EXT. CABOT FARM – DAY
Chloe and Pete pull up to Clark's truck on the side of the road and get out. Clark is nowhere to be found.
CHLOE Where did he go?
Pete and Chloe begin their search for Clark, heading for the patch of trees.
EXT. FIELD HILL – DAY
Chloe and Pete step through the trees, looking up the hill.
CHLOE
Clark?
Chloe and Pete walk up the hill to where Clark is standing in front of the pile of rubble that was once a house. He stares intently at the wreck, clearing scanning it with his X-Ray vision. His complexion is back to a healthy pink thanks to the light of the sun high in the air.
CHLOE
Clark?
PETE
Hey, Clark man, you all right?
Clark lowers his head and shakes it.
CLARK
It's not there anymore.
Chloe and Pete each look confused.
CHLOE
Uhm... What's not there?
Clark turns around and starts back toward the trees.
CLARK
Nothing. Let's go home.
Chloe and Pete toss each other a strange look. They shrug and follow Clark back through the trees.
EXT. LEX'S MANSION – LATE AFTERNOON
A couple of pills sit out on Lex's desk, obviously pain killers. He puts a glass down on the desk, fills it with some brandy, and sits down. Tossing the pain killers in his mouth, he drinks them down with the full shot. He puts the glass down.
The laptop in front of him chimes and a window pops up indicating: "Incoming Video Stream". Lex presses a few buttons on the keyboard and a second window pops up. On the screen, Noah stares back at Lex from behind a desk of his own.
NOAH Mr. Luthor.
LEX
Noah... How goes things in Gotham City?
NOAH
As well as can be expected. A dreary place this is, I don't think they have a sun here.
LEX
Were you able to complete your mission?
NOAH The experience was quite revealing, though it was not without its proverbial bumps in the road. It seems you're not the only one interested in your father's affairs in Gotham. I found my infiltration lacking a certain bit of privacy.
LEX You ran into trouble?
NOAH Nothing that I couldn't handle. Actually, he provided a nice bit of distraction, whoever he was. They almost caught him... almost.
LEX
What did you find?
NOAH
Lionel Luthor has been a busy man.
Noah punches a few keys on his keyboard. A window pops up briefly on Lex's laptop reading: "Incoming Images". After a short delay, a window pops up with a picture of what appears to be the interior of a factory. There are several large machines in a grand assembly line.
Lex leans in to survey the image.
NOAH
These are photographs I took from inside the factory your father took over from Tenshi Aerospace. Every machine you see here is new, brought in from a third party. He completely scrapped all the machines from the original buyout.
LEX
Those machines are expensive pieces of equipment. Why would he just scrap them like that?
NOAH
It seems he needed more specialized equipment for what he planned on manufacturing.
LEX
What is he manufacturing?
Noah smiles and presses another button on his keyboard. Another image pops up of the end of the assembly line where several workers can be seen removing some kind of high tech rifles off of the machines and onto large gun racks.
LEX
Well, isn't that interesting?
It was more of a comment than a question...
NOAH
More than you know. Those aren't your standard rifles and shotguns coming off those lines. Nearest I can tell they're some kind of new high-tech energy disruptors.
LEX
Energy disruptors?
NOAH ::nods:: You heard me. I even saw one tested. They can render any electrical device completely useless, kind of like a portable EMP, but even more than that, they can disrupt neural impulses as well. Get hit by one of those mothers on full power and your brain turns to stew. Even better yet, to the untrained eye, it looks like an electrocution.
LEX
::under breath:: He's preparing for a war.
NOAH It's like he's preparing for a war or something.
Lex looks up, wondering if Noah heard him or not. He didn't.
NOAH
It's pretty advanced technology. I'd never seen anything like it, so I dug a little deeper. I figured your father had to have help developing this kind of weapon.
LEX
The military.
NOAH
How did you know?
LEX
I know my father.
That, and Lionel told him as much.
NOAH American tax dollars hard at work.
Noah leans closer and taps a few more buttons on his keyboard.
NOAH
I can't be sure, but I think this is your father's chief contact in the Army.
Another picture pops up on Lex's screen which immediately garners his attention. The picture is of a man dressed in full military garb inspecting the assembly line. The man is very familiar to Lex. The first time he saw this man's face was on the video tape Lionel showed him back at the plant. It is the same man that Lionel tried to convince Lex was in league with Clark. It is none other than Colonel Kalib... standing next to Lionel.
NOAH
Colonel Kalib was all I got. He flew in late Thursday night to inspect the facility. Quite frankly, he didn't seem all together pleased with what he found. Although, I doubt anything would have pleased the man. He came and left in one hell of a tiff. The strange thing was, I hacked into the military's defense database to run a background check on the guy. They don't have a record of any Colonel Kalib on file. It is conceivable that the government has classified his personnel file.
Lex stares at the screen as another picture pops up of Lionel and Colonel Kalib shaking hands. Lieutenant Shull is also in the picture, behind Kalib. Lionel is smiling, but Lex is not. Lionel lied to him.
LEX
It's possible... or there may be another explanation.
NOAH
::confused:: Sir?
LEX
Noah, would it be possible for you to... obtain one of these rifles.
Noah grins and reaches for something off screen. He picks up one of the rifles and shows it to Lex.
NOAH
I think that can be arranged, sir.
Lex sits in silence, glaring intently at the picture of his father and Kalib.
LEX
Come home, Noah. You've done well, but I need you for another assignment.
NOAH
Yes, Mr. Luthor.
Noah nods and cuts the transmission. Lex closes his laptop and opens the drawer in his desk, pulling something out. He leans back in his chair, staring at the chunk of Kryptonite in his hand.
Chloe and Pete pull up to Clark's truck on the side of the road and get out. Clark is nowhere to be found.
CHLOE Where did he go?
Pete and Chloe begin their search for Clark, heading for the patch of trees.
EXT. FIELD HILL – DAY
Chloe and Pete step through the trees, looking up the hill.
CHLOE
Clark?
Chloe and Pete walk up the hill to where Clark is standing in front of the pile of rubble that was once a house. He stares intently at the wreck, clearing scanning it with his X-Ray vision. His complexion is back to a healthy pink thanks to the light of the sun high in the air.
CHLOE
Clark?
PETE
Hey, Clark man, you all right?
Clark lowers his head and shakes it.
CLARK
It's not there anymore.
Chloe and Pete each look confused.
CHLOE
Uhm... What's not there?
Clark turns around and starts back toward the trees.
CLARK
Nothing. Let's go home.
Chloe and Pete toss each other a strange look. They shrug and follow Clark back through the trees.
EXT. LEX'S MANSION – LATE AFTERNOON
A couple of pills sit out on Lex's desk, obviously pain killers. He puts a glass down on the desk, fills it with some brandy, and sits down. Tossing the pain killers in his mouth, he drinks them down with the full shot. He puts the glass down.
The laptop in front of him chimes and a window pops up indicating: "Incoming Video Stream". Lex presses a few buttons on the keyboard and a second window pops up. On the screen, Noah stares back at Lex from behind a desk of his own.
NOAH Mr. Luthor.
LEX
Noah... How goes things in Gotham City?
NOAH
As well as can be expected. A dreary place this is, I don't think they have a sun here.
LEX
Were you able to complete your mission?
NOAH The experience was quite revealing, though it was not without its proverbial bumps in the road. It seems you're not the only one interested in your father's affairs in Gotham. I found my infiltration lacking a certain bit of privacy.
LEX You ran into trouble?
NOAH Nothing that I couldn't handle. Actually, he provided a nice bit of distraction, whoever he was. They almost caught him... almost.
LEX
What did you find?
NOAH
Lionel Luthor has been a busy man.
Noah punches a few keys on his keyboard. A window pops up briefly on Lex's laptop reading: "Incoming Images". After a short delay, a window pops up with a picture of what appears to be the interior of a factory. There are several large machines in a grand assembly line.
Lex leans in to survey the image.
NOAH
These are photographs I took from inside the factory your father took over from Tenshi Aerospace. Every machine you see here is new, brought in from a third party. He completely scrapped all the machines from the original buyout.
LEX
Those machines are expensive pieces of equipment. Why would he just scrap them like that?
NOAH
It seems he needed more specialized equipment for what he planned on manufacturing.
LEX
What is he manufacturing?
Noah smiles and presses another button on his keyboard. Another image pops up of the end of the assembly line where several workers can be seen removing some kind of high tech rifles off of the machines and onto large gun racks.
LEX
Well, isn't that interesting?
It was more of a comment than a question...
NOAH
More than you know. Those aren't your standard rifles and shotguns coming off those lines. Nearest I can tell they're some kind of new high-tech energy disruptors.
LEX
Energy disruptors?
NOAH ::nods:: You heard me. I even saw one tested. They can render any electrical device completely useless, kind of like a portable EMP, but even more than that, they can disrupt neural impulses as well. Get hit by one of those mothers on full power and your brain turns to stew. Even better yet, to the untrained eye, it looks like an electrocution.
LEX
::under breath:: He's preparing for a war.
NOAH It's like he's preparing for a war or something.
Lex looks up, wondering if Noah heard him or not. He didn't.
NOAH
It's pretty advanced technology. I'd never seen anything like it, so I dug a little deeper. I figured your father had to have help developing this kind of weapon.
LEX
The military.
NOAH
How did you know?
LEX
I know my father.
That, and Lionel told him as much.
NOAH American tax dollars hard at work.
Noah leans closer and taps a few more buttons on his keyboard.
NOAH
I can't be sure, but I think this is your father's chief contact in the Army.
Another picture pops up on Lex's screen which immediately garners his attention. The picture is of a man dressed in full military garb inspecting the assembly line. The man is very familiar to Lex. The first time he saw this man's face was on the video tape Lionel showed him back at the plant. It is the same man that Lionel tried to convince Lex was in league with Clark. It is none other than Colonel Kalib... standing next to Lionel.
NOAH
Colonel Kalib was all I got. He flew in late Thursday night to inspect the facility. Quite frankly, he didn't seem all together pleased with what he found. Although, I doubt anything would have pleased the man. He came and left in one hell of a tiff. The strange thing was, I hacked into the military's defense database to run a background check on the guy. They don't have a record of any Colonel Kalib on file. It is conceivable that the government has classified his personnel file.
Lex stares at the screen as another picture pops up of Lionel and Colonel Kalib shaking hands. Lieutenant Shull is also in the picture, behind Kalib. Lionel is smiling, but Lex is not. Lionel lied to him.
LEX
It's possible... or there may be another explanation.
NOAH
::confused:: Sir?
LEX
Noah, would it be possible for you to... obtain one of these rifles.
Noah grins and reaches for something off screen. He picks up one of the rifles and shows it to Lex.
NOAH
I think that can be arranged, sir.
Lex sits in silence, glaring intently at the picture of his father and Kalib.
LEX
Come home, Noah. You've done well, but I need you for another assignment.
NOAH
Yes, Mr. Luthor.
Noah nods and cuts the transmission. Lex closes his laptop and opens the drawer in his desk, pulling something out. He leans back in his chair, staring at the chunk of Kryptonite in his hand.