Clark had never seen a fire of this scale before. The firefighters
looked like small ants scurrying back and forth in front of the inferno.
The fire Jack had started had engulfed the whole building in seconds, yet
it hadn't spread to any of the surrounding structures. Clark couldn't help
but wonder if that was Jack's doing, as well.
He sat on the street, now cordoned off as Metropolis' police and fire departments did what they could. Around them snaked hoses and other fire equipment, and he and Jenna were both wet from the spray. The paramedics had tried to give them the once-over, tried to move them, but Clark had refused.
Jenna's eyes were still glazed over, but they were fixed on the fire as if she was somehow aware of what was happening. She sat slumped next to him, leaning against him for support. Clark held on to her with both arms, in part for fear she'd fall over if he let go, and in part because he just wanted to hold on to someone. Anyone.
"Get back! Get back! The roof's coming down!"
Clark looked up in time to see the crews hastily moving back from the blaze as, with a deafening roar, what had been the top floor of the Institute collapsed inward. A shower of sparks shot high into the sky. He wondered idly how far away the fire would be visible.
Clark heard footsteps rapidly approaching, but he was so fixated on watching the fire that he almost didn't recognize Dr. Iverson when he bent down next to them.
"Jenna? Jenna?" The doctor took the woman's limp body in his arms; she only reluctantly released her grip on Clark.
The doctor cupped her face in his hands, trying to get a response. After a long moment the eyes widened slightly.
"Hi, Dad," Jenna said softly.
Iverson made a sound between a cry and a moan and buried his face against his daughter's hair.
"Clark?"
Feeling a hand on his shoulder Clark looked up into Lex Luthor's face. For a second the firelight created odd shadows across Lex's face, giving him a sinister appearance. But then it was gone, and Lex looked the same as he always had.
"Clark, are you two all right? Dr. Iverson found your note, and your mother called me, nearly hysterical."
Lex looked over at where Iverson was rocking his daughter in his arms. He quickly pulled off his black trench coat and placed it around the girl's shoulders.
"Do you know what happened to her? Where's Garner?"
"She was drugged. I found her like that. And Garner's." Clark found he was having a hard time processing any thoughts coherently. The events of the last hour seemed all jumbled together in his mind. Maybe it was the Kryptonite, maybe it was shock. He didn't know and was too tired to care. Instead he pointed at the inferno.
"He's in there. He didn't make it out."
Lex stared hard at what had once been the Summerholt Institute.
"I see. You were both very lucky."
"Not lucky enough, Lex. Jack was in there, too. I couldn't save him.he wouldn't leave."
For a moment Clark thought he saw something, an expression he couldn't identify, dart across Lex's face.
"I'm sure you did what you could, Clark."
"He told me to make sure Jenna got out.I should have gone back for him."
"Don't beat yourself up over this, Clark. You saved Jenna. But you can't always save everyone."
"I should have," Clark repeated bitterly. If only Garner hadn't exposed him to the meteor rocks again. If only Jenna had been capable of moving on her own.
If only. If only.
Lex squeezed his shoulder.
"C'mon, Clark. There's no point in all of us standing here and getting drenched. Dr. Iverson?"
The older man hastily wiped the soot and tears from his eyes.
"Mr. Luthor's right, Clark. Let's get the two of you someplace warm and dry."
He carefully helped his daughter to her feet, and while Jenna leaned heavily on her father's arm Clark followed them back behind the barricades. Someone clapped a scratchy blanket around him, but Clark was barely aware of it.
The fire chief, who was standing nearby, looked at him sorrowfully.
"Are you the kid who said there were two more people in there?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm pulling my men back. This fire is burning way too hot and too unpredictably to risk any more lives."
"An accelerant?" Lex suggested.
The chief shrugged. "Maybe. Whatever started the fire has made the whole place unstable. We're going to let it burn itself out."
Clark nodded numbly.
He knew they would never find any evidence of an accelerant, or of how the fire started. All they would find, once the fire was out, would be the bodies of Summerholt's chief researcher and his most prized patient. But they would never know the whole story.
And somehow that seemed oddly fitting.
************************************
"Jenna? Can I come in?"
At her murmur of assent Clark pushed open the bedroom door.
Jenna was curled on her side on her bed, but didn't turn over to acknowledge his presence. Undeterred, Clark sat down on the edge.
"How are you feeling?"
She moved her head enough so she could look at him.
"Groggy. Humiliated."
Clark raised his eyebrows. "Humiliated? Why?"
She held up her right arm so Clark could see the bandage wrapped around her forearm. Dr. Iverson had waited until they were safely back at Jenna' apartment before removing the shunt that had held Jenna's IV drip. Clark had watched as the wound, now free of the plastic protrusion, seemed to heal instantly. Iverson had bandaged the site anyway.
Jenna sighed. "Clark, I feel so stupid. I walked right into a trap, and didn't even know it." She rubbed her eyes fretfully. "All I can remember is drinking a glass of milk and falling asleep here on my bed."
"You couldn't have known Garner would go after you." Clark shook his head. "If you want to blame anyone, you should blame me. I was the one who dragged you into this. You told me to be careful, and I didn't listen. If anything had happened to you I would never have forgiven myself."
Her expression softened a bit.
"Hey, now, I don't want you taking the rap for this, either. We both got overconfident and made some bad decisions."
Clark shook his head mulishly.
"You don't get it. I was helpless, with Garner standing there holding the meteor rock in his hands. I couldn't even get up off the floor, let alone carry you to safety. If Jack hadn't been there my parents would be filing a missing persons report on me right now. "
"Jack," Jenna repeated softly. "I can't believe it ended like this for him." She sighed. "Well, at least he must have been happy he got to take Garner with him."
Clark remembered the expression of exultation on the young man's face.
"I think he was. Jenna, I think he broke himself out of the hospital. He was just waiting for the chance to get revenge on the doctor who had hurt him. I think he'd gone a little crazy."
She nodded numbly. "Poor Jack."
Clark shook his head. "Jack got what he wanted-Garner's dead, and there's nothing left of the Institute but ashes."
"But that also means no records of what Garner was doing there." Jenna shut her eyes tightly. "If only I could remember anything useful!"
"You were in pretty bad shape when I found you." Clark's throat tightened, and for a moment he couldn't speak. He hastily cleared his throat. "But maybe you will someday."
"Maybe." At the sound of voices down the hall she frowned. "Who's here?"
"My mom and dad and your dad are all drinking coffee in the kitchen. Lex left early this morning to head back to Smallville."
Jenna smiled tiredly. "I still have his coat."
"That's ok-he's probably got a dozen like it."
"How badly did your parents chew you out?"
"Not too bad, actually. My mom hugged me for a half an hour and my dad looked like he couldn't decide between shaking my hand and putting my head through a wall. Fortunately he settled on the first."
"Good, because my renter's insurance doesn't cover holes in my walls." Jenna stifled a yawn with her hand.
"Your dad said the best thing for you right now is sleep, so I won't keep you awake." Clark smiled apologetically. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok."
"I will be, Clark. I will be."
He moved to stand, but before he could do so she seized his hand and squeezed it tightly. He could feel the pressure on his nerves, on the sinews of his hand, and smiled.
"Stop showing off."
"Not showing off," she said sleepily, her eyes already half-closed again. "Just reminding you."
"Of what?" he asked. But Jenna was already asleep.
Clark placed her hand back on the cover and stood, letting himself out of the room as quietly as he could.
******************************************
"Well? What's the news?"
Lex stared at the charred remained of the Summerholt Institute. Nothing was left but some steel beams, twisted by heat into an obscene mass, and piles of broken concrete and melted glass.
Normally he wouldn't have risked coming here, but enough morbidly curious onlookers at stopped at the barricades that he didn't feel too conspicuous. His contact in the Metropolis P.D. nodded in the direction of the building. From their vantage point across the street they could see fire crews and an arson team still sifting through the smoking rubble.
"No sign yet of any obvious accelerant. Fire seems to have started in the basement, but there's no clear source."
"I see. And Garner?"
"The coroner removed one set of remains about half an hour ago. It will have to be identified by dental records, I'm afraid."
Lex narrowed his eyes.
"Clark Kent insisted there were two men in that building when it went up."
The detective rubbed the back of his neck.
"They're going through the debris with a fine-toothed comb, Mr. Luthor, but there's still no sign of a second body. Maybe one of them got out and your friend Kent didn't see him."
"Maybe." Lex carefully held out the folded bills flat in the palm of his hand. "You will keep me posted on what they find?"
The other man shook his hand, transferring the money into his own hand in one smooth maneuver. To anyone watching it would look like a simple handshake.
"Of course, Mr. Luthor. Good day to you."
Lex nodded, and walked back to where he had left his Porsche some blocks away. In a day or so he would have one of his men come out and photograph the site. He'd add them to Clark's file, and then to the new one he'd started on Jenna Iverson. But in the meantime he pondered the situation
Two men. One body.
It was possible, Lex supposed, that either doctor or patient had survived the inferno. And somehow slipped away unnoticed before hundreds of cops, firemen, and spectators. Stranger things had happened.
There was a chance Garner or Williams was still alive.
But the million-dollar question was, which one? And where was he now?
********************************
"There's going to be hell to pay in Metropolis after all this," Dr. Iverson told the Kents as the two families stepped out onto the porch. "The Daily Planet ran a story about patients being illegally transferred from Metropolis General to Summerholt. Three physicians have already resigned. And there's an internal investigation going on over at S.T.A.R. about possible research leaks to Dr. Garner."
"It's about time," Jonathan said firmly. "There've been too many secrets in this business for too long."
"Maybe if someone at the top had taken responsibility for this earlier Ryan and Jack might still be with us." As Clark spoke, however, he did so without bitterness.
Things hadn't turned out the way he had planned. But he felt that, at last, Ryan James had justice. Jack had made certain Garner would never harm anyone else. Maybe they didn't have the hard evidence they had been looking for, and they might never know for sure what Garner had done to Jenna. But a few choice words from Chloe about her investigation to friends at the Daily Planet had sparked enough publicity to keep the story in the public eye for a long, long time.
And maybe it was better this way, because the police were convinced Clark and Jenna were only minor players in the story. A cursory interview with each had been conducted, and everyone seemed satisfied with their tale of a mysterious but fortunately timed fire.
Jenna, looking healthy and wide-awake after several days of bed rest, kissed each of Clark's parents.
"Thank you for the lovely dinner, Mrs. Kent. It was really nice of you."
"Oh, it was the least we could do on your father's last night in town," Martha smiled. She kissed Dr. Iverson on the cheek, and he shook hands with Clark's father.
"Don't worry," he told them. "You know Clark's secret is safe with us."
"We know," Jonathan assured him.
Iverson turned to face the youngest Kent.
"Clark, I can't thank you enough for everything you did. I might not approve of your methods, but I know your heart is in the right place. Jenna's life is proof enough of that for me."
"Thanks."
Then it was Jenna' turn to say goodbye.
"I wish you didn't have to go," Clark complained.
Jenna grinned.
"I'm only going to be in Metropolis, Clark-just a few hours away if you need me. Practically within shouting distance."
"It isn't the same."
"Maybe not, but that's how life is sometimes." She hugged him fiercely, and then to his great surprise quickly kissed him on the mouth.
Clark felt a blush rise all the way to the tips of his ears, but Jenna only laughed.
"Take care of yourself, kid."
The three Kent's watched as the Iverson's climbed into their car and, with much waving, drove away.
Martha sighed.
"I'm going to miss Robert. It was nice having another parent to talk to."
Jonathan put an arm around his wife's shoulders. "He was kind of growing on me, too, honey. But I'm sure we'll see them again. Leastways if Clark has anything to say about it we will."
Jonathan winked at his son, and Clark made a face.
"Daaaadd," he protested.
His parents just smiled.
***********************************
The attempt had ended in ignominious failure.
He wasn't used to failing.
Of course it had been against his better judgment to listen to a man like Garner. Yet, had the man succeeded, it would have provided all of the advantages and none of the risks.
Unfortunately Garner had been quite close-mouthed about his work. All he had wanted was the meteor rock, and that had been easily enough procured. And, unlike the refined version, ordinary meteor rock was not traceable.
So Garner had failed.
But he himself had learned a great deal. Maybe nothing he could prove, as of yet. But he was a patient man.
Lionel Luthor sat back in his chair with a smile.
Oh, yes, he was a very patient man.
************************************
"Where to, young fella?" The farmer leaned out of the window of his pick-up and smiled at the sandy-haired youth in front of him. The poor kid looked like he'd been standing out in the sun all day, and his thin body clearly needed a good meal. The farmer resolved to give him one of the sandwiches in the basket his wife had packed for him.
"Bludhaven, sir."
"That's fair distance to be traveling, but I can set you as far as Taylorsville. Hop in. Name's Ed Kotter."
The young man did as he bade, sliding into the passenger seat of the old Ford.
"Thank you, sir-Mr. Kotter. I do appreciate it."
The farmer chuckled. It was nice to meet a young man who knew how to speak to his elders.
"'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,'" he quoted. "That's what the Good Book says, and I live by it."
The young man looked at him with a steady smile.
"I do too, sir, I do, too. And you can call me 'Jack.'"
He sat on the street, now cordoned off as Metropolis' police and fire departments did what they could. Around them snaked hoses and other fire equipment, and he and Jenna were both wet from the spray. The paramedics had tried to give them the once-over, tried to move them, but Clark had refused.
Jenna's eyes were still glazed over, but they were fixed on the fire as if she was somehow aware of what was happening. She sat slumped next to him, leaning against him for support. Clark held on to her with both arms, in part for fear she'd fall over if he let go, and in part because he just wanted to hold on to someone. Anyone.
"Get back! Get back! The roof's coming down!"
Clark looked up in time to see the crews hastily moving back from the blaze as, with a deafening roar, what had been the top floor of the Institute collapsed inward. A shower of sparks shot high into the sky. He wondered idly how far away the fire would be visible.
Clark heard footsteps rapidly approaching, but he was so fixated on watching the fire that he almost didn't recognize Dr. Iverson when he bent down next to them.
"Jenna? Jenna?" The doctor took the woman's limp body in his arms; she only reluctantly released her grip on Clark.
The doctor cupped her face in his hands, trying to get a response. After a long moment the eyes widened slightly.
"Hi, Dad," Jenna said softly.
Iverson made a sound between a cry and a moan and buried his face against his daughter's hair.
"Clark?"
Feeling a hand on his shoulder Clark looked up into Lex Luthor's face. For a second the firelight created odd shadows across Lex's face, giving him a sinister appearance. But then it was gone, and Lex looked the same as he always had.
"Clark, are you two all right? Dr. Iverson found your note, and your mother called me, nearly hysterical."
Lex looked over at where Iverson was rocking his daughter in his arms. He quickly pulled off his black trench coat and placed it around the girl's shoulders.
"Do you know what happened to her? Where's Garner?"
"She was drugged. I found her like that. And Garner's." Clark found he was having a hard time processing any thoughts coherently. The events of the last hour seemed all jumbled together in his mind. Maybe it was the Kryptonite, maybe it was shock. He didn't know and was too tired to care. Instead he pointed at the inferno.
"He's in there. He didn't make it out."
Lex stared hard at what had once been the Summerholt Institute.
"I see. You were both very lucky."
"Not lucky enough, Lex. Jack was in there, too. I couldn't save him.he wouldn't leave."
For a moment Clark thought he saw something, an expression he couldn't identify, dart across Lex's face.
"I'm sure you did what you could, Clark."
"He told me to make sure Jenna got out.I should have gone back for him."
"Don't beat yourself up over this, Clark. You saved Jenna. But you can't always save everyone."
"I should have," Clark repeated bitterly. If only Garner hadn't exposed him to the meteor rocks again. If only Jenna had been capable of moving on her own.
If only. If only.
Lex squeezed his shoulder.
"C'mon, Clark. There's no point in all of us standing here and getting drenched. Dr. Iverson?"
The older man hastily wiped the soot and tears from his eyes.
"Mr. Luthor's right, Clark. Let's get the two of you someplace warm and dry."
He carefully helped his daughter to her feet, and while Jenna leaned heavily on her father's arm Clark followed them back behind the barricades. Someone clapped a scratchy blanket around him, but Clark was barely aware of it.
The fire chief, who was standing nearby, looked at him sorrowfully.
"Are you the kid who said there were two more people in there?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm pulling my men back. This fire is burning way too hot and too unpredictably to risk any more lives."
"An accelerant?" Lex suggested.
The chief shrugged. "Maybe. Whatever started the fire has made the whole place unstable. We're going to let it burn itself out."
Clark nodded numbly.
He knew they would never find any evidence of an accelerant, or of how the fire started. All they would find, once the fire was out, would be the bodies of Summerholt's chief researcher and his most prized patient. But they would never know the whole story.
And somehow that seemed oddly fitting.
************************************
"Jenna? Can I come in?"
At her murmur of assent Clark pushed open the bedroom door.
Jenna was curled on her side on her bed, but didn't turn over to acknowledge his presence. Undeterred, Clark sat down on the edge.
"How are you feeling?"
She moved her head enough so she could look at him.
"Groggy. Humiliated."
Clark raised his eyebrows. "Humiliated? Why?"
She held up her right arm so Clark could see the bandage wrapped around her forearm. Dr. Iverson had waited until they were safely back at Jenna' apartment before removing the shunt that had held Jenna's IV drip. Clark had watched as the wound, now free of the plastic protrusion, seemed to heal instantly. Iverson had bandaged the site anyway.
Jenna sighed. "Clark, I feel so stupid. I walked right into a trap, and didn't even know it." She rubbed her eyes fretfully. "All I can remember is drinking a glass of milk and falling asleep here on my bed."
"You couldn't have known Garner would go after you." Clark shook his head. "If you want to blame anyone, you should blame me. I was the one who dragged you into this. You told me to be careful, and I didn't listen. If anything had happened to you I would never have forgiven myself."
Her expression softened a bit.
"Hey, now, I don't want you taking the rap for this, either. We both got overconfident and made some bad decisions."
Clark shook his head mulishly.
"You don't get it. I was helpless, with Garner standing there holding the meteor rock in his hands. I couldn't even get up off the floor, let alone carry you to safety. If Jack hadn't been there my parents would be filing a missing persons report on me right now. "
"Jack," Jenna repeated softly. "I can't believe it ended like this for him." She sighed. "Well, at least he must have been happy he got to take Garner with him."
Clark remembered the expression of exultation on the young man's face.
"I think he was. Jenna, I think he broke himself out of the hospital. He was just waiting for the chance to get revenge on the doctor who had hurt him. I think he'd gone a little crazy."
She nodded numbly. "Poor Jack."
Clark shook his head. "Jack got what he wanted-Garner's dead, and there's nothing left of the Institute but ashes."
"But that also means no records of what Garner was doing there." Jenna shut her eyes tightly. "If only I could remember anything useful!"
"You were in pretty bad shape when I found you." Clark's throat tightened, and for a moment he couldn't speak. He hastily cleared his throat. "But maybe you will someday."
"Maybe." At the sound of voices down the hall she frowned. "Who's here?"
"My mom and dad and your dad are all drinking coffee in the kitchen. Lex left early this morning to head back to Smallville."
Jenna smiled tiredly. "I still have his coat."
"That's ok-he's probably got a dozen like it."
"How badly did your parents chew you out?"
"Not too bad, actually. My mom hugged me for a half an hour and my dad looked like he couldn't decide between shaking my hand and putting my head through a wall. Fortunately he settled on the first."
"Good, because my renter's insurance doesn't cover holes in my walls." Jenna stifled a yawn with her hand.
"Your dad said the best thing for you right now is sleep, so I won't keep you awake." Clark smiled apologetically. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok."
"I will be, Clark. I will be."
He moved to stand, but before he could do so she seized his hand and squeezed it tightly. He could feel the pressure on his nerves, on the sinews of his hand, and smiled.
"Stop showing off."
"Not showing off," she said sleepily, her eyes already half-closed again. "Just reminding you."
"Of what?" he asked. But Jenna was already asleep.
Clark placed her hand back on the cover and stood, letting himself out of the room as quietly as he could.
******************************************
"Well? What's the news?"
Lex stared at the charred remained of the Summerholt Institute. Nothing was left but some steel beams, twisted by heat into an obscene mass, and piles of broken concrete and melted glass.
Normally he wouldn't have risked coming here, but enough morbidly curious onlookers at stopped at the barricades that he didn't feel too conspicuous. His contact in the Metropolis P.D. nodded in the direction of the building. From their vantage point across the street they could see fire crews and an arson team still sifting through the smoking rubble.
"No sign yet of any obvious accelerant. Fire seems to have started in the basement, but there's no clear source."
"I see. And Garner?"
"The coroner removed one set of remains about half an hour ago. It will have to be identified by dental records, I'm afraid."
Lex narrowed his eyes.
"Clark Kent insisted there were two men in that building when it went up."
The detective rubbed the back of his neck.
"They're going through the debris with a fine-toothed comb, Mr. Luthor, but there's still no sign of a second body. Maybe one of them got out and your friend Kent didn't see him."
"Maybe." Lex carefully held out the folded bills flat in the palm of his hand. "You will keep me posted on what they find?"
The other man shook his hand, transferring the money into his own hand in one smooth maneuver. To anyone watching it would look like a simple handshake.
"Of course, Mr. Luthor. Good day to you."
Lex nodded, and walked back to where he had left his Porsche some blocks away. In a day or so he would have one of his men come out and photograph the site. He'd add them to Clark's file, and then to the new one he'd started on Jenna Iverson. But in the meantime he pondered the situation
Two men. One body.
It was possible, Lex supposed, that either doctor or patient had survived the inferno. And somehow slipped away unnoticed before hundreds of cops, firemen, and spectators. Stranger things had happened.
There was a chance Garner or Williams was still alive.
But the million-dollar question was, which one? And where was he now?
********************************
"There's going to be hell to pay in Metropolis after all this," Dr. Iverson told the Kents as the two families stepped out onto the porch. "The Daily Planet ran a story about patients being illegally transferred from Metropolis General to Summerholt. Three physicians have already resigned. And there's an internal investigation going on over at S.T.A.R. about possible research leaks to Dr. Garner."
"It's about time," Jonathan said firmly. "There've been too many secrets in this business for too long."
"Maybe if someone at the top had taken responsibility for this earlier Ryan and Jack might still be with us." As Clark spoke, however, he did so without bitterness.
Things hadn't turned out the way he had planned. But he felt that, at last, Ryan James had justice. Jack had made certain Garner would never harm anyone else. Maybe they didn't have the hard evidence they had been looking for, and they might never know for sure what Garner had done to Jenna. But a few choice words from Chloe about her investigation to friends at the Daily Planet had sparked enough publicity to keep the story in the public eye for a long, long time.
And maybe it was better this way, because the police were convinced Clark and Jenna were only minor players in the story. A cursory interview with each had been conducted, and everyone seemed satisfied with their tale of a mysterious but fortunately timed fire.
Jenna, looking healthy and wide-awake after several days of bed rest, kissed each of Clark's parents.
"Thank you for the lovely dinner, Mrs. Kent. It was really nice of you."
"Oh, it was the least we could do on your father's last night in town," Martha smiled. She kissed Dr. Iverson on the cheek, and he shook hands with Clark's father.
"Don't worry," he told them. "You know Clark's secret is safe with us."
"We know," Jonathan assured him.
Iverson turned to face the youngest Kent.
"Clark, I can't thank you enough for everything you did. I might not approve of your methods, but I know your heart is in the right place. Jenna's life is proof enough of that for me."
"Thanks."
Then it was Jenna' turn to say goodbye.
"I wish you didn't have to go," Clark complained.
Jenna grinned.
"I'm only going to be in Metropolis, Clark-just a few hours away if you need me. Practically within shouting distance."
"It isn't the same."
"Maybe not, but that's how life is sometimes." She hugged him fiercely, and then to his great surprise quickly kissed him on the mouth.
Clark felt a blush rise all the way to the tips of his ears, but Jenna only laughed.
"Take care of yourself, kid."
The three Kent's watched as the Iverson's climbed into their car and, with much waving, drove away.
Martha sighed.
"I'm going to miss Robert. It was nice having another parent to talk to."
Jonathan put an arm around his wife's shoulders. "He was kind of growing on me, too, honey. But I'm sure we'll see them again. Leastways if Clark has anything to say about it we will."
Jonathan winked at his son, and Clark made a face.
"Daaaadd," he protested.
His parents just smiled.
***********************************
The attempt had ended in ignominious failure.
He wasn't used to failing.
Of course it had been against his better judgment to listen to a man like Garner. Yet, had the man succeeded, it would have provided all of the advantages and none of the risks.
Unfortunately Garner had been quite close-mouthed about his work. All he had wanted was the meteor rock, and that had been easily enough procured. And, unlike the refined version, ordinary meteor rock was not traceable.
So Garner had failed.
But he himself had learned a great deal. Maybe nothing he could prove, as of yet. But he was a patient man.
Lionel Luthor sat back in his chair with a smile.
Oh, yes, he was a very patient man.
************************************
"Where to, young fella?" The farmer leaned out of the window of his pick-up and smiled at the sandy-haired youth in front of him. The poor kid looked like he'd been standing out in the sun all day, and his thin body clearly needed a good meal. The farmer resolved to give him one of the sandwiches in the basket his wife had packed for him.
"Bludhaven, sir."
"That's fair distance to be traveling, but I can set you as far as Taylorsville. Hop in. Name's Ed Kotter."
The young man did as he bade, sliding into the passenger seat of the old Ford.
"Thank you, sir-Mr. Kotter. I do appreciate it."
The farmer chuckled. It was nice to meet a young man who knew how to speak to his elders.
"'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,'" he quoted. "That's what the Good Book says, and I live by it."
The young man looked at him with a steady smile.
"I do too, sir, I do, too. And you can call me 'Jack.'"