Chapter 18
Finally, as they were drifting off to sleep from the gentle rocking motion and the morning's strenuous exertions, the couch slowed to a halt. Nicholas had been quietly watching the two during the ride. He hadn't earlier noticed the connection between these two, but with the months they had spent together back in her kingdom and then on the road, it should have been obvious.
He hated to interrupt them, but they had reached the clearing. They should make some preparations, in case there was trouble before Clark and Coelia arrived.
Finally, he coughed loudly to get their attention. After they looked up, he said, "LWe have reached the clearing where we are suppose to meet Coelia and Clark. I think we should scout out the area a little, in case their diversion doesn't work and Carius' men arrive here first."
Lex nodded and, as Nicholas climbed down from the carriage, he turned and translated for Lana. The pace had been much slower than they had achieved during the morning's hectic ride. It had taken them close to an hour to cover the six miles from the stable. Still, it was faster than walking and easier than riding a Roman saddle.
Since they were going to be stopped for at least a few minutes, the drivers wanted to feed and water the team. After a quick consultation, Lex and Nicholas agreed. If there was going to be trouble, they would never outrun it in the coach anyway.
However with a quick scan of the area they did find a small, little used cart track heading north out of the clearing. They backed the coach and the team a little way up the path before unhitching the horses. It wouldn't provide much cover in bright sunlight, but on a dark, overcast evening the coach might not be seen with a hasty glance.
The clearing was about 100 yards wide and 200 yards long, but felt much larger after the past few miles where the road had winded through a heavily forested area.
In the center of the clearing, on the south side of the road, someone had erected a small prayer chapel. Perhaps it would be better described as an altar with an overhanging awning than an actual building. Lex and Lana had just walked over, more from a need to stretch their legs than any actual curiosity, when the sprinkles began. They stood for a couple of minutes under the protection of the awning listening to the relaxing sound of the drops hitting the roof. Just as they decided they had better head back, a brilliant bolt of lightening hit the far side of the meadow. As the resulting sharp crash of thunder rolled over their heads, the heavens let loose. They would be soaked before they got twenty feet let alone the nearly 200 feet to where the coach lay partial hidden. So, hoping the intense portion of the storm wouldn't last too long, Lex took a step back and leaned against the altar. While there was plenty of space for two under the awning, Lana moved until she was backed up against Lex. She reached down and took Lex's hands and draped them around her waist. Lex started to speak, but she shushed him. "Lex, I want to think some more about what was said in the carriage. How about we just listen to the rain for a few minutes?"
Lex murmured his agreement and they both settled back into their own thoughts.
After about ten minutes the downpour had just started to lessen when they heard approaching horses. Lex suggested heading out into the rain to reach a less exposed spot, but Lana told him to wait a minute.
A few seconds later, Lana said, "There are only a couple of horses approaching. I think it must be Clark and Chloe. Don't you think Carius' men would show up in greater force?"
Lex acquiesced to her more extensive horse experience. As they waited for the horses to approach, he was a little surprised that Lana made no move to step away from him. Apparently, she wasn't bothered by the thought of Chloe or Clark seeing him with his arms around her. Had their relationship really changed that much in the past hour?
It didn't take long for the two horses to get close enough to let them see the two bedraggled riders were indeed their fellow travelers. As the horses entered the clearing and slowed, Lana raised her hand and call out to the others. Clark and Chloe returned her wave and headed over.
When they reached the altar, Chloe and Clark quickly jumped down and ducked under the cover of the awning. During the first couple of minutes of the ride, the rain had felt warm and exhilarating. But after 15 minutes of coaxing the horses along at the best practical speed on the increasing slick road, Chloe was glad to reach a sheltered location. Now, if she could get out of her wet clothes and into something dry, everything would be wonderful.
"I didn't really expect you this quickly," began Lex. "Does this mean you were successful?"
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I don't believe there will be any pursuit for many hours, if at all." After a quick glance around, she continued. "What did you do with the coach?"
Without taking his hands from around Lana, Lex pointed with his head. "We found a small path leading off of the main road over there. We backed the coach up it into the trees, so it would be less visible, in case there was trouble." Turning to look back at the others, he asked, "How did you divert the Professor's men?"
Chloe noticed the way Lex's arms were comfortably wrapped around Lana's body. She had never thought of Lex and Lana as a potential couple before, but after a moment's thought she realized they might make an interesting match. However she decided not to bring the topic up to allow things to advance at their own pace until either she had a chance to talk to Lana alone or unless they decided to bring the topic up first.
"Is there anything dry to put on in the coach? I would really like to get out of these wet things and then we can talk about Carius' men. Oh, I did get to have a little chat with their leader and I have some intel that will help us plan our next moves."
Lex looked out into the pouring rain. If they were going to head over to the coach now, they were all going to end up soaked. But they couldn't spend the whole night standing here waiting for the rain to let up, particularly with Chloe and Clark looking like two drowned rats. "There are some blankets and quilts stowed under the bench seats in the coach. Come on, follow me."
Taking Lana's hand, Lex set off at a brisk pace to the coach. Even Clark couldn't help but notice this unusual behavior. However before he could comment Chloe set off after the others and he was left to gather up their horses.
When they reached the coach they found the horse team hitched up and ready to leave. The driver quickly explained his concern about getting the coach stuck on the dirt track, if the soil became too soft. While the others climbed aboard, Clark quickly tied the leads of the saddle horses to the back of the coach. Grabbing the canvas-covered bag of food and drink, he ran to join the others.
Lex pulled the pile of blankets from the under the seats. Everyone quickly stripped off the wet robes and wrapped themselves in the blankets. With the side windows covered to keep out the rain, the two small lamps provided the only small light. Other than a brief flash of light colored skin, the group's remaining modesty was left mostly intact.
Lex and Lana resumed their position on the aft bench leaving Chloe wedged between Clark and Nicholas on the front seat. Once everyone was settled, Nicholas opened the small panel to the front compartment telling the driver they were ready to leave. As the coach started to move, Clark opened the large canvas bag he had placed on the floor.
"I don't know about you, but I could eat a horse," Clark said as he started to dig through the pile of food.
Lex glanced at the food Clark had scrounged. Mostly traveling food like you would expect on any hiking trip to the backcountry where you had to pack it in on your back. Looking at the jerky mixed in with other items, Lex responded, "That's good, Clark. I think some of this is from a horse."
Lex got the surprised look he was expecting from the others, but then Clark just shrugged his shoulders. "Do you think it will taste more like beef or deer?"
"Deer," said Chloe. When the others glanced at her, she nodded. One look told them she had eaten most everything at one time or another.
As they passed out the food, Nicholas grabbed the smaller of the two wineskins and passed it through the small opening to the driver and his assistant. Clark grabbed the other skin and shot a short stream into his mouth like he had seen in the movies. He had only had wine a couple of times before, but the flavor of this wine was very different, more bitter with a strange, almost woody flavor. He couldn't decide if it was from the wineskin or the lack of pasteurizing or homogenizing or whatever 'izing they did to wine back home.
Besides the jerky, Clark's pilfered stash included: raisins, a few small, tough apples, a couple of small loaves of very hard bread, several small bags of assorted nuts, and some dried, heavily salted fish. Everyone was quickly starting to miss the modern developments in agriculture and the art of food preservation. However at the moment everyone was famished and rapidly dug into the available food, although Lana did studiously avoid the jerky. Having spent a lot of her life with horses as almost her best friends, she wasn't ready to try the jerky in case Lex's kidding remark happened to be true. No, she decided, she would wait until a time when it became her only choice.
After a couple of minutes, when the gnawing sense of imminent starvation had abated, Chloe decided to start the discussion about her conversation with Tony. If she were lucky, perhaps the topic of how they stopped the Professor's men wouldn't come up. Frankly, it had been a long day and she wasn't in the mood for coming up with another story to cover what really had happened. One of the more interesting parts of this little time travel expedition so far had been keeping all of the various stories she had told Marcus and Nicholas and Lex and Lana consistent. With a quick grin she realized that over the past year Clark too had start to learn the art of story telling and misdirection. He definitely had some natural abilities in that area since even she hadn't suspected his carefully hidden secret.
What was that acronym which had been so popular during the eighteen months she had spent as a nurse in Australia during the Second World War? Oh, yes - KISS - Keep it simple, stupid. Very appropriate for times when the truth needed to be concealed behind a cover story.
Even better, if she diverted the explanation long enough, perhaps Lex would decide Clark was an easier target for extracting the true. Besides, since it was Clark's secret this time they were trying to conceal, it seemed only fair that he should be stuck coming up with the explanation.
Finally having decided to ignore the whole topic of the diversion, Chloe launched into a discussion of her conversation with Tony before Lex could raise any questions.
Between handfuls of raisins, Chloe began; "It turns out the old timer among the Professor's men in Tolosa, the 'Gaius' from last night's conversation with Marcus and Nicholas is really an associate of the Professor's from our time."
"Associate?" asked Lex. "Somehow that doesn't have the ring of someone who just works for him."
"Nothing gets by you," said Chloe with an extra special grin, realizing how much actual was getting by him. "Gaius, whose real name is Tony Campinello, has been here for the past ten years representing the Professor's financial backers." From the look on Lex's face she knew she had hooked him and the topic of the diversion had been, at least temporarily, forgotten.
Lex quickly sputtered out, "Wait a second, I am his financial backer." With only a short pause, he continued, "If my father is trying to sabotage this project behind me back, like the others."
Even in the extremely dim light Chloe could see the vein on Lex's temple begin to pulsate. Having seen the dark mood swings Lex sometimes had when he thought Lionel had tried to slap him down and wanting to keep Lex in a better mood for Lana's sake, Chloe jumped back in. She knew Lex could more easily handle interference from the mob than from his own father.
"No, Lex. Tony is not working for your father." When he slipped his hand back into Lana's, she knew he was calm enough for her to proceed. "One of Tony's assignments has been to find the ultimate, safe hiding place for Jimmy Hoffa."
Clark and Lana just stared at her, but Lex immediately understood the reference. In his best old Brandon impression, Lex said, "Ahh, yes. Being buried in ancient Rome is much better than sleeping with the fishies."
When Chloe stopped laughing, Lex asked, "So the Professor has hooked up with the mob?"
Chloe nodded, "Apparently, he had some significant gambling debts and brought them into the project in an attempt to clear things with them."
"They have always seemed liked business men first and foremost, so I think maybe we can work a deal with them," said Lex. When Lana gave him a hard stare, he quickly continued. "Well, that's what I have heard. Of course, I have never had any dealings with them."
It looked like Lana was going to say something about this, but then she shook her head with a 'Luthors will be Luthors' expression on her face. After giving Lex's hand a quick squeeze, she turned back to Chloe. "Did you find out anything else useful from this guy?"
Chloe nodded. "A couple of things. First, I asked him to pass along a message to the Professor, stating Lex wanted to met with him on the steps of the temple to Mars in Rome on the 15th of June, which is just over a month from now." At the fallen look on Lana's face, Chloe explained. "We are going to need some time after we reach Rome to set things up. I have a lot of resources and contacts in Rome, but it will take a couple of weeks to get things organized, as I always prefer to be prepared and to hold the upper hand. Besides if we can locate him before he expects us, we may be able to snatch him and/or the meteor rocks. This also gives you and Clark a little more time to become proficient in Latin in case Murphy strikes during our next encounter with the Professor."
Seeing Lana had plenty to think about, Chloe continued, "I also told Tony how to get a message to us through the majordomo of my palace in Rome, if he decides to cut a deal with us instead of the Professor."
"Palace?" asked Clark.
Chloe grinned. "The magistrate's place where we stayed in Tolosa is just a hovel. My place in Arelate is much nicer. But the Flavian palace in Rome? Let's just say a certain mansion/transplanted Scottish castle,which you all know, is like a two-bedroom track home in comparison. Even including the mansion's modern conveniences." Chloe's eyes drifted shut for a moment, as she remembered one of Analisa's massages. It would be fun to see some of her favorite friends and servants again after all of these centuries. For the first time she considered acquiring the Professor's device when they got home. After all, who better to appreciate a time machine than someone who had already lived through all of the destinations?
After drifting with her thoughts for a brief couple of minutes, she was brought back to reality by another question from Lex.
"Any other useful information from this 'Tony' character?"
Chloe started to shake her head to clear her thoughts and then abruptly turned it into a nod. "One other useful thing. Well, I guess it will be useful, although not useful in a pleasant way. Just useful in a 'know-your- enemies' sort of way."
This circuitous start to this latest revelation had the others on edge.
"According to Tony, besides the Professor and himself, there is only one of other person from the 21st century in the area. Oh, there are at least three small teams of archaeologists scattered around the globe doing research, but according to Tony they have either been out of contact for a number of years or known to be somewhere besides Gaul or Italy."
"The one who is in the area is Sven Torsnes. He has been here about eight years. Mostly in Rome, since he is known here as Patricus Gasparus Venta, the second in command of the Praetorian Guard."
Here Chloe paused and turned to Clark clasping his hand. "I know you are still trying to adjust to the whole concept of my long life and previous husbands and children. I chose the story about the Sphinx this afternoon specifically because it took place in the distant past and didn't involve husbands or children or boyfriends. I had hoped to give you more time to come to terms with those things. But now that Venta has come into the picture, there are things about my prior life in this time period that are going to impact things when we get to Rome. Plus to give us the best advantage, we will need to travel in my old circles. We are going to run into a lot of old friends and acquaintances. I could wait a few more days to explain things, however I would just as soon get through it now, so any ideas we come up with don't have to be changed at the last minute. Can you handle some discussion about my life?"
Clark leaned his head back against the front wall of the compartment, took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Two days ago Clark had his first real kiss with a girl. With Chloe. At the pond in what turned out to be the Professor's canyon. And he had thought at the time that it had been her first 'real' kiss also. Then to find out she had been married 237 times and had had 638 children. But if they ever hoped to have a real relationship after this adventure, he was going to have to learn to accept that she had a life before he entered it.
Clark reached around her pulling her close, until her head was resting against his chest. Similar, he suddenly realized, to the way Lana had been curled up with Lex for the past few minutes. Suddenly, he was unsure of his feelings towards Lana and Lex. Did he want to ask Lex his advice about how best to proceed with Chloe, based on Lex's far vaster experience with women? Or did he want to beat the shit out of him for so quickly moving in on Clark's long-time fantasy girl? For all of his superhuman speed and strength and vision, the frequent extreme peaks and valleys in his mental state over the past couple of days had been hard on Clark.
Finally, realizing all of the others were patiently waiting for a response from him, Clark took one more deep, slow breath and said; "Yeah, I think so. Your life is real and I need to accept it, if we are going to be together."
Looking down, Clark saw a pair of big, fat tears rolling down from Chloe's eyes. As she tried to smile and blink them away, Clark realized he really did love her, regardless of her past. Slowly he bent his head down and kissed the tears. Then, with a quick kiss to the tip of her nose, he sat back.
"I am ready to listen whenever you are ready to talk."
Chloe had been really afraid she would lose Clark over her past. Perhaps she still would, but at least for the moment, the crisis had been averted. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to hold him. And maybe kiss him a little. But once started down that path, she didn't think she would be able to stop this time. And now was not the right moment. She wanted the first time to be special with both of them in happy, upbeat moods. So pulling her thoughts together, she started to tell them about her previous life in Rome in this time period.
End of Chapter 18
Finally, as they were drifting off to sleep from the gentle rocking motion and the morning's strenuous exertions, the couch slowed to a halt. Nicholas had been quietly watching the two during the ride. He hadn't earlier noticed the connection between these two, but with the months they had spent together back in her kingdom and then on the road, it should have been obvious.
He hated to interrupt them, but they had reached the clearing. They should make some preparations, in case there was trouble before Clark and Coelia arrived.
Finally, he coughed loudly to get their attention. After they looked up, he said, "LWe have reached the clearing where we are suppose to meet Coelia and Clark. I think we should scout out the area a little, in case their diversion doesn't work and Carius' men arrive here first."
Lex nodded and, as Nicholas climbed down from the carriage, he turned and translated for Lana. The pace had been much slower than they had achieved during the morning's hectic ride. It had taken them close to an hour to cover the six miles from the stable. Still, it was faster than walking and easier than riding a Roman saddle.
Since they were going to be stopped for at least a few minutes, the drivers wanted to feed and water the team. After a quick consultation, Lex and Nicholas agreed. If there was going to be trouble, they would never outrun it in the coach anyway.
However with a quick scan of the area they did find a small, little used cart track heading north out of the clearing. They backed the coach and the team a little way up the path before unhitching the horses. It wouldn't provide much cover in bright sunlight, but on a dark, overcast evening the coach might not be seen with a hasty glance.
The clearing was about 100 yards wide and 200 yards long, but felt much larger after the past few miles where the road had winded through a heavily forested area.
In the center of the clearing, on the south side of the road, someone had erected a small prayer chapel. Perhaps it would be better described as an altar with an overhanging awning than an actual building. Lex and Lana had just walked over, more from a need to stretch their legs than any actual curiosity, when the sprinkles began. They stood for a couple of minutes under the protection of the awning listening to the relaxing sound of the drops hitting the roof. Just as they decided they had better head back, a brilliant bolt of lightening hit the far side of the meadow. As the resulting sharp crash of thunder rolled over their heads, the heavens let loose. They would be soaked before they got twenty feet let alone the nearly 200 feet to where the coach lay partial hidden. So, hoping the intense portion of the storm wouldn't last too long, Lex took a step back and leaned against the altar. While there was plenty of space for two under the awning, Lana moved until she was backed up against Lex. She reached down and took Lex's hands and draped them around her waist. Lex started to speak, but she shushed him. "Lex, I want to think some more about what was said in the carriage. How about we just listen to the rain for a few minutes?"
Lex murmured his agreement and they both settled back into their own thoughts.
After about ten minutes the downpour had just started to lessen when they heard approaching horses. Lex suggested heading out into the rain to reach a less exposed spot, but Lana told him to wait a minute.
A few seconds later, Lana said, "There are only a couple of horses approaching. I think it must be Clark and Chloe. Don't you think Carius' men would show up in greater force?"
Lex acquiesced to her more extensive horse experience. As they waited for the horses to approach, he was a little surprised that Lana made no move to step away from him. Apparently, she wasn't bothered by the thought of Chloe or Clark seeing him with his arms around her. Had their relationship really changed that much in the past hour?
It didn't take long for the two horses to get close enough to let them see the two bedraggled riders were indeed their fellow travelers. As the horses entered the clearing and slowed, Lana raised her hand and call out to the others. Clark and Chloe returned her wave and headed over.
When they reached the altar, Chloe and Clark quickly jumped down and ducked under the cover of the awning. During the first couple of minutes of the ride, the rain had felt warm and exhilarating. But after 15 minutes of coaxing the horses along at the best practical speed on the increasing slick road, Chloe was glad to reach a sheltered location. Now, if she could get out of her wet clothes and into something dry, everything would be wonderful.
"I didn't really expect you this quickly," began Lex. "Does this mean you were successful?"
Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I don't believe there will be any pursuit for many hours, if at all." After a quick glance around, she continued. "What did you do with the coach?"
Without taking his hands from around Lana, Lex pointed with his head. "We found a small path leading off of the main road over there. We backed the coach up it into the trees, so it would be less visible, in case there was trouble." Turning to look back at the others, he asked, "How did you divert the Professor's men?"
Chloe noticed the way Lex's arms were comfortably wrapped around Lana's body. She had never thought of Lex and Lana as a potential couple before, but after a moment's thought she realized they might make an interesting match. However she decided not to bring the topic up to allow things to advance at their own pace until either she had a chance to talk to Lana alone or unless they decided to bring the topic up first.
"Is there anything dry to put on in the coach? I would really like to get out of these wet things and then we can talk about Carius' men. Oh, I did get to have a little chat with their leader and I have some intel that will help us plan our next moves."
Lex looked out into the pouring rain. If they were going to head over to the coach now, they were all going to end up soaked. But they couldn't spend the whole night standing here waiting for the rain to let up, particularly with Chloe and Clark looking like two drowned rats. "There are some blankets and quilts stowed under the bench seats in the coach. Come on, follow me."
Taking Lana's hand, Lex set off at a brisk pace to the coach. Even Clark couldn't help but notice this unusual behavior. However before he could comment Chloe set off after the others and he was left to gather up their horses.
When they reached the coach they found the horse team hitched up and ready to leave. The driver quickly explained his concern about getting the coach stuck on the dirt track, if the soil became too soft. While the others climbed aboard, Clark quickly tied the leads of the saddle horses to the back of the coach. Grabbing the canvas-covered bag of food and drink, he ran to join the others.
Lex pulled the pile of blankets from the under the seats. Everyone quickly stripped off the wet robes and wrapped themselves in the blankets. With the side windows covered to keep out the rain, the two small lamps provided the only small light. Other than a brief flash of light colored skin, the group's remaining modesty was left mostly intact.
Lex and Lana resumed their position on the aft bench leaving Chloe wedged between Clark and Nicholas on the front seat. Once everyone was settled, Nicholas opened the small panel to the front compartment telling the driver they were ready to leave. As the coach started to move, Clark opened the large canvas bag he had placed on the floor.
"I don't know about you, but I could eat a horse," Clark said as he started to dig through the pile of food.
Lex glanced at the food Clark had scrounged. Mostly traveling food like you would expect on any hiking trip to the backcountry where you had to pack it in on your back. Looking at the jerky mixed in with other items, Lex responded, "That's good, Clark. I think some of this is from a horse."
Lex got the surprised look he was expecting from the others, but then Clark just shrugged his shoulders. "Do you think it will taste more like beef or deer?"
"Deer," said Chloe. When the others glanced at her, she nodded. One look told them she had eaten most everything at one time or another.
As they passed out the food, Nicholas grabbed the smaller of the two wineskins and passed it through the small opening to the driver and his assistant. Clark grabbed the other skin and shot a short stream into his mouth like he had seen in the movies. He had only had wine a couple of times before, but the flavor of this wine was very different, more bitter with a strange, almost woody flavor. He couldn't decide if it was from the wineskin or the lack of pasteurizing or homogenizing or whatever 'izing they did to wine back home.
Besides the jerky, Clark's pilfered stash included: raisins, a few small, tough apples, a couple of small loaves of very hard bread, several small bags of assorted nuts, and some dried, heavily salted fish. Everyone was quickly starting to miss the modern developments in agriculture and the art of food preservation. However at the moment everyone was famished and rapidly dug into the available food, although Lana did studiously avoid the jerky. Having spent a lot of her life with horses as almost her best friends, she wasn't ready to try the jerky in case Lex's kidding remark happened to be true. No, she decided, she would wait until a time when it became her only choice.
After a couple of minutes, when the gnawing sense of imminent starvation had abated, Chloe decided to start the discussion about her conversation with Tony. If she were lucky, perhaps the topic of how they stopped the Professor's men wouldn't come up. Frankly, it had been a long day and she wasn't in the mood for coming up with another story to cover what really had happened. One of the more interesting parts of this little time travel expedition so far had been keeping all of the various stories she had told Marcus and Nicholas and Lex and Lana consistent. With a quick grin she realized that over the past year Clark too had start to learn the art of story telling and misdirection. He definitely had some natural abilities in that area since even she hadn't suspected his carefully hidden secret.
What was that acronym which had been so popular during the eighteen months she had spent as a nurse in Australia during the Second World War? Oh, yes - KISS - Keep it simple, stupid. Very appropriate for times when the truth needed to be concealed behind a cover story.
Even better, if she diverted the explanation long enough, perhaps Lex would decide Clark was an easier target for extracting the true. Besides, since it was Clark's secret this time they were trying to conceal, it seemed only fair that he should be stuck coming up with the explanation.
Finally having decided to ignore the whole topic of the diversion, Chloe launched into a discussion of her conversation with Tony before Lex could raise any questions.
Between handfuls of raisins, Chloe began; "It turns out the old timer among the Professor's men in Tolosa, the 'Gaius' from last night's conversation with Marcus and Nicholas is really an associate of the Professor's from our time."
"Associate?" asked Lex. "Somehow that doesn't have the ring of someone who just works for him."
"Nothing gets by you," said Chloe with an extra special grin, realizing how much actual was getting by him. "Gaius, whose real name is Tony Campinello, has been here for the past ten years representing the Professor's financial backers." From the look on Lex's face she knew she had hooked him and the topic of the diversion had been, at least temporarily, forgotten.
Lex quickly sputtered out, "Wait a second, I am his financial backer." With only a short pause, he continued, "If my father is trying to sabotage this project behind me back, like the others."
Even in the extremely dim light Chloe could see the vein on Lex's temple begin to pulsate. Having seen the dark mood swings Lex sometimes had when he thought Lionel had tried to slap him down and wanting to keep Lex in a better mood for Lana's sake, Chloe jumped back in. She knew Lex could more easily handle interference from the mob than from his own father.
"No, Lex. Tony is not working for your father." When he slipped his hand back into Lana's, she knew he was calm enough for her to proceed. "One of Tony's assignments has been to find the ultimate, safe hiding place for Jimmy Hoffa."
Clark and Lana just stared at her, but Lex immediately understood the reference. In his best old Brandon impression, Lex said, "Ahh, yes. Being buried in ancient Rome is much better than sleeping with the fishies."
When Chloe stopped laughing, Lex asked, "So the Professor has hooked up with the mob?"
Chloe nodded, "Apparently, he had some significant gambling debts and brought them into the project in an attempt to clear things with them."
"They have always seemed liked business men first and foremost, so I think maybe we can work a deal with them," said Lex. When Lana gave him a hard stare, he quickly continued. "Well, that's what I have heard. Of course, I have never had any dealings with them."
It looked like Lana was going to say something about this, but then she shook her head with a 'Luthors will be Luthors' expression on her face. After giving Lex's hand a quick squeeze, she turned back to Chloe. "Did you find out anything else useful from this guy?"
Chloe nodded. "A couple of things. First, I asked him to pass along a message to the Professor, stating Lex wanted to met with him on the steps of the temple to Mars in Rome on the 15th of June, which is just over a month from now." At the fallen look on Lana's face, Chloe explained. "We are going to need some time after we reach Rome to set things up. I have a lot of resources and contacts in Rome, but it will take a couple of weeks to get things organized, as I always prefer to be prepared and to hold the upper hand. Besides if we can locate him before he expects us, we may be able to snatch him and/or the meteor rocks. This also gives you and Clark a little more time to become proficient in Latin in case Murphy strikes during our next encounter with the Professor."
Seeing Lana had plenty to think about, Chloe continued, "I also told Tony how to get a message to us through the majordomo of my palace in Rome, if he decides to cut a deal with us instead of the Professor."
"Palace?" asked Clark.
Chloe grinned. "The magistrate's place where we stayed in Tolosa is just a hovel. My place in Arelate is much nicer. But the Flavian palace in Rome? Let's just say a certain mansion/transplanted Scottish castle,which you all know, is like a two-bedroom track home in comparison. Even including the mansion's modern conveniences." Chloe's eyes drifted shut for a moment, as she remembered one of Analisa's massages. It would be fun to see some of her favorite friends and servants again after all of these centuries. For the first time she considered acquiring the Professor's device when they got home. After all, who better to appreciate a time machine than someone who had already lived through all of the destinations?
After drifting with her thoughts for a brief couple of minutes, she was brought back to reality by another question from Lex.
"Any other useful information from this 'Tony' character?"
Chloe started to shake her head to clear her thoughts and then abruptly turned it into a nod. "One other useful thing. Well, I guess it will be useful, although not useful in a pleasant way. Just useful in a 'know-your- enemies' sort of way."
This circuitous start to this latest revelation had the others on edge.
"According to Tony, besides the Professor and himself, there is only one of other person from the 21st century in the area. Oh, there are at least three small teams of archaeologists scattered around the globe doing research, but according to Tony they have either been out of contact for a number of years or known to be somewhere besides Gaul or Italy."
"The one who is in the area is Sven Torsnes. He has been here about eight years. Mostly in Rome, since he is known here as Patricus Gasparus Venta, the second in command of the Praetorian Guard."
Here Chloe paused and turned to Clark clasping his hand. "I know you are still trying to adjust to the whole concept of my long life and previous husbands and children. I chose the story about the Sphinx this afternoon specifically because it took place in the distant past and didn't involve husbands or children or boyfriends. I had hoped to give you more time to come to terms with those things. But now that Venta has come into the picture, there are things about my prior life in this time period that are going to impact things when we get to Rome. Plus to give us the best advantage, we will need to travel in my old circles. We are going to run into a lot of old friends and acquaintances. I could wait a few more days to explain things, however I would just as soon get through it now, so any ideas we come up with don't have to be changed at the last minute. Can you handle some discussion about my life?"
Clark leaned his head back against the front wall of the compartment, took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Two days ago Clark had his first real kiss with a girl. With Chloe. At the pond in what turned out to be the Professor's canyon. And he had thought at the time that it had been her first 'real' kiss also. Then to find out she had been married 237 times and had had 638 children. But if they ever hoped to have a real relationship after this adventure, he was going to have to learn to accept that she had a life before he entered it.
Clark reached around her pulling her close, until her head was resting against his chest. Similar, he suddenly realized, to the way Lana had been curled up with Lex for the past few minutes. Suddenly, he was unsure of his feelings towards Lana and Lex. Did he want to ask Lex his advice about how best to proceed with Chloe, based on Lex's far vaster experience with women? Or did he want to beat the shit out of him for so quickly moving in on Clark's long-time fantasy girl? For all of his superhuman speed and strength and vision, the frequent extreme peaks and valleys in his mental state over the past couple of days had been hard on Clark.
Finally, realizing all of the others were patiently waiting for a response from him, Clark took one more deep, slow breath and said; "Yeah, I think so. Your life is real and I need to accept it, if we are going to be together."
Looking down, Clark saw a pair of big, fat tears rolling down from Chloe's eyes. As she tried to smile and blink them away, Clark realized he really did love her, regardless of her past. Slowly he bent his head down and kissed the tears. Then, with a quick kiss to the tip of her nose, he sat back.
"I am ready to listen whenever you are ready to talk."
Chloe had been really afraid she would lose Clark over her past. Perhaps she still would, but at least for the moment, the crisis had been averted. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to hold him. And maybe kiss him a little. But once started down that path, she didn't think she would be able to stop this time. And now was not the right moment. She wanted the first time to be special with both of them in happy, upbeat moods. So pulling her thoughts together, she started to tell them about her previous life in Rome in this time period.
End of Chapter 18