(Metropolis Stock Exchange, Metropolis)
Chloe finished her last sip of coffee and crossed the street. At the building, the bold, brass plate with the letters MSE – Metropolis Stock Exchange – reflected the morning sunshine. She had to hold her hand over her eyes to shield them from the glare. Dozens of well-dressed men and women hurried into the large revolving doors and flashed their identity badges to the elderly security guard in the main foyer. Business would begin at 9 a.m., as the stockbrokers awaited the opening bell of trading at 9:30 a.m. The NYSE would set the ball rolling for the rest of the country.
The Metropolis Stock Exchange, second only to the Chicago Stock Exchange in the midwest, was built on the exchange of goods which traveled the railroads of the last century. But the past twenty years saw the growth of high technology in this region, due to LuthorCorp.'s substantial investment in scientific research and development.
There were rumours about LuthorCorp., on the cusp of a WorldCom/Enron corporate meltdown. Somewhere in the MSE, Chloe thought, a Daily Planet reporter was digging into that angle.
More people hurried through the wide plaza outside the 1920s-era building. There were so many people in suits, that she had difficulty spotting one with a plain black-tie.
"Do you have the time, miss?" one of the employees asked her.
"It's 8:55," Chloe checked her watch. She looked up, and saw the plain black tie of her contact. He was tall – not quite as tall as Clark – and he was roughly 10 years younger than Alfred, with a few strands of graying hair.
"Walk with me to the newsstand near the entrance," the contact mumbled. He carefully glanced around to ensure that no one was paying attention to them.
"And you are?" Chloe inquired. The man ignored her and purchased the morning edition of the Daily Planet. He opened it, and the pages shielded both of them from view.
"The name of your contact, Miss Sullivan," the man stated. "Now, please." Chloe had caught a glimpse of the gun holster just beneath his jacket. It would be safer to just give him an answer than demand an explanation, she concluded.
"Falconer," Chloe answered quietly. The man nodded, content with the answer. There were dozens of people at the MSE entrance now. No one would have noticed them beside the newsstand.
He handed her the business section of the Daily Planet. There was a plain manila folder tucked inside its pages.
"Show this to Falconer," the contact instructed.
"But I'm not supposed meet him until the NAFTA hearing," Chloe mumbled. "And Lionel has a contact in Gotham."
"He 'had' a contact in Gotham," the man replied, without looking at Chloe. "That state of affairs won't continue. We're taking care of it. Falconer needs to see this. ASAP. Do you understand?"
"Right away?" Chloe blurted. "It's going to be hard. He's with Bruce Wayne in Metropolis."
The man put on his sunglasses. "Find a way, Miss Sullivan." He began to fold up his newspaper.
"You know my name, but I don't even know who you are!" Chloe whispered, still wary that they might be noticed.
"The only reason I'm giving you this information is your connection with Falconer," the man replied curtly. "That's all you need to know. Do your part – and I'll do mine." Before Chloe could ask another question, the man crossed the plaza and disappeared beneath the underground parking.
Chloe carefully glanced around the plaza and quickly crossed the street to the café. She slipped into a rear booth and opened up the business section. Great, she thought, another Wayne Enterprises files stamped CONFIDENTIAL. She skimmed through the document, and gasped. Falconer – er, Alfred – needed to see this, she thought. He must see this. Oliver Queen's fortune, and Wayne Enterprises' survival, depended on it.
That's it, she decided. I need to find Alfred today. It didn't matter whether or not he was with Bruce Wayne. She went to the payphone, pulled out the Yellow Pages and looked for H – Hotels.
"Four Seasons Hotel Metropolis," she noted. "The most exclusive hotel in town. That has to be it!" A receptionist answered the call.
"Yes," Chloe replied, "I'd like to speak with Alfred Pennyworth. He's with the Wayne Enterprises party."
"I'm sorry, miss," the receptionist stated, "but the Wayne party has departed for city hall for the mayor's conference. They won't be back until noon at the earliest. Would you like to leave a message?"
"Yes," Chloe scrambled to write down the information. 'Wayne – Mayor's office – Hotel at noon' "Please tell Mr. Pennyworth that a Ms. Sullivan would like to speak with him about my school project." She hung up the receiver and walked out of the café. She froze in her tracks.
Chloe trembled. Did I just leave a message for Alfred? Bruce Wayne might ask for messages, then he might get that message too! She cursed under her breath. It was important that Bruce was left out of the loop on her little conspiracy with Alfred. All the deceptions, lies and half-truths had clouded her judgment.
I've slipped up, she feared. The mayor's conference was closed-door, which meant that Chloe couldn't pretend she was part of the press and attempt to crash the meeting. It was private. All she could do now was to wait at the Four Seasons Hotel for the Wayne party's return.
Chloe, she grumbled, why did you have to leave that message! That was careless. And dangerous.
She checked her watch. I'm going to be late for homeroom.
(Luthor estate, Smallville)
Lex was already awake. Several files cluttered the coffee table in the den. He had already made a dozen calls to potential investors and political allies. If Bruce opted to abandon this venture with Ollie, he would need more money. And more help. Bruce was at city hall and wouldn't be taking calls until lunch. He couldn't believe Ollie chose to have dinner with his father.
Maybe he was mad and was lashing out, Lex hoped. If Oliver actually accepted Lionel's offer of a partnership, Lex feared, then I won't have enough capital to buy those Queen shares from Lionel. LuthorCorp. would just absorb the remainder of Queen Enterprises: the mining operations and subsidiaries. Then, his father would have enough resources and corporate clout to --.
Lex coughed at the bitter coffee lodged in his throat. LuthorCorp. – merged with the rest of Queen's empire – could challenge Wayne Enterprises in any market sector: from Alaska to the Straits of Magellan. He would pick apart Wayne's corporate assets, one division at a time. For Bruce, it would be like trying to put out a thousand forest fires at once.
Lex buried his head in his hands. Why did Bruce have to be so stubborn? Why did Ollie have to be so determined to prove himself? No one was thinking clearly last night, and Lionel Luthor forced open that chasm. He played on each of our weaknesses: my resentment, Bruce's emotional baggage and Ollie's blind never-say-die attitude. He had us ... right where he wanted us.
Lex quickly dialled the Four Seasons Hotel in Metropolis. Bruce had already left. He tried to call Ollie's cell phone, but there was no tone. Amidst all this activity, he had ignored the doorbell – which had been ringing for the past five minutes.
"Not now!" Lex yelled. "I'm busy."
"Lex, it's me, Lana." Lex looked through the window. Lana was ready for school, and it appeared that the long night at the museum had caught up with her. She yawned, covering her mouth with her hands.
"I'm sorry, Lana," Lex opened the door. He looked as his feet. He was still in socks, having forgotten to put on his loafers.
Lana noticed the organized chaos in the den. "I didn't mean to disturb you, Lex. I just came by to drop off the Talon's payroll."
"I have two of America's most influential industrialists in Metropolis," Lex observed, "and the only business partner I can get in touch with today is the reliable Miss Lang. Have you heard from Bruce or Oliver today?"
Lana shook her head. "Nope. Your driver just dropped Clark and I home. I haven't seen either of them."
"Clark," Lex scrambled to get his cell phone, and dialled. "Clark? Listen, have you spoken with Bruce or Alfred this morning? I need to get in touch with Wayne right away."
Clark was already walking towards Smallville High. "I only talked to Alfred this morning," he replied on the phone. "They were going to the see the mayor and wouldn't be taking calls until lunch."
"And Oliver?" Lex inquired, with the faint hope that Oliver might have talked to Clark.
"I haven't heard from him since he went off in Lionel's limousine," Clark replied. He noticed the frantic tone in Lex's voice. "Why? Is something up?"
"Not much," Lex answered. "Only that Oliver Queen is about to lose his birthright, and Wayne's empire is lingering on the edge of an abyss. I'll be in touch later."
Lana seemed confused by Lex's rattled behaviour. It was more than his concern about the deteriorating Wayne-Queen friendship. "It's Lionel, isn't it," Lana realized.
"Queen Enterprises will be just an aperitif on my father's corporate menu," Lex explained. "He'll discard Ollie the moment he has the remainder of the Queen fortune. He'll funnel those assets into a campaign to destroy Wayne Enterprises. He'll do whatever it takes: strike-breaking, coups d'etats, bribes, extortion. He once told me a man is defined by his enemies. The Wayne dynasty is his primary target. Bruce doesn't have the ruthless instinct to prepare for a war of that magnitude. I have to warn him, and Ollie."
The doorbell rang again. Lex put on his loafers and stumbled to the door.
"What is it?" Lex barked. He almost swallowed his tongue when he recognized his visitor.
Those blue-grey eyes. The golden locks cascading around her shoulders. That smile – the smile that had once ensnared Bruce Wayne and won Oliver Queen's heart.
It was Dinah Lance. No longer a schoolgirl, Dinah was dressed in a smart navy-blue business suit and skirt. Lex noticed the badge on her breast pocket.
"Hello, Alexander," Dinah beamed. "Are you going to give your old classmate a hug, or are you just going to let me stand out here?"
Lex stepped outside and embraced her warmly, then urged Lana to come forward. "Lana Lang is my partner at the Talon in Smallville. Lana, this is ..."
"Special Agent Dinah Lance, FBI," Dinah shook Lana's hand. "As usual, Lex, you're surrounded by pretty girls."
"He's well-behaved now," Lana replied. "I think."
Lex ushered them to the den. He hastily removed his files from the table and poured Dinah a cup of coffee.
"I'd better go, or I'll be late for class," Lana checked her watch. "I'll call you if Bruce or Oliver show up at the Talon." When the door closed, Lex finally settled on the couch beside Dinah. She was as stunning as ever, he mused.
"So you're here for business," Lex observed. "For the NAFTA board of review regarding LuthorCorp.'s acquisition of Queen Enterprises' North American assets."
"Yes," Dinah replied, as she brushed aside her blond hair from her shoulders. "Homeland Security just raised the alert to Orange. I'm attached to Senator Williams' security detail. He's serving on the Armed Services Committee, which requested the added protection." Dinah seemed distracted, as she stood up and paced around the den. "Do you get along as famously with Lionel as you did before?" she remarked.
"Definitely," Lex replied. "If you can call severing my ties with LuthorCorp. and creating my own rival firm as a sign of our familial closeness."
Dinah studied the stained-glass windows of the Luthors' resurrected castle. "Lex – is it true?" She held her breath. "It's just that, it's so hard to believe what's in the media nowadays."
Lex understood what she meant. She wanted to know if Oliver Queen was really alive. The break-up between Oliver and Dinah was acrimonious. Oliver had no time for her, and she had no time for him to grow up. The press suggested that he had cheated on her – some Czech supermodel called Irina – but Lex didn't believe it. Dinah was the only woman Ollie loved. As a courtesy, Lex and Bruce had broken the news that Oliver's yacht was lost at sea in French Polynesia. She was devastated.
And now he was alive. Lex was worried about her reaction to the truth.
"Dinah, it's true," Lex declared calmly. "It's true. Oliver Queen is alive!"
Dinah didn't react at first. She sipped her coffee, and strolled to the window. Suddenly, she dropped her cup. The liquid splattered all over the floor. She held her hand to her mouth, struggling to muffle a sob. The FBI agent sunk to the ground and wept, stunned at the news that Oliver was not a dream. Not a spirit that haunted her since the day he disappeared one year ago.
He was flesh-and-blood.
Lex rushed to her side and cradled her head against his shoulders, comforting her. "You should see his eyes, Dinah. The Emerald Archer has returned. He's a bit sunburnt, slightly gaunt – but it's Ollie."
Dinah laughed between her tears. "Emerald Archer. He loved that nickname, that fool."
"Bruce will be in town, too," Lex revealed. He wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle the appearance of both her ex-boyfriend and the Gotham son who almost won her heart.
"Bruce and Alfie are here?" Dinah grinned, wiping a tear from her eye as she stood up and adjusted her jacket. "Bruce ..."
"What if, eh?" Lex smiled. He had long wondered how Bruce's life might have changed if he and Dinah had become an item.
"Yeah," Dinah nodded, "What if."
"Oliver must be at LuthorCorp." Lex realized, and the imminent danger awoke him. "Dinah, we can see Oliver. Right now. Oliver's just mad at Bruce for last night, but once he sees you're here, I know he'll agree with our plans." He tugged at her arm.
"No," Dinah resisted. "I can't see him. Not now."
"He's a changed man, Dinah," Lex replied. "He's spent a tropical purgatory reflecting on all the reckless mistakes he's made. Once he sees you, you two can start fresh. Turn a new page on your lives."
"He died, Lex!" Dinah declared, struggling to regain her focus. The news of his return was too much, too soon. "You and Bruce told me he was lost. A part of me shrivelled up and disappeared that night, when I lost all hope. I accepted his death – can you understand that? Now you're telling me the man I once loved, the man whose soul I prayed for ... has returned from the grave?!"
"What are you telling me, Dinah?" Lex was puzzled. "I'm not following."
"It's over between us, Ollie and me," Dinah stated. "Lex, it's over. I cried for days after you and Bruce visited me. I felt that going to Quantico might help me mend, and it has. My FBI work focused my thoughts on other matters. But the memory of Oliver Queen was never far from me. How could he be anywhere else? After one year, I believed that I had moved on at last. And now ..."
Lex settled on the couch. "His ghost has returned to haunt you again. You're partly right. The Ollie that you and I knew from Metropolis U. – the bull-headed, impetuous one – he died in the South Pacific. But the Ollie whose friendship never wavered ... the Ollie who won over the most incredible woman in our freshman class ... he's as alive as you or I. You can't mean that, Dinah. That's it's over between the two of you."
Dinah cradled a cup of coffee, and studied its rising vapours. She set down the cup, and as an afterthought, she began to clean up the spilled coffee on the floor. Lex immediately took the tea rag away from her hands.
"You don't need to do that, Dinah," Lex insisted. "You're one of the few good memories I have of my college years. You're a friend – and Lex Luthor looks out for friends."
"We are friends, and that's not going to change, Lex," Dinah replied, giving Lex's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "I have to return to Metropolis: the mandatory perimeter search of the Metropolis Congress Centre. No-fly zones over the city. Homeland Security is taking no chances. I have responsibilities. I'm Special Agent Lance now. It's not frosh week anymore."
Lex halted in front of her. "Ollie would really like to see you again, I'm sure. When you're ready."
Dinah tied her blond hair into a ponytail, and adjusted a few loose locks. "Tell Bruce and Alfie that I said hi. And tell Oliver that –" She paused, as one year of mourning threatened to overwhelm her again.
"I'll tell him you said hi," Lex replied as he opened the panelled doors of the manor. "Ollie may try to see you, you know."
"I know," Dinah walked to her sedan. "I honestly don't know what I'm going to do if or when I see him again."
Lex watched her car pull away, and closed the door. The arrival of Dinah Lance changed everything. Lionel might try to dazzle Ollie with devilish offers of corporate directorships and foreign travels, but Lex knew that Dinah Lance was in the city. He was sure that Oliver would drop everything for a chance to meet his former flame again.
He was going to LuthorCorp. to find Oliver. He summoned his driver and continued to dial city hall. "Yes, it's Lex Luthor. I need to get in touch with the mayor's office. Please tell Mr. Wayne that it's an urgent call from Lex Luthor. No, I won't leave a message! I want it hand-delivered to Bruce Wayne and I want you to call me to confirm that you delivered it to him personally."
If I'm lucky, Lex thought, I might be able to get in touch with Bruce during a break in the meeting. He would physically drag Oliver away from LuthorCorp.'s offices, if necessary.
His father's scheming would end, he told himself. It ends this morning.