Chloe and Lana had a desperately cheery day out shopping; it was as if both
were attempting to recreate the severely under-funded but mythically
wonderful trips to the Metropolis malls when they were living together in
Smallville. Lana dragged a reluctant Chloe to the new Pucci store, the
blonde vehemently protesting that she would never buy a label that the
lowly Lois wore, but walked out a quarter of an hour later, cooing to a
pair of quilted boots.
Lana purchased a new evening gown in ivory and silver at the Cavalli store, and made a few salesgirls very happy indeed. Then exhausted yet satisfied in a manner that only a good day's shopping can make two women, they made their way to the new Italian coffee shop that had opened its doors only a fortnight ago at the Redmoon Mall.
Chloe sighed and gently laid her new boots protectively close to where she sat and sighed in satisfaction as the aroma of freshly brewed coffee assailed her senses. Lana, having spent a small fortune, had earned the privilege of home delivery, so carried nothing but her tan Balenciaga and a small frown on her face. This Chloe noticed, despite her caffeine deprived condition, and probed gently for the reason. Then Lana opened up. Chloe learnt of the mysterious headaches and the bouts of nausea, the strange biopsy reports and the looming threat of the big C word.
Chloe was sympathetic and held her friend's hand, her eyes showing the intensity of her support. 'I wondered if you could find something out.' said Lana tentatively, looking at Chloe with eyes that showed exhaustion and worry despite the expert use of cosmetics.
'Anything to help.' said Chloe, recognizing the seriousness of the moment.
'I can't really mention this to anyone, what with the meteor rocks being considered as so much ...' she moved her hands in an extravagant gesture of dismissal.
' "If it can't be explained there is nothing to explain"' said Chloe sotto voce.
Lana nodded 'But you've always been interested in them. So, I can ask you. Maybe you have sources that know something.' She fumbled for a minute in the depths of her bag and drew out some papers that she passed to Chloe.
'These are the emails I received from the Chernobyl Interinform agency. They say that the level of radiation fall out and the biological absorption rate at Nevanya is too low to be considered dangerous. But I thought, what about the meteor rocks, I've been exposed to them since I was a child, I—I actually wore one next to my skin till I was sixteen! Could that have effected my system in such a way that even a small dose of radiation could make me vulnerable?' she looked at Chloe with her forehead creased with worry.
'I'll find out all I can Lana. I still have a few contacts...'
Lana seemed to want to get it all out as soon as possible 'And then there is another thing.' She spoke hurriedly, her voice tinged with the beginnings of hysteria. 'You know when Lex had that unfortunate... thing, when he had that nervous breakdown. And I was in hospital with my spine broken?'
Chloe nodded.
'I found out something about the company that made the plate that went into my leg. Lowell Medical Supplies. They use a polymer that I think has the meteor rocks in it. Can you find out something about it?'
'Sure, if its making you sick we must find out what's happening. What about your medical reports? Do they say anything?'
Lana shook her head, making her hair dance in a travesty of good heath and youth 'Nothing as of now. I have to have more tests.' She smiled ruefully 'They're not actually looking for mutations caused by rocks from outer space.'
After that, Lana made a complete withdrawal from the subject and would speak of nothing but the excellence of her new apartment, and how Chloe simply must come for dinner one day. Chloe complied, sensing that Lana did not want to dwell too much on the exigencies of her condition, and joined her friend in a discussion about the rival merits of curtains and blinds.
From an upper level Mercy watched the two girls as they talked animatedly. She spoke quietly into her discreet mouthpiece, her stance casual, her attitude languid-- she could be just another shopper resting for a moment behind the ornamental palms, preparing for an assault on another packed store.
'Target acquired. She is with Chloe Sullivan.' She listened as the person at the other end spoke at some length.
Mercy's voice did not rise, nor her manner of delivery change 'She was untraced for two hours because nobody actually saw her come out of the building. She was found because Sullivan was being followed.'
'Yes, I will keep her in sight. Will attempt termination on the return journey.'
'So, you went to see this "Lana" sweetheart of yours and left me on my own for the Lionel Luthor interview. We're partners Kent-- you just don't do that!' Lois was having even lesser success than usual in this talk with Clark, and Lex was getting anxious for information. She knew from experience how unpleasant Lex's anxiety could be for the rest of the world, and therefore continued to flog an increasingly dead horse.
The horse in question adopting the personality traits of a mule, thought Lois, madly mixing metaphors in her caffeine buzzed brain. Clark, in his own stodgy, calm, dense way was completely unperturbed, and refused to understand the reason for her excited questioning.
He rubbed the bride of his nose and said resignedly 'It's been five days Lois. Give it a rest. I did leave a message on your handheld—you just didn't take it. And I told you Lana is not well, and she has no one else in the city—or in the world. What would you have me do, just carry on with the job while a friend is dying?'
Lois was adamant 'Well you wouldn't have run quite so fast or stayed so long if it hadn't been Ms. Lang. Why didn't she call one of her old boyfriends in?' she huffed, before turning back to her screen.
Then she gave up the pretense of typing, took up her coffee mug, crossed her legs and renewed her assault on Fortress Kent.
'So did you see the fire on Seventeenth when you came back from Lars Town? It was around eight wasn't it? Did you by any chance see the "guy in blue?"'
To this question too Clark returned his oft-tried method of complete denial 'No I did not see the fire. Was too busy trying to find a cab and cursing the traffic to take detours to check out fires. Reached you to do research fatigue by nine, didn't I? And I did not see anyone in blue, except myself that is.' said Clark pointing to his 'uniform' of blue Oxford shirting.
'You know what I mean' said Lois. 'The Inquisitor ran another piece on him yesterday. Lex says it's an advertising stunt. Virgin.'
Clark removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, and said blandly 'So it must be true.'
Lois looked at him sharply 'What do you mean!'
'Exactly what I said. Lex is very sharp' said Clark as he turned back to his keyboard.
'Well you should know.' said Lois as she too resumed her work. 'Apparently you were the best of friends back in Cowville. I wonder what happened...'the last observation trailing off in an obvious attempt to get Clark to fill in the query with a suitably voluble expedition into past hurts and betrayals.
Clark, of course, remained immune to the lure of the unanswered question.
'Why don't you ask him' he said.
Back at the Mall, Chloe bid farewell to Lana, as she had to go and cover a charity event at the Metropolis Polo Club. Lana excused herself saying she had to do some more shopping and reentered the bustle of frantic shoppers after kissing Chloe goodbye. Mercy tailed her with ease until she went into the chaotic confines of Benetton on a weekend. The store had only one entrance, so Mercy positioned herself opposite.
She waited and waited, even her endless patience wearing thin. She finally entered the store and went to the counter. 'Hi. A friend of mine, really pretty brunette—small.' Her enquiry, made with as much bonhomie she could muster led to nothing. Nobody had noticed Lana, and she was certainly not in the store any more. Nothing. Mercy was perplexed, but Lex was furious.
In the evening, she had copies of the cctv discs running on her computer. Lex paced the office behind her, his annoyance palpable in the rigidity of his expression.
'There! I have her... she picks up the clothes and moves off to right . Towards the changing rooms at the back at 16:41. That's camera 5.'She inserted the disc for camera 5. There was nothing but a white background.
Mercy turned back towards Lex, and even her monumental calm seemed to be cracking 'Camera 5 wasn't working.'
' If there is no other exit, she must make her way through the range of cameras 3 and 4 to get out. Keep scanning until you spot her or someone of her build-- she may be disguised.' Lex's instructions were delivered calmly and dispassionately.
Mercy nodded and turned back to the computer, feeding in fresh alert parameters to the video tracking software.
'Pause that!'
Reacting immediately, Mercy hit the pause button.
Lex pointed towards the hustle of people caught by the distorting angle of the camera lens ' The Balenciaga, the tan one. Lana was carrying that.'
Mercy looked at the woman on the screen who was holding the bag and moving towards the exit. She was a size ten, red-haired, old.
She zoomed in and corrected the image distortion with a series of expert commands.
As the woman came into focus, Lex's face grew even more pinched and tense.
It was Martha Kent.
Lana purchased a new evening gown in ivory and silver at the Cavalli store, and made a few salesgirls very happy indeed. Then exhausted yet satisfied in a manner that only a good day's shopping can make two women, they made their way to the new Italian coffee shop that had opened its doors only a fortnight ago at the Redmoon Mall.
Chloe sighed and gently laid her new boots protectively close to where she sat and sighed in satisfaction as the aroma of freshly brewed coffee assailed her senses. Lana, having spent a small fortune, had earned the privilege of home delivery, so carried nothing but her tan Balenciaga and a small frown on her face. This Chloe noticed, despite her caffeine deprived condition, and probed gently for the reason. Then Lana opened up. Chloe learnt of the mysterious headaches and the bouts of nausea, the strange biopsy reports and the looming threat of the big C word.
Chloe was sympathetic and held her friend's hand, her eyes showing the intensity of her support. 'I wondered if you could find something out.' said Lana tentatively, looking at Chloe with eyes that showed exhaustion and worry despite the expert use of cosmetics.
'Anything to help.' said Chloe, recognizing the seriousness of the moment.
'I can't really mention this to anyone, what with the meteor rocks being considered as so much ...' she moved her hands in an extravagant gesture of dismissal.
' "If it can't be explained there is nothing to explain"' said Chloe sotto voce.
Lana nodded 'But you've always been interested in them. So, I can ask you. Maybe you have sources that know something.' She fumbled for a minute in the depths of her bag and drew out some papers that she passed to Chloe.
'These are the emails I received from the Chernobyl Interinform agency. They say that the level of radiation fall out and the biological absorption rate at Nevanya is too low to be considered dangerous. But I thought, what about the meteor rocks, I've been exposed to them since I was a child, I—I actually wore one next to my skin till I was sixteen! Could that have effected my system in such a way that even a small dose of radiation could make me vulnerable?' she looked at Chloe with her forehead creased with worry.
'I'll find out all I can Lana. I still have a few contacts...'
Lana seemed to want to get it all out as soon as possible 'And then there is another thing.' She spoke hurriedly, her voice tinged with the beginnings of hysteria. 'You know when Lex had that unfortunate... thing, when he had that nervous breakdown. And I was in hospital with my spine broken?'
Chloe nodded.
'I found out something about the company that made the plate that went into my leg. Lowell Medical Supplies. They use a polymer that I think has the meteor rocks in it. Can you find out something about it?'
'Sure, if its making you sick we must find out what's happening. What about your medical reports? Do they say anything?'
Lana shook her head, making her hair dance in a travesty of good heath and youth 'Nothing as of now. I have to have more tests.' She smiled ruefully 'They're not actually looking for mutations caused by rocks from outer space.'
After that, Lana made a complete withdrawal from the subject and would speak of nothing but the excellence of her new apartment, and how Chloe simply must come for dinner one day. Chloe complied, sensing that Lana did not want to dwell too much on the exigencies of her condition, and joined her friend in a discussion about the rival merits of curtains and blinds.
From an upper level Mercy watched the two girls as they talked animatedly. She spoke quietly into her discreet mouthpiece, her stance casual, her attitude languid-- she could be just another shopper resting for a moment behind the ornamental palms, preparing for an assault on another packed store.
'Target acquired. She is with Chloe Sullivan.' She listened as the person at the other end spoke at some length.
Mercy's voice did not rise, nor her manner of delivery change 'She was untraced for two hours because nobody actually saw her come out of the building. She was found because Sullivan was being followed.'
'Yes, I will keep her in sight. Will attempt termination on the return journey.'
'So, you went to see this "Lana" sweetheart of yours and left me on my own for the Lionel Luthor interview. We're partners Kent-- you just don't do that!' Lois was having even lesser success than usual in this talk with Clark, and Lex was getting anxious for information. She knew from experience how unpleasant Lex's anxiety could be for the rest of the world, and therefore continued to flog an increasingly dead horse.
The horse in question adopting the personality traits of a mule, thought Lois, madly mixing metaphors in her caffeine buzzed brain. Clark, in his own stodgy, calm, dense way was completely unperturbed, and refused to understand the reason for her excited questioning.
He rubbed the bride of his nose and said resignedly 'It's been five days Lois. Give it a rest. I did leave a message on your handheld—you just didn't take it. And I told you Lana is not well, and she has no one else in the city—or in the world. What would you have me do, just carry on with the job while a friend is dying?'
Lois was adamant 'Well you wouldn't have run quite so fast or stayed so long if it hadn't been Ms. Lang. Why didn't she call one of her old boyfriends in?' she huffed, before turning back to her screen.
Then she gave up the pretense of typing, took up her coffee mug, crossed her legs and renewed her assault on Fortress Kent.
'So did you see the fire on Seventeenth when you came back from Lars Town? It was around eight wasn't it? Did you by any chance see the "guy in blue?"'
To this question too Clark returned his oft-tried method of complete denial 'No I did not see the fire. Was too busy trying to find a cab and cursing the traffic to take detours to check out fires. Reached you to do research fatigue by nine, didn't I? And I did not see anyone in blue, except myself that is.' said Clark pointing to his 'uniform' of blue Oxford shirting.
'You know what I mean' said Lois. 'The Inquisitor ran another piece on him yesterday. Lex says it's an advertising stunt. Virgin.'
Clark removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, and said blandly 'So it must be true.'
Lois looked at him sharply 'What do you mean!'
'Exactly what I said. Lex is very sharp' said Clark as he turned back to his keyboard.
'Well you should know.' said Lois as she too resumed her work. 'Apparently you were the best of friends back in Cowville. I wonder what happened...'the last observation trailing off in an obvious attempt to get Clark to fill in the query with a suitably voluble expedition into past hurts and betrayals.
Clark, of course, remained immune to the lure of the unanswered question.
'Why don't you ask him' he said.
Back at the Mall, Chloe bid farewell to Lana, as she had to go and cover a charity event at the Metropolis Polo Club. Lana excused herself saying she had to do some more shopping and reentered the bustle of frantic shoppers after kissing Chloe goodbye. Mercy tailed her with ease until she went into the chaotic confines of Benetton on a weekend. The store had only one entrance, so Mercy positioned herself opposite.
She waited and waited, even her endless patience wearing thin. She finally entered the store and went to the counter. 'Hi. A friend of mine, really pretty brunette—small.' Her enquiry, made with as much bonhomie she could muster led to nothing. Nobody had noticed Lana, and she was certainly not in the store any more. Nothing. Mercy was perplexed, but Lex was furious.
In the evening, she had copies of the cctv discs running on her computer. Lex paced the office behind her, his annoyance palpable in the rigidity of his expression.
'There! I have her... she picks up the clothes and moves off to right . Towards the changing rooms at the back at 16:41. That's camera 5.'She inserted the disc for camera 5. There was nothing but a white background.
Mercy turned back towards Lex, and even her monumental calm seemed to be cracking 'Camera 5 wasn't working.'
' If there is no other exit, she must make her way through the range of cameras 3 and 4 to get out. Keep scanning until you spot her or someone of her build-- she may be disguised.' Lex's instructions were delivered calmly and dispassionately.
Mercy nodded and turned back to the computer, feeding in fresh alert parameters to the video tracking software.
'Pause that!'
Reacting immediately, Mercy hit the pause button.
Lex pointed towards the hustle of people caught by the distorting angle of the camera lens ' The Balenciaga, the tan one. Lana was carrying that.'
Mercy looked at the woman on the screen who was holding the bag and moving towards the exit. She was a size ten, red-haired, old.
She zoomed in and corrected the image distortion with a series of expert commands.
As the woman came into focus, Lex's face grew even more pinched and tense.
It was Martha Kent.