"Strange there are no workers at this time of day, and on the primary route into town..." Slightly shaken he took stock of the situation, wondering if he could trust the woman at his side. What if Lucas had corrupted her? What if the only woman he had truly begun to feel anything for, was deceiving him yet again?

"Maybe it's their break, who knows? What I do know is, if you'd have been driving we'd be Smallville pâté by now!" Berman appeared to suspect nothing, at least on the surface; although from her expression she was more distressed then she cared to admit. "Let's get moving, for Clark's sake..." Hands trembling on the stick shift, she restarted the stalled engine, and channeled her shattered nerves into some kind of order.

The route the sign said they should take looked ominously disturbing to Lex. It was obviously little used, and with the county's recent rainfall, it was more dirt track than road. Mud puddles seemed to converge over the surface, making any high speed maneuvers they made extremely hazardous. If it hadn't been for Clark he would have asked Berman to turn around, but for now he kept silent as the scientist turned onto the back road, wheels already sliding as she ramped up their speed again.

"Do you know this road? I have no clue where we're going..." The blonde turned fleetingly to her passenger, and then selected the next gear as she reached maximum revs. Maybe I should let Lex drive again...?

"The Kent place isn't..." Lex's words cut off as a cracking sound pre-empted the splintering of the car's windscreen. Slivers of the normally impenetrable glass flew backwards, showering both occupants, as numerous high density slugs tore into the Interceptor.

The car swerved wildly as Berman lost control, and its wheels skidded on the already treacherous road surface. Then as it began to aquaplane further, the far wheel impacted with the nearby grass verge, tossing the high-class vehicle onto its toughened roof. Any normal car would have crushed in with the force of the collision, but Lex's expensive design had luckily paid off.

The Interceptor slid several yards upturned, then came to rest as it nudged into a telephone pole, ripping it from the ground and severing the overhead cables. The rear wheels roared furiously in midair as the gas peddle remained depressed a few short seconds, then the driver's lifeless foot slumped from the accelerator, giving the car a respite from further torture.

Lex awakened to find his head squashed sideways against the plush roof lining. A few inches more and he guessed maybe his neck would have been broken. As it was, he suspected he would be requiring more than his fair share of stitches, to his very bald cranium.

Dazed, he moved every part of himself experimentally, then blinked when he recalled what had happened. It wasn't an accident, someone shot at us with some pretty heavy ordnance...Suddenly remembering why he was here, and that the woman he was with might need help, Lex began fumbling with the latch of his seatbelt. "Dr Berman?" There was no response, and the harder he struggled with the belt, the more his fingers shook. "Dr Berman..."

"She can't hear you Luthor..." The passenger door creaked open with a harsh whine as metal ground on metal, and a masked figure's head poked into the compartment. "In fact I doubt she'll ever hear anyone again. Lucky for you I have a need for information you have..."

Lex strained to see who was speaking to him, but the blood seeping from his head wound had filled his eyes, disguising any already hidden features further. "What do you want?" It was a simple question, and all that his traumatized brain could come up with.

A chortle came from his tormentor, and the person leaned back out of the car, pulling at his bruised frame to follow. When he resisted slightly, a 9mm Glock 18 appeared, urging him the rest of the way. Lex stumbled as he fell from the crumpled car, his knees sinking into the wet soil like it was quicksand, but his captor didn't care.

The handgun was ungraciously stuffed in his face, "I warn you, I don't have much patience Lex. Move, or eat a little lead like your good doctor friend back there." The automatic motioned back to the Interceptor briefly, and Lex followed its aim, expecting to see the worst.

Berman's immobile body was suspended in an inverted position, held fast by the seatbelt straps, and forward airbag. Her bloodied arms hung limply downwards, as blood oozed from an entry wound in her chest, then pooled in the car's headlining. She had been innocent after all, and had now become a victim simply because she belonged in the same circle as Lex. I killed her by bringing her in on this, and now there's no hope for Clark either... Lex stared at the woman he had just begun to love, his mind twisting in both shock and sudden, immense hatred for the one who had caused this.

"You'll die when this is over..." His bleary eyes filled with revulsion as he looked up at his captor, and even though he knew he may not live to see another day, Lex Luthor had every intention of at least taking this bastard to hell with him...


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


The Daily Planet
Chloe's Office....

Pete Ross glanced up from the laptop he was working on and frowned. He had just flown back from Smallville in Lex's helicopter, and although the journey hadn't been a long one, Chloe hadn't said a word. Now she sat at her desk, engrossed in several databases she had no legal access to, and still she remained expressionless. Her silence bothered him, because it was so uncharacteristic of her. In all their time together as teens, Chloe was the most outspoken and forthright person he had known, and for her to be this quiet, meant her façade of bravery was already slipping.

"Chloe, are you sure you wouldn't be better off being with Clark? I can easily dig up the addresses from Tanner's handheld and check them out..." Pete looked at his old friend sympathetically, wishing for once she would just let go and cry. It was what she needed right now, but he knew until she had exhausted all avenues of research, that she never would.

"I have to do this Pete, there are things...things you don't..." A tiny crack in her voice made her pause to get a grip, but this time she couldn't. This was Pete she was talking to, the guy who had known about Clark before anyone else, if she couldn't let go in front of him then...

Pete saw the glistening in her eyes that marked the onset of tears, and instantly left his office chair to be at her side. Wrapping an arm around her trembling body, he pulled her close. "It's okay Chloe; just let it all out..." He held her for a moment, and then pulled away slightly, leaning for the phone. "I'll arrange for you to go be with Clark, it's where you should be, not here."

"Oh Pete...if only you knew...but I can't go back, not until I've solved this!" More tears came, but with them a resolution that shocked the Metropolis mayor.

Pete screwed his face up and shook his head, not understanding her crazed logic. "Chloe! Clark could die! What's wrong with you for heavens sake?"

The sudden, sharp choice of words hit home where it hurt most, and the wounded wife retaliated without thinking. "I'm pregnant! I'm having Clark's baby and he might not live to see it!" She screamed the answer at her long time friend, then pushed her head in her hands and began to sob. I wanted Clark so much, I wanted this kid so much, and now...

Pete gaped, lost for words as the significance of what Chloe had said sank in. What could he say to console her? What could he do to possibly alleviate the pressure she must be under? There was nothing save holding her tighter, and waiting for her weeping to abate.

"Clark doesn't know does he?" Pete finally asked.

When her eyes could give no more tears Chloe squinted, rubbing the back of her hand across her face before answering. "No." She whispered, "I didn't want to tell him until I was sure, and now he'll never know..."

"Yes he will Chloe, we'll make sure he gets to hear his baby's first cry. Now come on, let's get to work. If anyone can solve this we can, Lois is working on it from her end too remember, and Lex." Now that Pete knew Chloe's reasoning, it was hard to push her back to Smallville to sit idly by, and if staying here made her feel like she was at least trying, then he would stay too even though he suspected their hunt was futile. "Now, have you found anything in your search...?" He soothed.

Chloe inhaled, gathering her thoughts before even attempting to answer. On any other day, she would have sifted through the files and data like a whirlwind, but today her concentration had gone. Twisting around her monitor she tried again, this time sharing her findings as she went along.

The addresses from Tanner's handheld seemed nothing more than fronts for two pharmaceutical companies, and a bio-chemistry lab on the outskirts of the city. Everything appeared legal and above board, with no apparent connections they could use to help Clark.

"Can't you dig deeper, maybe access the company records and computer systems of these places?" Pete knew it was something she had been adept at, even in their 'Torch' days at High School.

Chloe sighed. "I can, but if they're up to anything even remotely evil it won't be kept where I can find it..." She tapped at the keys anyway, circumventing security codes to enter restricted access areas. "Mmn, there's nothing here..."

Pete moved closer, tapping the screen. "What about checking employees? Maybe a familiar face or name might come up?"

Without hesitating Chloe followed his reasoning. "Whoa you're right...look at this!" She clicked on the mouse, enlarging her find to fill the screen. "This company seems totally clean, but they do have one of their top scientists on loan to a subsidiary of Luthorcorp! She's been there for some time too..."

The disgruntled mayor agreed with her suspicions. As he checked the personnel record on the mysterious Doctor Rybec, he realized it read like a recipe of everything needed to kill Clark. "Oh Lord...look at her credentials Chloe. She specializes in bio-engineering, bio-chemistry..."

Chloe hammered at her keyboard, ignoring Pete's awed tone. "What I want to find is an address for her. She has to live somewhere, and I intend to find her!" More thunderous tapping, followed by a triumphant slap on the desk signaled she had, but the revelations didn't end there. "Oh my God Pete..." The frenetic reporter's jaw dropped open, and she gawked at her own discovery. "There's a photo with this file..."

Pete leaned over, at first not recognizing the face that had probably signed Clark's death warrant. Then, as facts clicked into place in his mind, he realized that sometimes a person's past really could come back to haunt them...