseas call just right-it was early enough in the morning that his father was awake, but not yet out of his hotel room.
His father's voice finally came on the line. Lex turned on the speakerphone.
"Lex. It's nice to hear from you."
"You've only been gone two weeks, Dad. How's London?"
"Damp and cold, as always."
Lionel had never been much for small talk.
"And what do the doctors say?"
"They're still running tests. But I don't imagine you called to inquire about my health, son."
Lex sighed. His father was right, of course, but his lack of subtlety was annoying. Just once it would be nice to have an ordinary conversation with his father, about anything, the way he'd seen normal fathers and sons do. Every word he exchanged with Lionel always had to drip with hidden meaning. It was a constant duel, and sometimes Lex found it exhausting.
"I heard the injunction was denied. Well done, Lex."
"I think Judge Ross had more to do with it than I did."
"Yes, I was a bit surprised, given our history with the Ross', but then they could always been counted on to cling to their outmoded sense of right and wrong."
"Which we, of course, never do. You know, Dad, you could have spared me all this."
On the other end of the phone Lionel laughed. "I? What could I have done?"
"You could have been honest with me about Level 3 before I sent my workers in there."
"Lex, the Winters man's death had nothing to do with Level 3, I assure you."
"So now you're omnipotent?"
"I had my scientists read the autopsy report. There's no connection."
"If your scientists are anything like your lawyers you'll have to forgive me for being skeptical about their opinions."
"My lawyers were only trying to protect LuthorCorp from your folly, Lex. You were the one who insisted on starting your own company; you should have been prepared for the consequences."
"You're hardly one who should be talking about accepting responsibility for your past actions," Lex said bitterly.
He could tell he'd gone too far.
Lionel was silent for a long moment. "And what exactly does that mean?"
Lex remembered his vow to keep A.J. away from their father for as long as possible, and bit his tongue.
"It means there's been a second death here, and, injunction or not, people are still pointing their fingers at us. And that includes LuthorCorp whether you like it or not."
"Lex, I'm telling you, you are looking for something that simply isn't there. Level 3 was a failed experiment, true, but it used nothing that would have affected human health, Earl Jenkins' ridiculous assertions aside. Who was it this time?"
"A farmer. Winters' father-in-law."
"Well, there you are then. No doubt the family suffers from some kind of degenerative disease and saw their opportunity to cash in. I suspect the injunction was only a prelude to a wrongful death suit. I hope your lawyers are still there."
Of course Lex's lawyers were still in Smallville, working overtime not only to salvage the company's image but also to get the remaining Winters family members their insurance benefits as quickly as possible. They would need it-Martha Kent had told him Mrs. Winters, a Type I diabetic, was back in the hospital and back on dialysis. The family's bills were piling up. But Lex felt his father didn't need to know any of that. Lex thought of it as the humane thing to do, but no doubt Lionel would call his son's actions weak. There wasn't a compassionate bone in Lionel Luthor's body.
"Dad, I'm going to ask you one more time. Tell me what you were working on at the plant. If I feel it really wasn't involved in these deaths it will go no further," Lex said seriously.
Lionel only laughed.
"Lex, you really mustn't be so naïve. I have a responsibility to LuthorCorp that does not permit me to reveal our projects to outsiders. I'm sorry, son."
Lex knew his father wasn't sorry at all. "Afraid of corporate espionage, Dad?"
"Of course not." But this time there was a bit of edge in Lionel's voice that signaled Lex had struck a nerve.
Good, Lex thought to himself.
"I have nothing more to say to you on this matter, Lex. I'll see you when I get home next week."
"Of course, Dad. Have a safe trip." Resigned, Lex hit the disconnect button on the phone and sat for a long moment staring out the window.
"Ahem."
At the sound of a throat being cleared he turned his chair back around to see his brother standing by the door.
"A.J. How long have you been standing there?"
"Just a few minutes; I didn't think I should interrupt." The younger man had a strange expression on his face. "Was that, um, him?"
"It was."
"Hmm. So, um, how did it go?"
Lex stood. "He's no more forthcoming now that he was before he left. He's still insisting he knows nothing about what might have killed the two men." Lex fixed a sharp look at his younger sibling, remembering how pale and bedraggled he had been when the Kent's had brought him home the night before. "How are you feeling?"
A.J. rolled his eyes. "I feel fine-I wish you and Catherine would stop hovering around me."
"I'm sure you're fine, but I am sorry you had to see what you did." Catherine had given Lex a vivid description of the scene. He had to admit A.J. must be tougher than he looked to be so calm about finding a corpse in the woods.
"I'm not thrilled with the experience, but I am glad he was found," A.J. shrugged. "So he can go back to his family and have a proper burial and all. Mr. Kent was telling me everything Mrs. Winters and Brody have had to go through, and I feel terrible for them. Did you know Mr. Kent had known Mr. Winters their whole lives?"
"Doesn't surprise me." Lex leaned on the edge of the desk. "Jonathan Kent knows everyone in this town. It's a very small pond, so to speak." He raised his eyebrows slightly. "So did he say anything else?"
"Just that you-we--should be careful. He doesn't think Judge Ross's decision will be an end to it."
"That does seem to be the consensus."
A.J. chewed his lip for a moment. "Lex, I was thinking last night-I know you don't want to leave the plant and all but maybe we could go into Metropolis for a few days. Have dinner, maybe catch a Sharks game.you've been cooped up here all week."
Lex smiled, but shook his head. "Your sentiment is appreciated, A.J., but no. Leaving town now will look like an admission of guilt."
"But Judge Ross cleared you."
"Maybe so. But as Jonathan Kent suggested, it will take a lot more to clear LexCorp in the hearts and minds of Smallville's residents." He smiled at his brother. "No, I refuse to leave town as if I have something to be ashamed of. In fact, I'm overdue to visit the Talon and see how business is going there."
A.J. looked a little cheered at this news. "Since you're going into town, I was wondering I you could drop me by the high school."
"Planning on picking up a few extra units?"
"No." He held up a crumpled piece of paper. "Cate left a note for me; Clark called and asked me to meet him there when school was out. Which, judging from my watch, should be about now." He frowned at his brother. "Where did Cate go, anyway?"
"She said something about wanting to speak to the coroner again. I guess she wasn't satisfied with his opinion on what might have killed Mr. Jasper."
A.J. shuddered visibly at the memory. "I hope she knows what she's getting into."
"I hope you know what you're getting into," Lex told his brother. "Clark may have been the one that called, but my guess is Chloe Sullivan is the one who wants to talk to you. Like I said, she's a nice kid, but Chloe has a knack for finding trouble unlike anyone I've ever seen, A.J. Don't let her drag all of you into it with her."
"Understood," A.J. nodded. "Now how about that ride?" ****************************************
At his desk in the Talon offices Clark stared at his computer screen. He was trying to write up an account of the search party the day before, but he found he couldn't concentrate. Instead he kept flashing on Arthur Jasper's blue face, upturned to the sky.He looked like he had died in agony. Even though the coroner said it looked like whatever had happened had been quick, Clark still couldn't get it out of his mind. He'd tossed and turned all night, and then half-slept through most of his classes.
The phone rang, and Chloe drove for it.
"Talon offices. Hey, Pete, where are you?"
At the mention of his friend's name Clark looked up.
"Uh huh, he's working on it now. No, we don't know anything more yet. Yes, I'm still looking at the stuff from the County Department of Health. No, no, we totally understand. Yes, I'm sure. Here, tell him yourself."
Chloe held the receiver out to Clark, who took it.
"Hey, Pete, what's up?"
"Hey, man, sorry I'm not there. But Dad and I felt.well, we kinda felt like sticking close to home today. Since the verdict came down yesterday and all."
"I'd probably do the same thing. Nothing else has happened, has it?"
"No, but we're all still pretty jumpy."
Clark leaned back in his chair. "A brick through the window in the middle of the night would make anyone jumpy."
"The cops think it was a prank, too much trial publicity. Mom's just happy it's over."
"We all are."
"So, anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth or anything. I should be back at school tomorrow."
"Cool. And Pete?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell your mom I think what she did was really brave."
Clark could tell Pete was smiling. "She did her job, Clark."
"It was still pretty brave. See you tomorrow, man."
Hanging up, Clark glanced over at his editor. "Pete's taking things pretty well."
"Yeah, I'm planning on writing an editorial on how someone tried to intimidate the judge, and she made her decision anyway." Chloe leaned over his monitor. "C'mon, Clark, you can do better than that. You've only got a few dozen words there!"
"I'm still sorting it out in my head, Chloe. It's not every day you find someone you know dead in the woods."
She quickly re-read his words. "And you're sure the sheriff didn't find anything suspicious?"
"He said we'd left too many footprints in the mud to know if anyone else had been there." Clark cringed a bit. "But I don't think he found anything strange."
"Hmm. I wonder what Mr. Jasper was doing clear out there? I mean, that isn't even part of the Winters property."
"Does anyone own it?"
Chloe gestured to the large map of Smallville she had tacked to the wall; she kept it around to mark known meteor strikes and the locations of strange incidents.
"See for yourself. The woods and everything east to the quarry are state land."
"So the Luthors had nothing to do with them."
"Unless you consider illegal dumping. Which I wouldn't put past them."
"You wouldn't put what past who?"
They both looked up to see A.J. leaning against the doorframe.
"Nothing." Chloe grinned. "C'mon in. You look at lot better than Clark does."
"Thanks a lot," Clark grumbled. Sometimes he wondered if Chloe thought he had no ego at all.
"I got twelve hours sleep," A.J. shrugged. "Clark's the one that had to slog through a day at school. What time did you get to bed, man?"
"One, maybe two a.m." After his dad had taken them home and they'd both changed, one of the sheriffs' deputies appeared to take their statements. Each of the boys had been grilled separately, reviewing every minute detail of what had happened in the woods. At about 8 p.m. the sheriff himself had shown up, and the whole process had started over again.
"Anyway, thanks for coming," Clark smiled. "I'm hoping your memory's sharper than mine so I can make deadline."
"Not a problem." A.J. grabbed a chair next to Clark, prepared to help with the article, but Chloe had other plans.
"So, A.J., does Lex feel he's off the hook?" She blurted abruptly.
The other boy looked taken aback. "Excuse me?"
"Since Mr. Jasper never worked for either LuthorCorp or LexCorp, his death would seem to be unrelated either company. In which case Mr. Winters death might be unrelated, too."
A.J. frowned. "We'd have to wait for the coroner's report to be sure of that, wouldn't we?"
"The circumstantial evidence is strong, though," Chloe asserted. "And after the injunction failed the EDAL cleared out of town, so they seem to think so, too."
"But if the coroner couldn't figure out what killed Mr. Winters he probably won't know what killed Mr. Jasper, either. So we may never know for certain." Clark rubbed his eyes, and then glanced at the piles of papers on Chloe's desk.
"Are you sure there isn't anything in your research that might shed some light on things, Chloe? Anything at all?"
"They're government documents, Clark," she sighed. "The language in them is so vague they don't really say much at all. And you need a medical dictionary to understand the autopsy report."
A.J. was thoughtful for a moment. "Or a medical doctor."
Chloe looked at him. "What are you getting at?"
"Well, my sister Cate was there, too, yesterday. And something must have sparked her curiosity because she went back to see the coroner again today." He eyed the stack of papers. "She could tell us if there's anything suspicious hidden in all that mumbo jumbo."
Chloe's face positively lit up.
"Of course, I'd forgotten she was a doctor! Do you think she would?"
"She might, if I bugged her enough. And I'm pretty good at that, if I do say so myself."
"Oh, A.J., that would be fantastic!"
Clark frowned.
"Let's not jump ahead of ourselves, guys. Even if Cate-I mean Dr. Carter-helps we still have to wait on Mr. Jasper's autopsy."
"Which Dr. Carter is perfectly positioned to see before it's released to the public," Chloe stated. "It's absolutely perfect, A.J., thank you."
"You're welcome, Chloe." A.J. grinned.
Clark just shook his head. ********************************************
Lana carefully set the last muffin into place in the display and stood back to admire her handiwork. True, food sales had dropped off a bit now there was no apple pie on the menu, but there were still plenty of people looking for a sugar fix as well as a caffeine one. Around her the Talon buzzed with the usual after school crowd, and she couldn't help smiling to herself. Business was back up where it had been before the EDAL came to town. There didn't seem to be any hard feelings from her customers, either, so the little smear campaign appeared to have failed.
But the clearest sign things were back to normal was when her silent partner reappeared.
"Business appears to have picked up again," Lex said with a smile.
"Just about. It was rough the first few days, but we managed. Did you get the last set of receipts I sent out to your place?"
"I did. Thank you for doing so. I didn't think it would be in the best interests of your business if I came myself."
"You would have been welcome anyway, Lex, you know that," Lana smiled. "And you've obviously changed your mind."
"I have. I thought perhaps I'd take a leaf out of your book and refuse to be intimidated."
"Good." Lana laughed at the thought of Lex ever being intimidated by anything. "Would you like something?"
"Actually, I'm just waiting for Clark and A.J.there they are."
Lana could easily see Clark's dark head over the crowd, and she waved for him to come over.
"It's nice to see the place full again," Clark said with a grin.
"It is, isn't it? I guess my loyal fans weren't scared away after all."
"More likely it was just the whackos with the pickets who scared them," A.J. offered. "Hey, Lex, ready to go?"
"I am. And, Lana, again, you did a great job holding things together here on your own."
She knew Lex prized independence in his employees, so she smiled. "Thank you. But after all the work I've put in on this place I wasn't about to let those creeps win."
"Well said," Lex nodded.
As the two other men threaded their way back through the crowd Clark smiled again.
"You really did do an amazing job, Lana. You know, you're a lot stronger than you look."
Lana made a face. "Thanks, Clark."
Clark blushed a little. "I just mean, well, a lot of people in town have opted to just stay out of this whole mess, to take the easy way out. But you didn't. Even with protestors on your doorstep. When it came down to it you stood up for something you care about. And that's pretty amazing."
Lana wondered for a moment what his slightly wistful expression meant.
"Clark." she began.
She was stopped in mid-sentence as a loud explosion shook the building. Startled patrons dropped their mugs, and some of the girls cried out in fear.
"What was that?"
Clark looked at her, wide-eyed. "Call 911," he told her. He pushed his way through the crowd.
"Call 911," Lana told one of her waitresses. She ran after Clark. Elbowing through the patrons she could see the glass in the front doors was shattered. She hastily wrapped her apron around her hand so she could open the door without being cut.
"Everyone, stay inside," she ordered as best she could above the confusion.
She stopped short, looking at a smoldering piece of metal that had once been a car. Like the front doors, its windows were shattered, and the paint was charred and bubbling in places.
Lana's stomach rolled over, as horrible memories came flooding back. But then, through the blood rushing in her ears, she heard Clark's voice.
"Lana, come quick, I need you."
She forced her feet to move. Clark was kneeling next to a prone figure in the street, and as he looked up she could see the genuine fear on his face. In the distance they could hear sirens.
Lex, looking dazed, sat on the sidewalk. She gently touched his shoulder, and he looked at her without recognition in his eyes.
"Lex? What happened?" When he didn't respond she turned her eyes back to Clark, who was pressing the edge of his t-shirt against A.J.'s forehead. The boy lay totally still. "Oh, god, what happened? Is he all right?"
. "His head's bleeding and I don't dare move him," Clark said in a half- whisper "Lex was thrown clear but I think A.J.'s head hit the curb."
Lana looked again at the ruined car. They were only a few yards from it; she could see the Metropolis vanity plates that read "Lex4."
"Clark, do you think.was someone trying to kill Lex?"
Clark's mouth was drawn into a grim line. "It looks like it to me. But they may have killed A.J. instead."